Executive Session

Exclusives

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  • Survey: Local NDs Give So-So Marks To National TV News

    In a TVNewsCheck survey, a cross-section of news directors at TV stations around the country were asked to grade ABC News, CBS News, CNN, FNC, NBC News and MSNBC on "overall journalistic quality." None received an A, four earned Bs and, as for Fox News Channel and MSNBC, they may have to stay after class. More | Comments (7)

  • Ex. Session: Record Political Ad Boom Looms, But ...

    TVB’s political ad guru Jack Poor says there’s good news and bad news for TV stations in this election year. The good news is that their four-fifths share of total TV spend will be up 20% to around a record $2.5 billion, and no other medium seems positioned to cut into stations' share. The bad news is that the total take will be suppressed due to the lack of any major gubernatorial contest that swelled the coffers in 2010. More | Add comment

  • Jessell: Disclosure Rule The First Step Toward Quotas

    The FCC's proposed disclosure rules, which would require stations to detail the kinds of programming they air and post the info on their websites, should be fought tooth and nail by broadcasters. What the regulators want are statistics that they can use to hang over stations in the form of a programming quotas at license renewal time. And a quota is nothing but a mandate. It's the federal government telling stations what programming they must air, and that slams right into broadcasters' First Amendment rights. More | Comments (9)

  • Front Office: Cord Cutting Is Gen Y’s Latest Trend

    A growing number of young adults born between 1980 and 1995 — Gen Y — are purchasing over-the-air antennas to watch television programming. Gen Ys are inherently more adept at, and prone to, experimenting with alternative forms of viewing TV content; they are less likely to accept the need to subscribe to subscription-based pay TV once they’re free to make their own decisions about it. More | Comments (11)

  • NAB 2012: Getting The Shot Cheaper, Easier, Faster

    JVC%27s+GY-HM150
    JVC's GY-HM150
    As more and more stations adopt the one-man band approach to newsgathering, the camera manufacturers are turning out new units that are small enough and light enough to be managed easily, and big enough and heavy enough to be balanced for a steady shot. Plus, they’re inexpensive enough that any station's budget can handle them, too. More | Comments (7)

Special Reports

  • 2011—Year In Review: Revisit the year’s top developments in business, programming, journalism, technology, regulation and more.
  • Audience Measurement: The state of ratings is examined in three parts: an interview with the head of the Media Ratings Council; the growing presence of Rentrak; and the search for a better local ratings currency.
  • Traffic Reporting: This four-part TVNewsCheck Special Report focuses on what it takes to stay on top of the growing commuter gridlock across the country.
  • Remembering 9/11: TVNewsCheck looks back 10 years after the attacks with a series of five articles.
  • Severe Weather News: This five-part TVNewsCheck Special Report focuses on the changing technology used to stay ahead of storms.
  • TOP 30 TV STATION GROUPS: TVNewsCheck's exclusive ranking by coverage with a summary of each group's holdings and top executives.

Industry Calendar

March 2012
Tu
Th
13-15
American Cable Association
ACA’s 19th Annual Summit
Washington, D.C., DC
We
We
21-22
Borrell Advertising Associates
The Borrell Local Online Advertising Conference
New York, NY
We
Th
21-23
BIA Kelsey
ILM EAST
Boston, MA
April 2012
Sa
Th
14-19
National Association of Broadcasters
NAB Show
Las Vegas, NV
June 2012
Tu
Th
12-14
PromaxBDA
PromaxBDA: The Conference 2012
Los Angeles, CA

Station Directory

Net Essentials

AP Breaking News

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Executive Session
Record Political Ad Boom Looms, But ...
TVNewsCheck, Feb 6, 2012, 8:33 AM EST
TVB’s political ad guru Jack Poor says there’s good news and bad news for TV stations in this election year. The good news is that their four-fifths share of total TV spend will be up 20% to around a record $2.5 billion, and no other medium seems positioned to cut into stations' share. The bad news is that the total take will be suppressed due to the lack of any major gubernatorial contest that swelled the coffers in 2010. Full Story | Add comment
NATPE 2012
To Steve Harvey, Syndication’s No Joke
TVNewsCheck, Jan 21, 2012, 9:47 PM EST
The serious multi-tasker expects to work in tapings of his new NBCUniversal syndicated talk show around his other gigs as syndicated morning-drive radio personality and host of Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud. Something has to give, however, and it will be his standup comedy. But he says he’s not giving up humor: “I want to do a daytime show that is inspirational, uplifting and insightful. Then, the twist I’m going to put on it is that, in the middle of the day, it’s going to be funny.” Full Story | Add comment
NATPE 2012
Marinelli Sees 'Katie' As Can't-Miss Talker
TVNewsCheck, Jan 18, 2012, 7:14 AM EST
With Katie Couric, Disney-ABC Domestic Television has arguably the biggest name in the plethora of new talk shows set for debuts this fall in the wake of Oprah Winfrey’s departure from syndication. "We are projecting profitability in year one," says Disney-ABC Domestic Television President Janice Marinelli. Her confidence stems from Couric herself. She credible and "relatable" and she's made a commitment to doing whatever it takes in production and promotion, she says. "How often do you get a talent of this caliber to enter the syndication marketplace?" Full Story | Comments (12)
natpe 2012
Ricki Lake V2.0: Evolved And Upgraded
TVNewsCheck, Jan 17, 2012, 8:23 AM EST
The 43-year-old says her goal for her new Twentieth talk show that launches this fall is “conversation that everyone is a part of. It will be elevated content that women 25-54 can relate to. At my age, the TV I watch has to have some substance. That’s what we’re hoping to achieve. It will offer a lot of takeaway.” Full Story | Comments (1)
NAPTE 2012
Jeff Probst's Goal: Be A Syndication Survivor
TVNewsCheck, Jan 9, 2012, 7:39 AM EST
As host of one of a batch of syndicated talk shows getting set to debut this fall, the longtime Survivor host says there’s room for all of them. “The reason is that a talk show lives or dies with its host. Everyone brings their own strengths. I don’t see it as a threat.” And he says his experiences on Survivor will serve him well: “Dealing with people from all walks of life, who are in extreme conflicts, for almost 13 years ... will play into the talk show. That’s where I’ve had the opportunity to hone the craft of interviewing.” Full Story | Comments (3)
Special Report: Audience Measurement
Ratings Watchdog Forsees Nielsen Upgrades
TVNewsCheck, Dec 12, 2011, 8:30 AM EST
In Part I of TVNewsCheck's three-part special report on audience measurement, Media Ratings Council Chairman and Raycom Media chief researcher Billy McDowell discusses the state of local TV ratings and what's being done to make them better. He also gives no ground in the battle over what measure should be used in local TV: live-plus-same-day is the only way to go. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with Marci Burdick
Schurz Sees Value For All In Duopolies
TVNewsCheck, Dec 5, 2011, 8:49 AM EST
The SVP of Schurz Communications says her company’s duopolies benefit not only the stations' P&Ls, but also their communities. "You can get the back-end efficiencies, but you still have to have robust competitive products for the station to grow long term." She also explains why Schurz has been quiet in the post-recession station trading market and discusses the success she's had with Rentrak as a Nielsen alternative. Full Story | Comments (3)
Executive Session with Lou Prato
Penn State Coverage Shows Media At Worst
TVNewsCheck, Nov 28, 2011, 8:08 AM EST
As a longtime broadcast newsman and member of the Penn State community, Lou Prato has a special perspective on the media coverage of the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the university over the past month. And he doesn't like what he has seen. "There has been good reporting on the national level, but I am ashamed, embarrassed and I’m angry at how a large contingent of the media has reported and analyzed this story with such a pile-on mentality." Full Story | Comments (13)
Executive Session with Mark Aitken
A Win-Win Alternative To Spectrum Auctions
TVNewsCheck, Nov 21, 2011, 8:12 AM EST
Sinclair’s Mark Aitken believes there’s a better option to the government’s spectrum auction proposal that would benefit both broadcasters and the U.S. Treasury. If broadcasters were granted permission to lease their excess spectrum to wireless carriers — to become the big bulk carriers of video and other bandwidth-intensive content — they could generate over $1 trillion in revenues over the next 15 years. In addition, under current law, they would be required to pay 5% of that revenue to the government, which Aiken says could be $62 billion for  Treasury’s coffers. Full Story | Comments (19)
Executive Session with Robert Hernandez
Mining Social Media Engagement To The Max
NetNewsCheck, Nov 14, 2011, 11:45 AM EST
USC's Robert Hernandez has emerged as a social media guru, advising journalists and media companies on how to mine and manage this increasingly important audience engagement tool. Companies that ignore Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and other social media outlets face a dim future, he says. Link | Add comment
Executive Session with Mike Johnson
Local TV Drives Auto Dealer Successes
TVNewsCheck, Nov 13, 2011, 8:00 PM EST
North Carolina dealership owner Mike Johnson and his partner are big believers in local TV advertising. They spend 80% of their advertising budgets with TV stations and expect to increase spending 10% next year. He explains his TV-focused strategy and, drawing on his experience as the former chairman of the North Carolina Dealers Association, he offers the prediction that advertising expenditures in the auto sector will increase every year over the next five years. Full Story | Comments (9)
Executive Session with Steve Hasker
Nielsen’s Local Ratings To Get Set-Top Boost
TVNewsCheck, Oct 17, 2011, 8:28 AM EDT
Steve Hasker, Nielsen's president of media product leadership, talks about the ongoing effort to improve the "fidelity" and "consistency" of the ratings most stations use to sell advertising through a number of changes, including incorporating set-top box data. He also says Nielsen intends to stay above the fray over using live-only or live-plus-same-day ratings as the best measure of local broadcasting — that's better left to the buyers and sellers of advertising. Full Story | Add comment
EXECUTIVE SESSION WITH Brian Lawlor
Scripps Sees Good Fit For Its New Stations
TVNewsCheck, Oct 10, 2011, 7:08 AM EDT
Last week’s $212 million purchase of the McGraw-Hill TV group will boost Scripps’ U.S. coverage to 13% and make it the country’s largest owner of ABC affiliates. And it also gives it five low-power Spanish-language stations. Brian Lawlor, Scripps’ SVP of the TV division, says his company made the deal because the new stations are “a really comfortable fit” in terms of culture, geography and size. He talks about the plans to make the most of this new opportunity, the company’s first major station purchase in 20 years. Full Story | Comments (1)
Executive Session with Jim Russo
Media Balance Key To Win Wary Consumers
TVNewsCheck, Oct 3, 2011, 8:17 AM EDT
Nielsen’s James Russo says in the current economic climate, consumers are uncertain and reluctant to spend. But some groups are making purchases, just very pragmatically. This means, he says, that opportunities are there, but marketers have to drill a little deeper and understand the dynamics of the marketplace. TV is still the No. 1 medium, with its reach and frequency. But consumers are simultaneously using social media to discuss their purchasing decision. TV had better get in on the conversation.   Full Story | Comments (1)
Executive Session with Byron Harris
Investigative Reporting Outlook Not Bright
TVNewsCheck, Sep 26, 2011, 8:00 AM EDT
One of local TV's most accomplished investigative reporters, WFAA Dallas' Byron Harris believes he may be part of a dying breed as broadcasters fixated on the bottom line keep cutting the people and resources needed for in-depth reporting. But for now he is happy to be with Belo, one of the few station groups committed to its investigative tradition. Full Story | Comments (28)
Executive Session with Doug Franklin
Merging Media Powers Cox’s Digital Drive
TVNewsCheck, Sep 19, 2011, 8:49 AM EDT
The president of Cox Media Group is focused on strengthening the digital offerings of the 15 TV stations, eight newspapers and 85 radio stations that he oversees. For broadcasting, digital may be a hedge. But for newspapers, it's critical as their days as a printed product are uncertain. He sees an eventual transition to tablets and, hopefully, a dual revenue stream. The self-confessed “newspaper guy” is bullish on broadcasting and says 2012 is shaping up to be a good year with political money and improving automotive advertising. Full Story | Comments (2)
Executive Session with Kathleen Keefe
Hearst's Keefe Sees Ad Rebound Continuing
TVNewsCheck, Sep 12, 2011, 7:32 AM EDT
The head of sales for the 31-station TV group says 2011’s uptick in auto advertising will continue into next year. And while 2012 will also see local TV reaping political campaign money, perhaps in record amounts, Hearst’s take will be more modest since its markets will be light on Senate and gubernatorial races. Full Story | Add comment
executive session with Anderson Cooper
Cooper Almost 24/7 As He Readies Talk Show
TVNewsCheck, Aug 29, 2011, 5:56 AM EDT
Anderson Cooper is becoming practically ubiquitous. The CNN primetime host and 60 Minutes correspondent is readying his new Warner Bros. syndicated daytime talk show for a Sept. 12 launch. He talks about his goals for the new show and his need to mono-task as his schedule fills up. Full Story | Add comment
Executive Session with knowDigital's Sam Milkman
Local News Lost In Digital Translation
NetNewsCheck, Aug 15, 2011, 10:40 AM EDT
KnowDigital recently released its “Challenges in News Migration to Digital Media” report that found that traditional media was failing on multiple fronts when it comes local news online. Company president Sam Milkman discusses the advantages and disadvantages of staying tightly aligned with the legacy platform online, the difficulty of translating popular on-air talent into consistent online drivers and the need to build a site from the perspective of consumer needs first. Link | Add comment
Executive Session with Kevin Gallagher
Economy, Competition Challenge Stations
TVNewsCheck, Aug 15, 2011, 8:20 AM EDT
The roller coaster stock market, competition from cable systems that can meet advertisers' desire to target parts of TV markets and from national companies like Google and ESPN that have an eye on local digital dollars — these are some of the issues that Kevin Gallagher, EVP and local activation director at Starcom USA, sees stations dealing with. Full Story | Comments (2)
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Symbol Last Change (%)
Nasdaq 2915.86 +11.78 (+0.41%)
NYSE 8082.98 +13.27 (+0.16%)
S&P 500 1349.96 +2.91 (+0.22%)
Updated 02/08 4:38p ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content

Ratings

Overnights, adults 18-49 for February 7, 2012
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    3.1/8
  • 2.
    3.0/8
  • 3.
    2.4/6
  • 4.
    2.0/5
  • 5.
    1.6/4
  • 6.
    0.6/1
Source: Nielsen
Reviews
Opinions
Features
  • Neil Genzlinger

    Smash, NBC’s series about backstage Broadway, comes with New York and Hollywood names off screen (Steven Spielberg, Therese Rebeck) and on (Debra Messing and Brian d’Arcy James). Given that pedigree, you’re expecting to be bowled over by the pilot, but it ends up feeling like a collage of devices from the zillions of previous backstage plays, musicals and movies. However, be patient — Smash gets better as it goes along and by Episode 3 it shows signs of becoming an addictive pleasure along the lines of this season’s Revenge.

  • Lori Rackl

    Pop some Dramamine before watching ABC's new horror series, The River, because the shaky camera work is more likely to make you seasick than scared. You can, however, skip the sleeping pill. The River's two-hour premiere should suffice. Billed as a thriller, the show tries hard to be terrifying and eerie in a Paranormal Activity kind of way. It ends up being hokey and, even worse, boring.

  • Robert Lloyd

    Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, veterans of Fox's sketch comedy MADtv, have a new series of their own, Comedy Central's Key & Peele. It is a genial, at times almost genteel, half-hour in which the pair's obvious niceness shines through even their more pugnacious characters. (Key's version of road rage is to shout, "Selfish!") In a roundabout way, that's the point. The sketches are consistently smart and smartly acted and flow easily from ordinary premises to weird conclusions.

  • Hank Stuever

    Discovery's Bering Sea Gold doesn’t seem at first like it has crossed any new reality TV frontier, relying on elements and structure familiar to the form. Enticingly (to the network), it combines the ocean and the gold and the cold and the reactive testosterone among bad-tempered desperados. To which I am surprised to cry: Eureka, they’ve found it! Bering Sea Gold is a testament to how thoroughly absorbing the genre can still be, when it’s done right.

  • Joanne Ostrow

    Kiefer Sutherland displays his softer side in Fox's Touch, a touchy-feely drama merging paranormal, spiritual and sweetly familial elements. shows off his acting chops, long forgotten, in scene after scene. It's heavier lifting than usual for the actor who was often reduced to caricature in 24. Sutherland is all about vulnerability in a show whose goal is nothing short of proving the interconnectedness of human life. We'll see if audiences can tolerate the notion of profound interrelatedness as weekly entertainment.

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