A news van for Tampa ABC affiliate WFTS caught fire “for no apparent reason.”

Photojournalist Tony Jacobson and reporter Ryan Raiche escaped the Dodge Sprinter van without injury. Raiche posted a photo of the burned out van (pictured) on his facebook page with the caption, “Is it bad luck if your the last guy to go live from a sat truck before it burns to a crisp? RIP Sprinter.”

Reporter Ashley Glass also posted a photo of the van, this time in what appears to be mid-burn, on her company facebook page. “One of our big boy live trucks caught fire (for no apparent reason) in Lakeland, FL. ” Glass added, “RIP to the Sprinter, the only truck with enough counter space for my entire “get ready” spread. Survived by Tony Jacobson and Ryan Raiche.” You can see the photo Glass posted after the jump.

TVSpy reached out to WFTS for more info.  We’ll update if we hear back.

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KTUL in Tulsa, KSL in Salt Lake City and WFTS in Tampa are the winners of the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation’s annual Service to America Awards.

KTUL is the winner of the Service to America Television Award for setting “an example of service at the heart of a community,” according to the NABEF. The ABC affiliate produced nearly 50 community outreach projects in 2012.

KSL wins this year’s Service to Children Award for making “great strides in ensuring elementary students read at grade level.” The NBC affiliate created a grassroots movement, “Read Today,” that has tutored more than 2,600 students in Salt Lake City.

For a six-week campaign aimed at creating awareness and taking action against domestic violence, WFTS wins the Service to Community Award. The ABC affiliate has “created a lifeline for many suffering in the shadow of domestic abuse.” Read more

Four meteorologists from ABC affiliates around the country will go head to head on the game show “Let’s Ask America” in order to benefit the American Red Cross.

(Pictured from left to right) Denis Phillips, chief meteorologist for Tampa Bay’s WFTS, Lisa Hidalgo, morning news meteorologist for Denver’s KMGH, Ashley Brown, meteorologist for Indianapolis’ WRTV, and Steve Raleigh, chief meteorologist for Cincinnati’s WCPO, won’t have to travel far to appear on the show which allows viewers to call in from anywhere via Skype.

The following description from the show’s websitetells what the forecasters can expect,

The game is simple: “Let’s Ask America” polls America about fun and irreverent topics to find out what people are thinking (e.g. Which of these shows did a group of prison inmates say they would choose to watch in their cell for an entire year? a) “Dr. Phil,” b) “Days of Our Lives,” c) “The View”). Then, all the contestants have to do is correctly predict the answer. The prize money increases with each question. There are three rounds and at the end of each round, the contestant with the lowest cash total is eliminated from the game.

The “Let’s Ask America” sweeps special benefits the American Red Cross to help out Hurricane Sandy victims and airs this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.  For a listing of cities where you can catch the show click here.

[cincinnati.com]

Chris Martinez is the newest general assignment reporter at WBBM, the CBS O&O in Chicago.

“WBBM is a legendary television station that’s experiencing a renaissance,” Martinez said in a statement. “Joining this news team is a dream come true: I’m able to practice journalism in the part of the country where I’ve always wanted to live and be a part of a news organization that I’ve always admired.”

Martinez moves to Chicago from Tampa, where he has been a reporter and fill-in anchor at WFTS since 2003. He began his career as an associate producer for WCTV in Tallahassee and went on to work for Central Florida News 13. He begins at WBBM on October 15.

Bill McFarland is stepping into the role of news director at WFTS, the ABC affiliate in Tampa Bay.

McFarland comes from WABC, the ABC O&O in New York City, where he is the assistant news director. He replaces Doug Culver, who left WFTS for WJLA in June.

“Bill brings over 20-years of successful news management experience in large market television newsrooms,” WFTS general manager Rich Pegram said in a statement.  “I am confident that his commitment to quality journalism and his leadership abilities will help ABC Action News continue our remarkable ratings momentum of the past year.”

McFarland said he is “looking forward to joining the news team at one of the best stations in America.” Read more

President Obama‘s team plans to blanket the Tampa airwaves with ads during the last week of August while the Republican party holds their national convention in the area.

Obama for America has bought up more than $181,000 in ad time from Tampa stations for the week of the convention, Politico reports.  Obama’s campaign team spent $73,720 for 49 spots on Tampa CBS-affiliate WTSP, $54,500 for 75 spots on ABC-affiliate WFTS, and $53,750 for 42 spots on NBC-affiliate WFLA.

The Republican National Convention will be held August 27-30 in Tampa.  Recent poll numbers show Obama with a slight edge in Florida.

Doug Culver, who has been the news director at WFTS since 2008, is set to leave the Tampa ABC-affiliate.

In an email to staff this week, Culver announced that he would be departing in two weeks.

“Sometimes opportunity knocks at the most unexpected time,” Culver told his staff.  “That’s what has just happened to me.  As a result I will be leaving Action News.”

Before joining WFTS, Culver spent nine years at Seattle’s KIRO, serving as the station’s assistant news director and managing editor.  KIRO is currently looking for someone to replace Todd Mokhtari, who left his ND post last week to join KNBC. Read more

Ashley Glass has been promoted to weekend morning co-anchor at Tampa ABC-affiliate WFTS.

Glass, a Florida native, joined WFTS in 2010 as a weekday morning reporter and fill-in anchor. She has previously worked at WCJB in Gainsville, WICS in Springfield, IL and WPEC in West Palm Beach.

Glass will anchor alongside John Thomas and Bill Logan on Saturday and Sunday mornings. She replaces Ellen McNamara, who left WFTS to join KSTP earlier this year.

Investigative reporter Alan Cohn has parted ways with WFTS in Tampa, Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

“I can’t say what happened,” Cohn said. “All I know is, I’m very proud of what I’ve done at Channel 28. I never broke as many big stories anywhere as I did at that station.”

Cohn joined the Tampa ABC-affiliate in 2009 from WTNH, the ABC-affiliate in New Haven. When contacted by Deggans, general manager Rick Pergram declined to comment on Cohn’s departure, citing “personnel issues.”

Former WSOC reporter Ken Ward, who was found dead at his home in January, died of hypertensive heart disease, the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner’s office said yesterday.

Ward, a morning reporter at WSOC was 44 years old. At the time of his death, he had just worked his last day at the Charlotte ABC-affiliate. He was set to join WFTS, the ABC-affiliate in Tampa, in early 2012.

Prior to working at WSOC, Ward was a reporter and weekend anchor at News 14 Carolina in Charlotte. [Charlotte Observer]