Never underestimate the power of a visual, even when it involves alcohol.When Linda Wallem was pitching her Midwestern family sitcom idea to broadcast network executives, alcohol turned out to be the perfect way to make her point.“I have 12 characters…
Both sides are reporting that it is business as usual between the White House and CBS News in the wake of veteran anchor Dan Rather’s exclusive interview with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, which was seen Wednesday by 17.045 million people…
When I think back on Electronic Media, I always start at the very beginning of my 16-year tenure there. It was 1983 and I had just arrived from the Chicago Tribune, attracted mainly by EM’s potential. EM was a few…
Could the federal government find out what you’re watching on TV? Even if you’re not the subject of a criminal investigation?If you’re a satellite TV or TiVo owner, the answer is yes, according to legal experts and industry officials.Under the…
Two of TV’s most popular reality shows invite viewers to vote for the winners. Fox’s American Idol and CBS’s revival of Star Search have generated enormous publicity, but neither show goes out of its way to talk about exactly how…
March5-7 AAAA Media Conference and Trade ShowHilton New Orleans Riverside, Information: www.aaaa.org.6 39th Annual Chicago International Television Awards (The Hugos) Honoring Bill Kurtis, at the Park West, Chicago. Information: www.chicagofilmfestival.org. 12-13 World Congress of SportsSponsored by SportsBusinessJournal and Octagon, at…
Nothing has been more invigorating than reporting on major media deals and deal-makers for Electronic Media-well, nothing except punctuating some of that coverage with a little M&A activity of my own. I marked the takeovers of ABC, CBS and NBC,…
Chicago is a city that’s often been defined by its weather. Now the city’s distinctive weather combined with its being the home to a cable network, a TV station and a newspaper owned by the same media company have made…
When retired L.A. truck driver Kevin Smith, 52, became the first person to win the top prize on the syndicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, hosted by Meredith Vieira, he was “about $300 to $400 away from being a…
‘Mister Rogers’ dead at 74Fred Rogers, host of the long-running PBS children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” died Thursday at his home in Pittsburgh of cancer. He was 74.He was born Fred McFeely Rogers in Latrobe, Pa., on March 20, 1928,…