Michael Collins

Tuesday, September 4, 2007
September 4, 2007

Even with criticism from many quarters CBS is moving ahead with plans to debut Kid Nation on the network schedule in two weeks. The Chicago Tribune asks, How did CBS Go Wrong With Kid Nation?

Parade magazine profiles Michelle Ryan, the new Bionic Woman on NBC. 

Ken Burns is profiled by the Los Angeles Times 

The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association, a Labor Day television mainstay for generations on an independent network of broadcast TV stations, once again raised a record amount of money this year, $64 million.

B&C has reported that, children's TV ads are high in sweets, fat and salts. Meanwhile, in the U.K., the Naked Chef's Jamie Oliver push for healthier foods to replace greasy foods such as french fries, chicken nuggets and turkey twizzlers on British school menus, is being voted down by the students. The TV chef has led a nationwide campaign to improve the quality of food served in schools, says AP.

The New York Times says Showtime's new slogan speaks the way it can only on cable TV and not family-friendly broadcast channels or newspapers.

What will happen to Flip This House, Flip That House, and all of these house-flipping cable TV shows now that the real estate market seems to be tanking? "The television equivalent of 'location, location, location' is 'timing, timing, timing,' " says TV historian Tim Brooks. So the shows are being retooled, reports the Los Angeles Times.

What do you do while pumping gas? There are now TV screens at certain gasoline pumps which allow people to watch ESPN while pumping gas. It's called Gas Station TV and it is why customers at a Sunoco station on Route 229 in Southington, Connecticut, near ESPN headquarters, can now watch the tube as they fill the tank. The Hartford Courant reports.

The shooting match between Apple and NBC is explained by the New York Times The entire resume for the new general manager of the NBC affiliate in Boston, WHDH channel 7, is in sales, but now that she is G.M., her strongest focus is news, working hard to make sure its newscasts remain on top in the ratings, says the Boston Globe.

Rob Mignogna records every 6 p.m. newscast in Boston and then examines how each station covers the day's stories for his blog Boston TV News. The Boston Globe reports.

White heroines are turning more and more to black best friends in TV and film, says the San Francisco Chronicle.

Bob Woodruff has quietly returned to ABC news, after a steady recuperation from his severe injuries in a bombing, reports AP.

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric had a big surprise during her tour of Iraq over the holiday weekend: a surprise visit by George W. Bush. The Washington Post reports. And The Los Angeles Times and Newsday profile Couric's anniversary after a not-so-smooth year on the job.

Ex-TV Newser Brian Stelter reports on the no-nonsense-news tenor of Bloomberg TV News.

It's the era of amateur actors for TV, reports The Washington Post.

According The Washington Post, MusicFirst, a recording industry-sponsored group, wants radio stations to change a half-century practice and begin paying royalties to record labels, as well as artists. NAB chief David Rehr says this impacts TV, too.

The FCC is holding a public hearing on Thurs., Sept. 20, in Chicago on the issue of consolidation of media ownership and localism in programming. The Republican dominated FCC is proposing to allow even more consolidation of ownership, but critics say it has led to a destruction of localism in programming.

By Michael Collins

Posted by Michael Collins on September 4, 2007 | Comments (0)