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Open Mic

Freshness Quotient and Moments of Inspiration Kept 62nd Annual Emmys From Sinking Into Trophy Tedium

It’s all over but the hangovers from the afterparties and Ricky Gervais’ beer being served at the 62nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The host of this year’s Golden Globe Awards almost stole the show as a presenter with his line…

Aug 31, 2010

It Was a Pleasure to Know You, Dave McElhatton

He was the Fred Astaire of broadcasting. He was the Bing Crosby of news anchors. He was the Perry Como of local news. All of these reference points are of bygone years and now, alas, our Mac has passed away….

Aug 24, 2010

Being There: You Want To Rebrand, But a Lot of Your Customers Have No Faith In The New Name You’ve Chosen

That seems to be the dilemma Krista Tippett faces. Tippett is the creator and host of one of the most enjoyable, enlightening programs I’ve ever heard. It’s not on TV—it’s on radio and available as podcasts on the Internet. Most…

Aug 23, 2010

This is What Happens When You’ve Been Raised With Too Much Frank Capra and Not Enough Barry Diller (Starring Bill O’Reilly, Fox News, Comcast and Introducing Barry Nolan)

Frank Capra specialized in David vs. Goliath stories. We’re all familiar with his Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” wherein Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey comes to realize that as long as one has family and friends it doesn’t matter what…

Aug 17, 2010

The PGA Tournament is in Milwaukee, and the Big Story on Local Milwaukee Newcasts is About An Appearance of One of Tiger’s Alleged Mistresses, Joslyn James, at a Strip Club

Is this the story the Milwaukee TV stations should be focusing on? That’s one of the questions explored in this provocative guest blog by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel radio/TV columnist Duane Dudek. We are indebted to Duane for letting us reprint his column. It…

Aug 13, 2010

Summer TCA Has Come to a Close. Here’s the Buzz, Memorable Quotes and Party Highlights For Each of the Major Broadcast Networks’ Presentations

CBS The buzz: “The Big Bang theory" is moving to Thursday nights. New cop shows with old-school vibe—the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0” and “Blue Bloods,” starring Tom Selleck as an NYPD commissioner with family members that are cops and prosecutors. Justin…

Aug 9, 2010

And Now It’s Jimmy Fallon’s Turn to Host the Emmys: Look For Fun, Wit, and Not Too Much Sweat

Jimmy Fallon’s parents won’t be coming to the Emmys to see him host the 62nd edition of the awards show on August 29. They want to come, but he doesn’t want them there. Why? Because he might sweat too much….

Aug 3, 2010

Not Your Grandparents’ Sandman: ‘Inception’ is the Talk of the Town. One Major Critic Confesses He Doesn’t Get the Film; and What That Says About Shows Such as ‘Lost,’ ’24’ and ‘Twin Peaks’

I’ve never met Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman, but I’ve always considered him a smart and thoughtful movie critic. Gleiberman published an intriguing blog yesterday (Tuesday, July 20, 2010) entitled “ ‘Inception’: Am I the only one who didn’t get it?”…

Jul 21, 2010

This Year’s Emmy Awards Telecast Could Be One of the Best in Years; Will ‘The Good Wife’ Score?

Some fresh, new blood has been injected into the races for this year’s Emmy awards and some interesting additions and omissions make this one of the most appealing Emmy competitions in years. And, it will be a short one with…

Jul 13, 2010

That Awfully Funny Looking Bottom Line: Is That Some Sort of Vaudeville Joke?

[Just this week both Disney and Rysher Entertainment lost lawsuits to profit participants who said they were owed money. But the system was designed to discourage these kind of lawsuits. Which reminds us of this story. It’s a conversation between an Executive Producer of…

Jul 9, 2010