Chuck Ross

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Chuck Ross is the managing director of TVWeek.com. He's been involved in the TV business ever since he sold cable TV subscriptions in Santa Monica, Calif., door-to-door in the mid-to-late 1970s. He's had regular gigs reporting and/or editing about TV and advertising for Cablevision magazine,The Hollywood Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle, Inside Media and Advertising Age. He first joined the predecessor to TVWeek, Electronic Media, in 2000.

Yowzers! Meet the Media Company CEO Who Received $84.5 Million in Compensation Last Year

Can you guess which media company executive pulled down close to $85 million in compensation last year? It’s Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, who received $84.5 million, way more than double the amount he received as compensation in 2009, which was…

Why Fox News Should Hire Keith Olbermann. What? Huh?

Don’t laugh … though you can snicker, sneer and approach a mild, muffled guffaw. TVWeek Open Mic blogger Chuck Ross presents the case for Keith Olbermann joining Fox News. What, you thought there was no case to be made for…

More Outlets Reject ‘The Kennedys’ Miniseries

More outlets have turned down airing the controversial miniseries "The Kennedys," the multimillion-dollar production that was initially rejected by the History Channel. The latest distributor to pass is DirecTV, reports our friend Scott Collins at the Los Angeles Times’ ShowTracker blog. …

Third Advertiser, Wrigley, Joins Taco Bell and GM in Pulling Ads from MTV’s ‘Skins’

A third advertiser, Wrigley, has joined Taco Bell and GM in pulling ads from MTV’s new scripted series "Skins," amid controversy over the edgy show’s use of teenage actors, reports the Los Angeles Times’ ShowTracker blog. Jennifer Jackson-Luth, senior manager…

Now That He’s No Longer Doing Google’s Day-to-Day CEO Chores, Will Eric Schmidt Move to Television?

Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, who announced plans last week to exit his day-to-day chores as the company’s CEO, may be headed for television, reports the New York Post’s Page Six. Schmidt has been talking with Liza McGuirk, executive producer of CNN’s…

Most Famous TV Fitness Guru–Who Once Said Dying Would Be Bad For His Image–Passes Away at Age 96

Starting with a local TV show in 1951 he became TV’s most famous fitness guru, saying once that dying would be bad for his image. But Jack LaLanne could not out bench-press the grim reaper forever, and he’s died at…

Olbermann’s Departure Comes After Years of Tension and Near Terminations

While many viewers were shocked that last Friday, January 21, 2011 MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann announced on-air that that night’s show was the last for the network, the decision came after years of tension and near terminations, reports The New York Times’…

A Number So Big It’s Almost Hard to Comprehend: Over the Weekend Apple’s iTunes Had Its 10 Billionth Download of an App; Plus We List the Top Ten Free and Paid Apps Downloaded Since Apple Apps Began

Apple announced that it hit its 10 billionth downloaded app on Saturday morning, Jan. 22, 2011. The milestone was reached when the app for the game Paper Glider "was downloaded by Gail Davis from Orpington in Kent" in the United Kingdom, reports U.K. publication The…

A Celebration for the Extraordinary Talents of MTV’s Tom Freston, Trailblazer Diahann Carroll, the Late Newsman Great Peter Jennings, Cloris Leachman, the Late Composer Earle Hagen, Writer Susan Harris and the Late Game Show Impresario Bill Todman

The mega-talents of all those mentioned above were feted recently by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as they were inducted into the ATAS Hall of Fame. TVWeek Open Mic blogger Hillary Atkin was at the ceremony and writes about…

Why Fox News Should Hire Keith Olbermann When His Non-Compete Expires. Does Roger Ailes Have the Guts to Make the Offer? Does Olbermann Have the Guts to Accept?

Keith Olbermann’s next stop—after the expiration of the non-compete clause that is reportedly in his exit agreement with MSNBC—should be Fox News. Not only would such a move be non-intuitive, it’d also be bombastic, boisterous, thunderous, intimidating, outlandish, gregarious, attention…