Stations in Mobile, AL, broke in to regular programming to cover the return of the disabled Carnival cruise ship Triumph.  The ship with 4,200 passengers and crew members on board was being towed into the cruise ship terminal in Mobile after a fire on board left the ship adrift and disabled.

The Triumph was expected into port by 11:00 p.m., but a towline being used to bring the ship into port by tugboat broke, delaying its return. By 2:30 p.m., the United States Coast Guard was reporting the towline had been repaired and the ship was, again, on its way.

WALA - The FOX affiliate went live throughout the morning and afternoon relying on anchors Joe Emer and  Bob Grip in the studio to report on the progress of the cruise ship. Candace Murphy was live on Dauphin Island interviewing the husband of a passenger and giving updates on the liner from a vantage point where she could see the ship. Chasity Bird spoke with Mobile Mayor Sam Jones on why the passengers were being bussed to New Orleans or Galveston, TX, and not put up in Mobile hotels. continued…

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Sinclair has already made management changes at at least two of its newly-acquired stations, WKRC in Cincinnati and WOAI in San Antonio. Broadcasting & Cable reports that WOAI general manager Jackie Rutledge worked her last day at the station on Friday, the same day Les Vann announced his WKRC exit.

Sinclair has also announced the acquisition of WHAM, the ABC affiliate in Rochester, from Newport Television for $54 million, bringing the total amount paid at closing to $459.7 million.

B&C reports John Seabers will be the new general manager at WOAI. Seabers is a former general manager of KABB-KMYS, Sinclair’s San Antonio duopoly. In January, he was promoted to group manager at the company.

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The stations being sold are KFOX in El Paso, WJAC in Johnstown, PA, KRXI in Reno and WTOV in Stubenville, OH.

The stations Cox is buying from Newport Television are WAWS and WTEV in Jacksonville and KOKI and KMYT in Tulsa.

“This simplified structure will enable CMG to capitalize on continued growth and synergies, while retaining its size financially,” president Doug Franklin said in a statement.  continued…

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Fox-affiliate WALA produced the station’s first HD broadcast for Saturday’s 9 p.m. news, anchored by Renee Dials and weathercaster Matt Barrentine. WALA’s newscasts have originated from a temporary set since last month.

NBC-affiliate WPMI also debuted its new set, designed by Devlin Design Group, over the weekend. The redesign included a compete overhaul of the weather system, as well as the addition of several monitors behind the anchor desk.

Video of both new HD studios is after the jump. continued…

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WALA’s newscasts have been broadcast from a temporary set (pictured) for the past several weeks while the new set is under construction, according to the station’s Facebook page.

“We’re building a brand new set at the moment,” WALA reporter Andrew Perez wrote. “We are temporarily using another set in the very back of our studio … should only be a few more weeks before we unveil the brand new set and Fox10 News in HD.”

WALA will be the third station in the market, after WEAR and WKRG, to produce HD newscasts. WPMI also has plans to upgrade to HD this Spring.

[h/t Newscast Studio]

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“We are shocked and deeply saddened with Bob’s passing,” Michael DiPasquale, vice president of operations for Newport Television, which owns WPMI, said in a statement.  “Bob was a valuable member of the Newport Television family but more importantly he was a wonderful person, an absolute gentleman and a great family man.”

A native of Alabama, Dunn worked as a sales executive for Clear Channel, and later Newport Television, before joining WPMI in 2011.

The cause of death has not been released and WPMI has yet to report on Dunn’s passing.

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For most people, St. Patrick’s Day means corned beef, green clothing, and plenty of Guinness. For former WPMI anchor Scott Walker, it means that a wildly popular YouTube video featuring him is passed around.

In 2006, Walker anchored a newscast that featured a story about a leprechaun sighting in the Crichton area of Mobile, AL. Video of the broadcast was uploaded to YouTube and it became a proto-”Bed Intruder” sensation, racking up tens of millions of views (video above).

Currently with New Orleans’ WDSU, Walker is now opening up about the experience and explaining the story behind the video that has inspired novelty t-shirts, various YouTube remixes, a Wikipedia entry, and even a “South Park” sketch. continued…

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Grandquest, who has been the NBC-affiliate’s vice president and general manager since 2008, was let go this week.  Multiple employees confirmed to Mobile’s Lagniappe Magazine that Grandquest had been shown the door.

During his time atop WPMI, Grandquest focused on new ways for the station to connect with viewers, especially through social media. His drive for new media innovation backfired in 2009 when a digital billboard displaying live updates from the station’s Twitter feed embarrassingly displayed the tweet “3 Accused of Gang Rape in Monroeville” alongside an image of anchors Greg Peterson and Kym Thurman, and chief meteorologist Derek Beasley.

A photo of the billboard, taken by an observant driver, made the internet rounds and popular social media blog Mashable labeled it an “Epic Fail.” continued…

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