After more than three decades as a meteorologist in Washington, D.C., Bob Ryan will retire from ABC affiliate WJLA next month, The Washington Post reports.

Ryan was chief meteorologist at NBC-owned WRC from 1980-2010. He joined Allbritton’s WJLA, where he is the 11 p.m. meteorologist, in 2010.

In an interview with the Post, Ryan said he is planning to continue writing and blogging about the weather, possibly even filling in on WJLA from time to time. He said Allbritton’s recent announcement that it is exploring a sale of its television stations contributed to his decision.

“I made the decision [to retire] before the new owner gets here,” Ryan said.

Allbritton Communications Company, the parent company of Politico and several ABC affiliates around the country, is considering a sale of its television stations, Politico’s Dylan Byers reports. In a memo to Politico staffers, chairman and CEO Robert Allbritton said the  potential sale comes with the desire to “stay on the leading edge” of the rapidly changing media business:

As excited as I am about my future and the company’s, it is not an easy decision to contemplate a break from something that is such an important part of our history. I love the television business, and am deeply appreciative of the success I have had in it. I have treasured working with the media professionals at all of our stations, and in recent years, I have especially enjoyed watching the collaboration here in Washington between POLITICO and WJLA / NewsChannel 8. I have always respected the deep connections with communities that our stations have, and am always humbled by the responsibilities—to citizens, to our employees, and to the next generation—that come with ownership. Those responsibilities are what led me to consider a sale now. This industry is in the midst of rapid consolidation and there are some clear advantages that come with increased scale. I want to ensure that our stations are well-positioned to continue their extraordinary success and participate in all of the new prospects for broadcasting going forward.

Allbritton writes he will look to “invest in or launch media companies that follow the POLITICO model of dominating targeted coverage.” Read his full memo here.

Allbritton owns seven stations: WJLA in Washington, D.C.; WHTM in Harrisburg, Pa.; WBMA in Birmingham, Ala.; KATV in Little Rock, Ark.; KTUL in Tulsa; WSET in Roanoke, Va.; and WCIV in Charleston, S.C. The company also owns NewsChannel8, a 24-hour local cable channel in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. ABC station WJLA and local news radio station WTOP have already teamed up to deliver news and weather reports to local viewers and listeners.  Soon, the two media outlets will share traffic reporting as well.

Starting tomorrow, WJLA reporter Amanda Meadows will deliver traffic updates from the WTOP “Glass enclosed nerve center” six times an hour between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m. weekdays. Between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m., Meadows will report twice an hour.

“Viewers can plan their commute by watching [Good Morning Washington] and then continue with WTOP’s radio reports when they are in the car or on the Metro,” WJLA news director Doug Culver told TVSpy. Read more

CNN has announced the hire of two correspondents from the local news landscape: WJLA anchor Pamela Brown (left) and WSB reporter Alina Machado (right).

Brown will be a New York-based correspondent dedicated to reporting for the network’s new morning show, which will be anchored by Chris Cuomo and is slated to launch this spring. Machado will be based in Atlanta as a reporter for CNN, CNN en Español and CNN Latino.

Brown has worked at WJLA, the ABC affiliate in Washington DC, since 2006. She was most recently the Sunday evening anchor and a special projects reporter.

“Pam is an outstanding reporter who made her mark in Washington, D.C. with exceptional coverage of domestic breaking news and enterprise reporting. The passion in her work is evident and we are so happy to have her join the CNN team,” CNN EVP Ken Jautz said in a statement.

Machado worked at WTVD, the ABC O&O in Raleigh-Durham, before joining WSB, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta. She has also worked as a bilingual anchor and correspondent for WDJT-WYTU, the CBS and Telemundo affiliates in Milwaukee.

The network also announced the official hire of George Howell, who has been freelancing for CNN since signing off from WSB in 2011.

“George and Alina are multi-talented, and their passion for getting to the crux of the story comes through in their award-winning journalism,” EVP and managing director of CNN International Tony Maddox said in a statement.

Gail Huff, reporter for WJLA and the wife of former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R), has resigned from the Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate.

WJLA news director Doug Culver told TVSpy, Warren announced the news Thursday to the staff. In an email sent to TVSpy, Huff told WJLA staffers, “Today is my last day at WJLA.  I want to thank all of you for making my job here so enjoyable. It has been an amazing two and a half year experience – working with so many dedicated professionals. I know this is not goodbye.  Our paths are destined to cross again in the future.”

According to the Boston Herald, Huff left WJLA to move back home to Wrentham, MA, after her husband lost his re-election bid to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren in November. The Herald also said Huff has been looking for work in the Boston market. Read more

Mark Segraves is joining WRC in Washington, DC, vice president of news Mike Goldrick announced in a note to staffers today.

Segraves joins the NBC O&O on February 11. He has spent nearly a decade as a reporter at rival WJLA, the ABC affiliate in DC, as well as reporting for WTOP, a local radio station.

“We’re sure that Mark will help us as part of our efforts to create an investigative/enterprise stories culture that drive differentiation in our newscasts. Please join me in welcoming Mark to the team,” Goldrick wrote.

Following their respective morning newscasts, local stations in Washington, DC have traded local coverage for national coverage of President Obama’s ceremonial swearing-in ceremony.

Around 11amET Monday, all four DC stations — NBC O&O WRC, ABC affiliate WJLA, Fox O&O WTTG and CBS affiliate WUSA — began airing coverage provided by their respective affiliated networks. Brian Williams is anchoring on NBC, Scott Pelley on CBS, Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos on ABC, and Shepard Smith on Fox Broadcast Network. President Obama is expected to deliver his inaugural address at 12pmET.

• Related, TVNewser: Network TV Coverage of 2013 Inauguration

At least one station, WTTG, will go back to local coverage for the parade. Maureen Umeh will anchor, with Brian Bolter, Shawn Yancy and Sue Palka at the Canadian Embassy, Matt Ackland on the Freedom Plaza and Bob Barnard along the parade route.

>Update: WUSA also returned briefly to local programming at 1pmET, turning it back over to CBS at 1:30pm. The station will have expanded newscasts this afternoon and evening.

Joe L. Allbritton, founder of Allbritton Communications has died from heart ailments.  He was 87.

Allbritton was a self-made millionaire who made his fortune in banking.   Allbritton Communications, the company he founded, owns eight ABC affiliates (including Washington, D.C.’s WJLA which bears his initials) and political news site, Politico.

The Washington Post has a lengthy obituary detailing Allbritton’s life and his involvement in what’s known as the Riggs scandal where the Allbritton owned Riggs Bank “became embroiled in a massive money-laundering scheme involving Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.”

After venturing out on his own after law school, Allbritton was known to have said, “The first month I made money. The second month I relaxed a little and lost money. I haven’t relaxed since.”

[Broadcasting & Cable]

President Barack Obama will close out his campaign with one last round of local interviews Tuesday, sitting down with 10 stations in battleground states.

The interviews will take place via satellite from Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago. In order of interview, he will talk with WHO in Des Moines, KWWL in Cedar Rapids, WTMJ in Milwaukee, WKYC in Cleveland, WKRC in Cincinnati, WFOR in Miami, WTVT in Tampa, WJLA in Washington, KMGH in Denver and KVVU in Las Vegas.

Governor Mitt Romney is spending the day appealing to voters in Cleveland and Pittsburgh. [h/t Politico]

Stations in major markets across the East Coast chose to preempt, or partially preempt, network morning shows Monday to remain in extended local coverage of Hurricane Sandy.

In New York City, where the subways and buses have been shut down since Sunday night, the local stations all began live storm coverage at 4amET. NBC O&O WNBC went to “Today” at 7 a.m. and returned to local programming at 7:30 a.m. WCBS aired only the first hour of “CBS This Morning,” and WABC aired “Good Morning America” in its entirety.

• Related, TVNewser: 50 Million in Sandy’s Path, a ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Monster Storm 
• Related, FishbowlNY: WCBS Brings in ‘A’ Team for Hurricane Sandy Coverage

In Philadelphia, KYW joined “CBS This Morning” a few minutes after 7 a.m. and continued its local newscast on CW affiliate WPSG. WCAU aired the first half hour of “Today” and returned to local coverage at 7:30 a.m., and WPVI aired “Good Morning America.” Read more