http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/networks/ en-us Fri, 7 Nov 2008 14:04:58 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2127801/posts According to some media observers, interim “Meet the Press” host Tom Brokaw has been showcasing – reluctantly, as he clearly covets a return to network news - candidates for the late Tim Russert's media chair. Witness the endless panels of NBC news correspondents every Sunday. Who's next? Are we really ready for blabber-wocky Chris Matthews - maybe even sports-hack turned petulant pol-wonk Keith Olbermann? Can any of the contenders for Russert's job be a new beacon for integrity and objectivity at NBC News?In this same vein, recall the recent suggestions by Democratic senators Clinton, Boxer and Feinstein that  - because... dcexaminer.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2127801/posts#comment Fri, 7 Nov 2008 14:04:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2119707/posts Digital-video recorder company TiVo Inc. (TIVO) and online movie rental service Netflix Inc. (NFLX) said Thursday they are teaming up to provide Netflix and some TiVo subscribers with the ability to have thousands of movies and TV episodes instantly streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs. The two companies said they are initiating a test of the new capability Thursday in several thousand U.S. households and expect it to be broadly available in early December. Marketwatch.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2119707/posts#comment Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:57:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2114833/posts After his own personal mini-meltdown caused him to sell some of his shareholdings in CBS and Viacom, Sumner Redstone said this week that the situation is under control and that he won't be selling any more. Meanwhile, media wags are still handicapping whether one or both of the companies he controls might end up in play. But whatever happens next, Redstone's travails are a clear reminder of how a media mogul's controlling stake in his companies can become bad for business, and for stockholders, particularly when there are two classes of shares involved. Given Redstone's singular pride of ownership in... Fortune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2114833/posts#comment Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:33:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096960/posts NEW YORK - Barack Obama's tendency through the Democratic primaries to perform better in exit polls than he actually does at the ballot box has some media organizations nervous heading into Election Night. Television networks want to avoid having their performance become an issue for the third straight presidential election. Their political experts hope that experience gained during the primaries will help things run smoothly Nov. 4. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel and The Associated Press pool resources to conduct exit polls in select precincts, hoping to glean information about why people vote the way they do and... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096960/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 21:00:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082883/posts 102 Minutes that Changed America trails only Life After People for The History Channel audience. By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/15/2008 2:15:00 PM The History Channel scored its second-largest audience ever with Sept. 11 anniversary special 102 Minutes that Changed America. 102 Minutes that Changed America The documentary -- which aired commercial-free on the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. -- was watched by 5.2 million people, according to Nielsen, including 2.9 million viewers in the network's sales demographic of 25- to 54-year-olds. "We are proud and overwhelmed with the reaction to... Broadcasting & Cable http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2082883/posts#comment Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:41:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079262/posts When MSNBC announced the other day that Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews were being replaced as co-anchors of the cable network's nightly political broadcast, the news was widely taken as evidence that the grownups at the parent network are looking to salvage NBC News' reputation for balance. And who can doubt that Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams--who've had to squirm before the likes of Jon Stewart, pretending to be something other than appalled by the nightly goings-on at MSNBC--had a major hand in this move? snip Indeed, this was just the most recent signal that the network, having long refused... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079262/posts#comment Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:19:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078058/posts More Americans than ever are watching TV online, about a fifth, twice the number two years ago, despite the fact that the viewing experience doesn't come close to that of watching on a TV screen. Just why is interesting. As it turns out, avoiding commercials plays only a minor role, and it's actually less a factor than it was two years ago. The big reason people watch TV online is the flexibility it affords. A study by the Conference Board, the New York research outfit, reports that 55.4 percent of respondents said they watched TV online so they can see... Media Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078058/posts#comment Tue, 9 Sep 2008 14:06:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2062771/posts Did anyone else see the Letterman Show tonight, Friday 8/15: when actor Ben Kingsley walked out to great applause, he walked up to Dave Letterman and said "God Bless American Enthusiasm!" and then repeated himself, "God Bless American enthusiasm!" Except CBS simply filtered out the word "God." Both times. Watching closely, I know I saw Kingsley's lips form the word "God" both times, his lips were clearly moving before I heard "...Bless American enthusiasm!" I thought I was imagining things, but it happened a second time! David Letterman Show (Late Show)) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2062771/posts#comment Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:20:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061089/posts CNN announced on Tuesday that it would assign journalists to 10 cities across the United States, a move that would double the number of domestic cities where the cable news network has outposts. But in a reflection of the way television networks are reinventing the way they gather news, the journalists will not work from expensive bureaus — rather, they will borrow office space from local news organizations and use laptops to file articles for the Internet and TV. When news happens, they will use Internet connections and cellphone cameras to report live. “We are harnessing technology that enables us... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061089/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:00:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046501/posts Security researcher and author Kris Kaspersky plans to demonstrate how an attacker can target flaws in Intel's microprocessors to remotely attack a computer using JavaScript or TCP/IP packets, regardless of what operating system the computer is running. Kaspersky will demonstrate how such an attack can be made in a presentation at the upcoming Hack In The Box (HITB) Security Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during October. The proof-of-concept attacks will show how processor bugs, called errata, can be exploited using certain instruction sequences and a knowledge of how Java compilers work, allowing an attacker to take control of the... InfoWorld http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046501/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:56:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013248/posts Broadcast TV networks' upfront advertising sales will be down this year, posting a drop of between 2% and 14%, a leading Wall Street analyst said. A "material decline is probable given ratings declines, the disruption in the development cycle due to the recent writers' strike and economic woes," Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch said in a report published yesterday. Next week, the broadcast networks will meet with advertisers, presenting their fall schedules in what are expected to be less lavish circumstances than in past years. Production disruptions from the 100-day Writers Guild of America strike, as well as uncertainty... Advertising Age http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013248/posts#comment Thu, 8 May 2008 21:29:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011362/posts AS REAL-LIFE broadcasters get set to announce their fall schedules next week in New York, they're still scratching their way out of a trench, otherwise known as the worst season in the history of the network TV business. Not a single one of the new fall series broke through to a big audience, even the ones that looked can't-fail on paper, such as ABC's spinoff "Private Practice" and NBC's now-dead revival of "Bionic Woman." Every network except Fox has posted significant ratings declines for the season. Even as existing series have gradually returned from the three-month writers strike, viewers have,... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2011362/posts#comment Mon, 5 May 2008 11:52:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009263/posts Many top shows are back but ratings continue to fall By Toni Fitzgerald Apr 30, 2008 The writers’ strike is long over, but broadcast ratings have yet to return to their pre-strike levels. A number of shows have fallen to season or series lows following their return after the strike, and most are down from last fall. It’s a pattern seen across every network as the May sweeps kick off. Last week ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Ugly Betty” posted their second-lowest ratings in adults 18-49, averaging a 6.5 and 2.5, respectively, in their first original outings since January. Fox’s “American... Media Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2009263/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:17:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998166/posts MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, April 7, 2008 – Dealing with a loved one’s deployment can be difficult. But for Marine families based thousands of miles from home, the challenges might seem even more daunting if not for an active family support network in place to help them. Carrie Heironimus, wife of Navy Lt. Brandon Heironimus, right, gets information about family-support programs at a table set up in Marine Corps Base Hawaii’s base exchange from Brenda Hawkins, left, administrative assistant for the Marine Corps Family Team Building program, and Cheryl Roy, center, the base’s readiness and deployment support trainer. Photo... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1998166/posts#comment Mon, 7 Apr 2008 23:29:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996008/posts For decades, local TV stations in cities like Baltimore were cash cows for the companies that owned them. Even though one or two stations with the most popular anchors often came to dominate each market, everybody made money. Local TV was that surefire a business - even for last-place and poorly managed stations. But not today. More and more, the dominant story line for local TV news is one filled with talk of cutbacks, layoffs, lowered expectations and an urgent need to find new ways of doing business and winning viewers. This week, CBS announced a series of layoffs at... Baltimore Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1996008/posts#comment Thu, 3 Apr 2008 13:16:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992766/posts There were deep cuts at ABC News in New York this week as more than 20 employees in the finance and operations departments were informed that their jobs were being eliminated as part of an ongoing restructuring project that began last spring. pink slip “This new structure will streamline how we receive our finance and operations support. It will also make that support more directly responsible to those at ABC News who depend on it the most. And it should move us forward faster and more effectively into the evolving digital world,” ABC News president David Westin said in an... Broadcasting & Cable http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992766/posts#comment Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:39:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985280/posts My colleague Brent Baker has painstakingly documented how the big three broadcast networks have gone out of their way to avoid labeling scandal-scarred New York Governor Eliot Spitzer as a “Democrat.” An examination of the fifteen ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news shows through Wednesday night finds Spitzer was called a Democrat just 20% of the time — twice on CBS, once on ABC, and never on NBC. So how do the networks treat Republicans involved in sex scandals? Always, always as Republicans, and as problems for their party. Last July, Louisiana Senator David Vitter’s name surfaced in... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985280/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:25:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985019/posts With voters turning out in record numbers for the presidential primaries and two Democrats still locked in a tight race for the nomination, cable news networks have seen their ratings soar over the past six months. And it's coming as broadcast networks slip. Through the beginning of March, the most recent numbers available, ratings for the network nightly newscasts are all down year to year among the key adult demographics. But even more worrisome for the networks, the sharpest declines have been among the very adults 18-34 who account for some of cable news' biggest gains since the primary season... Media Life http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985019/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:14:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980863/posts It’s official: the networks no longer cover news, they slap it onto the bottom edge of their regular programming like Post-it notes. There were crawls (“Huckabee drops out”) and brief updates, but viewers who wanted to immerse themselves in the speculation and suspense — and Tuesday night was arguably a more critical and dramatic election than Super Tuesday — were relegated to cable news. Not that CNN and its brethren did a bad job. It’s just that Tuesday night’s showdown between Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton was momentous. Not having a prime-time election report on ABC, CBS or... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980863/posts#comment Wed, 5 Mar 2008 19:49:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963365/posts After months of improving security in Iraq, the big network morning shows on Friday cited one horrific suicide bombing as proof that “mayhem and misery are back in Baghdad,” as CBS correspondent Mark Strassmann put it. But over the last five months, the broadcast networks have consistently reduced their coverage of Iraq, as if the story of American success in Iraq is less worthy of attention than their old mantra of American failure in Iraq. Media Research Center analysts tracked all coverage of the Iraq war on the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts from September 1 through January 31,... NewsBusters.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963365/posts#comment Fri, 1 Feb 2008 19:11:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960229/posts Exclusive: After Obama Complaints, CNN Bans James Carville And Paul Begala From Appearing As Analysts Until Dem Primary Is Settled January 24, 2008 -- 7:11 PM EST Talking Points Memo Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960229/posts#comment Sun, 27 Jan 2008 06:58:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1940784/posts The slow but steady erosion in the power of primetime television is about to change the fundamental structure and financial clout of broadcast TV's perennial cash cow, warn advertisers, which pump more than $9 billion a year into the three-hour nightly window. With its waning audience, lack of a breakout hit in two seasons and with the writers' strike about to render the TV landscape barren of any new scripted shows, media planners and ad buyers are predicting: * The decades-long three-hour primetime window could shrink by one-third to just two hours a night. * The growth of less-expensive reality... NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1940784/posts#comment Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:12:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937370/posts Study says 38.4 million will tune in via Internet Some 38.4 million homes worldwide will receive TV via the Internet by 2012, according to research by Informa Telecoms and Media. “In the shorter term we are forecasting 10.6 million IPTV households by the end of 2007, double the 2006 figure,” said Adam Thomas, Informa media research manager. “Much of the growth has come from service launches by European telcos.” Last year IPTV worldwide generated revenues from subscriptions and VOD of less than $1.5 billion. By 2012 this figure is forecast to reach $14.7 billion. Variety http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937370/posts#comment Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:45:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1932707/posts Striking screenwriters on Thursday night dismissed a new set of proposals from producers as “a massive rollback,” and called on their members to continue their walkout with fresh resolve despite a plan to continue talks on Tuesday. In a move to end a nearly four-week-old strike by writers, Hollywood’s studios and networks — represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers — earlier in the day offered a new package of proposals that includes a revised offer for payments related to movies and shows distributed via new media. In a statement, producers said the new package, styled a... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1932707/posts#comment Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:25:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923592/posts WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2007 – Coalition forces wounded one suspected terrorist and detained 19 others today during operations to disrupt foreign terrorist networks in central Iraq. -- Southeast of Fallujah, coalition forces targeted an associate of an al Qaeda network responsible for insurgent activities in the region, including car-bomb and improvised-explosive-device attacks. As coalition forces arrived at the target building, they were engaged by two armed men. The ground force engaged and wounded one of the men. The second surrendered. -- Coalition forces conducted three coordinated operations south of Samarra targeting associates of an al Qaeda senior leader involved in... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1923592/posts#comment Fri, 9 Nov 2007 23:57:38 GMT