Late Breaking 
MEET THE PRESS
To the surprise of few, NBC
News
announced Sunday that Tom Brokaw will replace Tim Russert
as host of "Meet the Press" through the November
presidential election.
Said Brokaw, "I've been
appearing on 'Meet the Press' since the days of Watergate when it
was moderated by Lawrence E. Spivak right through the
distinguished tenure of my great friend, Tim Russert, so I feel
right at home."
<<<>>>
BOMBS AWAY
 Alycia
Lane dropped another bomb on her former employers yesterday, launching
a lawsuit in common pleas court, citing defamation, slander, and libel
and claiming that KYW-3-CBS in Philadelphia (Market #3) exploited
her, tore her down, and defamed her on her way out the door.
Seeking unspecified damages, the
complaint says station management "turned a blind eye"
toward leaks of personal information after she repeatedly voiced
concerns about "security breaches" in her private email. She
says management engaged in "deep-seated gender-discriminatory
animus" toward her and other female employees.
Lane uses
the 40-page lawsuit to spell out for the first time her side of her
downfall at KYW. She claims that the breaches of her email
began in early 2006 when the New York Post reported that she was
cozying up to Prince Albert of Monaco. The suit also tells Lane's
side of the May 2007 scandal after the Post wrote that she was
chastised by the wife of the sportscaster Rich Eisen for sending
him photos of herself in a bikini.
The lawsuit names Station Manager Michael
Colleran (right) and two defendants called John Doe
and Jane Doe. Lane's former co-anchor Larry Mendte, who
remains on indefinite suspension, was not listed as a defendant. The
complaint says Mendte was "obsessively jealous" of her
"growing popularity and success" and resented her higher
salary. The suit contends that a double standard exists at KYW.
Lane's separate wrongful
termination lawsuit against CBS Broadcasting continues to
work its way through federal court.
<<<>>>
WILLINGER'S WRINGER
 A
highly-placed source at McKinnon Broadcasting's independent KUSI-51
in San Diego (Market #27) confirms that News Director Steve Cohen
has had "ongoing talks" with Lane's New York agent Gregg
Willinger (left) and that Lane has "an open-ended
offer" to anchor at the station.
Earlier this week, Willinger
denied that KUSI had offered Lane employment. "Not
true," he told Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Dan Gross.
"I trust you will print the truth, and no longer comment in your
column on unsubstantiated rumors from gossipy web sites," he
added.
 In
the lawsuit filed yesterday in Philadelphia, Lane's attorneys
hinged her case on the claim that KYW's actions destroyed "her
future career opportunities." However, an "open-ended
offer" for employment in one of the nation's most desirable
television markets seems to unhinge their claim for damages.
"He is in a wringer," said a
source with direct knowledge of Willinger's plight. He wants to
find his client gainful employment (and a commission for himself) but risks
sabotaging her lawsuit against KYW if he does.
<<<>>>
NORFOLK SHAKEUP
 Local
TV's WTKR-3-CBS in Norfolk (Market #42) abruptly
cleaned house yesterday, firing News Director Shane Moreland
and Assistant ND Melissa Klinzing.
Moreland was hired just 10 months
ago from Media General's WSLS-10-NBC in Roanoke (Market #67). Klinzing
joined WTKR in 2004.
General Manager Jeff Hoffman, who
has been on the job just two weeks, declined to say what led to the
sudden change. He was brought aboard in early June from Raycom's
WAFF-48-NBC in Huntsville (Market #83) and given the task of shaping
the longtime bottom dweller in local news ratings.
Tipsters say Hoffman also released
veteran Les Smith, who was hired in May after sitting out a
one-year non-compete, to anchor the station's 5:30 p.m. newscast. Smith
was a well-known face across the street at Lin TV's WAVY-10-NBC
for 22 years, until his release in 2007.
<<<>>>
 Sources
at McGraw-Hill's WRTV-6-ABC in Indianapolis (Market #26) say News
Director Jason Heath has been placed on an unspecified
"leave of absence."
His attorney, Dorie A. Hertzel,
who insisted earlier this week that Heath was NOT the
focus of a child pornography investigation, did not respond to repeated
requests for clarification.
<<<>>>
Jeff Benscoter has resigned as
news director at KYTV-3-NBC in Springfield (Market #76) to
become assistant ND at Dispatch Broadcasting's WTHR-13-NBC in
flat and featureless Indianapolis (Market #26).
<<<>>>
SWERVING DENIAL
 Walter
Jacobson, legendary former news anchor at WBBM-2-CBS and
WFLD-32-Fox in Chicago (Market #3), was
arrested on drunk driving charges Wednesday night in Lincoln Park.
Police said a woman called 911 about 10:45 p.m. to say a car struck a
parked car and was swerving. The caller’s description of the driver,
as well as the car and the license plate, matched Jacobson and
his 2004 Saab.
The Saab was the same car Jacobson
was driving when he was arrested for DUI in 2004, an arrest that
indirectly led to his retirement from television.
Police say Jacobson, 70, failed
a field sobriety test and was taken to a police station where a
Breathalyzer showed his blood-alcohol level at .092. The legal driving
limit is .08.
But Jacobson's lawyer says the
police have it all wrong "and we'll fight it."
"Our investigation to this point
shows that Walter hasn't hit anybody and didn't cause any
accident," attorney
Neil Cohen said Thursday. "He wasn't driving a car while
under the influence."
<<<>>>
 Brian
Williams
will host this Sunday's “Meet the Press” as a
temporary fix, while the network ponders a permanent replacement for Tim
Russert.
Orlando
Sentinel columnist
Hal Boedeker thinks coverage of Russert's death was
"One of the most embarrassing chapters in television
journalism."
<<<>>>
Victor Ganzi has
resigned as chief executive of Hearst Corp. over
policy disagreements with the board of the privately-held media company.
 <<<>>>
More than nine months after CNBC
contributor Seth Tobias was found dead in the swimming pool of
his Florida mansion, a
probate court judge yesterday approved a settlement agreement between
his widow, Filomena, and his brothers, who were warring over his
$25-million estate.
<<<>>>
HUMAN DIPSTICK
 Some
reporters are outstanding in their field. Not ABC News
actor Ryan Owens, who was out standing in muddy water
somewhere in Missouri this week, fronting amateurish and remarkably
inept reports from the flood zone. You'll remember Owens as the
giggly young news actor who co-anchored ABC's controversial
overnight news with "Laughing" Taina Hernandez.
Owens, a graduate of WHDH-7-NBC
in Boston (Market #7) and WLWT-5-NBC in Cincinnati (Market #33),
preened and posed for the network cameras but failed to take the measure
of the story. His hyperactive hand gestures and theatrical posturing
were as irritating as his inability to tell a simple tale. His
performance screamed "local." How did this man ever get hired
as a network correspondent? Please. Anyone?.
And, yes, he actually stood in the water
to help illustrate the flooding.
Call him a human dipstick. We
do.
<<<>>>
ANCHOR ASSASSINATED
 Raoul
Martinez, the only Hispanic news anchor in Orlando (Market #19),
is leaving Hearst-Argyle's WESH-2-NBC to return to his home state
of California. His final day is Sunday.
Former General Manager Bill Bauman
hired Martinez in 2002 from KESQ-42-ABC in Palm Springs
(Market #144) and moved him quickly to the prominent 5:30 p.m. anchor
slot. But the 125-market jump stretched Martinez's skills to the
limit. He once advised viewers that he was "tracking the
developments moment by moment" in Iraq and expected an "NBC
special report when (Saddam) Hussein is ASSASSINATED."
Bauman demoted Martinez to
weekends, insisting the move was "not a demotion."
<<<>>>
We told you Monday that Jim Blue (right),
longtime primary news anchor at Barrington Broadcasting's WNWO-24-NBC
in Toledo (Market #72), had been released from his contract.
 Now
we learn that his replacement is fresh-faced David
Custer, who was hired off the beach after getting cut from Meredith's
WNEM-5-CBS in Saginaw (Market #66). He'll co-anchor the station's 6,
7, and 11:00 p.m. newscasts.
<<<>>>
DUMB-ASSED BEHAVIOR
Jeremy
Tung, weekend news anchor at WLNE-6-ABC in Providence
(Market #52), has been suspended without pay for
"unspecified misuse of station equipment."
According to a station source, Tung
"obtained and inappropriately replayed the director's track of a
particularly bad newscast" for the sole purpose of embarrassing and
ridiculing anchor Paul Mueller and the director involved. A
station engineer was also suspended.
Other techs (hard to believe, but true) witnessed
the dumb-assed behavior, were offended, and turned the two men in to
management.
General Manager Stephen Doerr confirmed
the suspensions, saying, "We have conducted a thorough internal
investigation into the incident and, while I cannot comment on specific
personnel issues, we have dealt with the situation and the individuals
involved appropriately and consider the case closed."
Your Surly Editor® is mighty glad
he doesn't face suspension without pay for making fun of news anchors.
He couldn't make the rent.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the
arrival of summer. We'll see you back here Monday.
<<<>>>
 MRS.
BLUEZETTE'S GRAMMAR YAMMER
"A PBS mind in an MTV world."
Mrs. B sports a big smile today.
Tomorrow is the first day of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, the
day of the year when sun is at its greatest distance from the equator.
In spite of what you may have heard (or
even said yourself, as Mrs. B confesses she did in another life), it
will not be the longest day of the year.
June 21 is still 24 hours long.
We who live north of the equator just have more hours of sunlight.
The summer solstice officially
begins this evening, June 20, at 7:59 p.m. EDT.
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