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Special Reports

  • NAB 2012: Everything you need to know about broadcasting's biggest tech event of the year.
  • Gearing Up For NAB 2012: The top tech trends and issues.
  • FCC Watch: 18 Topics In 244 Words Or Less: Get briefed on what's happening at broadcasting's favorite regulatory agency by top Washington communications attorneys David Oxenford and Brendan Holland.
  • 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.
  • TOP 30 TV STATION GROUPS: Fox Television Stations is No. 1 in the revenue-based rankings, followed by the groups of the other major broadcast networks: CBS, NBC and ABC, with Tribune rounding out the top five.

Industry Calendar

May 2012
Mo
28
Memorial Day
Holiday
June 2012
Mo
11
NAB Education Foundation
Celebration of Service to America Awards
Washington, DC
Tu
Th
12-14
PromaxBDA
The Conference 2012
Los Angeles, CA
Th
Su
14-17
Investigative Reporters & Editors
IRE 2012
Boston, MA
Sa
23
NATAS
Daytime Emmy Awards
Los Angeles, CA

Station Directory

Net Essentials

AP Breaking News

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Front Office by Mary Collins
Handling Digital Ads Harder Than It Has To Be
TVNewsCheck, Apr 20, 2012, 7:34 AM EDT
Michael Shimkin (left), ESPN’s senior accounting analyst, explains the value of creating a standardized media industry credit application. He also offers advice on how to evaluate potential local Web advertisers and spells out what he sees as the next steps to make the business more profitable and less time consuming. Full Story | Add comment
Front Office by Mary Collins
Can You Bank On Your Broadcast License?
TVNewsCheck, Apr 6, 2012, 6:44 AM EDT
The issue of whether a broadcast license can be used as collateral is a huge one. It appeared to have been settled in the 1990s by a series of court decisions that effectively separated “an interest in proceeds and an interest in the license itself.” But recently some courts have taken a different stance, expressly rejecting this application of the bankruptcy laws by adopting the former court rulings. Full Story | Comments (1)
Front Office by Mary Collins
Don’t Lose Sleep Over Financial Challenges
TVNewsCheck, Mar 23, 2012, 8:45 AM EDT
Media Finance 2012, MFM’s upcoming annual conference, has put together a series of sessions designed to ease the minds of finance execs by tackling tough issues including: interactive and digital media, mobile video, retransmission consent, political advertising, credit disasters, accounting practices, HR and organization development and tax issues. Full Story | Add comment
Front Office by Mary Collins
How To Prepare For An Uncertain Future
TVNewsCheck, Mar 9, 2012, 8:23 AM EST
Coming up with a scenario that challenges our business assumptions is precisely the type of tactic that Barbara Cohen (left), president of Kannon Consulting, uses with her clients. Cohen, whose firm provides planning, facilitation and revenue-focused consulting services to media and marketing companies, believes that effective business planning must take into account the unforeseen circumstances as well as the ones that are staring us in the face. Full Story | Comments (1)
Front Office by Mary Collins
What Stations Must Know About Political Ads
TVNewsCheck, Feb 24, 2012, 7:37 AM EST
Washington communications attorney Jack Goodman answers common questions about stations’ responsibilities regarding political campaign commercial rates, bonus spots, forms of payment and more. Full Story | Add comment
FRONT OFFICE BY MARY COLLINS
Person To Watch: Cox's Lacey Lewis
TVNewsCheck, Jan 20, 2012, 8:44 AM EST
The Media Financial Management Associations is honoring outstanding industry executives with its People to Watch awards. Among this year's honorees is the SVP of finance for Cox Enterprises who has consistently shown a willingness to take on new challenges. Now, if she could only find time for to earn that helicopter pilot's license. Full Story | Add comment
MFM Slots 2012 CFO Summit For February
TVNewsCheck, Dec 8, 2011, 12:38 PM EST
Cox’s Neil Johnston and Katz Media’s Robert Damon to co-chair the Feb. 23-24 gathering in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Full Story | Add comment
Front Office by Mary Collins
Avoid Problems Posed By Medical Records
TVNewsCheck, Dec 2, 2011, 8:09 AM EST
Late last year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published regulations governing the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) that are applicable to employers. Here are 10 suggestions for addressing the aspects of the new regulations that employers are likely to encounter on a recurring basis and can be the most challenging. Full Story | Add comment
MFM’s Media Outlook 2012 Set For Sept. 22
TVNewsCheck, Aug 25, 2011, 11:27 AM EDT
The annual seminar is designed to help in preparing budgets for next year with discussions and presentations on the outlook for digital ad platforms; ad spending projections; and general overviews of what to expect in 2012 in broadcasting, print and online media. Full Story | Add comment
FRONT OFFICE BY MARY COLLINS
Choosing The Right Biz Planning Software
TVNewsCheck, Jul 15, 2011, 8:11 AM EDT
Having the right business planning tools won’t just make the budgeting process easier and more integral to your business plan, it will also help you become a “world class” organization, the experts say. Here are some good tips for finding and evaluating those tools. Full Story | Add comment
TVNewsCheck Focus on business
Finance Execs Face Full Plate Of Challenges
TVNewsCheck, May 11, 2011, 5:44 AM EDT
Broadcasting CFOs and others concerned with the bottom line are busier than ever. Their hot-button issues — many of which will be addressed next week at the annual meeting of Media Financial Management Association — include: the changing network-affiliate relationship; the FCC’s attempt to recover stations’ spectrum; the development of mobile DTV; the volatile, choppy economic recovery; the M&A outlook; and figuring out how to deal with the relaxed credit terms that were extended to advertisers as a means of bolstering revenue during the lean years. Full Story | Comments (2)
FRONT OFFICE BY MARY COLLINS
Busting Ad Compensation And Liability Myths
TVNewsCheck, Apr 1, 2011, 5:52 AM EDT
Knowing the facts and developing the very best credit practices are essential for optimizing your ad sales operation. Eliminating old misperceptions can help media companies develop better compensation and credit liability practices that protect their own interests while fostering a win-win relationship with valuable industry players. Full Story | Add comment
FRONT OFFICE BY MARY COLLINS
New Media Requires Tougher Credit Checks
TVNewsCheck, Mar 18, 2011, 6:49 AM EDT
As non-traditional media revenue continues to increase in leaps and bounds, the need for more diligent credit sleuthing grows along with it. LIN Media's credit and collections chief Greg Frost has some tips for how you can avoid coming up short when dealing the new breed of advertisers and their agencies. Full Story | Comments (1)
Front Office by Mary Collins
MFM To Honor 11 At Annual Conference
TVNewsCheck, Mar 4, 2011, 6:51 AM EST
At Media Finance Focus 2011 (May 15-17 in Atlanta), the MFM and its BCCA subsidiary will recognize 11 industry executives who have aided the organization, made significant contributions to the media industries and inspired others. The award recipients: William Fitzsimmons, Michael Denson, Robin Szabo, Dwight Delapenha, Robert Amos, William Waters, Dean Rohrbaugh, George Stella, Wanda Borges, Bruce Nathan and Peter Gallo. Full Story | Add comment

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The Market

Symbol Last Change (%)
Nasdaq 2839.38 -10.74 (-0.38%)
NYSE 7552.36 +11.46 (+0.15%)
S&P 500 1320.68 +1.82 (+0.14%)
Updated 05/24 6:14p ET Quotes delayed at least 20 mins.
Source: Financial Content

Ratings

Overnights, adults 18-49 for May 23, 2012
  • 1.
    6.1/18
  • 2.
    2.6/7
  • 3.
    2.0/6
  • 4.
    1.5/4
  • 5.
    1.4/4
  • 6.
    0.4/1
Source: Nielsen
Reviews
Opinions
Features
  • David Wiegand

    Fans of Sex and the City have finally gotten their wish: Their beloved sex-focused sitcom is back on the air ... sort of. The four women have become four men, of course, and the writing isn't as good. Oh, and the laugh track so annoying, it's offensive. And did I mention that the costumes would be considered fashionable if you were holding a yard sale? Men at Work on TBS is almost quaint, it's so old fashioned. If it had any meat on its bones, you'd be tempted to say it's the sadly ignoble epitome of TV's long-festering emasculated-men syndrome. But it's so much of a big, forgettable, innocuous shrug, it's not even worth any actual vitriol.

  • Mike Hale

    The USA Network's motto is "Characters Welcome." Apparently they're especially welcome if they resemble Oscar Madison and Felix Unger. Already stocked with Odd Couple knockoffs in Psych and White Collar, USA adds to its inventory Common Law, another comic crime-fighting show about mismatched partners. But this latest entry exhibits very little of that kind of spark as it tries to wring laughs from the juxtaposition of counseling and police work. It looks too flat and schematically plotted to succeed as the type of lightweight summer fun we’ve come to expect from USA.

  • Joanne Ostrow

    Johnny Carson: Fantastic entertainer, miserable human being. That's the lasting message of Johnny Carson: King of Late Night, the new PBS American Masters film, a rich history of a rare product of television who dominated the small screen for decades. Unprecedented access to personal archives plus all existing episodes of The Tonight Show (1962-92), distinguishes this film by Peter Jones. Telling interviews with family and colleagues, including second wife Joanne Carson, former Tonight Show executive producer Peter Lassally and a number of biographers sharpen the picture. The clips are carefully selected to illustrate specific personality traits, the performance highlights are given context and meaning beyond funny lines and memorable moments.

  • Hank Stuever

    AMC's The Pitch is a sharply-made if slightly off-putting reality series that follows different advertising agencies each week as they compete for new accounts. The inspiration for the show — made clear by its own ad campaign — is to harness some of the verve generated by the network's acclaimed Mad Men. The Pitch has a way of making the ad world seem like a real downer — a repugnant exercise in egotism laced with depressing bouts of creative compromise.

  • Tim Goodman

    HBO's Veep stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as former Sen. Selina Meyer, who accepts the vice presidential duty and regrets it almost immediately: She has no real power and gets muscled by the Senate, Congress and the (so-far-unseen) president, who delegates all the truly crappy jobs to her. Louis-Dreyfus has found perhaps her best post-Seinfeld role and takes to it with such fervor — the constant swearing, the barely veiled desire to become president, the unhappy give-and-take with other politicians and a delightful disdain for average citizens — that you can't help but applaud what is clearly an Emmy-worthy effort. Her work alone makes Veep a gem, but there's even more to like.

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