Poor Dan Gross. He must be bored.

The Daily News columnist recently posted a gossip blurb first reported by CityPaper.  The next stars of Eyewitness News of our Lives haven’t officially been separated yet.  At least, according to the Palm Restaurant.

The eatery, known for throwing caricatures of famous Philadelphians on its walls, has a pairing of Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane posing near each other.  Still no word on plans to either separate or remove altogether.

In the cell phone image on the left, I think we can make out CBS3 sportsguy Beasely Reece. And is that Kathy Orr on the right? Maybe Michael Colleran next to Larry?

In related news, rumors abounded that Mendte would be appearing in federal court today. But that’s the magic of gossip. Not all of it’s true.

In more related news, I find out in three weeks if I made the cut for Wheel of Fortune. That is not a rumor.

Don’t worry.  Brangelina has not yet given birth.

The Associated Press covered a French doctor’s announcement that Angelina Jolie checked into the hospital for normal baby reasons.  No emergency, no pinching a baby’s bottom.

However, one small graf from the AP stood out in my mind…

“Mrs. Angelina Jolie and her husband, Mr. Brad Pitt, told me to tell you that she is doing absolutely fine,” said the doctor, apparently unaware that the actors aren’t married.

Well, excuse me.  Not even I, a person who wrote an entertainment column for a year and keep up to date on the entertainment page on cnn.com, could keep track of which Hollywoodites are married and which ones aren’t.

Granted, the AP should have made a correction if they used that quote. Another solution? Don’t use that quote.

Now I’m taking much less (to no) offense to this than I may be portraying, but it’s humorous the doc made that mistake and the AP pointed it out.

The solution?  If you’re dating in Hollywood, get married.  That makes things easier for when you get divorced, as well. No?

Thank you, philly.com.

The Web site that is Philadelphia assembled for us an archive.  An archive entitled “Alycia Lane in the News.”

Don’t worry.  Larry’s on there, too.  It might as well be called “CBS3 in the News.”

And the latest story comes from the columnist who is Philadelphia, who assembled for us her thoughts defending Alycia.

Jill Porter wrote a column that many people will laugh at.  Many people won’t take it seriously.  It’s questionable if she even takes it seriously.

In a nutshell, her column says that we, the news-crazed Philadelphia public, never gave Alycia a chance.  Maybe she’s not the ditzy diva the Philadelphia media has made her out to be.

We ought to believe that, Porter says.  But we probably won’t.

That’s because this long saga that began December 14 after an incident involving a news anchor, a New York City cop and a taxi cab (sounds like the setup for a joke) is finally coming to an end.  There are only two more milestones to come - the future of Mr. Mendte’s federal investigation and the outcome of Lane’s lawsuit against KYW.

Well, unless Mendte files a wrongful termination lawsuit.  But let’s pretend that’s not an option.

But these outcomes aren’t what we care about.  We cared about the public destruction of two beloved news anchors - those whom we loved to watch and who will likely not be on the Philadelphia airwaves anymore.

And you know what?  We’re going to miss them.  I already do.

Way to go, Philadelphia.

But the big story tonight is…

Larry Kane coined a variation of that title phrase on WPVI’s Action News in the 1970s. Afterward, he moved on to KYW-TV in 1993 and retired 10 years later. His replacement?

Well…Marc Howard. He lasted at the 11 p.m. anchor desk for about eight months before moving to 4 p.m. His replacement(s)?

Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane.

It seemed like a beautiful partnership. Mendte, stolen from NBC10, and Lane, wanting cooler temps than Florida, began to liven up a recently rebranded station that had been sinking in the ratings.

I was one of those who “Made the Switch” with Mendte and meteorologist Kathy Orr. And I haven’t gone back since. CBS3 hasn’t given me reason to.

Read the rest of this entry »

CBS3’s Susan Barnett announced today on Eyewitness News at 6 that her former co-anchor, Larry Mendte, has been released from his contract.

The result of the federal investigation into Mendte’s alleged snooping of previously fired CBS3 diva Alycia Lane’s private e-mail has not come, but Barnett said a private investigation by CBS3 led to the dismissal.

CBS3 had a short blurb on its Web site shortly after the announcement, but does not have any official statement yet.

No word on who will replace Mendte in the anchor chair. He’s been off the air since May 29. Anchor/reporter Chris May has been filling in at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. since.

This release from contract may come at a convenient time for Mendte. His wife, FOX29 anchor Dawn Stensland, is in need of a co-anchor for the FOX 10:00 News since the dismissal of her co-anchor, Dave Huddleston. Could Philadelphia see its first married anchor team?

Last summer at CBS3, three on-air talent had nice offices overlooking the city while most other anchors and reporters had oversized cubicles or less. Those three offices - occupied by Mendte, Lane and retiree Marc Howard - have all been vacated.

Weeks of logging on to CBS3 looking for one particular story have finally been validated. Not because I’m taking a stance…just because I like network news drama.

Just another day in the Philadelphia media market.

Browsing the Phillies Web site yesterday, I was surprised to see a familiar headline.

“Gee, that looks familiar,” I thought to myself. A few words, followed by a colon, followed by more words.

“Hmm…interesting setup.”

And then I read.

It seems the Phillies have plagiarized off my column. That’s right. As in the picture above, the Phillies stole the soon-to-be trademarked Cut to the Chase name for promoting second baseman Chase Utley’s All-Star lead.

OK, so it’s not trademarked. And the Phillies didn’t plagiarize. But I’m on a plagiarizing fix these days.

Regardless, I’m flattered that the Phillies have chosen to use the name of a prestigious, thoughtful column to advertise their truly unstoppable second baseman.

Next thing I know, Wheel of Fortune will be stealing the name of this blog post for a Before & After puzzle.

I’m on to something here.

Below are two links to two articles. I read the CNN.com article, from the Associated Press, earlier today. Just now, I read the FoxNews.com article, which apparently was written by FoxNews.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/05/people.rosie.odonnell.ap/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,363455,00.html

What caused me to take note was some very similar wording. If you take a look at the last few paragraphs on FoxNews, they’re almost exactly verbatim from the CNN.com article. Are they not? Help me people!

The only difference…Fox News decided the more important news to report was that Rosie O’Donnell thinks Elisabeth Hasselbeck is “very attractive.” Not until halfway through do we find the alleged plagiarism.

PLAGIARISM

the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.

-Dictionary.com

See? That’s not plagiarism since I credited dictionary.com with the words I stole. But in my opinion, prefacing the second part of the story with “O’Donnell told AP Radio…” doesn’t cut it. That paragraph is a bit suspiciously paraphrased as well, but that’s apparently neither here nor there.

And for the record, I typically have nothing against Fox. I accept that they take a conservative stance, whether they acknowledge it or not. That’s what I expect, and that’s generally what I get.

Philadelphia is an interesting town. No, not because of its array of neighborhoods. No, not because of the culture. Not even because of South Street.

Because of its OBSESSION with the news. Not necessarily the news itself, but the people presenting the news.

My post about the FBI probe of CBS3 anchor Larry Mendte was the most popular post ever in my young blog’s life. It allowed by blog to garner the most hits it has.

Also high in the hits was my post of reporters leaving CBS3. You people are almost as obsessed as I am.

At least I’m a broadcast journalism major in college.

I feel in situations like the most recent, it’s my job to provide what has been released. I don’t feel it’s my place to make commentary on such stories immediately (not those involving newscasters, but fresh, hard news stories). For example, you may see the occasional Alycia Lane joke in this blog. And you’ll laugh at it, too.

Being born and raised in the Philadelphia area, I know nothing different. For me, it’s normal to be interested in news production. In Lubbock, probably not so much. I guess I’ll learn that soon enough.

Take pride in your news, Philadelphia. But don’t judge, at least immediately. These people are thrust into the celebrity status, which of course, is mostly their choosing. For now, chat, gossip and banter. Hold the commentary until the verdict.

It’s Larry Mendte’s turn.

Philly.com and Channel 6 are the first to report that the main anchor on CBS3 is at the center of an FBI probe for possibly snooping on former co-anchor Alycia Lane.

Mendte’s personal computer has been confiscated and officials told CBS3 not to destroy any work files. The probe is looking into the possibility that Mendte snooped in Lane’s personal e-mail account, which is considered a federal crime.

Mendte’s attorney says FBI agents approached Mendte Thursday on allegations allegedly made by Lane. Lane’s attorney denies such comments.

CBS3 is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s office. In a statement, the station said, “Late this week CBS3 became aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding anchor Larry Mendte. CBS3 is cooperating fully with that office in this investigation.”

Mendte’s current co-anchor Susan Barnett was on the air solo Friday night. According to Philly.com, he showed up for work Friday but suddenly left. And yes, his bio is still on CBS3’s Web site, as linked to above.

Please note that a report like this and those on other media would only occur in a media-obsessed town like Philadelphia. It’s a crazy city in which we live.

Photos courtesy 6abc.com.

For some unknown reason, the media seem to be obsessed with Sex and the City. It seems that every night on the news, you find yet another package on the women’s return.

But the latest package I saw, which just aired on CBS3 tonight, takes a different look.

Tonight, Robin Mackintosh (of all reporters) introduced us to the Men’s Guide to Sex and the City.

His interviews consisted of fans who informed us of all the characters, from Carrie to… OK, so I wasn’t paying so much attention that I learned their names, but give me some credit.

It’s a funny, unusual take what you may have seen before. For the diehard fans, it’s nothing new. In fact, it may be repetitive. But odds are, if you’re a diehard fan, you’re a woman. So this report isn’t really for you in the first place, is it?

Well, unless, of course, you’re not a fan.

But in any case, enjoy this report. And if you don’t, enjoy the fact that Robin Mackintosh is the one with the assignment.