Scott Levy has joined WETM, the NBC affiliate for Elmira, NY, as News Director.

Levy replaces Scott Nichols, who left to lead Bonten Media Group’s Eastern North Carolina stations which include ABC affiliate WCTI and FOX affiliates WFXI in Morehead City and WYDO in Greenville.

Levy comes to Elmira from News12 Bronx-Brooklyn where he was the morning executive producer.  On his twitter page he posted a farewell to the New York City area, “Triborough Bridge.  Final Time.  For Now. #movingday #ElmiraBound”

“NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams was interviewed on WETM Wednesday night about the death of his role model, Carl Proper.

Proper was an anchor for the Elmira, N.Y. NBC affiliate for more than 40 years before he retired in 2006. He died Saturday morning. Williams, who lived until Elmira until he was 10, described him as “the local go-to guy in so many ways — as a journalist, as a charity fundraiser, as a community leader.”

“It strikes me … after you’re done preparing your broadcast, we’re going to come on the air with ‘Nightly News’ tonight,” Williams told WETM anchor Rebecca Soloman. “And I wonder if any of this would have happened ever if I hadn’t had a great role model on local television in our house on West Church Street in Elmira.”

The video of Williams’ interview has not yet been posted online, but WETM’s tribute to Proper is after the jump. Read more

Bonten Media Group has named Scott Nichols news director of its Eastern North Carolina news operations, which encompass WCTI, the ABC-affiliate in New Bern, and Fox-affiliates WFXI in Morehead City and WYDO in Greenville.

“I am excited to add a person of Scott Nichols journalistic character to lead the WCTI-TV and the Fox Eastern Carolina news operation,” said Lyle Schulze, vice president and general manager of Bonten Media Group’s Eastern North Carolina stations. Read more

Brittni Smallwood has joined WIVB, the CBS-affiliate in Buffalo. She comes from WETM, the NBC-affiliate in Elmira, NY, where she co-anchored the morning newscast.

Smallwood, who will report for the morning and noon newscasts, is one of two that joined WIVB from WETM today. The other is Steve Vesey, who will join WIVB’s sports team.

“Brittni comes to News 4 with a lot of talent and ambition and she will be a terrific fit with our team,” news director Joseph Schlaerth told TVSpy. “She knows how to report hard news and how to tell a great story and we look forward to helping her grow as a journalist.”

Steve Vesey is joining the sports team at WIVB, the CBS-affiliate in Buffalo. He joins the station from WETM, the NBC-affiliate in Elmira, NY.

WIVB’s has lost both of their sportscasters this year. Sports anchor Paul Peck left the station, and the television business entirely, in March. Sports director John Murphy is leaving next month, reportedly to take a multimedia job with the Buffalo Bills.

“It was an unusual situation,” WIVB news director Joseph Schlaerth told the Buffalo News. “I don’t have an exit date for Murph . . . but we expect that he will be spending time with Steve to help ease the transition.” Read more

Lauren Sivan, a former Fox News Channel reporter, has joined Fox owned-and-operated KTTV in Los Angeles as a reporter.

Sivan was hired at FNC in 2008 as the breaking news overnight anchor. She left in December 2009 but has appeared frequently since then on “Red Eye,” the late-night FNC show hosted by Greg Gutfeld.

She will report primarily for the morning newscast and the 5 p.m. newscast, with other general assignments as needed. Prior to her on-air career, which started in 2003 at WETM in Elmira, NY, Sivan spent six years as a producer at FNC, working on “Fox & Friends” and “Fox News Sunday.”