Terre Haute NBC affiliate WTWO was knocked off the air last night by a severe lightning strike, according to a statement on the station’s website.

The station returned to the air around 11 a.m. Tuesday after being out for approximately 17 hours. WTWO directed viewers to sister station WAWV, the ABC affiliate in Terre Haute, during the signal disruption.

“WTWO’s signal has now been repaired. Thank you for your patience after we suffered a lightening strike yesterday,” the station wrote on Facebook. [h/t NewsBlues]

Don Osika has been named president and general manager of WISE, Granite Broadcasting’s NBC affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind.

It is a return to Indiana for Osika, who began his career at WTWO in Terre Haute. He has been the general sales manager for KSEE, the NBC affiliate in Fresno, since 2010. Prior to that, he was director of sales at WCIA in Champaign, Ill.

“Don Osika will provide our outstanding team in Ft. Wayne with tremendous leadership, tireless dedication, and an unmatched commitment to community involvement,” Granite COO Duane Lammers said in a statement.

WISE also provides various services for WPTA, the ABC affiliate in Fort Wayne.

Bob Walters is out as news director of WEHT-WTVW in Evansville.

Walters, who had been with WTVW since 2000, was promoted to news director of both stations last year after Nexstar Broadcasting acquired WEHT and merged its operations with WTVW.  His departure was first reported this week by Jake’s DTV Blog.

WEHT-WTVW production manager John Payne was also let go by Nexstar, and he has since been replaced by Jeremy Moore from WTWO, the company’s NBC-affiliate in Terre Haute. Read more

Ken Bolinger, a master control operator who was recently fired by WTWO in Terre Haute, IN, was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly opened fire at the station around 4 a.m. Saturday.

Bolinger, 24, was taken into custody Saturday afternoon after police responded to reports of gunfire at the station. According to his Facebook page, Bolinger, who goes by his middle name Trey, worked as master control operator at WTWO from June 21, 2011 to March 26, 2012.

He was apparently terminated from his job for bringing a gun to work. Read more

Several local stations have won Sigma Delta Chi awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Awards were given to a small-market and large-market station in five categories — breaking news coverage, documentaries, feature reporting, investigative reporting and public service in television journalism.

Large market winners were WISH in Indianapolis, KLAS in Las Vegas, News 12 Westchester, KPHO in Phoenix and WIVB in Buffalo. Small market station winners were WGXA in Macon, GA, KOMU in Columbia, KCRG in Cedar Rapids, WVUE in New Orleans and WTWO in Terre Haute, IN.

A full list of local news winners is after the jump. Read more

It just wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without someone proposing on-air. In this case, that someone was a WTWO production assistant named Zach, who popped the question to his girlfriend during the Terre Haute NBC-affiliate’s late newscast on Tuesday.