Statement: Geraldo Rivera Leaves Fox News and Shannon Sharpe Leaves ESPN
Eusebius McKaiser
Broadcast: UK Broadcaster, Channel 4, has canceled The Big Narstie Show. The BAFTA-winning entertainment show will not be returning for Season 6. According to Channel 4, this decision was made because of creative differences as opposed to cost-cutting. The Big Narstie Show, hosted by rapper Big Narstie and comedian Mo Gilligan, launched in 2018 establishing itself as a driving force for anarchic wit through chats, musical performances, and typical comedy.
Channel 4 stated: ““The decision not to recommission a sixth series of The Big Narstie Show is not part of our response to challenges in the advertising market…We are immensely proud of the five series we have made of this innovative BAFTA-winning show, but we have to look carefully at what we commission each year to make sure we continue to innovate and offer viewers a varied range of programming. We look forward to working with Dice, Expectation and Big Narstie on other projects in the future.”
Eusebius McKaiser, a well-known South African provocateur, broadcaster, writer, and political analyst has passed away. He suffered from; what is suspected to be, an epileptic seizure at his home in Johannesburg at the age of 45.
A statement from Sbu Ngalwa, the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) chairperson, was released stating that McKaiser: “will be missed for his sharp intellect and contribution to the thought leadership discourse in South Africa and beyond"…He held very strong views that he could actually back up. You just had to admire his mind whether you agreed with him or not…He was not shy to challenge anyone, including journalists – pointing out double standards and raising ethical issues. He really made one to sit up and take notice or to check their blindspots. He made a huge contribution to the South African media landscape We are poorer without him."
WNJU Telemundo just snagged a new reporter, Yaimee Bell. Bell is a multimedia journalist joining WNJU New York as a general assignment reporter starting July 10. Bell is from Cuba, she is bilingual speaking both English and Spanish; later earned her Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Universidad Oriente in Santiago, Cuba, and her Master’s degree in Spanish multimedia journalism from FIU (Florida International University in Miami). Working for South Florida Media Network from 2018 to 2019, Bell later worked with Univision Communications in Miami as a digital journalist and then joined KBLR in 2021.
“Yaimee is a talented journalist who cares deeply about the issues and concerns most important to our audience. She is also a versatile multimedia reporter, skilled at delivering the big story across all viewer platforms,” says Alexa Rodriguez, Telemundo 47 news director. “We are excited to welcome Yaimee to the Noticiero 47 Telemundo family.”
Bernadette Valles is named the new VP of Brand & Strategic Marketing of KXAS-KXTX. Previously, Valles was the director of operations for Univision’s KUVN-KSTR Dallas. Valles got her start at Audience Research & Development in Dallas. Joining KSAT San Antonio shortly after, she worked as a promotion producer and moved to KTXA before joining Univision.
“We’re excited to welcome Bernadette to our team and expand Edwin’s role in a purposeful effort to best leverage the synergies of both NBC 5 and Telemundo 39,” said Tony Canales, general manager of NBC station Kmaster's Telemundo station KXTX. “Our stations are uniquely positioned to best serve our North Texas community in two languages and across multiple platforms. Bernadette and Edwin will play a pivotal role in helping us amplify our unique advantages through innovative and creative marketing campaigns.”
Brittany Johnson will be joining WCVB Boston’s investigative team. Johnson started on June 12, coming from KCRA Sacramento. Johnson’s history starts off as a news assistant and guest booker at KCBS-KCAL Los Angeles, then an investigative reporter and anchor at KTVX Salt Lake City, and last KCRA’s investigative team in September 2020.
“As evidenced by her excellent work at our Hearst sister-station KCRA, Brittany is an exceptionally versatile and talented journalist with a track record for breaking critical stories, exposing corruption, and giving victims a voice,” stated Kyle I. Grimes, WCVB president and general manager. “She will be a tremendous asset to the 5 Investigates team uncovering stories that directly impact our community.”
Pam Moore from KRON San Francisco has retired. She has been the longtime anchor at KRON4 since 1991; currently anchoring the evening news. Moore’s last day was June 29; KRON dedicated a special to her at 7 p.m. that evening during her 6 p.m. slot. Some of Moore’s highlights include a five-part news series “About Race” garnering numerous awards like the George Foster Peabody Award and the Pew Center Batten Prize for Civic Journalism. Moore plans to focus on volunteer work after her retirement.
“Over the past three decades, Pam’s care for our community, as well as her unwavering commitment to accuracy and fairness has earned the trust of our viewers and the respect of all who have worked in the KRON newsroom,” Josh Palefsky, KRON news director, stated. “Pam is the journalist that all who are coming into our industry should aspire to become. Pam’s legacy, mentorship, and kindness will continue to shape our coverage for many years. We thank her for an exceptional career at KRON.”
Tamron Hall has announced a premiere date for Season 5. According to TheWrap, the show will return for its fifth season on Tuesday, September 5. The fourth season accumulated major success featuring interviews with Angela Bassett, Erykah Badu, Miranda Lambert, Halle Bailey, Dale Earnhardt. Jr., Billy Porter and Tanya Tucker, and others. The talk show’s fourth season became the most improved daytime talk show, in terms of ratings, according to Nielsen live-plus-seven-day figures of minutes viewed. Hall’s show ranks in the top five daytime talk shows amongst women in the 18-49 and 25-49 age range at No. 5. The Tamron Hall Show has averaged 1.065 million total viewers with Sherri close behind at 1.062 million viewers.
Speaking of Sherri Sherpard, the daytime talk show host has promoted four producers as well as announced her Season 2 premiere date. Sherri has promoted “Emmy-winning producer Fernita Wynn to executive producer and showrunner. Joelle Dawson-Calia was also promoted to executive producer, while Siobhan Schanda and Dan Fitzpatrick were named co-executive producers”. Sherri’s success earned her a renewal from Fox for two years through its 2024-2025 season and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Talk Series and received four Daytime Emmy nominations. The premiere date is set to return on September 18.
“I’m thrilled to have Fernita Wynn promoted to executive producer and showrunner and lead the production team at Sherri for season two. I’m also happy to announce the elevation of Joelle Dawson, Siobhan Schanda and Dan Fitzpatrick, who will work alongside Jawn Murray and me as we continue to bring our ‘good time’ to daytime,” Shepherd said in a statement. “I’m grateful for this rockstar TV team that helped make the first season of Sherri a success and the No. 1 new talk show in daytime. Expect the unexpected as we embark on our second season!”
WCVB Boston also has a new anchor on the way, Jennifer Peñate. Peñate has joined the team as the new weekend evening anchor and general assignment reporter as of June 28. She will co-anchor alongside Shaun Chaiyabhat for weekend evening newscasts and will report during the week. Born in El Salvador, Peñate grew up in Los Angeles and Northwest Arkansas creating an empowerment group for young Latinas named Girls Unstoppable to focus on “overcoming obstacles, developing confidence and higher education”. Peñate anchored English-language newscasts on WFLA-WTTA along with creating and anchoring WTTA’s Spanish-language newscast Noticias Tampa Hoy and contributing to TampaHoy.com; the news site for Spanish speakers.
“Jennifer is a talented journalist whose experience and values will make her an excellent addition to WCVB,” WCVB president and general manager Kyle I. Grimes stated. “She has also been long dedicated to public service having volunteered for numerous nonprofit organizations as well as founding her own focused on mentorship. Jennifer’s journalism excellence combined with her commitment to her community make her a perfect fit for the WCVB team.”
Shannon Sharpe - Cindy Ord
Cable: Geraldo Rivera is leaving Fox News. The Five, an afternoon panel show host fulfilled his last appearances on the network; on June 29 and 30, as he stated on social media prior to. Rivera wrote, “It’s been a great run and I appreciate having had the opportunity. Being the odd man out isn’t always easy. For the time being, I’m still Correspondent at Large.” Rivera joined Fox News in 2001 as a war correspondent, holding numerous reporting and anchoring roles over the years as well as delivering commentary on current events on Fox News programming. During an interview with The Associated Press Rivera discussed tensions behind the scenes that led to his decision,
“There has been a growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences and personal annoyances and gripes. It’s not worth it to me”. When discussing his time on The Five Rivera told AP “It has been a rocky ride, but it has also been an exhilarating adventure that spanned quite a few years. I hope it’s not my last adventure.” His relationship with his conservative co-hosts may have played a part being that it is “a reflection of what the country is going through. … It’s not an easy job if you take it as personally as I do.”
BBC might be creating a Big, Big, Catastrophe. The cable network is facing growing demands to find a resolution for five seasoned female presenters who have “been unavailable to work for months amid a merger of the corporation’s UK and international news channels”. These women of BBC have not presented on the BBC News Channel since March with some being held home against their wishes as the broadcasting network establishes a structure featuring slimmed-down rolling news operations. The five anchors impacted: Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone, Geeta Guru-Murthy, Kasia Madera, and Annita McVeigh have a total combination of more than 100+ years of experience working at BBC. Currently, there are no signs of a resolution; fellow colleagues are in support of the BBC women who are standing up to such harsh and unfair treatment of the women.
One ex-BBC’s presenter said the corporation hasn’t “learned any lessons”. In the past, BBC has faced lawsuits over issues like equal pay and ageism. Commenting on the matter, BBC said: “We value all of our staff but we do not comment on individual HR matters.”
NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe is leaving FS1 talk show Undisputed – ending his seven-year run on the daily series. Sharpe reached a contract buyout agreement with Fox Sports earlier last month when reports came in that tension between Sharpe and fellow co-host Skip Bayless was brewing after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game against the Bengals this past NFL season.
Nonetheless, Sharpe complimented Bayless during his departure stating, “The opportunity you gave me to become what I became ... I’m forever indebted to you and I'll never forget what you did for me. You’ve helped me grow more than you’ll ever know.” Fox Sports has yet to announce a replacement for Sharpe.
ESPN seems to be taking L’s left and right. News reports have come in stating Keyshawn Johnson [morning TV personality], JeffVan Gundy [veteran basketball analyst], Max Kellerman [TV Host], and Jalen Rose [NBA-player-turned-commentator] is leaving ESPN. The sports media giant, according to two sources, stated that executives are looking for a way to cut costs as they deal with changes within the business industry. Approximately 20 people will be notified that they are no longer needed at ESPN, even if their contracts are still in effect for the next couple of months. As for now, ESPN fully intends to pay staffers off for the rest of their agreements, but if offered a job elsewhere terms may be negotiated. ESPN has declined to make any comments.
The company came out with a statement saying: “Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun. This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead. This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company. These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”