Tampa’s WTSP is partnering up with PolitiFact to produce fact-checking segments during the 2012 election, the station announced today.

“The content from the PolitiFact team fuels Tampa Bay voters with important information to make voting decisions,” WTSP president and general manager Ken Tonning said in a statement. “PolitiFact is sometimes entertaining, and always informative.”

PolitiFact, which is operated by the Tampa Bay Times, will partner with WTSP to “scour  hours of 2012 campaign speeches and TV ads for statements to check.” In addition to focusing on the Presidential campaign, the teams will also fact-check Florida governor Rick Scott and Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn. Read more

Like so many of your fellow local newsers, if you love the cult classic “Anchorman,” then you may want to head to Jacksonville, Florida this weekend.

In the spirit of the film, numerous Jax TV,  print, and radio newsrooms–including folks from WJXT, WTEV-WAWS, and First Coast News–are fielding teams to face off in tomorrow’s News Room Street Fight.  Journos will participate in a charity dodge ball tournament to benefit the Jacksonville Police Athletic League, with special appearances by Jacksonville Jaguars players Eben Britton and Rashad Jennings , and Ron Burgundy himself (sorry, no Will Ferrell – it’ll be a local actor dressed up).

Street Fight co-organizer Melissa Ross, a WJCT-FM anchor and former WOFL anchor, says that “since no one can forget the trident in the ‘Anchorman’ fight scene, an authentic golden trident trophy will be awarded to the winning news team!” Read more

Jimmy Cromwell will take over as vice president and general manager at two Media General stations in Mississippi, WJTV in Jackson and WHLT in Hattiesburg, on September 19. Both stations are CBS affiliates.

The move marks a promotion for Cromwell, who has been WJTV’s director of revenue since 2009. Before that, he has held sales management positions at Birmingham’s WBMA, Atlanta’s WGCL and Jacksonville’s WJXX.

“Jimmy is a sales veteran and his familiarity with the region and our Jackson and Hattiesburg markets makes him well-suited to deliver for us,” John Cottingham, Media General’s Mid-South president and market leader.

Cromwell replaces Robert Romine, who starts as president and general manager of WSPA-WYCW in Spartanburg next week.

In a move that had been anticipated for weeks but is no less debilitating, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office removed police scanners from local newsrooms last week.

In announcing their decision to remove the scanners back in July, the police department cited their own budgetary considerations.  But many feel that it was done in an effort to limit the media’s access to police communications.

For the past several years, Jacksonville media outlets have rented scanners from the police department.  According to The Florida Times-Union, local news agencies would rent the $4,600 Motorola radios, with special encrypted frequencies, for about $70 each per month. Read more

Anchor-reporter Jessica Clark has returned to WTLV-WJXX, Gannett’s Jacksonville duopoly.

Clark first joined WTLV-WJXX (“First Coast News”) in 2005 but left last year to work for a local web startup–a job that allowed her to spend more time with her family. Clark’s return comes on the heels of longtime anchor Deanna Fene‘s departure from WTLV-WJXX’s weekend newscasts last month.

Clark is now anchoring First Coast News’ weekend evening newscasts as well as reporting from the stations’ “souther bureau.”

A graduate of the University of Florida, Clark worked in Columbus, GA and Fort Myers before joining WTLV-WJXX in 2005. [Via Florida News Center]