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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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Quarterly report
News Corp. TV Revenue Up 11%
TVNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 4:36 PM EST
That includes both the Fox network and TV stations. The gains were driven by network ad revenue and a greater than 100% increase in retransmission consent revenues. Full Story | Add comment
quarterly reports
Cable TV, Movies Help Lift Time Warner Revenue
New York Times, Feb 8, 2012, 3:25 PM EST
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WPMI Mobile GM Bob Dunn Dies Suddenly
TVNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 2:40 PM EST
The GM of the Newport Television-owned NBC affiliate, who joined the station last spring, died suddenly late Tuesday afternoon. Full Story | Comments (2)
Earnings call
Sinclair’s Smith Not Worried About Auctions
TVNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 12:38 PM EST
CEO David Smith says: “There’s a fundamental disagreement between the Democrats and Republicans” over spectrum auction legislation and he sees no action likely in three-to-five years. He and other execs at the company say this year is shaping up to be a record on-year for political revenues at Sinclair and they have great expectations for the role super PACs will play. Full Story | Add comment
Quarterly report
Sinclair 4Q Local Core Up 13.3%
TVNewsCheck, Feb 8, 2012, 8:49 AM EST
Excluding political, local revenue rose 13.3%, while national dropped 7.4%. Automotive, grocery and medical were the leading ad categories. Full Story | Add comment
Ross Video Fiscal 1Q Revenue Jumps 59%
Devoncroft, Feb 8, 2012, 6:26 AM EST
Rentrak Signs Interpublic To 'Milestone' Deal
MediaPost, Feb 8, 2012, 6:07 AM EST
Rentrak revealed Tuesday what it described as a “milestone” deal with Interpublic that would use its TV audience measurement data as a “trading currency.” The deal, which was unveiled as part of Rentrak’s quarterly earnings briefing with investors and analysts, includes a new TV audience segmentation system targeting “movie-goers." Link | Add comment
Chairman, 3 Others Out In Yahoo Board Shake-Up
Associated Press, Feb 8, 2012, 5:53 AM EST
U.S. Looking Into Murdoch Foreign Payments
Reuters, Feb 7, 2012, 7:34 PM EST
U.S. authorities are stepping up investigations, including an FBI criminal inquiry, into possible violations by employees of Rupert Murdoch's media empire of a U.S. law banning corrupt payments to foreign officials such as police, law enforcement and corporate sources say. Link | Add comment
closing bell
Dow Finishes Up 33, Nasdaq Picks Up 2
Associated Press, Feb 7, 2012, 5:40 PM EST
Stock indexes rose Tuesday after a report that Greece and the investors who bought its government bonds were close to a deal to reduce what Greece owes. Greece's crushing debt has unnerved financial markets around the world for two years. Full Story | Add comment
Quarterly report
Disney Posts 7% Broadcast Revenue Drop
TVNewsCheck, Feb 7, 2012, 5:05 PM EST
The decrease is attributed to lower political advertising revenues at its O&Os and higher marketing costs, partially offset by lower programming and production costs due to the absence of the Oprah Winfrey Show at the owned stations. Full Story | Add comment
Journal Names Andre Fernandez President
TVNewsCheck, Feb 7, 2012, 2:39 PM EST
He succeeds Steven J. Smith as president and retains his CFO title; Smith remains chairman-CEO. Full Story | Add comment
Quarterly report
Belo Reports 4Q Core Revenue Up 3%
TVNewsCheck, Feb 7, 2012, 8:37 AM EST
The broadcaster was aided by a strong automotive category along with double-digit gains in combined retrans and Internet revenue. Full Story | Add comment
MGM Adds $500 Million Credit Facility
Hollywood Reporter, Feb 7, 2012, 6:21 AM EST
Officially ending its bankruptcy, the new management at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has closed a $500 million revolving credit facility that will be used to retire debt and to develop the film and TV businesses. Link | Add comment
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Bob Simone Named GM Of WLNS Lansing
MediaBistro, Feb 7, 2012, 6:10 AM EST
Last week it was announced that Bob Simone was leaving his general manager post at Tucson’s KMSB amid the aftermath of the station’s shared services agreement with KOLD.  Now, Simone has been named VP-GM of WLNS, Young Broadcasting’s CBS affiliate in Lansing, Mich. Link | Comments (1)
closing bell
Dow Gives Back 17, Nasdaq Falls 4
Associated Press, Feb 6, 2012, 5:04 PM EST
Stocks slipped Monday as talks on Greek cost-cutting continued. Greece is hoping the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission will release a second installment of $170 billion in loans. Without that money, Greece will likely default when a bond repayment comes due March 20. Full Story | Add comment
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
OWN's 'Rosie Show' Cuts 30 Employees
Chicago Sun-Times, Feb 6, 2012, 7:00 AM EST
closing bell
Dow Climbs 157, Nasdaq Finishes Up 46
Associated Press, Feb 3, 2012, 5:08 PM EST
Before the market opened Friday, the Labor Department said the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. It was the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3%, the lowest since February 2009. The surprising data gave financial markets a morning jolt that lasted throughout the trading day. Full Story | Add comment
dma 25
WTVI Charlotte In Merger Talks With College
Charlotte Observer, Feb 3, 2012, 12:42 PM EST
Charlotte, N.C.'s struggling public TV station and Central Piedmont Community College are in preliminary talks about joining forces to keep WTVI on the air. Last year, the station — whose financial condition has turned perilous since the recession began to grip Charlotte in 2008 — ran a deficit of about $300,000. Fundraising is lagging by a couple hundred thousand dollars at the midpoint of this fiscal year, WTVI President Elsie Garner said Wednesday. Link | Add comment
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Today's Top Stories

Classifieds

The Market

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 4:44p ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content

Ratings

Overnights, adults 18-49 for February 7, 2012
  • 1.
    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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