Wmar

Longtime WMAR news anchor Stan Stovall is being dismissed by the Baltimore station when his contract lapses at the end of December. WMAR general manager Drew Berry and news director Staci Feger-Childers would not discuss the decision other than to praise Stovall's professionalism, saying the move is a personnel matter. But the two officials acknowledge they are taking a series of steps to try to reverse the fortunes of the consistently third-rated station. "I definitely will be leaving," Stovall said late Friday.

Longtime WBAL newscaster Marianne Banister will join WBFF Fox45 as anchor of a weekend morning news program that will launch Jan.19. The station announced that another Baltimore veteran, meteorologist Tony Pagnotti, will also join that station's news team. "We recognize outstanding talent and wanted both Marianne and Tony on our staff," Mike Tomko, station news director, said in an email to The Sun. "Their professionalism and long history in the market made for a perfect match here at Fox45.

Margie M. Kinney, who worked as a "weather lady" for WMAR in Baltimore during the 1960s, died Wednesday of respiratory failure and pneumonia at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. The Timonium resident was 88. Born Margie Moore McGee, Mrs. Kinney graduated from high school in North Carolina and attended Appalachian State University in the early 1940s before studying radio and dramatics at Emerson College in Boston. She worked at small radio stations in North Carolina as a staff announcer and at WBT radio in Charlotte as an assistant before moving to the Baltimore area, said her son, Rick Kell of Lutherville.

Growing up in and around New York City, where the weather can be as fickle as a Yankee fan, Justin Berk was bitten by the forecasting bug. After earning his degree in meteorology from Cornell University, Berk did a five-year stint at WBAL-TV before joining WMAR-TV in 2003. Last January - on Friday the 13th - contract talks bogged down and Berk and WMAR parted ways. The weatherman became his own boss at Just In Weather LLC. His first co-worker? Son Brendan, a first-grader. Their inaugural collaboration is Kid Weather App, which was designed at their home in the northern Baltimore suburbs.

Sports anchor Scott Garceau announced that he is leaving his job at WMAR after 28 years on the air in Baltimore. Garceau made the announcement at the end of his segment during Channel 2's 6 p.m. newscast. He said Thursday would be his last appearance as WMAR's sports anchor but that he would still be seen on WMAR for college lacrosse, the Calvert Hall-Loyola Thanksgiving football game, Orioles Opening Day and Ravens-related programming among other possible assignments. WMAR's Web site said Garceau would be involved in "special projects" for the station.

WMAR (Channel 2) has a new man running its newsroom. The station yesterday named Jack T. Cahalan, 35, news director.Cahalan, who is expected to join the station Sept. 14, comes from WCPO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Cincinnati. He has been at the station seven years -- two as director of broadcast operations, and the last five as news director. He holds a bachelor's degree inbusiness administration from Miami of Ohio."He's a seasoned journalist . . . and we look forward to him further strengthening our news operation," said Arnold J. Kleiner, Channel 2's general manager.

Jay Leno may have landed the host desk of "The Tonight Show" on the strength of an extraordinary, hard-working schedule, crisscrossing the nation for years to build an audience for his act. But not even Leno can be in two places at one time.Yet he sure seemed to achieve the feat Monday night, in a cute, albeit confusing, promotion on WMAR (Channel 2) just prior to his premiere on "Tonight." Did you see it?Returning from a commercial break, anchor Sally Thorner was ready to sign off the news about 11:50 p.m. (running late because of an Orioles game)

Veteran Baltimore newsman Sunni Khalid, who was fired in March by WYPR radio, started work Tuesday as an assignment editor at WMAR (Channel 2), he said. Khalid, a former Baltimore Sun and NPR staffer, was the first newsroom employee hired by the city's public radio station. He had been on probation at WYPR for comments he posted on Facebook. It later was alleged that he made an obscene gesture toward another journalist who was visiting the public radio station. Khalid and WYPR declined comment on his dismissal.

Robert L. Skillman III, a professional photographer who had been a part-time weekend assignment editor at WMAR-TV for a decade, died Tuesday of a heart attack at Northwest Hospital. The Northwood resident was 59. Mr. Skillman was attending the annual Ed Block Courage Awards ceremony at Martin's West when he collapsed from a heart attack. He was taken to Northwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, family members said. Mr. Skillman was born in Baltimore and raised in Northwood.

Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show, "Katie," will be airing on WMAR-TV starting next fall, Bill Hooper, the station's general manager said. The Disney-ABC show will air at either 3 or 4 p.m., both key time slots because of their potential to drive viewers into the early evening local newscasts. Couric's will air live at 3 in many markets, but general managers will have the option in some cases of carrying it at 4 p.m. so that it can lead into the 5 p.m. news. With many stations like Baltimore's WJZ starting their early evening news at 4 p.m., feeding the show live at 3 seems like a sound idea.

Veteran Baltimore newsman Sunni Khalid, who was fired in March by WYPR radio, started work Tuesday as an assignment editor at WMAR (Channel 2), he said. Khalid, a former Baltimore Sun and NPR staffer, was the first newsroom employee hired by the city's public radio station. He had been on probation at WYPR for comments he posted on Facebook. It later was alleged that he made an obscene gesture toward another journalist who was visiting the public radio station. Khalid and WYPR declined comment on his dismissal.

Talk about two political careers going in opposite directions. Last Sunday, I wrote about the top Sunday morning public affairs shows like "Meet the Press"  falling in love with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and booking him every chance they get. I missed the debut that day of a sorry little 30-minute piece of political propaganda called "Politics Unplugged" -- the product of former governor Bob Ehrlich and his wife, Kendel, buying time Sunday...

From a Facebook alert by WMAR-TV of Baltimore: "A storm with the potential to bring damaging winds and hail is moving in from the east. "               Now it doesn't behoove The Sun , which once published a short article about a traffic accident thirty miles east  of Ocean City, to be too haughty about the compass-challenged. But the link to WMAR's website, with its radar map showing storms crossing Ohio, headed eastward, might have been some protection from this slip. 

Robert L. Skillman III, a professional photographer who had been a part-time weekend assignment editor at WMAR-TV for a decade, died Tuesday of a heart attack at Northwest Hospital. The Northwood resident was 59. Mr. Skillman was attending the annual Ed Block Courage Awards ceremony at Martin's West when he collapsed from a heart attack. He was taken to Northwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, family members said. Mr. Skillman was born in Baltimore and raised in Northwood.

In July when Marianne Banister was dropped by WBAL-TV, I wrote about the move as part of a larger issue of middle-aged women anchors being fired as cost cutting moves. Read that here . Last week, Sue Simmons, a long-time star on local TV in New York, made the same kind of headlines when WNBC-TV said goodbye to her after a long run atop the NYC ratings. And while Simmons is 68, her 68-year-old male co-anchor remains on the job. Well, Banister will be back on local TV Sunday for the first time since WBAL dumped her. She'll be talking about the changing dynamics of TV news at 11 a.m. Sunday on Richard Sher's "Square Off. " I know I appreciated Banister's straight talk back in July when I first reported the story with her. She didn't pull any punches about the fact that leaving WBAL was not her decision.

Richard Sher's "Square Off," Baltimore's longest-running public affairs, moves to 11 a.m. Sunday on WMAR-TV's schedule. "We're excited about making the move," says Sher, "because we will no longer be competing with shows like 'Meet the Press' or 'Sunday Morning.' By 11 a.m. those shows are gone, and it's clear sailing for us -- and our audience focused on issues that matter locally. "      

Andrea Parquet-Taylor, news director for WMAR-TV, is leaving the Baltimore station after less than a year to take the same position with WXYZ-TV in Detroit, according to colleagues. Both stations are ABC affiliates owned by the E.W. Scripps Co. WMAR general manager Drew Berry would not confirm her new appointment, but noted that Scripps had made a series of executive shifts recently. "We expect another announcement Monday," he said. WXYZ's vice president general manager, Grace Gilchrist, did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.

UPDATES AGAIN 6:10 p.m. Wednesday with more comments from Berk on reaction to his departure. UPDATES Wednesday morning With Berk comments at end. Weatherman Justin Berk is no longer with Baltimore's WMAR-TV, according to Bill Hooper, the station's general manager. "Friday was Justin's last day," Hooper said in a telephone insterview with the Sun Tuesday. "We have been going back and forth for months on terms of a contract, and the two sides just couldn't come together.

Katie Couric's new syndicated talk show, "Katie," will be airing on WMAR-TV starting next fall, Bill Hooper, the station's general manager said. The Disney-ABC show will air at either 3 or 4 p.m., both key time slots because of their potential to drive viewers into the early evening local newscasts. Couric's will air live at 3 in many markets, but general managers will have the option in some cases of carrying it at 4 p.m. so that it can lead into the 5 p.m. news. With many stations like Baltimore's WJZ starting their early evening news at 4 p.m., feeding the show live at 3 seems like a sound idea.