top stories
NEW Jack Williams Off at 11 - Veteran WBZ anchor Jack Williams is moving off the anchor desk at 11 p.m. to spend more time with his wife. He will continue to anchor at 6 and 10 but will be replaced by Jonathan Elias for the "Nightbeat"
Larry Ridley to Orlando - Former 7Sports weekender Larry Ridley has taken a position with NewsCenter5 sister station WESH in Orlando, where he will become the station's sports director. He leaves Boston after five years...
Miss CT to Learn About the Weather - Former Miss Connecticut Brittany Decker will begin the process to become a weather presenter with News8, apprenticing with their weather team with the hopes of taking over the AM shift...
7 Rakes in Ratings - Sunday night's Super Bowl was the highest rated football game ever in the Boston market, pulling in a 56.7/81 share according to Neilsen. Total viewers was 114 mil, making SB46 the most watched ever...
Baghdady Renewed at 8 - News8 anchor Sonia Baghdady has come to an agreement with the station, ending weeks of speculation fueled by a posting for her job on the station's website...
Investigative Unit for NBC CT - NBC Connecticut has created a ten-person investigative unit, hiring Chris Coffey from Austin and Sabina Kuriacose from YNN in New York. Reporters Jeff Stoecker and Monica Buchanan were reassigned. The unit is helmed by former ME Sharon Butterworth...
Matt Stairs Hired by NESN - Former baseball player Matt Stairs has been hired by NESN as a studio analyst. After a 19 year career with twelve teams, Stairs retired with the Nationals in 2011...

Editorial: The Other Little Station That Could


This is an editorial written by the btvn managing editor Stephen.  The views expressed in this commentary are that of the managing editor and not necessarily that of the website.

While btvn‘s primary focus is on the television side of the Boston media landscape, when news broke that independent alternative station WFNX was sold to Clear Channel, I had to make note of it on the site.

Realizing that he couldn’t move his thriving escort service advertiser print rag to the radio, Phoenix Media head Stephen Mindich cut a deal with the devil to keep his red-lit printing press moving.  As a result, the outspoken critic of mass layoffs and corporate America laid off all but four of his twenty-one employees and sold his radio station to the largest operator of radio stations in the country.  Not just any conglomerate, but the purveyors of crosstown talker Rush Radio 1200.  As in Rush Limbaugh.

So let me get this straight, in order to protect his money, made by preaching against capitalism, Mr. Mindich sold away the lone remaining independent alt-rocker in the country and the livelihoods of those who worked there.  Brilliant strategy, Mr. Mindich, absolutely brilliant.

I can understand and appreciate what he must have been going through.  Saying that running a radio station in today’s economy is difficult would be an understatement.  Running one station in a market of clusters is next to impossible.  However, had things been as dire as the PM/GC memo said, wouldn’t you think there’d be a slow cutting rather than the fatal blow that was issued?  Were live DJs at all hours of the day really necessary?  Could they have gone without filling the vacancies?  ‘FNX had a cult following, how about a donation drive?  Nope, pocket padding sounds like a much better plan to me.

In many ways, losing WFNX is like losing the old WLVI.  Sure, there were many critics of both and the money just wasn’t there, but once it’s gone, a voice is lost.  The smallest television station in Boston was replaced by a repackaged version of an existing broadcast, and the smallest radio station in Boston will be replaced by another flavor of Clear Channel’s one-size-fits-all radio format.

People can’t be mad at Clear Channel, as they never abandoned their principals and their bottom line.  Having the existing capacity, they saw an $11 million station and bought it.  Soon we’ll be hearing “Country 101.7″ featuring some anonymous DJ from out-of-state, while people like Adam-12 and Julie Kramer are left to pick up the pieces.

In the end, the real losers are the talented staff behind Alternative Boston, as well as the dedicated listeners who have tuned in for nearly three decades.  Thank you, WFNX, for the memories.  Thank you for shaping my taste in music, and thank you for putting on a great show for 29 years.  Life goes on, and luckily for Mr. Mindich there will (unfortunately) always be a market for the world’s oldest profession.


Good Things Come to Those Who Wait: Paul Mueller Resurfaces in Tampa


Former ’56er Paul Mueller has resurfaced in Tampa as a reporter for regional cable net Bay News 9.  The popular weekender was last seen at WGGB in Springfield before his abrupt departure just over one year ago.

In the time between, Mueller confronted and waged an inspiring battle with his alcoholism.  He relocated to Florida and began to rebuild and renew.  On April 23rd, he celebrated his one-year anniversary alcohol free.

Mueller, a longtime friend and supporter of btvn, wrote on Facebook that he is “grateful and entirely humbled to be allowed to begin the next chapter of [his] career.”

This move comes after several interviews with different outlets in the southeast.  Paul Mueller’s first day at Bay News 9 is Monday May 7th.


John Daly Gone from NECN, Starts Political Blog


New England Cable News primary co-anchor John Daly has left the regional cable network, according to sources.

Daly, who joined the network in January 2011 after an extensive overhaul, anchored the evening newscast with Latoya Edwards.  He departed the station to launch his own blog, Informed-Not-Inflamed.com.

Prior to his tenure at NECN, Daly had been host of HGTV’s House Detectives, as well as reporting and anchoring in various capacities at various outlets throughout the country.

Hat-tip to btvn commentator Dan for the heads up to this story


‘BZ Adds Pensacola Reporter


WBZ has added another reporter to their lineup.  Bree Sison, formerly of WEAR-TV in Pensacola, arrived on Soldiers Field Drive yesterday.

Sisson issued a statement on her Facebook page, remarking, “I will forever be grateful to the viewers and coworkers who have been so good to me. It’s tough to leave a place that’s been your home for 6 years, but I’m looking forward to the adventures that await me in the Northeast.”


The Deal Drenched in Red: NESN and WBZ Form Agreement

In another example of corporate co-branding at CBS, WBZ and NESN have reached a partnership agreement.

The new partnership between the former over-the-air home of the Boston Red Sox and the current cable home was announced today.  In it, NESN reporters Jerry Remy, Don Orsillo, and Jenny Dell will appear live on the WBZ News at Noon and 6 p.m., while WBZ’s AccuWeather forecast will be seen on NESN for gameday forecasts.  In addition, WBZ sports guy Dan Roche will appear regularly on NESN’s pregame show.

The deal, which will go into effect tomorrow, mirrors that of the agreement between Comcast stablemates NECN and Comcast SportsNet.  No reporters, however, will change stations.


Fox25 in Flux: Sorboni Says So Long to 7


7 News anchor Sorboni Banerjee has left Bulfinch Place. The Herald reports today that the popular weekender is headed to Fox25.

Banerjee, who joined WHDH in 2006, is moving up the dial to work alongside Gene Lavanchy and Shannon Mulaire on the Fox25 Morning News.

No word yet on her last day at 7 or her debut on Fox.


Randy on the DL: Price to Miss Work After Bad Leg Break

WCVB has announced that morning anchor and Boston news stalwart Randy Price will be taking an as-yet unspecified period of medical leave, having broken his leg in three places after stumbling on rocks at a beach near his Maine home. Unfortunately, with the location being quite remote, it took 45 minutes before anyone was able to come to his aid.

Dozens of get-well messages have already been left on Channel 5′s Facebook page, and Randy has assured viewers that he’ll be back on-the-air as soon as possible.

As a point of personal privilege, it bears mentioning that Randy has been a good friend to this site for nearly a decade, so if you’d like to leave a message of support, please feel free to do so in the comments area of this post, and we’ll make sure he sees all of them.


ADMIN NOTICE: Comments on btvn Posts

Hi Everyone!

Max here, filling in for Stephen, who I’m sorry to say has suffered a family bereavement (so I’ll be helping out for a few days if there’s any breaking news). We’ve recently suffered a spam attack, resulting in over 4,500 comments waiting for Stephen to approve, 99.999% of them pure rubbish. With his permission, I’ve bulk-deleted all of them.

However, there’s a small chance some legit posts never ended up making it onto the site, so if you’ve made a comment in the last week or so and don’t see it anywhere, then please feel free to re-post it.

UPDATE (3/29):  As of today, we’ve added CAPTCHA technology, which will require you to enter a short sequence of numbers and letters after you post in order to verify you’re human. At 80 spam posts an hour, regretably it was something we had to do.:


BREAKING: “I’m Jack Williams, See You at 11″ No More


Jack Williams is leaving WBZ’s 11 p.m. newscast.  According to the station, the longtime channel 4 anchorman will continue to anchor the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. broadcasts on WBZ and myTV38, respectively.  He is stepping aside on nightside anchoring to spend more time with his wife.

The 37 year veteran was adamant that he is not being forced out by oft-overbearing corporate overlords at the network.  He says, “This was my idea,” adding, “They told me I can work as long as I want. They’ve been very gracious to me.”

To the surprise of nearly nobody, Jonathan Elias will take over the helm for Williams.  This marks the first time in nearly a decade where Williams has not been seen at 11.


NBC CT Hires Two More

NBC Connecticut has added two new reporters to their growing roster.  Audrey Washington and Todd Piro will be joining the station at the end of the month as reporters.

Washington comes from Providence NBC-affil WJAR, while Piro joins from KPSP in Palm Springs.

When asked by TVSpy, GM David Doebler remarked that he was “thrilled to add Todd and Audrey to our award-winning news team,” adding, “Their sharp journalism skills will add depth to our already strong news team in Connecticut, and will benefit viewers with enhanced coverage of important stories to our state,