TV briefs: Jeff Hullinger expands role at 11 Alive; CNN reshuffling; UPtv film 'Where's the Love?'
Jeff Hullinger is returning to his sports roots: he will doing sports anchoring at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m on top of his existing duties as 10 p.m. news anchor on WATL-TV and general news assignment reporting.
Ellen Crooke, his news director, made the announcement this morning via email.
He joined WXIA-TV, the NBC affiliate, in 2010, then started his WATL duties in 2011 along with his 11 Alive reporting job.
Hullinger has had a long history in Atlanta. He spent 18 years at WAGA-TV from 1984 to 2002 covering sports. From 2007 to 2009, he anchored at WSB Radio. For a time, he was unemployed but Crooke brought him back to TV in 2010.
What becomes of sports anchor Sam Crenshaw, who has been with 11 Alive for more than 15 years? Her memo doesn't mention Crenshaw, who has been on a month-to-month basis there and hasn't been on air as much lately.
Sports anchor Randy Waters retired last year after 29 years.
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CNN is shifting 50 jobs, which means folks in those positions will have to reapply for new jobs if they want to stay - or take a severance package, according to TVNewser.
Many of those jobs are in Atlanta, where half of CNN's overall staff is based. Departments impacted include CNN Digital, CNN Money, Newsgathering and the CNN Library.
The network is integrating digital and TV news gathering and overall head count is not expected to change.
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Atlanta-based UpTV is debuting a new film that was shot locally on Saturday May 3 at 7 p.m. called "Where's The Love?"
The film stars Lamman Rucker (UP's Sugar Mommas, "Meet the Browns"), Denise Boutte ("Meet the Browns," "Days of Our Lives"), Terri J. Vaughn, Ahmed Lucan, David Banner, Shirley Strawberry (of Steve Harvey's morning radio show), Tommy Ford and Trina Braxton.
V-103's Big Tigger is in the film, too.
Here's a summary of what it's about:
It is the one-year anniversary of the talk show Where’s The Love? , hosted by married relationship experts and doctors Sebastian (Lamman Rucker) and Ryan Reid (Denise Boutte). They are in their mid-30s, great looking and have a successful counseling practice complete with best-selling books and an Emmy®-nominated TV show. Ryan and Sebastian seem to have it all, but secretly their relationship is falling apart. They’ve been keeping up appearances to Sebastian’s sister Kai (Terri J. Vaughn) and her husband Rod (Darian “Big Tigger” Morgan), Ryan’s best friend Sidney (David Banner), their producer Paige (Nicole Eggert), Ryan’s editor Dale (Karon Joseph Riley), their patients, their fans and the public to save their lucrative careers – until one day when it all comes out. Now, Ryan and Sebastian have to decide whether their own marriage can be saved.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
