Kristy Etheridge, a general assignment reporter at WBTV, is leaving the Charlotte CBS affiliate. She is joining the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which is headquartered in Charlotte.

Etheridge began her television career as the overnight producer at WECT, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, N.C. She worked there for four years, eventually becoming a reporter, before joining WBTV in 2011.

Etheridge is married to a photojournalist at rival WSOC. She signs off on February 27.

John Humphries has been named president and general manager at WGAL, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Pa.

Humphries comes from WYFF, Hearst’s NBC affiliate in Greenville, S.C., where he has been director of sales since 2006. He succeeds Paul Quinn, who announced his retirement in September.

“John brings a diverse background in news, multiplatform sales, and management to his new role at the helm of the leading TV station in the Lancaster-Harrisburg market,” Hearst Television president and CEO David J. Barrett said in a statement. “He has the experience and vision to help build upon the outstanding legacy of Paul Quinn and the WGAL team.” Read more

Paul Quinn will retire later this year after almost two decades as president and general manager of WGAL, the Hearst-owned NBC affiliate in Lancaster, Penn.

“It has been a great run,” Quinn said in a statement. “Our staff here cares deeply about providing the best local television service possible and works tirelessly to make that happen every day.  And we have had some fun in the process.”

Quinn’s retirement caps more than 40 years in local television. Prior to joining WGAL, he worked at WRAL in Raleigh-Durham and WBTV in Charlotte. In a statement announcing the retirement, Hearst Television president and CEO David Barrett praised Quinn’s “steady leadership.” Read more

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney used a recent one-on-one interview with WBTV as an opportunity to clarify his position on gay adoption.

Following President Obama‘s declaration of support for same-sex marriage last week, Romney has continually fielded questions about gay rights and, in an interview with the Fox Business Network last Thursday, he raised eyebrows when he said that it’s “fine” for gay couples to adopt.

Speaking with WBTV’s Paul Cameron, Romney backed away from that statement. Read more

The 10 p.m. newscast on Charlotte CW-affiliate WJZY is moving to sister station WMYT, a MyNetworkTV affiliate.

The newscast has been produced for WJZY by Charlotte CBS-affiliate WBTV since 2003. It will air this week on both stations, but beginning next Monday, it will air only on WMYT.

In a statement, WJZY-WMYT vice president and general manager Shawn Harris said the change is a result of independent research on evening news viewers in the Charlotte market that found the MyNetworkTV-affiliate to have a more “news-friendly” audience. Read more

President Obama spent his afternoon Tuesday sitting down for interviews with a handful of local stations–an activity that has become a regular part of the President’s schedule.

Those asking questions on Tuesday included WAGA‘s Amanda Davis, KLAS‘s Paula Francis, WFLA‘s Keith Cate, and WBTV‘s Paul Cameron.

President Obama’s interview with Cameron had special significance since the Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte later this year. Read more

Early Saturday morning Charlotte CBS-affiliate WBTV mistakenly reported that Billy Graham had died.  About a half hour later, the station retracted the report, blaming it on “some incorrect information” received from CBS News.

WBTV news director Dennis Milligan posted a statement on the station’s website following the mix-up.  Here’s what happened, according to Milligan:

On Saturday during its early morning newscast,  WBTV News mistakenly reported the passing of the Rev. Billy Graham. Our show producer read what he thought was a breaking news crawl about Rev. Graham on an off- air network feed. Read more

Shortly after 6:30 on Saturday morning, Charlotte CBS-affiliate WBTV reported that Billy Graham had died.  The news was especially significant considering that Graham was born in Charlotte and has been a social luminary in North Carolina for decades.

In fact, the influential Christian leader was very much alive after spending a “restful night” at an Asheville hospital as he battles pneumonia.

Just before 7 a.m., WBTV anchor Kristen Miranda corrected the station’s mistake. Read more

It’s official: Zoraida Sambolin is leaving WMAQ to become an anchor for CNN’s revamped morning show.

Although Sambolin’s departure from NBC owned-and-operated WMAQ has been widely reported, CNN officially announced her hire in a press release this morning. She will co-anchor the 5-7amET hours with Ashleigh Banfield.

“I am completely thrilled to be coming to CNN,” Sambolin said in a statement. “Ashleigh is an accomplished journalist with an incredible wit and dynamic personality.  I look forward to collaborating with her and working together to inform, enlighten and build a strong relationship with our viewers.”  Read more

The WBTV chyron wasn’t much help last Friday morning as Ron Lee reported live on a deadly shooting in West Charlotte.  While Lee gave details of the shooting, the line “Man Killed to Death” was displayed at the bottom of the screen (image above).

WBTV quickly changed the lower-third to the more specific “Man Shot After Argument.”  [Via Buzzfeed]