Editorial: Stop the Madness!
Writers, Producers Get Back to the Table
Cable
FCC Schedules Media Ownership for Next Week
The Federal Communications Commission has taken one of the final steps toward completing its media ownership review by year end, even as Congress delivers new warnings about the timetable and any easing of ownership rules. The FCC on Friday announced…
FX Fires Up Fifth Season of ‘Rescue Me’
FX has ordered a fifth season of its original series “Rescue Me.” Production is scheduled to begin next spring on 22 episodes, which will be spilt and aired in two separate cycles. “Rescue Me” star Denis Leary was nominated for…
Bravo Sets Key ‘Runway’ Sponsors
Bluefly.com, L’Oreal Paris, Saturn and Tresemme will be the key sponsors for the fourth season of “Project Runway,” Bravo announced Thursday. Bravo is continuing its partnership with Elle magazine for a fourth season. Other sponsors of the show include Brother…
A&E Halts Production on ‘Dog’
A&E has suspended production of its hit show “Dog the Bounty Hunter” after tapes surfaced of star Duane “Dog” Chapman using racial epithets. The National Enquirer published a story saying Mr. Chapman used racial insults in a phone conversation with…
Residuals Issue Stalls WGA Talks
The current Hollywood writers contract will expire without a deal tonight as negotiations hit a roadblock over DVD and online residual payments. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers took a hardline stance in today’s negotiations, saying they would…
CNBC Tops Business Reporting Emmy Nominations
CNBC’s prime-time magazine show “Business Nation” received four of the network’s eight Business & Financial Reporting Emmy nominations, announced Wednesday by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. NATAS will present the fifth annual Emmy Awards for Business &…
FCC Move on Cable in Apartments May Spur Lashback, Housing Official Says
A day after Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin said his agency would invalidate contracts that give cable companies exclusive access to apartment buildings, a public housing official warned the move could spur lawsuits. Mr. Martin wants to cultivate competition among…
C-Span President-CEO Brian Lamb to Receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
President Bush is naming C-Span President-CEO Brian P. Lamb as one of eight recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Mr. Lamb joins economist Gary S. Becker, Cuban activist and prisoner Oscar Elias Biscet, geneticist Francis S. Collins, civil rights…
Blackwell to Leave SoapNet
Deborah Blackwell, general manager of SoapNet, plans to leave the network early next year. Ms. Blackwell will not be replaced. The channel’s operations will be managed by Brian Frons, president of daytime for the Disney-ABC Television Group. Ms. Blackwell will…