BANGOR, Maine — The management of Bangor’s ABC and Fox affiliates will continue the expansion of the TV stations that began last year even as it seeks to replace the two reporters who resigned on-air earlier this week.
“I plan on hiring someone within a week from today. I have already reached out to one person and will be having dinner with them this weekend,” Mike Palmer, general manager and vice president of WVII-TV, Channel 7, and WFVX-TV, Channel 22, said Friday.
In 2011, the stations began investing in new equipment, adding staff and expanding news programming to include a new studio set, high-definition technology and two morning news shows.
“We have also contracted with a local entity and our new website is built,” Palmer said Friday. “It’s not on live yet, but will debut next week.”
News director Cindy Michaels and executive producer Tony Consiglio resigned at the end of the 6 p.m. newscast they anchored Tuesday.
Palmer said that with the hiring of replacement employees, he’s looking to continue the renovation and expansion of the news stations that began early last year. He said both new hires should be in place by early 2013.
“We want someone who is a happy warrior, who is dynamic and can find the news and break news,” said Palmer, who has been general manager for 10 of his 13 years at WVII.
Palmer said he’ll have a news director named by the end of the year.
Unlike Michaels and Consiglio, the new anchors will not also hold the titles of news director or executive producer.
“We think it’s too much for one person, to anchor the news and also be a director. It’s two jobs,” Palmer said.
At least for now, Lindsey Mills and Jared Pliner, who started anchoring a new 10 p.m. Sunday newscast in September, will co-anchor the stations’ 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts starting Monday.
The 10 p.m. Sunday newscast will expand to Saturday once ABC’s regular college football season concludes.
Meanwhile, Michaels and Consiglio were interviewed for a coming story in The New York Times, and Michaels is having a business article she wrote about Yarmouth-based Cuddledown home furnishings business published in Downeast magazine.
The circumstances surrounding their surprising exit from WVII continue to fuel discussion, and some have disputed their stated reasons for leaving.
Michaels and Consiglio said they left because of longstanding interference in the stations’ news operation by upper management and an expectation to do, in the words of Michaels, “somewhat unbalanced news, politically, in general.”
Palmer said that not only does upper management not interfere with news, Michaels and Consiglio are not being truthful about their reasons for leaving.
Palmer and a few station employees have said the main reason for their resignations was the impending departure of Consiglio, who, according to Palmer, was going to be let go next week.
“I can tell you on the record that he was going to be let go, Cindy knew about it, and she could not go on without him,” Palmer said.
“That statement is untrue,” Michaels said Friday. “And it’s station policy that employees have to be written up three times before being fired and Tony had not been written up once.”
Yet when asked a moment later if she knew Consiglio was going to be let go, she had a different response.
“I don’t want to answer that,” Michaels said.
She also was asked about statements by Palmer and other station employees that she was offered a contract extension with the provision that she would not retain her news director title.
“I know they wanted to move me to the 10 and 11 newscasts to anchor, but I wasn’t even under contract,” she said.
Peter Farrar, a master control operator for the stations, said he was one of nearly a dozen employees who met with Michaels and Consiglio after their resignations.
“She told all of us the reason why. They both knew that he was going to be gone. She mentioned it to us after they resigned,” said Farrar, who worked at WLBZ-TV, Channel 2, in Bangor for six years before coming to WVII a year ago. “And she either said she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be news director or actually knew outright that she wasn’t going to continue as news director.”
Farrar said Michaels recruited him to become WVII’s assignment editor, but he left that job after a month.
WVII has historically ranked third among Bangor’s three main TV news outlets. WFVX became a Fox sister station affiliate in 2003. In the most recent Nielsen ratings for the Bangor Designated Marketing Area taken last July, WABI-TV, Channel 5, ranked first in average viewers, ages 18 and older, for 6 p.m. Monday-Friday with 36,000. WLBZ-TV had 20,000, and WVII-TV had 2,000. In average number of adult viewers (ages 25-54) from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, WABI ranked first at 10,500; WLBZ at 6,300; and WVII at 500.
Still, the mood at WVII-WFVX seems to be on the upswing, according to a few current employees.
“Let’s put it this way, the newsroom has been a much happier place the last three days,” Farrar said Friday afternoon.
Can we suck any more useless news out of this story? No one cares
Bottom line is we are never going to know the truth.
Yeah, probably, but have ANY examples of telling a one sided, biased story been shown? Any?
Yeah Probably, but have ANY examples of one sided, biased reporting been presented? Any examples at all where both sides have not been put on the air?
Yeah, probably not. Have ANY examples of bias, telling only one side of a news story actually been shown? Any examples, at all?
Just how many accounts do you have John_Galt???? Next question, is this just so you can boost your own ratings? Just asking ROFLMAO! John_Galt, Guest1, and Guest 2.
When have you ever heard the truth out of Fox News?
Or MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN PBS or DEMOCRACY NOW. Let’s get real all news has a slant or half truths to it. That is why it’s important for an informed public to get their news from a variety of news sources and then somewhere in there you can figure out what’s really going on.
I liked Cindy Mchaels, I thought she was a great news director. Unfortunately they are going to hire a “cute” news anchor who will just report.
By the way why do you know so much about Fox News?
And Michaels isn’t good looking?
I think that Mike Palmer should be the one let go. He has gotten to big for his own self.
I agree, looking at their market share he !FAILS
I think that Mike Palmer should be let go. He has grown to big for himself. I think that if they brought someone new in that the rateings would go up.
Mike Palmer should get a raise for what these two have put him through! Don’t like it? Then they should have applied for General Manager, then they could make the rules! That’s how it works! Rah rah know your role!
These guys lost me when they lost Consiglio – I liked him and I feel like he got shafted.
And Michaels was great too, also a great reporter and interviewer.
“I don’t want to answer that,” Michaels said. Why not? What are you hiding?
because she does NOT have to answer any questions, she quit!!! and good on her!!“ (quote )Let’s put it this way, the newsroom has been a much happier place the last three days,” Farrar said Friday afternoon.
That comment is just plain delusional!!
She won’t now, until her next job interview! Rah rah accountability!
Aw come on. It’s a Fox News outlet. They are owned by the conservative right. What’s the big question?
The station is NOT owned by Fox.
But WVII is allied with local Fox and seems to share a similar pyhilosophy.
Does anyone else think that this story is getting far too much pub? I understand that a news anchor (much less two) resigning on air is not that common, but it has been nearly a week. Let’s move on. I guess I’m not completely getting the nationwide attraction to this.
I agree! The librul media is trying to turn these two into heroes. They sound like rabble-rousers to me,
Don’t you just hate it when the sheep start jumping the fences. Why can’t they just stay in the corral and wait for their sheering.
Odd, given that both are Republicans.
What did I miss? Did they say that?
How can you say that about the “librul” media, when both have “confessed” to being republicans? Is “rabble rousing” confined solely within the “librul” ranks? You’ve been Trumped.
Huh?
i hope he hires Craig Colson i liked him when he was at channel 5. they let her go another one dont know if she is still around is Felicia knight
You mean let HIM go? Craig is guy last I knew.lol You might have meant Lanie Witt..
“We want someone who is a happy warrior, who is dynamic and can find the news and break news,” said Palmer, who has been general manager for 10 of his 13 years at WVII.
But above all else, we want someone that will never question management or actually want to question officials and the truth of the news. I mean, we cant have people going off all half-cocked on us and actually think they are journalists or something.
Questioning authority when the wrong politicians are in charge is the American Way! Questioning management at a private business isn’t the American way at all. Getting in the way of making profit for investors is about as anti-American as can be!
Local ‘Big Deal TeeVee Nooze’ outlets aren’t in a financial position to ‘expand’…only to tread water by replacing high-dollar ‘talent’ with high-schoolers. It really is hysterical watching ‘management’ spin this ‘their way.’ The got blindsided and their only retort is to laughably suggest that this was their idea all along.
Bangor is market #153; the only talent they’ll attract aside from high-schoolers will be found in markets 170 and lower. Perhaps 180 and lower, owing to the disdain people have for re-locating to the upper reaches of nowhere.
First, it’s Down East magazine, not Downeast.
Second, I think this story has gone beyond its shelf life for such detailed conversational quotes that don’t really add anything. It looks as though the Bangor Daily just wants to get something up on the website for the weekend to make things look fresh.
Thank you! Down East!! It’s annoying that one publication gets another one’s name wrong.
It’s a good story that could have far reaching results.
““I plan on hiring someone within a week from today. I have already
reached out to one person and will be having dinner with them this
weekend,” Mike Palmer”
I would like to be privy to that meeting…… It would go something like this I am sure.
Mike Palmer would say something along the lines of “you do realize the earth is flat and that dinosaurs and man lived together until Noah built his ark and the figured out he couldn’t fit all the dinosaurs on board which accounts for the dinosaurs going extinct. Also the earth is cooling not warming and you are NOT to do any story on GW without having a one of “our” deniers on to show the sheeple where they are wrong, here is our list from Ailes and Murdoch that list the deniers you are allowed to interview. Yeah I know it is a short list and many names have had to be scratched out, but it is what it is and it is all I have so this IS what you will go with. Now as far as gays and SSM you will not do any stories on that unless you have at least two people from the formerly called Christian Civic League, now called the Maine’s
Family Policy Council, because of the fact they weren’t very
Christian. Okay I am sure there will be more for us to discuss as I get
my orders from the MHPC, Ailes, Murdoch, and of course the Koch
brothers, Pat Robertson, and Family Research Council among others. But don’t get the idea that we are in anyway interfering with or trying to tell you what news can be broadcast………. By the way this discussion never happened you got it?”
What naughty things to say, John. You’d never get anything resembling this out in hard copy in Maine.
Please remember that they were all on the same team when it came to slanting the news. The great breakup had to to with being unable to tolerate the micro management of every aspect of their lives at the station rather than what they could and couldn’t say.
This isn’t surprising as we hear that micro managers are very common in the broadcasting business.
The humble Farmer
Sadly, that’s the way it is. But as with Fox addicts, they refuse to acknowledge it.
Unable to swallow Palmer’s contention that he has a hands-off policy with the News Department. You can bet it’s the same at the other two stations – WABI and WLBZ.
We need to know the full story,without having to switch to out of state stations or publications. So far, the BDN has done a great job keeping us tuned to this Jack Paar – style walk-off. But perhaps Cindy and Tony could sit down with Andy Neff and lay it all out for him. He deserves the scoop, just like we need to know what really goes on behind the scenes in a local TV Newsroom.
The fact that both Cindy and Tony are close friends, their shared conflict over news values, and future plans, have all the ingredients for very interesting human interest story.
I enjoyed their newscasts. Both good speakers.They made a great couple. Always smartly attired, always pleasant and calm, without the usual histrionics, which dominate other local TV and many national newscasts.
They news casts were free of the irritating arm waving and finger pointing, which pollutes many local and national newscasts. WABI news and weather folk like to stage a casual chat about the weather, or news story, as though they’re having a cool one at the Sea Dog. Viewers have to be contented with side shots of the talkers, and apparently irritated co-anchors who seem left out of the chat.
Cindy and Tony are pro’s. There will be a lot of antagonism directed at the duo as this little walk-off continues to draw attention. But no critic can deny that both are excellent newscasters.
i hope they hire craig colson
BDN can table this story any time. It is old, and we don’t care.
I know, talk about beating a dead horse..
There’s still a lot of kick left, beyond what you’ve read.
That sounds more like a lot of conservative rhetoric.
Yes, and Liberal rhetoric too…….They are guilty of the same stuff..
Did you look at the ratings numbers? A change was needed. They probably did the station a favor.
Up until last week, I didn’t even know that WVII-7 had a 6:00pm news cast.
All of the latest state-of-the-art equipment in the world will not improve any television station which, at its core, has lousy management.
You check this out yourself online….It is illegal in Canada to broadcast FOX news because the parliament voted to outlaw “false, misleading or made up news” on Canadian stations…..
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/foxcanada.asp
They are smart up there.
Gerald that is an urban legend, Fox is allowed to and does broadcast on Canadian cable outlets.
“To learn who rules, find who you aren’t allowed to criticize.” – Voltaire
There’s so much lying in the news media, including the Bangor Daily News, that I have a difficult time believing anything that I read or hear from the media. I have no confidence in the veracity of the Bangor Daily News, just as I have no confidence in television broadcast news.
Then why comment about something you believe is a lie?
Why wouldn’t I? Does that fact that I consider the modern media to be over-run by liars with political agendas disqualify me from commenting? I think you’re stupid.
Unless you can substantiate your own lies about the media, don’t act so stupid.
Back up your claims with facts. You don’t have any. Typical tea party name calling.
Can you cite one story which is a lie?
Yes.
The station manager Mike Palmer has been known for downplaying the possibility of global warming, and denying his reporters the opportunity to report on it. This discounts any of his explanations about anything.
Since when is hiring and firing in any business deserving of this sort of news?What ELSE is going on here?
I honestly don’t believe any of this. I think that the news station is happy that they are getting all of this publicity over Michaels and Consiglio leaving, therefore they’re carrying out their so-called “story” to the BDN. WVII is clearly not telling the truth here. There’s something fishy going on.
A News Reporter is to report the news as fact. No SPIN should be allowed. The Media is part of the blame for the American political parties attacking each other.
Frankly, it is insulting to watch a news broadcast that allows political Spin. We simply turn it Off. The Gen. Mgr. of this station seems to have an attitude that could use some adjustment.
@Palmer: you had two anchors with all of the attributes you wanted and were “happy warriors” until you meddled.