Harrisburg, PA, FOX affiliate WPMT is shifting the start time and adding an hour to its evening news line up.

The station said it’s adding a 4:00 and a 5:00 p.m. newscast beginning August 5. The station currently airs one hour of news at 6:00 p.m. Starting September 9, that hour will be filled with back-to-back episodes of “Two and a Half Men.”

“We have always been laser-focused on providing a reason and a viewer benefit when we schedule our newscasts,” said WPMT news director David Silverstein. “From the launch of FOX43 NEWS AT 10:00, we have reached out to meet an audience that wants local news at non-traditional times.”

[TVNewsCheck]

WPMT‘s morning news will begin an hour earlier. The Harrisburg, PA, FOX affiliate has announced they are expanding their morning news to five hours by starting at 4:00 a.m beginning Wednesday. The show will now run from 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. weekdays.

News director David Silverstein told TVNewscheck, “Five hours may sound like a long time. But you must keep in mind that everybody has a different schedule in the morning. When you have a five hour spread of local news, as we now do, you’re the only station able to serve Pennsylvanians no matter what time their day starts.”

The morning newscast will feature the same anchor line up, with anchor Courtney Laydon, meteorologist Jeff Jumper and traffic reporter Chris Garrett.

Hank Allen (pictured) has been promoted to chief meteorologist at WGNO, the ABC affiliate in New Orleans. Allen’s new role is effective January 1.

“Hank has been an integral part of our weather team. Hank doesn’t scare viewers with doomsday weather forecasts,” news director Rick Erbach said in a statement. “He’s a straight shooter and he does what it takes to calmly walk viewers through severe weather events.”

Allen, who joined the station in 2007, will continue in his role as the meteorologist for the morning and 11 a.m. newscasts. He replaces Bruce Katz, who left WGNO for rival WVUE last month.

WGNO also announced the hire of meteorologist Jeff Robbins. Robbins moves to New Orleans from Harrisburg, Pa., where he worked at Fox affiliate WPMT. He begins December 2 as the meteorologist for “News with a Twist,” WGNO’s 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, and the 10 p.m. newscast. Read more

Maryellen Pann has been promoted to chief meteorologist at WPMT, the Fox affiliate in Harrisburg-Lancaster, Penn.

Pann has worked as a meteorologist at WPMT since 1990, when she began as the station’s weekend weathercaster. She handles the forecasts on the 6, 6:30, 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts.

Pann received her certificate in meteorology from Mississippi State University. She has also worked at WBFF in Baltimore and WMDT in Salisbury, Md. [TVNewsCheck]

David Silverstein has been named news director for WPMT, the Harrisburg FOX affiliate, TVSpy has confirmed.

According to his LinkedIn page, Silverstein comes from the Pentagon Channel.  Previously, he was news director at WMAR in Baltimore and was a member of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.

James DePury has been named news director at WBRE, the NBC-affiliate in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Nexstar Broadcasting announced today.

DePury was most recently the 11 p.m. producer at WGAL, the NBC-affiliate in Lancaster, PA. Prior to that, he was news director at WPMT, the Fox-affiliate in the same market.

“He brings a creative and fresh approach to our operations, intimate knowledge of the region, the state of Pennsylvania and paramount focus to the concerns and issues our viewers face every day,” WBRE VP-GM Robert Bee said in a statement. Read more

Starting January 9, WPMT will add a 6 p.m. newscast to the programming lineup, the Harrisburg Fox-affiliate announced today.

“At Fox43 News, we are all about choice,” WPMT news director Chris Holden said in a statement. “We want to give viewers the choice to get the news when it fits their schedule.”

The station currently has a 6:30 p.m. newscast anchored by Evan Forrester and Heather Warner. The pair will also anchor the 6 p.m. newscast when it debuts next year.

The new newscast will compete in the 6 p.m. hour with NBC-affiliate WGAL, CBS-affiliate WHP and ABC-affiliate WHTM, each of which broadcasts news in that timeslot.

Robert Furlong has been named vice president and general manager of Tribune’s WPMT, a Fox-affiliate in Harrisburg, PA.

“Bob has the talent and experience we need to achieve continued success in Harrisburg,” said Nils Larsen, Tribune Broadcasting’s CEO, in announcing the move. “He’s been successful at growing ratings and revenues against tough competition, he understands the importance of developing a strong online and mobile presence, and he knows the vital role that WPMT-TV plays in the community.”

Furlong comes to WPMT from VCI Solutions, a provider of software to the cable and broadcast TV industries, where he has served as CEO and president since last spring. Before joining VCI, Furlong held the VP-GM post at a handful of stations across the country, including KUTP in Phoenix and WCGV in Milwaukee.

“WPMT has been expanding news, growing ratings and constantly looking for new ways of serving its viewers, advertisers and the community,” Furlong said in a press release. “There is a lot of opportunity to build on this very solid foundation—-I am looking forward to leading this talented group of broadcasters.”

Tribune announced this week that Larry Delia has been named vice president and general manager of WXIN-WTTV, the company’s Indianapolis duopoly.

Delia has been part of Tribune Broadcasting since 2002. He worked as VP-GM of the company’s New Orleans duopoly, WGNO-WNOL, from 2002-08, and has held the same position at Harrisburg’s WPMT since ’08.

“Larry is a talented, innovative executive who has great experience managing television duopolies,” said Jerry Kersting, Tribune Broadcasting’s president, in announcing the promotion.

Delia, who said that he’s “really proud of the success we’ve enjoyed in Harrisburg,” began his career as an account executive and gradually climbed the ranks of the sales team at Hartford’s WTIC. He served as general manager of WVNY in Burlington, VT for four years before becoming a station boss with Tribune.