Two meteorologists who have been on medical leave are returning to Columbus NBC affiliate WCMH. Jym Ganahl (right) will return April 15 and Bob Nunnally (left) will return April 22.

“The entire NBC4 family is pleased to welcome Jym and Bob back. While we, and their loyal fans have missed Jym and Bob on air, we’re glad they’ll be returning in good health,” WCMH news director Michael Fabac said in a statement.

In November, Nunnally sued Ganahl for libel, claiming Ganahl and “an unknown individual or individuals” made false statements that hurt Nunnally professionally and caused him to be exposed to “ridicule, hatred or contempt.” The lawsuit was settled two weeks later.

Columbus NBC affiliate WCMH has launched a content-sharing partnership with Columbus Business First.

Don DePerro, the publisher of Business First, will appear weekly on the station’s 6 a.m. newscast to discuss the week’s business news.

“NBC4 is excited to share content with Central Ohio’s best source for local and regional business news. We know it is important content that our viewers are interested in and this partnership will help us deliver it to them,” WCMH president and general manager Dan Bradley said in a statement.

A libel lawsuit between two meteorologists at WCMH in Columbus has been settled, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Bob Nunnally sued chief meteorologist Jym Ganahl earlier this month, alleging that Ganahl and “an unknown individual or individuals” made false statements that hurt Nunnally professionally and caused him to be exposed to “ridicule, hatred or contempt.”

The Dispatch reports that court records state a settlement has been reached, but do not offer further details. Both meteorologists are veterans of the Columbus NBC affiliate: Ganahl joined the station in 1979 and Nunnally joined the station in 1996.

WCMH meteorologist Bob Nunnally (left) has filed a libel lawsuit against Jym Ganahl (right), the station’s chief meteorologist, in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

The Columbus Dispatch reports the complaint was filed on November 5 and alleges that Ganahl and “an unknown individual or individuals” made false statements that hurt Nunnally professionally and caused him to be exposed to “ridicule, hatred or contempt.”

Attorneys for both parties would not detail what was allegedly said. The suit seeks damages of more than $25,000. Read more

After selling its newspaper assets, Media General has announced a corporate restructuring that elevates James Conschafter and John Cottingham to key leadership roles for the company’s television stations.

The company’s current structure of five geographic regions will be replaced by two geographic regions for its 18 television stations. Conschafter and Cottingham, who have both been named corporate vice presidents, will each oversee one region.

“With our June 25 sale of newspapers, Media General is focusing all of its resources on its broadcast television group,” Media General president and CEO Marshall Morton said in a statement. “We are delighted that our two most experienced broadcast executives will lead our television operations.” Read more

Longtime WRDW anchor Tom Campbell, who has been battling cancer for over a year, died Wednesday morning.

Campbell had a 44-year career in journalism, joining Augusta CBS-affiliate WRDW in 1995. He retired last December as he continued to undergo rounds of radiation and chemotherapy to fight tumors near his bile duct.

“Tom will be missed by all of us who were lucky enough to work side by side with him,” veteran WRDW anchor Richard Rogers wrote on his Facebook page today.

In September, Rogers sat down with Campbell and discussed his battle with cancer. Read more

President Obama did another round of local interviews yesterday, speaking to reporters from stations in Columbus, Cedar Rapids, St. Louis and Reno.

The interviews, which lasted about nine minutes each, were held in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Topics ranged from the Buffett Plan to Hilary Rosen‘s comments on Ann Romney (“It was the wrong thing to say,” Obama told WCMH).

The President was interviewed by Colleen Marshall of WCMH in Columbus, Bruce Aune of KCRG in Cedar Rapids, Larry Connors of KMOV in St. Louis and Pat Hambright of KOLO in Reno. Video of the interviews inside… Read more

Matt Alvarez has been hired as a full-time reporter at WWOR, the MyNetworkTV affiliate in Seacaucus.

Alvarez has been freelancing at WWOR and sister station WNYW since April 2010. He will be a general assignment reporter on WWOR’s 10 p.m. newscast, which is anchored by Brenda Blackmon and Harry Martin.

“Matt has done a stellar job on reporting relevant issues affecting tri-state area residents and we are thrilled to offer him this opportunity,” WWOR vice president and news director Jim Driscoll said in a statement.

Prior to joining WWOR, Alvarez was a reporter for WCMH in Columbus, OH and KJCT in Grand Junction, CO.

WCMH was knocked off the air Tuesday afternoon due to a power outage, leaving viewers in Columbus unable to watch the NBC-affiliate over-the-air or on DirecTV for nearly 18 hours.

Around 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, WCMH experienced a power outage at its transmitter but the station wasn’t able to get the local power company, AEP, to fully assess the damage until 8:30 p.m.  And repair work didn’t begin until 10:15.

WCMH alerted viewers about the power outage on its website as well as via Facebook and Twitter, although the station initially received conflicting estimates from the power company about when power would actually be restored. Read more

NBC-affiliates across Ohio are partnering to present a statewide debate centered on Issue 2, a controversial state referendum up for repeal. The debate will be moderated by NBC News political director Chuck Todd and broadcast from Columbus on Tuesday, October 25th.

The debate will be carried by WLWT Cincinnati, WKYC Cleveland, WCMH Columbus, WDTN Dayton, WLIO Lima, WNWO Toledo, WTOV Wheeling-Steubenville, WFMJ Youngstown, and WHIZ Zanesville. It will also be streamed live on each of the stations’ websites. Read more