TelevisionWeek back issues from October 2008:
Viral video pick of the week; TVWeek's pick: Satirizing Sarah.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Daisy Whitney The setup: From a childhood of reindeer shooting to a teen romance with a snowmobiler, the new film "Don't Cry for Me, Alaska: The Sarah Palin Story" has it all. It's got intrigue, romance and, most of all, the heartfelt tale of a girl who becomes a woman ...
Nets Still Feeling Effects of Strike; Numbers Are Off for Many Newer Shows.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Andrew Krukowski The Writers Guild of America's strike released its grip on Hollywood more than eight months ago, but its effects still are trickling through television. Several sophomore series whose first seasons were cut short by the work stoppage late ...
Audiences Turn to Syndie Talk Shows; Genre Shows Growth, Along With 'Judge Judy,' in Week 2.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Andrew Krukowski Talk shows proved their ratings appeal during the second week of the syndication season, while "Deal or No Deal'' led the freshman show pack. For the week ending Sept. 21, five talk shows increased week-to-week. Only one other program from ...
2008 Murrow Award Winners: TV-Small Market.(Special)(Awards list)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Overall excellence: WJAR-TV, Cranston, R.I. Continuing coverage: WKRG-TV, Mobile, Ala., "Mobile's Makeover'' Feature: Hard news: WLTX-TV, Columbia, S.C., "Filyaw's Letters'' Feature reporting: News 10 Now, Syracuse, N.Y., "Dr. Seuss Winter'' ...
Unity Award Winners: Television.(Special)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Network: CNN, Atlanta, Special Investigations Unit, "Children of the Storm'' Large Market: ...
2008 Murrow Award Winners: TV-Large Market.(Special)(Awards list)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Overall excellence: KOMO-TV, Seattle Continuing coverage: KGW-TV, Portland, Ore., "December Storm'' Feature, hard news: WTHR-TV, Indianapolis, "Mission Complete'' Feature reporting: KYW-TV, Philadelphia, Stephen McGowan Investigative reporting: ...
A Modest Proposal: New Debate Hosts; Editorial.(Press Room)(Editorial)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Katie Couric and Charles Gibson have both shown that good old broadcast network television news still has some kick left in it. They asked Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin fair, non-gotcha questions that left her stumped. Looking forward to the remaining presidential ...
Learning From Experience; Daisy's Digital Diary.(News)
Oct 06, 2008; ... Byline: Daisy Whitney We've all wished we could go back and do something differently if we had the chance. That's why I like to include the "If I knew then'' segment on my weekly audio podcast "This Week in Media'' on the business of new media. In that segment, the ...
Public Broadcasters Tackle World News; Launching Today, 'Worldfocus' Competes With BBC Newscast.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Michele Greppi Two different weeks are bringing two different world news programs to public broadcasting audiences. On Oct. 1, the BBC relaunched its "World News,'' altered for public broadcasting stations' audiences interested in what's going on in other ...
Manage the Crisis Before It Occurs; Volatile Times Require Vigilance, With Contingency Plans Key to Process.(Media Planner)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Mark Dominiak Special to TelevisionWeek As the last few weeks of news headlines can attest, many trying circumstances have challenged millions of Americans and wreaked havoc on media plans. The ongoing saga of the financial markets, along with a hotly ...
Finding Young Men's Fancy; Study Sees Demo's Interest Shifting From Sports to Tech.(News)
Oct 06, 2008; ... Byline: Josef Adalian Advertisers trying to reach the elusive young male demographic, take note: Modern-day dudes are more interested in PlayStations and PCs than pigskin and pilsner. That's the verdict from an exhaustive survey of more than 1,100 young men ages 18 ...
ABC Tunes Up TV Soundtrack; Seeking Savings With House Musician.(News)
Oct 06, 2008; ... Byline: Josef Adalian Forget about Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers. The next big star to emerge from the Disney empire might just be a 24-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter named Shawn Hlookoff. As part of a larger effort to control escalating music budgets for ...
Political Parodies Pay in Election Year; Ratings, Demand for Ads Up on 'SNL,' 'Daily Show,' 'Colbert'.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Jon Lafayette This election season, there's money to be made in making fun of politicians. Tina Fey's brilliant mimicry of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has helped boost "Saturday Night Live'' ratings 46% over last year. And Comedy ...
Blink.(News)(Life on Mars, The Ex List, The CW )
Oct 06, 2008; ... ABC: Let's Do the Time Warp! ABC is cranking up the wayback machine on behalf of its new retro drama "Life on Mars.'' Readers of the Oct. 16 issue of Rolling Stone (on sale now) will find the music mag wrapped with a vintage cover from March 29, 1973, featuring Dr ....
News briefs.(News)(LIN TV, Palin vs. Biden Debate, Saturday Night Live)
Oct 06, 2008; ... LIN Stations Pulled From Time Warner Systems LIN TV pulled the signal for its local stations from Time Warner Cable systems in 11 markets after retransmission-consent negotiations failed Thursday. A TWC spokeswoman said active talks continued late Friday as the weekend ...
Star Power Proving Its Potential on Net; Crackle, Other Video Sites Aim to Monetize Celebs.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Daisy Whitney Internet upstarts are learning an old television trick: Celebrity sells. When Sony-owned Crackle.com brings back Web sitcom "Mr. Deity'' in the next few months, the show likely will feature some familiar faces. Like other online video sites, ...
Helping Ads to Measure Up; Visible Measures, TubeMogul Expand Metrics to Web Ads.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Daisy Whitney Online video measurement firms Visible Measures and TubeMogul have been building reputations in recent weeks for quickly crunching data on popular viral videos and getting play in the media. Both companies say there's money to be made only when they can ...
TV Stations Weigh Risk to Economy; How Bad Will It Get in Local Markets?(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Michele Greppi While the federal government on Friday passed a financial rescue package, the television station business is warily watching the economic storm clouds. TelevisionWeek National Editor Michele Greppi talked to leaders in local TV to gauge their ...
ABC leads way at Murrows; Network's Divisions Show Their Range in Winning Coverage.(Special)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek ABC News has a lot to celebrate when it comes to the 2008 Edward R. Murrow Awards. The organization will take home six of the 12 broadcast honors being handed out in the national television network and syndication ...
NBA TV Drives to Hole; New Programs, Marketing Set for Network.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Jon Lafayette NBA TV is looking to score with a schedule loaded with live programming in prime time and a new multimillion-dollar marketing effort aimed at hard-core hoops fans. The National Basketball Association made an earlier deal to have Turner ...
Terminology Takes on Political Slant; News Nets Debate Whether Plan Is a 'Bailout' or a 'Rescue'.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Michele Greppi The debate within television news organizations over what to call the financial legislation passed last week rivaled the debate over the bill itself. "We're betting heavily on this bailout, rescue-call it what you want-package,'' Diane Swonk, ...
Clicks; Search engines.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... The most influential media source for political information for voters who are searching online for topics including "healthcare,'' "economy'' and "war in Iraq'' 42: The percentage of U.S. adults who look to the ...
EDWARD R. MURROW AWARDS.(Special)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Honoring: Excellence in electronic journalism Where: Grand Hyatt, New York When: Monday, Oct. 13 Presenters: Lester ...
Commotion Sickness; The Insider.(News)
Oct 06, 2008; ... Byline: Michele Greppi It seemed so simple and sensible, if overdue and perhaps futile, given The Insider's congenital inability to comprehend higher math or lower politicians. She would allow herself only dollops of her regular TV fare (carbs) and would load up on ...
Networks Could Use Some Laughs.(News)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: Josef Adalian Now that the U.S. government has gotten into the bailout business in a big way, is it too much to ask that Congress next consider legislation to shore up the small screen's sorry sitcom industry? OK, so my joke-writing ability poses no danger to ...
QuickTakes.(Press Room)(customer satisfaction rating)(Brief article)
Oct 06, 2008 ... Byline: TVWeek staff What can be done to improve cable's 60% customer satisfaction rating? "As a consumer, customer service still is a problem, particularly as it relates to service calls and billing problems, and I am always amazed at the lack of product knowledge ...
Warner Ups Kantor in Marketing.(News)(Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Susan Kantor)(Brief article)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Tom Gilbert Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution promoted Susan Kantor to the newly created position of executive VP of marketing for both WBDTD and Telepictures Productions, overseeing the company's unified domestic marketing structure for broadcast and cable ...
PBS turns up the 'heat'; `Frontline' Installment Probes the Response of Business and Governments to Climate Change.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Debra Kaufman Special to TelevisionWeek On Tues., Oct. 21, "Frontline'' will air "Heat,'' a two-hour investigation of how the world's largest corporations and governments are responding to climate change caused by global warming. "Heat'' is part of the "PBS ...
News briefs.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... NBC Universal Syndie Names O'Boyle Exec VP Sean O'Boyle has been elevated to executive VP and general sales manager for NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution from senior VP and national syndication sales manager. Mr. O'Boyle, who has been with NBC Universal since 2000, ...
Blink.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... McFarlane Series Spins the Web When Former Disney chief and current Web show producer Michael Eisner heralded the coming of the online video age last week at a Veoh-sponsored forum in New York, he spoke not only from personal experience, but most likely with knowledge of the ...
Sanders on top of the world; Sun Never Set on NBC News Reporter's Global Warming Trip.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jarre Fees Special to TelevisionWeek When NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders set out to do a piece on global warming, he went to the top of the world. Mr. Sanders said the news team wanted to do the story "from the North Pole-ground zero, which is ice on ...
PTC Uses Kids as Human Shields.(News)(Parents Television Council)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Josef Adelian Last week, I called up several high-ranking TV executives in order to get their opinions of the Parents Television Council. I asked one to tell me the first word that came to mind when they thought of the watchdog organization. "Vomit,'' the ...
20th Team Celebrates Cable Wins; Newman, Walden Partnership Works.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Josef Adalian Twentieth Century Fox Television Co-Chairmen Gary Newman and Dana Walden celebrated their first pickup of the fall season last week-but it wasn't for a series at one of the Big Five broadcast networks. Instead, they broke out the Champagne for ...
'Better or Worse' for CW; RDF, Mike Fleiss Team on Reality Relationship Series.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Josef Adalian The CW is looking to the producers of "The Bachelor'' and "Wife Swap'' to put a new twist on relationship-based reality shows. In its first greenlight of an unscripted series since former reality chief Jennifer Bresnan left for CBS, The CW has ...
Battle for the right to know; First Amendment Task Force Out to Get the Facts About Government.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Debra Kaufman Special to TelevisionWeek The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 4, 1966, has never been popular in Washington but remains the fiercely defended province of journalists throughout the U.S. ...
The fight for a shield law; Trade Groups Battle to Protect Journalists From Pressure to Reveal Sources.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Debra Kaufman Special to TelevisionWeek On July 30 of this year, a federal shield law stalled in the Senate when supporters-including the Society of Environmental Journalists-failed to garner enough votes to end the debate and force a vote on the issue. ...
Films that have a point; New Documentaries to Be Previewed at Roanoke Conference.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)(Conference news)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Elizabeth Jensen Special to TelevisionWeek Documentaries about the environment have struck a chord with audiences in recent years, whether it be the awe-inspiring photojournalism of the television series "Planet Earth'' or the more pointed global warming ...
Environment an also-ran election issue; Economic Woes Push Energy Concerns to Back Burner in Presidential Race.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Debra Kaufman Special to TelevisionWeek Drilling for oil and funding alternative energy sources were topics of discussion for both John McCain and Barack Obama, pushing environmental issues to a level of visibility unprecedented in a presidential election ....
The 'hot' topic; Filmmaker Peter Bull's Hour for `Frontline' Traces the Political History of Climate Change.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: , Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek Among the SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment being given out at this week's conference is one in the category of outstanding beat/in-depth reporting in television. Filmmaker Peter Bull is one of three ...
Rather: case of the toxic trailers; Temporary Housing for Katrina's Homeless Made Occupants Ill.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek The SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment are the world's largest and most comprehensive awards for journalism on environmental topics, and one of the finalists this year in the category of outstanding ...
Diligence in Oregon; Public TV's Weekly `Field Guide' Takes a Varied Approach.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek One of the three finalists for the SEJ Award in the category of outstanding beat/in-depth reporting is Oregon Public Broadcasting's "Oregon Field Guide,'' a weekly 30-minute news magazine program devoted to ...
The earth is his beat; ABC News' Blakemore Sounds the Alarm.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek For ABC News correspondent Bill Blakemore, the greatest failure of mainstream media is in not adequately telling the story of the impact of global warming on our planet. "The planet has one borderless ...
Island unto itself; TV Reporter Susan Soltero's Beat Is the Perils of Puerto Rico's Fast-Changing Environment.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek Susan Soltero is a self-described big fish in a small pond, an award-winning SEJ member who is the environmental reporter and the senior meteorologist at WLII- TV, the Univision affiliate in San Juan, Puerto Rico. ...
Advertisers Continue to Overlook Hispanic Demos; guest commentary.(Press Room)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Luis Torres-Bohl The U.S. Census Bureau, in an August 2008 report, projected that minorities will comprise more than 50% of the U.S. population by 2042. Hispanics-the nation's fastest-growing minority group-will nearly triple, from almost 47 million to a projected 133 ...
Sierra Club has message for media; Granddaddy of U.S. Environmental Movement Provides Help to Journalists.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek With all the attention the state of Alaska is getting due to the nomination of its governor, Sarah Palin, as the Republican vice presidential candidate, the Sierra Club is getting a lot of calls from TV news ...
'Bonnie' First Look; Talk Show Meets Warner Expectations; 'Deal' Going Strong.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Andrew Krukowski Three weeks into its season, "The Bonnie Hunt Show'' from Warner Bros. posted its first national numbers last week, putting up figures that placed it near the rear of the ratings pack among freshman first-run syndicated shows. Among other ...
Lackluster Start to Season; Signs of Life Few and Far Between as Most New Shows Disappoint.(News)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Josef Adalian and Andrew Krukowski Three weeks into the fall broadcast television season, the networks find themselves competing not just with each other but with the biggest surprise hit in years: "The Barack and John Show.'' The combination of Campaign 2008 ...
Ken Burns on his `best idea'; Filmmaker's History of National Parks Is an Environmental Film by Default.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Elizabeth Jensen Ken Burns' new six-part, 12-hour film "The National Parks: America's Best Idea'' debuts in the fall of 2009 on PBS. Directed by Mr. Burns and co-produced with his longtime collaborator Dayton Duncan, who is also the series' writer, "The National Parks'' ...
Off-Net 'House' a Hit in Cable Run; Syndicated Drama Averaging 2.9 Million Viewers for USA.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jon Lafayette "House,'' a hit on Fox, has become a powerhouse on cable, quickly becoming the most-watched off-net show on television. Since its debut as a Monday-Friday show last month, "House'' has averaged 2.9 million viewers for USA Network, not ...
Successful Launches Still Possible; Fox Business Network's Baker, Asman Offer Insights Into How It Was Done.(Media Planner)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Adam Armbruster Special to TelevisionWeek Probably the toughest challenge for any television marketer is to launch a new product or service in an already hyper-competitive industry. Bringing a new offering to market with a limited ad budget can keep a ...
With Times Changing, NATPE Wisely Morphs; Editorial.(Press Room)(Editorial)
Oct 13, 2008 ... The syndicated television industry has its eyes firmly fixed on Jan. 26, when the National Association of Television Program Executives throws its annual confab. TelevisionWeek was cheered to see that NATPE's board has lured CEO and President Rick Feldman to extend his contract ...
Eisner: Online Audience Will Eclipse That of TV; Veoh Investor Heralds Promise of Internet Video.(Media&Tech)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Josh Cohen Special to TelevisionWeek Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney Co. CEO and current investor in Veoh, said content creators shouldn't wait for advertisers to jump into Web video. At a small but packed Helen Mills Theatre in Manhattan ...
Tech briefs.(Media&Tech)(web viewing, NBC Universal Digital Studio, )
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Daisy Whitney Web Viewers More Engaged, Study Finds A sizable contingent of online video viewers are more engaged with Web programming then they are with TV programming, according to a report released by online video site Veoh Networks. Veoh found ...
Rough Time for Some; Not All Cable Nets Are Buoyed by Ratings Increase.(News)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jon Lafayette Summer is usually a strong season for cable networks, but this year several networks endured a rocky third quarter. With cable drawing viewers away from the broadcast networks, most quarters end with a long list of cable networks touting new ...
A station in pursuit of the green goal; Pittsburgh's WPXI Stands to Be the First TV Outlet to Garner a LEED Certification.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jarre Fees Special to TelevisionWeek Companies like Whole Foods, Macy's and Wal-Mart are installing solar panels. California's Pacific Gas and Electric recently announced plans to purchase enough solar power to light up more than 250,000 homes. All the major ...
Polar route for cable news; North Pole Ice Melt, Imperiled Bears Spur Expeditions, Coverage on MSNBC and CNN.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jarre Fees Special to TelevisionWeek Global warming, ice melt at the North Pole and the presumed decimation of the polar bear are big issues for conservationists and big news in the environmental arena, and producers at both CNN and MSNBC wanted to get a ...
Navigating news feeds; Services Becoming More Environmental.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jarre Fees Special to TelevisionWeek Some networks-BBC comes to mind-have such a strong news presence that their trucks seem to show up automatically in even the most remote areas of the world whenever there's a newsworthy occurrence. For everyone ...
TV nets map eco-friendly campaigns; Corporate Parents Pushing Green Agenda in Programming, Workplace.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek For the major broadcasting networks, "going green'' isn't just a trendy marketing ploy-it's becoming a way of corporate life as companies implement energy- and resource-saving techniques throughout their facilities and ...
An energy resource; Energy Policy TV Lets Users Tap Into Industry Database.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek Environmental journalists working in all forms of media can find a wealth of knowledge online, and now they can tap into a repository of information geared toward stakeholders in the energy industry while gaining access ...
Crying out for the wilderness; Media Savvy a Prerequisite for Groups Working to Protect Environment.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Hillary Atkin Special to TelevisionWeek They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and that adage holds true for environmental organizations looking to get their stories told on television-stories that often are complex, scientific and involve intricate ...
A tough job gets tougher; Economic Woes Put Environmental Jobs on Chopping Block.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek The U.S. Labor Department recently announced the loss of 159,000 jobs-the ninth straight month in which America has suffered a decline in jobs. The employment crunch has been across the board, including many ...
Doing the legwork; For Journalists, Great Preparation Is Key to Great Results.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek There's an old saying that success is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. For broadcasters and reporters working on stories about the environment, success has often been hard to achieve because of the ...
TV Ads Hang In Balance; Day of Reckoning Looms as Markets Crater Worldwide.(News)
Oct 13, 2008; ... Byline: Jon Lafayette While banks have collapsed and Wall Street has crashed, the destiny of the television advertising market may not be known for a few weeks, when advertisers will decide whether to give back some of the commercial time they ordered during the May upfront. ...
The place where ideas are shared; SEJ Gathering Helps Journalists Grapple With Covering Complex Issues.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Allison J. Waldman Special to TelevisionWeek The price at the pump remains near $4 a gallon. The power grid is vulnerable and aging. According to all the experts, an American future that includes dependence on foreign oil is a recipe for economic disaster. ...
On a real `eco-trip'; David de Rothschild Probes Carbon's Effects in Sundance Series.(Special Report: Environmental Journalism - Newspro)
Oct 13, 2008 ... Byline: Jarre Fees Special to TelevisionWeek One of the hottest environmental programs slated to debut in 2009 could well be Sundance Channel's "Eco-Trip: The Real Cost of Living,'' an eight-episode series to air on Sundance's environmental block of programming The ...