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Archive for the 'WCVB (Channel 5)' Category

5 Making Moves at Both Dayparts

Published by admin on April 8, 2013. 4 Comments


NewsCenter5 morning meteorologist J.C. Monahan is leaving the Eyeopener, according to WCVB.com.  Her new role will be co-host of nightly news-magazine Chronicle.  Her dayside replacement is former Fox25 morning met Cindy Fitzgibbon.

GM Bill Fine wasted no time showering praise upon both weather guessers, commenting, “JC is an extraordinarily talented journalist and was looking for a new challenge. Cindy is someone we long admired as a competitor and was looking for a return to local television after taking six months off to be with her family.”  He added, “The timing was incredibly fortunate for NewsCenter 5 and Chronicle, as this is a true perfect match in every way, for our viewers, JC and Cindy.”

If you may remember, Fitzgibbon left Fox25 six months ago to spend more time with her family.  No word yet on her first day at 5 TV Place.

Posted in WCVB (Channel 5) and WFXT (Fox25). Tags: , , .

Just In: Barreda Calling it Quits

Published by admin on April 4, 2013. 2 Comments


Amalia Barreda has decided to leave NewsCenter5.  The twenty-one year veteran has decided to retire from the station at the end of June.  The news broke this morning on the station’s website.

Barreda remarked on her tenure at 5 TV Place, saying, “these 21 years have been a great ride, covering unforgettable stories with thoughtful, hard-working and talented people.”  She added, “This was a huge and hard decision to make, and it is bittersweet to leave so many of you who I consider family to spend more time with family.”

While at NewsCenter5, Amalia Barreda covered the O.J. Simpson trial, the sex-abuse scandal in the Church, among others.  She also won a Gabriel Award in 2001 for her story of a disabled Regis College student.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: .

NewsCenter5 Met David Brown Leaving

Published by admin on December 18, 2012. 10 Comments


Longtime NewsCenter5 weatherman David Brown will be leaving the station for a new role at the Forsyth Institute.  The seventeen year veteran will become the new Chief Advancement Officer at the independent oral health research institution.

‘CVB General Manager Bill Fine remarks in a press release,  ”David Brown has ably served Channel 5 and the Boston marketplace with great dedication through a variety of roles,” while News Director Andrew Vrees added, “David’s skill and unflappable style during major weather events has made him highly valued by viewers. David’s talents—across many aspects of our business—will be sorely missed.”

The popular meteorologist joined Channel 5 in 1995 from Hearst sister station WISN in Milwaukee.  After floating through several roles, Brown remarked, “I’m leaving WCVB with mixed emotions.  It has been my honor to have worked alongside the finest in broadcasting at the nation’s top station. I’m leaving to pursue an exciting opportunity at the Forsyth Institute, another Boston institution. I’m so grateful and thankful to all our viewers who have made me feel so welcomed in their homes.”

No word yet on his last day at the station, or his replacement.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , , , .

The Doctor is Out: Dr. Tim Johnson To Retire from 5

Published by admin on December 10, 2012. 0 Comments

After forty years at 5 TV Place, Dr. Tim Johnson is retiring from NewsCenter5.  The nationally-known medical reporter has decided to step down from his post.

“Forty years is a nice, round number, and I’m 76. I don’t want to feel any responsibility to the daily news anymore,” he told the Herald on Friday.

A member of the NewsCenter5 staff since the station’s sign-on in 1972, Dr. Johnson was also a fixture at the network from 1975 until his departure in 2010.

If you recall, Dr. Tim Johnson is the long remaining medical reporter on the local airwaves following the departures of Dr. Mallika Marshall from WBZ and Dr. Deanna Lites from WHDH in the past few years.  Dr. Johnson will retire at the end of the year.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , , .

Hall of Famers at 5: Fmr. Anchor Jim Boyd, Fmr. Met Dick Albert Inducted

Published by admin on September 14, 2012. 1 Comment


It was a busy week for channel 5 alumni, as two of their own were inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Jim Boyd, former morning anchor and reporter at NewsCenter5, and former co-chief meteorologist Dick Albert were inducted.

Boyd, whose career at 5 TV Place spanned three decades, told WickedLocal.com, “I’ve been given this great gift and it was an opportunity to be in one of the greatest TV stations in the country,” adding, “You travel around the country, and when you tell people you work for WCVB they know the station.”

Prior to his retirement from the station in 2008, Boyd joined the station in 1971 as a reporter, which led to his promotion to the anchor desk of the Midday news, where he anchored with Susan Wornick for 16 years.  Dick Albert, following his arrival at Channel 5 in 1978 for the debut of the NewsCenter5 format, served as co-chief meteorologist until his retirement in 2009.

“If you’re a journalist, my perception is that you’re involved in a service. You’re a conduit. You take the info and you make the darndest effort to be truthful, reliable, responsible to your news consumers,” concluding with, “it’s not really about you.”

Jim Boyd and Dick Albert join other former Boston personalities such as Tom Bergeron and Tom and Ray Magliozzi (Click and Clack).

Posted in WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , .

4 to 5: Kathy Curran Resurfaces in Needham

Published by admin on August 14, 2012. 0 Comments

Former ‘BZer Kathy Curran will be joining NewsCenter5, according to a statement released on their website. Curran, who left the CBS-owned duopoly earlier this year, will be joining Team 5 Investigates.

Channel 5 brass remarked excitedly upon announcement of the news.  General Manager Bill Fine remarked, “We are excited to have such a talented and hard-hitting investigative journalist join our team,” while News Director Andrew Vrees commented, “Kathy’s track record of uncovering abuses of the system makes her a natural addition to our award-winning investigative group.”

Curran joins NewsCenter5 on August 14th.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , , .

Another Murrow for Channel 5

Published by admin on June 13, 2012. 1 Comment


NewsCenter5 has been selected as the recipient of the Large Market category of the 2012 Edward R. Murrow award.  The winning entry, a report about the 2011 tornadoes that afflicted western Massachusetts, was selected from a pool of dozens of nominees.

‘CVB GM Bill Fine remarked in a press release,  “I know the depth of effort and quality of our news programming is exceptional, and viewers have rewarded WCVB with their loyalty to NewsCenter5. This award, bestowed by peers, is the greatest honor we could receive and emblematic of our core mission to serve New England every day.”  His colleague, News Director Andrew Vrees, remarked, “Our entire news team has done an amazing job covering the major news stories affecting New England. Each day we strive to provide quality reporting to the Boston community and this is a testament to our success”.

Posted in WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , , .
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First on btvn: McPhee Jumps Back to WRKO

Published by admin on June 3, 2012. 14 Comments


6/6 Update: The official announcement was made on wrko.com… “Boston, MA — Today WRKO announced that starting on Monday, June 11th Michele McPhee will return to the station as the new host of middays 11am to 3pm. McPhee will replace Laura Ingraham and Jen Brien, and will also serve as the primary fill-in for Howie Carr.”

According to multiple reports, NewsCenter5 reporter Michelle McPhee is returning to her former radio home on WRKO.  A job posting on wcvb.com, a forthcoming “big announcement”, and rumors of local talent stock-ups by two of the three talkers in Boston have fueled the fire.  Now, according to sources, McPhee will take either the 11-1 p.m. spot, displacing her former successor Jennifer Brien, or the 11-3 p.m. spot on WRKO 680.

Following her non-renewal from her afternoon-drive radio show on FM talker 96.9 Boston Talks, McPhee jumped ship to WRKO, where she programmed an early afternoon slot.  Last September, she moved to TV and joined NewsCenter5 as a reporter.

This report also coincides with reports that former Fox25 morning anchor Kim Carrigan will also join the venerable talker.  Rumors surfaced after morning co-host Tom Finneran and the station parted ways.  However, no official announcement has been made by either RKO owner Entercom or Carrigan.

Hat-tip to former Managing Ed. Max for the heads-up about the job posting, and to our friends at the BRW.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5). Tags: , , .
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NewsCenter5 Blows Up TheBostonChannel.com

Published by admin on May 24, 2012. 6 Comments


WCVB has launched a substantially revised website.  The new site, which is a part of a roll-out on all Hearst stations, eschews the venerable naughties-throwback TheBostonChannel.com for a simpler wcvb.com domain.

In an effort to retain name recognition, the website features a less prominent “The Boston Channel” name, though the effort to standardize branding appears to be in full force.

Posted in Boston and WCVB (Channel 5).

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

Published by Max on April 2, 2012. 1 Comment

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.

Posted in Boston, Breaking News and WCVB (Channel 5).