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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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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
WNYW's Greg Kelly Cleared Of Rape Allegations
Associated Press, Feb 8, 2012, 6:53 AM EST
Golden Globes Court Fight
Testimony Ends In Globes Broadcast Trial
Associated Press, Feb 8, 2012, 6:15 AM EST
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz warned attorneys for the Globes' organizers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and its longtime producers that he would declare a clear winner, which could result in the Globes being tangled up on appeal for another awards season. Full Story | Add comment
Judge Dismisses Reality Show Ideas Theft Lawsuit
Hollywood Reporter, Feb 8, 2012, 5:57 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
Longtime FCC Engineer Nai Tam Dies
CommLawBlog, Feb 6, 2012, 3:17 PM EST
FCC: TV Can Nix Super Bowl Abortion Ad
Politico, Feb 3, 2012, 5:50 PM EST
The FCC ruled Friday that anti-abortion activist Randall Terry can't force a Chicago TV station to air commercials featuring graphic images of aborted fetuses during the Super Bowl. Link | Add comment
news analysis
Candidates Have Much to Fear From Terry Ads
CommLawCenter, Feb 3, 2012, 3:41 PM EST
If you are a television broadcaster, count yourself fortunate if you have not heard from the ad agency for Randall Terry. In a self-proclaimed effort to exploit the laws requiring broadcasters to give federal candidates guaranteed access to airtime as well as their lowest ad rates, Terry has announced he is running for president and wishes to air anti-abortion ads containing graphic footage of aborted fetuses during Super Bowl coverage and elsewhere. Link | Add comment
Jessell at Large
Disclosure Rule The First Step Toward Quotas
TVNewsCheck, Feb 3, 2012, 3:39 PM EST
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. Full Story | Comments (9)
DMA 1
NRJ Asks FCC To OK $22.8M Buy Of WSAH
TVNewsCheck, Feb 3, 2012, 8:08 AM EST
The spectrum speculator outbid two others for the bankrupt New York independent station last November, but the auction was contested, delaying the filing of the FCC sale application. NRJ has purchased three other underperforming stations in recent months with an eye on the FCC's spectrum auction. Full Story | Add comment
dma 76 (Omaha, NE)
KETV Anchor Adrian Whitsett Arrested For DUI
Omaha World-Herald, Feb 3, 2012, 7:27 AM EST
A Super Bowl Ad To Rile Abortion Politics
Politico, Feb 3, 2012, 7:16 AM EST
Anti-abortion crusader and would-be Democratic candidate for president Randall Terry expects the FCC to decide as soon as today if TV stations must run his graphic ads — featuring aborted fetuses — during Sunday’s Super Bowl. Link | Add comment
Golden Globes Court Fight
HFPA's Berk Testimony Contradicts Moonves
Los Angeles Times, Feb 3, 2012, 6:35 AM EST
Philip Berk, the current chairman and former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and a key witness in the organization's legal battle against Dick Clark Productions over who controls the television rights to the Golden Globes said in court Thursday that he's "never really been interested in contracts." Link | Add comment
Feds Blitz Illegal Sports Streaming Sites
Los Angeles Times, Feb 3, 2012, 6:33 AM EST
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies announced Thursday that they had seized 16 websites and brought criminal charges against a Michigan man who operated nine of them. Link | Add comment
FCC Apologizes To Sen. Grassley For Remark
The Hill, Feb 2, 2012, 7:40 AM EST
Zachary Katz, the new chief of staff for the FCC, apologized to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday after an agency official compared the senator to the anti-communist former Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Link | Comments (2)
dma 105
FCC OKs Channel Substitution For KFXL Lincoln
Broadcast Engineering, Feb 2, 2012, 6:24 AM EST
dma 53 (Providence, RI)
R.I. PBS Blindsided By Funding Cut Plan
WPRI, Feb 1, 2012, 10:20 AM EST
Rhode Island PBS CEO David Piccerelli says he was shocked to learn of Governor Chafee's proposal to cut off state funding, which makes up about a third of its $3 million budget. Link | Comments (3)
Nikki Finke's Court Fight With THR Set For July '13
The Wrap, Feb 1, 2012, 7:46 AM EST
Dma 49 (Memphis)
Police Delete WPTY Photog's Cell Phone Pix
WPTY, Feb 1, 2012, 6:05 AM EST
Golden Globes Court Fight
Moonves: CBS Might Have Bid $25 Million
Hollywood Reporter, Feb 1, 2012, 5:52 AM EST
A video of CBS chief Leslie Moonves giving his testimony in the trial over the broadcast rights to the Golden Globes between the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Productions, accompanied by a transcript, was made public Tuesday after it was filed late Monday. Moonves says in his video that he might have bid at least $25 million for the rights to the awards telecast, but that was only the opening of negotiations. Link | Add comment
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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 4:35p 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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