WVBT - TVSpy

A Vice Presidential Announcement From Norfolk

Merrill Knox — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:24:17 +0000

Shortly before 9:30amET this morning from the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, VA, Mitt Romney introduced Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

NBC-affiliate WAVY, CBS-affiliate WTKR and ABC-affiliate WVEC all elected to produce their own coverage instead of airing national coverage produced by their respective affiliated networks.

On WTKR, Juliet Bickford anchored, with Laurie Simmons live from the campaign rally. On WVEC, Mike Gooding helmed coverage from the USS Wisconsin. David Culver anchored coverage on NBC-affiliate WAVY, with Andy Fox at the announcement site. continued…

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Navy Jet Crash News Breaks During Noon Newscasts in Hampton Roads

Merrill Knox — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:52:59 +0000

News of an F-18 Navy jet crash in Virginia Beach broke during the noon newscasts in Hampton Roads today.

WVEC anchors LaSalle Blanks and Vanessa Coria was the first to report the news at 12:15 p.m. WAVY and WTKR both followed at 12:17 p.m.

“There may be a huge breaking news story happening in Virginia Beach right now,” WTKR anchor Blaine Stewart said. All three stations have remained in wall-to-wall coverage throughout the afternoon. continued…

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LIN Reaches Retrans Deal with Cox, Averting Blackout

Andrew Gauthier — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:04:32 +0000

LIN Media and Cox Communications reached a new retrans agreement on Wednesday, avoiding a blackout of LIN stations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, and Alabama.

The previous retrans deal was set to expire at midnight on Wednesday.

“We are pleased to inform you that we have reached a contract with Cox,” LIN announced in a statement posted on the websites of stations affected by the negotiations. “We appreciate your tremendous support throughout these negotiations.” continued…

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LIN Stations Restored For Mediacom Subscribers

Merrill Knox — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:26:47 +0000

After nearly six weeks, Mediacom customers have access to nine LIN Media-owned stations that have been dark while the two parties negotiate their retransmission agreement.

The stations were restored late Friday night after a deal was struck. Mediacom and LIN Media have been in ongoing negotiations since August 31, but terms of the final deal were not disclosed.

The stations affected were WALA-WFNA in Mobile, WOOD-WOTV in Grand Rapids, WANE in Fort Wayne, WLUK in Green Bay, WTHI in Terre Haute and WLFI in Layfayette, IN, and WAVY and WVBT, both in in Norfolk, VA.

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In Hampton Roads, 25% Of Local News Stories Focus on Crime, Old Dominion Study Says

Merrill Knox — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:33:17 +0000

An Old Dominion University study found that, at least in one local news market, crime pays. An analysis four stations in Hampton Roads, Virginia shows that 25.7 percent of stories focus on crime in some form.

For the study, Old Dominion analyzed 1,132 stories from the weekday evening newscasts on the four major network-affiliated stations in the Hampton Roads, Virginia market: CBS-affiliate WTKR, NBC-affiliate WAVY, ABC-affiliate WVEC and Fox-affiliate WVBT. The stories were all from January 3-31 of this year, a time period chosen because it has no major political events that could skew the results of the study.

Crime reports were divided into three categories: violent crime, white-collar crime and general crime. Of the three, general crime was the highest, with 149 stories; violent crime was next, with 125, followed by white-collar crime with 17. continued…

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A Month Later, Little Progress in LIN-Mediacom Stalemate

Merrill Knox — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:26:31 +0000

Tomorrow marks one month since LIN-owned stations in seven markets went dark for Mediacom subscribers, and the stalemate is showing no signs of progress.

A uniform statement on the LIN-owned stations’ sites says negotiations are ongoing. “Unfortunately, we do not know if, or when, we will reach an agreement,” the statement, which has not been changed all month, reads. “In the meantime, we hope you will continue supporting local television and watch us through alternative means.”

According to Broadcasting & Cable, Mediacom sent a letter to the FCC this week, asking their help in preventing blackouts during retransmission disputes. The FCC has previously claimed they have no authority regarding the issue. continued…

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LIN Stations Go Dark for Mediacom Subscribers

Merrill Knox — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:33:14 +0000

As of 5 p.m.ET yesterday night, LIN Media-owned stations went dark for customers who have Mediacom Cable service, as the two parties failed to renegotiate a retransmission agreement.

“Without fair and equitable treatment, local TV stations will not be able to continue to provide top quality news, sports, entertainment, and other local programming that is most important to you,” a statement on the LIN Media website reads.

The stations affected are WALA-WFNA in Mobile, WOOD-WOTV in Grand Rapids, WANE in Fort Wayne, WLUK in Green Bay, WTHI in Terre Haute and WLFI in Layfayette, IN. LIN-owned stations WAVY and WVBT — both in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia — will remain on the air for another week, the result of a contract extension granted to Mediacom so affected viewers can still receive local news coverage of Hurricane Irene’s aftermath. continued…

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Jim Gilchriest Set to Become News Director of WAVY-WVBT

Andrew Gauthier — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:45:17 +0000

Jim Gilchriest, who has served as news director for Belo’s KTVB since 2007, is set to join WAVY-WVBT, a LIN Media duopoly serving the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.

A WAVY-WVBT official confirmed the move to TVSpy, saying that there would be an official announcement in mid-July when Gilchriest joins the station.

During his time in Boise, Gilchriest led KTVB to several top honors, including a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in 2010.

He is replacing April Samp, who left WAVY-WVBT in May after serving as news director for less than a year. continued…

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LIN Media Warns Viewers of Potential COX Blackout

Andrew Gauthier — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:32:28 +0000

LIN Media stations along the east coast are warning viewers of a potential blackout this week if their parent company cannot reach a new retrans agreement with COX Communications. LIN’s current carriage deal with COX expires at midnight on March 31st.

“Please know that we are working hard to reach a new agreement with COX so you will not lose your favorite programming,” reads a statement from LIN that has been posted on the websites of affected stations. “If we do not reach an agreement, by law, COX cannot carry our television stations on its cable system.”

LIN’s statement goes on to suggest that, in the event of a blackout, viewers switch to a competing pay-TV provider.

Here’s a list of the stations that could go dark this week… continued…

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