Jessica Sanchez, the WKMG traffic reporter who was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma briefly returned to the Orlando CBS affiliate’s morning show where she showed off her newly shaved head.

“I bawled my eyes out that night,” Sanchez said of the night she had her head shaved. “And I woke up the next morning with these swollen eyes and this bald head and I looked like Sloth from ‘The Goonies.’”

Before her live visit to the set, the station did a short package showing Sanchez getting her head shaved due to the effects of chemotherapy treatment she’s undergoing. She said on her blog she will undergo six chemo treatments in all. Read more

Jessica Sanchez, traffic reporter for Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG, has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

On her blog “Let’s Be Honest,” Sanchez told viewers, “What I thought was a bad case of pneumonia turned out to be a mass on my right lung. It was filling my lung and the area around my heart with fluid, leaving me breathless and sending me into coughing fits that caused people to turn away in disgust. I don’t blame them. Even I was grossing myself out!”

Skip Valet, WKMG general manager told the Orlando Sentinel, “WKMG’s  thoughts and prayers are focused on Jessica’s health and recovery. Read more

Former Orlando anchor Jacqueline London is joining WCAU, the NBC-owned station in Philadelphia.

London spent 10 years at Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG before her departure in 2010. She will begin later this month as an anchor and reporter at WCAU.

“Jacqueline is a skilled journalist and an engaging anchor, and we look forward to welcoming her to the NBC10 team,” WCAU vice president of news Anzio Williams said in announcing the hire.

WKMG, the Orlando CBS affiliate, has hired Justin Warmoth as a reporter and mobile journalist.

The last name may sound familiar to Orlando viewers. Justin’s father, Greg Warmoth is the anchor for Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV.

The elder Warmoth, Greg, told the Orlando Sentinel with his fatherly coaching, his son is a natural. “I’ve told him, ‘You’re so much better than I was in terms of his voice, look and confidence,” Greg said. “He played in four straight college world series. He doesn’t get nervous.” Read more

After the video of WKMG traffic reporter Jessica Sanchez deflecting a video bomber with questions about STDs went viral, TVSpy was curious how the management at the Orlando CBS affiliate viewed the way the situation was handled on-air.

“One of the challenges of live television is that the unexpected can and does happen,” Skip Valet vice president and general manager of WKMG told TVSpy. “We are continually assessing how to best balance our reporting when confronted with these types of interruptions.”

The situation begs the question is there a line that shouldn’t be crossed when dealing with intrusions during live reports? It’s quite a leap from possibly being drunk to being identified as having an STD, on live television. You can see the video of the interaction after the jump and judge for yourself.

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A word to the wise: do not mess with WKMG reporter Jessica Sanchez when she’s on the air.

Sanchez was reporting live from Bourbon Street in New Orleans ahead of the Super Bowl when a woman interrupted her, walking into her shot and yelling at the camera. Sanchez quickly turned the tables on the crasher: “We were just talking about the STD rate that’s going on here. So how long have you had an STD?” Sanchez asked her (video above).

“I don’t have an STD,” the woman answered. “Oh, then why did you want to do an interview?” Sanchez asked.

The woman retreated fairly quickly and Sanchez returned to her report.

“Anyway, so I’ve been taking care of that in my own little way,” Sanchez said. “You can see what I’ve been having to deal with out here.”

Broadcasting & Cable is reporting Post-Newsweek has inked a deal with ABC Owned Television Stations Group to air the Live Well Network on Post-Newsweek stations WPLG, the ABC affiliate for Miami and WKMG, the CBS affiliate for Orlando.  The Live Well Network is a digital channel airing lifestyle programs.

“The Live Well Network has shown great growth since launching and we have seen how viewers and advertisers are drawn to its creative, original programming,” Post-Newsweek president and chief executive officer Emily Barr said. “We are delighted to share Live Well with our viewers in Orlando and Miami.”

Barr co-founded Live Well Network while she was president and general manager of WLS, the ABC owned station in Chicago.

The Live Well Network will begin airing on the stations in the Spring and will bring the total U.S. clearance for the network to 70 percent.

Anthony DiLorenzo‘s move to Orlando’s ABC affiliate WFTV as a general assignment reporter brings him closer to his fiancee, Kala Rama. But they won’t get too close. Rama is a reporter at the rival CBS affiliate WKMG.

“Kala and I have been working hard on getting into the same city for two years,” DiLorenzo told the Orlando Sentinel. We got engaged this past September, so we’re thrilled to finally be able to work together in Orlando — even though we’re friendly competitors now.”

“Anthony often vacations in Florida and knows this news market well,” Rama told the Sentinel. “He is ambitious and aggressive, so he will fit in well. I am so excited to finally be living in the same city as my best friend.”

DiLorenzo, who has been working for the Hartford, CT FOX affiliate since 2010 as a general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor, starts at WFTV on Wednesday January 2.

Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG presented its much-hyped report of “uncovered evidence” in the case against Casey Anthony Tuesday night.

The piece was reported by Tony Pipitone, a veteran investigative reporter who has covered the Anthony story for WKMG since it broke. Pipitone’s report focuses on computer evidence “showing Anthony researched how to kill with poison and suffocation on the same on the same afternoon her daughter, Caylee, was killed by poison and suffocation.” Anthony was found not guilty in June 2011.

The Orlando Sentinel‘s Hal Boedeker, who saw the report before it aired Tuesday night, reports Pipitone’s investigation began while he was reading Jose Baez‘s book over the summer. Boedeker calls the report a “bombshell”:

In reporting, the glory is in the details, and Pipitone supplies them. Pipitone, one of the best reporters in town, reminds you that investigative reporting requires digging. Read more

Today is the one-year anniversary of Casey Anthony‘s acquittal in the death of her daughter, Caylee. Anthony’s attorney, Jose Baez, has just released a book about the case, which was the subject of intense coverage in the Orlando market. The Orlando Sentinel‘s Hal Boedeker breaks down the details:

Early in the book, he blasts WFTV-Channel 9 as “the worst tabloid channel” and “a channel so inflammatory it was just a notch below ‘Nancy Grace.’”

Baez rips WKMG-Channel 6’s Tony Pipitone for being presumptuous in suggesting that Baez work on an insanity defense for Anthony. Baez blasts Michelle Meredith of WESH-Channel 2 for asking “a ridiculous and inflammatory question.” Read more