David Smith, the chairman, president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, was holding court after hours in the lobby of the Sinclair Building, located in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Md. Dressed casually in a sweater vest, khakis and boat…
Media companies are bracing for better days and bigger deals in 2004. But how they respond to the abounding risk and opportunity will shape their fortunes more than any other factor in the next year.If stated intentions and a flurry…
As presidential primary season kicks into high gear, ABC News and CNN are set to prove that in TV news you can take it with you-if you take the bus to the 2004 elections. ABC News has leased three concert…
As the only station in Mankato, Minn., about 80 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, CBS affiliate KEYC-TV has always maintained a strong focus on community and local sponsorships.For the past 19 years the station, owned by United Communications Corp.,…
Lisa Ling recalled a recent query about her availability to host a reality show. “My agent said, `I know the answer, but I just have to ask you,”’ she recalled. The answer, she quickly added, was a “resounding no.”Though she…
From a programming and company perspective, Reality TV and Reality Central appear to be two networks with very little in common.Reality TV is a 4-year-old channel owned by the U.K.-based Zone Vision Group that’s distributed to about 38 million homes….
Virtually since the inception of the upfront network TV advertising sales process, Madison Avenue has been complaining about it, but beginning this year a few agencies may finally be able to do something about it.The usual upfront complaint is that…
NBC’s “The West Wing” airs its milestone 100th episode Wednesday, as President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) attends the funeral of a former president, accompanied by two other former presidents (John Goodman and James Cromwell). The politically charged series, now in its…
Whether or not you agree with the BCS choice of the national champion of college football, there is one thing everyone can agree on-the Bowl Championship Series was a bonanza for ABC. In the wake of the controversy, which allowed…
In the battle of the competing Wall Street programs, it looks like veteran Louis Rukeyser is getting the last laugh. Mr. Rukeyser, the host for 32 years of PBS’s “Wall Street Week,” was dumped by producer Maryland Public Television last…