BC Beat
Commentary, analysis and observations on the business of television from the staff of Broadcasting & Cable. Edited by Senior Editor Joel Topcik.
CBS News' McManus: "I Think We Stack Up Pretty Darn Well"
Sean McManus is looking forward to January. That, of course, is when the evening news race welcomes a new entrant, as Diane Sawyer takes over for Charles Gibson at ABC’s World News. And anchor transitions in the staid arena of network nightly news can lead to viewer sampling. At least that’s what McManus, president of CBS’ news and sports divisions, is banking on. “I th ...... Read More
Comments (0)Crime for the Holidays with '48 Hours Mystery'
Just in time for the holidays, CBS News’ 48 Hours Mystery presents a three-part series that looks at harrowing cases of true crime through the eyes of the victims who got away. At first blush, Live to Tell may not sound like holiday fodder (A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving it is not). But according to Susan Zirinsky, executive producer of 48 Hours Mystery, these stories are meant to be red ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Tweets That Caught Our Eye: Nov. 24, 2009
Below are B&C’s picks for the top five industry tweets of the day. @mindykaling (Co-Exec Producer, Actor, Writer, NBC’s The Office) In Boston now with the folks, where the times are good and end promptly at 9:30pm after some Fox News. @wolfblitzercnn (Anchor, CNN’s The Situation Room) Shakira’s new album is “She Wolf.” With that title, shouldn&#x ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Tweets That Caught Our Eye: Nov. 23, 2009
Below are B&C’s picks for the top five industry tweets of the day. @billprady (Exec Producer, The Big Band Theory) In a television writers room there are no words sweeter than “lunch is here.” @SenaFitz (Tech policy follower, Comcast flack) There goes the holiday cheer - hearing Senate will be in every Saturday until Xmas, and both houses may be around til the 23rd. @badga ...... Read More
Comments (0)Nickelodeon Pronounces the Generation Gap Closed
Comedian Jim Breuer understandably struggled to explain when one of his three young daughters asked him about the premise of the pro-substance, pro-couch surfing late ‘90s cult hit Half Baked, which he starred in alongside Dave Chappelle. Breuer’s daughter had found out about the movie online. In stark contrast to his goofy, everyman-next-door public persona, Breuer, speaking as par ...... Read More
Comments (0)Lou Dobbs Topped By Decomposing Golf Ball
Lou Dobbs’s exit from CNN made the top five news links on the blogosphere last week (Nov. 9-13), according to the latest Project For Excellence in Journalism New Media Index report. It came in at number five with 8% of the links, though it was beaten by a story about the exit, ecologically speaking, of a golf ball, a CNN report about Danish researchers who concluded it would take a golf ba ...... Read More
Comments (0)Palin's Media Tour Continues
Sarah Palin’s media tour continues tonight on Fox News’ Hannity. The former vice-presidential candidate has already given The Oprah Winfrey Show its highest ratings in two years. (That means Palin was more popular than Whitney Houston and Mackenzie Phillips, both of whom unloaded heaps of personal baggage on Oprah’s couch.) Palin is promoting her best-selling book Going Rogue, ...... Read More
Comments (1)Migliozzi Is "Foamsourcing" for Pabst
Just think of it as “foamsourcing.” Ad agency exec Michael Migliozzi, perhaps best-known to B&C readers as the guy who rebranded the Prayer Channel using the Devil as a spokeserpson, says in a release making the rounds Wednesday that his ad agency, Forza Migliozzi, in tandem with the Ad Store, has raised $3 million in its crowdsourcing bid to buy Pabst Brewing Co. Migliozzi alrea ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Tweets That Caught Our Eye: Nov. 18, 2009
Below are B&C’s picks for the top five industry tweets of the day. @shondarhimes (Exec Producer, Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice) I made a cake that Justin called “a doorstop” - not good. Jessica Capshaw was very respectful and ate quietly. Stacy McKee won the trophy. @gavinpurcell (TV Producer) My favorite fan sign at the “New Moon” premiere ...... Read More
Comments (0)CBS News Investigation Gets Action
A CBS News report about a backlog of rape kits awaiting DNA testing in cities across the country has spurred a change of policy in at least one city. The San Antonio Police Department announced that it will now test all rape kits in stranger rape cases, CBS News reported on its web site. A five month CBS News investigation by correspondent Armen Keteyian and producer Laura Strickler found that 20, ...... Read More
Comments (0)Industry Tweets That Caught Our Eye: Nov. 17, 2009
Below are B&C’s picks for the top five industry tweets of the day. @TedatACA (VP, Communications, American Cable Association) NAB’s new chief, sounding like NCTA’s boss, takes a stand on Net Neutrality: “It is a solution looking for a problem.” http://bit.ly/8u9WN @ShawnRyanTV (Writer, The Shield/The Unit/Lie To Me) In 22 eps of Unit last year and ...... Read More
Comments (0)'Boardwalk Empire' Set Brings Atlantic City to BK
Emmy award-winning Sopranos screenwriter Terence Winter said he felt like “a girl going to the prom” when he arrived for diner at Martin Scorsese’s house to discuss a series adaptation of Boardwalk Empire, a book about the political underbelly and cultural history of Atlantic City. But the director, who Winter was deeply inspired by after seeing Taxi Driver as a teenager, was ...... Read More
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