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Daily Archives : Aug 1, 2008

Mixed Q2 for Washington Post TV

Revenue for the Washington Post Co.’s TV broadcasting division fell 6% to $82.8 million in the second quarter, with soft advertising demand cited as the cause, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Operating income also fell 16% to $29.7 million, the newspaper…

New Russert to Cover Conventions for NBC

Luke Russert, son of the late “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert, has been hired by NBC News as a correspondent at large, the New York Times reports. The newly minted Boston College graduate will cover the Democratic National Convention…

Tribune Beefing up Local TV Newsrooms

While Tribune Co. is slashing staff at its newspapers, it is expanding local news operations at almost half of its broadcast stations, the Wall Street Journal says. In San Diego, the company has hired 50 people at KSWB-TV to produce…

New Wolf Project ‘Found’ By NBC

Dick Wolf is working on something new for NBC. The “Law & Order” baron has been given a cast-contingent order for “Lost & Found,” a drama about a female homicide detective, TelevisionWeek reports. Chris Levinson will write the script for…

Lauer Seated for Opening Ceremony

Matt Lauer will be at Bob Costas’ side when NBC covers the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in primetime from Beijing on August 8, the New York Times reports. The “Today” show anchor will be replacing Brian Williams, who…

China Pulls Leaked Ceremony From Web

Pirate videos of the Olympics opening ceremony have already been pulled from YouTube and blocked in China, Daily Variety says. In spite of the leak, NBC Sports and Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol told the Hollywood Reporter the network is ready…

HBO Says Thomas Jane is ‘Hung’

Thomas Jane, who played “The Punisher” has been cast as the lead in HBO’s upcoming dark comedy, “Hung,” the Hollywood Reporter says. The series, which follows a well-endowed high school basketball coach, marks the first major purchase and pilot pickup…

Dr. Barnett Takes Another ‘ER’ Rotation

Shane West will return to NBC’s “ER” as Dr. Ray Barnett, Entertainment Weekly reports. In an episode due to air Oct. 30, Dr. Barnett is walking again thanks to prosthetics—he was left a paraplegic after a terrible car accident—and more…

Can You Top the ‘Big Balls’?

An ad on a entertainment industry Web site posted a notice saying that the producers of ABC’s “Wipeout” are looking for ideas for new obstacles with which to torture contestants, the New York Post says. ABC declined to confirm that…

SAG Enters August in a Stalemate

The Screen Actors Guide faces pressure from both its members and from studios as the labor stalemate continues, the Hollywood Reporter says. The studios, which are ramping up production, are waiting for the union to hold its national elections, the…