NBC and Bode Miller Defend Interview

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The New York Time wrote that Bode Miller had just tied for a bronze medal in the men’s super-G at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Sunday and it was time to be interviewed. NBC had already established Miller’s quest as an emotional story line, putting a microphone on his wife, Morgan, to hear her reactions to his races, and having the couple sit for an interview with Tom Brokaw. He was being humanized — as the changed man, the family man, the mature 36-year-old whose brother had died last year.

This is the type of storytelling that lubricates NBC’s prime-time Olympic engine.

This time, the engine backfired.

It was not out of bounds for NBC’s Christin Cooper to ask a medal winner questions about his brother’s death. (The snowboarder Chelone Miller died last year at 29.) It was a relevant area to pursue, part of his Olympic biography. And Miller brought it up in response to her first question, saying that he had “a lot of emotion riding” on the race.

After being asked a few more times about his brother, Miller broke down and walked about.

Nbc released a statement defending their interview with Miller:

“Our intent was to convey the emotion that Bode Miller was feeling after winning his bronze medal. We understand how some viewers thought the line of questioning went too far, but it was our judgment that his answers were a necessary part of the story. We’re gratified that Bode has been publicly supportive of Christin Cooper and the overall interview.”

Miller tweeted that Cooper was just doing her job:

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So while NBC was fine with the interview and Miller was as well, not everyone was. NBC and Cooper not only took a hit from the NY Times, but Social media also was against NBC and their  tactics.  

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Sour Lemon

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It appears that Fox News Anchor Gregg Jarrett has grown soar on CNN Anchor Don Lemon.

As the verdict came down on the Michael Dunn murder trial, Lemon said he was “pissed” at the the jury couldn’t come to a consensus on whether Dunn was guilty of murdering Jordan Davis. Davis was shot by Dunn for having his music too loud.

The jury convicted Davis on 3 counts of attempted murder, but was hung on the murder charge of Davis.

Don Lemon went on the attack of the jury and it was enough to get Jarrett back on Twitter where he has been silent for months:

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Look for Lemon to respond, he always does. 

It's Jimmy's Time

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After months of talking and thousands of stories, tonight baton will be passed to Jimmy Fallon.

This one is also a cross-country handoff, as Fallon moves “The Tonight Show” back to New York for the first time since Johnny Carson shuffled it off to Los Angeles in 1972.

The NY Daily News says that while Fallon makes no secret of his reverence for Carson’s “Tonight” and the tradition of the show, he enters a far different landscape than Carson ruled.

Under Jay Leno, host for most of the past 22 years, “Tonight” generally maintained the largest late-night viewership. But it’s a smaller audience in a fragmented market.

“Tonight” has averaged 3.9 million viewers so far this season, to 2.9 million for David Letterman on CBS and 2.6 million for Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.

Conan O’Brien on TBS has averaged slightly under a million and Jon Stewart’s "Daily Show" on Comedy Central has averaged 1.5 million. Arsenio Hall also recently re-entered the mix.

Fallon says the competition changes things, and it doesn’t.

“You have a lot of options,” he told TV critics last month. “I do my show. I can’t worry about that stuff.”

NBC can. One major reason the network is replacing Leno now, as it tried to replace him with Conan four years ago, is that Fallon, at 39, is 24 years younger than Leno and ideally will draw younger viewers without chasing Leno’s Middle America audience away.

Holding the late-night lead is especially important for a network whose long-running morning dominance has disappeared.

But for all the mystique and prestige of “Tonight,” producer Josh Lieb says it’s still a television show.

“There’s no defined thing as to what ‘The Tonight Show’ is,” says Lieb. “There’s a reason Jimmy was picked to host this show, and people enjoyed his (‘Late Night’) show. It’s what we do, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Take 2...This time with Sibila

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Jimmy Fallon kicks off his reign toning as the host of the new Tonight Show.

WNBC Anchor Chuck Scarborough had to reshoot the ­station's promos for the new “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” after his co-anchor was replaced earlier this month.

The promo showing Chuck playing a mini-keyboard with Fallon and Shiba Russell had to be reshot when Russell was replaced with Sibila Vargas.

Page Six says the two women are said to detest each other and complain to management about makeup-room time.

“Schedule changes routinely take place,” a WNBC spokeswoman told me. “Everybody gets along fine.”

Sue Simmons must be laughing in Greenwich, Conn. That’s where the classy newswoman retired in 2012, after 32 years by Scarborough’s side, when her contract wasn’t renewed. That year, she told Joy Behar on “The View” that she “cried every day” after being let go.

Lauer was Back for Blood Eyed Bob Last Night

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Matt Lauer was back in the saddle for Bob Costas‘ as the prime time anchor for NBC’s Sochi Olympics coverage.

Lauer was back after Meredith Vieira did the subbing for Friday and Saturday night.  

NBC Sports still says Costas is “day to day.” Lauer last week pulled double duty for three days, co-anchoring Today from Sochi while also filling in for Costas in primetime.  Costas  is battling an infection in both eyes. 

Late last week, Costas told Ryan Seacrest in a radio interview he hoped to be back in the studio over the weekend. That’s not going to happen, which is sure to raise questions as to whether Costas will be able to return to the anchor desk before the Games wrap. Last Friday, NBC’s Olympics EP Jim Bell brushed off press suggestions the network might be ready to  “shut down” Costas as its primetime anchor. “Getting into next week, it may become a topic of conversation, but we’re not there,” Bell said Friday.

NBC is still saying “day to day” in response to questions about Costas’s condition and odds of return.

In various interviews last week, Costas said he feels okay but can’t come back to work because of the specific nature of his eye infection — in some reports suggesting studio lighting, and makeup, may have exacerbated his condition.

H/T Deadline

The Slur Debate

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The Slur Debate

Some idiot or idiots defaced a mural in Wichita by painting some racial slurs over the mural. 

KWCH wanted to cover the story, but they didn't know if they should show the slurs or blur them out. 

KWCH News Director Brian Gregory took to the station's website to explain what they did and how they came to that decision.

Gregory writes at KWCH-TV - one of our principles is to be transparent with you about the tough decisions we must make in our newsroom.  Today we spent about 45 minutes in an editorial meeting debating whether or not to show racial slurs that had defaced a mural in Wichita and a building in Delano.  Our story that aired at 9 and 10 pm centers around a community effort paint over the hate and spread a message of love, tolerance, and diversity.

Our debate didn't start over whether or not to cover the story.  We had already decided that - or so we thought.

More after the jump.  

Read More

Buuuurrrrrrr! Chilly Reception for new Minneapolis Anchor

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She might be wondering "Why did I take this job?"

New KMSP Anchor Kelcey Carlson got a seriously chilly reception when she arrived in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago, but it had nothing to do with the viewers.

Carlson came from North Carolina and the new Fox 9 anchor was greeted by brutally cold temps that kept her and her family from moving into their house right away.

"We arrived on a Monday night, and the next day it was going to be in the negatives," explained the good-natured Carlson, who most recently anchored and reported at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C. "Wednesday was going to be almost 20 degrees, so the movers asked us if we could give them one more day, and we said sure. Then we'd have happy movers putting furniture down nicely."

Carlson, who grew up in northern Indiana, said her first few days on Fox 9 have been "so far, so good," adding that her colleagues have made the transition "easy" and "comfortable."

One of Carlson's passions is running, and she tries to log around 45 miles a week. She has already joined a local running group.

And we're betting that she's thinking summer can't get here fast enough. 

H/T Pioneer Press

Station Back on the Air after Roof Collapse

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On Friday afternoon, a portion of the roof at WGAL in Lancaster, PA collapsed, forcing the staff to evacuate the building.

Yesterday,  a crane was at the station along Columbia Avenue in Lancaster Township. A crew was hoisted in a basket to examine the damage and begin removing snow. It's still unclear when employees will be allowed to return.

The collapse happened around 3:20 p.m. Friday. Employees in the newsroom heard what was described as a "thunderous boom." A portion of the roof in an adjacent studio that is no longer in use had collapsed.

Staff called the fire department who responded and inspected the damage. Around 4 p.m., fire officials ordered about 100 people to evacuate.

Further inspection revealed that a concrete support beam and slab had shifted and dropped. As a result the entire roof of the building had been compromised.

The station was forced off air due to the collapse, but was given the all clear by engineers to return to the air yesterday evening. 

Comcast Says they Plan on Keeping NY1

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When word came down that Comcast was going to gobble up Time Warner Cable, chills wear felt in the NY1 newsroom.

The NYC cable news station is a fixture for Time Warner customers.

The popular morning newscast with Anchor Pat Kiernan sitting on the anchor desk and reading the morning papers is part of NY's pop culture.

Comcast says they are not planning on pulling the plug on NY1....yet.

"It seems like the Time Warner Cable acquisition will be a good deal for New York,” Senator Charles Schummer said in a statement issued after he spoke to Comcast officials Thursday.

“they ... confirmed they are going to keep NY1; It seems that local jobs, as well as Pat's ‘In the Papers’ segment, are not in danger."

Of course anyone that believes a politician or a cable company needs to get their head examined.

So, in other words,,,,Stay tuned.