Tuesday, April 08, 2008
It's like rooting between a giant douche and a turd sandwich
America's Next Top Model is under fire again - this time from the Parents Television Council, for nudity. The title of this post pretty much says it all.
"Ellen" coming to town
The hokey daytime talk show will be in Chi-Town for one day during May sweeps, taping an episode on May 3. No word on any guests (forget Oprah and Jerry), but I'm certain a Chicago Cub or two may show up. The show is likely to tape at NBC Tower, given Ellen's affiliate here (WMAQ-TV) airs the program at 3 p.m. each weekday.
Ellen has been gaining on Oprah in the ratings the last few months, and was recently upgraded to 4 p.m. in New York at WNBC (until the fall).
Suggestion: Here's a guest for Ellen's Chicago visit... How about Steve Dahl? He'll put a stop to any disco dancing nonsense she may try...
Ellen has been gaining on Oprah in the ratings the last few months, and was recently upgraded to 4 p.m. in New York at WNBC (until the fall).
Suggestion: Here's a guest for Ellen's Chicago visit... How about Steve Dahl? He'll put a stop to any disco dancing nonsense she may try...
Support your local TV critic
A vanishing breed in the business nowadays, TV critics are being the odd individuals out in newspaper cutbacks (with an example being the recent departure of Sun-Times critic Doug Elfman.) If this keeps up, we might not have enough critics to participate in the semi-annual TV Critics' Poll in TV Week...
While Hollywood may be happier over this, a local perspective is clearly being lost - although many critics write about the same programs over and over, while ignoring what's going on in their local market, which is unfortunate. The Arizona Republic TV critic (Bill Goodykoontz) is the best example of this, who is the absolutely the worst (or was - they moved him to the pop culture beat.)
While Hollywood may be happier over this, a local perspective is clearly being lost - although many critics write about the same programs over and over, while ignoring what's going on in their local market, which is unfortunate. The Arizona Republic TV critic (Bill Goodykoontz) is the best example of this, who is the absolutely the worst (or was - they moved him to the pop culture beat.)
Monday, April 07, 2008
The force won't be with us
A special Star Wars Deal or No Deal edition is scheduled to air April 28. As a Star Wars fan, this saddens me. Thank goodness I won't be home this night to participate in the funeral. Is there anything on earth this game show hasn't destroyed? What's next, a special Simpsons edition? I can see it now, with Mr. Burns as The Banker. Excellent.
Spike gets "Married" (and mysteries, too)
More cable news: Male-oriented cable network Spike has acquired the rights to air all 259 episodes of the former Fox comedy Married... With Children beginning in September in a deal worth $12 million.
Married... was Fox's first-ever prime time series (premiering on April 5, 1987), and was the first Fox sitcom to be sold in syndication.
The deal with Sony Pictures Television is for five years with the Viacom-owned cable network paying around $50,000 per episode. Spike plans to run the show in daytime, early fringe, and late fringe time periods.
The program currently airs on FX, but also had a few local broadcast deals, including Fox's duopoly in Los Angeles (where it ran as much as four times a day at one point) and WCIU-TV here in Chicago.
All of those existing contracts end in August, as Spike picks up exclusive rights to the show, plus streaming rights on Spike.com and 40 six-minute "webisodes".
Spike also acquired the rights to Unsolved Mysteries, the former NBC and CBS series once hosted by Robert Stack. Chicagoan Dennis Farina will host the new wraparound segments, which will update the stories. Mysteries moved to Lifetime in 2000, where it ran repeat and first-run episodes.
Trivia: Married... With Children (1987-97) was a raunchy family comedy you can pretty much call the "Family Guy" of its day - hated by TV critics, parents (namely a Michigan housewife), and many others - but loved by fans.
When the program was sold into syndication in 1990, NBC-owned WMAQ-TV became the first network affiliate in a major market to purchase a off-network sitcom for airing in "prime access" (6:30 p.m.) since the Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) went into effect in 1971, which barred network affiliates in the 50 largest markets from airing off-network fare in the hour before prime-time (PTAR was repealed in 1996.) Fox was not considered a network at the time by the FCC, because it did not program more than fifteen hours a week in prime per the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (fin-syn), which barred the Big 3 networks from the syndication business from 1970 until the rules' demise in 1995.
Married... entered syndication in 1991 and was a huge hit for WMAQ, but was dropped from the station in March 1995 due to a cost-cutting move, which sent the program packing to WGN-TV. The program airs on WCIU today.
The dysfunctional family influence of Married... has lived on in comedies ranging from Everybody Loves Raymond to Family Guy, from That '70's Show to The Bernie Mac Show. For better or for worse, the Bundys changed the way we looked at family comedies forever.
Married... was Fox's first-ever prime time series (premiering on April 5, 1987), and was the first Fox sitcom to be sold in syndication.
The deal with Sony Pictures Television is for five years with the Viacom-owned cable network paying around $50,000 per episode. Spike plans to run the show in daytime, early fringe, and late fringe time periods.
The program currently airs on FX, but also had a few local broadcast deals, including Fox's duopoly in Los Angeles (where it ran as much as four times a day at one point) and WCIU-TV here in Chicago.
All of those existing contracts end in August, as Spike picks up exclusive rights to the show, plus streaming rights on Spike.com and 40 six-minute "webisodes".
Spike also acquired the rights to Unsolved Mysteries, the former NBC and CBS series once hosted by Robert Stack. Chicagoan Dennis Farina will host the new wraparound segments, which will update the stories. Mysteries moved to Lifetime in 2000, where it ran repeat and first-run episodes.
Trivia: Married... With Children (1987-97) was a raunchy family comedy you can pretty much call the "Family Guy" of its day - hated by TV critics, parents (namely a Michigan housewife), and many others - but loved by fans.
When the program was sold into syndication in 1990, NBC-owned WMAQ-TV became the first network affiliate in a major market to purchase a off-network sitcom for airing in "prime access" (6:30 p.m.) since the Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) went into effect in 1971, which barred network affiliates in the 50 largest markets from airing off-network fare in the hour before prime-time (PTAR was repealed in 1996.) Fox was not considered a network at the time by the FCC, because it did not program more than fifteen hours a week in prime per the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (fin-syn), which barred the Big 3 networks from the syndication business from 1970 until the rules' demise in 1995.
Married... entered syndication in 1991 and was a huge hit for WMAQ, but was dropped from the station in March 1995 due to a cost-cutting move, which sent the program packing to WGN-TV. The program airs on WCIU today.
The dysfunctional family influence of Married... has lived on in comedies ranging from Everybody Loves Raymond to Family Guy, from That '70's Show to The Bernie Mac Show. For better or for worse, the Bundys changed the way we looked at family comedies forever.
"Project Runway" moves to Lifetime
NBC sues to keep show on Bravo
In a move that surprises everyone in the industry, Lifetime snared the rights to Bravo's hot reality fashion series Project Runway, in a five-year deal with the show's production company, The Weinstein Co.
NBC Universal, the owner of Bravo, has filed suit against the move, saying it had the right of first refusal of the show, and claims it did not get an opportunity to match the offer.
Weinstein said the suit is "without merit".
Runway recently concluded its fourth season on Bravo March 5, where it drew 5.8 million viewers total and drew 4.3 million among adults 18-49.
Project Runway is hosted by former supermodel Heidi Klum.
In a move that surprises everyone in the industry, Lifetime snared the rights to Bravo's hot reality fashion series Project Runway, in a five-year deal with the show's production company, The Weinstein Co.
NBC Universal, the owner of Bravo, has filed suit against the move, saying it had the right of first refusal of the show, and claims it did not get an opportunity to match the offer.
Weinstein said the suit is "without merit".
Runway recently concluded its fourth season on Bravo March 5, where it drew 5.8 million viewers total and drew 4.3 million among adults 18-49.
Project Runway is hosted by former supermodel Heidi Klum.
The sad state of local TV
Last week's purge at the CBS O&Os is just another reminder of how tough things are going on the local TV level, especially in the newsrooms. This article from the Baltimore Sun details how things are really going in the market's local station community, where CBS' WJZ-TV laid off four people last week and ABC affiliate WMAR-TV axed three employees.
Strange thing about it, the GM at market leader WBAL-TV (NBC) says television viewing is at record levels...
Strange thing about it, the GM at market leader WBAL-TV (NBC) says television viewing is at record levels...
T Dog's Think Tank: NBC encourging you to become a pirate
A deal was struck this week that may encourage people to join the Pirates.
No, not the Pittsburgh Pirates, though they need all the help they can get.
I'm talking about the world of download piracy.
NBC last week renewed Friday Night Lights for a third season. The critically-acclaimed drama has struggled in the ratings for the past two seasons on both Tuesday and Friday nights.
But there's a catch. A huge catch. The third season will appear exclusively on satellite TV service Direct TV in the fall while NBC will start airing the program in February.
Huh?
That's right. NBC struck a deal with Direct TV for the satellite service to air 13 episodes, in order to share production costs.
This deal is not without precedent. Last year, NBC struck a deal with Direct TV to air the daytime soap Passions, which the peacock network canceled last season.
Your truly thinks it's great Friday Night Lights is able to come back for a third season. But I have some reservations about this deal.
Why? Well, for one thing, NBC could've put the program on USA or Bravo, for one thing, since NBC owns both networks. NBC already has new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA first with a later run on NBC. Don't know if that move would cut production costs, but if Monk and Psych can run on USA, then maybe Friday Night Lights could as well.
And then, think of all the poor saps who subscribe to Dish Network... No Friday Night Lights for you.
And so, fans who are shut out will now have to wait until February to watch Friday Night Lights.
Or not.
If new episodes aren't streamed on NBC.com or Hulu this fall, viewers will likely resort to downloading the program illegally - via BitTorrent and other file-sharing services, which could erode NBC's viewership for the show when it comes back. The studios have been fighting against such activities, which amounts to piracy.
The bottom line is, NBC should have made a better deal than this. Now it's going to head to Direct TV, which shuts out the majority of the fans - many of which are now going to illegally download the show - making NBC Universal look like hypocrites, and further endangering the future of the show. Futhermore, this move undermines the studios' effort on combating piracy.
What is it with this Country Club mentality all of a sudden? Just because you don't have a certain satellite service, you're being shut out of your favorite TV show? Having just cable isn't good enough anymore? There should be a level of concern raised here.
But what else you expect from Ben "Bulls Ballboy" Silverman, with a 2008-09 lineup that is mediocre at best.
Some fans who don't have Direct TV are not going to wait around for Friday Nights Lights. They will find some way to get those episodes by any means necessary - except signing up with Direct TV. No one is going to get satellite or switch from cable just to watch a single TV show.
So the next time the major studios whine about illegal downloading and piracy, maybe they should whine to one of their own. After all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
No, not the Pittsburgh Pirates, though they need all the help they can get.
I'm talking about the world of download piracy.
NBC last week renewed Friday Night Lights for a third season. The critically-acclaimed drama has struggled in the ratings for the past two seasons on both Tuesday and Friday nights.
But there's a catch. A huge catch. The third season will appear exclusively on satellite TV service Direct TV in the fall while NBC will start airing the program in February.
Huh?
That's right. NBC struck a deal with Direct TV for the satellite service to air 13 episodes, in order to share production costs.
This deal is not without precedent. Last year, NBC struck a deal with Direct TV to air the daytime soap Passions, which the peacock network canceled last season.
Your truly thinks it's great Friday Night Lights is able to come back for a third season. But I have some reservations about this deal.
Why? Well, for one thing, NBC could've put the program on USA or Bravo, for one thing, since NBC owns both networks. NBC already has new episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA first with a later run on NBC. Don't know if that move would cut production costs, but if Monk and Psych can run on USA, then maybe Friday Night Lights could as well.
And then, think of all the poor saps who subscribe to Dish Network... No Friday Night Lights for you.
And so, fans who are shut out will now have to wait until February to watch Friday Night Lights.
Or not.
If new episodes aren't streamed on NBC.com or Hulu this fall, viewers will likely resort to downloading the program illegally - via BitTorrent and other file-sharing services, which could erode NBC's viewership for the show when it comes back. The studios have been fighting against such activities, which amounts to piracy.
The bottom line is, NBC should have made a better deal than this. Now it's going to head to Direct TV, which shuts out the majority of the fans - many of which are now going to illegally download the show - making NBC Universal look like hypocrites, and further endangering the future of the show. Futhermore, this move undermines the studios' effort on combating piracy.
What is it with this Country Club mentality all of a sudden? Just because you don't have a certain satellite service, you're being shut out of your favorite TV show? Having just cable isn't good enough anymore? There should be a level of concern raised here.
But what else you expect from Ben "Bulls Ballboy" Silverman, with a 2008-09 lineup that is mediocre at best.
Some fans who don't have Direct TV are not going to wait around for Friday Nights Lights. They will find some way to get those episodes by any means necessary - except signing up with Direct TV. No one is going to get satellite or switch from cable just to watch a single TV show.
So the next time the major studios whine about illegal downloading and piracy, maybe they should whine to one of their own. After all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Blame Canada
WARNING: Contains spoilers.
It's a time-honored tradition among animated comedies to rip on Canada, so it's no surprise South Park put the entire country on strike in last Wednesday's episode to poke fun at the WGA labour (yes, labour) mess.
When the South Park boys found out Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel (who's Canadian) was replaced by Jim Belushi, they quickly sprung into action (all right, I made that up - I just wanted to take another shot at According to Jerk boy...)
They made an video featuring Meg Griffin - oops, I mean Robert Barone - oops, again - I mean Butters, put it on a popular video website, and made a lot of money to give to Canada so they can settle the strike and watch new episodes of their favourite Canadian comedy, Terrance & Phillip (that's still on? Must be in its' 19th season...)
The boys later met with the World Canadian Bureau, whose initials - for some strange reason - were WGA.
Reaction to this episode was mixed at best, while yours truly thought this episode was somewhat disjointed (last week's episode with the title Major Boobage was actually funnier.) However, it got the job done when it took a shot at the WGA heads.
Did you catch this?: In a scene when the boys were channel surfing, they landed on a rather familiar show in which Cartman raced to the set and quickly turned it off. Guess he doesn't care for Wait Til Your Father Gets Home either... (LOL... was that Chris Griffin or Chet Boyle?)
It's a time-honored tradition among animated comedies to rip on Canada, so it's no surprise South Park put the entire country on strike in last Wednesday's episode to poke fun at the WGA labour (yes, labour) mess.
When the South Park boys found out Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel (who's Canadian) was replaced by Jim Belushi, they quickly sprung into action (all right, I made that up - I just wanted to take another shot at According to Jerk boy...)
They made an video featuring Meg Griffin - oops, I mean Robert Barone - oops, again - I mean Butters, put it on a popular video website, and made a lot of money to give to Canada so they can settle the strike and watch new episodes of their favourite Canadian comedy, Terrance & Phillip (that's still on? Must be in its' 19th season...)
The boys later met with the World Canadian Bureau, whose initials - for some strange reason - were WGA.
Reaction to this episode was mixed at best, while yours truly thought this episode was somewhat disjointed (last week's episode with the title Major Boobage was actually funnier.) However, it got the job done when it took a shot at the WGA heads.
Did you catch this?: In a scene when the boys were channel surfing, they landed on a rather familiar show in which Cartman raced to the set and quickly turned it off. Guess he doesn't care for Wait Til Your Father Gets Home either... (LOL... was that Chris Griffin or Chet Boyle?)
It's King of this Hill
While the other animated comedies have been hit-or-miss this season (quite often on the miss side), there is one under-the-radar show that has been consistent.
Fox's King of the Hill is coming back for its thirteenth season with thirteen episodes. All the show's principals are returning, including creator Mike Judge.
Hill doesn't garner the same type of attention The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy gets, but that's just fine with the cast and the show's fans.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Blackhawks sign with WGN-TV
The Chicago Blackhawks announced on Tuesday that the team's entire 82-game schedule will be shown on television.
And this is not - I repeat, not - an April Fool's joke.
The Blackhawks signed a deal with WGN-TV on Tuesday, making 20 or so games available to the Tribune-owned station, marking the first time since 1980 games have been made available to local broadcasters.
WGN plans to carry the games in HD, but there are no WGN Superstation broadcasts planned.
However, it is not known if some of the games will end up on WCIU-TV, which WGN produces games for on occasion. WGN plans to produce the 20 games.
The Blackhawks were courting WGN as well as WPWR-TV for a local broadcast outlet.
The deals reverses a long-standing policy regarding telecasts of home games, which were forbidden because of fear of affecting attendance. In recent years, only a handful of home telecasts were allowed, including all playoff games.
WGN carried Hawks road games in the 1960's and early 1970's, including the Stanley Cup clincher in 1961. The Hawks also made stops at WFLD-TV and WSNS-TV before migrating to subscription TV service ON-TV in 1980 and later, SportsVision and SportsChannel Chicago. Blackhawks games currently air on Comcast SportsNet.
The move also marks a reversal of sorts as many NHL teams have left local broadcasters behind for exclusive cable deals. Among teams with exclusive cable TV rights include the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and five of the six Canadian teams. (CHRO-TV in Pembroke, Ontario is the only local station in all of Canada that has a local broadcast deal with an NHL team - the Ottawa Senators.) Canadian teams though, are featured prominently on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.
Teams that have a hybrid cable/broadcast deal include the Dallas Stars (KDFI and FSN Southwest), Minnesota Wild (KSTC and FSN North) and the St. Louis Blues (KPLR and FSN Midwest.) The cable nets usually produces the games for the local broadcaster.
Channel 2 shuffles anchor decks
In light of the departures of Diann Burns, Mary Ann Childers, and Mark Malone, CBS-owned WBBM-TV has realigned its anchor lineup. To read about the changes, click here.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
NBC announces new lineup for 2008-09 season
For the first time in 30 years, a network has made an early announcement of their fall line-up.
NBC announced its 2008-09 lineup early, which features several new (and old) programs, including a revival of Knight Rider and a spin-off of The Office, which it and the mothership are landing plush slots after the Super Bowl.
The last new show to launch after the Super Bowl was Family Guy in 1999.
The causality list included Bionic Woman (good riddance) and 1 vs. 100 (why, NBC?), while ER is ending after fifteen seasons next spring (thankfully.)
Among the notables items, Heroes returns on Sept. 15 with a three-hour extravaganza. Plus, a half-hour version Saturday Night Live will air in a Thursday night time slot for four weeks, with sketches skewered toward the Presidential election.
There are three sets of schedules: one for autumn 2008 (with only four new shows), one for winter/spring 2009, and one for summer 2009.
NBC changed its development process this year, forgoing expensive pilots and decided not to hold a traditional upfront presentation.
To see the new schedule and to find out what the new shows are, click here.
NBC announced its 2008-09 lineup early, which features several new (and old) programs, including a revival of Knight Rider and a spin-off of The Office, which it and the mothership are landing plush slots after the Super Bowl.
The last new show to launch after the Super Bowl was Family Guy in 1999.
The causality list included Bionic Woman (good riddance) and 1 vs. 100 (why, NBC?), while ER is ending after fifteen seasons next spring (thankfully.)
Among the notables items, Heroes returns on Sept. 15 with a three-hour extravaganza. Plus, a half-hour version Saturday Night Live will air in a Thursday night time slot for four weeks, with sketches skewered toward the Presidential election.
There are three sets of schedules: one for autumn 2008 (with only four new shows), one for winter/spring 2009, and one for summer 2009.
NBC changed its development process this year, forgoing expensive pilots and decided not to hold a traditional upfront presentation.
To see the new schedule and to find out what the new shows are, click here.
Welcome back, Allison!
Longtime WGN-TV anchor Allison Payne returns to the anchor chair at 9 p.m. beginning on Monday after suffering a series of mini-strokes that has kept her off the air for the last three months.
Tribune hires Compton for new TV post
Another hiring to report (now that's more like it...)
The Tribune Co. has hired radio veteran Sean Compton to senior VP of programming and entertainment for the 23-station Tribune group, which includes WGN-TV.
Compton replaces Marc Schacher, who is stepping down after 29 years with the company. Schacher was behind the Tribune group purchases of programs such as Friends, Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and most recently, the new action hour Wizard's First Rule from Disney-ABC Domestic Distribution.
The Tribune Co. has hired radio veteran Sean Compton to senior VP of programming and entertainment for the 23-station Tribune group, which includes WGN-TV.
Compton replaces Marc Schacher, who is stepping down after 29 years with the company. Schacher was behind the Tribune group purchases of programs such as Friends, Two and a Half Men, Family Guy, and most recently, the new action hour Wizard's First Rule from Disney-ABC Domestic Distribution.
Brant Miller returns home
After the last few days, it's great to announce a hiring for a change!
WMAQ-TV meteorologist Brant Miller is returning to his roots at the frequency he used to work show. Miller has been hired as morning personality at Oldies outlet WZZN-FM (94.7) starting Monday, where he will hold down the 6 to 10 a.m. shift (Miller will continue in his meteorologist role at the NBC-owned station.)
Miller was evening personality at WLS-AM in its Top 40 heyday, beginning in 1977. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he was also heard on a simulcast with WLS-FM. He jumped to the FM side full time in early 1986 when WLS-FM split from its AM sister and became WYTZ-FM (Z95), a CHR/Top 40 outlet designed to compete more effectively with WBBM-FM (B96), which had the same format. He left the station in 1991 when WYTZ changed formats and joined WMAQ-TV as a part-time meteorologist (he also had a two year stint beforehand in the same role at WFLD-TV.)
Miller also hosted a local countdown show at WYTZ.
WMAQ-TV meteorologist Brant Miller is returning to his roots at the frequency he used to work show. Miller has been hired as morning personality at Oldies outlet WZZN-FM (94.7) starting Monday, where he will hold down the 6 to 10 a.m. shift (Miller will continue in his meteorologist role at the NBC-owned station.)
Miller was evening personality at WLS-AM in its Top 40 heyday, beginning in 1977. Beginning in the mid-1980s, he was also heard on a simulcast with WLS-FM. He jumped to the FM side full time in early 1986 when WLS-FM split from its AM sister and became WYTZ-FM (Z95), a CHR/Top 40 outlet designed to compete more effectively with WBBM-FM (B96), which had the same format. He left the station in 1991 when WYTZ changed formats and joined WMAQ-TV as a part-time meteorologist (he also had a two year stint beforehand in the same role at WFLD-TV.)
Miller also hosted a local countdown show at WYTZ.
Even more layoffs at CBS
This is really getting sad...
- Chicago: This time, coming from the radio side: two female on-air personalities are out at WBBM-FM (B96) - overnighter Candi Gomez and midday jock Roxanne Steele, with their contracts not being renewed. A new personality from Miami is going to take Steele's place, while the overnight position is not being filled.
Anyone want to take any bets regarding Edde & JoBo's future at the station? Their contract is up in 2009. And right now, it's not looking so good...
- Los Angeles: KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV have sent longtime Los Angeles anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin packing after their contracts expire later this spring, with two others from the on-air news team also out and union technical personnel are being offered buyouts.
Much like what happened here in Chicago with WBBM-TV, KCBS hired Greene and Martin from a popular ABC outlet (in this case KABC), and tried to rebuild their ratings with familiar personalities. Despite improved ratings, KCBS' newscasts trails still trails those of KABC.
Meanwhile, CBS News is laying off, with The Early Show losing five employees.
- Chicago: This time, coming from the radio side: two female on-air personalities are out at WBBM-FM (B96) - overnighter Candi Gomez and midday jock Roxanne Steele, with their contracts not being renewed. A new personality from Miami is going to take Steele's place, while the overnight position is not being filled.
Anyone want to take any bets regarding Edde & JoBo's future at the station? Their contract is up in 2009. And right now, it's not looking so good...
- Los Angeles: KCBS-TV and KCAL-TV have sent longtime Los Angeles anchors Harold Greene and Ann Martin packing after their contracts expire later this spring, with two others from the on-air news team also out and union technical personnel are being offered buyouts.
Much like what happened here in Chicago with WBBM-TV, KCBS hired Greene and Martin from a popular ABC outlet (in this case KABC), and tried to rebuild their ratings with familiar personalities. Despite improved ratings, KCBS' newscasts trails still trails those of KABC.
Meanwhile, CBS News is laying off, with The Early Show losing five employees.
More layoffs at CBS O&Os
Back to serious business: The causality list at CBS just keeps on coming. In addition to the cuts at WBBM-TV on Monday:
- New York: WCBS-TV (which was home to "Black Wednesday" in 1996 when seven on-air personalities were laid off) dropped two correspondents, and canceled its Sports Sunday wrap-up show.
- Dallas: More layoffs at KTVT/KTXA, where several more were let go (scroll down) and there was nothing positive about public-affairs program Positively Texas getting positively canceled, with the market's first African-American female news anchor in Dallas (Iola Johnson) getted axed as well.
- San Francisco: KPIX-TV laid off fourteen people there, including veteran reporters Manny Ramos and Bill Schechner.
- Boston: Ratings-challenged WBZ-TV axed a whopping 30 employees, with the layoffs cutting across all departments, including the newsroom, interactive, promotions, sales, and engineering.
- Pittsburgh: KDKA-TV and WPCW-TV cut ten people (third item)
- Denver: KCNC-TV let six people go, with possibly more coming in the engineering department.
-Sacramento - KOVR-TV and KMAX-TV let two reporters go, as well as several other employees.
- New York: WCBS-TV (which was home to "Black Wednesday" in 1996 when seven on-air personalities were laid off) dropped two correspondents, and canceled its Sports Sunday wrap-up show.
- Dallas: More layoffs at KTVT/KTXA, where several more were let go (scroll down) and there was nothing positive about public-affairs program Positively Texas getting positively canceled, with the market's first African-American female news anchor in Dallas (Iola Johnson) getted axed as well.
- San Francisco: KPIX-TV laid off fourteen people there, including veteran reporters Manny Ramos and Bill Schechner.
- Boston: Ratings-challenged WBZ-TV axed a whopping 30 employees, with the layoffs cutting across all departments, including the newsroom, interactive, promotions, sales, and engineering.
- Pittsburgh: KDKA-TV and WPCW-TV cut ten people (third item)
- Denver: KCNC-TV let six people go, with possibly more coming in the engineering department.
-Sacramento - KOVR-TV and KMAX-TV let two reporters go, as well as several other employees.
Our little prank for the day
Click on the image to see the little prank I pulled on April Fools' Day. This website "was taken over by Jim I think radio is dead Cramer." Oh, the horror!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
And another thing...
And on a personal note: The comments section in the Tribune over the Channel 2 layoffs has turned into a free-for-all, with yours truly joining in the fray (scroll way down. Flame war, baby!) Don't know how Family Guy and Adult Swim came up in all of this... but if yours truly is one of those responsible for sending the country downhill, I am so freaking proud of it. Obviously, the freedom of speech and the freedom of choice isn't important to a lot of people.
People like Kevin Martin of the FCC.
People like The Parents Television Council.
People like The American Family Association.
People who want to control the viewing habits of others.
People like those in Big Media.
And apparently, 98 percent of the idiots who post comments on the Tribune and Sun-Times websites (except those who bash Jay Mariotti.)
Now, you tell me who is really sending the country down the toilet.
So, if I am sending the country downhill, good. But keep in mind there is a man in the White House and his administration who has had an eight-year head start.
People like Kevin Martin of the FCC.
People like The Parents Television Council.
People like The American Family Association.
People who want to control the viewing habits of others.
People like those in Big Media.
And apparently, 98 percent of the idiots who post comments on the Tribune and Sun-Times websites (except those who bash Jay Mariotti.)
Now, you tell me who is really sending the country down the toilet.
So, if I am sending the country downhill, good. But keep in mind there is a man in the White House and his administration who has had an eight-year head start.
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