A New Day Dawns At WCBS-TV, But Did Anybody Notice?

New York TV Station With Anemic News Ratings Shakes Things Up -- Again
If you tuned into WCBS-TV/2 News this morning, you witnessed the beginning of the station's extreme makeover for its low-rated newscasts.
Gone was the conga line of anchors, weather guy, sports dude and traffic lady all trying to get a word in edgewise.
Instead, it was a mere two people at the anchor desk -- the relocated Maurice DuBois from the 6 p.m. news, was joined on mornings by newbie Kate Sullivan (above), most recently of the ABC affiliate in Little Rock.
DuBois cannot be too thrilled by the change. After all, he left WNBC, where he helmed the dawn patrol for the better part of five years and left, in part to escape those hours and a higher profile, though going to channel 2 is not the best way to go about that.
For now, he'll soldier on until his agent can find another gig that doesn't involve waking up at 2 a.m.
The attractive, affable Sullivan began her tenure unobtrusively and mistake-free for the short time I watched. Give her credit for not looking too shell-shocked that she made the leap from the capital of Arkansas to the media capital of the world in one fell swoop.
Still, it remains to be seen whether any of this will make a difference. The show used to be dubbed the .2 Morning News, given its desultory Nielsens. Not much has changed, which is one reason News Director Dianne Doctor was given the boot last week.
As for the rest of what was the Channel 2 morning circus: Mario Bosquez, according to the Daily News, will now be a reporter, Jim Ryan will be a contributor to the morning show instead of an anchor, while the role of the third anchor, Shon Gables, is not clear, though the word from the gaggle at TVSpy.com is that we've seen the last of her on WCBS. Still, her bio remains on the station's Web site.
Dave Price had already stopped doing the weather in the mornings, though he'll still be on the network's "Early Show" in that role. He's replaced full-time by Audrey Puente.
Sports guy Duke Castiglione had left last March. Weekend sportscaster Deucis Rogers filled in live, but it's not clear if that's his new gig, or they just wanted a live body to interact with the new anchor. Just as likely: whomever anchored at 11 will tape packages for the following morning, which is what Channel 2 does on the weekends since Tina Cervasio decamped for NESN.
As for the rest of the newscasts, Roz Abrams gets a new partner and one new time slot, anchoring the noon and 5 p.m. shows with former weekend anchor Mary Calvi. Cindy Hsu, who had the noon gig, will now report on family issues.
That leaves Jim Rosenfield and Dana Tyler, Channel 2 Superwoman. Rosenfield moves from 5 to 6 p.m., while Tyler keeps 6 p.m. and gets back 11 pm. to team up with Rosenfield.
Whew!
This is all the handiwork of station general manager Peter Dunn, who is after more steak, less sizzle, hence the departure of such racy one-time staples as "Shame On You" and Kirstin Cole's reports on filthy restaurants.
Channel 2 used to throw a really large carrot in a desperate attempt to lure viewers, namely half the commercials. Unclear whether that's still in play, as it did little to improve ratings. But consider the latest changes, at least in the morning, an upgrade.
Gone is the noise, which will hopefully be replaced by the news.

With Flacks Like These, Who Needs Enemies

From Our Pot-Calling-The-Kettle-Black File, the Voice of Jayson Blair Weighs In on Jared Paul Stern
At least give Ted Faraone credit for being something of a straight shooter, which is not the norm for publicists. Faraone reps Jayson Blair, among others, and wrote in a letter to Editor & Publisher that his prevaricating client should not be painted with the same broad brush now tarring and feathering Page Six badboy Jared Paul Stern.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002315261
Of course, Blair, the NY. Times' former nonpariel fabricator, might wince at how Faraone defends him. Alas, the truth can be a real bitch.
Wrote Faraone: "He was an undiagnosed manic-depressive going through a breakdown that he was trying to hide from his bosses. He couldn't keep up with the job as he melted down. That is why he resorted to plagiarism and fabrication. He was not extorting anything from anyone."
Which is what a good flack does, drawing those distinctions and spinning them into utter nothingness. Blair may have been journalistic scum, but at least he's not journalistic scum who's also possibly facing felony charges.
Lest you think Faraone has totally taken leave of his senses, he does come back to Earth in the next sentence: "Being nuts is no excuse, as the medicated Jayson will tell you."
Then again, when will you ever again believe anything Jayson Blair says?

Making The Transition From Fart Jokes To Steve Inskeep

Former Howard Stern Listeners Lost In The Wilderness Find Radio Oasis at NPR
The Los Angeles Times takes a look at where the millions of Howard Stern fanatics who didn't migrate with him to Sirius are lending their ears.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-stern11apr11,1,7251780.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews

Morning talk radio tends to be dominated by conservatives, but Stern's audience tends to be centrist to liberal in political orientation, for which NPR is a better fit, analysts say. And both shows emphasize lifestyle, quirky or offbeat takes on the news and appeal to baby boomers, they say.

Which doesn't mean "Morning Edition" co-hosts Steve Inskeep (above) and Renee Montaigne will start belching on the air, expound on their bowel movements, extol the joys of pleasuring oneself or ask their guests to get naked anytime soon (though if dollars fall short on the next pledge drive, you never know).

Still, all parties have a lot at stake. Stern/Sirius need to pull in a boatload more listeners to justify plunking down a half-billion for the King of All Media's services four days a week. That will take time, not to mention a lot more cars coming equipped with Sirius to make the investment truly viable.
CBS Radio will get pimp-slapped in the ratings for the foreseeable future and may not have a viable exit strategy for its Arbitron woes. Which is why execs may swallow their pride and open up their wallets to welcome back Opie & Anthony, booted for putting on the air a couple allegedly having sex (probably didn't happen) in St. Patrick's Cathedral who are now in a comfortable exile at XM Radio, which will share O&A for the right price.

Vieira Si, Brown No

Meredith Replaces The Katie At "Today," But Campbell Brown May Come Out The Winner In The End
OK, sometimes we're wrong. This space predicted Meredith Vieira wouldn't make the leap from her double duties at "The View" and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" to wake up in the middle of the night to kibitz with Matt, Al and Ann.
But maybe it was the prestige. Or, maybe it was the reported $10 million a year NBC Big Cheese Jeff Zucker dangled in front of her.
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=48598
Don't get me wrong. Despite Vieira having been on hiatus from hard news for more than a decade, she has enough cred from her past experience at CBS News to credibly carry the first hour of "Today" when hard-news dominates.
And she's more than prepared for the cooking, fashion, child-rearing and other fluff that is a morning-show staple, having logged thousands of hours as one of the yentas on "The View."
But did NBC really need her that badly to fork over that kind of dough? Probably not, but at least they put themselves in a position to ensure the show won't be weakened after Katie Couric apparates to CBS. And that's really all that matters when you have a show that's a solid number one.
http://nbcumv.com/release_detail.nbc/news-20060406000000-nbcnewsnamesco-an.html
As for Campbell Brown, co-hosting "Weekend Today"and being the prime sub for Couric during the week and Brian Williams on "NBC Nightly News" is hardly a gig to cry crocodile tears over. But clearly she had paid enough dues to merit a nod as Couric's successor.
With her contract reportedly having a year to run, look for her to either extract a big fat raise from the Peacock Gang or get wooed in an extremely serious way by the other networks. As a recent bride, she's probably not inclined to become a bridesmaid at work.

Radio Rookies Show Pledge Dollars Hard At Work At WNYC

Congrats to WNYC and its corps of Radio Rookies for winning a Peabody Award today. The rookies are high-school students from New York City who put together compelling first-person essays about their lives and the world around them, unfiltered by the demands of commericalism and slick sound bites.
http://www.wnyc.org/about/media/media_30.html
It's the very notion of what public radio could and should be. The Peabody was for the class of 2005, but you can hear the latest batch, which ran in February, at http://www.wnyc.org/radiorookies/

Katie Couric, Savior, Or So We're Led To Believe

But Is The Queen Of The Morning The One To Lead CBS To Ratings Glory In The Evening?
Don't get me wrong, I don't envy those who wake up in the middle of the night to go to work so we can get the news over our coffee and Special K. Been there, done that.
It's a tough gig, not just because you're dog tired, but because so much money is at stake. Morning drive is when many radio stations pay most of their bills, while on TV the news keeps starting earlier, because the audience keeps getting bigger and more lucrative.
Which is why Katie Couric is such a big deal. "Today" brings in an estimated $250 million in profit for NBC, its biggest cash cow. That Couric has been at the helm while the show has been number one for over a decade can be chalked up to more than just coincidence, and is why she rakes in at least $15 million a year.
It's also why NBC is willing to throw a few million more to keep her from bolting to CBS, where she can chuck her alarm clock and watch the morning shows instead of being watched. Bill Carter, Howie Kurtz, et al. are reporting today that Couric to CBS is all but a done deal, and NBC has graciously thrown in the towel.
For the Couric investment to pay off, CBS needs to siphon off not only viewers from NBC, ABC and the cable newsies, but also attract new viewers who've long since stopped sampling the evening news or never have in the first place.
The universe of viewers at that hour keeps shrinking, in large part because so many of them are dying off (the average viewer is in the neighborhood of 60) and not being replaced by younger stock.
In the end, she is the steward of a news broadcast that, despite a change in anchor and an executive producer loaded with vision and news smarts, still isn't markedly different than its brethren.
It will be for the better if Couric is given a role in changing that, not to mention using her wattage to get the big gets not only for the Evening News, but for "60 Minutes," where she'll no doubt do some moonlighting.
As long as Les Moonves, puts some more money in the news division budget to pay for Couric, rather than siphon money from other resources, the habitues of the CBS Broadcast Center will be living in most interesting times.
Over at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, all eyes then turn to the chair next to Matt (now I finally get top billing) Lauer. Once again, we cast our vote unequivocally for the newly betrothed Campbell Brown (Mazel tov).
http://realitybitesback.blogspot.com/2006/03/why-would-nbc-frown-on-campbell-brown.html
Natalie Morales gets the close-second consolation prize, playing an active role as newsreader/substitute host, with Ann Curry moving full-time to Dateline, where she can actually do some reporting -- a role she's often excelled at.
As for Meredith Vieira taking the gig and reportedly giving it serious consideration, says USA Today: Still don't see it happening. "The View" is too lucrative and cushy a job as there is in TV, while she's under contract to host "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" for another year.
Morning news queen and game-show host don't appear to go hand in hand nowadays, even if there's precedent with the likes of Hugh Downs doing double duty on "Today" and "Concentration." Different time and situation.
With Brown, you already have a proven entity -- through her "Weekend Today" and fill-ins on "Today" and "NBC Nightly News." You don't really need to sell the audience on her.
No question, Vieira has plenty of news chops from her CBS days -- even if they've been in storage for the better part of a decade -- and she could certainly handle her share of fluff pieces in her sleep.
Which is where we started. Does a 52-year-old mother of three teenagers really want to drag herself out of bed to appear on a program where the spotlight will never glare brighter and her every move and miscue will be parsed for signs of weakness?
In the end, Vieira -- assuming she gets a job offer from Jeff Zucker -- may well decide it's simply better to collect a fat check serving as a referee for Joy Behar and Star Reynolds and asking some egghead if he wants to use his final lifeline to phone a friend.

Must-See TV, Memphis Style: Prime Time Gets Hit By A Tornado

Stations Go Wall-to-Wall When Wicked Weather Strikes When Towns Are In Danger of an Extreme Home Makeover
When you come from New York and travel the country, you realize how news that's a non-factor back home, is front and center once you stop dialing the 212 area code.
Case in point: The wife and I were in the Memphis area over the weekend for some R&R and copious amounts of barbecue. On the way to our hotel in West Memphis, Arkansas, the Emergency Broadcast System interrupts the gospel on WDIA to alert us to a tornado warning for the area.
We get to the hotel just in time to see the sky turn black, the wind pick up and quarter-sized hail pound our rental car. Thinking it wise to wait out the storm before heading out to dinner, we turned on the TV and quickly realized this was not a drill.
The Big Four affiliates were going wall-to-wall with storm coverage, putting their Doppler, VIPIR and all matter of digital weather gizmos into overdrive.
To hear that a tornado was traveling near the I-40 corridor and realizing you were about 20 yards from the interstate was a bit jarring to say the least.
West Memphis made it through OK, but others didn't. Funnel clouds tore through towns in western Tennessee, as well as eastern Arkanas and Missouri, which are in the Memphis viewing area. By morning, at least 20 were dead, along with the usual injuries and destroyed structures that come when gusts are over 100 mph come suddenly and with little or no warning.
http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4723967
The Memphis stations generally did a yeoman job of keeping viewers informed, with the CBS affiliate WREG-TV getting an ever-so-slight nod for having its weather team working as an especially well-oiled machine throughout the night.
The ABC affiliate, WPTY, stood out, but for breaking away at 9 p.m. to show Grey's Anatomy, the network's ratings king. You could argue that the worst was over by then, and ABC24 could jump back in as events warrant or simply wait for the news at 10. Or, you could be more cynical and say the station didn't want to sacrifice any more ad dollars and counter-program. A tough call either way, but the beginning of their 10 p.m. show, with stumbles, miscues and somewhat-dated tape was hardly worth the wait.
As for "Desperate Housewives " fans in the Mid-South, the station informed viewers, somewhat cryptically, they're out of luck because of "complex legal reasons."
http://www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=555B621E-375E-46C6-AF0C-4D55488268C6
The same fate may lie in store for other Sunday staples like "Cold Case," "The Simpsons" and "Extreme Home Makeover," which unfortunately has some new source material.

Vermont Paper Threatens To Hit the AP Where It Hurts To Protest Bureau Chief Firing

But Is Threat To Cancel Service A Lot Of Barking Without The Bite?

Give a lot of credit to the St. Albans Messenger in Vermont, the daily that covers the state's Northeast Kingdom hard by the border with Quebec.
Like other Vermont newspapers, it's bewildered and more than a little angry that the Associated Press canned longtime Vermont bureau chief Christopher Graff and then refused to explain why, other than hiding behind the mealy-mouthed pronouncements that it was a "personnel matter."
Graff is something of a rock star in Vermont journalism, widely respected for his knowledge and fairness by both the news organizations that are AP members, along with the politicians he made a living writing about, to the point that Vermont's governor and Congressional delegation jointly penned a letter asking for his reinstatement.

That was followed by a letter from Messenger editor and publisher Emerson Lynn to AP Chairman Tom Curley:

We are asking that you restore our trust in the Associated Press. We are asking for a full and satisfactory explanation as to what prompted Mr. Graff 's dismissal. Failing that, please forward us the information regarding our need to cancel our AP memberships.
http://www.samessenger.com/graff.html

Ah, but there's a rub. There always is, as Lynn concedes. Small papers like his rely "disproportionately" on the AP to provide them with news. They are less likely to subscribe to a supplemental news service, like the one offered by The New York Times or Knight Ridder. And, absent its own network of stringers statewide, no other organization is in a position to supply news from all other Vermont let alone the rest of the world.
So, the Messenger is stuck between a stubborn wire service that refuses to let the sunshine in and the hard facts that without the wire, the slender paper becomes that much thinner.
If it's truly serious about giving the AP the heave-ho, rather than merely scolding it in print, perhaps the Messenger can enter into a cooperative arrangement with other newspapers of like mind to swap stories of statewide interest to help fill pages.
Of course, that would still raise serious coverage gaps that only the AP has the wherewithal to fill. That may have been different back in the days when UPI was still a growing concern, and the AP actually had to compete. But domestically it does not, as Reuters subscribers know all too well, and its members know that.
It creates a certain arrogance, a flip-the-bird approach to accountability for its actions, which in the Graff case are questionable at best.
Still, telling the AP to go take a hike is a foolhardy proposition for a newspaper that lacks a Plan B, and in this case would all but kill the Messenger.

David Rosenbaum's Murder Spurs Many Cautionary Tales

Washington Post continues to lead the way in probe of death of New York Times D.C. Stalwart

It was bad enough that David Rosenbaum, who was murdered in January, not long after retiring from full-time duty as one of the bulwarks of The New York Times Washington bureau, was left to die on a quiet street after a senseless robbery and brutal attack.
What is worse, though, is the laconic, detached and downright incompetent response by paramedics and medical staff at Howard University Hospital, where Rosenbaum was eventually declared dead.
The Washington Post, through several columns by Courtland King, and in a stinging editorial yesterday, have not treated Rosenbaum's death as just another street crime. Neither has the district.
Rather, all have employed it as a metaphor, of sorts, for the sorry state of emergency care for many in the nation's capital, whether they're in an Anacostia housing project, or an exclusive Northwest street, where Rosenbaum was assaulted.

As the editorial notes, this probe could not have come at a worse time for the hospital:
And to think: Howard University is asking that the city spend $200 million and that the federal government guarantee an additional $200 million so the university and the city can build a $400 million medical complex that Howard medical professionals will control and operate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/28/AR2006032801613.html
Good luck with that.

Continued kudos to the Post for persisting with the Rosenbaum story, especially King, who has revealed that Rosenbaum may very well have survived his injuries if not for the medical response to his injuries so bungled.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031701712.html

As for the Times' coverage of Rosenbaum's death and the subsequent investigation? As we've noted previously in this spaced, let's just say that you'll need to read the Post.

Toxic Avengers: Bergen Record Wins Top Investigative Award

Congrats to my former colleagues at the Bergen Record for scoring the IRE Medal, the highest award given out by Investigative Reporters & Editors for a series on how tons of toxic waste that was the legacy of a Ford plant has caused an environmental mess and affected the health of thousands of nearby residents.
http://www.ire.org/contest/05winners.html#toxiclegacy
I haven't worked at the paper in nearly 15 years, and it's heartening to see bylines on this series from colleagues who were there during my tenure, including Mary Jo Layton, Jan Barry and Lindy Washburn.
I give them credit for their perseverence as The Record by the early 1990s had slipped from its pedestal as one of the best, medium-sized dailies in the country, not to mention the best paper in New Jersey.
Like many, then, it was affected by a recession, and a plunge in advertising linage, while the news hole and opportunities for enterprise and investigative reporting shrunk accordingly.
A generous profit-sharing plan dried up, as did matching contributions to the 401k plan. In 1991, The Record froze pay and forced reporters to take a one-week unpaid furlough. Layoffs ensued. No surprise that morale and Dumpster were often used in the same sentence.
So, give the powers that be in Hackensack credit for resurrecting the kind of reporting just as good as at any metro daily (where many Record alumni now labor) that made The Record a place reporters want to be and an investigative series you want to read.
http://www.northjersey.com/toxiclegacy/series.html
Another former Record colleague, Robert O'Harrow Jr. of the Washington Post, was a winner with Scott Higham in the IRE's largest newspaper category for a devastating look at how the Department of Homeland Security wasted billions of taxpayer dollars and fell short of its core mission.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/21/AR2005052100778.html
Both articles also come with lots of extras on the web, and are proof that newspapers, while coughing and wheezing as of late, have miles to go before they sleep. In fact, such reporting may prove to be their salvation. In other words, give readers more of what they can't get anywhere else.

Will The Last Person Out At Cargo Magazine Please Unplug The Web Site?

Conde Nast announced yesterday, to the sobs and wails of metrosexuals everywhere, that it's deep-sixing men's shopping magazine Cargo with the May issue.
It won't be missed. While it tried to be all things to many people, it wound up being too much of nothing.
Everything from fine wine to the latest thong underwear was covered, reviewed and dissected in breathless, hipper-than-thou snippets that broke the barrier of superficial and crossed over into the territory of just plain insipid.
A magazine that was designed for men who didn't have time to read was a victim of its own mission. Even that dubious demographic didn't want Cargo.
Meanwhile, the magazine still exists, sort of, online at Cargomag.com, which hasn't gotten the memo yet that its print brethren is history. In fact, there are still links all over the site to order a subscription.
And if you are among the huddled, trendy, Zegna-wearing, RAZR-toting masses who fear Conde Nast is running off with the $9.97 you shelled out for your subscription, relax. Now you get GQ instead. GQ is sort of like Cargo's big brother, the one with a brain.

N.Y. Times TV Critic Flunks History

Alessandra Stanley Forgets To Fill In Blanks When Talking About Classroom Shows
In her perfunctory review of the new NBC sitcom "Teachers," New York Times TV major domo Alessandra Stanley intones "it has been a while since a school served as a setting for a television show -- "Room 222" and "Saved By The Bell" are ancient history; Fox canceled "Boston Public" in 2004."
So, then, would "two years" really qualify as "a while?" But I quibble.
The last blackboard was erased on "Room 222" 32 years ago. And surely the Video Contessa of West 43rd St. could have done better than citing "Saved By The Bell."
Indeed, there was a little show on in the 1970s, Alessandra, called "Welcome Back Kotter." And 1986 brought us "Head Of The Class," first starring Howard Hesseman, then Billy Connolly for its last season in 1991.
Last time I checked, "The White Shadow" took place in a high school. Most of the immortal and shamefully underwatched "Freaks and Geeks" was centered around school activities, as was "Undeclared," if you throw college into the mix. If so, you could take the next step to the TV version of "The Paper Chase."
Do your homework, Alessandra!

Thin-Skinned Associated Press Scalped By Members For Dumping Vermont Bureau Chief

Green Mountain State Media Seeing Red From Ouster of Christopher Graff

Wire-service reporters are often an anonymous breed. You're taken for granted by your member newspapers and broadcasters, who expect you to dutifully churn out anything and everything they can't or won't cover.

At least that was my experience working for UPI in Albany back in the 1980s. But that experience is apparently different in a smaller state like Vermont, dominated by small, local papers that rely extensively on the Associated Press, especially on beats like the Statehouse.

Which is why Vermont editors are nearly unanimously up in arms after the AP dumped Vermont bureau chief Christopher Graff, a 27-year veteran widely respected and better known than the typical wire scribe, as he also hosts a show on Vermont Public Television.

Why the AP gave Graff the heave-ho is unclear. He's not talking, as he signed a non-disclosure agreement, apparently as a condition to getting severance. The AP is clamming up, saying it doesn't talk publicly about personnel matters.

But what may have been the last straw was a column by Sen. Patrick Leahy that Graff put on the wire in conjunction with the AP's observance of Sunshine Week. Leahy pilloried the Bush administration for its jihad against the federal Freedom of Information Act. The AP pulled the column less than an hour after it ran and advised editors not to run it. This, despite the fact that the AP ran a similar Leahy piece without any brouhaha.

It's always comical and a bit sad when news organizations doggedly pursue comment from their subjects, yet are just as reticent when the spotlight's turned on them. But this bunker mentality isn't sitting well with those who feed the AP's coffers and viewed Graff as an invaluable resource.

As the Brattleboro Reformer noted in an editorial today:

The AP should be embarrassed by their decision to fire Graff and the perception that it gives to Vermonters that the AP has given in to the claque that constantly screams about "liberal bias" in the news media.
But it's not only that. The AP casually discarded one of Vermont's best journalists and weakened its reporting on statewide issues as a result.

Many other Vermont journalists, according to the Valley News, including Marselis Parsons, news director at WCAX-TV
"I was flabbergasted when I was told this was going on. I thought it was a joke," Parsons said. "I think if there is more to it (than the Leahy column), they owe their members -- not just clients, we are members, damn it, of a cooperative, a more rational explanation."
http://www.vnews.com/03242006/2982379.htm

Still, the AP may be able to successfully avoid one by citing employment law and privacy considerations. Or, it could release Graff from his non-disclosure agreement so he could tell his side of the story. Unlikely, since somebody at AP HQ in New York would then have to be held accountable for a bone-headed move.
Maybe the AP could take the even-easier way out and reinstate Graff. But that would be too easy. And for an institution like the AP, which can afford to be arrogant because its members have nowhere else to turn for statewide coverage, that is likely too much to ask.

When Working For The New York Times Means Always Having To Say You're Sorry

A Look At How The Gray Lady Fessed Up To Nicholas Confessore Piece On Faux Katrina Victim
Nobody's perfect, as journalists demonstrate on a daily basis. To what extent their employers own up to those shortcomings is another matter, but The New York Times does it better than most. Usually, it's a misspelling, wrong date or errant occupation. Or, sometimes you just get the whole darn story wrong.
Which is when the paper unsheaths the dreaded editors' note, like the one that appeared yesterday about a March 8 story by Nicholas Confessore about the trials and tribulations of a supposed Hurricane Katrina victim in Queens, as she struggled to get federal aid for her family.
Only thing: prosecutors say she's a phony and charged her with fraud.
As the editors intoned:

For its profile, The Times did not conduct adequate interviews or public record checks to verify Ms. Fenton's account, including her claim that she had lived in Biloxi. Such checks would have uncovered a fraud conviction and raised serious questions about the truthfulness of her account.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/pageoneplus/corrections.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

That resulted in a long, public blood-letting in another story by Confessore yesterday that revealed Fenton's rather-checkered history. In effect, he was forced to write about all the things his editors said he should have done before the first story so the paper and he could give a big "We're sorry" to its readers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/nyregion/23evacuee.html

OK, the Times was hoodwinked and is holding itself and Confessore accountable. Seems fair enough.
But the self-righteous among the Fourth Estate should, instead of getting sanctimonious, be instead breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't them who got taken. Essentially, Confessore set out to work on a human-interest story linked to Katrina that had a local angle. As he noted, he approached a Queens pastor active in aiding Katrina victims, who indicated Fenton might be willing to be profiled.
You could argue that any inquiries into her background shouldn't have ended there. Better, though, to argue a reporter could feel sufficiently comfortable with a pastor's referral and start to tackle a story that's linked here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/nyregion/08evacuee.html?ex=1143349200&en=781108b7d4da311f&ei=5070

Either way, it's a stretch to think that, absent any evidence, a reporter's first step would be to initiate a background check on a hurricane survivor just trying to navigate the federal bureaucracy.
Where you could more validly contend Confessore slipped up is by not extending his reporting to her purported family -- a husband and five kids ages 9-21. None of them were interviewed. And it appears the husband doesn't exist, and four of the kids have either been adopted or are in foster care.
This could have -- and should have -- been turned into a family's saga, rather than one woman's stor. In turn, it would have unraveled from there, or at least turned into another tale about a well-schooled hustler gaming the system and being just another FEMA fraudster.
Still, Fenton made for a compelling subject, as Confessore's initial, well-written article conveys, to the point where he was lulled into complacency. And given the same situation, so would many a reporter.
It's not the first time a reporter has been duped, and it sure as hell won't be the last. That won't make Confessore feel any better, I'm sure. But he's been raked over the coals enough. He'll not only learn from his mistakes. We all can.

The New York Times Rocks On; Beefs Up Its Music Critic Corps

At last, the paper of record discovers a genre
Hasn't been apparent if it's happened earlier, but I noticed in today's N.Y. Times arts section two reviews that said "Rock Review" for the teaser head. That's notable, as the Times, no matter how hard or loud the music, has long said "Pop Review," as if System of a Down and the Backstreet Boys could somehow be lumped into the same category.
In any event, good to see the Times arts domos getting some new pop/rock reviewers into the fold. Laura Singara, who's toiled for the late Tracks magazine and the Village Voice, has been getting some ink of late. Today's paper had her engaging take on a rare concert by cult faves Silver Jews.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/arts/music/20silv.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Also, on the same page was a review of a Stereolab show by Hawaii native Nate Chinen, who's also done time at the Village Voice, Philadelphia City Paper and Billboard Online, among other outposts. Chinen's also co-wrote the autobiography of jazz impresario George Wein.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/arts/music/20ster.html
Chinen knows his stuff, no doubt. But he has to avoid catching Parelesitis, the contagion spread by Times chief rock critic Jon Pareles, who gets so enamored with his music erudition that he often forgets to tell you whether the music is actually worth listening to.
Chinen needs to avoid writing more sentences like these, from the Stereolab piece:

For much of its 15-year recording history, this British band has produced a gleaming alloy of retro-rock that offers the cool reassurance of meticulous order. But the group has also trafficked in pseudo-Marxist rhetoric, despairing or superior or alarmist in tone.

Huh? Is someone at the copy desk actually reading this stuff? Or, do they have no clue and hope the critic does?

Better instead, to emulate Kalefa Sanneh, whose lead sentence in a review of the new Kenny Rogers album is a typical winner.

Barely five minutes into the new Kenny Rogers album, the guy starts singing about swastikas.

Rock On!

All The News That's Not Fit To Print But We'll Take Your Money Anyway

Sudan Latest Country to Print Reams of Investor Propaganda in New York Times

UPDATED 3/21/06
Lloyd Grove in the Daily News has a follow-up on the Sudan propaganda screed published in yesterday's Times, including word that the spread cost an estimated $929,000 to crank out.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/401571p-340099c.html
Oh, and if you thought swords being turned into plowshares was the answer to all things that ailed Sudan, think again, says Human Rights Watch:
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/08/sudan12773.htm


If you pick up The New York Times on Monday and feels a little thicker than usual, chances are it's because some third-world country has paid to make it that way.
Moldova, Kazakhstan and a few African nations are among those who've put out eight-page advertising supplements that, in effect, tell you how wonderful they are, please invest your money here and we'll make sure there's no coup that will nationalize your factories.
Rare is the person who actually reads these things, but that doesn't stop these countries and their PR machines from trying. The latest entry is Sudan, whose rendition is remarkable for spreading a little sunshine among the spin. But just a little.
To wit, this unintentionally amusing passage:

Ministers are frustrated that coverage of Sudan in the international media has focused almost exclusively on the fighting between rebels and Arab militias in the western province of Darfur.

You think?

Geez, you just hate it when facts get in the way of good propaganda.

You could see how Sudan would be cheesed off at the Fourth Estate for reporting on a genocide in Darfur that has claimed an estimated 200,000 lives, displaced nearly 2 million and forced 3 million people to rely on humanitarian assistance.
And, oh that pesky militia? They kind of, sort of have government backing, all the while raping and murdering villagers, and stealing their food and livestock after burning down what was already a sorry excuse for a home.
Isn't it enough that Sudan finally ended a 25-year civil war that killed more than 2 million people and actually has a functioning government (in your face, Somalia)?
Those darn journalists, always looking at the glass half-empty.

There's evidence that Sudan is hoping that all would be forgiven on pages 4-5 of the supplement, which boldly proclaims the opportunities to find new sources of OIL (their emphasis and color). Ah, now you got our attention, we who live in the land of $3-a-gallon-for-premium gasoline.

Alas, though, lest ExxonMobil and Halliburton start salivating, the supplement also has a headline that reads: "Huge projects required in road, rail and water infrastructure."
You see, Sudan is slightly larger than one-quarter of the U.S., it has but 2,250 miles of paved roads.
So, there is no road to the black gold. You have to build it yourself. And if you can feed a few thousand refugees along the way (after all, if you build it, they will come), well, that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Why Would NBC Frown On Campbell Brown?

If Katie Bolts To CBS, Best Choice Is Already In-House

Today's Wall Street Journal has a thinly sourced story about NBC brass contemplating who'll get to keep Matt Lauer company should Katie Couric weary of the predawn patrol and relieve Bob Schieffer at the "CBS Evening News."
In the article from Brook Barnes, there is a cryptic sentence about the chances of Campbell Brown, who co-hosts "Weekend Today," moving over to replace Couric.

"Ms. Brown has star wattage, but NBC worries her hard-news bent wouldn't fit well with the fluffy segments that are the "Today" show's bread and butter."

Well, whomever "NBC" actually is, either hasn't watched Brown that carefully, is a poor student of history, or both.

The 37-year-old Brown has indeed established her hard-news credentials, first in Washington and especially notably in post-Katrina New Orleans. But she's also established a down-to-earth, unpretentious and engaging persona during more placid times on "Today."
She's proven equally at ease grilling Bush administration officials as learning how to grill a steak during a cooking segment.

If she's not a huge fan of the fluff, Brown does a great job of hiding that. If nothing else, she's proven to be the consummate team player on the ensemble that "Today" really should be, rather than the Couric star vehicle it is now -- the "Where In The World Is Matt Lauer" gigs notwithstanding.

And who's to say she wouldn't be a fit for such segments? After all, Couric came to NBC as a Pentagon correspondent and joined "Today"as its first national correspondent in 1990, back in the days when she was still "Katherine Couric."
Couric didn't exactly have many fashion and wedding segments under her belt when she first took over. Somehow she's managed.

The Journal points to Meredith Vieira winning the hearts and minds at 30 Rock. Wishful thinking, as the article suggests. Besides, she has an extremely cushy and lucrative gig at "The View."
Remember, this is the woman bounced off "60 Minutes" because she had the temerity to get pregnant. With three teenagers in the house now, it's hard to see her bounding out of her Westchester home in the dead of night right about now.
So, if Couric leaves, and we're still not sure why she'd do that even if it meant getting to sleep in -- look for Brown to get the nod.
Meantime, NBC worry-warts have time to backpedal and catch her on "Weekend Today" to see that all will not be lost -- and that includes Today's sizeable lead over Good Morning America -- should the Perky One take her leave.

Nets Net Zero In New York Times Sports Section

No Kidding, Jason Kidd: Fair To Middling Coverage Of Team Is Now Just Piddling
Last fall, this space gave The New York Times some justified jolts for basically ignoring hockey. Jason Diamos was assigned to not only cover the surprisingly resurgent Rangers, but also serve as all things NHL.
The Islanders and Devils are usually relegated to AP wire stories, which the Times offers with no sense of embarrassment, even though four or five other area papers have beat writers at those games.
At the time, I wondered if such parsimony in the sports section would extend to the New Jersey Nets, who, though they toil just eight miles away from Manhattan, would get short shrift because they're geographically undesirable.
No matter that they're in first place in the NBA's Atlantic Division and are a far more interesting team to watch than the beyond-pathetic Knicks.
Nonetheless, the Nets' last two road games, in Oklahoma City and Houston, were noted only by brief AP dispatches. Nominal beat writer John Eligon is absent -- perhaps a few comp days after Torino duty -- and the paper couldn't be bothered to reassign someone else or cobble up a stringer.
How sad and uninspired, to keep Knicks man Howard Beck detailing the dreary goings-on at MSG for another Knicks debacle only to detail the tedious soap opera between Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury when he could be covering a real game.
This is a sports section that often shows it knows better, yet often has this maddening case of myopia when it comes to local teams.
The Times pulled out the stops for its Torino Olympics coverage and became a must-read for those 16 days.
The World Baseball Classic is getting its due, while the spring-training scribes, as good as any other paper's -- are doing their usual yeoman work.
So what's up with the off-Broadway, playoff-bound local teams? Hard to believe that the coffers have run bare in the travel budget. This is the Times after all. Coverage first, worry about how much it costs later. But maybe such niceties don't apply to the sports section.
If not, why not?

Shot In The Dark: After All The Wait, The Sopranos Doesn't Hit All The High Notes

First thoughts:
You know the opening credits are old when you see the price of gas at the Sunoco station drives past is 97 cents.
But I digress.
While Tony getting shot by Junior certainly had its shock value, where this thread will head next is rife with predictability. Lots of goombahs kissing each other while they lay prostrate in front of Tony's hospital bed.
Then Tony busts his stitches more than once as he tries to whomp Janice with his bedpan, while Bobby's at home playing with his trains.
Meanwhile, Chriss-tuh-fuh and his AA sponsor go on a bender as he dreams the dreams that capos-in-waiting dream.
And so on.
I expect Tony Soprano to stay in his hospital bed longer than Tony Almeida of "24," (he who's able to help foil terrorists minutes after getting out of surgery), which means there'll be lots of machinations involving "our friend from New Jersey" and his future, rather than the more interesting personal dramas that have made these characters so endearing.
But then again, David Chase has been the comeback kid more than once when "The Sopranos" lost its creative footing. Nineteen more episodes to go to meld the hype with what the rest of us get to see Sundays at 9.
Get well, soon, Tony. And perhaps reconsider getting Uncle Joon into that assisted-living facility. I hear they don't allow guns there.

St. Pete Times Tries To Skate Around Conflict of Interest

Paper Says Naming Rights to Arena Shouldn't Prevent It From Pushing for Tax Break -- Oh, Yeah?
Give the St. Petersburg Times credit for not coasting on its accolades, including six Pulitzer Prizes. It's not by accident that it has become Florida's largest newspaper as well as its best.
So, for a paper that practically oozes integrity, it was more than a little bit curious when it ponied up $30 million so the arena formerly known as the Ice Palace would now be called the St. Pete Times Forum.
Which put the Times in an odd position Wednesday, when it editorialized for doubling to $4 million a state sales tax rebate for pro sports teams that build or renovate a sports facility. Self-interest? You bet.
But before you start slinging those darts, Gloria Cooper, the paper did note:
"This newspaper is sensitive to the appearance of a conflict .. But the public benefits outweigh the monetary gain to a team that has its finances headed in the right direction," in this case hockey's Tampa Bay Lightning.
The paper opined that using the money would allow the Forum to lure other events, provide an incentive for teams to stay and "deepen a community's fan base."
The latter is where the Times badly stumbles. In the end, the venue is only as good as the teams it houses. After the initial wow factor of a new or spiffed-up facility, fans want to see a competitive game, and not shell out big bucks to assess the quality of waiter service for the club seats
(At least the Forum has no such worries, for now. The Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup champions, although this season has been one filled with underachievement and a paucity of goals).
If you build it, they will come, but only for so long, if the team stinks. See the Colorado Rockies/Coors Field and Cleveland Indians/Jacobs Field exhibits on your way out.
Oh, and about that worn-out and discredited economic boon new sports venues supposedly bring:
"In Florida many cities could see publicly owned venues capitalize on the rebirth of downtowns, where taxpayers have millions invested in trolleys, parking garages and tourist facilities."
The Times need only look in its hometown to highlight the fallacy of that argument.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays play at dreary Tropicana Field, a mistake of a ballpark for a team that deserves nothing more. But if you've ever been to downtown St. Pete, the lack of a beehive of activity and meaningful commerce near the stadium is evident.
So, the Times is "senstive to the appearance of a conflict," then becomes conflicted anyway. And just what was to be gained by spending $30 million to plaster a name on a hockey arena? Perhaps that money could have been spent better on -- and here's a radical proposition --covering the news. It may not be as exciting as a hockey game, but we all come out winners in the end.

ESPN's Sleight Of Voice on World Baseball Classic Broadcasts

Boog O'Brien? Dave Sciambi? Just How Do They Get Those Voices To Sound Alike?
Your mind can play tricks on you watching baseball at four in the morning, which is where I found myself while trying to placate a 10-month-old with an ear infection.
On ESPN and ESPN2, they were wrapping up delayed broadcasts of World Baseball Classic matchups. It sounded like Dave O'Brien was with Jeff Brantley in Kissimmee on the Deuce calling the Dominican Republic's thrashing of Italy.
But over at the mothership, wasn't that O'Brien and Rick Sutcliffe at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix for the Mexico-Canada smackdown? Turns out, that was the case, with Jon "Boog" Sciambi voicing the other game, doing an indelible O'Brien rendition, meaning nothing flashy, knowing when to shut up and when to inject just the right amount of emotion into a call.
Competent, workmanlike and professional, but at four in the morning, a little eerie.
How did the two collide. Might be familiarity more than anything else, O'Brien used to call Florida Marlins games, while Sciambi was the number-two radio voice for the now-moribund Marlins for the last eight years.
Both also have a tangential connection to the Mets. For the last several years, O'Brien called about 40 Mets games on WPIX-TV. That gig went away with the formation by the Mets this year of their own network.
Team ownership wanted the same lineup in the booth for all 150 games it'd broadcast. O'Brien was reportedly offered that job, but ESPN really showed him the money, and he's now one of their go-to guys on the diamond as well as for college hoops.
Sciambi had an offer to do Mets radiocasts, replacing Gary Cohen, who moves to the TV job O'Brien spurned. But he's instead opted to stay in South Florida -- where he also turned down the Marlins TV job -- for a mix of doing sports talk on 790 The Ticket and ballgames on ESPN.
http://www.790theticket.com/main.cfm?do=shows&item=10
Speaking of the World Baseball Classic, have you started to care? Do you have any plans to start to care?
When's Opening Day, anyway?

Injecting Life Into Obits: You Have To Know Someone at The New York Times To Avoid Prose Being Prosaic

Impressive Douglas Martin Eulogy of Danny Perasa Should Be Rule, Not Exception
This space continues to mourn the dead, or at least how the dead are often treated on the obituary pages of The New York Times. Misplaced priorities and turgid writing too often take the place of insight and some measure of who the deceased really was.

Stepping away from the prosaic status quo was an obit written by Douglas Martin of Danny Perasa, a longtime member of the Times office staff, who gained a following among NPR listeners as he and his wife spoke of a most enchanted marriage as part of the StoryCorps project.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3844820.

Perasa died last week at age 67, and was given a fitting send-off by Martin.
Daniel Anthony Perasa was born on Oct. 9, 1938, in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, where he spent most of his life. The doctor who delivered him predicted that the weak baby would live no more than five years. As it happened, the doctor died on Oct. 9, 1943, the very day Danny was not supposed to see.
"It was my first funeral," Mr. Perasa said. "I enjoyed it immensely."

The obit is full of such pearls. But earlier, there was this telling line:

"Mr. Perasa's therapy for diabetes was very long walks. On some, he was accompanied by this reporter, who often sought his wisdom."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/nyregion/01perasa.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Ah, so that's how you get an obit with feeling in the Times, know the guy who's writing it. Hate to be cynical about it, but the horribly detached, antiseptic renderings that are typical of a Times obit send you in that direction.

Let's hope new Times obit editor Bill McDonald will take a hint from the Perasa paean and commission many more such farewells, especially when one of the Gray Lady's own bows out, but also for those great and small who lived a good life that deserves to be recounted.

As Martin notes, the Perasas recorded a final piece that aired on NPR last Friday, the same day Danny died. You may not have known them, but you wish you did. Bring a hankie.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5230164.

Tragedy Keeps Brian Williams Away From Mardi Gras While Last-Minute Fill-In Sees Her Star Ascend

Pinch-Hitting Campbell Brown Could Be A Starter Soon
Condolences to Brian Williams and his family over the death of his sister, who lost a long battle with breast cancer.
http://dailynightly.msnbc.com/2006/02/a_personal_note.html
Which is why you saw Campbell Brown last night anchoring "NBC Nightly News" from New Orleans while still seeing his taped "exclusive" interview with Brownie further fulminating about FEMA and the Dark Lord Chertoff.
That means Williams won't be there for Mardi Gras, a coda for the last six months for Williams, who mightily burnished his credentials as he was inside the Superdome as the roof started to peel off six months ago today.
Williams has made repeated trips to the region to monitor progress and keep track of the human toll, modulating emotions while trying to provide sufficient context. His approach is a welcome antidote to an overwrought Anderson Cooper, who can stop being strident right about now.
For Brown, it's a strong vote of confidence as her star continues to burn brighter amid speculation that Katie Couric will jump ship to CBS.
Brown looked none the worse for the wear despite spending more than two weeks on the air daily in Torino, first filing Olympic wrapups during the week for "Today", while holding down her regular gig co-hosting "Weekend Today."
If Couric decamps to West 57th St., slotting Brown in next to Matt Lauer would be a no-brainer. Natalie Morales could take her spot weekends, or move to weekday newsreader, if Ann Curry goes full-time to "Dateline," which could happen.
Beyond that, the bench gets a little thinner. The suits might look over the river to MSNBC, though the pickings are a tad slim there, and given its sickly ratings, not much in the way of name recognition.
One possibility to investigate, and she's already in 30 Rock: Darlene Rodriguez, who co-anchors the morning news on WNBC-TV. She's got chops as a reporter, keeps interviews moving and her happy talk tends to be more engaging than insipid.
And if you think all this desk jockeying is a little much, consider that "Today" is purported to make a $250 million profit. Talk about much.

Christopher Glenn's Last Roundup

Radio News Legend Rides Off Into Retirement After 35 Years at CBS

"Oh, Charlie, I’m flabbergasted. What can I say. It’s really nice. Time on the Roundup now is eight minutes past the hour."
And those were the final words most people heard from the smooth-as-silk bass of Christopher Glenn as anchor of the "World News Roundup" on CBS News Radio (the broadcast runs 10 minutes, but most stations in major markets cut out at eight past to do traffic. Shame they couldn't make an exception on this day).
Charlie would be Charles Osgood, who voiced a lyrical two-minute tribute to Glenn on the Roundup, which you can hear at http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/22/entertainment/main1337111.shtml, along with Glenn's riveting account of the shuttle Challenger explosion 20 years ago.
"His CBS colleagues not only admired and respected him," said Osgood, "they wanted to sound like him."
Indeed. Often imitated, but never duplicated. And you could hurt your larynx trying.
As Glenn did the final time check of his 35-year career at CBS, it sounded like he got a little choked up, which is understandable given the circumstances, but especially worthy of mention as it may have been the first time he got that emotional in a half-century of broadcasting.
Glenn may be signing off, but for the diminishing few who still aspire to a career in radio news, his checkered career at the mic and behind the scenes as an award-winning writer and producer should be studied intently.
It's quite a legacy and for those who worked with him over the years like myself, it was one that was a privilege to be a part of.

Vin Scully Re-Ups With Dodgers, Earth Can Continue Spinning On Its Axis

Not that it was ever in doubt, but Vin Scully has signed a two-year deal to stay behind the mike as the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers through 2008.
In case you're scoring at home, that would make 59 years covering the travails of dem Bums turned Beach Bums.
"All I have ever really done, all I have ever really accomplished is to talk about the accomplishments of others," Scully said, with his characteristic modesty.
And that's been enough for generations of Dodger fans over six decades.
All of a sudden it feels warm outside. Let's play ball.

CBS Report On Manners Tries A Little Too Hard To Please

Not That We Want To Be Mean About It Or Anything
In an otherwise-absorbing report on CBS Sunday Morning about manners, or the lack thereof, Martha Teichner showed how being nice could be nice for the bottom line by pointing to Southwest Airlines as a paragon of corporate courtesy.
True, the airline is known for generally friendly employees, whose default position is a smile. You may not get everything you want, but at least they'll be nice about it.
Teichner asked rhetorically whether this corporate culture was resonating, to which she answered how Southwest was the only major airline to make a profit last year. While that's correct, it was a leap to assert that employees happy, peppy and bursting with love for their passengers was the reason.
I'm sure that doesn't hurt, but also consider:

--Southwest has an uncomplicated fare structure, with fare prices and frequent departures throughout the country.
--It keeps costs down by only having one type of airplane -- a 737 -- to service.
--It bought fuel hedges, which limited the airline's exposure to runaway gas prices, at least through 2008.
--Southwest has all-coach service, and limits refreshments to drinks and a bag of pretzels or nuts, no matter how long the flight.
--Because it prides itself on a quick turnaround for its planes, Southwest keeps its fleet in the air longer each day. More flights, more money.

And yes, having a pleasant experience while aboard, definitely motivates passengers to book flights. But that it is only a small part of the equation, if it is a part at all.

Cheney Fan Club Goes Begging For Members On Pages of Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Thanks But No Thanks For The Scoop, Mr. Vice President

Sure, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times got the first phone call about Dick Cheney shooting up Harry Whittington.
It's not every day that a small paper in South Texas is first with what's become the lead story for the last three days.
Still, the Caller-Times is calling Cheney and Co. on not coming clean sooner. See, they first got the call from the Armstrong Ranch 18 hours after Whittington was sprayed with buckshot.

On future visits to South Texas, Cheney can count on the same kind of cordial reception he's received before. But he might want to bear in mind that the Caller-Times takes phone calls on Saturday evenings as well as Sunday mornings.
http://www.caller.com/ccct/editorials/article/0,1641,CCCT_840_4468705,00.html

Despite going hunting in Republican-friendly territory, Cheney was not warmly received by letter writers to the Caller-Times who are apparently not in the habit of mincing words. Said one Albert Pena III:

I staunchly oppose gun control but recognize that certain people should not be allowed to own, carry or use guns. Prohibition of this right is reasonable when it concerns felons, the mentally challenged, and Vice President Dick Cheney.

At the same time, though, Cheney does have his defenders. Or, at least, the media has its detractors. The paper asked in an online poll whether the White House should have disclosed the incident on Saturday night instead of waiting. Some 56 percent, as of this writing, voted yes. A majority, true, but hardly a mandate. And those who say nay are blaming someone else for the hubbub besides the shooter.

Among the anonymous comments from those who voted:

"Who cares? This has happened to practically everyone who has spent any time hunting quail in S. Texas," which is kind of scary when you think about it.

Wrote another: "Reminds me of when Gerald Ford hit a guy on the head with a golf ball. The press is politicizing this issue." Of course, news of that traveled in less time than 18 hours, but what are facts to a fulminating Republican?

And here's one that may have come from the White House Press Office:

"The national media is just upset that some little nothing reporter from a nothing paper broke the news."

Take that, David Gregory!

Torino Pub Alert: Olympic Media Gets Heads-Up From Johnny Weir's Mom

The media has been lapping up whatever quotes U.S. skater Johnny Weir throws at them, as he sashays his way to the Olympic skating finals. Weir has called himself "princessy" -- so reporters don't have to otherwise write in code -- and said after he won the U.S. nationals that his mother was "probably getting drunk right now."
However, Mom isn't chastened by the boy she said was teased a lot, and had hockey pucks shot at him while he practiced at the local ice rink. Patti Weir admits to a wild streak in her salad days. Like Mom, like fabulous son.
"And yes, I'm going to have a drink when this is all over. I just want the press to know that right now."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/sports/olympics/14johnny.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Duly noted.
Suffice to say, after two-plus weeks of the Olympics, there'll be more than a few members of the Fourth Estate bellying up to the bar in an attempt to one-up Patti.
Salute!

Firing Squad For Drug Smugglers Has Aussie Media Juiced Up

In A Country With No Death Penalty, Executing Heroin Lowlifes Is A Big Deal

The lead story Down Under is word that Indonesia will execute two Australians who were the ringleaders of a heroin smuggling ring operating out of Bali.
Australia, which has no death penalty, made a big push for clemency. Indonesia, choosing a more draconian tack in the war on drugs, doesn't want anything sullying its tourism cash cow on Bali, where Aussies make a quick hop sort of like we do to the Bahamas or Cabo.
So the pair -- the leaders of the so-called Bali Nine -- have a date with the wrong end of a bullet.

Which has made the Australian media apoplectic, to say the least.
The thought that one of their own, even remorseless drug dealers, facing a firing squad is more than many can handle.
The Age in Melbourne opined: "They were willing to peddle a drug that causes untold misery and death. They deserve to pay a heavy price for their deeds, but not even this reprehensible crime justifies a punishment that denies all hope of redemption or rehabilitation."
http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/stronger-stand-needed-against-death-penalty/2006/02/14/1139890733557.html
However, Rupert Murdoch's Herald Sun, wasn't passing out any hankies, and predictably dismissed widespread criticism of the Australian Federal Police for tipping off Indonesian authorities. "Australians should be grateful that they nipped in the bud this attempt to put more heroin on our streets."
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,18150665%255E24218,00.html

Now that the verdict is in, the media dusted off some sidebars that were likely in the can anticipating the sentence.
The Sydney Morning Herald, which reported Prime Minister John Howard was almost in tears when commenting on the case, has an intriguing sidebar about firing squads, including a nugget that the paramilitary shooters practice on dolls, and no doubt guilty dolls at that.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/firing-squad-practises-on-dolls/2006/02/14/1139890737090.html

The Daily Telegraph in Sydney notes how most of the firing squad's guns actually have blanks, and none of the volunteers know who fires the fatal shot, in order to soothe their conscience. And apparently the Indonesians aren't fond of media circuses for their executions. You won't see the Aussie equivalent of Anderson Cooper or Rita Cosbie doing live standups on the killing field.

They are generally carried out in remote and deserted places in the night to ensure there are no witnesses. The time and place is a closely guarded secret and decoy cars are sent out from the jails to foil attempts by the media to witness them.
http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18148916-5001021,00.html

Although, the Indonesians might have reason to be camera-shy, As the Herald-Sun notes:
"Should the firing squad miss, the commander has the right to shoot the condemned in the head with his pistol."

You just hate when that happens.

Rolling Stones Deny They Were Cuckolded About "Cocks" And "Come"

It Was Only Rock N' Roll, Even If The NFL Didn't Like It
And now comes the backpedaling over the Rolling Stones' Super Bowl half-time less-than-extravaganza.
If you believe the latest words from the band's camp, they were not under the thumb of the nervous nellies at the NFL, which "asked" that two words be censored to the TV audience during their concert.
The way Stones mouthpiece Fran Curtis puts it, Mick and the boys couldn't get any satisfaction from the league no matter how hard they tried. It was a bitch, but they soldiered on. Talk about rough justice.
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/reuters/0,24012,1157536_10_0_,00.html

Puncturing The Myth of the Rolling Stones' Super Bowl Censorship

Five-Second Delay Doesn't Mean ABC Did NFL's Bidding And Bleeped Jagger

If you watched the Rolling Stones play the Super Bowl halftime show, you inevitably kept a close eye on Mick Jagger as he strutted over the lip-locked stage at Ford Field to see how far he might push the envelope.

Not far, as it turned out. So, when a couple of racier lyrics were part of the playlist, the more eagle-eared in the audience noticed Jagger, in effect, censor himself. That happened, most notably, with "Start Me Up," when Jagger belts out, "You make a dead man," um, arrive. Something like that.

Jagger actually refrained from uttering the actual word. Instead, many reporters instantly assumed ABC had kiboshed Mick, fearing a verbal version of a wardrobe malfunction.
Jon Pareles, whose review of the Stones' appeared in The New York Times sports section yesterday (which would be odd in any other paper but the Times), bleated: "The Rolling Stones sang three songs for the Super Bowl XL halftime show last night and were censored in two of them — not a bad average for a band of sexagenarians who still ride a reputation as provocateurs."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/sports/football/06half.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

If only that was true.

Pareles implies it was ABC that did the censoring on-site. In fact, as it was apparent to anyone watching, Jagger was mum to the TV audience before he would otherwise sing the word that rhymes with mum, at the prior request of the squeamish NFL.

"The Rolling Stones were aware of our plan, which was to simply lower the volume on his microphone at those two appropriate moments," NFL flack Brian McCarthy told Reuters.
Mark Caro in the Chicago Tribune, gets the real story right and provides some historical context. Indeed, the Stones, ever the savvy businessmen, have known early on the benefits of going along to get along.

Thirty-nine years after the Rolling Stones begrudgingly changed "Let's Spend the Night Together" to "Let's Spend Some Time Together" on "The Ed Sullivan Show," the '60s rock icons were back in self-censoring mode for their Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-0602060159feb06,1,474512.story

Leave it to the bemused British press to suggest, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, that Jagger should get into the habit of such things. From The Times of London:

Some title advice: end the youthful flirtation with “Mr D.” and dance instead with “Mr J. C.”, while expressing Sympathy for the Prophet. In Will You Be My Lover Tonight? replace “Lover” with “TV Dinner Companion”. Enrich Sticky Fingers by amending it to Sticky Toffee Pudding.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,542-2027937,00.html
All this fuss and not a single nipple ring in sight.

Radio Station Scams Media About Gay Baiting "American Idol" Host

Jock Pretends To Try And Out Seacrest. Newspaper Falls For Gag
At first blush it sounded like a good story.
The impossibly peripatetic Ryan Seacrest was at a popular New Jersey radio show, "The Jersey Guys" on New Jersey 101.5. to talk about the highest profile of his zillion projects, hosting "American Idol."
But as The Trentonian, a raggy little tabloid reported, co-host cum yabbo Craig Carton wasted little time quizzing Seacrest about which team he played for.
"Ryan," Carton said, "Are you gay?
Silence.
"Ryan, are you a homosexual?
"With that, Seacrest was headed for the door."I can’t stay here, man," Seacrest said. "I gotta jet."
http://www.trentonian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16052050&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6l.
I posted this story yesterday on the New York Radio Message Board, after spotting it on Gawker. That was followed by a lively debate on the idiocy that passes for a radio show courtesy of Carton and his guilty-by-association partner Ray Rossi.
But then there were whispers that Seacrest wasn't even in the studio, although the Jersey Guys made it seem like he was. Then came word that it was all a set-up. A bit. Somebody pretending to be Seacrest. Ha-ha.
Which prompted an unusual bylined article in today's Trentonian from editor Carl Barbatti, that starts: "We were scammed."
http://www.trentonian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16059715&BRD=1697&PAG=461&dept_id=44551&rfi=6.
Indeed.
So, what went wrong? Maybe it was a matter of trust. The usual Jersey Guys patter involves talking about the news of the day rather than schmoozing with celebrities. Take them for what they are, but at least they didn't have a rep for faking news and interviews.
You could say The Trentonian should have exercised some due diligence. What the hell would Seacrest be doing in the middle of Jersey when he also does a top-rated morning drive radio show in Los Angeles, has "Idol" duties, tapes "American Top 40" and is now the first face of the "E" network.
Even Seacrest would appear to have his limits, and a radio station in central Jersey would likely be one of them.
But then again, NJ101.5 FM is a respected, high-rated talk station that hosts the "Ask The Governor" program. If it's good enough for Jon Corzine, then why not Seacrest?
Which means this goes beyond radio shtick. Listeners had no reason but to assume Seacrest was in the studio while Carton desperately tried to out him. Does NJ101.5 FM care enough about its credibility to discipline Carton and his producer for duping The Trentonian and other media outlets?
Maybe not enough to detract from management enjoying the notoriety. After all, you might tune in to hear what those wacky Jersey Guys do next.
And don't expect Carton to be repentant anytime soon. As he said on the air yesterday:
"It's mind-boggling to me that this many people give a damn about the sexual preferences of Ryan Seacrest."
Of course, this defense came only after the station was flooded with angry calls, including one that called him a "hate-mongering Jew."
http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzclar4611283feb03,0,3296170.story
The better course: Carton, Out(ta here).

John Roberts Signs Off At CBS To Go On At CNN

He May Have Thought He Was Dan Rather's Apparent, But Sean McManus Thought Otherwise
John Roberts is calling it quits at CBS, after getting passed over to be Dan Rather's successor at the Evening News following years as his chief fill-in.

Roberts, complete with his square jaw, sandy gray hair and blue eyes that made him something of a matinee idol at the network, will soon be at CNN, where he will be a senior national correspondent based in Washington.

"For nearly 14 years at the network, and two years at our Miami station, I have been a part of CBS News, and it a huge part of me. Ultimately, though, all relationships must come to an end, and regrettably, it is time to end my relationship here," he wrote in an email to colleagues.

For Roberts, being the chief White House correspondent and anchor of the news on Sunday night while waiting for Rather to leave had apparently worn thin, especially if that big paycheck and higher profile that awaited him would prove elusive.

"Leaving CBS News will be difficult - no question. The ache of anxious anticipation has been gnawing away at me for some time now," he wrote.

Roberts' departure will be a loss. He had the reporting chops to go with his good looks. Roberts was as comfortable ad-libbing a stand-up on the White House lawn as he was reporting from a moving Humvee in Kuwait as it screamed across the desert, or spending days in the stink of post-Katrina New Orleans.

I mostly worked with him in radio, where he'd come in on Sundays to read the 3 p.m. newscast whenever he was in the building to do that night's Evening News. Other anchors, more accustomed to TV, would dread such assignments.
But Roberts, who cut his teeth in radio both as a deejay and newsman in his native Canada, loved the change of pace, and was good as any in reading copy to the time allotted, or swapping out stories on the fly if something went wrong or there was breaking news.
It may have been just your meat-and-potatoes newscast, but Roberts gave it a little extra sheen and authority.

Too bad CBS couldn't have found some other way to give him a showcase. It would be to CNN's advantage to do just that.

Bring Out Your Dead: N.Y. Times Has A New Obituaries Editor

A Chance For Gray Lady To Reset Her Priorities And Pay Proper Tribute
Word came down earlier this week that The New York Times tapped Bill McDonald, who has worn more than a few hats in the newsroom on West 43rd St., to be its new obits editor. He replaces Charles Strum, who moves to the night desk.
http://www.gawker.com/news/new-york-times/stop-it-bill-keller-youre-killing-us-151626.php.
In making the announcement, Bill Keller said writing obits was a "journalistic form in which this paper has always taken special pride."
Which obviously means Keller doesn't read his own paper's obits often enough.
Sure, there's a swell valedictory today by Peter Applebome about Coretta Scott King, with lots of the little details that keep you reading an obit over two-thirds of a page.
She stunned Dr. King's father, who presided over the wedding, by demanding that the promise to obey her husband be removed from the wedding vows. Reluctantly, he went along. After the wedding, the bridegroom fell asleep in the car while the new Mrs. King drove back to Atlanta.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/01/national/01king.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Good stuff, indeed.
The Times obits are also good at remembering those who were captured in a moment of time, then faded from memory but still more than worthy of mention, e.g. Yippie co-founder Stew Albert, who is also mentioned today.
Yet, The Times obit page too often acts like it dirties itself when it has to cover the deaths of movie stars who check out way too early. For them, it's a few inches of wire copy or a brief at the bottom of the page. Chris Penn most recently got that treatment.
Then there's the Times' inimitable practice for the lesser lights that have been granted some precious newsprint to put out the obit days after the person died, when other media outlets have long since disposed of such news. This attitude of "you're dead when we say you're dead" is as baffling as it is arrogant.
We've already taken The Times to task on several occasions for its most grievous obit sin -- virtually ignoring the deaths of its own people. More than anything else, this should be job one for McDonald to fix.
http://realitybitesback.blogspot.com/2006/01/murder-of-one-of-its-reporting-titans.html
Beyond saying a proper farewell to those deserving of such treatment --- most recently Constance Hays and David Rosenbaum -- it should be a matter of professional pride.
Does Keller and Co. feel even the slightest bit of embarrassment that the most in-depth coverage of Rosenbaum's murder last month as well as the most heartfelt tributes to him -- Rosenbaum was about so much more than his bylines -- appeared in The Washington Post?
Even the Jan. 14 story about the memorial service for Rosenbaum, attended by 700 people including members of Congress, was relegated to the bottom of the obit page. The tributes to Rosenbaum were diluted with information about the murder investigation, a story the Post owned from the start.
Time for The Times to make sure it takes care of its own one last time. If McDonald is looking for his own legacy, there's no better place to start.

Orville Redenbacher Back From The Dead

Posthumous Popcorn Push
Is it just me, or are you a little weirded out from the 30-year-old spots that have been running recently with Orville Redenbacher shilling the popcorn that bears his name.
After all, Orville went to the big kettle in the sky in 1995 at age 88 when he had a heart attack and drowned in his bathtub, which was probably one of the few places where he didn't wear his trademark bowtie.
That bowtie and the straight talk from the man from Valparaiso, Indiana, helped propel the brand to be one of the top popcorn sellers. Which may be the reason ConAgra is trotting this spot out again.
Few had as much passion for popcorn as Orville did, and few since, apparently. I guess you go with the guy who brung ya. So what if he's dead. That doesn't mean he still can't talk to us, and inspire us to go buy more popcorn to boot.
See for yourself.
http://www.nationalorville.com/index.jsp

"Good Morning America" Gets Interesting Enron Trial Forecast From Former Employee

From the mouths of a scorned Enron employee, this pearl....
In the midst of the coverage of Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, "Good Morning America" took time out for a Mike von Fremd package setting up tomorrow's beginning of the Enron trial, followed by a live interview with Charles Prestwood, who lost $1.3 million in savings when the former energy giant imploded.
Asked by Kate Snow whether he thought Ken Lay and Richard Skilling were guilty, Prestwood mustered a rather unique perspective, or so we hope.
"The Jews would have an easier time believing the Holocaust never happened than convincing me that Ken Lay was innocent."
Which, to her credit, Snow had absolutely nothing to add.

NBC Debunks And Perpetuates Shuttle Myths At Same Time

MSNBC.com put out a fascinating report yesterday from NBC space analyst James Oberg that debunked seven lingering myths about the Challenger shuttle explosion, which happened 20 years ago today.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11031097/.
Chief among them: The nation watched as the tragedy unfolded. That was true only if you were part of the sliver of the nation watching CNN that day. The other networks had cut away, as Oberg reminds us, and had to replay the explosion ad nauseum during the wall-to-wall coverage that ensued.
If only Janet Shamlian had bothered to read his article. This morning on "Today," Shamlian was doing a live shot from Cape Canaveral, where a memorial service is set to remember the seven astronauts who perished.
But in the set-up to a taped piece on Christa McAuliffe's family, Shamlian repeated the now-discredited mantra that the "nation was watching" that day.
Nice that Oberg provides some context to the tragedy. Not nice that Shamlian overlooked a crucial point.
By the way, on the MSNBC Web site there's video of an interview with NASA Administrator Michael Griffin by Tom Costello. It's interesting, in part, because they put up the raw tape, warts and all. In the beginning, the interview is momentarily halted when Costello's cell phone goes off.
Watching this tape is also a useful exercise for journalism students, to get insight into the process of editing a news package, and see what news crews have to deal with to find one or two quickie sound bites out of a 24-minute interview.
You're looking for the money quotes, but because you only have limited air time, lots of good stuff doesn't make the cut, which is why it's nice that NBC and other networks are giving us additional windows to view the fruits of their labor.

Too Horrible To Contemplate: Larry King Sex Games

It should be a surprise to no one that Howard Stern's newfound liberation on Sirius Satellite Radio has had a similarly salutary effect on his guests, who have no problem spilling the beans on their bedroom proclivities.
Last week, Shawn Southwick dished on husband Larry King's sex games, which include, an Indian costume, Kemosabe.
http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.php?d=1137657600
Yuck.
That was followed a few days later by Sirius colleague Alexis Stewart confirming a rumor that she bedded a cameraman from her mommy's failed version of "The Apprentice," but denied another report she had a lesbian experience.
Alas, no Indian costumes in this girl's future. She's actually working on getting artificially inseminated.
http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.php?d=1138003200

Nan Talese Still Doesn't Get It

Editor In Middle Of Frey Fray Has Trouble Discerning Fact From Fiction

In the myriad of stories written about James Frey and the many fabrications that are at the heart of "A Million Little Pieces," publisher Nan Talese is often mentioned, usually with such words as "esteemed," "respected" and "veteran." After yesterday's appearance on Oprah, add "clueless" to the pile.
As this space has previously mentioned, Talese has been adamant in insisting memoirs should be held to a different standard than autobiography, rationalizing that a memoir is an author's impression of what happened and shouldn't be held to the same rigorous standards of other nonfiction genres.
Fortunately, hers is the minority viewpoint, but that short-sightedness is what had her bobbing and weaving on Oprah after the talk-show titan turned Frey into a pathetic globule of Jell-O after he fessed up to embellishing or downright fabricating the most compelling parts of his tale of addiction and redemption.
Talese offered a lame analogy of when she was helping Rosalynn Carter with her memoir, and her ex-prez husband disputed the recounting of a certain event.
As Talese told it, Rosalynn retorted, "Now Jimmy, you can remember it your way and I'll remember it mine!"
So there.
Only thing is, the firestorm over "A Little Million Pieces" isn't a dispute of Frey writing there was a clear blue sky when there were a few high clouds. In much of the book Frey wasn't recounting events so much as making them up or wishing they happened another way.
Girlfriend Lilly hung herself? Um, no, she slit her wrists. Months spent in jail? Yeah, about that, it was only a few hours. Given Talese's reasoning, that's OK, it's how Frey remembers it. So what if it has no basis in reality?
Apparently, Random House, the parent of Talese's imprint, realizes that's a laughable even dangerous position and soft-pedaled an apology in a written statement that reads in part:

[I]t is not the policy or stance of this company that it doesn’t atter whether a book sold as nonfiction is true. A nonfiction book should adhere to the facts as the author knows them.
http://www.randomhouse.com/trade/publicity/pdfs/AMLP012706.pdf

But first, Nan, they must be facts. Much of "A Million Little Pieces" is lacking in that crucial ingredient.
Which is why you'll see notes from the publisher and Frey in future editions of the book explaining just what you should and should not believe. Sort of like a Cliff's Notes to the truth.
Random House is also conveniently sending copies of the note to bookstores to insert in the copies they have now.
It's a note that Talese, once she gets out of denial, should commit to memory.

Freygate: Blame The Fact-Checkers. Oh, Wait, We Don't Have Any

Passing The Buck on "Million Little Pieces" Debacle To Someone Not There
The AP story on James Frey fessing up about the now-discredited "A Million Little Pieces" has Nan Talese offering what might be a startling excuse for Frey's deceptions, namely that no one bothered to check whether his book was true before Random House sent it to the printer.

Talese, an industry veteran whose many authors have included Ian McEwan, George Plimpton and Thomas Cahill, told Winfrey that editors who saw the book raised no questions and that "A Million Pieces" received a legal vetting. She acknowledged that the book had not been fact-checked, something many publishers say they have little time to do, but that future editions would include an author's note saying parts of the book "had been changed."

Talese had told Oprah's people Frey was on the up and up when questions about the book were raised before the Queen Of All Media gave it her unqualified blessing.
Good luck to Random House in ever getting one of their titles on Oprah's Book Club again.

What's telling -- or disingenuous, as the case may be -- is a quote in the story from Ashbel Green, a senior editor at Knopf.

"But this question of fact checking is a complicated one. At The New Yorker and Time and Newsweek, you have experienced people who know where to go and what's right and what's wrong. We don't. There's been a traditional dependency on the author."

Say what? As long as the lawyers deem it's not libelous you can put anything and everything in a supposed memoir and the publisher will give you a free pass, is what Green is essentially uttering. Very scary indeed.
And if publishers don't have experienced fact-checkers, can't they go out and get some when the situation demands. But then that would cost money, wouldn't it? Even worse, it could ruin a really great story.

Frey Fried By Oprah

Not To Say I Told You So, But.....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060126/en_nm/frey_dc
The most powerful woman in America now has to spend the next week or so wiping egg off her face.
Same goes for his editor, Nan Talese, who had previously stated that a memoir didn't have to be totally fact-based. As long as the author says he remembered it that way, well, then, by golly, that was good enough for her. So what if it isn't true?
http://realitybitesback.blogspot.com/2006/01/giving-james-frey-and-nan-talese.html
The good part for James Frey: "A Million Little Pieces" will still be a great Lifetime movie of the week, though that "Based on true events" tag might have to go.

No Gay Sex, Please, We're British

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WB, UPN To Fade To Black; CW Rises From The Ashes As New Media Marriage is Arranged

And Then There Were Five
Big news from the broadcast TV front as CBS and Warner Bros. link up to form the CW, a new fifth network, which means old number five and six, the WB and UPN are history as of the fall.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-24-2006/0004266588&EDATE=
As the dust is still settling, no time like the present to take a look at some of the winners and losers in this link-up:
WINNERS
--The 16 major-market stations owned by Tribune, (including WPIX in New York and WGN in Chicago) who are now WB affiliates, and the 12 UPN stations owned by CBS. Both networks were often ratings-challenged, which also affected local newscasts. Fewer networks will inevitably mean fewer eyeballs will go wandering for similar programs.
--Shareholders of CBS, Tribune and Time Warner. None of these stocks have been a Wall Street darling, but less brutal competition and overhead can only be a good thing.
LOSERS
--Rupert Murdoch. The Foxy One owns the UPN station in New York, which will now have to fill prime time with....fill in the blank. Before UPN and Rupe came along, Channel 9 was little more than an afterthought, but was known for being the TV home of most local sports teams. But now that cable has locked most teams away, that option has all but vanished.
--WB and UPN affiliates in smaller markets. Outside of the 28 cities where Tribune and CBS own stations, uncertainty abounds. The CW announcement says the network will choose which affiliates to bring on board. Which leaves stations in smaller markets in a serious bind. It's conceivable some could sign off or become full-time infomercial or religious broadcasters if they lose the cachet and commercials network programming can reel in.
--Actors and writers. Even factoring in reality shows and "Smackdown", UPN and WB still run dramas and sitcoms that people actually watch, like "Gilmore Girls," "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Smallville." But now they all have to squeeze onto one channel, which means the door to something new gets closed a little bit tighter.

Bottom line: Never the shrinking violet, Les Moonves was obviously looking for a bold move now that CBS has been unshackled from the Viacom mothership. He also apparently tired of habitually jumping to the bottom of the Nielsens to see how poorly most UPN shows were faring. Not that the WB was doing all that much better in terms of sheer numbers, though "Smallville" and "Gilmore Girls," among others, have brought in some nice coin from the 18-49 demo advertisers drool over most. And that's what this really is all about. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and then we'll worry about how to kick the crap out of Fox.

Trying To Cover Iraq With Others Covering For You

An Unfortunate Fact Of Life For Reporters In And Out Of The Green Zone
Even before Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll was kidnapped, journalists stationed in Baghdad never had to be reminded of how dangerous their beat was.
Which means many reporters are confined to their compound if they're outside the Green Zone, or have to take extraordinary precautions if they dare venture out.
More commonly, they rely on Iraqi staffers to pick up their slack and do the field reporting that is too hazardous for even the most intrepid souls. Many print outlets give these brave Iraqis due credit for assisting in gathering their stories.
No such props are awarded on TV, so it was refreshing that NPR gave credit where credit was due for an intriguing piece by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro on whether Iraqis fear there will be civil war. Initially, I was fearful that she ventured outside , which is hardly recommended while Carroll remains captive.
But at the end, two Iraqis who work at the NPR Baghdad bureau were also cited at the end of the report. Which meant Garcia-Navarro stayed out of harm's way and was able to focus on crafting a slice of life too rarely heard amid reports of suicide bomb, ethnic strife and political infighting.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5168846
Covering the day-to-day miasma in Iraq is hard enough. Which makes such dispatches all the more remarkable.

Josiah, We Hardly Knew Ye: West Wing Wrung

NBC Finally Pulls Plug On White House Potboiler While Bestowing Blessing On "Earl," "Office."
To no one's surprise, NBC made it official yesterday and said this would be the last season for "The West Wing," which had made something of a creative comeback this year, but was sucking wind in the Nielsens, thanks to a deadly 8 p.m. Sunday timeslot.
In any event, enough was enough.
Matt Santos will have to win the election without Leo McGarry (Josh Lyman for VP?). Arnie Vinick? Yeah, right. Alan Alda gets top billing only when he's on, which isn't often enough.
This is supposed to be a two-man race, but nobody apparently told the writers. If anything, the Vinick camp is more interesting, or at least has a more intriguing supporting cast, what with Patricia Richardson, Stephen Root and real-life neocon Ron Silver mixing it up.
The Santos camp has had a whole lot of whining going on. Janeane Garofalo's communications chief is the predictable know-it-all pitbull, while Santos' wife, played by Teri Polo merely rolls her eyes a lot and looks peeved. Then there's Josh, who manages to piss off just about everyone at some point, including us. He needs to shtup Donna once and for all and get a grip.
Still, we're cautiously optimistic that the finale will be memorable for the right reasons. In its seven years, "The West Wing" hit a lot more than it missed, and that should be its most enduring legacy, given that painfully few shows can make that claim.
For those of you bereft at the prospect of life without a Bartlet administration, NBC has bestowed a few goodies to salve the pain such a void leaves, with full-season pickups in 2006-07 for "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office," which only keeps getting better. Too bad the season's being cut short this April because Steve Carell's leaving to do a movie.
http://www.csr-asia.com/index.php?p=5123
Of course, if the flick's anything like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" then all will be forgiven in a Dunder Mifflin minute.

Putting The Coal Mine Deaths Into Context

The Tragedies Of West Virginia Overshadow How Much Worse It Is Elsewhere
The media has been put in the position of having to learn again how to cover mining disasters, following the two accidents in West Virginia that killed 14 miners, and getting mixed reviews in the process.
Of course, mining accidents used to be enough of an occurrence where only a large body count would cause more than a ripple in the press, sort of where we're at now when a few soldiers get picked off in Iraq.
Which puts the Chinese media in a difficult position. It has the equivalent of a Sago tragedy -- in terms of the number of dead miners -- about 523 times a year.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/detail.asp?GRP=I&id=75391
It's almost to the point where mining deaths in China are no longer news, merely hazards of the trade or new employment opportunities for the rural poor who flock to these jobs.
To be sure, coal mines don't have a monopoly on sending workers to their final reward. All told, there were more than 126,700 workplace deaths in China last year, Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia reports, quoting official government figures.
http://www.csr-asia.com/index.php?p=5123.
The really scary part: That's nearly 10,000 fewer deaths than in 2004.