Demler, who co-anchors WGRZ’s evening newscasts, did a commentary segment on Jason Collins being the first openly gay NBA player last week. In a blog post, Pergament called Demler’s commentary “obvious and unnecessary,” saying the anchor should “stick to reading and reporting the news and stay away from commentaries that don’t say much.”

In her commentary this week, Demler delivered a lengthy response to Pergament’s criticism, saying the segments are the sign of an evolved newsroom. “What you see before you is a 21st century news anchor,” Demler said. “My job — like our newsroom — has evolved over the past 30 years.” Watch:

In a column published Wednesday, Pergament called Demler’s response a “unnecessary, inappropriate, hilarious waste of news time,” saying he hasn’t “laughed out loud so much about local TV news since watching ‘Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.’” continued…

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But those plans changed Saturday after Kilgore hosted a news conference for the HARBORcenter that veered into conflict of interest territory for the sports director when the Sabres got involved. Jim Toellner WGRZ president and general manager said, “The event became as much a Sabres event as it was a downtown development event.”

So Toellner announced a new plan for Kilgore saying, “Although we have complete faith in Ed’s objectivity we see from Saturday’s events that perceptions might not go that way for all. We will continue to pay Ed through the end of his originally scheduled end date but he will no longer be working at the station after Wednesday.” continued…

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Ed Kilgore

“Channel 2 has been a huge part of my life,” said Kilgore. “The station is in better shape now than it has ever been. That’s why it’s bittersweet to walk away. But, it’s also okay to walk away now, knowing I was a part of that recent growth.”

According to the station, Kilgore is not retiring, but will go to work for East Resources, a company run by Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula. continued…

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“I don’t want to give too many details,” Paul told the News. “I’m pretty pleased. It’s for three years, with their options each year. I found out LIN isn’t doing any no-cut deals. The last deal was three no-cut years. This one doesn’t…. It had a happy ending. In a lot of ways, I’m pretty pleased.”

Paul originally joined WIVB in 1984 and left for rival WGRZ in 1988. He re-joined WIVB in 1991. He appears on the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.

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Effective April 8, [WGRZ]’s 10 p.m. newscast will switch from little-watched WNYO-TV to local Fox affiliate WUTV and it will expand from five nights a week to seven nights a week with the addition of weekend newscasts. Both stations are owned by Sinclair Broadcasting.

That will mean a few weeks before the start of the May sweeps, [WGRZ]’s newscast on WUTV will be getting stronger lead-ins than [WIVB]’s 10 O’Clock News gets on sister station WNLO from little-watched CW programming here.

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“I’m 47,” Gallivan told the News. “I wasn’t looking for an opportunity and they reached out to me. I thought if I was going to try something new, now was the time to do it.”

Gallivan informed the station of his departure on Tuesday. Because his new role is a potential conflict of interest, station management informed him he had to leave the station immediately.

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Kelly Dudzik

“Kelly is an anchor and reporter who understands what journalism is about – holding people accountable and being a voice for the voiceless,” WGRZ news director Jeff Woodard told TVSpy. “She brings experience in the field and in the studio that will fit into our team perfectly.”

Dudzik began working for KLRT in 2007.  She previously worked at KFBB In Great Falls, MT.  Before that she was a producer at WXIX in Cincinnati and WBRE in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Her first day at WGRZ will be Monday, March 4.

[Arkansas TV News]

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Melissa Holmes

Holmes, who joined WGRZ at the beginning of this year, has been filling in on the morning newscast since Jodi Johnston signed off in November. She will officially take over as the program’s co-anchor alongside John Beard on January 3.

“Her professionalism, strong journalistic background, and her engaging personality are the perfect match for our talented morning team,” WGRZ news director Jeff Woodard said in announcing the promotion. “She has quickly become a favorite among our fans, and we look forward to her continued growth in this new role.”

Since joining the station, Holmes has been anchoring the 10 p.m. newscast on WGRZ’s sister station, WNYO.

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Jodi Johnston

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in television and waking up with Western New Yorkers every day,” Johnston said in a statement posted to the station’s website.  “I am fortunate to have been offered an opportunity at an organization that shares my passion for this community.  This is a natural progression of the next phase of my career.”

During Johnson’s twelve years on the morning anchor desk, the Buffalo station climbed to number one in the ratings for that market.

continued…

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Preval joins WGRZ from WTAJ in Altoona, Pa., where he was a reporter and multimedia journalist until August. He worked at WTAJ’s State College bureau during the Penn State sex abuse scandal.

Javad has previously worked as a production assistant for ESPN and as a sports reporter and anchor for KOMU, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Mo. Javad began at WGRZ in August.

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The station reported on Duncan’s death during Monday’s 11 p.m. newscast. During the segment, a short video of Duncan at various red carpet events aired; toward the tail end of the story, the clip switched to still photos, which were all of Seal (pictured here with ex-wife Heidi Klum).

A statement posted on the WGRZ Facebook page reads:

Yep; our bad; we own it. A careless editing error at the end of the Michael Clarke Duncan story in our 11pm news. Two entertainment stories accidentally merged into one video clip. Sincere apologies.

The station also addressed the incident on the evening news yesterday.  continued…

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Eric Land

Land is a broadcast veteran who has previously served as president-GM of WFLA in Tampa, WIAT in Birmingham and WGRZ in Buffalo.  He is also a former COO of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. Most recently, he was president and CEO of Walkabout Air Aviation.

“Eric brings a rich and diverse background of innovation and experience to our duopoly in Jacksonville,” Gannett EVP Lynn Beall said in a statement.  “He possesses strong leadership abilities and dynamic business skills that will benefit both WTLV and WJXX. Eric knows how to build brands and has a proven track record of taking major market stations to new levels.” continued…

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Lewandowski most recently worked part-time at rival WGRZ, the NBC-affiliate. She will work at WKBW on a temporary basis beginning Thursday, news director John DiSciullo told the Buffalo News.

“I’m very proud to be Buffalo born and bred, and feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to bring the weather to you on WKBW,” Lewandowski wrote on Facebook.

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Radio, television and online winners, divided into small and large markets, were selected from more than 3,500 entries. The RTDNA says this year is “one of the most competitive Edward R. Murrow Awards seasons in RTDNA history.”

Large market overall excellence winners were KING in Seattle, KTVU in Oakland, KMGH in Denver, KARE in Minneapolis, KMBC in Kansas City, KHOU in Houston, WTHR in Indianapolis, WLKY in Louisville, WIAT in Birmingham, WCVB in Boston, KDKA in Pittsburgh, WSB in Atlanta and CIVT in Vancouver. continued…

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Bailey joins the station after five years as a reporter and anchor at WGRZ. She left the Buffalo NBC-affiliate in January to move to Chicago with her boyfriend.

Edwards is an investigative reporter who was cut loose at WISH, the CBS-affiliate in Indianapolis, in December. He was halfway through his three-year contract at the time, and was reportedly dismissed due to budget constraints at the station.

Bailey and Edwards will both start at WBBM on Monday.

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