Logo

In Depth

Out & about

Initiative Media’s Chris Neel, left, and Home Depot’s Jim Morris join Reba McEntire at the Academy of Country Music Awards May 20.Dennis Adamovich of Cartoon Network and Maureen Brady of Delta Express join the Powerpuff Girls June 25 in Orlando,…

No ‘Survivor’-size hits, but nets stem erosion

While none of the broadcast networks can yet claim a ratings bonanza akin to “Survivor’s” or “Fear Factor’s” this summer, Fox, NBC and CBS have found ways to stem viewer erosion with new reality series.With NBC and Fox aggressively scheduling…

Variety marks CTAM 2002

The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing’s annual conference, Summit 2002, kicked off at the Hymes Convention Center in Boston on Sunday and runs through Wednesday. Josh Bernoff, principal analyst for television and entertainment at Forrester Research, was gleefully awaiting…

Quick Takes

“I think the show’s pretense that a contest like this can unearth real talent is the true cruelty perpetrated on both viewers and participants. This show’s purpose is to expose vulnerable young performers to ridicule for ratings.”Eric Deggans, television critic,…

The Insider

Of crawls and other movement at CNN The Insider plans to turn a keen eye toward CNN over the next few days, because she hears there’s a new-style crawl scheduled to debut soon. The Insider is a pitiful excuse for…

Who Is News

Advertising & AgenciesJoe Cartwright to senior VP and general sales manager, Adlink, from VP and general sales manager.BroadcastingBob Groothand to general manager, KPTH-TV, Sioux City, Iowa, from VP and director of marketing and sales, WBEK-TV, Augusta, Ga.Mark Oxton to local…

The Ruminator: Cable news is going about it all wrong

If you think summertime is the time when all TV execs head to the south of France until Labor Day, think again. For cable TV news titans, summer has become show time!Both MSNBC and CNN, running way behind in the…

All grown up

For Cori Wellins, reading scripts for fun is a lot better than nervously reciting lines at a casting call. A former child actor, Ms. Wellins, now 31, prefers slipping out of the limelight and has put her all-consuming love of…

Hollywood Notes

Krantz opens shop at Warner Bros.Tony Krantz, who decided to exit last month as co-partner and CEO of Imagine Television after five years at the Ron Howard- and Brian Grazer-led studio, has set out a production shingle at Warner Bros….

Hearst and Gannett talk merger

Hearst-Argyle and Gannett may once again be talking about combining their station groups.After narrowly missing a completion of a merger last year, the two groups are considering restarting preliminary discussions about a merger now that the duopoly rules have been…