ORLANDO—The National Association of Broadcasters issued a statement condemning violence against journalists after a reporter and news photographer for Spectrum News 13 in Orlando were shot yesterday while reporting on a homicide that occurred earlier in the Pine Hills area of the city.

Police identified the assailant as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who, according to a witness report to the Associated Press, approached the news crew and shot the journalist and photographer and afterwards went to a house nearby and shot a mother and her 9-year old daughter, who died of her injuries. Spectrum News reported that the journalist died and that the  mother and news photographer were in critical condition at a local hospital.

The Spectrum News 13 news vehicle was not clearly identified as such, according to police. A news crew from another local Orlando station WFTV was also reporting from the scene and provided medical assistance to the wounded journalists.

In a news conference, local law enforcement officials said Moses was also a suspect in the earlier shooting that the news crews were covering. 

Spectrum News issued the following statement: 

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.”

NAB CEO Curtis LeGey said “we are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in Orlando, Florida today. Our hearts go out to the families and colleagues of the Spectrum News 13 crew members and all the victims who have been affected by this senseless act of violence. Journalists play a vital role bringing breaking news to the public, and often putting their lives in danger in the process. This is a reminder of the risks that members of the press face in their efforts to inform the public, and we stand with our colleagues in condemning all acts of violence against journalists.” 

ORLANDO, Fla.—Eight TV stations in Orlando Florida have launched NextGen TV broadcasts, expanding the number of viewers who can get ATSC 3.0 signals in central Florida. 

Along with Little Rock Arkansas, it was the second market to introduce NextGen TV services on July 1 before the long holiday weekend. 

Orlando, which is the nation’s 17th largest television market, joins Tampa, Tallahassee, and Pensacola in central Florida and nearly 30 other early-adopter cities across the country where NextGen TV services are already available. 

“With NextGen TV, viewers are immersed in stunning video with brilliant color, sharper images, and deeper contrast, making them feel like they’re part of the action,” explained Mike McClain, senior vice president and general manager of WOFL-TV, WRBW-TV, and WOGX-TV. “Offering a whole new dimension to broadcast TV viewing, the Dolby Audio System for NextGen TV offers movie-theater quality sound, consistent volume across channels, and Voice + enhanced dialogue so viewers can hear every voice clearly.”

The eight local stations launching the new digital TV broadcast technology are Fox Television owned-and-operated WRBW-TV (MyNetwork, Channel 65) and WOFL-TV (FOX, Channel 35), Cox Media Group’s WFTV-TV (ABC, Channel, 9) and WRDQ-TV (Independent, Channel, 27), Graham Media Group’s WKMG-TV (CBS, Channel 6), Hearst Television’s WESH-TV (NBC, Channel 2) and WKCF-TV (CW, Channel 18), and University of Central Florida’s WUCF-TV (PBS, Channel 24).

“Viewers in Orlando have a lot to be excited about, as NextGen TV is going to change the way they experience live broadcast television, and it will only get better as more features are added down the road by their local stations,” said John Soapes, president and general manager of WESH-TV. “NextGen TV ensures the future of television, where content and the experience of watching culminates, leaving viewers informed, entertained, and inspired.”

Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV, the group that is coordinating NextGen TV station launches added, “NextGen TV merges over-the-air TV with the internet, changing the way viewers watch live broadcast television and revolutionizing their interactions with their home screens. Because NextGen TV can also be enhanced with internet content, viewers across central Florida will be able to get the most out of live news, live events, and live sports.”

The participating stations have worked together to ensure current programming remains available to all viewers, regardless of whether their television service is provided over-the air or by a cable or satellite company. Antenna viewers can simply rescan their TV sets to ensure full service. 

Viewers can learn more about NextGen TV by visiting www.watchnextgentv.com, which offers a guide to cities carrying the service, as well as links to available NextGen TV models.

Click here for a map and list of where NextGen TV is now deployed. 

ORLANDO, Fla.—Locast, the free local broadcast TV streaming service, has launched for the Orlando TV market, making more than 70 local TV channels available to the market’s more than four million residents over the internet.

Locast delivers streams of local TV stations via the internet onto phones, tablets, laptops or streaming media devices at no cost so that viewers in the markets it serves can have access to local news, storm coverage, emergency information, health and safety updates, sports and entertainment. Locast is able to do this as a nonprofit, under the Copyright Act of 1976.

The launch of Locast in the Orlando market comes ahead of the NFL’s conference championship games taking place on Jan. 24, which will include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Green Bay Packers. The other game is the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Buffalo Bills.

Locast will be accessible to viewers in nine counties in the Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne DMA, including Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia.

Orlando is the fourth Florida market to offer Locast. The service previously launched in Miami, Tampa Bay and West Palm Beach. Locast is now available 28 markets across the country.

For more information, visit www.locast.org.  

Petaluma, CA ­– Point Source Audio (PSA), will be displaying their patent-pending CO2 Confidence Collection, a new class of built-in redundant microphones, at this year’s Infocomm trade show being held June 12-14 in Orlando, FL.

The CO2 Confidence Collection all have dual elements, each measuring a tiny 3mm, that offer built-in redundancy and comes in three styles: headset, lavalier, and in Point Source Audio’s patented EMBRACE™ embodiment. The CO2 dual elements maintain two of the company’s signature features: IP 57 waterproof rating (rated against water, sweat and makeup), and the “unbreakable” headset boom bendable up to 360° to bolster durability.

The CO2 Confidence Collection, released in February 2019, has been gaining market acceptance as a convenient mic redundancy solution in their core theatre market as well as house of worship and corporate audio markets. Forty of PSA’s CO2 headsets were recently utilized for double mic’ing at the 2019 American Israeli Policy Conference (AIPAC) held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, in early March.

The CO2 headset microphones were also used at the recent USITT 2019 Stage Expo for the keynote speech and other high profile events. Jeff Polunas, Special Events Sound Coordinator for the USITT Sound Commission, incorporated the CO2 Confidence mics into his audio rigs saying, “I think they are top of the line products and anyone that would be using them would be happy to have them in their production.”

Attendees can see the full line of specialty miniature, body-worn style microphones and the patented EMBRACE™ earmounted lavalier, as well as in-ear audio headsets at the Infocomm booth 5443. For more information about Point Source Audio’s various audio solutions, visit www.point-sourceaudio.com.

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones — a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, California. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.