Monthly Archive for March, 2006
Page 2 of 3
Not true, at least according to people in the know.
So ya’ll calm down and stop emailing me 
3/21 Update: Good morning. Now that I’ve woken up completely after reading what Newsblues published I have to say it again – 7 has NOT been sold to FOX. I can’t tell you who’s my sources, obviously, ’cause then I’ll have to kill you (ha!) but be assured they are solid people.
So relax, stop refreshing the site to see if I have posted something because my server is starting to cry. And that rumor person, you really really need to save some money and buy a life. You need it. Badly.
Now I’m off shopping and enjoying the nice weather today, and when I come back I’ll post some videos.
C ya
A while ago I was searching for a story 7 did a few months ago and one of the search results was the test URL of what appears to be the upcoming version of 7’s website.The footer of the page had the typical WorldNow copyright disclaimer so I know I’m not seeing things.
A few weeks ago someone over at BTVN found out WHDH (sister station to WSVN for the un-initiated) is testing a new site design. At the time I noticed the site had the navigation links at the top under the header, the width had increased and the stories were displayed in boxes. At first I thought it was weird their site looked a lot like what WorldNow and IBS were cranking out.
And now comming accross WSVN’s tweaked site it looks like soon there will be a new wsvn.com transformed into yet another local tv site that wants to be a portal. Yuck. Interestingly the blue sidebar and header used right now remain in the testbed, just the width of the site has changed, some video links appear and a bit different formatting of the stories themselves. The frontpage doesn’t show any content, yet.
7’s current site leaves a lot to be desired, but to me it definitly doesn’t deserve the portal wanna-be-everything treatment. Its biggest flaw is not having video and the infrequent, sometimes non-existent updates. What these so called cyber-journalists do all day I don’t know. But that’s for another rant.
Anyone familiar with the WorldNow design, or any of the templated, outsourced crap used by WPLG and WTVJ knows what’s about to follow. A new overstuffed site full of ads and a site that wants to be your news source, and weather source, buy a new car source, find a new job source etc. Simplicity gone in favor of clutter.
But at least they’ll have video with most stories. And probably end live streaming.
Yahoo! has added “Local News” to their news section. If you are logged in and have the correct ZIP code in your profile you’ll see news for your area. Otherwise you can go directly to a location-specific URL and see the news there.
Right now the localtion-specific URL for Miami has aggregated headlines from the websites of the Miami Herald, WTVJ, WFOR, WPLG, Sun Sentinel, The Miami New Times and South Florida Business Journal.
WSVN is missing in action, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that their website has no RSS feed which is what Yahoo! Local News Uses to get the news headlines.
Localtion specific URL for Miami
via Slashdot
A tipster says WSVN is getting a new 7Skyforce chopper this week that will be the fastest in Miami. It will be a Bell 407 Jet Ranger.
I think currently they fly a Bell 206 Jetranger.
Update: anonimous tipster sent more info regarding the new chopper. It will be a a Bell long-ranger 407 matching what WTVJ and WFOR are leasing right now with 170mph top speed. WPLG’s chopper tops at 110-130mph.
Skyforce won’t have an HD gyro-camera unfortunately, although it’s a new one, the FLIR UltraMedia III, with 360x zoom, HD upgradeable. The other stations use FLIR UltraMedia IIs with 72x zoom.
Early yesterday morning WPLG’s pilot of Sky10 Jose Para died in an accident while piloting a helicopter near the town of Patterson, LA. There were 3 other people on board, one died, two were injured. The chopper was owned by a company called Rotorcraft. No information yet on what caused the crash
As previously told by several insiders Wendy Corona was leaving WPLG for a job in Houston, at the other Post-Newsweek owned station KPRC. And that Kristy Krueger was going to be moved to weekday mornings in Corona’s place.
Now the Miami Herald is confirming that Kristy Krueger is indeed moving to weekday mornings after Wendy Corona leaves WPLG.
Laurie Jennings will be anchoring all of the early evening newscasts along with Dwight Lauderdale at 5p, 6p and 11p. And with Matt Lorch at 5:30p.
I got stuck watching Nanny911, waiting for Battlestar Galactica time, and noticed 7’s changed the teasers for the 10pm newscast again. They do that about every 4 months or so.
Nice writeup from the Wall Street Journal Online on how paparazzi and celebs play together, make money, and pretend that all the news are real. Gwineth’s photos right after birth publiesh in Us Weekly? Staged. Angelina at the park with her son? Staged.
They are hiring their own photographers to capture supposedly private rendezvous, tipping off reporters to their whereabouts and developing relationships of mutual back-scratching with magazine editors.
So next time you see the latest celeb gossip crap on the so called local news, delivered to you as if it’s so important that it can’t wait untill the end of the newscast, take a deep breath and remember it’s just celeb-controlled bullshit and you got duped to stick around and have yourself counted as a Nielsen eyeball.
WSJ – Caught in the act!
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