May 28, 2013

Fox News Says They Weren't Told of Subpoena

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

Fox News parent company News Corp. says they were never they have no record of being notified by the Justice Department nearly three years ago of a subpoena for the telephone records of an FNC reporter.

The company’s chief legal counsel at the time also said that he had never seen material from the government related to the subpoena.

The Justice Department has signaled that it notified News Corporation on Aug. 27, 2010, that it had seized the phone records of a Fox News reporter — who turned out to be the Washington correspondent James Rosen — after one of his articles had included details of a secret United States report on North Korea.

More after the leap.

May 28, 2013

Soledad Shaking Her Head

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

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Word is that former CNN Anchor Soledad O'Brien is shaking her head over CNN's push to get people to watch their new morning show.

In less than 2 weeks, Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira will hit the air with CNN's latest attempt at a relevant morning show.

And Jeff Zucker and the gang are spending some big bucks promoting "New Day."

CNN has purchased billboards in a number of the major markets. Ads in magazines and online are popping up in front of viewers.

This is a far cry for what CNN did when Soledad O'Brien anchored the morning show. O'Brien was outspoken at how little CNN did to promote her show and try and find her some viewers.

Now, it appears that Zucker and company are taking O'Brien criticism to heat and making a big push for "New Day."

Will it work? We'll find out soon.

May 28, 2013

The Pit Bull

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

One of the reporters the White House fears the most is working inside the Fox newsroom (at least not yet) but is at CBS News.

So much for the "liberal media."

Sharyl Attkisson has problems.

The Obama administration won’t answer the CBS News correspondent’s questions because her investigations — into Benghazi, Fast and Furious, Solyndra — often reflect negatively on it. Some colleagues at CBS News, where she has worked for two decades and earned multiple Emmy awards, dismiss her work because they perceive a political agenda. And now, she says, someone may have hacked into her computers.

More after the bounce.

May 28, 2013

Sweeping Up in The Burgh

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

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Pittsburgh is one market where just about every ratings book is a horse race.

The May book once again was a close one and while KDKA came out a winner, WPXI is closing in on the outside.

WTAE won the ratings in the morning with WPXI second and KDKA in last.

But, after the mornings, KDKA takes over the ratings lead. The station won from noon to 11 p.m. with the exception of the 10 p.m. news on The CW. WPXI's Channel 11 report on Fox 53 took that slot.

WPXI did not win any of the main newscasts, but the station is gaining ground.

In the ages 25-54 demographic, its figures were flat at 4:30 a.m. but up for the rest of the day.

May 28, 2013

On Top in Palm Beach

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

WPTV in West Palm Beach came out on top of the May ratings.

The station claims victory from morning to night.

The station was No. 1 in every local news time period every day.

“Today on 5” dominates morning news from 4:30-7 a.m.

The 6 a.m. hour of “Today on 5” takes in 60 percent of local news ratings according to Nielsen.

WPTV also wins the Noon news.

The station's early evening newscasts from 5 to 6 PM topped the ratings as well. The 6 p.m. News scored an 8.4 rating.

NewsChannel 5 at 11 was the most watched late news in the West Palm Beach market.

May 28, 2013

Sweeping up in Milwaukee

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN-TV (Channel 12) retained its top rank in audience ratings for local newscasts in the May sweeps ratings period at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. weeknights.

Channel 12 expanded its lead — compared with the May 2012 sweeps — over second-ranked WTMJ-TV (Channel 4), an NBC affiliate, in the most-watched news at 10 p.m.

Channel 12 posted an 8.9 rating to Channel 4’s 6.0. Fox affiliate WITI-TV (Channel 6) ranked third with a 5.7 rating, while CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (Channel 58) was fourth with a 5.6 rating.

More after the jump.

May 28, 2013

Pop some Tags

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

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It appears that with the slow Holiday Weekend, Vanity Fair had to come up with something to take up space.

So they decided to go with a top list of the best dressed TV Newsman.

They write: The professional anchor (as opposed the the amateur anchors out there) toes a fine line when it comes to style. His wardrobe should be dynamic enough to hold our attention but not so outré as to distract from the evening broadcast. From the silver-tongued nightly newscaster to the fiery ideologue, these best-dressed men strike just such a balance.

It appears that Vanity Fair is a big fan of NBC. Most of the list is made up of 30 Rock Anchors. You can check out who made the cut at their website.

May 28, 2013

NASCAR Fans Hurt by Falling Fox Camera

May 28, 2013/ Scott Jones

Ten fans were injured Sunday night when a nylon rope from a Fox Sports overhead camera fell over the Charlotte Motor Speedway grandstands, red-flagging the Coca-Cola 600 for nearly 30 minutes.

Three fans were transported to two hospitals for further evaluation, the track said, while seven were treated for minor cuts and scrapes at an on-site medical center and released.

Two fans were taken to Carolinas Medical Center NorthEast in Concord. One fan was taken to University Medical Center.

Charlotte Motor Speedway spokesman Scott Cooper said those three fans were treated and released. He said he was unable to disclose the nature of the fans' injuries due to privacy laws.

The rope, a guide for the overhead camera that whizzed along the frontstretch, suddenly fell onto the track on lap 121 of the 400-lap event.

Read Fox's statement about the accident after the hop.

May 27, 2013

Can Someone Tell These Fox Anchors is Memorial Day not Veterans Day

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

On Fox News this past Saturday afternoon, anchors Heather Childers and Gregg Jarrett mistakenly referred to this Monday’s federal holiday as “Veterans Day,” right after a segmentabout Memorial Day and a weather report with “Memorial Day Forecast” plastered all over the screen.

While reporting on how the oldest living World War II vet plans to spend his Memorial Day, Jarrett correctly named the holiday. But then following the story, Childers said: “Happy Veterans Day, of course!”

The video after the bump.

May 27, 2013

We're Number 1....Everyone Wins in Dallas Ratings

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

It looks like all the Dallas stations will be spitting out those "We are Number 1" promos. Each station can claim a victory....of course each station can claim loses as well, but we doubt you will see those promos.

The May sweeps ratings period ended last week with four Dallas-Fort Worth stations winning at least one time slot.

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) was the leader in total viewers and ratings points at 10 p.m., according to measurements taken by Nielsen Media Research. Channel 8’s evening newscast averaged 219,010 total viewers, followed by KTVT-TV (Channel 11) with 202,670, KDFW-TV (Channel 4) with 138,340 and KXAS-TV (Channel 5) with 95,940. Channel 8 led Channel 11 by nine-tenths of a ratings point, based on the percentage of households tuning in.

More after the bounce.

May 27, 2013

Dallas Reporter Headed to the Big Apple

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

WFAA Reporter Jonathan Betz, who joined the station back in March 2008, said Thursday on his Facebook page that he’s accepting a job in New York City.

“I can’t say exactly where I’ll be working yet, but I’ll still be doing the news,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity, and I’m extremely excited.” Betz said he’ll also miss “all the great people here -- especially at Channel 8.”

Maybe he will be filling this job.

More after the skip.

May 27, 2013

That Didn't go so Well

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

The movie press junket is almost never very interesting to watch.

Reporters get just a few minutes with the actors of some movie that don't want to be there.

But there are some interviews worth watching because of how bad they are.

Watch this young reporter for Fusion having a very rough time interviewing Jesse Eisenberg from “Now You See Me”.

The video after the jump.

May 27, 2013

NY Mayoral Candidate: TV is a Dying Industry

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

Anthony Weiner who became infamous for posting a picture of his weiner on the Internet is still a big fan of the information highway.

Not so much with TV news.

Weiner is trying to make a political comeback by running for Mayor in New York City.

It hasn't really gotten off to a great start and people can't get the images he posted online out of their mind.

At a local campaign stop Weiner was making his way through a thicket of boom mikes and video cameras to a waiting SUV. But before leaving, he had a dialogue with Jenesis Vaughn, an eight-year-old second-grader at PS 182 who told the candidate she wanted to be a journalist one day.

“What kind of reporter do you want to be?” Weiner bent down to ask the vivacious little girl. “A print reporter, for a newspaper, or a TV reporter?”

“I just want to be a TV reporter,” she answered eagerly.

Weiner bent down lower, as if to impart a confidence. “You might not want to go into TV—it’s a dying industry,” he told her. “The Internet is where it’s at.”

It's also the place you can find weiner pictures of Weiner.

H/T Daily Beast

May 27, 2013

Kentucky Anchor Talks About Battle with Alcohol

May 27, 2013/ Scott Jones

A former Kentucky news anchor is going public with his own fall from grace. Mike Barry spent decades covering news across the Bluegrass but was secretly battling an addiction to alcohol.

"Alcohol had become the dominant force in my life. Everything centered around alcohol. News stories: when can I stop by and get a drink on the way back?" said Barry.

For more than 20 years, he was the face of Lexington local news.

"For me, I'd see the billboards in town with my picture on them and the anchor team. And there was the picture and the image they're showing, but I knew on the inside that's not me, I don't feel that way. I was in misery," he said.