LIN Media‘s current retrans agreement with DISH Network expires at midnight on Friday and the company is ready to pull 27 of its stations off of the satellite service, just at the FCC plans to review the rules governing carriage negotiations.

The showdown is just the latest in a long line of recent disputes between station owners and service providers as both try to affirm their standing in an ever-evolving media landscape.

“Our highly rated television stations are important assets to our local communities and it is unfortunate that DISH does not recognize their fair market value,” said Vincent Sadusky, LIN’s president and CEO, in a statement.

According to DISH, LIN is asking for “more than a 140 percent rate hike.”  With the deadline looming, the two parties are continuing negotiations and both sides say that they’re hopeful that a middle ground can be reached by Friday.

The LIN-DISH dispute comes at a particularly significant time for retrans negotiations since the FCC is set to examine the rules governing the relationship between broadcasters and cable/satellite companies this week. Read more

Danielle North has been named co-anchor of WPRI’s weekday morning newscast.

The Providence CBS-affiliate announced today that North, who had previously been anchoring the weekend morning newscast, would join Patrick Little at the “Eyewitness News This Morning” anchor desk.

“Danielle brings a great combination of credibility, experience and enthusiasm to mornings,” said Joe Abouzeid, WPRI’s news director.

North will also host the station’s 8 a.m. lifestyle show, “The Rhode Show,” alongside Little.

North and Little actually go way back.  They both worked at WMUR in Manchester, NH before North left to join WPRI in 1999.

Days after Providence’s WPRI bid farewell to retiring anchor Karen Adams, the CBS-affiliate is welcoming a new anchor to its team. WPRI announced today that Susan Roberts will join Mike Montecalvo at the anchor desk for the station’s 5, 6, and 11 p.m. newscasts.

Roberts comes to WPRI from CBS Newspath, where she worked as a D.C.-based correspondent. She has provided reports to shows across CBS’s news lineup, including “The Early Show” and the “CBS Evening News.”

Before joining CBS, Roberts was an anchor for D.C.’s WJLA. She is a graduate of Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana and carved out her career at stations throughout the south, including KATV in Little Rock and News Orleans stations WWL and WDSU.

She has twice been nominated for an Emmy and her reporting on the 9-11 attacks led to a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for WJLA. Her first day with WPRI will be January 17.

Video of Roberts reporting for CBS after the jump… Read more

Veteran anchor Karen Adams bid farewell to WPRI last week after nearly 22 years with the Providence CBS-affiliate.

“Rhode Island is where I call home, and I have been fortunate that our Eyewitness News viewers have allowed me into their homes every evening,” she said in December, announcing her retirement.  Adams, 55, anchored WPRI’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.

WPRI anchor Karen Adams has decided to step away from TV news after a decorated 35-year career in broadcasting.

“You don’t want to stay at the dance too long,” Adams, 55, told The Providence Journal about her decision to retire.

WPRI‘s news director Joe Abouzeid announced Adams’ retirement on Friday, saying that her final broadcast will be December 30.  Adams has been with the Providence CBS-affiliate for nearly 22 years, anchoring the station’s 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts.

“Karen is a Rhode Island icon who has tremendous ties to the community,” Jay Howell, general manager of WPRI and its sister station WNAC, said.  “While we will miss her here at the stations, I know that Karen is excited to continue on with her community involvement, and we all wish her much continued success.”

“Rhode Island is where I call home, and I have been fortunate that our Eyewitness News viewers have allowed me into their homes every evening,” Adams said. Read more