Archive for the 'WTVJ Sale' Category

Formal Petition Against WTVJ Sale Filed

This from the Save WTVJ Blog

Miami attorney JB Harris announced today that he would file a formal petition with the FCC to stop the proposed sale of Miami television station WTVJ (NBC6) by owner NBC Universal to rival Post-Newsweek Stations, which owns and operates Miami’s WPLG (Channel 10).

The petition is being filed on behalf of a Coalition of Concerned Citizens for Competition and Fairness in Broadcast Journalism, headed by William McCormick, former President of the Fort Lauderdale NAACP.

The petition is 14 pages long!

I guess when someone said there was a grassroots effort to stop the merger they were not kidding.

We wish them success.

Press release for petition filing

Dan Gelber’s letter to the FCC

Rep. Dan Gelber, of Miami is on WTVJ’s side! He recently posted on his blog, a copy of the letter he wrote to the FCC, regarding the NBC6/PostNewsweek buy. You can read the full letter, here.

 

“Today, I forwarded my concerns to the FCC regarding the proposed purchase by WPLG Channel 10 of their rival WTVJ-NBC 6. While I appreciate that Florida’s tanking economy can impact all businesses –including media – the public’s interest in a vital and diverse press must be taken into account. As newspapers downsize, and television stations merge, the losers will be our citizens who will be shortchanged the critical information that informs and empowers them. Jefferson was right, “Information is the currency of Democracy.”

CBS4 Evening Executive Producer Resigns

Ozzie Martinez, the evening executive producer at CBS4, is resigning. He has been with WFOR for 5 years, and previously worked as an executive producer at WSVN. His last day is today, August 8th. No word if executive producer Stephanie Linton, will move up from the AM slot to the PM producing slot.
/Thank you, to all the people who left tips!/

update 3:25pm: A tipster says this story has two legs. They claim CBS4 was trying to hunt down the person who emailed Herald columnist Joan Fleischman about Ted Scouten’s phony homeless guy story in which a guy pretended to be homeless and got help from CBS4 Neighbors4Neighbors and a radio station before bing found out (see:CBS4 Dupe By Fake Homeless Man) And that management suspected Ozzie Martinez was the one who leaked it so they let him go telling employees he left to “travel”.

Update: This story doesn’t really add up since according to the official story the radio station were the ones who originally found out the guy was faking being homeless after a police officer and family called them. Then HOT105 called WFOR. It appears it wasn’t a super duper secret that no body was aware of so anyone at the radio station, CBS4 or elsewhere could have sent the info to the Herald.

If you know this to be false, i ask you kindly to e-mail me. Thank you!

update: the last part of this story about Ozzie being fired appears to be false. I’d like to apologize to Ozzie for the mishap it wasn’t intentional. No harm meant.

It appears my update yesterday is what actually happened and makes the most sense and I realised it better once I paid better attention to the facts.

Save WTVJ the Blog

Someone, I presume a viewer from reading the first post, has created a blog called “Save WTVJ“. It pretty much says what many have said in the comments here that are against the deal going trough, listing all the reasons on why the FCC should reject Post-Newsweek’s buy of NBC6.

So far the Miami Herald has come against the deal. And even WTVJ partner Sun Sentinel printed reader comments who opposition to the deal. Others have posted in forums and other sites and encouraged viewers to let the FCC know.

As someone once said - But will it work? We’ll find out soon enough

*Including Spanish Stations For WTVJ Sale Approval

I’ve been wondering about something for a while.

Call me crazy but why are Spanish stations used to support the approval of the WTVJ sale?

If the public airwaves are supposed to serve the public, ie taxpayers, how is including a station that broadcasts in a foreign language serving the public interest?

And yes Spanish is a foreign language so don’t go about arguing with me how it’s not. When you go to get a visa at consulate abroad, such as student, work, or even a visitor visa a decent command of the English language is expected from you. I know, been there done it. English is also a requirement in the citizenship test.

And yes I know public interest bla bla you’re on crack. I haven’t smoked anything, really, I know it’s all bullshit, business and all about making money for the rich white guys to buy their hookers and everything but still. Just wondering, or ranting as it is by now.

This rant of course assumes there will be no news on WTVJ once, or if, it merges with WPLG. So there are a lot of unknowns still at play.

I don’t particularly get my news from local tv stations anymore even for someone with a blog like this, but many other people do. It would be elitist to assume everyone wakes up in the morning and checks RSS feeds and what not.

Even though the polls say majority of people think the media isn’t honest and the daily sludge that passes as news is anything but I’d like to think there is still some redeeming quality to local news in general.

Still. The more I think about it the more I’m starting to believe the removal of an English language newscast, if it should be done, should be considered on fair terms.

Based on data from english language stations only since viewers of Channel 6, or most of them, probably do not speak Spanish so Spanish stations can’t really be considered a choise.

But then WTVJ wouldn’t be 6th overall. On many days WTVJ’s news finish 3rd and 4th at 11pm and lead in the morning. Assuming ratings data is correct and don’t even get me started on flawed ratings.

So if we were to accept that the newscast is the most important part of the station then using sign-on to sign-off ratings data and include Spanish stations is another way to adjust the numbers to suit the goal. Kind of like car dealers.

And FYI, I’m not anti anything, I just feel like there’s an apples and oranges thing going on

* My views are in constant state of flux in a space where gravity and normal laws don’t apply. So if you feel they’re wrong do tell why and why I should change them

Life after WTVJ; Future For On-Air Talent

Counting the WTVJ on-air talent only, NBC6 gives a paycheck to about 30 anchors/reporters. Miami is not a TV market that’s hiring. So, when NBC6 news closes its doors, where will the employees go?

In a recent station meeting, NBC6 GM informed the anchors that they can all look for other jobs within NBC, without violating their contracts. Here is what some of the on-air talent at WTVJ is planning to do. Tony Segreto is considering retirement. Inside sources tell me that Bob Mayer has asked for early retirement, although no one knows what answer he got. It seems certain that both Tony and Bob’s last on-air talent job will be at WTVJ. Paul Deanno is looking for a new job, but like Joel Connible, is under brand-new contract. If Post Newsweek doesn’t want them, they will get a fat check in the mail for two years of anchor work, so I doubt they’re really loosing sleep over what happens. Long time WTVJer, Kelly Craig, is considering going into radio, depending on what happens with this. She has been filling in on some morning radio show. 

Everyone is just waiting to hear what Post Newsweek plans to do, and that uncertainty has everyone at WTVJ on edge.  When this is all over, I don’t think people will go to other stations in town, since no one is hiring. There are a lot of reporters at NBC6  that just don’t have the experience and I don’t think other stations would want to hire them… i.e. Gray Hall, Tisha Lewis, Ian Wood. This is already been dragged out. I say, shame on Post-Newsweek! At least tell the employees of WTVJ that you plan to fire them! Most have families, kids, and need to start to make plans. The earlier, the better! There is really no need for you to keep everyone wondering, and causing this panic. If I worked at WTVJ, I would just want to THE TRUTH.  Some confirmation would be nice.  

 

Well, I’m going to stop this (turning into a rant). Anyone agree with me here?

WTVJ Public Notice

Since Monday of this week, WTVJ’s “South Florida Nightly News” has been ending about four minutes early in order to show a four minute long ”WTVJ Public Notice.” 

“On July 25, 2008, an application was filed for FCC consent to assign from NBC Telemundo License Co. to Post-Newsweek Stations, Florida, Inc., the broadcast licenses for Television Broadcast Station WTVJ and WTVJ-DT, Miami Florida, which operates on channels 6 and 31 and Televisions Translator W58BU, Hallandale, Florida, which operates on channels 58 with an effective radiated power of 90.8 kilowatts. A copy of the application and reltaed material is on file for public inspacetion at NBC6, 150000 SW 27th Street, Miramar, FL 33027.”

It then goes on to list the “Attributable parties holding 10 percent or more of the Assignor.”  Finally, it then goes on to list about 100 “officers and directors of these entities.”

I’m not really going to take the time to write out the next million parts, but you can click the image below to read all of it from the screen shots. Just a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo I’m sure the FCC is making them air.

WTVJ Public Notice

A quick note about the image. When you click it, it should bring you to a separate screen that will allow you to enlarge the image and read it better. If it does not, simply refresh the page. That should fix the problem.

Herald: TV Duopoly is a Bad Idea; Write the FCC

Herald columnist Fred Grimm’s column from yesterday pretty much tells the public what the merger between WTVJ and WPLG means.

Two of South Florida’s blood rivals, competitors for five decades in the cage fighting called the evening news, move into the same building, come under the same management, answer to the same owner and cut 100, maybe 200 jobs.

Grimm also correctly points out that the only way the FCC can approve the deal and follow their own rules is if it takes into account WLTV Univision 23 and WSCV Telemundo 51 which then pushes WTVJ to 6th in overall ratings.

He also correctly states that the ratings data will probably have to be cherry picked, since there are time slots when WTVJ does rank 3rd and 4th, at least their newscasts which arguably is the most important thing the station does.

You can tell the FCC what you think.

The short form for a few sentences or paragraphs

Or the long form for more than a few paragraphs

NBC Lost Money on WTVJ Deal

TVNewsday points to an FCC filing seeking approval for the sale of WTVJ to Post-Newsweek, which shows that the station was sold for $205 million. Way below the estimated $350 million.

Last time WTVJ was sold it was to NBC in 1987 when the network acquired it for $270 million dollars cash.

update:
here’s the filing on the FCC website. Documents require PDF reader
There are some redacted parts. Mainly the employee matters, NBC affiliation

/hat tip Bill/

WTVJ Sale: Video of the announcement from WTVJ and WPLG

WTVJ’s Bob Mayer announcing it during South Florida Today along with a look back at WTVJ’s history

WPLG’s announcement

Former WTVJ Employee’s Take on WTVJ Sale

Chez Pazienza best known on the internets as the CNN producer fired for blogging without CNN’s permission has written a rather long and quite scathing commentary on who and what caused WTVJ to fail and the station’s sale to Post-Newsweek.

Chez is a South Florida native and worked in various capacities at WSVN, WPLG and WTVJ until 2000.

If you’ve read DeusExMalcontent you know when it comes to criticizing the media, or anything, he’s not holding back. Below some excerpts. You can read Into Thin Air yourself here

On the deal:

This is a business deal in every possible connotation, and with the harsh reality of that firmly in mind, the only logical and cost-effective move WPLG’s management has is to completely dismantle WTVJ’s newsroom and sell syndicated programming to advertisers in the space where the station’s newscasts once ran.

This makes the most sense. It’s what’s most likely to happen. And it’s fucking criminal.

On WTVJ’s demise

When I left WTVJ to move to Los Angeles in 2000, the entire organization was preparing to relocate to a new state-of-the-art facility that would put it leaps and bounds ahead of its competitors in terms of technology. The future didn’t just look bright for the station, which was consistently placing at or near the top of the ratings; it seemed as if the very best days of its storied tenure were ahead of it. What wound up happening, however, could literally be written up as a how-to manual for those curious about the most effective means of running a television operation right into the ground: Arrogance trumped execution; a seemingly incompetent general manager — a woman named Ardy Diercks — was hired and began making one inexplicable decision after another; true journalists were trampled underfoot or let go altogether while pretty faces were pampered; opportunities were squandered; morale plummeted in conjunction with falling ratings and the feeling that the station’s glory days were fading into the collective rearview mirror; as it so often does, failure bred failure. In the words of a fellow ex-employee of WTVJ — a former co-worker of mine — the station died years ago, it just took this long for someone to finally put it in the ground.

On WPLG GM David Boylan

On the front line anyway, Boylan is in charge of facilitating Post-Newsweek’s takeover of WTVJ. His official title is Vice President and General Manager of WPLG, which to all but the most inherently distrusting betrays nothing of the pitch black reality of who Dave Boylan is, what his responsibilities are, and the legacy of scorched earth that he’s left in his wake as he’s honed his reputation for being one of the most admirably skilled corporate hatchet men in the business of local TV. Boylan represents, quite frankly, everything that’s wrong with, and utterly deplorable about, today’s television industry — all wrapped up in one slick, discomforting package. If you could figure out a way to slap a threateningly charming Cheshire grin on a locust — or any creature which travels from place to place, consuming every resource the locals hold dear, then moving on — you’d have Boylan. What’s worse, he and those who think like him stand as the unavoidable future of market-level media.

WTVJ Sale: Possible Thanks to Strong Spanish Stations

Miami Herald TV critic says WTVJ’s sale is all but approved by the FCC because of the dominant Spanish stations in our market.

Nothing really new if you read this blog and especially the comments where someone already pointed out WTVJ ranks 6th overall behind WLTV and even behind its roomate WSCV Telemundo 51.

The article quotes even anti-corporate groups which seem to believe the sale is all but approved.

Of course the FCC could always say that WTVJ is 4th among English language stations and nix the sale but something tells me that isn’t likely even though they tried acting like they’re doing their job with the localism rules proposal to force stations to locate their studios within their city of license

Post Newsweek Buys WTVJ

WTVJ has been sold to Post-Newsweek/WPLG.

Update 12:01pm: Channel 10’s top story at noon. Showing the stations Post-Newsweek owns, statement from the president and WPLG General Manager Dave Boylan

Update 1:56pm: John Wallace, NBCU president sent this memo to WTVJ staffers

From: Wallace, John

Sent: Friday, July 18, 2008 10:00 AM

Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT

Today we announced that NBC Universal has signed an agreement with the Post-Newsweek Stations to purchase WTVJ.

Post -Newsweek is a respected broadcasting company that currently owns
six local television stations, two of which are already NBC affiliates.
They are seasoned broadcasters, who have a solid reputation in the
industry and a long-standing commitment to meeting the needs of the
South Florida community. We look forward to working with Post-Newsweek
as affiliate owners for many years to come.

Now that this announcement has been made, we wanted you to be aware of
the next steps in this process. The deal is subject to regulatory
approvals, but at this time we don’t anticipate any issues that would
affect the closing. We expect the deal to close by the end of the year.

As we mentioned during our visit in March, GE Benefits experts will be
coming to the station at some point before the close to help explain
how the sale will affect your current GE benefits. We will update you
with dates for those visits as soon as we can.

Once again, we thank you for your continued hard work and dedication
throughout this process. We will do everything we can to make this
transition as smooth as possible and will provide additional
information as it becomes available.

Oneline coverage notes:

Bob Mayer’s article on NBC6.net noting WTVJ’s acomplishments in the last 59 years. It feels like an obituary to me, we’ll soon probably know that it is.

NBC6.net article on the Post-Newsweek deal

Local10.com notes ‘South Florida’s Television Landscape Set to Change’ and points to Clear Channel’s disastrous multi-station ownership (14 in South Florida) as an example of duopoly

CBS4.com notes the WTVJ sales and that Florida’s first TV station will remain an NBC affiliate, rehashes everything said before and interestingly lists WTVJ’s acomplishments

Herald: Post-Newsweek May Buy WTVJ

Joan Fleischman says Post-Newsweek is about to announce the purchase of WTVJ from NBC.

Just in time, as I previously blogged announcement will be made by mid-July and so here it is.

The FCC still has to approve the deal. Both parties will have to file jointly and then there will be a period where anyone can object to the merger.

If the deal goes trough WTVJ will move to Pembroke Park next year after WPLG finishes their new building and moves in around March or April.

No indication yet if WTVJ will have a news division or not.

Who Bid on WTVJ?

From the previous post about the imminent announcement of a WTVJ buyer someone left this comment:

Companies that are out:
Sunbeam (bid was too low)
Gannett (WTVJ GM said the buyer will be a company she never worked for before, so they are out)
Media General (financial trouble)
Hearst-Argyle (Company has no CEO & no money)
FOX (Pulled out)
Disney-ABC (not buying anymore TV stations)

The split is still an option. While Sunbeam couldn’t afford to buy WTVJ, Post-Newsweek still could. Other possible contenders include COX and Tribune.

Jodie:

It needs to be Belo or Cox, for the sake of WTVJ, its employees and it legacy.

Several other visitors have echoed the sentiment that Cox and Belo would be the best thing to happen to WTVJ.

I’ve read a few things about Belo and it looked to me like they run their stations well. KHOU (Houston), WFAA (Dallas) and KING (Seattle) are at the top of the ratings and come off as pretty serious, newsy, stations. If they were to buy NBC6 it would be interesting to see if their approach works in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale market

update 7/2: someone sent this Broadcasting & Cable blog post from May 28th which says Hearst-Argyle and some private equity companies were looking at WVIT in Hartford, CT which NBC put out for sale in March along with WTVJ.

WTVJ Sale: Announcement Soon

I’m told NBC6 staff have been sharing in conversations with people that they expect to know the outcome of the WTVJ sale by mid-July.

I’m thinking that one of three things will happen:
a) WTVJ is split - someone (Sunbeam?) buys the building; another company buys the station
b) The buyer is one of those investment companies. If they’re buying stations in Podunk, America why not get one of the big sharks in Florida?
c) WTVJ gets acquired by one of the bigger media companies like Media General, Belo etc., although I’d think a or b would be more likely considering how bad Media General, Gannett and the others are doing on Wall Street lately. Unless, one of them decides to pull one of those look at us and our confidence in the product type thing.