Erie Media-Go-Round

It’s Done!

2006-12-31T11:57:00.000-05:00

As you can see from the top red banner, Erie Media-Go-Round’s new home is ready for old friends and new guests. Just click on the new address location and you will be taken there in a jiffy (http://www.eriemediablog.com/). While you’re at it, take a moment and save the new address to your favorites. If you have subscribed to this current site, you will have to subscribe again to the new RSS feeds if you want to receive automatic notices of posts and comments.

While there will be no further postings or comments at this site, you will still be able to read old posts and comments if needed. Because of recent changes made by Blogger, the old posts and comments could not be transferred. If that capability becomes possible in the future, EMGR will do it.

Thanks and welcome to the future.

New Year’s Week Bowl Games In HD!

2006-12-30T13:18:00.000-05:00

If you haven’t seen fooball in HD…you haven’t seen football.

Subject to change! All times Eastern. Coverage maps are now available at GribbleNation.

Monday New Years Day

Outback Bowl
Tennessee (9-3) vs. Penn State (8-4) Tampa, FL 11 a.m. (ESPN HD)

AT&T Cotton Bowl
Nebraska (9-4) vs. Auburn (10-2) Dallas, TX 11:30 a.m. (FOX HD)

Toyota Gator Bowl
Georgia Tech (9-4) vs. West Virginia (10-2) Jacksonville, FL 1 PM (CBS HD(

Capital One Bowl
Arkansas (10-3) vs. Wisconsin (11-1) Orlando, FL 1 PM (ABC HD)

Rose Bowl
Southern California (10-2) vs. Michigan (11-1) Pasadena, CA 5 PM (ABC HD)

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Oklahoma vs. BCS Boise State Glendale, AZ 8 PM (FOX HD)

Tuesday, January 2nd

FedEx Orange Bowl
Wake Forest (11-2) vs. Louisville (11-1) Miami FL 8 PM (FOX HD)

Wednesday, January 3rd

Allstate Sugar Bowl
Louisiana State (10-2) vs Notre Dame (10-2) New Orleans LA 8 (PM FOX)

TV's Top 10 for December 18-24

2006-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Rudolph Still has Magic for CBS.

Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Dec. 18-24, 2006 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.

Rank / Program / Net / Viewers

1. CBS National NFL Post Game CBS 17.23

2 Deal Or No Deal - Monday NBC 15.37

3 CSI CBS 12.95

4 Identity - Monday NBC 12.27

5 CSI: Miami CBS 12.15

6 CSI: NY CBS 12.14

7 NCIS CBS 10.92

8 60 Minutes CBS 10.86

9 Two And A Half Men CBS 10.70

10 Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer CBS 10.58

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted by Fredfa on AVSFORUM.com

EMGR New Look And Features Begins New Year's Day!

Breaking News! Solo Bites The Wolf On Tuesday!

2006-12-29T08:52:00.000-05:00

Shannon Solo finds love and happiness with modern country.

The New Year brings many changes in the air, but the first we heard about was at The Wolf at 93.9 FM.

Shannon Solo hits the Wolf den starting this Tuesday in morning drive. As a country singer and songwriter, Shannon feels home at last. He is more than a “little bit country” and promises to show it live with his own variety of fun including celebrity interviews and his classic, "Coffee Break Trivia."

I am the first to say that country is not my first format of choice, but after listening to The Wolf since it started, I am appreciating the newer artists and music better.

Kenny Olowin was my country music teacher and made it possible for me to interview and photograph several legends in Country Music such as Dolly Parton when she was just 22. (One of my prize photos that I just had signed a few years back was of Dolly herself on her last performance in Erie)

Solo has a lot going on right now with this new gig. It should be very interesting how he handle’s this juggling act between radio, performing, writing music and weekend weather on WICU.

New EMGR Look And Features Begin Monday!

Gotta See Football In HD? Live Somewhere Else.

2006-12-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD NFL Games

NOTE: Subject to change! (All times are PM and Eastern) NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Dec. 31 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Saturday, Dec. 30
New York Giants (7-8) at Washington (5-10) 8 NFL Network-HD

Sunday, Dec. 31
Detroit (2-13) at Dallas (9-6) 1 Fox-HD
St. Louis (7-8) at Minnesota (6-9) 1 Fox-HD
Carolina (7-8) at New Orleans (10-5) 1 FOX-HD
Oakland (2-13) at New York Jets (9-6) 1 CBS-HD
Seattle (8-7) at Tampa Bay (4-11) 1 Fox-HD
New England (11-4) at Tennessee (8-7) 1 CBS-HD
San Francisco (6-9) at Denver (9-6) 4:15 Fox-HD
Miami (6-9) at Indianapolis (11-4) 4:15 CBS-HD
Atlanta (7-8) at Philadelphia (9-6) 4:15 Fox-HD
Green Bay (7-8) at Chicago (13-2) 8:15 NBC-HD

As posted by fredfa on www.AVSFORUM.com

The Big Man Goes Podcast!

2006-12-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

Hold On Erie...He's Back!

For 17 years Bob Patrick (real name Bob Martin) was a familiar voice on Erie radio. Everything from weekends at WWGO-AM to middays at WWYN-AM, he was the voice of WLVU-FM, he brought a whole new format to WMDI-FM and finally, hosted the highest rated show (adults 25-54) middays on the original WLKK, "Great Lake Country". Everyday he brought his brand of casual humor and fun to his loyal audience. One morning in 1980, he decided that he had just run out of things to say and so he said goodbye to his on-air show and quietly joined the voiceless majority. Now, after 27 years, he’s stored up the stories and anecdotes and he’s coming back to let you know what he’s learned.

Inside The Mind of Bob Patrick is a daily (Monday through Friday) "podcast" designed to bring back fun to your day. This light-hearted 5-10 minute show will spotlight the positive things in life and especially why Erie, PA is the best place to live / visit in the US. What is won’t be is negative, downbeat or full of "frat house" humor. It’s time to bring back fun, clean radio. It’s time to feel good again!

When asked to describe the show, Bob Patrick replied, "It will be like you and I sitting at your kitchen table talking, having a cup of coffee and eating donuts... except, we’re really not in your kitchen, I don’t drink coffee, and let’s face it... neither one of us really need the donuts. Let’s just get together every day and share some fun."

The show will also feature interviews, contests and some surprises along the line.
The show will be produced by Martin Creative Consultants and will be downloadable as an MP3 file from

www.MartinCreativeConsultants.com or can be subscribed to at Apple iTunes. On-air date is Wednesday, January 3rd.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.. " FCC http://www.dtv.gov/"

EMGR New Look And Features Begin January 1st.

Iraq Goes “Classy.”

2006-12-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Classy 100’s Breakfast Club trio will interview Major Christian Meeko of Erie from his station in Iraq this Friday December 29th.

The trinity of Erie broadcasting, Chuck Priestap, Brenda Savelli and Newsman Dave Benson will interview Major Meeko at about 7:45 EST Friday during their program. (I was told by an old nanny that “Newsman” was Dave’s given name at birth. His first diaper was the old Erie Times)

One thing has become very clear about our country's feelings, no matter how you feel about the war, Americans always honor and support the sacrifice of our troops and their families.

Major Meeko is expected not only to take the opportunity to talk to his Erie family, but to give tips and advice on what gifts our soldiers need that we can send. It is important to remember, even after the holidays, our men and women in uniform who are in harms way.

EMGR wants to thank Chuck Priestap and the “Classy” team for advising us on this event.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.. " FCC http://www.dtv.gov/"

You can still nominate your 2007 media pinups for newspaper, radio and TV.

Shout-It-Out December 26 January 1

2006-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: EMGR created” Shout-It-Out!” for anyone who has a need to go off-topic in the posted subject. It should still be a media topic...meaning about newspaper, radio or TV. A new “Shout-It-Out!” will be posted each week for you to comment or reply to a comment made in that week. All weeks will stay active if you feel you need to comment further on a previous week. All the usual rules still apply as to language, personal courtesy and appropriateness. Any off topic remarks from another thread, maybe moved to “Shout-It-Out!” for that week. )

Nominate your media pinups for 2007. See Last Wednesday's 12/20/06 post.

Hoping You Put Your Christmas In High Definition!

2006-12-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

What do I mean by a High Definition Christmas? I am suggesting that everyone think clearly this holiday season. Think about family, friends’ co-workers and those that you may have grown estranged from. Try to look past their mistakes and see crisp and clean what made them so close to you.

Find the inner beauty that you once saw--for that may be their true essence. It is easy to dwell on the errors and foibles of people. I always wonder why it is so hard to see the good.

On this Christmas season, EMGR wishes all its readers a High Definition Christmas. May we all continue to have health, wisdom and patience in the coming New Year.

Finally, I want to thank the readers of EMGR for giving me purpose in this stage of my life. You have no idea what you have meant to me.

The regular Shout-It-Out feature that usually begins on Sunday will instead start for the week on Tuesday. If you feel you still want to address an issue, hold it or use the previous weeks “Shout.” They are always open for posting.

Merry Christmas!

Your TV Top Ten For December 11-17!

2006-12-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

CBS Hits Lucky 7 With Survivor and CSI.

Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Dec. 11-17, 2006 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 NCIS CBS 17.39
2 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON NBC 16.70
3 SURVIVOR:COOK ISL. FINALE(S) CBS 16.42
4 HOUSE FOX 16.13
5 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 16.06
6 CSI: MIAMI CBS 16.00
7 CSI: NY CBS 15.83
8 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 15.69
9 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 15.26
10 CSI CBS 15.12

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted on AFSFORUM.com by Fredfa

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.. " FCC http://www.dtv.gov/"

Erie Media-Go-Round Gets "Extreme Makover"---Coming Very Soon.

Studio 60 and Star Trek Have More In Common Than You May Think!

2006-12-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor's Note: Below is an interesting critique by Wayne Friedman on how a small, loyal and advertiser desirable audience can keep a rather low rated program on the air. From an insider's point of view, the numbers quoted are a real education)

A Media Critique by Wayne Friedman, Wednesday, December 20, 2006

WE LIKE TV math--and maybe viewers need more of it. As the year comes to a close, we take heart that there are TV producers who are willing to share with their audience what it takes to stay in the business.

A lot has been written about "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and how a middling 3.5 rating among 18-49 viewers, and an average of 7 million total viewers per episode, have given this show an air of disappointment.

NBC says--lest we forget--those aren't the only measures of success. "Studio 60" attracts those high-income people who make $75,000 or $100,000 and more. Why are these viewers more valuable than the assistant manager at 7-Eleven? Because not only do they spend more on products, they don't watch much TV. That gives them a premium price tag.

The fictional show may not have that same profile. Perhaps like the real-life "Saturday Night Live," "Studio"'s viewers are a bit more mainstream, in terms of salary and age--and certainly somewhat younger then that of most regular prime-time shows.

How can I tell? Aaron Sorkin tells me so. Make that Mr. Sorkin's fictional executive producer on the show, Danny Tripp, played by Bradley Whitford. Here's what he says to Jordan McDeere, president of entertainment for the NBS network, played by Amanda Peet, when confronted with the possibly of having to cut TV production costs: "'Studio 60' doesn't cost the network money, Jordan," says Tripp. "It makes the network money."

"I understand," says McDeere.

"You want to know how much?" asks Tripp. "Our license fee is two million per show. We are clearing $120,000 for a thirty-second spot. We air 26 minutes of commercials. Now five of those minutes are network promos and bumpers, eight are local. That's [all] revenue.

"But we'll only deal with the 13 minutes left over. Thirteen minutes of commercials at $120,000 for 30 seconds, times 22 shows minus the license fee, is a hard dollar profit of $24,640,000 per season.... So tell me again why we have to lay off 15 people?"

That's a lot of deep information about the business for average viewers. Then again, they might not understand all the medical science of an "E.R." or a "Grey's Anatomy." It's the details that give these shows credibility.

We don't know all the math for the real 60-minute show, "Studio 60." There's a reported $3 million per episode budget, an upfront-buying, 30-second-commercial price tag of about $140,000, those middling 3 to 4 ratings, and that upper income data. We could use more info.

The point is that TV and entertainment business news is fast become mainstream news.

Consumers are interested. For example, every Monday morning, newspaper, TV and radio stations regularly offer news about the weekend's top-grossing movies.

But if movie executives had their way, you wouldn't see too much of this scorecard for the public. Execs would rather keep that stuff quiet--as well as the amount of the media budgets actually spent on those movies.

TV executives are the same way. They'd rather not have all the bad news ratings blabbed around town.

But for viewers, understanding is the way to go. Just tell us more financial stuff. We'll feel sorry for you--and watch more.

Erie Media-Go-Round Gets "Extreme Makover"---Coming Very Soon.

More Profanity In Hearing Than On Fox’s Billboard Awards!

2006-12-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

For those titillated with hearing judges and high priced attorney’s use profanity in a live courtroom, you weren’t disappointed in the Fox Vs FCC profanity hearing Wednesday on C-SPAN.

The debate came down to the issue of what is news and what is entertainment. The FCC previously has stated that an expletive uttered in the course of a newscast is permissible, but took exception to Cher doing the same thing during Fox’s live broadcast of the Billoard Awards.

Broadcast & Cable in their report said “The FCC case appeared to take its biggest hits from the judges' questions about whether its policy, in which the same words uttered by the same people were indecent in one context (entertainment) and not in another (news), makes it difficult for broadcasters to determine what might get them in trouble.”

The central question the 3 panel of judges on the second court of appeal have to decide is if the Billboard Awards counts as news or as entertainment. If they rule it is justifiably news, the FCC decision to censure and fine FOX could be reversed.

The Fox legal argument was that the FCC was not consistent in its application of the use of profanity in entertainment, news or live events.

C-SPAN will re-broadcast the one hour hearing on Saturday at 7 PM EST.

Erie...Are You Ready For Some HD?

2006-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD NFL Games

NOTE: Subject to change! (All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Dec. 24 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

As Posted on AVSFORUM.com by Fredfa

Thursday Dec. 21

Minnesota at Green Bay NFL Network-HD

Saturday, Dec. 23

Kansas City at Oakland NFL Network-HD

Sunday Dec. 24

Carolina at Atlanta 1 Fox-HD

Tampa Bay at Clevelands 1 Fox-HD

Chicago at Detroit 1 Fox-HD

New England at Jacksonville 1 CBS-HD

New Orleans at New York Giants 1 Fox-HD

Washington at St. Louis 1 Fox-HD

Cincinnati at Denver 4 CBS-HD

San Diego at Seattle 4 CBS-HD

Arizona at San Francisco 4:05 Fox-HD

Monday Dec. 25 Philadelphia at Dallas 5 NBC-HD

New York Jets at Miami 8:30 ESPN-HD

Who In radio, TV or newspaper media would you want to see in a 2007 Calendar?

Who Are Your Erie Media Pinups For 2007?

2006-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Lot’s of calendars in the bookstores for the New Year, but not one that features Erie’s men and women of media.

Help EMGR correct that little mistake.

If you were on the selection committee, who in Erie newspaper, radio and television would you want to see in a 2007 calendar and tell us why? (Be mindful of the usual rules of good taste and the diverse nature of the EMGR readers.)

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.. " FCChttp://www.dtv.gov/"

Reality TV Turns Profane on C-Span Today at 10 AM!

Profanity TV Begins Wednesday at 10 Am EST...9 CST.

2006-12-19T20:05:00.000-05:00

Breaking News

John Eggerton is reporting in Broadcast & Cable that C-SPAN said Monday it has decided to provide live coverage of the oral argument in broadcasters challenge to the FCC’s profanity crackdown.

The news channel asked and got permission from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York to cover the arguments to be presented on December 20. These arguments are more amenable to TV coverage than some of the others.

The arguments in five cases are set to begin at 10 AM EST. In addition to the television coverage, C-SPAN Radio and cspan.org will carry live broadcasts of the trial as well. Tune in for a profound - and perhaps profane - take on television.

WICU News: It’s Back To The Future! (A Review)

2006-12-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Not long ago, EMGR wrote about WJET Action News and its philosophy of the first 7 minutes focused on stories as a way they attempt to command and attract an audience. That philosophy was and is the hallmark of WJET since its beginnings in Radio but it was taken to a more refined approach by Eric Johnson and its current master, Lou Baxter.

WICU has similarly looked back into its own history to find a formula they feel works for them. As many of the comments on EMGR have noted, WICU had some of the greatest anchors and newscasters in Erie broadcast history. But WJET-TV’s 1980’s challenge and WICU’s panic reaction set it into the never- never land of fumbled opportunities. That is until the addition of news director Phil Hayes who is reshaping it back to its former roots.

In the opinion of this reviewer, WICU’s view of the news is very different from WJET’s. WICU’s coverage and order of the news seems to stem from a conscious decision as to what may affect the average viewer the most. Sometimes these are complex issues of local government which are not exactly as exciting as a crash or a fire. So the channel 12 news digest may not be as emotionally active as its competitors, but usually more detailed in its reporting.

The news team has been selected, for the most part, to appeal to the more involved viewer of the news. The staff is mature and seems to go out of their way to dig behind the standard news of the day..

Kevin MacDowell and Amanda post are co-anchors, but it is obvious that MacDowell is clearly the lead anchor. In the follow-up to a reporter’s story, he takes the roll of the viewer in asking the tougher and sometimes more revealing questions. Other competitors do this to some extent, but not to the intensity that MacDowell gives it.

In story count, WICU does not cover as many as WJET Action News, but those they do are covered with usually greater detail.

I already wrote about “Behind the Kitchen Door” so I won’t repeat myself except to say that Hayes does seem to seek news vehicles like it that attempt to separate and distinguish itself from the competition. That is what you have to do if you are to be successful. The ratings seem to support his judgment.

Much has been said on EMGR about MacDowell’s body language as being provocative and overdone. I still challenge that view. MacDowell is a seasoned anchor and knows that an anchor has to convey a sense of command. In my opinion, he uses his body language to help with that authority. Some may view that as arrogance.

The supporting cast at WICU News is mostly veterans. The Lisa Adams and the Paul Wagner’s are real old timers at the station and lend a sense of continuity with past glories. (I still wish Paul was used more effectively for his long time knowledge of the Erie political scene.) He and Lisa both bring a calmness and steadiness to the news they report. They don’t attempt to sensationalize or try to hog the camera.

Scott and Bo each bring a different view. They are a definite contrast of styles, looks and sound. The days of the NBC perfect voices are gone and have been replaced in today’s broadcasting with men and women who should be chosen for their news gathering knowledge rather than their looks and baritone voices. (There maybe some legitimate debate about the selection criteria of broadcast women.)

This is only a review of the main news areas and not the sports and weather. Those come later.

Overall, I hope that any possible move to VJ by WICU News enhances the experience for the viewer and not diminish the gains that Hayes and company have made.

Putting the well reported technical glitches aside, the local news scene has become competitive again.

New Look And Features Coming To EMGR Soon!!

Captain Dan’s “Holly Jolly Radio.”

2006-12-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: Captain Dan’s nose is a little redder than usual at this time of year. No… he hasn’t been hitting the sauce with Rudolf. He and the folks at Froggy started spreading the Christmas Spirit a little early this year with all Christmas music all the time. Something a number of stations have done in other markets in recent years. The effect in most cities has been an unusual jump in spending by consumers over cities that didn’t do 24/7 Christmas music.

I asked the Captain to write his thoughts on the experience so far.)

Dear Jack,

Happy Holidaze to you, your family and the cadre of fans of your blog.

I love it and I do "know Jack".

Having done mornings in Erie for 19 years now, and 19 Christmas Seasons I was a bit nervous that it would be too much, too soon. A great fan of Christmas and the music associated with it, Thanksgiving morn at 6:00 AM the tunes began much to the delight of most listeners...they carried through "Black Friday" and the Thanksgiving weekend.

Okay so far....when we were still pumping out the sound of Christmas the week after Thanksgiving with temperatures in the mid 60's and obviously no snow on the ground, there was a flurry of "Bah Humbugs".

When we hit December 1st and snow hit the ground, it was like the Christmas Miracle....everybody, well almost everybody except listener Ebenezer, was in the spirit. Initially I heard a fair amount of grumbling....but the tide has swung and now it's just “Good tidings to men and Peace on Earth.”

I was swamped by folks at the Barber Ball expressing their thanks and telling us to keep it up and play even more...tough to do since there are only 24 hours in the programming day.

I came across a little something I think you and your readers will like....just click on the link and enjoy. www.elfyourself.com/.

(Editor’s Post Script: Thanks Captain Dan. EMGR wishes you and your family a great Christmas season. You got us started right. I wasn’t sure myself if it weren’t too much, but I found myself turning it on in the car more often. Now…do you have a surprise for us on December 26th?)

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov/"

Burning down is only one way to destroy a city. This time the people of Erie need help that can't be delivered from the nozzle of a hose."--Pat Howad Erie Times-News 12/10/06--

Shout-It-Out December 17 December 23

2006-12-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

BREAKING NEWS! ABC Shows Door to "Show Me The Money."

2006-12-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

According to Broadcast & Cable today, ABC gave the boot, the door and an Italian hand gesture to William Shatner’s game gig, “Show Me The Money.”

The show had been ordered to cease production immediately and will be replaced with “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

B&C said “the show averaged just a 1.6 rating/5 share in the adult 18-49 demo Wednesday night at 8, hitting a new series low and falling 16% from its previous airing. "

Originally ABC had announced that it would pick up six additional programs with a strategic move to Tuesday nights in January. All for not.

Beam me out Scottie.

Coming Monday...Captain Dan's Take on "Holly Jolly Radio". New "Shout-It-Out" Begins Sunday.

"Extreme" "Survivors" Play "Sunday Night Football" In HD!

2006-12-15T11:08:00.000-05:00

Last week's Top 10 Network Programs

(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Dec. 4-10 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. )

Viewership is listed in millions.Rank Program Network Viewers
1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 23.3
2. Sunday Night Football NBC 19.9
3. Deal or No Deal NBC 17.4
4. 60 Minutes CBS 15.8
5. Survivor: Cook Islands CBS 15.7
6. Heroes NBC 14.9
7. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition ABC 14.2
8. Cold Case CBS 14.1
9. Shark CBS 14.0
10. Without a Trace CBS 13.9

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as Posted by Fredfa on www.AVSFORUM.com

Coming Monday...Captain Dan's Take on "Holly Jolly Radio". New "Shout-It-Out" Begins Sunday.

Sign-On....Sign-Off

2006-12-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Radio Revenue Up 6% in October
Center for Media Research December 13, 2006

According to the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB), the grand total of spot and non-spot Radio revenue increased 6 percent in October of this year compared to last year. National ad dollars grew 14 percent October 2006 over October 2005. Total combined national and local ad sales dollars increased 5 percent for the month of October 2006 over the same month from 2005.

From a year-to-date perspective, grand total combined spot and non-spot dollars in Radio remained flat over the first 10 months of 2006 when compared to that same time period from 2005. National sales figures January through October 2006 increased 3 percent over January through October 2005, while total combined national and local ad revenue for the first 10 months of 2006 stayed flat compared to the first 10 months of 2005.

Local and national revenues are based on a pool of more than 150 markets, and the Ad Sales Index equates base year 1998 to 100.

More Money on ABC
By Jim Benson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/8/2006 1:53:00 PM

In an expected move, ABC has picked up an additional six episodes of its new variety/game show, Show Me the Money, hosted by William Shatner.

The program has averaged 7.5 million viewers and averaged a 2.1 rating/6 share among adults 18-49, ranking second from 8-9 p.m. Wednesdays. It has risen from 7.5 million to 7.6 million viewers and 2.0/6 to 2.2/6 from the first to second half-hours.

As previously reported (B&C, Dec. 5), ABC has announced that it will move to a new time period at 8 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 2 as part of its revamped midseason schedule.

by Erik Sass, Wednesday, Dec 6, 2006 8:00 AM ET Media Daily News
SATELLITE RADIO SUFFERED ANOTHER SETBACK on Monday with Sirius Satellite Radio's announcement that it was going to miss its subscription forecast for the end of the year, giving a jolt to the company's stock as it joined competitor XM in the missed-forecast doghouse.

Sirius reported that it will cut its year-end subscriber forecast from 6.3 million to a range between 5.9 and 6.1 million, due to sluggish post-Thanksgiving sales. At the end of the third quarter, Sirius had a total subscriber base of about 5.12 million.
According to Banc of America analyst Jonathan Jacoby, retail sales of satellite radio sets may fall by up to 20% in the fourth quarter.

Evening-News Ratings: NBC Sweeps It
By Rebecca Stropoli -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/5/2006 1:37:00 PM

NBC's Nightly News With Brian Williams took first place in the November sweeps in total viewers, homes and the adults 25-54 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.
During the sweeps period, Nightly News averaged 9.568 million total viewers, a good 7% more than ABC's World News With Charles Gibson (8.920 million) and 23% more than CBS' Evening News With Katie Couric (7.783 million in its first sweeps since Couric took the anchor chair in September).

In homes, NBC earned a 6.5 rating/12 share over ABC's 6.2/12 and CBS' 5.4/10.
And in adults 25-54, NBC scroed a 2.4 rating over ABC's 2.3 and CBS' 2.0.

Ad Spend Up, but Growth Lags Projections
By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/5/2006 3:29:00 PM

The growth rate in total advertising expenditures over the past six months is trailing projections, even as total ad spend in the first nine months of 2006 ticked up by 4% over the same period in 2005 to $108.4 billion, according to a study by TNS Media Intelligence.
"Record-setting levels of political advertising, which will also impact fourth-quarter figures, have not been enough to overcome continued weakness within the automotive, retail and travel sectors," says Steven Fredericks, TNS Media Intelligence president and CEO.

ABC Asks 'Lost' to Stay Up Later
Show moves to 10 p.m. Wednesdays in Feburary; comedies take on 'Idol'
Zapit2.com December 5, 2006

ABC has had trouble the past two seasons finding a show that will retain a good percentage of the audience from "Lost." Come February, that will no longer be a problem.The network has decided to move "Lost" to the 10 p.m. ET timeslot on Wednesdays, starting with its return from hiatus on Feb. 7. That should make ABC affiliates happy, as they'll have a much better lead-in for their local newscasts, and it's likely to give ABC's prime-time ratings a substantial boost in that hour.

The Governor Bares A Great Deal Of Responsibility In The Fiss Fiasco. He Twisted Enough Local Arms To Make The Loans To Fiss. Where Are You Carol Pella When We Need You?

HD. The Next Best Thing to Being There.

2006-12-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD NFL Games
NOTE: Subject to change! (All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Dec. 17 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/
(As posted on AVSFORUM.com by Frefa)

Thursday Dec. 14

San Francisco at Seattle NFL 8 Network-HD

Saturday, Dec. 16

Dallas at Atlanta 8 NFL Network-HD

Sunday Dec. 17 (Photo: WWW.NFLPLAYERS.COM)

Pittsburgh at Carolina 1 CBS -HD
Tampa Bay at Chicago 1 Fox-HD
Detroit at Green Bay 1 Fox-HD
Washington at New Orleans 1 Fox-HD
New York Jets at Minnesota 1 CBS-HD
Denver at Arizona 4 CBS-HD
Philadelphia at New York Giants 4:15 Fox-HD
St. Louis at Oakland 4:15 Fox-HD
Kansas City at San Diego 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday Dec. 18

Cincinnati at Indianapolis 8:30 ESPN-HD

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov

EMGR Is Open 24/7 For Your Comments. Or Subscribe to Posts or Comments at Bottom for Instant Notice.

“Why Do I need or Want HDTV?”

2006-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I received an email from John B. asking why he should want HDTV.
As you will tell from his letter, John is a technocrat in all other normal male ways.

I thought it was a very good and particularly insightful letter and did asked a good question for those that have not been exposed to HDTV in Erie. (That’s the majority)

I thought who better to answer John’s question than the readers of EMGR themselves. John is sincerely asking for your help. I know we will get both sides of the issue, but I would hope you would stick to answering his question as best you can and not make it a rant on this blog. My opinion is clear enough in my purpose.

But at the end of John’s letter, I will give 10 very attractive reasons for wanting HD as selected by the Swanni himself.

Jack

I'm apparently missing something in this entire discussion of HDTV
as I've followed your blog. Why do I need or would I want HDTV. What's
being broadcast that I would find so interesting or fascinating as to desire to have in a much higher priced format?

I'm not a Luddite. I pay a premium for satellite radio to gain what I can't get
over the public broadcast airways. I have top-of-the-line computers because I
can and do use the features they offer.

But, pray tell, what is on television that makes HD worthwhile. The shows on TV are hardly worth high def. As for sports, OK if you would rather sit and spend your time watching someone else do something rather than doing something yourself, I guess I can understand a desire to see it big screen, HD, or the movie, but is still is not the same as the big screen.Those of us who don't care will have to eventually help carry the cost for those who do.
I wouldn’t mind seeing some discussion on this on your blog….

Thanks,
John B.
(Editor's edition: Ok.. I may be sexist but here it is)

The 10 Sexiest Women In HDTV!

Buying a new high-def set? If you're a guy, here are 10 really good reasons.

By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (December 9, 2006) -- High-Definition TV can be most cruel. The picture is so clear that you can detect even the hint of a new wrinkle forming on an otherwise perfect face. However, celebrities who are naturally beautiful in real-life look even better in ultra-real HD. Their skin, hair and smile somehow take on an extra radiance, all but overwhelming the viewer with their raw physical attractiveness.So in honor of true beauty, I am now publishing the second annual, Swanni's 10 Sexiest Women in HDTV! These 10 TV actresses are so 'HDTV hot' that they could break up your marriage with a single flip of the remote. So here are Swanni's 10 Sexiest Women in HDTV! (Note: All programming times are eastern.)

1. Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty)

The 43-year-old Vanessa has cried that she hates HDTV because you "can see every pore, every line on an actress' face." And as the villainous Wilhelmina Slater in ABC's Ugly Betty, her aging signs are clearly visible in HD. But she's no Ugly Betty. In high-def, Vanessa's blue eyes shine bright and her Miss America curves could still wow any judge. She's crystal-clear proof that you don't have to be college-age to look sensational in high-def Ugly Betty, ABC, Thursdays at 8 p.m.

2. Evangeline Lily (Lost) The Lost star was discovered by male viewers in the show's premiere episode when she stripped to a bra and panties to take a dip in the ocean. Despite the show's ratings dip this season, Evangeline is still a 10. In high-def, her freckled complexion and sinewy but sexy form is a sight to behold. Lost returns to ABC in February at 10 p.m. on Wednesdays.

3. Elisha Cuthbert (24) As Kim, agent Jack Bauer's daughter in distress, Elisha has appeared in every season of 24 except for number four. However, due to 24's secretive nature, it's unknown if she'll return for season six starting in January. We sure hope so. The 24-year-old actress looks like a modern day Marilyn Monroe. In high-def, she might even look better.. 24 returns to Fox on Sunday at 8 p.m. on January 14 with a two-hour episode.

4. Molly Simms (Vegas) In NBC's Vegas, the green-eyed Sports Illustrated swimsuit model often gets under the covers. But in this week's episode, she hopped out of bed and strutted around the room wearing Evangeline Lily's favorite swimsuit. In high-def, the picture was so detailed that you could make out the crimson-color rose tattoo on her lower back. Not that we were looking, of course.

5. Autumn Reeser (The O.C.) In high-def, it's easy to Fall for Autumn who plays Taylor Townsend in Fox's The O.C. In this week's episode, Autumn was the subject of recurring sexual fantasies by Ryan (Ben McKenzie) who finally got the nerve to ask her out. What took him so long?

6. Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) The Desperate Housewives vixen just got engaged to San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker. And in high-def, you can see why she would need a guard. Beautiful skin and luscious lips. Desperate Housewives, ABC, Sundays at 9 p.m.

7. Nikki Cox (Vegas) The 28-year-old once played the Special Events Director on NBC's Vegas. That makes sense. When Nikki walks into the room, it's always a Special Event. The buxomy actress makes high-def seem like 3-D. Vegas, NBC, Fridays at 9 p.m.

8. Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace) Poppy plays special agent "Sam" Spade in the CBS crime drama. And her character has a tendency to "Bogart" her fellow cast members; she's had affairs with her boss and a fellow agent. But who can blame them? In high-def, her natural good looks are irresistible.Without a Trace, CBS, Sundays at 10 p.m.

9. Katie Daryl (Dateline; True Music) The ubiquitous HDNet hostess pulls double duty on the high-def network, fronting both Dateline and True Music. In HD, Katie is both sassy and sexy, a lethal combination for any male HD viewer.

10. Kate French (Wicked, Wicked Game) The Wicked, Wicked Game star looks "wicked hot" in high-def. Playing Brooke in the My Network TV primetime soap, Kate's dazzling blue eyes, freckled face and candescent smile are what high-def should be all about. The young actress made her debut in the unacceptable Accepted, but this could be her graduation.Wicked, Wicked Game, My Network TV, weeknights at 8 p.m.

Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.

Surely...There Must Be Other Reasons To Buy HD!

MORE BREAKING NEWS! C-SPAN Will Launch Profanity TV!

2006-12-12T19:10:00.000-05:00

In the off again... on again war between broadcasters and the FCC on the use of the “7 dirty words,” the story has taken another new twist.

According to a late breaking story reported in Broadcast and Cable By John Eggerton , “The oral arguments in broadcasters challenge to the FCC's March profanity rulings against Fox Billboard Awards broadcasts will be allowed to be televised.”

C-SPAN will be carrying the hearings live on December 20th. The case revolves around the FOX broadcast where the "F-word" and “S-word" were used live by Cher and others. ( see EMGR Post FCC Says 7 Dirty Words are Still F***ing Dirty) C-SPAN has not received any requests from other news networks for direct feeds of the hearings.

Veteran First Amendment attorney John Crigler of Garvey Schubert Barer called the coverage news "super."

Other comments to B&C included those of Adonis Hoffman, senior VP and counsel for the American Association of Advertising Agencies He said "these kinds of cases don't come along often," and now that the fines have been statutorily increased, there are more than constitutional principles at stake. Plus, everyone wants to know where the lines should be drawn."

This promises to be HD (Highly Dirty) TV at its finest!

BREAKING NEWS!! FCC Gets Ass Kicked in Music Country!

2006-12-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

FCC chairmen who attended the open hearings in Nashville on the current and proposed rulings on allowing even further broadcast consolidation were lucky to leave with out the old tar and feathers.

According to Broadcast and Cable today, the FCC was scolded for its current ruling on allowing duopolies and even contemplating further consolidation of broadcasting in local markets. Even country music legends, such as Porter Wagner, told the commissioners present that..

"If you relax ownership rules more than what they are today," says Wagoner. "You will not only strip the airwaves away from the American public, but also continue to change the way we will do business in the recording industry which will be bad for not only recording artists, but also for the very companies who seek to ease these ownership restrictions."

Again according to another story in Broadcast and Cable, the open mike portion was equally as vocal. “One man who took the mike to register his complaint said he owned the only local station in his town after the others were moved by a corporate owners, who he called "idiots in suits."

Another lectured the commissioners present on their responsibilities in a highly candid and emotional manner:

“Are you here to listen and act? he asked, or simply to humor us. Is this an example of true participatory democracy, he asked, or a mockery?

You are public servants and we are the public he said, your obligation is to us, not a handful of corporations. We are concerned citizens trying to believe we matter he said, his voice rising as the background buzz quieted. "Don't make fools of us. you know what we think. You know what to do. Do not let us down."

As our own Kenny Olowin can tell you, Nashville is one of the warmest welcoming communities in America., but the FCC reception was more like a lynch mob.

Welcome to the 2008 elections.

Breaking News! Buffalo Broadcaster Files for Chapter 11.

2006-12-12T09:58:00.000-05:00

A new contributing member of the EMGR staff of volunteers found this story in today’s Buffalo Business First.

It had been rumored for quite sometime that Granite Broadcasting Group, which owns several stations in New York State, has had financial difficulties. According to the story, Gannett late Monday filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protections to reduce their debt by 275 million.

Granite Broadcasting operates station WKBW channel 7 the ABC affiliate in Buffalo. (They still completed HD to stay competitive) In 2002, they had purchased WBNG, Channel 12 in Binghamton, New York from SJL Broadcast Management.

According to Buffalo Business First…

The New York City-based company said in a statement it has also submitted a plan of reorganization that has been pre-negotiated with the Granite's secured debt holders. The company also expects to emerge as a privately-held entity. The reorganization is expected in the first half of 2007.

Granite (OTC Bulletin Board: GBTVK) will continue to operate its stations, including those in Binghamton and Syracuse, as well as WKBW.

Bill Ransom, general manager, said "no employee of WKBW will lose a job because of this filing."
Business First supplies business reports to WKBW-TV on the station's newscasts.
(What do you know?…They disclosed their business affiliation to their readers. That’s responsible journalism)

Here You Go. HD In the Home Means More TV Viewing!

2006-12-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

…And More TV Viewing Means Higher Ratings and Ad Revenue.

(Editor's Note: SJL and Nexstar What Don’t You Get?)

News from TVPredictions.com

HDTV Owners: The New Homebodies?New study says watching high-def has become a social event, keeping more Americans at home.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (December 7, 2006) -- Financially strapped movie theater owners may have a new reason to be concerned. High-Definition TV owners are more likely to stay home for their entertainment.

That's according to a new study by Synovate and reported by Marketing Daily. The research firm found that more than half of Americans are staying home more than they did two years ago. The biggest reason: HDTV. The widescreen, crystal-clear picture has turned watching television into a social event. Will HDTV keep movie lovers at home?

"The party is built around the wide-screen TV," says Steve Levine, senior vice president for technology, telecom and consumer electronics at Synovate.

Synovate surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults over the age of 18 and found that roughly 30 percent said they have a high-def set at home. Of this group, 47 percent said they are watching television in a social setting more often than before.

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov

"Burning down is only one way to destroy a city. This time the people of Erie need help that can't be delivered from the nozzle of a hose."
--Pat Howad Erie Times-News 12/10/06--

Breaking Radio News: Another FM CP Awarded to Erie!

2006-12-11T13:05:00.000-05:00

Today the Federal Communications Commission approved a construction permit for a new FM station for Erie, Pennsylvania, 107.3.

The station was licensed to Starboard Media Foundation, Inc. and it has been transferred to Michael Celenza and Carlos Lopez.

The FCC records list the station as a translator. No other information is known at this time.

Can anyone inform us if this has been an existing CP or is new? I know I can't seem to tell.

Website or “For Sale” Sign?

2006-12-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

This blog and blogs in Oregon and Hawaii had noticed that when they tried to search for information on SJL or Lilly Broadcasting, there was no website. That has changed.

As reported on Erieblogs, SJL Broadcast Management does finally have a website and lists all their current 6 stations including WICU and WSEE. (KHIZ is a Kevin Lilly project and not considered in the same stable)

Because of this official website, EMGR will be changing its policy in referring to the two Erie stations. Previously we have been using SJL/Lilly and certain posters have taken exception to that because supposedly SJL is WICU and Lilly Broadcasting is WSEE.

Since SJL Broadcast Management does not make such a distinction and lumps them together under their own name, we have no choice in the future but to refer to them both as just SJL.

We have notice several things from their website. In their About Us section, they incorrectly list both WICU and WSEE as being CBS affiliates. Clearly it is an error on one page as they do have it correct in other references. (It might have been corrected by the time you read this) But where was Sandy Benton, COO, when this was proofed? You can’t let a 6th grader from the Montecito Union School do it all by themselves!

The links page isn’t even linked to their stations. That is inexcusable.

There is another Erie error. Erie DMA market rank is listed as 143 when it is now 142; Honolulu is 72nd (not listed on site); Topeka is 138 (not listed on site); Portland is 23 (not listed on site); Wichita is 67 (not listed on site).

Erie is the lowest ranking market in their current stable of stations. Why would they put them on top unless they wanted them noticed for a specific reason?

The description of their operating philosophy on the homepage looks more like a seller’s sales pitch:

“SJL believes that the core business of local television is a good investment and that the potential afforded by its digital spectrum and the opening of a new revenue stream from payment for carriage by satellite and cable companies makes it an extraordinary opportunity for experienced operators.”

I have to give SJL some credit that at least it is a start to looking professional.

They just need a “newer vision” and a few dollars to go with that wonderful digital spectrum they are developing.

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov

"Burning down is only one way to destroy a city. This time the people of Erie need help that can't be delivered from the nozzle of a hose."
--Pat Howad Erie Times-News 12/10/06--

Shout-It-Out December 10- December 16

2006-12-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Grey's Anatomy Keeps ABC Sold in Number 1.

2006-12-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week's Top 10 Network Programs
(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Nov. 26-Dec. 3 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.)

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM ABC 24.01
2 FOX NFL SUNDAY-PST GN-NAT FOX 21.89
3 NCIS CBS 17.96
4 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 17.92
5 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON NBC 17.70
6 HOUSE FOX 17.31
7 CSI: MIAMI CBS 17.13
8 OT, THE FOX 16.55
9 CSI: NY CBS 16.43
10 CSI CBS 16.08

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted by Fredfa on AVSFORUM.com

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov

Remember you can subscribe to EMGR at bottom of page for automatic notifications. A new "Shout-It-Out" available Sunday.

PA Taxpayers Get Chewed Out!

2006-12-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s note: Want to know how Governor Rendell is spending the tobacco settlement money and some of the tobacco tax?

Take a look at the new campaign that will be wheeled out by The Pennsylvania Department of Health targeted to teens who chew tobacco.

Just click on the spots as indicated but don’t do it just before or after you eat.)

MediaDailyNews
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has launched two TV spots and two outdoor ads in an effort to curb the use of chewing tobacco. One ad shows a

depressed mouthful of teeth mourning the loss of their brethren from chewing tobacco. Watch the ad here.

Another ad shows the same teeth looking for their "friend" Pete. He's M.I.A. and the others will be, too if chewing tobacco stays in the equation. Click here to watch the ad.

TV ads are running on cable networks in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Johnstown/Altoona and Erie. Outdoor ads are running in Philadelphia, Pitts

burgh and Harrisburg airports. The Neiman Group created the ads and Harmelin handled the media buy.

This Christmas is an HD bonanza everywhere but Erie.

Cleveland and Pittsburgh Available In HD Only on Satellite in Erie.

2006-12-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD NFL Games

NOTE: Subject to change! (All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Dec. 10 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Thursday Dec. 7 (Photo: www.NFL.com/photo)

Cleveland at Pittsburgh 8 NFL Network-HD

Sunday Dec. 10

New York Giants at Carolina 1 Fox-HD
Minnesota at Detroit 1 Fox-HD
Baltimore at Kansas City 1 CBS-HD
New England at Miami 1 CBS-HD
Atlanta at Tampa Bay 1 Fox-HD
Philadelphia at Washington 1 Fox-HD
Seattle at Arizona 4 Fox-HD
Denver at San Diego 4 CBS-HD
Green Bay at San Francisco 4 Fox-HD
New Orleans at Dallas 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday Dec. 11

Chicago at St. Louis 8:30 ESPN-HD
• • • • • • • • • •

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Friday...PA Taxpayers Get Chewed Out!

Breaking News! FCC Says 7 Dirty Words... are Still F***ing Dirty.

2006-12-06T19:31:00.000-05:00

FCC Defends Cussing Crackdown
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/6/2006 5:54:00 PM

Saying broadcasters have "only limited First Amendment protection," that the V-chip is "ineffective," and that they gave the industry notice it was changing policy on swear words, the FCC Wednesday both defended its profanity findings against cussing in Fox's Billboard Music Awards and defended the underpinnings of its entire indecency enforcement regime.
That defense came in its filing (Editor's Note: click on "filing" for full story including a frank legal discussion of the "F"-word) to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals of a brief responding to a broadcaster challenge of four profanity rulings issued last March.

Saying that the Pacifica case--the so-called Seven dirty words Supreme Court decision--upholding its indecency enforcement powers was "good law," the FCC disputed Fox's contention that its definition of indecency is unconstitutionally vague.

Sign-On…Sign-Off

2006-12-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

All The News Fit For Bits: Times Tests Digital Reader, Makes Desktops Look Like Print
by Erik Sass, Thursday, Nov 30, 2006 8:00 AM ET Media Daily News

LIKE THE REST OF THE newspaper industry, the nation's third largest publisher, The New York Times Co., is facing some major changes, as its industry is restructured financially and technologically. The Times Co. has been weighing the sale of major assets that would focus its core business around print and digital publishing, and on Wednesday it became the subject of a news story of its own: a potential takeover by private investor Maurice Greenberg. But beginning today, its flagship newspaper will introduce a new electronic reader that may help the paper accelerate the transition from print to digital publishing. The new reader, the Times claims, will deliver a more seamless, intuitive experience than previous digital or online editions have rendered before. The reader is a downloadable application compatible with Microsoft Vista and Windows XP that makes the entire newspaper

Erie TV Better Watch Out. More Competition from NFL.
by David Goetzl, Thursday, Nov 30, 2006 8:00 AM ET Media Daily News

THE NFL WILL OFFER LIVE regular-season games over the Internet for the first time in the U.S. next month. Six games broadcast simultaneously on the NFL Network will be available to a select group of Verizon Internet customers. (HD would give local TV an edge)

Newspapers Are Primary Shopping Medium for Most Americans
Center for Media Research Thursday, November 30, 2006

According to research by MORI Research for the Newspaper Association of America, almost two-thirds of American adults actively check advertising at least weekly for things they might want to buy, but they are selective about when and where they check advertising.

Sunday is by far the most likely day for about one half of shoppers to consult advertising, while Saturday is a distant second, noted by one-fifth of consumers. The only other days in double figures are Wednesday and Friday, at 13 percent each.

Despite readership declines, newspapers are, by a substantial margin, the leading destination for people interested in checking advertising and shopping information.

NBC Resets for Midseason

'Lights' moves to Wednesday, reality block on Sunday
Zap2it.com November 29, 2006

NBC is shuffling its schedule some at midseason, getting the critically acclaimed but ratings-challenged "Friday Night Lights" out of the path of FOX's "American Idol" steamroller.

Panasonic To Convert Cox TV Stations
By Caroline Palmer -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/30/2006 12:32:00 PM

Panasonic announced that the conversion of newsgathering operations at the television stations of the Atlanta-based Cox Television will also extend to P2 HD solid-state memory recording system.

The first stations to be set up with the new equipment are WSOC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. and WSB-TV, the ABC affiliate in Atlanta. Both stations will be using the DVCPRO P2 HD equipment and starting in January 2007, their photographers will have AJ-HPX2000 shoulder-mount, multi-format 2/3" P2 HD converters.

Cox Television operates 15 TV stations and is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc.

ABC Reigns As Sweeps King, CBS Retains Second Place
by Wayne Friedman, Friday, Dec 1, 2006 7:45 AM ET Media Daily News

ABC SHOULD CELEBRATE ITS NOVEMBER sweeps victory--prudently.
ABC won the November sweeps outright over CBS--the first time in seven years. The last time the Alphabet net hit No. 1, it was pounding its prime-time schedule with back-to-back nightly episodes of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." This November, it averaged a Nielsen preliminary 4.1 ratings/11 share. CBS came in second with a 3.8.

Mandel Says No to Syndie Deal
By Jim Benson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/4/2006 3:35:00 AM

A deal by NBC Universal to bring Howie Mandel to a prospective 30-minute syndicated edition of Deal or No Deal has collapsed, according to people familiar with the situation.

NBC Gives 30 Rock a Full-Season Order
By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 12/1/2006 2:11:00 PM

NBC has given rookie comedy 30 Rock a full-season order as it continues to demonstrate patience with a trifecta of critically acclaimed but modestly performing freshman shows.
The Tina Fey-Alec Baldwin comedy was the last new NBC show with an undecided future, as network executives had wanted to see how it would perform on Thursday nights as part of a new two-hour comedy block.

The show turned in a 3.0 rating in the adult 18-49 demo, a 25% bump from its previous season average

Clooney Mourns Pet Pig
Actor's bulldog also died earlier this year (Ok a slow news day)
Zap2it.com December 4, 2006

George Clooney, who isn't big on commitment, has just lost the one person with whom he had an 18-year relationship."The Good German" actor revealed in an interview with USA Today that his nearly 300-pound potbellied pig Max died on Friday, Dec. 1 at the actor's Hollywood Hills home. Max was suffering from arthritis and was partially blind.

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Pittsburgh and Cleveland are playing in glorious High Definition Thursday at my house... and not at yours.

Meet The Morning News Anchors at KHIZ in Barstow, California !

2006-12-05T10:11:00.000-05:00

As first hinted at last night by EMGR’s own Alan B. DuMont and reported this morning by Erieblogs, Ray Petelin and Raychel Vendett are really live at 7AM California time on KHIZ-TV. (Photo from KHIZ-TV Barstow)

The story appeared yesterday in the on-line edition of the Daily Press, a Victorville publication where the station is actually located in what locals call the high desert and the Inland Empire.

The production is all local except for one important thing. The hosts are in Erie. So when Ray reports today that it will be sunny and a high of 63 degrees in the desert, the locals don’t know that he had to walk in sub-freezing temperatures, snow and ice to get to the WSEE studios in Erie to deliver that forecast. The story makes it sound like Rachel may have been formally of WSEE, which is not true.

For a half hour show at 7 AM that is repeated at 7 PM, the show has an impressive staff assigned to it. “Aside from Vendetti and Petelin, the “IE Live!” staff includes one field reporter, two camera operators, one video producer, one graphic artist and a promotions director.” (I bet WSEE would like to have some of that staff here or maybe they share that staff too.) Lots of satellite shuffling goes on between Barstow and Erie. Of course some of that staff could be counting some of the Erie side as well.

I have to admit that Ray and Raychel do a very impressive morning show on WSEE so I am sure they do just as capable job on their simulated second home in California. (I am sure, if they had their way, they would rather do the reverse)

KHIZ makes a big point in their promotion that that program is local in everyway: (but one)

Local LA News that’s first and foremost about the Inland Empire
Join yourhosts Rachel Vendetti and meteorologist Ray Petelin, live weekday mornings at 7AM. Later-risers can catch our rebroadcast at 7PM.
"IE Live!" is a 30-minute daily live newscast complete with the latest in local news and weather focusing on the Inland Empire, but also covering the greater Los Angeles region, featuring:
Local Weather Forecast
Local Traffic and Airport Info
Local and Regional News
Local and Regional Sports
Hollywood Updates
Inland Empire Trivia
Cooking advice from Chef William
Weekly Contests and Giveaways
KHIZ-TV is the only television station broadcasting a daily news show focused on the Inland Empire.

But it does bring up the question of why with 2.5 million population in their coverage area, including the greater Los Angeles area, why wouldn’t they just higher a part-time team from there?

In checking, KHIZ was purchased in August by Sunbelt Television. (Not to be confused with Sunbelt Communications who has 8 stations in the west itself.) The FCC records indicate that one of the major owners of KHIZ is none other than Kevin Lilly, the man who has his name on the license for WSEE and makes his home in New England.

KHIZ is a totally independent station with no network affiliation. Its programming, besides the above mentioned program, is mostly the Direct Shopping Channel, paid infomercials and a mix of animal programs about termites, scorpions and related varmints from syndicated animal shows. (I am sure Ray and Raychel are not considered varmints but I do wonder what the locals would think if they knew their very local news and weather came from Erie, Pennsylvania)

Interesting that this independent station already has its digital on the air and their website seems to indicate a possibility of HD although I could see no shows actually tagged that way.

If you would like to write to the local hosts of “IE Live” you can do so at ray@khiztv.com and raychel@khiztv.com.

"In October, KHIZ-TV launched “IE Live! on KHIZ,” the only original, daily newscast based in the High Desert. " ---The Daily Press"

Would You Take WSEE On Your Honeymoon?

2006-12-05T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: After last week's posting about Joey Stevens doing weather highlights for a Caribbean English speaking audience, I received an email from an EMGR reader who not only told of his experience of seeing WSEE in the Caribbean but taped it and sent it to WSEE. Like many of you have experienced, it was not appreciated at 13th and Peach nor did they know how to show appreciation to a viewer.)

Jack, I’ve been a reader of your blog for awhile and when I saw your post about Joey I couldn't resist emailing you. Quick history of myself, I'm an Erie native who moved to Pittsburgh in 1998. I never expected the culture shock I had when I first watched Pittsburgh programming and then compared it to that of Erie.

Not only were the news stories of a higher standard but so was the production. The Internet took off and society became news hungry. Where to find it first? I was constantly refreshing local news outlet websites and would get the late breaking info when I wanted it.

Once in awhile I would search for Erie news so I could keep up with happenings back home. For the longest time there were no Erie sites besides goerie.com which was and still is an abomination itself.

Finally the news stations caught up with times and threw together disgusting websites all poorly coded and crammed with ads and flashy junk. They were 1/2 ass but started to serve a purpose. This always irritated me and made me thankful for what I have in Pittsburgh. 2004-5ish things turned around and the networks finally put money into a decent online experience. Finally my point of the email... I was married in October of 2005. We honeymooned in St Lucia. The first morning there my wife and I were flicking through the channels to see if there was a local forecast for the day and what do we find but WSEE in Erie.

We couldn't stop laughing from disbelief. Every day we would tune in for the simple fact that WSEE was on our honeymoon. I recorded this with my digital camera to show everyone back home.

When the trip was over and we arrived home I emailed WSEE about the experience and sent them a link to the video because I thought it was interesting. I never received a reply.
I emailed them again a few weeks later just in case my email didn't make it. I didn't even get a generic pre-written email. Nothing! nada! Months passed and I thought I'd give them one more shot.

There isn't one site that has updated scores past normal business hours and I wanted to know how Prep basketball did. I finally get someone on the phone and I'm told to watch the 11pm news. I said I couldn't since I was in Pittsburgh and the reply was "Oh, sorry... *click*" Anyways that's my random story I thought I'd share.

Thank you for the EMGR website because it has enlightened me about all of the bull that is still going on up there and glad I don't have to witness it firsthand.

Whenever I do spend the weekend back home with family I am more observant of broadcasts and your site has helped put it all into perspective. Cheers!DouglasP.S. here is the video I sent WSEE a link to:

(Editor’s Postscript: Thanks Doug for sharing your story; WSEE even hung up on you without even knowing you’re an EMGR reader. I hope you found other things to do on your honeymoon.)

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Tomorrow… The Desert Speaks!

Does Erie TV Want To Charge More Just To Offer HD?

2006-12-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week I received an anonymous post pointing to a Canadian story that said that Canadian broadcasters are slow to go digital and HD because advertisers won’t pay a premium for being in HD programs.

“Take a look at this great discussion on Slashdot regarding the HDTV
"business case" ----- http://tinyurl.com/y8eue5. Verrrrrrrry interesting :-) We
now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion of fashions worn by female
on-air personalities in the Erie market.”

The story is right on two counts.

Canada has been much slower than the United States in converting to digital and, until last year, had only two stations (not networks) in all of Canada that offered an HD choice to consumers.

It is also true the advertisers feel they should not have to pay a premium to be in an HD program. Let’s examine both points very carefully as the poster may have been trying to allude to a point in favor of NEXSTAR and SJL/Lilly's position of no HD in Erie.

First Canada has been dreadfully behind the digital curve and has a lot of catching up to do. (NEXSTAR and SJL/Lilly must think that Erie is a suburb of Toronto)

The second issue of advertisers not wanting to pay an HD premium is really a no brainer. The advertising philosophy between television stations and advertisers is fundamentally different. Broadcasters (and I use the term very loosely in Erie these days) think they are just selling 30 second spots.

Advertisers don’t look at it that way. They are looking to buy viewers. It is the amount of viewers that determines what an advertiser will pay; the more viewers the higher the price. Schindler's List when it first aired was a black and white movie, but it fetched a very high premium from Ford who sponsored it because of the anticipated audience.

And what happens when a program doesn’t make the goal the network guarantees the advertiser? The network has to either rebate the difference in cost- per- point (rarely happens) or provide make-goods to make up the difference.

The Canadian story also makes this comment “The transition to HD has been likened to the shift from black and white to colour, (Canadians don’t like American spelling of color) or the
move to stereo in the 80s.”

Television history also tells us what happens when new technology is introduced. When NBC first aired Bonanza in color, the Chevy division of General Motors didn’t pay a “color premium.” CBS didn't charge a premium when it aired Red Skelton in color or ABC when it started colorcasting in the 60’s.

In fact, WICU, WSEE and WJET didn’t add a “color premium” charge to local advertisers in network programs or local programs they broadcast in color. They still don’t. Advertisers would never allow that because that breaks with the tradition of buying and paying for an audience. In all my 40 years, I never saw a color charge from any of the local stations or the networks. That was the cost of doing business and to meet the growing consumer demand.

If the local stations were going to use that as an excuse, it is a sloppy and a very poor one. As an example, KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh current rate card does not indicate an HD surcharge for advertisers. Neither does WKYC in Cleveland (An NBC O&O), or WABC, WCBS, WNBC In New York. Take any TV station that begins with W or K in the country and I challenge our current owners to prove that they are getting a premium surcharge from advertisers for being in a High Definition program, local or national.

The excuses will keep coming, but the the race is on. The fact is that with the record speed of sales of HD sets, the demand by viewers will be for more HD programming.

To paraphrase Moses or Heston in the Ten Commandments, “Surely they’ll be such a cry that you will have to let the people see the networks in HD.”

It is just like the advent of color. With that demand, the first station in Erie to go HD will be able to get a higher premium in the short term because the audience levels will grow in their favor. With everyone having HD, it will balance out just like after the color blitz of the 60’s.

That is how advertisers buy. The cost of going HD is the regular cost of doing business in broadcasting in the 21st century. If you don’t like those numbers….than get out of TV.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC

http://www.dtv.gov/

“Surely they’ll be such a cry... that you will have to let the people see the networks HD.”

Shout-It-Out December 3- December 9

2006-12-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

NBC Sunday Night Football (in HD) Are…Despirate…Heroes

2006-12-01T20:59:00.000-05:00

Last week's Top 10 Network Programs
ABC Takes #1 Position in Nielsen Ratings Sweeps Month Edging Out CBS!

(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Nov. 19-25 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. )

Viewership is listed in millions.Rank Program Network Viewers

1 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC 21.43
2 CSI: MIAMI CBS 18.54
3 GREY'S ANATOMY SP-11/23 ABC 18.51
4 CSI - THANKSGIVING CBS 17.17
5 NCIS CBS 17.00
6 DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON NBC 16.96
7 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 16.56
8 HEROES NBC 16.03
9 CSI: NY CBS 15.31
10 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL 15.22

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted on AVSFORUM.com by Fredfa

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Need to post a comment that's off topic? Do it in "Shout-It-Out!" Check Sunday.

Who Are The People In Your (ERIE MEDIA) Neighborhood?

2006-11-30T15:08:00.000-05:00

The Editorial Staff at EMGR (as a public service to you, our readers) have decided to list the addresses, management staff and ownership details of Erie's Commercial TV Stations.

WICU-TV Channel 12 (NBC)
SJL of Pennsylvania, Inc. (A Subsidiary of Montecito Broadcast Group, LLC)
3889 Long St., Ste. 200
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
George D. Lilly - President & Chief Executive Officer
Sandra G. Benton - Chief Operating Officer
www.Montecitobroadcast.com
Station Address: 3514 State Street - Erie, PA 16508 (814)454-5201
WICU General Manager: Brian Lilly
News Director: Phil Hayes
Chief Engineer: John Wilkosz

WJET-TV Channel 24 (ABC)
Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc.
909 Lake Carolyn Parkway - Suite 1450
Irving, TX 75039
Perry A. Sook - President, Chief Executive Officer & Director
www.nexstarbroadcasting.com
Station Address: 8455 Peach Street - Erie, PA 16509 (814)864-2400
WJET General Manager: Tim Dunst
News Director: Lou Baxter
Chief Engineer: Lorne Earle

WSEE-TV Channel 16.1 (CBS) & WBEP 16.2 CW
Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania, LLC
2 Eastleigh Lane
Natick, Mass. 01760
Kevin T. Lilly - President & Director
Station Address: 1220 Peach Street - Erie, PA 16501 (814)455-7575
WSEE: General Manager: John Christiansen
News Director: ?
Chief Engineer: ?
WSEE-TV is operated (under terms of an LMA) by WICU-TV. WSEE-TV News is a separate operation.

WFXP-TV Channel 66 (FOX)
Mission Broadcasting, Incorporated
7650 Chippewa Rd., Ste 305
Brecksville, OH 44141
David S. Smith - President, Treasurer & Director
Station Address: 8455 Peach Street - Erie, PA 16509 (814)864-2400
WFXP-TV is operated (under terms of an LMA) by WJET-TV

The above information is public knowledge and is easily accessible through FCC records and internet database search. The EMGR Editorial Staff encourages you to write the above companies and let them know your opinion on the lack of Digital Television in the Erie marketplace. It is also your right to inspect each station's public file as mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.

Flag Called On Erie TV... Penalty For No HD! Back To B&W!

2006-11-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD Football

NOTE: Subject to change! (All NCAA rankings are official from the BCS. All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Nov.26 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Thursday Nov. 30

Baltimore at Cincinnati 8 NFL Network-HDNCAA Mac Championship: Central Michigan (8-4) vs. Ohio (9-3) 7:30 ESPN HD

Friday Dec. 1

C-USA Championship: Houston (9-3) vs. Southern Mississippi (8-4) 8 ESPN2-HD

Saturday Dec. 2

Connecticut (4-7) at #5 Louisville (10-1) 12 noon ESPN-HD

ACC Championship: #17 Wake Forest (10-2) vs. #22 Georgia Tech (9-3) 1 ABC-HD

Army (3-8) vs. Navy (8-3) 2:30 CBS-HD

Stanford (1-10) at #18 California (8-3) 3 FSN-HD

#2 USC (10-1) at UCLA (6-5) 3:30 ABC-HD

(Photo www.NFL.com/photos)

SEC Championship: #4 Florida (11-1) vs. #9 Arkansas (10-2) 6 CBS-HD

Big XII Championship:12 Oklahoma (10-2) vs. #20 Nebraska (9-3) 8 ABC-HD

#13 Rutgers (10-1) at #15 West Virginia (9-2) 7:45 ESPN-HD

Sunday Dec. 3

Kansas City at Cleveland 1 CBS-HD

New York Jets at Green Bay 1 CBS-HD

Indianapolis at Tennessee 1 CBS-HD

Seattle at Denver 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday Dec. 4

Carolina at Philadelphia 8:30 ESPN-HD

Erie Football Fans are treated second string! Go HD.

Sign-On’s…Sign-Off’s!

2006-11-29T11:24:00.000-05:00

O.J. Flap Puts Fox Execs in Hiding.
BY BEN GROSSMAN (Broadcast & Cable November 28, 2006)

In step with Fox’s marked silence in the wake of the cancelled O.J. Simpson special and book, the network has pulled reality head Mike Darnell from a planned panel discussion at the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) convention in January. Darnell was scheduled to be the subject of a chat hosted by Fox scheduling chief Preston Beckman.

Hollywood Pushes back on FCC
By John Eggerton (Broadcast & Cable November 28, 2006)

The Center for Creative Voices in Media filed an amicus brief in support of CBS'challenge to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake Super Bowl reveal.

Working Mom’s Using Less TV & Newspaper and More Radio and Internet!
Center for Media Research November 29, 2006

Working mothers, according to The Media Audit, are spending less and less time with television and newspapers but, radio, the Internet and direct mail still command their attention.

YouTube Teams with Verizon
By Anne Becker (Broadcast & Cable November 29, 2006)

YouTube has partnered with Verizon to make some of its video available via wireless phones.

EMGR Hits Set Personal Record!
By Jack Tirak (EMGR November 29, 2006)

EMGR will have recorded almost 10,000 hits for the month. I think that is pretty good for a 142nd market media blog. Erie represents 60% of the hits. The second most noticed city, Washington, D.C. (You figure it out)

EMGR Thank You’s
By Jack Tirak (EMGR November 29, 2006)

The recent posts about Charley Gray (Smith) were given to him by his friend Jay Christy. Jay said it really brought a smile to his face. As for his air checks. Kenny Olowin called me yesterday and said that he remembered Charley very well. Charley actually gave him his first paying broadcast job at the old WWGO.

I knew that Kenny throws nothing away and so, as I thought, he thinks he may have some air tapes of Charley. I put them in touch. Thanks to all that commented and feel free to add more reflections you may have about Charley Gray-- the on-air DJ, or Charley Smith-- chief engineer.

Exit Stage Right (Temporarily)
By Jack Tirak (EMGR November 29, 2009)

For the next few days, I will be away from EMGR taking care of certain pressing personal needs. I hope to be back by the weekend. The crack EMGR editorial staff will be monitoring and posting your comments as well as their own special posts in my absence.

The Passion Of Being A D.J.!

2006-11-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

Before I studied broadcasting and had the opportunity to know many great D.J.’s I used to think that ego was the D.J’s prime motivator. As I got to know more of them, and talked to them and really listened to what they said “off-the-Air,” I could tell they were so much more.

In television you are part of a team and you are only as strong as the weakest link that supports you behind the cameras. In radio, you really are a one-man band. Sitting mostly alone in a studio unless you have duo or more like the Breakfast Club on Classy or the Morning Show on Froggy. It is you and the listener. The real art of a D.J. is not spinning a certain play list that consultants tell you to do, but envisioning the invisible faces inside that microphone; knowing that you are having a conversation with just that one person. That takes art, imagination and tremendous skill.

The D.J.’s that I have known have a passion about their craft and an appreciation for their brothers who also share in this unique industry. I can see all this in the comments that come down the pike on EMGR from you D.J.’s. (Anyone guess the classic D.J. pictured here)

The format doesn’t matter. It is the sense of timing that comes with practice in years of hard work. I worry that the industry has become so mechanized that we no longer have a true training ground for the next generation. Jack…Bob… ETC formats as well as satellite are taking away the opportunities for young people to have that opportunity to make mistakes and learn from their older piers.

The D.J. is fast becoming the unsung and maybe disappearing hero of broadcasting. So many D.J.’s give more than music to the audience they serve. They are also great public motivators to get an audience behind a worthy cause. Most of them do it, not because management tells them to, but because they want to make a difference. That’s where the personal satisfaction comes from. They do this with many more hours than they get paid. They do it from the heart.

When Captain Dan and others say they “love radio with a passion,” they mean it. Sitting in that studio, they are the masters of their domain. (Not to be confused with a certain Seinfeld episode of the same name.)

The great D.J.’s I have known often have a shy side to their personality that changes the moment they hit the on-air button. The studio is their real home and the audience their real sustenance.

For any students in communications who read EMGR, take the opportunity to find, meet and learn from the vintage masters of the platter at WOLD.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

A day without the Breakfast Club, Captain Dan and Alan or the other Erie radio personalities, is like a day without an enema.

Joey Gives Fidel The Bird!

2006-11-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: I am guessing that most people who read EMGR are aware that WSEE also broadcasts their signal to the Caribbean on Primetime 24 for the English speaking people of the region as well as those traveling. Of course, the weather is of a significant interest. Last year, the New York Times travel section did a feature on our own Joey Steven’s growing Caribbean image. Here is an edited version of that story that ran in August 2005. This may have been reprinted in the Erie Times-News…I can’t remember.)

A Caribbean Audience for an Erie, Pa., Weatherman

By JIM SCHACHTER
Published: August 14, 2005--The New York Times Travel Section

Local television in Jamaica runs to reggae music videos and local talk shows with less-than-professional production values. So it is surprising, if not a little disorienting, for a visitor to stumble upon Joey Stevens, above, a meteorologist in Erie, Pa., as he delivers the Caribbean weather forecast decked out in his version of island appearance: a flowered shirt, with a toy parrot named Bob on his shoulder or a stuffed monkey named Jocko wrapped around his neck.

Since February (2005), his station, WSEE - Channel 35 in Erie, the 143rd (now 142)-biggest television market in the United States - has taped four Caribbean weather reports daily. It has fed them to the Primetime24 satellite, which WSEE provides with CBS network programs.

"I probably have more viewers all through the Caribbean than I do in Erie," said Mr. Stevens, who is WSEE's chief meteorologist. "I tell my buddies I could probably walk into any bar in the Caribbean and get a free drink." (The station's viewers in Pennsylvania do not see the Caribbean forecasts; a seven-day outlook, is available at www.35wsee.com/caribbean.cfm.)

Most evenings, Mr. Stevens, a meteorologist in the Erie area for 28 years, shows pictures of sunsets and beach scenes submitted by his Caribbean fans and does goofy dances to leaven forecasts that often consist of monotonous strings of sunny, hot days.

..."I have a very strong concern for those folks down there on those islands," said Mr. Stevens, who sometimes scrambles to tape the island weather after doing reports for 11 local radio stations. "They've got nowhere to go."

Brian Lilly, who owns WSEE with his brother Kevin, explained that he got the idea for the Caribbean forecasts from traveling in the area and recognizing a lack of local English-language programming.

Lilly Broadcasting has no ratings information about how widely the Caribbean forecasts are being watched, but WSEE has received favorable e-mail messages from across the region: Puerto Rico, Trinidad, Belize, Turks and Caicos, Costa Rica and Panama. There is even a concentration of viewers at the Guantánamo Bay naval station in Cuba, where the cable operator uses WSEE as its CBS station.

The Navy has its own meteorologists, of course, and their forecasts are available on the Internet 24 hours a day. But "it's not the same as seeing it on TV," said Stacey Byington, a civilian spokeswoman for the base.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Need to post a comment that's off topic? Do it in "Shout-It-Out!" See Sunday!

FCC Orders Top 10 After Being Slapped By Courts!

2006-11-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s note: In response to court rulings that questioned the FCC’s 2003 rules relaxing ownership, the FCC is revisiting the topic of allowing duopolies by surveying the impact it has had so far and what the effect may be in the future.. The FCC has ordered 10 very specific surveys’s to assess the potentail damage on everything from free speech, diverse news coverage points-of -view and undo influence.

Many broadcasters see the writing on the wall especially with Rep. John Dingle now in charge of the powerful commerce committee which oversees the FCC. Many radio and TV properties have been rushed to the market. It should be an in interesting two years.)

FCC Names Economic Studies to Be Conducted As Part of Media Ownership Rules Review

The Commission will be conducting 10 economic studies as part of its review of its media ownership rules. Each of these studies will be peer reviewed.

Study 1: How People Get News and Information

Description: This study will survey consumers about their use of media. It will identify consumers’ primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of news and information; whether these sources change depending upon the time of day or day of the week; and the frequency with which consumers access these sources.

Author: Nielsen

Study 2: Ownership Structure and Robustness of Media

Description: This study will describe the ownership structure and robustness of current media, including broadcast television, cable television, satellite television, broadcast radio, satellite radio, newspapers, and the Internet. The information gathered concerning the current media marketplace will be compared to the state of the media marketplace when the Commission last reviewed its ownership rules in the years 2002-2003.

Authors: C. Anthony Bush, Kiran Duwadi, Scott Roberts, and Andrew Wise, FCC

Study 3: Effect of Ownership Structure and Robustness on the Quantity and Quality of TV Programming

Description: This study will analyze the effect of ownership structure and robustness (as described in Study 2) on various measures of the quantity and the quality of different types of TV programming, including local news and public affairs, minority programming, children’s programming, family programming, religious programming, and violent and indecent content.

Author: Gregory Crawford, University of Arizona

Study 4: News Operations

Description: This study will collect data on the size and scope of the news operations of radio and television stations and newspapers. It will also analyze the relationship between the nature of the news operations and market characteristics, including ownership structure and robustness.

Authors: Kenneth Lynch, Daniel Shiman, and Craig Stroup, FCC

Study 5: Station Ownership and Programming in Radio

Description: This study will use station-level data to examine how ownership structure affects the programming and audience of radio stations.

Author: Tasneem Chipty, CRAI

Study 6: News Coverage of Cross-Owned Newspapers and Television Stations

Description: This study will examine the effect of newspaper cross-ownership on television news coverage using matched pairs of cross-owned and non-cross-owned television stations.

Author: Jeffrey Milyo, University of Missouri

Study 7 & 8: Minority Ownership

Description: These two studies will examine levels of minority ownership of media companies and barriers to entry.

Authors: Arie Bersteanu and Paul Ellickson, Duke University
Authors: Allen Hammond, Santa Clara University and Barbara O’Connor, California State University, Sacramento

Study 9: Vertical Integration

Description: This study will examine levels of vertical integration in the media industry.

Author: Austan Goolsbee, University of Chicago

Study 10: Radio Industry Review: Trends in Ownership, Format, and Finance

Description: This study will update a study done during our last review of the media ownership rules. That study was titled “Radio Industry Review 2002: Trends in Ownership, Format, and Finance.”

Author: George Williams, FCC

-FCC-

(EMGR editorial staff: It would appear that the current process is not to the likeing of all commissioners. According to Broadcast and Cable Michael Copps was one of those unhappy commisioners.)

Copps saw the same potential problems as last time, saying the the studies raise more questions than answers, which he proceeded to supply: "How were the contractors selected for the outside projects? How much money is being spent on each project—and on the projects collectively? What kind of peer review process is envisioned? Why are the topics so generalized rather than being targeted to more specific questions?

"When the majority of the previous FCC voted to loosen the ownership rules in 2003, a federal court took them to task for inadequate justification of their handiwork. My hope has been that the Commission would not head off on the same tangent again—especially at a time when many people already doubt the credibility of the research we do."
--Broadcast & Cable November 22, 2006--
"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/
Need to post a comment that's off topic? Do it in "Shout-It-Out!"

Shout-It-Out!! November 26-December 2, 2006

2006-11-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: EMGR created” Shout-It-Out!” for anyone who has a need to go off-topic in the posted subject. It should still be a media topic...meaning about newspaper, radio or TV. A new “Shout-It-Out!” will be posted each week for you to comment or reply to a comment made in that week. All weeks will stay active if you feel you need to comment further. All the usual rules still apply as to language, personal courtesy and appropriateness. Any off topic remarks from another thread, maybe moved to “Shout-It-Out!” for that week. Let me know if this is something you like.)

Can You Help An Old Erie D.J. Find his Air-Checks?

2006-11-24T15:43:00.000-05:00

I received an email and a phone call from one of our Canadian readers who is a friend of an old Erie D.J. by the name of Charley Gray (Smith). Charlie is not doing very well right now and it would mean much to him and his family if he could find an air-check or even a commercial his voice might be on.

He is from the days of WWGO -AM radio and was the morning man from about 1963-1967. The one thing I found out is that classic D.J.'s usually keep air tapes of themselves and others forever. If you have memories of Charlie you would like to share or you think you may have something with his voice on it. Let EMGR know. Thanks Jay Christy of 102.3 FM Belleville, Ontario.

NBC says "No Deal"… on ABC's "Dancing …""Housewives"…"Anatomy!"

2006-11-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week's Top 10 Network Programs

CBS Takes 5 of 10

\(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television for the week of Nov. 12-18 as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.)

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 Dancing With Stars Results ABC 27.52
2 Dancing With The Stars ABC 26.80
3 CSI CBS 24.11
4 Desperate Housewives ABC 21.63
5 Grey’s Anatomy ABC 20.92
6 60 Minutes CBS 19.16
7 CSI: Miami CBS 18.77
8 Deal or No Deal (Mon) NBC18.07
9 Criminal Minds CBS 16.48
10 CSI: NY CBS 16.18

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted on www.AFSFORUM.com by Fredfa

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

New Regular Feature Begins Next Week..."Shout-It-Out!"

Turkey Is Just Chicken in High Definition! Happy Thanksgiving!!

2006-11-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD Football

NOTE: Subject to change! (All NCAA rankings are official from the BCS. All times are PM and Eastern)

NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Nov.26 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

(Photo from www.NFL.com/photo )

Thursday Nov. 23

Miami at Detroit 12:30 CBS-HD

Tampa Bay at Dallas 4:15 Fox-HD

Denver at Kansas City 8 NFL Network-HD

NCAA:Boston College (9-2) at Miami (5-6) 8 ESPN-HD

Friday Nov. 24

Texas A&M (8-3) at #13 Texas (9-2) 12 noon ABC-HD

Colorado (2-9) at #22 Nebraska (8-3) 3:30 ABC-HD

Fresno State (3-7) at Louisiana Tech (3-8) 9 ESPN2-HD

Saturday Nov. 25

South Carolina (6-5) at #24 Clemson (8-3) 12 ESPN-HD

Kansas (6-5) at Missouri (7-4)12:00 (Regional) ABC-HD

South Florida (7-4) at #7 West Virginia (9-1) 12 ESPN2-HD

#15 Oklahoma (9-2) at Oklahoma State (6-5) 2:30 FSN-HD

#16 Georgia Tech 9-2) at Georgia (7-4) 3:30 CBS-HD

#9 Louisville (9-1) at Pittsburgh (6-5) 3:30 ESPN-HD

# 11 Boise State (11-0) at Nevada (8-3) 4:15 ESPN2-HD

(Division I-AA First Round Playoff)

James Madison (9-2) at Youngstown State (9-2) 7:30 ESPN2-HD

#21 Wake Forest (9-2) at Maryland (8-3) 7:45 ESPN-HD

#5 Notre Dame (10-1) at #3 Southern California (10-0) 8 ABC-HD

Sunday Nov. 26

New Orleans at Atlanta 1 Fox-HD

Pittsburgh at Baltimore 1 CBS-HD

Cincinnati at Cleveland 1 CBS-HD

Arizona at Minnesota 1 Fox-HD

San Francisco at St. Louis 1 Fox-HD

Carolina at Washington 1 Fox-HD

Chicago at New England 4 Fox-HD

Oakland at San Diego 4 CBS-HD

New York Giants at Tennessee 4 Fox-HD

Philadelphia at Indianapolis 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday Nov. 27

Green Bay at Seattle 8:30 ESPN-HD

(From Marc Berman’s Wednesday, Nov. 2s, 2006, Programming Insider blog at Mediaweek.com )

As posted on www.avsforum.com by Fredfa.

If You Haven't Seen Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC in High Definition...You Haven't Seen Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

(What An Opportunity Missed)

CBS Shows It Does Have Options!

2006-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

CBS Signs Affiliation Agreement for Louisiana Station

(Editor’s Note: There have been several comments over the past few months that CBS doesn’t have any options in Erie. The following story from Broadcast and Cable seems to indicate that digital can change everything; like carrying two major networks in high definition on the same channel at the same time. This also provides SJL/Lilly an option if they intend to stay in Erie. But will time be on their side? We thank the new EMGR editorial staff for discovering this story)

By Caroline Palmer -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/15/2006 5:50:00 PM
Digg This add to Del.icio.us

CBS announced Wednesday that the network has entered a long-term affiliation agreement with Media General Broadcast Divisions KALB-DT located in Alexandria, Louisiana that begins in January 2007.

Under the agreement KALB--which is the station with the highest viewership in the area--will send two signals from it's digital transmitter. …. One will continue to air NBC programming and other shows while the other will carry CBS programming and introduce new programs to the area.

John Cottingham, Senior Vice President, Broadcast Stations, Media General Broadcast Division, said, "This is our first CBS-NBC dual affiliation and we look forward to maximizing the new sales and marketing opportunities presented by this powerful combination.”

(Editor’s Note: KALB-Alexandria, LA is in Nielsen market #179. Erie is #142. Since this is still just one station, it would not be considered duopoly even though it transmits two networks. It also has been pointed out that multicasting, which the above points to, may limit the quality of the two HD signals within the limited bandwith available. This past July, KALB began broadcasting NBC in high definition. Future compression technology is expected to improve that efficiency)

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

If You Haven't Seen Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC in High Definition...You Haven't Seen Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
(What An Opportunity Missed)

Can Erie TV Be Poised For Growth?

2006-11-21T11:57:00.000-05:00

At last, one major acquirer of local TV stations says “absolutely.”

New Vision Television, which last week purchased WKBN and WLFX in Youngstown to add to its new and growing stable of stations, is on an ambitious program to acquire even more.

According to a July 13, 2005 MediaVillage.com interview with one of the dynamic duo of New Vision John Heinen, his company is on a quest to convince investors that there is still plenty of profit in local television with a major potential for more.

Heinen explains, “Right now," he adds, "TV stations are getting 250 horsepower from 400 horsepower engines. There is no reason we can't make these engines better tuned. These are big engines that have won a lot of races and still have a tremendous drive chain. They control valuable real estate in the digital band and good real estate investments are always winner.”

The Team at EMGR has learned that New Vision has done a very creditable job of convincing investors and financial concerns of the profit potential in the new digital bands for TV. They can strut a little taller and boast of their plans to acquire more stations for good reason. Informed sources tell EMGR that their checkbook balance has swollen to nearly 700 million for new acquisitions and plant improvements.

"Anybody who looks at TV stations as dinosaurs assumes they will stick with the way the industry operated 25 years ago. That's not the case. TV stations are poised to be better business enterprises. Stations on the leading edge that accept interactive and are creative in presenting advertisers with something new and fresh beyond how many spots they get, can significantly increase revenues and margins,” said Heinen.

I personally believe that Erie can match that potential if given a chance and a few decent creative operators who have “Vision.”

HD Sports….The New Viagra!

2006-11-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: The following was sent to me from an EMGR reader. It shows that HD TV is increasing viewers and keeping them in front of their TV longer rather than in the bedroom.. Local TV stations take note. Thanks to an EMGR Team reader who found and sent this story from CNET News.com)

From CNETNews.com November 16, 2006

SAN JOSE, Calif.--The numbers are in, and it appears that high-definition television is getting Americans to spend more time glued to their TV than ever before.

Yay, says Bryan Burns, vice president of strategic planning and development at ESPN HD. HD popularity means better TV sales and more advertising, of course.
Special report

Kickoff for HDTV

Sports programming is helping high-def TV become a mainstream phenomenon and a big moneymaker.

At a minimum, consumers seem to find high-definition TV a more compelling experience. In a survey conducted on behalf of ESPN, 22 percent of sports fans said they watched sporting events they would not have watched because they now have HDTV, while 22 percent of those who do not count themselves as sports fans reported that they watched more sports after going HD.

Meanwhile, 27 percent of viewers described as sports fans said they watched "significantly" more sports, while 44 percent said they watched somewhat more sports after getting HD. Sports fans, he added, spent an average of $2,400 on HDTV sets, while ordinary humans spent $1,525.

Thirty-two percent of respondents said whether a program is in HD influences what they watched.

Burns, who spoke at the Samsung Semiconductor Executive Summit here Wednesday, added that consumers spend a lot of time on ESPN radio and TV properties.

Self-described sports fans consume 1.43 hours of ESPN media a day. When only men who are self-described sports fans are taken into account, the number jumps to 2.08 hours a day.

By 2010, roughly 80 million HDTV sets will have been sold in America. That's a lot of people singing, "Are you ready for some football?"
ESPN has been one of the leaders in HD broadcasting. Back in 2002, the company was in the midst of switching from running its operations on standard analog video to digital broadcasting. Since it realized that it would have to upgrade to HD right afterward, it made both moves at once. Now, 95 percent of the programming that comes out of its Bristol, Conn., facility is in HD.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

EMGR Quick Observation: How come it took almost a week for the Erie Times-News to know it had a story (Cable Customers Could Lose Shows) that first appeared in an ad in their own paper and then on EMGR? (thanks to an observant EMGR Team reader) That's a real bad slip by ET-N.

Fox Says Yes...Affiliates May Say No!

2006-11-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

(From Broadcast and Cable)

Monday, November 20, 2006

TODAY'SNEWS
Fox Stations Kill OJ Special

By Jim Benson

After worldwide condemnation of Fox’s two-part sweeps special, O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened, North Dakota’s Prime Cities Broadcasting is refusing to air the interview. Historically, affiliates topple like dominoes after the first bows out. That could leave the fate of the Nov. 27 and 29 special, dubbed by one critic as "the most despicable sweeps-month stunt in history," up in the air. Nov. 29 is the last day of sweeps.

For the full story... click on above link.

Update: FOX Says No J. to O.J. TV and Book both Cancelled

10 Tips For Buying 'Black Friday'… HDTVs

2006-11-19T20:32:00.001-05:00

(Editor’s Note: Lots of deals on HDTV’s as prices continue to fall. Wal-Mart has declared war on Best Buy and Circuit City when it comes to HDTV prices but they are not prepared to give up market share either. All this plays into the consumer’s hands this holiday season. Find out how to get the best deal from Phillip Swann of TV Predictions.)

Consumer advice group offers help for bargain shoppers.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2006) -- By now, you've heard that retailers will offer sharp discounts on High-Definition TVs on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

However, the bargains are usually available for short periods of time. So, how can you make sure that you don't get shut out.

Consumer World, a non-profit consumer advice group, has released 10 tips for landing that great deal on Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.And here they are:

1. Read the Ads

Consumer World suggests that you carefully review your local newspapers on Thanksgiving Day. Usually, they will be stuffed with Black Friday ads and coupons. Bring them with you on the big day.

2. Evaluate the Deals

Don't assume every "deal" is a deal. Compare the "Black Friday" special price with the HDTV's normal price before buying. You can do that at various e-commerce web sites such as Amazon.com and BestBuy.com.

3. Buy a Good Product

A low price doesn't guarantee a high-quality television. Do some research and read product reviews at sites such as CNET.com.

4. Look For More Discounts

Some stores issue coupons or rebates on high-def sets. Find out if the discounts apply to the Black Friday specials.

5. Come Early

Some stores will offer special prices if you come in at a specific time, such as between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. Check out those Thanksgiving ads for "time restricted" specials.

6. Beat the Early Birds

Some Black Friday deals may be available at the store's web site. Check out the site in the wee hours of Friday morning and you might save yourself a trip to the store.

7. Check the Return Policy

Before buying, find out the store's return policy. Consumer World says some stores are discouraging returns by imposing restocking fees or placing frequent "returners" on blacklists.

8. Get a Gift Receipt

You can make a return easier for gift recipients by asking the store to place a receipt in a gift box. Without it, the store may not accept it.

9. Use the Right Credit Card

Some credit cards offer free benefits such as a return protection guarantee or purchase points that can be redeemed for other products. When you're buying a big-ticket item like a HDTV, that could pay off.

10. Save More With Price Guarantees

After buying the high-def set, keep your eye on the TV's price at other stores in the next month. Some stores will give you the difference between your price and a competitor's price during the holiday season.

(Editor's Number 11:)

When you buy your HD, then call WICU, WSEE, WJET and WFXP and demand they get their ass in gear and deliver the HD that you just paid out your hard earned money to get.

Click TVPredictions.com to see today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Tuesday.... HD Sports....The New Viagra!

Did O.J. Outfox Fox?

2006-11-17T19:03:00.000-05:00

Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down.

The Fox network, who is no stranger to controversial programming, announced that they bought into O.J. Simpson’s new book “If I did it…here's how it happened” In a two part series, Fox says “O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes."

The program has caused a major uproar across all media. NBC was known to have turned it down and the program was shopped at other networks as well. Good old Fox put up the money.

The Fox network has scheduled the two parter to run November the 27 and 29.

The book will be released simultaneously with the program. It has been reported that Simpson will receive 3 million in advance royalties.

Another EMGR Chat Down.

If he did it…should advertisers buy…and do you plan to watch?
Or as one EMGR reader wrote....

Should Erie Fox WFXP 66... not carry the program?

(Editor's Note: I had planned for this post earlier but with all the local stuff happening, I decided to change priorties)

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Relax... HD Is Just Television On Viagra.

Is ABC’s Lost… Housewives..Dancing With… CBS Criminal Minds?

2006-11-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

Last week's Network Average Ratings

Nielsen network average prime-time ratings for week six of the 2006-2007 season, November 6-12, 2006.

Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC 22.27
2 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 21.98
3 CSI CBS 20.83
4 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS ABC 20.69
5 GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM ABC 20.65
6 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NBC 19.39
7 DANCING WITH-STARS-RECAP(S) ABC 18.16
8 CRIMINAL MINDS CBS 17.57
9 LOST ABC 17.15
10 CSI: MIAMI CBS 16.80

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted by Fredfa on AVSFORUM.com

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Monday...How To Plan Your HD Buying Attack for "Black Friday."

Yes... There is a History Between SJL and New Vision... and New Vision and Erie

2006-11-16T14:23:00.000-05:00

For those looking for any kind of connection between SJL and New Vision, you can stop looking. (The FCC records are really great)

In 2002, after owning KSBY in Santa Barbara, California for about 6 years, SJL sold the station to New Vision Television for 39.5 million.

Two years later, New Vision sold the KSBY to the Evening Post Publishing Company for over 67 million. (I would say that was a healthy return on investment) At the same time New Vision sold all their other stations to various other groups.

Now they are back again in a big way into the TV business.

Of additional interest is that Jason Elkin of New Vision and his advisers had visited WICU before it was sold to SJL. At the time, many insiders thought that New Vision was going to be the buyer. He would be generally familiar with the station and, at the time, was impressed.

However, all this is circumstantial speculation in light of the New Vision purchase in Youngstown yesterday. But Elkin says that they are definitely in a buying mood.

(Let's see Atlanta...Pittsburgh...Erie. Not a bad flight.)

SJL/Lilly/ or Nexstar…Who Will Score The First HD Touchdown?

2006-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

This Week’s Football In HD

(Last update: 9:08 AM PT Wednesday, Nov. 15 -- Tuesday's Fast National and Metered Market ratings added) •
NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS 1-25 rankings are official. Rankings #26-42 are from Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com. All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Nov. 19 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

(Photo from www.NFLPLAYER.com)

(Posting on AVSFORUM.COM )

(Thursday, Nov. 16

#8 West Virginia (8-1) at Pittsburgh (6-4) 7:30 ESPN-HD

Saturday Nov. 18

Yale (7-2) at Harvard (7-2) 12 noon HD
NetMichigan State (4-7) at #27 Penn State (7-4) 12 noon ESPN2-HD
#19 Maryland (8-2) at #20 Boston College (8-2) 12 noon ESPN-HD
#17 Oklahoma (8-2) at Baylor (4-7) 12 noon FSN-HD
Army (3-7) at #5 Notre Dame (9-1) 2:30 NBC-HD
#2 Michigan (11-0) at #1 Ohio State (11-0) 3:30 ABC-HD
#14 Auburn (9-2) at Alabama (6-5) 3:30 CBS-HD
#21 Virginia Tech (8-2) at #16 Wake Forest (9-1) 7 ESPN-2 HD
#6 Rutgers (9-0) at Cincinnati (5-5) 7:45 ESPN-HD
#15 California (8-2) at #3 Southern California 8:00 ABC-HD
UCLA (5-5) at Arizona State (6-4) 10:00 FSN-HD

Sunday Nov. 19

Atlanta at Baltimore 1 Fox-HD
St. Louis at Carolina 1 Fox-HD
New England at Green Bay 1 CBS-HD
Cincinnati at New Orleans 1 CBS-HD
Chicago at New York Jets 1 Fox-HD
Washington at Tampa Bay 1 Fox-HD
Detroit at Arizona 4 Fox-HDI
Indianapolis at Dallas 4 CBS-HD
Seattle at San Francisco 4 Fox-HD
San Diego at Denver 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday Nov. 20

New York Giants at Jacksonville 8:30 ESPN-HD

Tuesday Nov. 21

Bowling Green at Toledo 7 ESPN-HD

Yesterday...Rush Limbaugh said nobody should go without HD!

Congratulations to WICU News For its Recent Food Drive and Current Phonecard Fund for the Troops!

Breaking News! (Maybe There's Future News for Lower Peach and State?).

2006-11-15T19:58:00.000-05:00

Broadcast and Cable tonight just broke the story that New Vision Television has bought WKBN-TV and WFLX-TV (Youngstown, Ohio) from Peadmont Television Holdings.

In a bulletin Wedensday night by John Eggerton of B&C on-line edition he reported...

"That makes four stations for New Vision, which bought WIAT(TV) Birmingham, Ala., and KIMT Mason city, Iowa, both CBS affiliates, for $35 million back in August."

"CFO Eric Simontis says that the fact three of the first four stations were CBS affiliates is coincidence and the company is hunting for affiliate and geographic diversity in medium to large markets. It has offices in L.A. and Atlanta."

"Look for more announcements in the next month. Simontis says they are in due diligence on a number of other stations."
(Update: The Youngstown-Warren Business Journal reports in tonight's on-line edition that the sale price of the two stations was 47M.

Is SJL/Lilly in a selling mode? They just sold Altoona and a few others stations in the East.

Tirak Apologies to Poster for Removal!

2006-11-15T12:53:00.000-05:00

With all the spamming that occurred yesterday, I have to admit... I got a little sensitive.

When a poster pointed to a legal notice in Tuesday’s Erie Times-News regarding Time-Warner having a notice that current carriage agreements with WICU and WSEE were running out and T-W may have to cease carrying one or both stations, I checked the legal notices and could not find it.

So I deleted the original notice and asked the poster to contact me. He or she did and pointed me to the correct location in Tuesday’s paper to page 5A. It was there.

The information he or she posted was correct, but it was a display ad and not a legal notice. It is easy to mix the terms.

Again, I apologize to the poster and thanks for the information.

Are Advertisers Cowards?

2006-11-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s note: The following is from MediaPost’s TV Watch. I can confirm that usually advertisers are genuinely cowards when it comes to controversy. The trend is to test the public wind first. That is why advertisers rarely lead in forming public opinion, but usually follow it and the current trends)

The Price Of Cowardice ….

A media critique by Wayne Friedman, Wednesday, November 8, 2006

SHOULD TV NETWORKS push advertisers to pay more coward's fees?
In an episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," Jordan McDeere, the president of entertainment for the fictional NBS network played by Amanda Peet, sticks to her guns, not caving to corporate pressures to remove a sketch called "Crazy Christians." Corporate executives are worried about preemptions from affiliates, as well as some nervous national advertisers who will leave the show.

McDeere's response is to stand her ground. Somewhat half-kiddingly, she says when the show does even better ratings, and the advertisers want to return, the network will just charge them more. They'll pay a "coward's fee."

In TV's past history, networks have gotten these coward fees. In the first weeks of the first year of "Desperate Housewives," a couple of advertisers were surprised about the show's scandalous content, and departed. All that did was give ABC an opening to sell freed-up inventory at higher prices, because the show was almost instantaneously successful, with better-than-expected ratings.

Back in the late '80s, Fox had a struggling show, "Married with Children." Then a Bloomfield Hills, Mich. housewife complained that the show's content was not right for family viewing in the early prime-time hours. Major national magazines covered the story, and advertisers pulled out. The result? The show got higher ratings due to all the press, and Fox got the chance to charge higher prices to other advertisers.

In the rear-view mirror, "Married with Children" and "Desperate Housewives" seem somewhat tame and not terribly profane versus the rest of TV programming. Truth is, networks haven't been able to get many coward fees these days for racy shows that get press, lose advertisers, and then get better ratings. Overall, few TV shows are that edgy--except for perhaps a handful on cable, on FX, for example.

It's doubtful broadcast or cable networks go into a season pushing shows to be in a position to get a coward's fee. But, in the spirit of more edgy creative content (as well as new competition for many digital platforms) they should shake off their timid notions and be brave.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

It's time that Erie TV announced their digital/HD plans and quit making Erie broadcasting a laughing stock.

"Go Ahead....Make My Day!"

2006-11-14T20:13:00.000-05:00

Warning!!!

In the last 24 hours, there has been an invasion of SPAM to spread rumor, gossip, false information, threats and inappropriate language. EMGR is about opinion, exchange of ideas and debate, but not about unconfirmed rumor or personal character attacks by name. (If you have information.. email me or note in your post that it is confidential)

If you have an issue with a coworker or management, resolve it internally and move on. Don’t even try to use EMGR for trying to even a score or spread rumor.

Each such post that I reject for violating those simple principles will be saved. I do record the IP address of that poster’s computer and can ping that computer for verification.

I can reveal that several federal agencies have monitored EMGR. I have no hesitation to report those offending IP addresses accordingly based on the severity. I keep identities confidential of anyone who writes me privately, but will not tolerate SPAMING of this site for any reason.

If you think I have been over sensitive in editing your post, I am sorry but even code words have been used and I would rather edit than allow something unintentional.

If you don’t believe me….TRY ME! But you better stay close to the phone.

Old Erie DJ’s Become Young Again On The WEB!

2006-11-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

As Rocky and Bullwinkle live on for new generations, apparently so can old DJ’s according to Chris Tarbell. Chris is now entering the latter category himself as he pursues his job with Adelphia in Virginia, but his love is old Erie radio and radio DJ’s in Erie.

Chris has created a website of some of the classic days of Erie radio (Click Erie radio to visit) complete with pictures and station logos. Most of it is from the 80’s (his period) He is actively looking to add more. Posted here are just some of the examples you can find in his collection. They also include, who they are and what they are doing.

Chris has seen on EMGR that there are lots of fans of old Erie radio, especially WJET and K104 (his alma-mater). Yet he isn’t content to leave it there. He is actively seeking more pictures, stories of DJ’s and any other information to update his site. You can write him at musicofthe80s@hotmail.com.

Chris heard about EMGR and has been following some of the posts to know that a lot of you have pretty sharp memories. I couldn’t exactly remember Chris until I saw his picture.

The site brings back what many of you consider the “good old days” of Erie radio. (so do I). Right now it is confined to just WJET and K104 but I think he would like to expand it to others with your help.

I want to thank Chris for writing me. Go to the site yourself and see some real memories and send him any information and pictures you might have on file.

Wedneday...Who are the Cowards in Media?

Seeing CSI In SD Is a Crime In Itself... Unless You Can See It in HD!

What Could The FCC Be Thinking?

2006-11-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

ANOTHER EMGR CHAT DOWN!

DT Channel 16... Where are you?

On August 17, 2005, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania(licensee of old analog channel 35) filed a CP extension request for their digital channel 16 with the FCC. The reason…. Request to move transmitting facilities to WICU towers on Donation Rd. The move would help them save substancial money in operations. The FCC granted that request on September 12, 2005. The FCC took 26 days to approve that request for CP extension.

On January 13, 2006, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania filed another extension request for their digital CP with the FCC. The reason for the request….bad Erie winters and loosing $400,000 the previous year. The FCC granted that request on March 1, 2006. The FCC took less than 60 days to approve that request.

On August 31, 2006, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania filed still another extension request for their digital CP with the FCC. This time…”no money honey.” Losses in the first 6 months of this year over $690,000. Today, it is fast approaching 90 days without formal action by the FCC. In the meantime, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania has had almost 3 more months of free time to construct their digital channel 16. No construction at the Donation Road site has occurred. (It would be interesting to see if equipment was ordered or delivered and construction crews reserved. That would have shown intent, but you would think they would have divulged that in their filing or in a subsequent exhibit)

SJL/Lilly can still pull it out and take the lead as a proud CBS affiliate. You have to act like a number one to be a number one. It is my hope they make a public announcement of their intentions. They made no promissory date in their FCC filing or even gave much hope for the FCC to hang its license on. (Should I hold my breath?)

The EMGR Chat Down Question?

Would you say that the “public’s interest, convenience and necessity” would be served by delaying this construction indefinitely or what do you think the FCC should consider?

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Tuesday…Chris Tarbell and his lean mean WJET/K104... DJ way back website machine!

ABC's "Lost"..."Houswives" keep "Dancing."

2006-11-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

October 30-Nov. 5, 2006

NFL Lands NBC #2

(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.)

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 Desperate Housewives ABC 22.65
2 NBC Sunday Night Football 21.95
3 Grey’s Anatomy-THU ABC 21.02
4 CSI CBS 20.77
5 Dancing With/Stars ABC 20.51
6 Dancing With/Stars Results ABC 19.22
7 Criminal Minds CBS 16.97
8 Deal or No Deal NBC Mon 16.90
9 CSI: NY CBS 16.64
10 Lost ABC 16.07

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted by FREDFA on AVSFORUM.com

Paul Wagner has always been one of WICU's best Journalists. Where is he on the big Erie stories now?

Breaking News! NBC's 'Studio 60' Gets Full Season

2006-11-10T09:34:00.000-05:00

(Congradulations to EMGR reader, Shannon, for finding and breaking this bit of news of interest to interested EMGR readers.)

The Hollywood Reporter confirms Studio 60 Being Saved!

By Nellie Andreeva

Nov 10, 2006

After days of speculation, NBC has handed a back-nine order to "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," bringing the order to Aaron Sorkin's critically praised drama set behind the scenes of a late-night sketch comedy show to 22.

Sources said the deal for the back-nine episodes was made at a lower license fee than the original one, said to be in the range of $2.5 million-$3 million per episode, and the episode guarantees for the members of the show's ensemble cast have been reduced by one.

NBC and producer Warner Bros. TV declined comment.

Airing behind the breakout new hit of the season, NBC's "Heroes," "Studio 60" got off to a promising start, but the ratings substantially tapered off, settling into the low 3 rating point range among adults 18-49. This week, the series starring Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet averaged a 3.3 rating/8 share in the demo and 7.7 million viewers overall, finishing third in the hour.

"I've never wavered in my belief in the show," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said. "With the talent we have in front and behind the camera and with the direction Aaron is taking the relationships, I think the show's passionate core audience will be excited, and the other viewers who sampled it can be won over."

"Studio 60" was taken off its 10 p.m. Monday slot last week when the network tried out another critically praised but low-rated new drama, "Friday Night Lights."Reilly wouldn't say whether "Studio 60" will remain in its Monday berth. He said the network is looking at several possible scheduling moves, with a new midseason schedule set to be announced next week.

12…24…35…66… Hike HD!

2006-11-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

Upcoming HD Football

(AP Photo/Don Heupel)

NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS 1-25 rankings are official. Rankings #26-42 are from Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com. All times are PM and Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Nov. 12 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Friday Nov. 10

Texas-El Paso (4-5) at Alabama-Birmingham (3-6) 8 ESPN2-HD

Saturday, Nov. 11

Cincinnati (5-4) at #10 West Virginia (7-1) 12 ESPN2-HD
#15 Wisconsin (9-1) at Iowa (6-4) 12 ESPN-HD
DePauw (6-3) at Wabash (7-2) 1 HDNet
#2 Michigan (10-0) at Indiana (5-5) 3:30 ESPN-HD
South Carolina (5-4) at #4 Florida (8-1) 3:30 CBS-HD
#1 Ohio State (10-0) at Northwestern (3-7) 3:30 (Regional) ABC-HD?
#26 Nebraska (7-3) at #25 Texas A&M (8-2) 3:30 (Regional) ABC-HD?
#16 Tennessee (7-2) at #11 Arkansas (8-1) 7 ESPN2-HD
Alabama (6-4) at #12 LSU (7-2) 7:45 ESPN-HD
#5 Texas (9-1) at Kansas State (6-4) 8 (Regional) ABC-HD
#19 Wake Forest (8-1) at Florida State (5-4) 8 (Regional) ABC-HD
#20 Oregon (7-2) at #7 Southern California (7-1) 10 FSN-HD

Sunday, Nov. 12

San Diego (6-2) at Cincinnati (4-4) 1 CBS-HD
Buffalo (3-5) at Indianapolis (8-0) 1 CBS-HD
New York Jets (4-4) at New England (6-2) 1 CBS-HD
San Francisco (3-5) at Detroit (2-6) 1 Fox-HD
Green Bay (3-5) at Minnesota (4-4) 1 Fox-HD
Washington (3-5) at Philadelphia (4-4) 1 Fox-HD
St. Louis (4-4) at Seattle (4-3) 1 Fox-HD
Dallas (4-4) at Arizona (1-7) 4 Fox-HD
New Orleans (6-2) at Pittsburgh (2-6) 4 Fox-HD
Chicago (7-1) at New York Giants (6-2) 8:15 NBC-HD

Monday, Nov. 13

Tampa Bay (2-6) at Carolina (4-4) 8:30 ESPN-HD

Tuesday, Nov. 14
Ball State at Toledo 7 ESPN2-HD

Wednesday, Nov. 15

Miami of Ohio at Bowling Green 7:30 ESPN2-HD

Thursday, Nov. 16

West Virginia at Pittsburgh 7:30 ESPN-HD

(Posting from AVSFORUM.com)

Monday...What Could The FCC Be Thinking?

Breaking News! Changes In the Wind?

2006-11-09T15:25:00.000-05:00

(Fom MediaDailyNews)

New House Commerce Head Looks At Media Ownership
Thursday, Nov 9, 2006 8:00 AM ET

U.S. REP. JOHN DINGELL, D-MICH.--THE incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee in January--isn't keen on easing media ownership rules, and is concerned about whether the public interest is being served. He's said that his panel will examine telecom measures, and will be less accommodating than the Republicans.

(Editor's Note: Translation...Duopolies may be in trouble. NEXSTAR and SJL/Lilly better think twice about buying twice.)

VJ?...Or Is It Really CJ?

2006-11-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

This last week has been full of posts about various people who have left Erie television stations. This is hardly new nor is it unusual in the broadcast business. It goes with the territory. The old saying goes that “you are only as good as your last (rating) book. " That is true.

Most leave to advance to a bigger market or they leave because they committed a “no..no” at their current station. (Hey, reporters are people too and they make mistakes…big mistakes. Stations, and yes even the newspaper, know how to hide their dirt under the rug.)

But something new is happening in broadcast journalism that hasn’t happened before. We wrote about it many weeks ago. It is called Video Journalism. (VJ)

This is a new cause celeb for some who have left the broadcast nest and others who are thinking about it. A few posts have been written about Jennifer Boresz who recently left WSEE for WTOL in Toledo. (An economy as dormant or worse than Erie but still they have HD)

Let's get the story straight. Jennifer Boresz went to Toledo not because she was recruited and wanted to leave Erie. She left because of the planned move to VJ next year by SJL/Lilly.

To repeat.. VJ is the latest in technological advances that shrinks today’s ENG video cameras to a very small size, light weight while keeping the quality very high. It can allow a two person news team to be cut to one. These latest cameras don’t even use tape… just memory. But is that all good?

The VJ Advantage

If a station had 5 teams of 2 persons crews and you kept all positions, you could have twice the stories being covered. This is a real advantage in large markets with a great deal of news to cover. The reporter is also cameraperson and editor all in one. That puts a great deal of pressure on the reporter to not only get the story with interviews, but also to get it on camera. We talked about the burn-out factor that this is already creating in the field and that it is a real problem. I am sure that weighed on Jennifer’s mind but perhaps for another reason as well.

Is VJ Really CJ?

In Erie and a few other far west cities, the acronym VJ has changed to CJ…Cheap Journalism or Journalism on the Cheap. Some broadcast corporations have turned a technological advantage into another way to reduce costs at the expense of viewers and staff. The goal is not better or more news but better profits or just reducing costs. (Like 40% profit margin is not enough.) Instead of a 5 person two man team…it is just 5 persons.

I don’t really think reporters are against VJ as a tool to cover news, but they do resent it when they are asked to carry the expense and responsibility as well as the camera. They have to make a decison on the spot about the video or the story conent quality. Then hurry up to the next event. Burn-out.

My humble opinion

Many stations are integrating both kinds of journalism. The two man crew goes out on the big stories that require the concentration of the reporter as well as the cameraperson. (I still think a two person team brings twice the brainpower to the story if it is done right.) The VJ reporter covers the quick and dirty events in the community. Perfect for the young reporter who wants to learn and still get some on camera time.

The upcoming introduction of VJ or CJ in Erie could mean that more reporters may leave the Erie airwaves and be replaced by neophytes. (another way to cut the salary load) Not because they want to…but because management has lost its mission with the viewers. They still haven't learned that really serving the viewers with quality content also leads to a greater bottom line. It is all ass backwards.

When we reach this point, we will find better coverage done by the students of the Millcreek and Erie School District. (And that is a compliment to the students)

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Save WSEE News...Write to the station and then ask to inspect their FCC "public" file

Erie Is Not The Only Market To Deal With Journalistic Ethics!

2006-11-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

Guess What? VJ Was Not Involved.

(Editor’s Note: Thanks again to an EMGR reader; we have another example of how things that can go wrong. This one is also close to home. The following was a commentary published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I am sure they enjoyed doing their own “gotcha story” on their broadcast brother. Thanks again to the poster for pointing it our way. If anyone else has any posting ideas or has seen something that would interest EMGR readers, send them to emgr@verizon.net. All confidential and no Poster's names will be used. )

Tuned In: After suicide, stations should rethink 'gotcha stories'

Monday, November 06, 2006
By Rob Owen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The "sweeps" months, when local TV news promotions and "special reports" are at their most over-the-top, have become a routine annoyance to discerning television viewers. Less than a week into the current November sweeps period, they've taken a tragic turn.

The Rev. Brent Dugan, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon, committed suicide last week after KDKA-TV aired a series of promotions for a Marty Griffin report that suggested Dugan was involved in illicit behavior.

Some viewers sent me understandably emotional e-mails that were as hyperbolic as the TV news promos they decry (one subject line: "KDKA's Assassination of Ben Avon Pastor"). That goes too far. It was Dugan's choice to overdose on aspirin and alcohol in a Mercer County motel.

But this tragic outcome ought to make reporters and news directors in all newsrooms, particularly KDKA management and Griffin, take a contemplative look at the impact salacious, fear-mongering sweeps-month promos and reports can have.

TV news has an obligation to uncover wrongdoing, but too often stations appear to be more excited about reporting stories that bring themselves attention. Were the accusations in Griffin's investigation true? Did the report merit airing? There's no way of knowing because the story never aired.

KDKA general manager Chris Pike said the station would have no comment beyond a statement released Friday night that expressed condolences to Dugan's family and friends and explained that KDKA had "conducted a monthlong investigation into reports of public and illegal sexual behavior by Pastor Dugan. The results of that investigation were scheduled to air [Thursday] evening. ... That evening the station received information from someone close to Pastor Dugan that indicated that he was considering doing harm to himself. As a result, the station made the decision not to air the story."

News director John Verrilli would not say whether Griffin's story will air; on Friday afternoon Pike said it was unlikely to air. Griffin did not respond to a message on his work voice mail seeking comment.

Promos for the report were broadcast for several days last week. They showed Griffin confronting Dugan about his alleged visits to an adult bookstore. It was unclear from the promos what other details the report would reveal.
During the 11 p.m. news Thursday, Griffin said his investigation "uncovered illicit, possibly illegal, activity by a local minister, activities which, at the very least, violated the rules of his denomination."

It's the use of key words -- possibly illegal, at the very least -- that call into question whether the report was worth doing in the first place. If the best Griffin could dig up was a trip to an adult bookstore (not illegal) and violation of church rules, then there's not much in it to serve the public interest. It comes off looking like another "gotcha"-style story designed for no benefit except the TV station's ratings.

What aired Thursday did not mention Dugan by name; he wasn't shown on screen. His church and denomination were not named. But Dugan was pictured in promos that aired for several days earlier on KDKA. The damage was done.

Even if you give station management the benefit of the doubt that they were unaware of Dugan's threat to himself when they chose to air the promos, you have to ask, do TV station promos for stories of wrongdoing have to be so licking-their-chops sensational? They're designed to lure viewers, but clearly they can have unintended consequences as well.

The possibility of the harm they can cause -- not only to the person under investigation, but to his family and community -- needs to be considered. (It should be noted, someone could just as easily be provoked by newspaper stories, but, tabloids aside, you don't usually see the print media stoop to scare tactics to promote upcoming reports.)

And why did KDKA air the promos and Thursday night's non-report and choose not to cover Dugan's suicide? Verrilli wouldn't comment on that, either.

For Griffin, provocative reporting is nothing new. During last November's sweeps -- a four-week period during which Nielsen Media Research measures viewership so stations can set advertising rates -- Griffin ventured onto Port Authority property while reporting on lax security at a bus garage. He was eventually found not guilty of trespassing on appeal.
Griffin worked at KXAS-TV in Dallas in the 1990s, when he reported on sexual assault allegations against two Dallas Cowboy football players by a former topless dancer. She later recanted, according to a 1997 Dallas Morning News report, and the players sued KXAS and Griffin. The station settled with the players for $2.2 million, according to the Dallas paper. Griffin's attorney told the paper that the reporter admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

One would hope the death of a human being would cause station management and staff to re-evaluate the way they cover and promote news, particularly sweeps- month features. Disgusted viewers may choose not to watch KDKA, but there's a problem with that approach: The lower that stations' ratings go, the more desperate for attention they tend to get and the greater the lengths they'll try. (Remember the tawdry tone of WPXI's newscasts when they were a perennial third place?)

With a thirst for profit driving media conglomerates' news coverage, this sort of thing could happen again. That may be the greatest tragedy of all.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Thursday... VJ? Or Is it Really CJ?

Web Users Tend to be Politically Moderate Regardless of Party

2006-11-07T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Election Day

(Editor's Note: Yesterday, the Center for Media Research reported on a study done by Nielsen//Net Ratings (Not your friendly TV ratings people) The study found that slightly more Republicans were web savvy than Democrats. However, the web users don’t skew left or right but are generally in the center. Here is CMR’s report. Check the political temperature. )

Monday, November 6, 2006 (Center for Media Research)

More Republicans than Democrats Online, But Web Users Leaning "Moderate"More Republicans than Democrats Online, But Web Users Leaning "Moderate"

Nielsen//NetRatings finds that 36.6 percent of U.S. adults online are Republicans, 30.8 percent are Democrats and 17.3 percent are Independents in a recent release.

Nielsen//NetRatings analyst Ken Cassar, said "The fact that the online population is more heavily composed of Republicans than Democrats is principally a function of the Republican party's higher composition within the overall electorate. This is exacerbated by the fact that online penetration continues to be deeper among affluent households, which have historically skewed Republican."

The Web site with the highest concentration of Republicans was RushLimbaugh.com, then NewsMax.com and Bill O'Reilly.com. The Drudge Report and Salt Lake Tribune rounded out the top five Republican sites.

Among Democrats, the top three sites were BlackAmericaWeb.com, AOL BlackVoices and BET.com. Salon.com and Village Voice ranked fourth and fifth among Democrats.

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, Fall 2006 Release

More Online political party variance...

Political party members also have distinct tastes in online newspapers:

WSJ.com has predominantly Republican readers, at 40.2 percent
Democrats make up 25.8 percent of WSJ.com's readership
Independents are at 24.3 percent

The New York Times online is a favorite among Democrats:
Democrats make up 52.3 percent of its readership
Independents compose 22.6 percent
Republicans are at 18.3 percent

When respondents were asked about their political leaning:
36.1 percent, identified themselves as "Moderate"
32.5 percent, identified themselves as "Conservative/Very Conservative"
19.8 percent of respondents identified themselves as "Liberal/Very Liberal"

With regard to party allegiance demographics, neither party seemed to favor a particular gender or age group. Among racial groups:

African Americans skewed Democratic; with a composition index of 231, they were over twice as likely to be Democratic as the average Web user
Asians were 36 percent more likely than the average Web user to be Democratic
Hispanics were 28 percent more likely to be Democratic
White people were slightly more likely to be Republican
For more information, please visit here.

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Save WSEE News...Write to the station and then ask to inspect their FCC "public" file.

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Today? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

More Or Less News...That Is The Question.

2006-11-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

A Special Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down.

Do you believe the local media (newspaper, radio and TV) should increase its human resources to report the news or is the current level sufficient? If you think resources should be increased what, in your opinion, could the media do with the increased resources?

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Save WSEE News...Write to the station and then ask to inspect their FCC file.

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Tomorrow? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

NBC Sends Studio 60 To The ER!

2006-11-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

NBC’s big hope for this season was the Aaron Sorkin (West Wing) series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It's still not meeting ratings expectations. The show is not gone from the schedule. In fact it will return during sweeps and through the holidays.

FOXNEWS reported that the series was marked for cancellation and that cast members were already telling friends and family. However, that may be pre-mature. This week NBC ordered up 3 more scripts to carry the series through the holidays.

Usually when the network orders extra scripts that is a good sign as it usually means that the series is safe for the balance of the season. One of the script problems reported, was that the comedy bits that were supposed to be a part of the fantasy program were not funny. Consultants from SNL have been brought in to help.

Friday Night Lights was placed in the 60’s slot temporarily to see if a move would improve the time period. So far it has hardly made a difference.

Since a few have expressed an interest in the program, EMGR will continue to follow developments.

Save WSEE News...Write to the station for their FCC File and then inspect it.

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Next Tuesday? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

ABC Takes One, Two and Three!

2006-11-02T10:13:00.000-05:00

Nielsen ratings, Oct. 23- Oct. 29

USA Today October 31, 2006 Top broadcast Shows

Rank/Season average/Show title/Network/Viewers in millions

1. 2 Desperate Housewives ABC 21.2

2. 4 Dancing With the Stars ABC 20.7

3. 6 Dancing With the Stars results ABC 20.0

4. 5 CSI: Miami CBS 17.8

5. 7 CSI: NY CBS 17.4

6. 7 Sunday Night Football NBC 17.3

7. 10 Lost ABC 17.1

8. 3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation CBS 16.8

8. 9 Criminal Minds CBS 16.8

10. 17 60 Minutes CBS 16.5

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Next Tuesday? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

“There Is No Place For Women In Broadcasting!”

2006-11-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

An Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down

It has been 44 years since I entered Ithaca College and sat in an empty television studio (WICB Channel 12) with 54 other freshmen listening to the dean of the broadcast school give us his standard freshmen pep talk.

Some pep talk.

He told us to look to the right and to the left and that those persons would never graduate from this department. He also looked at the 3 women in the class and said “there is no place for women in broadcasting.” The woman to the left of me looked up and scowled. It was Jessica Savitch

The dean was right about the graduates as only about 15 remained from that original group, but turned out to be wrong about his prediction of women in broadcasting. However, you really can't blame him. It was 1962. From the networks on down, few women were on the air as more than just a weather girl.

Jessica did rather well going from market to market and finally to NBC and anchoring the weekend news and getting a few big scoops of her own. I spoke to her several times on her way to the top. She had to scratch her way, like an alley cat, to achieve what she did. As most of you know, she also had a tragic life and death as well. (I often wondered if the price of fame was all worth it.)

Many others would follow her lead in breaking down the testosterone walls of broadcasting.

Several weeks ago, there were a number of interesting posts about the perception that there were different standards for women in broadcasting than for men. One suggested we make a chat down topic which I promised I would do.

The EMGR Chat Down Question?

Today, are women in broadcasting held to a different standard than men?

(Editor's Update: Jessica did not graduate in the same year I did as she took some time off to complete some early TV obligations she had. We were both in Alpha Epsilon Rho together as well, R-TV national fraternity)

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Next Tuesday? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

The Rock & Roll of JET News!

2006-10-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

A Very Short History of a Local News Legend.

A few posts back I made an observation that each news organization tries to stake out a unique style or point-of-view to attract a certain audience. To the average observer, all news is news and all of it is the same, but is it really?

As an example, let’s take a local news legend, WJET, and trace its roots. More than a half a century ago, a young engineer put a radio station on the air to play what was known at the time by some as “demon music that was taking the souls of our young.” Rock & Roll had not only arrived it had its own station in WJET Radio 1400.

That young engineer was Myron Jones. He knew that the new music sound was going to attract the burgeoning baby boom generation, but what about their dads and mothers who preferred Hoagy Carmichael to Elvis, Chuck Barry or (god forbid) Little Richard?

Myron thought the trick to get the widest possible audience for the new station was to put extraordinary emphasis on news. Not just a re-write from the newspaper, but fast paced snappy news that just gave the key important facts of the story and then moved on to the next one. A radio format that wasn’t afraid to break-in with local live stories from the scenes of fires, murder, car accidents, burglaries or cats living with dogs. (That’s my Bill Murray moment)

The public didn’t want a lot of details; (they could get that from the newspaper) they wanted a Jack Webb newscast, “just the facts.” Myron didn’t want to compete with the newspaper for detail which he knew would bore a listening audience faster than dead air. It became important that the 5 minute newscast be crammed with as many different stories as possible and move like thunder to the listener’s ear.

The job to accomplish this news phenomenon was given to Erie’s own version of the legendary Walter Winchell, Bob Sutherland. An excellent reporter in is own right that was also capable of teaching a new breed of broadcast newsmen the trade he had learned. He also had the godlike voice of authority which didn’t hurt either.

The combination of rock and instantly breaking news presented a powerful combination that did exactly what its young founder had hoped. While I lived as a young boy and teen through this period, it wasn’t until I had entered the local advertising scene in 1968 that I fully appreciated what this broadcaster had wrought on Erie media. The first rating book I had seen (The Pulse), had WJET far and away the number one station in every demographic from 12 to 72. The genius could be seen in viewing the hour by hour audience movement. Every time a newscast came on, that quarter hour would jump with older adults and soon after it would give way to the boomers. The net effect was to make WJET appear a solid “must buy” for any product or service for every demograhic.

Let’s fast forward to 1966 and the advent of WJET-TV. They attempted to bring the same formula (minus the live remotes not possible in those days) but not with the same results. WICU was the longtime TV powerhouse with a bevy of mature and sophisticated announcer/anchors who really knew the TV medium.

What happened to Bob Sutherland? Bob didn’t change but TV changed the perception of the image that listeners had of Bob. My professors in college used to call that the power of radio to create “theater of the mind.” It really was similar to the impact that talking motion pictures had on silent film stars. The magic was broken when Valentino spoke with a high pitched voice and the same with Bob Sutherland when he wasn’t the handsome stud that everyone had pictured him to be.

The basic formula was still kept to get as many stories in as possible. Nobody knew this better than Eric Johnson who came from WICU to manage a major makeover of the WJET TV news operation. While the faces changed and a new trend of “happy news” delivery was born, the original formula that inspired WJET radio was fine-tuned for television. Eric determined that the first 7 minutes of news was critical to get and hold an audience. (Sound familiar now?) The idea was to get as many news stories of fires, crashes and political goings on at city hall in those first few minutes as possible. Again just the pertinent facts or basics were all that was important.

This revamping took a decade to accomplish its goal but eventually became the number one news leader that still holds to the last rating book. (Except at 11)

As did Bob Sutherland decades before, Eric Johnson mentored a new group of young broadcast journalist. One from that class is now the latest news director of WJET TV, Lou Baxter.

The formula has gone though some adjustments as other media have adjusted to meet the JET competition. The basic elements of getting as many stories as possible with the bare facts are still really the essential part of the WJET news strategy.

If you don’t believe me, take a few moments and TIVO the first 5 or 7 minutes of each of the local stations newscasts. You will find that, on the average, WJET TV has more stories than the other two stations.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying the other stations are incorrect in what they do. I am just saying that this is the successful style or point-of-view that WJET TV has followed to reach an adult 18-49.

By the way, if the young Lou Baxter had his way, he might have wanted to be one of those professional dancers on “Dancing with the Stars” instead of a news director in Erie. I hear he can do a wicked Samba.

Want To Really Wakeup The Political Establisment Next Tuesday? Vote Out All Incumbents…Regardless of Party.

Don’t Mess With The FCC And The Public File!

2006-10-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

(Editor’s Note: Last week, two posters wrote that they had written complaints to one of the local TV stations. One EMGR reader decided to test the reality of the public file each station is required to keep.

They went to the specific station and asked to see the public file to see if their letter was actually included. They were denied access and told that it was a maintenance issue.

The rules are pretty clear that the file must be available during normal business hours for public inspection. (Unless certain letters never make it to the official file for one reason or another)

A third EMGR reader, who seems very proficient in FCC broadcast regulations, posted advice to the other two readers and to anyone else who may want to also complain. (Not that it will do you any good) His or her post also included a link to fines and other penalties the FCC imposed on broadcast outlets for violating the public file regulations.

I thought the response was well written and gave excellent information and advice. I decided to reprint it for today’s post.)

It's always best to go right to the source :-)
The full text of the FCC rules regarding the public file for commercial broadcasters is in CFR 73.3526 (for noncommercial broadcasters, it's in CFR 73.3527).
Here is a tiny URL link to CFR 73.3526 which applies to WSEE and the other commercial stations in town [radio as well as TV]:
http://tinyurl.com/y73zdm
A PDF of the actual regulations will be displayed. Take a look for yourself.
Also, the FCC has a writeup entitled "The Public and Broadcasting", coincidentally a copy of which must be included in the public file. Must reading for participants of this blog and informed citizens in general. You can access it at http://tinyurl.com/ygqcfq
or just Google for it. Among lots of other stuff, it basically summarizes CFR 73.3526.
Finally, the FCC website has information on filing a complaint related to a station's
public file.
Click on http://tinyurl.com/ylz6vj
There is also a "more information" link on that page which will take you to a list of stations who have recently been fined (or whatever) for public file problems so you can see that the FCC is not joking around about this.
Here is a cut & paste from the above webpage but I urge you to go access it & read it for yourself:
"Complaints alleging the failure of a broadcast station to maintain a complete public inspection file, or to make such file available for public inspection during normal business hours, should be sent to the Federal Communications Commission, Investigations & Hearings Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC
20554. Complaints should include the call sign and location of the station, and the address where complainant attempted to view a public file. The complaint should also describe the circumstances surrounding the complainant's inability to gain access to the station's public inspection file, or to view or obtain certain documents required to be maintained in that file, including the date and time complainant attempted to inspect the file and the specific documents which
the complainant was unable to view or obtain."
I hope this information is helpful.

--Anonymous—

Thank you Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous wherever you are>

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final
deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

A Special Thanks to Ohio Media Watch For Their Shameless Plug of EMGR on Oct 6th.

NBC Places “Deal” In Top 10!

2006-10-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Prime Time TV Shows Week Of October 16-22, 2006

Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 Grey’s Anatomy ABC 22.05
2 Dancing With The Stars ABC 21.25
3 CSI CBS 20.49
4 Desperate Housewives ABC 19.71
5 Dancing W/ Stars Results ABC 19.23
6 World Series Game 2 Fox 18.16
7 CSI: Miami CBS 18.12
8 Deal or No Deal Mon NBC 17.47
9 NLCS Game 7 Fox 16.53
10 Lost ABC 16.31

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as posted on AVSFORUM.COM

You Can Keep Posting Your Comments On Any Of the Past EMGR Chat Downs!

Real Men Watch Football In HD!

2006-10-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

This Week’s HD Football

NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS 1-25 rankings are official. Rankings #26-42 are from Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com.) All times are Eastern)

NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Oct. 29 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Friday, Oct 27

Texas El Paso (4-3) at #28 Tulsa (6-1) 8:00 PM ESPN2-HD

Saturday, Oct. 28

Northwestern (2-6) at #2 Michigan (8-0) 12:00 PM ESPN-HD
Illinois (2-6) vs. #18 Wisconsin (7-1) 12:00 PM ESPN2-HD
#19 Oklahoma (5-2) at #20 Missouri (7-1) 12:00 PM (regional) ABC-HD
#27 Georgia (6-2) at #6 Florida (6-1) 3:30 PM CBS-HD
#36 Miami (5-2) at #24 Georgia Tech (5-2) 3:30 PM (regional) ABC-HD
Florida State (4-3) at #41 Maryland (5-2) 7:00 PM
ESPN2-HD #11 Tennessee (6-1) at #33 South Carolina (5-2) 7:45 PM ESPN-HD

Sunday, Oct. 29

San Francisco (2-4) at Chicago (6-0) 1 PM FOX-HD
Atlanta (4-2) at Cincinnati (4-2) 1 PM FOX-HD
Arizona (1-6) at Green Bay (2-4) 1 PM FOX-HD
Seattle (4-2) at Kansas City (3-3) 1 PM FOX-HD
Baltimore (4-2) at New Orleans (5-1) 1 PM CBS-HD
Tampa Bay (2-4) at New York Giants (3-2) 1 PM FOX-HD
Jacksonville (3-3) at Philadelphia (4-3) 1 PM CBS-HD
St. Louis (4-2) at San Diego (4-2) 4 PM FOX-HD
Indianapolis (6-0) at Denver (5-1) 4:15 PM CBS-HD
Dallas (3-2) at Carolina (4-3) 8:15 PM NBC-HD
N C A A: Connecticut (3-4) at #14 Rutgers (7-0) 8 PM ESPN-HD

Monday, Oct. 30

New England (5-1) at Minnesota (4-2) 8:30 PM ESPN-HD

Tuesday, Oct.31

UAB at SMU 7:30 PM ESPN2-HD

Wednesday, Nov. 1

Fresno State at Boise State 8 PM ESPN-HD

Thursday, Nov. 2

West Virginia at Louisville 7:30 PM ESPN-HD

Friday, Nov. 3

Air Force at Army 8:00 PM ESPN2-HD

Saturday, Nov. 4

North Carolina at Notre Dame 2:30 PM NBC-HD
U C L A at California 8 PM (Regional) ABC-HD?

(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, October 26, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com ) as posted on AVSFORUM.com by Fredfa

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

ABC Quick Steps Slightly Ahead of CBS Wedneday. FOX Washed Out of Series is #4

There Are No Virgins In Erie City Hall!

2006-10-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

So Why Are The Media Giving This Administration The Honeymoon Treatment?

ANOTHER EMGR CHAT DOWN!

Since the Sinnott administration has taken office, Erie continues to hemorrhage jobs and companies.

It is not the mayor’s fault that companies decide to leave, but he has to take the responsibility for not working harder and creatively to replace them as well as any others that might leave in the near future. (Yes…that is a real possibility)

The number one priority for the long term health of this community, meaningful private sector economic development, seems to have been put on the back burner by the politicians, civil authorities and even the local media. The perception, rightly or wrongly, is that the city administration has been given a media pass or an extended honeymoon.

Where are the really tough questions? This administration penetrated city hall 10 months ago. It is no longer a virgin.

In last Sunday’s Erie Times-News, Pat Howared appears to be saying that the news media has given this administration a longer honeymoon because of “Filippi Fatique”? Give me a break!

“The contrast of Sinnott's earnest steadiness seemed welcome in a city afflicted by Filippi fatigue. But 10 months in, the new mayor hasn't laid out much of an agenda beyond surviving the current fiscal year, and his next-to-no-profile style hasn't prepared the community for the wrenching choices and challenges ahead. “

Most will agree with Howard that the city needs leaders who will speak the truth, but sighting “Filippi Fatigue” is like the neo-conservatives blaming past administrations for the current political malaise.

It's my opinion that the media has a larger responsibility than just reporting what goes on before their eyes and re-writing prepared news releases from City Hall. It shouldn’t take 10 months for this administration to begin addressing economic recovery and laying out its plan.

The local media does a great job in reporting the job losses and how taxpayers get taken over and over again by slick quasi developers who promise the moon. From the governor on down, they can’t shovel the public cash fast enough just with the slightest whisper of possible job creation.

But what is the media, both print and broadcast, doing to keep the politicians feet to the fire to produce? (Other than Jeff Johns for 2 hours a day)

We have heard no concrete economic plans from Erie City, Erie County or our economic revitalization partners and agencies.

Howard’s salvo in last Sunday’s column was much needed even if it was late from “Filippi Fatigue.” His ultimate conclusion is dead on:

"Erie and the entire region need much more from Sinnott than tinkering at the margins of the city's decline. The standards for judging his performance will get more exacting, because the need for leadership has never been more acute.”

The Erie Media-Go-Round CHAT DOWN for today is…

Does the media share a responsibility to hold our elected and civil officials accountable for what they don’t do as well as for what they do?

FOX World Series Gets Kicked By A Foxtrot, A Waltz And A Mambo!

Jekyll, Hyde And The Invisible Banker?

2006-10-24T17:18:00.000-04:00

(Editor’s Note: From reading posts from around the broadcast community, it is hard to tell what the character of SJL/Lilly might really be. Is it the kind hearted and brilliant Dr. Jekyly who is leading two of Erie’s television stations, or is it his secret evil twin who slashes jobs and burns budgets? Perhaps there is even an invisible banker who lurks and whispers in the shadows of this media empire.

Peter Ames Carlin, a writer for the Portland Oregonian, seemed to be similarly perplexed in an article he wrote on May 21st of this year called “As The Koin Turns.” [He preferred to think of the mystery of SJL as a CBS soap opera. I rather think of it in the “spirit” of the current season.]

Below is an excerpt from Carlin’s Mickey Spillane/Mike Hammer experience. It was written following the turmoil of SJL’s purchase of Portland station, KOIN. It is well written. Wish we could have seen this type of investigative reporting in the Erie Daily Times, but then there would be no need for EMGR would there? Look for names recognizable to some in Erie.)

The mystery buyers
At first it all seemed so predictable. Almost exactly a year ago the chief executive of Emmis Communications, the Indiana-based media conglomerate that has owned KOIN since 2000, announced that he was done with the TV business. Intent on focusing on his radio and magazine holdings, Jeff Smulyan put his 16 TV stations on the market, presumably for the consumption of still another far-flung media conglomerate.
As a major network affiliate in a major city (Portland and environs rank as the nation's 23rd-largest media market), the station attracted instant interest from potential buyers. Emmis' insistence on packaging the station with at least a few of its smaller TV stations (which would have been tougher sells on their own) removed some customers. But others were interested enough to dispatch teams of xecutives and financial analysts, who reportedly took turns measuring haunches and examining teeth at the KOIN Tower throughout the summer. At the end of September a deal was announced: Emmis would sell KOIN, KHON-TV of Honolulu and two smaller stations in the Midwest for $259 million to a team of owners consisting of the Blackstone Group and SJL Broadcast Management Group.
At which point the prevailing reaction was: Who? And, a bit more anxiously: Why?
Why would the Blackstone Group, an enormous, privately held finance group with something like $40 billion at its disposal and not a lot of previous interest in media properties, be snapping up small local TV stations? Why were they teamed up with rhis SJL company -- a company, by the way, which no one in this not-entirely-unsophisticated town had ever heard of before this moment? And it's not like anyone was making it easy to discover the answers to these questions. Blackstone, for all its riches and high-profile employees (co-founder Pete Peterson was secretary of commerce during the Nixon administration; after that he was CEO of a little investment firm called Lehman Brothers), keeps a low profile in the media. But at least it had a corporate Web site. And that put Blackstone one up on the mysterious SJL.
After a day's worth of journalistic exploration just after the sale was announced at the end of September, it first appeared that SJL was based in Montana. But that address and phone number didn't pan out, leading to a search that pointed to Montecito, Calif., a village somewhere near Los Angeles. A search of that town's records produced a general telephone number for the company's headquarters, but that rang into voicemail.
You've reached the offices of SJL and George Lilly, the machine said, cheerfully enough. Our offices are closed for vacation and will re-open on Oct. 18. The machine offered another name and contact number, but that rang to voicemail, too. A third number, for SJL chief operating officer Sandra Benton, scored paydirt: a real, live human, who answered warmly, despite having been interrupted in the middle of what sounded like a TV show. Actually, she's out now, he responded. Can I have her call you when she gets home?
Eventually Benton called back. Yes, she was a top exec at SJL, which indeed was the company that wanted to take over KOIN, along with stations in Honolulu, Wichita, Kan., and Topeka, Kan.
"We're fairly small," she said, explaining the circumstances that led to the company's entire head office being out fishin' for the first half of the month. "There are six of us, and some of us work out of our homes."
Those of us intending to write another version of the enormous-and-faceless-media-conglomerate-buys-local-station story were momentarily stymied. I mean . . . they work from home?
Obviously, SJL wasn't your father's media conglomerate. They're more like your grandfather's media conglomerate. Only now Pop-Pop's got the keys to someone else's $40 billion bank account and what was going to happen next was pretty much anyone's guess. At least until the head grandpa got back from fishing, or wherever he was vacationing.
Early returns are mixed
So let's mull this over. Could SJL really be as down-home as it seemed? And if it was, did that mean KOIN was going to be traveling back in time to the bygone days of locally owned, community-centric local broadcasting? Hey, it could happen! While the easing of government regulations in the past two decades has led to an increasingly corporate atmosphere in which profit takes precedent over content -- particularly when it comes to news -- it doesn't have to be that way.
According to Tom Rosenstiel, director of the nonprofit Project for Excellence in Journalism, some local stations have started tacking away from the flashy, trashy model used by so many corporate-owned stations, back to the Old World diet of high-fiber newscasts and loads of locally produced public interest shows. "It can be done," Rosenstiel insisted. "But it means you have to accept a 30 percent profit margin for a few years."
At which point our eyes widened. A 30 percent profit margin sounded pretty good to us. And that was the compromise figure?
"Well, the backdrop is that TV stations can make like 40 or 50 percent profits," Rosenstiel explained. That's double what you can expect from a publicly held newspaper, he continued, and four times the average in other industries. But the only way to get there is either to cut expenses -- employees, production budgets, creative ambitions -- to the bone. Either that or shoot the moon by plowing so much work and money into the station you blow all other competitors to smithereens.
Figuring that the keys to KOIN's future may very well rest somewhere in SJL's past, I let my fingers do the walking to Altoona, Pa., to the offices of WATJ-TV, which had been owned by SJL from 2000 to 2004. (Editor's Note: The company reoganized and recently sold to NEXSTAR for 56 Million) And from the moment SJL moved in the results were . . .
"Horrible!"
This from news photographer Trish Gates. Gates' tales were extraordinarily similar to those heard from employees at Charleston/Huntington's WOWK-TV regarding their two years in SJL's stable (2000-02), including 25 percent staff cuts, computer-driven studio controls that tended to crash in mid-broadcast and a corporate culture so parsimonious that checks were mailed every other week, rather than every week, to reduce costs.
This was more like it: a tale of ravenous corporation ignoring the public good all for the sake of the bottom line. After all, virtually every industry-watch story I've written in the past five years revolves around one station or another having its budgets sliced, its employees diced and/or being otherwise steered away from the actual purposes of quality broadcasting. "Typically they're thinning out the product by spreading people thinner," says Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
But then we called Cindy Plymyer, a news producer at WICU-TV in Erie, Pa., who reports that a decade of SJL ownership has done nothing but make things better for the station.
"We're in a good spot now, and I think they're very
pleased," she said. A large part of the credit, she said, goes to Brian Lilly (son of SJL President George Lilly), whose first move as station manager was to install a suggestion box so employees could air their complaints to management. But now that the station is a solid No. 2 in the market, and making moves on the top-rated station, there's not a lot to complain about. "We don't have a lot of turnover," Plymyer said. "Everyone I know is happy here."
Back at the KOIN Tower, however, the anxiety was ramping up. "Rumors are picking up that new owners SJL will jettison KOIN's news department altogether," wrote blogger Lynn Sipprelle on her Oregon Media Insider blog. "I'm also told that (one very recent top manager) is saying that 'things will get far worse' for KOIN employees . . .
These days I wonder if owners HAVE any shame."
Were such high-octane accusations truly a sign of things to come, or just more keening and wailing from panicky employees? That would be an interesting question to ask George Lilly. Once he got back from vacation, that is.
-Peter Ames Carlin: The Oregonian -
©2006 The Oregonian
So which do we have in Erie?
Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/
Thursday--Another EMGR CHAT DOWN On Media Responsibility and Local Politicians. (It's the Season)

Business to Business Radio Really Works In Erie!

2006-10-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

Another Media Profile:

Nowhere in these United States will you find a radio station quite like WPSE AM 1450. Erie radio still can find a new audience. CEO’s talking to CEO’s talking to the community.

WPSE just celebrated its 10th anniversary of its “Partners for Business” program. The former frequency was once the former home of WWGO radio with studios that stood at the tip of the Commerce Building at 12th and State Streets.

Now its home rests on the campus of Penn State Behrend, its current owner. The programming includes business news, stock information and financial advice and tips for the general public. According to their website:

Weekdays consist of BusinessTalkRadio programs such as Business Morning, Market Track, Market Wrap, financial call-in shows, Bloomberg and CNN Financial Network news, BBC World Business Reports, and stock market updates.

The programs offer in-depth analysis and investment advice, including interviews with popular business authors, consumer information, and live interviews with Conference Board economists, Fortune 500 CEOs, and leading-edge entrepreneurs.

The weekend schedule offers a wealth of programs, ranging from computer technology to health, golf, dining, and travel, as well as frequent business and financial updates. Evening and weekend sports feature CBS and Westwood One broadcasts of the NFL and NCAA, and Penn State Nittany Lions football and basketball.

But the real diversity and uniqueness comes from its “Partners for Business” program we mentioned earlier. These are local business leaders and entrepreneurs who tell their story and their goals in one minute segments that are mostly candid interviews. “Partners for Business” serves two purposes. It allows executives to talk to other executives and the community about not only what their company does but what they see as its future. This is so important. This kind of format would not survive in standard radio.

Two, it targets a select audience of upscale listeners and investors with a great deal of disposable income that wealth based advertisers love to reach. The audience is modest, but very exclusive.

The whole operation and the idea man behind WPSE is Ron Slomski. Ron has had an interesting career in radio as well as public television. His previous claim to fame was as host of a polka show he produced. (No Polish jokes…this guy is as serious as you can get.)

Ron has a great deal of help from Melanie Deppen and Val Engelleiter who make up his permantent staff. Penn State students also have an opportunity to learn the radio game first hand. The “Partners for Business” concept takes a lot of intense work from conducting the interviews follwed by the laborious task of editing the sound bites at the studio for air.

It is very interesting to note that one of the prime movers who has advised and helped WPSE in this journey is none other than the Erie radio icon himself, Myron Jones. Myron has served in the past as chairman of a special advisory committee to the station along with other broadcast and community leaders. (Disclaimer…this writer also sits on the advisory board)

Myron Jones has had a long personal goal that looks like it is finally going to be reached; moving the 1450 stick (antenna) from its current campus location to the westside of Erie in the 12th and Greengarden area. That should substantially help its signal and reach.

Rarely noticed, but what WPSE has done is unique in broadcasting today. Slomski has had many stations across the country ask him just how he did it. When they find out how much work and time is involved, their interest just sort of melts away, but total admiration for WPSE's radio entrepreneurial spirit remains real.

The station has set up strict standards for advertising from which it will accept or reject. As an example, it will not take standard “buy them up…move them out” spots or political advertising. With the exception of sports, “Partners for Business” is virtually the station’s total advertising effort. Slomski is very sensitive to his audience and the proper environment he needs to retain for his business clients and his select but growing list of listeners.

Currently, "Partners for Business" has over 125 participating local sponsors. (Wow!...That's an effort.)

WPSE won’t get rich but they make expenses and provide a service to both the business, college and the greater community at large.

Local Blogaholic Blog Finds More News on Duopolies!

CBS & ABC Dancing Alone Again In Top 10!

2006-10-21T18:45:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Prime Time TV Shows Week Of October 2-8, 2006

(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.)

(Editor's Note: I guess Nielson hasn't updated their count to 300 Million yet)
Rank Program Network Viewers

1 Grey’s Anatomy Thurs ABC 22.88
2 CSI CBS 21.85
3 Desperate Housewives ABC 20.64
4 Dancing With The Stars ABC 20.10
5 Dancing With Stars Results ABC 18.21
6 CSI: NY CBS 17.97
7 CSI: Miami CBS 17.60
8 60 Minutes CBS 17.28
9 Lost ABC 16.89
10 Criminal Minds CBS 16.73

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as reported on AVSFORUM.com

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

The Eye Is Still Watching Erie, But So Far--The FCC Is Holding its Tongue!

Football As It Should Be Seen…In High Definition!

2006-10-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

This week’s HD Football

NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS 1-25 rankings are official. Rankings #26-42
are from Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com.) All times are Eastern)NFL Weekly Coverage Maps
Oct. 22 maps are now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Friday, Oct 20#5

West Virginia (6-0) at Connecticut (3-3) 8 PM ESPN-HD

Saturday, Oct. 21

#9Texas (6-1) at #17 Nebraska (6-1) 12 PM ABC-HD

#21 Wisconsin (6-1) at #41 Purdue (5-2) 12 PM ESPN-HD

Illinois (2-5) at #30 Penn State (4-3) 12 PM ESPN2-HD

#42-tie UCLA (4-2) at#8 Notre Dame (5-1) 2:30 PM NBC-HD

#11 Tennessee (5-1) at #34 Alabama (5-2) 3:30 PM CBS-HD

#20 Boston College (5-1) at #32 Florida State (4-2)(Regional) 3:30 PM ABC-HD?

#42-tie Washington (4-3) at #10 California (6-1) 3:30 PM FSN-HD

#16 Rutgers (6-0) at #29 Pittsburgh (6-1) 5:45 PM ESPN2HD

#19 Georgia Tech (5-1) at #12 Clemson (6-1) 7:45 PM ESPN-HD

-Fresno State (1-5) at #16 LSU (5-2) 9 PM ESPN2-HD

Sunday, Oct. 22

Pittsburgh (2-3) at Atlanta (3-2) 1 PM CBS-HD

New England (4-1) at Buffalo (2-4) 1 PM CBS-HD

Carolina (4-2) at Cincinnati (3-2) 1 PM Fox-HD

Green Bay (1-4) at Miami (1-5) 1 PM Fox-HD

Detroit (1-5) at New York Jets (3-3) 1 PM Fox-HD

Philadelphia (4-2) at Tampa Bay (1-4) 1 PM Fox-HD

Denver (4-1) at Cleveland (1-4) 4 PM CBS-HD

Washington (2-4) at Indianapolis (5-6) 4:15 PM Fox-HD

Minnesota (3-2) at Seattle (4-1) 4:15 PM Fox-HD

NCAASouth Florida (5-2) at Cincinnati (3-4) 8 PM ESPN-HD

Monday, Oct. 23

New York Giants (3-2) at Dallas (3-2) 8:30 PM ESPN-HD

(From Marc Berman’s Friday, October 20, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com )

Posted on AVSFORUM.com

All Baseball Playoffs and Word Series Games are in Hi-Def....But not in Erie!

The Internet is Talking Hot about Erie and Duopolies.

2006-10-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

Is It Possible That The Erie Times-News Could Be Absorbed Within SJL or NEXSTAR?.....NAH!

(The following is from a release by the progressive (alias liberal) news blog "Common Dreams Newswire" It talks about the duopoly action that the FCC is expected to approve. It uses Erie as one of its examples. What do EMGR readers think?)

New Research Shows FCC Media Ownership Rule Changes Will Harm Local Communities -- and Democracy -- Across Nation

WASHINGTON - October 19 - Local communities across the nation will be harmed, and have fewer choices for news and views, if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) loosens key limits on media ownership, according to new research conducted by the Media and Democracy Coalition (MDC), a coalition of national and local groups representing millions of Americans.
Research was released today by MDC member organizations in coordinated actions in the following twelve states: California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Washington, Oregon, Arkansas, Virginia, Montana, and Maine. The research finds that in every one of those states, most citizens already live in highly concentrated media markets with few choices for news and views. More media mergers in these highly concentrated markets will reduce already insufficient local news coverage and eliminate diverse voices and viewpoints and, in every case, exceed US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Merger Guidelines. Yet these mergers would be approved by the FCC under its proposed new rules with "no questions asked."

"If Americans lose access to views and news, media moguls may grow richer, but America's democracy will be poorer," says Chellie Pingree, President of Common Cause, an MDC member organization. "America's democracy works best when citizens have access to a wide diversity of views and plenty of local news. These are two of our nation's most important media policy goals."

"It is simply not acceptable that the Federal Communications Commission would approve a local media merger with 'no questions asked,' when that same merger exceeds US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Merger Guidelines," says Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal and international policy at Consumers Union, another MDC member. "A healthy democracy requires that local media outlets compete with each other, not consolidate, to ensure the public has access to diverse and independent sources of news and opinion. The FCC's proposed rules are bad for consumers and bad for democracy."

"Media moguls plan to combine local broadcasting with print, cable and telecommunications outlets to create conglomerates with unprecedented power over what we see, hear and read. This report documents that if the FCC blesses these moguls' plans, they will ultimately control which voices are heard -- and which are silenced -- across America," adds Ben Scott, Policy Director of Free Press, another MDC member.

"The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that further relaxation or elimination of media ownership limits by the FCC is not in the public interest," says study author Dr. Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America, another MDC member. "This research, taken together with the FCC's own research that it suppressed, proves that media concentration in local markets, consolidation into national chains, and conglomeration across media types all harm localism and diversity in local news markets. Local TV stations and local daily newspapers continue to be the dominant sources of local news and the most influential by far. The Internet is not a significant source of local news. In fact, the few who go online for local news frequently surf to the web sites of the local TV station or the local daily newspaper. The misguided rules the FCC proposed are simply out of touch with these facts."

"Media and Democracy Coalition member organizations in a dozen states today released this research as part of the Coalition's campaign to sound the alarm to citizens in local communities about the FCC's misguided proposed rules," says Coalition Campaign Coordinator Henry DeSio. "In 2003, the FCC received over three million public comments opposing its attempt to increase media concentration. This year, from Florida to Washington to Maine to California, Coalition members are again urging all Americans to take action, and file comments at the FCC opposing its latest dangerous effort to loosen crucial media ownership limits."
These are just a few examples of what could happen in large and small media markets across the country under the FCC's proposal to loosen media ownership limits:
Sacramento is the capital of California, the largest state in the nation, with a gross domestic product larger than Brazil, Canada, or Spain. In Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee, the dominant local newspaper, could suddenly merge with any of the top TV stations: KCRA, KXTV, KOVR or KTXL.

In Dallas, a large metropolitan market and the least concentrated of the three Texas markets studied, The Dallas Morning News, the dominant newspaper in the market, could suddenly merge with KDFW, KXAS, KTVT or KXAS, the top TV stations.

Erie, Pennsylvania is a smaller media market that is already highly concentrated, like most smaller markets studied. In Erie, the lone major newspaper, the Erie-Times News, could suddenly merge with either of the top local TV stations: WJET, WICU, or WSEE.

All of these resulting combinations exceed US Dept. of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Merger Guidelines on market concentration and power. Yet they would all be allowed under the FCC's proposed new rules with "no questions asked."

This MDC study is part of the Coalition's broader response to the FCC's proposed changes to its media ownership rules. In 2003, the FCC had voted to weaken these rules, but its action was rejected by the Philadelphia-based U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in an action brought by Coalition member Prometheus Radio Project of Philadelphia.

"Bigger, fewer media outlets with less interest in local news would be bad for Pennsylvania citizens trying to decide if we have effective local government and good corporate citizens," says Beth McConnell of Philadelphia-based PennPIRG, another MDC member, commenting on the study's findings in her state. "If the FCC proposal allowing our biggest local newspapers to merge with our biggest local TV stations goes forward, Pennsylvania citizens will end up getting inadequate choices for news and viewpoints in a market that already ranks as too-concentrated based on Department of Justice guidelines."

"We need more, not fewer media outlets in California competing in the marketplace of news and ideas to help guarantee that our communities go and grow," adds Sydney Levy of Oakland-based Media Alliance, another MDC member. "If the FCC allows these mergers, it will be harder for citizens to even learn about, let alone respond to, local issues such as crime, schools and traffic."

More information about the Coalition, its members, as well as these research reports, is available at the Coalition's website, http://www.media-democracy.net.

Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

NBC expected not to order new episodes of Studio 60. According to the trades, it is underperforming.

So Have Duopolies Been Good For The Erie Broadcast Soul?

2006-10-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

It’s Another Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down...Extended Edition.

NEXSTAR and SJL/Lilly would hope you would think so. In fact, NEXSTAR launched an on-air campaign hoping to help keep the FCC’s current rules on duopoly ownership of TV stations in the same market from being changed or challenged. They are very proud of their position as their website states, “NEXSTAR has an industry reputation for pioneering new initiatives, including establishing virtual duopolies in its markets…” (Duopolies… sounds like another Latin dance on “Dancing with the Stars.”)

This weeks Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down asks…

If you had the opportunity (and you do), what would you tell the FCC about the duopoly experience in Erie? (Again pro or con…As usual responses will be edited for appropriateness when necessary)

Update: (EMGR is going to leave this post up for another day. After a reasonable period of days, the comments will be forwarded to each of the comissioners of the FCC and the policy division to let them know how you feel duopolies have helped or hurt a small market like Erie.)

WSEE Can Find Fortune By Playing Jeopardy!

2006-10-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Answer…This syndicated game program which aired in most markets at 7pm was a bigger ratings bonanza for WICU at 6 pm?

Answer…WICU News at 7 pm? (I wish I could add sound effects)

Got the Jeopardy Questions? If not...read on.

WSEE has the opportunity to shake up the Erie television scene if they just used some imagination and looked to their sister station’s history. (I know…why is Tirak even interested in helping WSEE? The truth is we need a competitive broadcast environment rather than the same old…same old formula. )

What do I mean? I wrote recently that one of the problems with local television is the horrendous influence of consultants who want to use cookie cutter answers for everything. “They do it in Peoria so they should do it in Erie.”

Years ago, WICU was one of the few stations that programmed “Wheel of Fortune” at 6 pm and local news at 7 pm. And it worked. Wheel did extremely well during the early time period against the other two newscasts. In total, the Homes Using Television (HUT) was extraordinarily high and the newscasts didn’t suffer from the competition. Everybody won.

Most surprising of all was WICU did tremendously well with news at 7pm for over 30 years. They owned the time period. In the latter years, the HUT levels were still high but the audience demographics tended to skew over the age of 50 and that was WICU’s problem. They tried to solve it with a young and inexperienced staff but then finally relented to the cookie cutter consultant's hatchet.

After years of being beaten over the head by some high priced consultants, WICU moved their news to 6 with the rest of the east coast robot pack. Now Erie was like everywhere else with Wheel and Jeopardy from 7 to 8. Robots in step.

My view is that this is old programming thinking. It was a bad decision then and remains a worse decision today in Erie with all the other options viewers have. No reason to give viewers a real choice.

For WSEE, providing a choice can represent an opportunity... if management will just think out of the box instead of keeping their nose in their butt. Today the words “counter programming” can provide viewers with an alternative they desperately seek.

That’s right! I am suggesting that WSEE go back to the original WICU formula. They own the two properties that used to be on WICU. Move Wheel to 6 pm and provide the viewers with an alternative to other news and move their newscast to 7pm. Instead of forcing the viewer to pick which newscast to watch at 6 (And WSEE always comes out at the short end), the viewer can have a true selection and provide an opportunity to later sample the WSEE newscast. WSEE would also have the luxury of another hour to prepare and update the news over what the other stations had at 6 pm.

The Wheel lead in would help the CBS Evening News. The old WICU ratings indicated that channel 12 viewers of Wheel at 6 stayed with WICU for NBC network news and then again stayed for the local news with a veteran news team. The 6:30 break brought a real premium for WICU.

Of course the content and the look of the newscast would have to be upgraded for local prime time to really make a ratings dent, but I feel it could produce better ratings than they have now. This simple programming move would not cost them an extra dime. (Actually they could save the dime and put it toward HD digital which would also give them a programming edge)

Look at Erie television history Brian and learn. Oh! Who am I kidding! This is SJL/Lilly. They have to do everything the hard way.

Wednesday...An EMGR Chat Down On Multiple Station Ownership In the Same Market.

Connoisseur Media Rises Again…Like Lazarus.

2006-10-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

Profiles In Erie Media

If anyone had radio waves running through their veins it is Jeff Warshaw, CEO and founder of Connoisseur Media. According to a March 2006 Radio INK article, Jeff’s parents and an uncle owned Universal Broadcasting. Even as a student, he purchased his first station in Indiana that began the incarnation of his company.

His in-home exposure to classic radio really set the tone for his future and that of Connoisseur Media. He is what I would call a… broadcaster. He is enthralled with the medium itself and knows how to make money in the current climate.

In a short period of time, he amassed a sharp team of second lieutenants headed by long time friend and his CFO, Mike Driscoll and Vice-President, David Bevins. In a few years, they acquired 39 stations and later sold the entire group to Cumulas Communications for 258 million.

So what do you do when you are still a relatively young man and have 258 million in your back pocket burning a hole? You build a second broadcast empire just like you did with the first except you use a different approach.

After a bit of R&R, Warshaw reassembled his crew of lieutenants and reviewed the radio market conditions. He quickly observed stations were selling for far too high multiples to make a decent return on investment in the shortest possible time. In a May interview this year with RBR/TVBR, Warshaw said, “We just couldn’t find deals that made sense for us.”

Instead, Jeff’s gang decided to do the reverse of what is usually expected--they decided to build brand new stations from scratch from FCC auctions of new frequencies. He was successful in getting 10 of 20 construction permits he sought. So the company was reborn again. (Halleluiah)

One of the exceptions to this approach was Erie. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to break bread with Dave Bevins, who makes his home in Cleveland but currently makes the I-90 run to Erie to monitor the former Nextmedia properties.

Bevins said that “the Erie radio properties represented a rare opportunity as they were well run, mostly competitive and well positioned in the marketplace. " (It didn’t hurt that they were selling at a favorable price or Warshaw wouldn’t have touched it with a polish kielbasa)

The reputation of Connoisseur Media in the trade and blog world is thus far rather stellar. The company seems to get a lot of respect for its decision making process, target marketing and its ability to turn a handsome profit. (Are Professor Warshaw and his lieutenants giving lessons?)

In the Radio INK interview, Jeff Warshaw explained his philosophy of radio this way: “Our creating value is not based on hitting quarterly numbers, nor is it to keep our stock prices afloat in order to fund acquisitions. As a result, we spend heavily on research and promotion. We invest continuely in our properties. We believe that is one way to build long-term value.” (That is the mark of a broadcaster and not just a bean counter.)

What advice does he give to his station’ staff? “Turn your swords away from your competitors in the radio industry and focus on growing the radio business in our community.” (I remember Myron Jones using the same philosophy)

After my conversation with VP Dave Bevins, I have a feeling we are going to see some positive changes at the former Rambaldo properties. Talk radio could be more local talk again and personalities will continue to rule the music airwaves. And we will see more radio promotion!. (That is my hope) “The Wolf” was the first signal of that change. I can say that they seem intent on learning the Erie market and not looking for cookie cutter quick solutions.

For me, that makes for exciting radio to look forward too for the listener and twice as exciting if you are advertisers.

As for the current senior management of the Erie Connoisseur stations, I had the impression that they were satisfied with what is there. Replacing Rick Rambaldo with a new GM may not be as easy. Word has it that a few at One Boston Store Place would be interested in the job and they are being considered. However, I get the feeling that this company wants the right person with multi-station experience and they are willing to take their time in reviewing their options and people including out-of-market candidates.

Time will tell.

HDTV..Quality Local News Spell P-R-O-F-I-T-S!

ABC & CBS Split Top 10! 5 & 5

2006-10-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Prime Time TV Shows Week Of October 2-8, 2006

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 GREY'S ANATOMY-THU 9PM ABC 22.80
2 CSI CBS 21.51
3 DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES ABC 20.96
4 LOST ABC 18.82
5 DANCING WITH THE STARS ABC 18.38
6 CSI: MIAMI CBS 17.90

7 DANCING W/STARS RESULTS ABC 17.49

8 NCIS CBS 15.89
9 SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS CBS 15.83
10 TWO AND A HALF MEN CBS 15.80

Please Pray For The Family Of Mrs. Paul Tirak!

….And On The 7th Day He Rested, And Gave Us Football In High Definition.

2006-10-12T20:10:00.000-04:00

This week’s HD Football !
NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS rankings are Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com.) All times are Eastern)

NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Week Six
is now available:http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Thursday, Oct 12
#22 Virginia Tech (4-1) at #25 Boston College (4-1) 7:30 PM ESPN-HD

Friday, Oct 13
#33 Pittsburgh (5-1) at Central Florida (2-3) 8 PM ESPN2-HD

Saturday, Oct. 14
Minnesota (2-4) at #28 Wisconsin (5-1) 12 PM ESPN-HD
#13 Iowa (5-1) at Indiana (3-3) 12 PM ESPN2-HD
#1 Ohio State (6-0) at Michigan State (3-3) 3:30 PM (Regional) ABC-HD
Alabama (4-2) at Mississippi (2-4) 3:30 PM CBS-HD
#3 Florida (6-0) at # 10 Auburn (5-1) 7:30 PM ESPN-HD, ESPN2-HD (“Full Circle” coverage)
#4 Michigan (6-0) at #27 Penn State (4-2) 8 PM (Regional) ABC-HD
Arizona State (3-2) at #2 Southern California (5-0) 8 PM (Regional) ABC-HD

Sunday, Oct. 15
New York Giants (2-2) at Atlanta (3-1) 1 PM Fox-HD
Houston (1-3) at Dallas (2-2) 1 PM CBS-HD
Philadelphia (4-1) at New Orleans (4-1) 1 PM Fox-HD
Kansas City (2-2) at Pittsburgh (1-3) 1 PM CBS-HD
Miami (1-4) at New York Jets (2-3) 4:15 PM CBS-HD
Carolina (3-2) at Baltimore (4-1) 1 PM Fox-HD
Seattle (3-1) at St. Louis (4-1) 1 PM Fox-HD
Oakland (0-4) at Denver (3-1) 8:15 PM NBC-HD

Monday, Oct. 16
Chicago (5-0) at Arizona (1-4) 8:30 PM ESPN-HD

Listing from AVSFORUM.com

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

....And He Said..."Let There Be HD Everywhere but Erie."

To Report Or Not To Report…That Is A News Director’s/Editor’s Dilemma!

2006-10-12T00:00:00.000-04:00

Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down on Ethics in Local Journalism!

Yesterday’s post gathered a great deal of comment. As much as I would like to think it was the provocative post itself, the comments that were generated came more by decisions that were made in various local newsrooms yesterday.

I was going to do a post on what WSEE can do to improve its evening news position. However, yesterday’s journalistic ethics controversy has trumped that. (I will leave that for next week when the smoke clears.)

Instead, feel free to continue yesterday’s discussion in the first “Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down.” I will post both pro and con. (This is not just for broadcasting) Just watch the usual rules. I will edit where necessary.

I would like to also invite students who may read EMGR to participate as well. I am sure that those in the local media (and they do read) would be interested in the younger comments as well.

So let the first “Erie Media-Go-Round Chat Down” on Ethics in Local Journalism begin.

Local News Is Not Chump Change!

2006-10-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

While major network news continues with a slide in viewers, local stations seem to have lost less viewers and increased profits.

In a 2004 report by the State Of The News Media, it states that “local news has been enormously profitable.” According to the survey the report was compiled from…local news accounts for 46% of total station revenue. Let’s say that again because it feels so good. Local news advertising revenue makes up 46% of the average total station revenue. (No wonder that local news is up from the standard hour every evening up to 2 hours) In fact, less than 10% of the stations reported that their news operations lost money.

The major question the report seems to ask “is whether the industry might be wiser if it moved in the direction of slightly lower profit margins—still usually in excess of 40% ---in order to reinvest in stronger newsgathering and experiment in new programming, as a way of attracting a younger audience.” (mmmm ... Where have we heard that before?)

So why not?

Again, according to the report, station management is playing it safe. Local news plays such a crucial role in the station's revenue that they are fearful of upsetting the golden apple cart. (Imagine that!)

So now we know why stations would be reluctant to change let alone jettison local news. “It’s the dollar stupid.” First place or last place, news still brings in the money. In any other industry when you have a leader like this, you try to protect that investment by investing more. (Ask Sumner Redstone)

Indeed many news operations are currently taking the plunge in to HD newsgathering. Most Cleveland and Pittsburgh stations have or are in the process of that conversion.

Now don’t get ahead of me here. I am not advocating that the local stations move toward local HD news. That will happen with time… a very long time. But what I am advocating is that they invest more not less in their news operation. As has been shown, it can go right to the bottom line.

I have to admit; I am a news junkie and have been since the early days of WJET radio. Local news and the “new” media were made for each other and stations need to project themselves in the new technology more than just a website. “There’s revenue in them micro bits.” All that is needed is imagination which seems to be in local short supply.

News Directors should be given more…not less resources. Local television can be exciting again. If it continues the way it currently is, it will go the way of local radio, bland and lacking local definition. (There’s that word “definition” again.)

According to the same 2004 study, local television has to wake-up and respond or they will lose that valuable-- profitable audience. “Commercial and academic surveys suggest that at least a portion of the viewers who stopped watching local television news have done so because they find it repetitive, formulaic, sensationalized or insipid.” (They must have surveyed Mark Guy Findlay) “Brand loyalty is weakening and more viewers, research suggests, are likely sampling stations and churn through them.”

Perhaps one of the closing paragraphs of the report is probably the most revealing.

“The question of local television is which way it turns. The biggest threat it faces now is the paradox of an undernourished product that is in oversupply…In trying to differentiate one product from another, stations have tended to emphasis branding instead of content.”

In my opinion, this report has Erie clearly in its sites. I am convinced that local news directors probably know the message…I am not so sure their superiors have the same perspective until they take their nose out of their cash registers and find out far to late that there is a hole in the bottom of the boat.

“Bullwinkle…. Start Bailing.”

At 83, You Can Still Think Like a Young Buck..(Maybe Make a few Too)

2006-10-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Sumner Redstone, Chairman of Viacom and CBS Corp, (personal net worth 7.5 billion) interview on Charlie Rose last week was extremely revealing. The shock wave last month in broadcasting and Wall Street circles was the surprise firing of Tom Freston by Redstone. Freston, CEO of Viacom after Redstone broke the company in two, was one of the prime movers that helped build Viacom, but not fast enough for Sumner.

In the Rose interview, Charlie would not let the core issue of Freston’s firing go. He finally got Sumner to admit that the issues were two. One, the stock was under performing compared to its sister CBS Corp under its CEO, Les Moonves. Viacom's value was down 11% year over year compared to CBS Corp which was up 12% for the same period.

But the real core reason that stuck in Redstone’s crawl was he had ordered Freston to buy MySpace.com for an agreed price of 500 million. Freston baulked and Redstone’s archrival, Rupert Murdoch scooped it up for 580 million. This made Rupert again the darling of Wall Street. MySpace is currently valued at 1.5 Billion. (I guess billionaires have fragile egos)

Sumner admitted in the Rose interview, that the loss put it over the edge for him. He felt that the internet and new technologies are crucial to the future viability of his companies. (Now why can’t we get thinkers like that?)

At 83, the man still thinks 10 to 20 years ahead even if he still lives in the modest house he bought for $43,000. Not only did Viacom lose a billion dollars in equity gain via the MySpace loss, but Sumner lost a reported 700 million in the devaluation of Viacom stock. (He also lost another 113 million in the first two weeks after he fired Freston) it is no wonder that Moonves is always watching the CBS Corp stock ticker with one eye and the overnight ratings with the other.

The message is clear. For “old” media to compete, it has to learn to incorporate the “new” media and find ways to create revenue with it. If Sumner Redstone can see that and he’s 83, then there is still possible hope for SJL and Nexstar. The train is leaving the platform, who locally will be on it and who will be left at the station? (A prophetic thought)

I think I can… I think I can…I know I can…I know I can.

Tit for Tat Anonymous…Or Not So Anonymous!

2006-10-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

(Editor’s Note: The following are from two comments that were posted over the weekend. The first Anonymous poster seems to take issue with what appears to be budget cuts at WICU News and its effect on quality of content. I can't help having the suspicion that both posts are from the same place...but that is just the suspicious me. Perhaps the kettle talking to the pot?)

The second Anonymous post is signed as WICU News Management. The way their response was written, leads me to believe that it is legitimate and probably from the hand of WICU News Director Phil Hayes or John Last)

Since later in the week, EMGR will be writing more about the growing importance of local news for local stations both as image and as a profit center, I thought the below comments were relevant. It seems this subject created a great deal of interest with Mark Guy Findlay’s comments in the Erie Times-News last week)

Anonymous #1

Speaking of WICU: have you noticed that Channel 12 has stopped doing some live broadcasts during the news? No more "Band of the Week" Live from CHAMPION Ford Friday nights at 11pm. No more "Where in Erie is Julie Coates" during the WICU Morning News.I know the almighty dollar rules in TV, but why drop these? They were popular and people liked watching them. Did it REALLY cost that much? I mean I heard WICU is still paying on its FIRST live truck (purchased 1996) but this is ridiculous!

Anonymous
Friday, 06 October, 2006

Anonymous Post #2

Interesting comment posted about WICU.

There is only so much money available in a budget. There are 4 primary areas: Engineering, News, Programming and Employee Salary & Benefits. One can only do so much with what one is allowed to spend.

We do not have a bottomless pit of money from which to spend. We do the best with what we have. We do not decide what we have to spend. That is up to corporate management.

If the discretionary budget runs out in October then we are pretty much finished for the rest of the year.

There is so much more to being a news manager/director than just deciding which stories get on the 6 o'clock news. Preparing a budget (and managing said budget) takes up a good portion of my day. Add to that breaking news, personnel issues and general newsroom operations and you can see how easy it is to get burned out.

We enjoy your blog. Thank you for the forum.

--WICU News Management—
Saturday Oct 7, 2006

(Editor’s Post Script. If you read carefully between the lines, these two posters are not really that far apart. Both bemoan the changing face of local TV news and the quality sacrifices they have to accept in the name of increasing the profit margin even more. "I guess we got to get that dollar back to California where it will do the most good."

What disturbs me most about the WICU post is that news management should be concentrating its efforts on the news…not a spread sheet. That traditionally has been the job of the GM and the station comptroller . They should be the ones monitoring expenses and advising the various divisions of where they stand. That really is the primary job of the bean counter.

I agree every department has to live within a budget and news is no exception. When the budget and budget monitoring issues take up a good portion of news management’s day, it becomes disturbing and alarming. Their primary job of selecting and managing the on-air content that results in the image of the station itself can become compromised.

When the content is compromised, profits are also eventually compromised. And so the cycle continues into the vast wasteland known as broadcasting today.

It is my hope that the repeated rumors of 2007 news budget cuts will not happen. You will see more profits if you invest more…not less. That’s what the national figures show.)

HDTV..Quality Local News Spell P-R-O-F-I-T-S!

Crime Wave at CBS still Strikes Gold!

2006-10-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

Top 10 Prime Time TV Shows Week Of September 25-October 1, 2006

(Here are the rankings for national prime-time network television last week as compiled by Nielsen Media Research. They are based on the average number of people who watched a program from start to finish. Nielsen estimates there are 283.5 million potential viewers in the U.S. ages 2 and older. Viewership is listed in millions.)

Rank Program Network Viewers

1 CSI CBS 23.77
2 Grey’s Anatomy Thu 9 PM ABC 23.48
3 Desperate Housewives ABC 21.42
4 Dancing With The Stars ABC 17.91
5 CSI: Miami CBS 17.79
6 NBC Sunday Night Football NBC 16.94
7 Survivor: Cook Islands CBS 16.84
8 Criminal Minds CBS 16.54
9 Ugly Betty ABC 16.32
10 CSI: NY CBS 16.21

(Editor's Note: How Many Really Watched Ugle Betty on ABC?)

• Source: ABC-TV and Nielsen Media Research data as printed on AVSFORUM.com

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Opinion: Broadcast Consultants Are Cookie Cutters. If You Don't Fit In To Their Mold... They'll Try To Squeeze You In Anyway.

This week’s HD Football (In Erie...it's SD)

2006-10-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

NOTE: Subject to change! (BCS rankings are Jerry Palm's collegebcs.com.)

(All times are Eastern)

NFL Weekly Coverage Maps Week Five is now available: http://www.gribblenation.net/nflmaps/

Friday, Oct 6

#6 Louisville (4-0) at Middle Tennessee State (3-2) 8 PM ESPN2-HD

Saturday, Oct. 7

#16 Clemson (4-1) at #26 Wake Forest (5-0) 12 PM ESPN-HD

Stanford (0-5) at #9 Notre Dame (4-1) 2:30 PM NBC

#12 L S U (4-1) at #5 Florida (5-0) 3:30 PM CBS

#11 Texas (4-1) at #13 Oklahoma (3-1) 3:30 PM ABC

(Regional)

#23 Washington (4-1) at #2 Southern California (4-0)3:30 PM FSN-HD

Michigan State (3-2) at #4 Michigan (5-0) 4:30 PM ESPN-HD

South Carolina (3-2) at Kentucky (3-2) 7 PM ESPN2-HD

#14 Tennessee (4-1) at #10 Georgia (5-0) 7:45 PM ESPN-HD

#8 Oregon (4-0) at #15 California (4-1) 8 PM ABC

(Regional)#24 Nebraska (4-1) at Iowa State (3-2) 8 PM ABC

(Regional)

Sunday, Oct. 8

Miami (1-3) at New England (3-1) 1 PM CBS-HD

Tampa Bay (0-3) at New Orleans (3-1) 1 PM Fox-HD

Washington (2-2) at NY Giants (1-2) 1 PM Fox-HD

Detroit (0-4) at Minnesota (2-2) 1 PM Fox-HD

Buffalo (2-2) at Chicago (4-0) 1 PM CBS-HD

St. Louis (3-1) at Green Bay (1-3) 1 PM Fox-HD

New York Jets (2-2) at Jacksonville(2-2) 4 PM CBS-HD

Dallas (2-1) at Philadelphia (3-1) 4:15 PM FOX-HD

Pittsburgh (1-2) at San Diego(2-1) 8:15 PM NBC-HD

Northern Illinois (3-2) at Miami of Ohio (0-5) 8 PM ESPN-HD

Monday, Oct. 9

Baltimore (4-0) at Denver (2-1) 8:30 PM ESPN-HD

• • • • • • • • • • •(From Marc Berman’s Thursday, October 5, 2006, Programming Insider column at Mediaweek.com ) Reprinted on AVSFORUM.com

No FCC Decision Yet On DT-16 CP Extention.

No More Mother’s Milk For Affiliates?

2006-10-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

This last decade the relationship between the major television networks and their affiliated stations has gone through a metamorphosis. The networks might call it a weaning away from the network compensation tit. After decades of networks paying affiliates to carry their programs, that part of the gravy train of revenue is coming or has come to an end.

The loss of network viewers and the increased cost of production has made the typical affiliate meetings more of a gripe session than a “Look there’s Paris Hilton” star gazing and toasting the new season scenario.

The networks have taken a new attitude as evidenced by the recent comments of the new king of television Les Moonves, CBS CEO. On September 15th, Moonves did a one hour interview with Charlie Rose. In the interview, Moonves really capsulated all four major networks' feelings about compensating affiliates. He said that they (CBS) supply the affiliates with quality programming that has proven to get a substantial audience. He insinuated that it was up to the local stations to translate that into cash at the pump.

Mooves said that in 2006 that CBS will pay out the last of about 250 million to affiliates in traditional compensation. “Starting next year,” said Moonves, “that will be…”0.”

It is no secret that Mooves keeps one eye on his program ratings and the other eye on the CBS Corp. stock ticker. He knows that Sumner Redstone, Viacom and CBS chairman, doesn’t like losing money. So far this year, CBS stock is up 12%. (Yes, I bought a few shares.) Redstone last month, ousted the CEO of the Viacom division because Viacom stock went down about 11%.

The other networks have done similar negotiations with their affiliates. A few years back, FOX had a verbal tug of war with its affiliate group and there are many reports that General Electric is not happy with the profit and performance of NBC/Universal.

The result is that the network affiliates will have to fend more for themselves in this new world of “Old” and “New” media. The days of 20, 30, or 40 percent returns are really gone. Affiliates have to get real. They will have to invest to keep up to date and find creative ways to sell the product the network gives them.

Affiliates have to realize that they are now competing with Xbox, Google, Yahoo and the rest for viewer time, entertainment and advertising dollars. The affiliate bean counters will have even less to count if they don’t. The two best returns for local stations right now are HD (to keep competitive with the other new media) and local news. Investing in both, technology that the viewer can see and local news will keep the end product still desirable. Advertisers like local news. Local stations have nothing to offer but content so it better be the best in quality, substance and availability.

17 million Americans have already made the HD investment and demand is growing faster than A.C. Nielson can count. (But they are counting) Will Erie television meet the challenge? I really hope they do.

Like it or not. You've got to keep up or your going to wind up kissing somebody else’s backside.

If You Build It....They Will View.

Investigating Masturbation Investigating. Now There’s a Topic All Erie Wants To Know About.

2006-10-04T10:18:00.000-04:00

Embarrassing Moment #4

Those who don’t watch the 11pm local news or use TIVO might have seen Monday’s Jon Stewart’s Daily Show investigative report on investigating masturbation in Cleveland. (See Malcom, there are topics worth covering)

Carl Monday is WKYC Channel 3’s investigative reporter and recently did an “undercover” story on masturbating in the Cleveland Public Library where he confronted the purpetrators in the act...so to speak. The folks at Comedy Central thought it would be fun to do an old Mike Wallace type sabotage. This time…sabotage the sabotager, Carl Monday. The bit was real and funny.

Carl on his own blog, put it this way:

It's 7:30am...and a "reporter" and two photographers are camped out at the end
of my driveway. Wait...isn't that my job?
The "reporter" approaches and barks out something like this......"Carl, I'm a big fan of yours. How do you like going after sleeze bags?"
This must be some kind of a joke. Well, in fact it is. The kind you find on Comedy Central. More to the point, the cable commedy icon....John Stewart Show. Yea, I know the guy is enormously popular...even hosted the Oscars....but at 11pm..I'm usually watching the local news and admit to not owning Tivo.
So that's my excuse for not immediatley recognizing the crew that confronted me the other morning (my wife was next to me in the car if you don't believe me.)
Seems Stewart's producers sent the crew to Cleveland to do a "bit" on me. They hung around all day...sticking their microphone in the faces of downtowners...and Channel 3 staffers. They hung around the station...and finally, by late afternoon...we "confronted" them...a case of dueling confrontations if you will...in the Channel 3 parking lot.
The "reporter" asked rediculous questions..and wasted no time
regressing to comments about the "library story." You can guess where the "interview" went from there.

Through the efforts of Ohio Media Watch… here is the unedited confrontation just as it happened. It looks like dualing mikes. (Carol Pella was never so lucky. But then again you never know what she really saw behind city council tables at Erie City Hall.)

Click for the Unedited Comedy Central Interview of Carl Monday.

CRAP!…. I Am On The What??

2006-10-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Embarrassing Moment #3

(Editor’s Note: This is a 3rd in a serious of embarrassing moments in media that commentators have shared. The one below was sent to me as Anonymous. Normally I would have liked to print the name but the story was so typical of what happens at many stations, I thought it was worth holding and sharing. If you want to share a funny or embarrassing moment, send it to emgr@verizon.net.)

I used to do afternoon drive news on WJET AM 1400.

Standard practice was for the DJ to give the newsroom a courtesy call about five till the hour during their last stop set of the hour, to let him know that news was coming up. This was always helpful, since we had our backs to the DJ while banging out news copy.

One day, Ken Tyler was on vacation and the fill-in guy didn't intercom me. The next thing I know is the news stinger sounds and I whip around to see this guy pointing at me with the on air light shining

"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/

Thursday….No More Mother’s Milk for Affilates!