The Broadcasters Foundation of America held its annual breakfast Wednesday during the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The Foundation honored several industry leaders. Six honorees received the Leadership Award, and Erica Farber received the Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award. L-r: Mike McVay, president, McVay Media Consulting; Kathleen Kirby, partner, Wiley; Don Bouloukos, CBS and ABC Radio executive; Erica Farber, president-CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau; Frank Comerford, chief revenue officer/president, commercial operations NBCU Local; John Rouse, EVP, ABC Affiliate Relations, Disney Platform Distribution; and Traug Keller, president ABC Radio Network/SVP, ESPN Radio.
Day has spearheaded production on La Casa de los Famosos, Los 50, Exatlon, Top Chef VIP, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, Miss Universe and more.
Les Moonves has settled his debts with the City of Los Angeles, at least financially. In a meeting of L.A.’s Ethics Commission Wednesday afternoon, the body voted for a second time on a payout from the multi-millionaire former CBS boss. Unlike the Feb. 21 meeting, this time the proposed settlement passed.
Exclusives
The former Scripps exec will be responsible for developing and implementing newsgathering, storytelling and distribution models strategy across all platforms.
Uri Berliner, who has worked at NPR for 25 years, said in an essay last week that the nonprofit had allowed progressive bias to taint its coverage.
Dua Lipa and Fantasia Barrino are set to perform at the event, with Michael J. Fox receiving the Time Impact Award.
Adam Buckman: “Robert MacNeil, who died last week at age 93, may have been the last of his generation of broadcast journalists who set standards for quality and reliability that one could argue have largely disappeared. In an era before 24-hour, all-news, all-blathering cable news, and instant news of 280 characters or less on social media, the MacNeil/Lehrer newscasts stood at the pinnacle of TV news for their ethics, accuracy and credibility.” (Stephen Chernin/AP)
Bill Schultz claims he was fired in retaliation for pushing back against executives at Al Roker Entertainment, who allegedly undercut a PBS-mandated diversity program.
NPR has formally punished Uri Berliner, the senior editor who publicly argued a week ago that the network had “lost America’s trust” by approaching news stories with a rigidly progressive mindset. Berliner’s five-day suspension without pay, which began last Friday, has not been previously reported.
Max Cutler, the former Spotify executive who oversaw the audio streamer’s deals with the likes of Alex Cooper and Joe Rogan, is launching his own company. Cutler, who founded Parcast Studios, which Spotify acquired in 2019 for $56 million, left Spotify as part of a reorg last year. He is now launching PAVE Studios, which will focus on audio, video, books and live experiences. The name stands for Podcasts, Audiobooks, Video and Entertainment.
David Porter, an ad industry veteran and former Turner exec, is joining Warner Bros. Discovery as head of ad sales research, data and insights. Porter reports to Jon Steinlauf, Warner Bros. Discovery’s chief of U.S. advertising sales, and will split his time between WBD’s New York City and Atlanta offices. The announcement of Porter’s hiring comes a month ahead of the sale org’s May 15 Upfront presentation in New York City. Porter replaces Andrea Zapata, who exited WBD at the end of 2023 and is now T-Mobile’s VP of advertising data, measurement and partnerships.
Lee Hollin has signed a new multi-year deal to remain in his position as executive vice president of television and head of current programming for Lionsgate Television Group.
The executive succeeds John Bogusz, who is retiring after 26 years with the company.
Travis Kelce will host Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, a spinoff of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, that will stream on Prime Video. Kelce plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been in eight Pro Bowls and his girlfriend is Taylor Swift. MGM Alternative produces the show and 20 episodes have been ordered.
The WICT Network has gotten Stephanie Ruhle, senior business analyst and host of MSNBC’s The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle, as headliner of a fireside chat with Michelle Rice, president of TV One and CLEO […]
The award-winning local news veteran joins the Telemundo station from the group’s KVDA San Antonio where she was executive producer.
Tyler Perry is extending his partnership with Paramount. The prolific creator has signed a big new agreement with the company’s BET Media. Under the pact, he will deliver hundreds of new episodes to BET and BET+ spanning existing and new series.
Katherine Maher, who took over the public network last month, posted years ago on Twitter that “Donald Trump is a racist.” (Armando Franca/AP)
