Daily Record Financial News &
Friday, March 27, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 095 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
‘It was a wild and crazy ride’
“So we don’t do ‘Chatty Cathy’ interviews. We don’t cook food. There’s a place for that. It’s not on our station.” Bob Longo, news director for Action News
Bishop reflects on campaign, future
Action News News Director Bob Longo, Research Director Lorraine Simmons and Jim Zerwekh, vice president and general manager.
Rebuilding the brand INSIDE Page A-4 Where are the former Action News anchors now?
WJXT remains mostwatched station.
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First Coast News making a few changes, as well. Tracking the ratings. Timeline of changes for Action News.
Public
After letting four anchors go, Action News has taken a new direction
By Karen Brune Mathis Managing Editor
Ten months ago, news broke that five Action News anchors would be out of their jobs when their contracts ended. It hit the media like a bombshell and spread like wildfire. Media reported the anchors were fired in a major newsroom shake-up. One report headlined it a “wholesale slaughter,” another labeled it “The Bloodletting.” The friendly faces fronting the newscasts of WAWS TV-30, a Fox affiliate, and WTEV TV-47, the CBS affiliate, were leaving. Departing would be 18-year veteran Paige Kelton, husbandand-wife team Mike and Tera Barz, Mark Spain and Lynnsey Gardner Baker. Actions News General Manager Jim Zerwekh wants to put that in perspective, set the record straight — and push the story forward. First, he said, the anchors weren’t laid off, as was incorrectly reported by some. Instead, their
legal notices begin on page
Kelton contracts weren’t renewed. Kelton ultimately stayed on in a new role. Second, the anchor changes were just part of many other moves designed to rebrand the station. And third, it all seems to be working. Zerwekh, vice president of Cox Media Group, shared a February sweeps report that showed CBS
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Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
By David Chapman Staff Writer
47 and FOX 30 Action News were watched by 32 percent of Jacksonville’s news viewers, based on news-viewing households from 4:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. Monday-Sunday. The Nielsen Media Research sweep-to-date report includes all newscasts within that timeframe. First Coast News, comprising WJXX TV-25 and WTLV TV-12, captured 18 percent in that report. Both trailed the independent WJXT TV-4 at 49 percent. In a separate independent look at other February Nielsen numbers, Action News remained No. 3, but made gains at the 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts and held steady year-to-year at 11 p.m. That means Action News, which had been battling as the No. 3 news station, was making strides in a market that stretches across 15 counties north to Brunswick and Waycross, Ga., west to Lake City and south to Palatka and Palm Coast. The anchor changes, Zerwekh Action News... Cont inued
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Nestled in a booth a San Marco restaurant, it took less than two minutes for the first person to stop and offer him a few words. “Hard fought,” the gentleman began. “I voted for you. It wasn’t enough, but I voted for you.” Bill Bishop looked up and smiled. “We got all these people to pay attention,” Bishop said. “It was a wild and crazy ride, I’ll tell you that.” Bishop’s ride as a candidate for mayor ended Tuesday when the First Election placed him third among four candidates. The Republican two-term City Council member garnered close to 17 percent of the vote, almost 31,000 Bishop people. Secondplace finisher Lenny Curry, another Republican, took in close to 71,000 votes while Mayor Alvin Brown led the way with almost 79,000. Less than 36 hours after the dash-and-go pace that comes with being a candidate for such an office, Bishop is relaxed. He isn’t distraught by the results of his ill-fated run. He said all along he knew he was a longshot. “I’m fine,” he said. “I feel worse for the people that supported me than I do for myself.” Bishop... Continued
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Pension deal struck down by judge By David Chapman Staff Writer The latest twist on pension reform doesn’t stem from City Hall — it stems from the courtroom. In a ruling issued Tuesday, Circuit Judge Thomas Beverly ruled the so-called “30year agreement” void ab initio — meaning it’s been invalid from the start. The ruling didn’t come from a lawsuit seeking whether the deal was valid. It came from a Sunshine Law case filed by Curtis Lee and the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County. In it, they claimed behind-closed-door discussions were what led to the 30-year deal that led to the 2001 contract. It’s been amended several times since. Collective bargaining must be done in publicly noticed meetings. But the city and Police and Fire Pension Fund — the defendants in the case — argued it wasn’t collective bargaining.
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