Leno Shows up on Arsenio Hall Show

Jay Leno is already back on He late-night TV, at least he was for one night. 

The NY Daily News says that in his first appearance on television since stepping down as host of "The Tonight Show," Jay Leno turned up on Wednesday’s edition of "The Arsenio Hall Show" to break the news that Hall's syndicated program had been renewed for a second season.

"We've known each other what, 35 years?" A casually dressed Leno asked Hall after sneaking up behind the "Coming to America" star during his monologue.

"Yup, you've been a big brother to me," Hall said. "You've given me too much advice sometimes."

Leno then pulled an envelope out of his pocket and read aloud that CBS Television Distribution, the company that produces the program, had renewed it for another year.

Hall, appeared to be at a loss for words, until Leno quipped, "He's more annoyed that I knew before he did."

Longtime Anchor Finds Passion in Horses

Former Philly Anchor George Mallet now works in Vermont at WPTZ. 

But, when he was still covering the news in Philly in 2005, he heard that a grandson of Secretariat had been born in Pennsylvania’s Chester County, and he decided to chronicle the little colt’s arrival. 

And what started as a news story, turned into a love story.

Mallet now owns the grandson of Secretariat and it has changed his life.

Watch the video:

Eat the Press

You have seen Anchors faces on billboards, buses, signs and magazines, but what about on a chocolate bar?

Jaime Cerreta is a new anchor at KTVK in Phoenix. Her family owns Cerreta’s Candy in Phoenix.

So the family business has put out a special edition candy bar with Jamie and her co-anchor Brandon Rudat - sorry Brandon Lee faces on the wrapper. 

We could make a "eating the anchor" joke here....but you know...we're waaaaay to high brow to do something like that. 

Hello Pot....say Hello to the Kettle

Sean Hannity posted this Tweet about Jimmy Fallon:

If you're talking about "Fair and Balanced" shouldn't the tweet have said: Is Fallon fair and balanced or does he lean RIGHT or LEFT? Hannity left out the leaning right part. 

I guess if Fallon leaned right, then he would be fair and balanced in Hannity's world. 

Let's Just Make Up Some News

It must have been a very slow news day at WFAA in Dallas. 

Dunston Checks Out

Cleveland Anchor Mike Dunston told his Facebook fans that he is leaving WEWS early next month.

Dunston co-anchored the morning show.

Here is his post on Facebook:

Work at a Nexstar Station? Ask for a Raise

If you work at a Nexstar station you will be happy to know that the company is making money hand over first. Don't worry, we're sure they will be sharing all this money with the employees by giving everyone a raise. 

OK....maybe not. 

Nexstar reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2013, that included an 18.9% gain in net revenue to $138.1 million, up from $116.1 million a year earlier. Fulll-year net revenue grew 32.7%, from $378.6 million to $502.3 million.

Perry A. Sook, Nexstar chairman, president and CEO, commented: “Nexstar’s strong fourth quarter and full year financial results mark the conclusion of another active and successful year of growth for the company. During 2013, we generated record free cash flow, EBITDA, BCF and net revenue, completed or entered into agreements to strategically expand our operating base in accretive transactions to 108 stations, lowered our weighted average cost of capital and strengthened our balance sheet, and initiated the payment of a quarterly cash dividend.

How I Work - Matthew Kingsley

Today's How I work edition heads to DC and TV Agent Matthew Kingsley's office to how he works.

Twitter: @3kingsley

Location: Washington, DC

Current gig: President & CEO of 3 Kings Entertainment, LLC

Current computer: iMac 27-inch 

Current mobile device:  iPhone 5

One word that best describes how you work:  Always 

What are your favorite Apps that you can't live without?

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and I listen to Pandora when I workout.

What's your workspace like?

Clean and organized. 

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can't you live without?

iPad and now more importantly the iPad mini (mostly to keep my almost 2-year old daughter happy) and my remote control to my DVR's so I can keep an eye on all of my clients. 

What Music are you listening to? 

In the car it's XM Satellite Radio and it's tuned into the Message on channel 63 (love Christian music).

What's your sleep routine like?

Lately it's asleep at 11:35pm right after my wife Jan Jeffcoat's news broadcast on WUSA and up at 7am with my daughter Kana Zen Kingsley.

Best Advice you Ever Got?

Playing it safe is risky.  Be Fearless.  

Best Thing About your Job?

Playing an important role in the lives of my clients by helping them orchestrate their television careers and reach their ultimate dream whether that's landing at a network or a big local market job. There's nothing more gratifying to me than feeling like I added a little value in the development of someone's career success. I love the people I get to represent and many become like family to my family. I feel blessed to be called their friend, agent, mentor, advocate, manager and at times even their therapist (you know who you are). But frankly at the end of the day my clients are the ones who make me look good.  My youngest brother Seth, a comedic writer in L.A. and also Ryan Seacrest's longtime producer for E! News, always tells people I have one of the best jobs in tv because "I get to do deals in my underwear and on the golf course, sometimes both at the same time." 

Worst thing about your Job?

Never really being able to turn it off.

The Feb Book is a Throw Away Because of the Olympics

Most often when a ratings book ends, FTVLive likes to give you the scorecard of how stations did in their respective markets.

We love getting the press releases from the stations that got killed in the ratings and see how they try and spin the numbers.

The February book is normally a very important one, but this year its pretty much a throw out book. The Olympics in Sochi skewed the numbers and really make the rating book worthless.

Let's look at Chicago for an example. WLS is the powerhouse station in the late news at 10:00. But, in this rating period the station will lose the late news to WMAQ.

But when you exclude the six nights that programming from Sochi delayed the start of NBC 5’s late news, it’s a totally different story: ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7, the perennial market leader, finishes ahead by a margin of more than 30 percent (or more than 109,500 households). Among viewers between 25 and 54, it’s a dead heat between the two.

In other words, if you're an NBC affiliate and you didn't do very well this rating book, you might as well turn off the transmitter and say goodbye.

But, stay tuned....the May book is right around the corner. 

H/T Robert Feder

Could Burnett be Next at CNN?

CNN boss Jeff Zucker has finally gotten around to pulling the plug on Piers Morgan's show and now people wonder who could be next?

Zucker likes Erin Burnett, but her "OutFront" show on CNN isn't out front of anybody in the ratings.

Burnett came back from maternity leave, got a new EP for her show and other changes are happening behind the scenes. But, the ratings have not been good.

On Monday night, Burnett sat down with right wing rocker Ted Nugent. CNN promoted the hell out of the interview and it still didn't move the ratings needle.

OutFront finished a distant 3rd in the ratings, behind Greta on Fox and Matthews' Hardball on MSNBC.

Then last night, Burnett's guest was Ted Nugent's brother.

Huh?!

Ted's brother came on the show to say that Ted says some crazy things and should not be taken seriously. Which begs the question, Why did CNN have him on?

There is no doubt that OutFront is a ratings dud and Zucker needs to make some changes quick. If for no other reason that the show is running out of Ted Nugent family members to bring on.

Stay tuned.... 

That Sinking Feeling

Don't you hate when you're anchoring the newscast and the floor just opens up and swallows you?

More Proof that Rachel Maddow Runs MSNBC

It seems like every few weeks the story about how Rachel Maddow is the real person running MSNBC.

Maddow strongly denies the story each and every time its reported. Then again as bad as MSNBC is doing, Phil Griffin might want to deny that he is running the place as well. 

The latest "Maddow Runs MSNBC" story comes from the Washington Post's Erik Wemple and he points to the comments made by Alec Baldwin in the New York Magazine.

.....Another told me, regarding the “toxic little queen” comment, that Rachel Maddow was the prime mover in my firing, as she was aghast that I had been hired and viewed me as equivalent to Mel Gibson. Another source told me, “You know who’s going to get you fired, don’t you? Rachel. Phil will do whatever Rachel tells him to do.” I think Rachel Maddow is quite good at what she does. I also think she’s a phony who doesn’t have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.

Wemple writes ah, once again: The Rachel-Maddow-runs-MSNBC narrative. In December, the New York Post picked up that same strain, reporting, “A colleague who has been at MSNBC for many years is said to have told Baldwin, ‘You ticked off the wrong person. You don’t know how things work here.’ ”

When the allegations surfaced, Maddow told the Erik Wemple Blog via a spokesperson: “This is categorically false. I have never had any role in any management decision at MSNBC. Any source who says otherwise is wrong.”

Strong denial. Weird denial, too — prompted by snarky suggestions that there’s something untoward about a woman with a proven record at the workplace acquiring influence with managers. When most people reach that stage — particularly when they’re men — they’re referred to as “leaders.”

Farrow off to Slow Start at MSNBC

MSNBC's next great thing, got off to a slow start in the ratings on his first day.

Ronan Farrow kicked off his new show on MSNBC on Monday and let's just say it wasn't exactly a ratings hit.

Ronan Farrow Daily pulled just 216,000 viewers Monday, which tied for smallest audience of the day.

But, Farrow was brought into to attract the younger crowd, surely he did well in the demos....right?

Wrong!

Farrow pulled  just 21,000 viewers in the younger 18-49 demo.

Ouch! How long before R̶a̶c̶h̶e̶l̶ ̶M̶a̶d̶d̶o̶w̶ Phil Griffin makes some changes to the show?

Don't Talk About Ronan's Woody

Speaking of MSNBC's Ronan Farrow.....

Word is that Farrow’s team is trying to protect the precious new MSNBC host from probing questions about his dysfunctional family.

Page Six says that Reporters are being ordered to sign a form pledging they will not ask Farrow, the son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen (or possibly Frank Sinatra), personal questions if they want to attend a benefit where he will be honored Wednesday night.

Farrow — who has publicly stood behind his sister Dylan’s accusations that she was sexually abused by Allen when she was 7, and tweeted about the abuse allegations during the Golden Globes — is receiving the Cronkite Award for Excellence in Exploration and Journalism at Reach the World’s 14th annual benefit at the Princeton Club. Reporters have been issued a tip sheet that includes stern “conditions” not to ask anything about Allen.

“The theme of the evening is global education and service,” it says. “All press are required to stay strictly on message. Any press who ask guests or Mr. Farrow about off-message topics will be immediately escorted out of the event.”

Well....OK then....

He's Not a Reporter, But He'll Play one on TV

Alec Baldwin just got down with his rant about how he sick of no privacy and how he hates Reporters.

So, what is he going to do next?

Baldwin  is taking hypocrisy to new heights by playing a Reporter in an upcoming episode of “Law & Order: SVU.”

Baldwin will play Jimmy McArthur, “who questions the SVU squad’s motives” during a hate crime-rape investigation, according to NBC’s description of the episode.

Can this guy be a bigger tool?

Just asking.....