Recovering Producer

The FCC approved the sale of WFTX to Sun Broadcasting on January 30, 2026. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/assignmentDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&id=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&goBack=N Companies like deals to close as a month changes, but that's never a guarantee. Seems unlikely to close as January turns to February on such short notice, but who knows. I would guess this deal will close no later than March 1, 2026.

The sale of WFTX/Cape Coral, FL to Sun Broadcasting was approved on Friday. No indication when the transaction will close. https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/assignmentDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&id=25076ff399118e35019915385ddd01d4&goBack=N

I can't personally defend this branding decision. However, I have several friends/past coworkers who are from New Mexico - it is DEFINITELY one of those places where, for some reason, the originally assigned area code is part of what people use as part of the local identity. Even if they are from areas that were split off into the other area code a while back. I've never understood the area code as part of the local identity anywhere, but it definitely is a thing that exists in some communities and Nexstar must have felt it was strong enough there to work as a brand.

I probably wasn't super clear with my last post - I think they put that memo out to staff with the mentality the inevitable screengrab leak of their version of events would be a feature, not a flaw. If they didn't want it out there, it is really easy for any company's IT admin to block screengrabs from the Outlook app and force people to only use that app for work email.

The fact the station put out an internal statement that anyone with a single brain cell knew would QUICKLY end up being screengrabbed and shared externally is wild. Just. Absolutely. Wild. From my experience, any post termination communication beyond "so and so is no longer an employee of station" with a possible "we wish them well in their future" second sentence used most likely in the case of a budget layoff is unheard of. I had GMs and NDs who thought even that written communication was too much potential legal exposure and only communicated abrupt employee departures verbally.

The branding and logo makes me suspect it was at one time flying for WFTV/Orlando, FL.

I haven't lived there since 2011, so my assessment is dated. But from Thanksgiving to Easter there were a lot of out of state license plates. The most common I recall seeing were Minnesota, Ohio, and Michigan. From what I have been told, there has been a substantial increase in non retirement age year-round residents, especially in the last five years. The three coastal counties of the market that make up 90%+ of the market's population; Lee (Fort Myers/Cape Coral/Lehigh Acres), Collier (Naples/Marco Island), and Charlotte (Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte) consistently vote Republican in the 55-65% range.

I’ve worked for them. It was a long time ago, and a first post college job, so my naive 20 something mind at the time thought the whole experience was just how things were everywhere. The culture of the Fort Myers market is weird. I legitimately thought the Anchorman fighting in the street scene would happen eventually and on that day it would make snowbird season traffic on McGregor Blvd. or US 41 even worse than usual. The demographics of the market are odd with a large seasonal population and wild sprawling growth over the last half century. (It was a 130s market in the 1980s, now almost a top 50) I’m too far removed to have any inside information about the events leading up to the termination of their now former chief meteorologist. I did not work with him. I have not met or interacted with him. I can count the people who would know me in that operation on one hand, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to fish for information. I will say this I worked for half a dozen companies in my TV career, including time as a manager, broadcast employers are highly risk averse regarding terminations with cause of a non probationary employee where they intend to hire a replacement for the position. It is a deliberate and intentionally slow process which requires extensive documenting of the employee’s unwanted actions/behavior, written warnings and/or other disciplinary measures, unsuccessful completion of a PIP that can last several months, and corporate HR/legal review and approval before a decision is made to terminate with cause. Employers are far more likely to passive aggressively nudge people they want to leave by making them unhappy through schedule changes, reduced visibility, decreased responsibilities, or other ‘soft’ actions in hopes they will voluntarily resign . Contract non-renewal is also used as an alternative when necessary. The potential legal exposure is much greater for employers to discuss in public what they say led to a termination compared to a former employee or their supporters sharing their version of events. Which is why that perspective is going to gain traction and control the public narrative. Actions have consequences for both parties. It appears the consequences for WINK, at least for now, are very real. Whether those consequences endure is anyone’s guess. People are a weird mix of never forgetting and moving on quickly. My only meaningful observation from the reaction is this: The unfiltered parasocial relationships between Facebook fans and on air talent is one of the most problematic, unhealthy, and unsustainable parts of the 21st century broadcast media landscape. It is something leadership industry wide has opted to embrace at the most toxic form and refuses to develop solutions to create boundaries on how much social media engagement consumes many people at all times and how to protect people from unhinged online fans who do not respect reasonable behavioral norms. As for the Sun WFTX acquisition: It is what it is. Every company that wants to grow is going to push existing rules to the limit as they stand now, and any future changes to ownership regulations will cause the dam to break nationwide on consolidation and operations/newsrooms being merged or eliminated.

We all know this, but a few points of clarification from the tweets. Jim Schwartzel, who is running for congress, owns Sun Broadcasting/WXCW (and pending FCC approval WFTX), not Fort Myers Broadcasting/WINK. Sure, Sun Broadcasting and Fort Myers Broadcasting are operationally a team competing in a three legged race. But on paper, different companies with very different ownership structures. Also, seeing a political opponent call the owner of a company that operates a radio station branded "Trump Country" a liberal made me laugh a little too much. Based on the response I've seen to this firing online (I used to work in that market a very long time ago) the people who had to answer phones at WINK's assignment desk over the weekend should ask for a raise on Monday because of the abuse they had to endure.

I mean, The Onion ran this satirical "ad" in its print edition in December. https://www.facebook.com/TheOnion/posts/pfbid024saN4i8FSPSCTbrztDZTHqNQJuwN7pjUebkL8hmzAN6vpAfzHeszfJEsMu5f72V5l

Reverting to the Dan Rather era music is certainly a choice. Maybe, Tony's replacement in a couple years will revive the James Horner composed Katie Couric 2006-2011 music.

The KSDK time/temp bug is SLOPPY. In the video above and on today's noon the first number of the time crosses the divider line.

A little late noticing this, but Nexstar purchased the KDVR/KWGN building at 100 E. Speer Blvd. in November 2025 from the company Tribune sold it to in 2017. Read into that what you will on where Nexstar plans to have operations if (lets be honest, when) they own four TV stations in Denver.

My guess is they'll take whatever programming they can get. That said, the ongoing Berkshire Hathaway ownership of WPLG continues to surprise me. But with Warren Buffett no longer chairman of the board, BH could be eevaluating its portfolio. BH could give away WPLG and the loss of it as an asset and the revenue it produces probably wouldn't register as a rounding error on the company's annual report. (Which is a statement about how massive BH is, with asets worth $1.1 trillion as of 2024)

I'll say this about reduced newscasts over the holidays as a former manager who had some role in scheduling for producers: At every station I worked at, the schedule for Thanksgiving through New Year's is made early in the fall with minimal room for things to go wrong, even with fewer newscasts on 12/24, 12/25, 12/31, and 1/1. Almost every year - at least one producer who got Thanksgiving as their holiday off and was scheduled to work 5 day weeks (if not more) through peak Christmas and New Year's vacation time would turn in their resignation and two week's notice the week following Thanksgiving. And all anyone could do was just laugh and adjust. And occasionally come up with creative solutions to keep things afloat as best as possible.

My best guess that's the case, and their graphics system likely dates back to when ABC moved from downtown Rapid City to Fox's facility on Skyline Drive, and hasn't hit the point in the capital budget cycle where it can be updated/replaced. (Affiliation is the only easy way to say that with how Gray rearranged the signals when they purchased, spun off, and eventually repurchased what had been KOTA-TV which is now KHME-TV, and moved the KOTA-TV call letters and IP to what was KEVN-TV.)

Not to mention, their outgoing facility was a leaseback set up under Tribune when they sold the building 2016ish as they prepared to cease existing as a company - likely negotiated for maximum cash up front for Tribune and higher monthly payments for the duration of the lease. Also appears they're downsizing square footage substantially as well.

For just $5.95 million, you could be the next owner of the flood prone soon to be former Fort Myers Broadcasting facility in Downtown Fort Myers! I would guess this means the move to Gateway is getting close to reality.

Seems about reich for them.

I just hope the fictional Good Morning, Miami from the short-lived early 2000s NBC sitcom of the same name that was somehow based out of WPTV's buidling in West Palm Beach is able to find a new home closer to Miami. Or did that get turned into a ScrippsCast too? /s

I'm as critical of Nexstar as anyone else, but let's be realistic about this: A hard out time on a newscast is a hard out. Especially in a world where master control is run by a hub hundreds of miles away and a single operator is in charge of multiple stations. When the programmed end time happens, the master control software will trigger the next break or program, whether they're done or not. As it should. An anchor's farewell is not, and should not be, an event that merits blowing through a hard out time. Want to make sure everything gets said? Produce a newscast with room to breathe for the farewell.

POTUS shares thoughts on broadcast deregulation through an article about NewsMax’s opposition to changing ownership limits. And it is not good news for people who want to get this deal done. (Although, the idea ABC and NBC are going to buy up more local stations if ownership regulations change doesn’t seem like a likely outcome to me)

It would be financial negligence and a shareholder lawsuit waiting to happen for a company that wants to stop existing decides to sell assets in pieces when a merger is possible and could achieve the same goal. A piecemeal sale of every business asset, when the value goes into the billions, has massive and expensive financial and tax consequences for the seller who is trying to get the most money and a clean break. A merger structured as a stock sale can be done with a minimal tax burden for the seller. Individual station sales as assets would mean the money the company received from assets being sold would be taxed as corporate income. This merger is also structured where Nexstar assumes TEGNA’s debt. Selling assets one piece at a time until they are all gone means debt service payments continue, eating up a big chunk of revenue from the individual asset sales. Once all the assets are sold, the remaining debts and other corporate liabilities are all that are left and good luck selling those! This is also why in past station group mergers station divestitures are structured as asset sales by the new company concurrent with closing of the merger, rather than a sale by the outgoing company. This all sucks. It’s bad for people and communities. It’s bad for people who will lose their jobs. But for people looking for golden parachutes, that doesn’t matter. They just want every penny possible and a clean break from financial responsibility of a dying company.

Elections have consequences. And one of the consequences of the 2024 election is Brendan Carr serving as FCC Chair and the chapter of a certain project he wrote becoming reality. There may be optics of scruitny over this deal, but the reality is this is just a matter of how this merger gets approved, if there are minimal areas in which this government says it goes too far (and if there are divestures, expect them to be license only to spectrum speculators, sidecars, or godcasters with all non-license assets staying with Nexstar), and if ownership cap changes need to done legislatively or through rulemaking. TEGNA doesn't want to exist any more. It hasn't wanted to exist since Standard General offered $24/share in 2022. A $125 million breakup fee isn't going to reinvigorate TEGNA if this deal doesn't get regulatory approval. That's 2% of what TEGNA is valued at in this merger. TEGNA is, for all practical purposes, a zombie company with stockholders and executives who just want to get their money and peace out. They have made cuts and staff reductions with the intention of having a lean balance sheet for whoever wants to absorb them in one piece. A benevolent broadcasting company with billions in credit to purchase a large station group doesn't exist in 2025.

And the reality is, the new ownership has no motivation to make CBS, especially the news division, succeed. Bari Weiss may have said she wants CBS out of third place, but she’s the latest in a line of people who have wanted that but will never get the means to achieve it. (IMHO the audience the new ownership wants has been gone for so long and has so many other options for right wing news that have always been conservative that having them come home to an old school mainstream outlet with a new lens on the world is just a fantasy.) The Skydance purchase of Paramount was the equivalent of buying a bundle of random totaled cars from a junk yard. The successful divisions are newer vehicles that were totaled for insurance purposes because modern cars get totaled after the smallest crash because of modern safety systems. But those totaled cars still have lightly used parts that are useful and profitable. CBS is a 1997 GEO Metro that somehow stayed on the road until it got rear ended and totaled out of its misery a few weeks ago. And the news division is the crushed trunk. Their realistic goal: strip out the catalytic converter for a little cash and sell the rest at a loss so they can get the tax write off.