My selection of industri news » Broadcasting

ACC Co-eds to Headline Playboy’s October Issue

KV — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:18:31 +0000

Playboy has begun its search for the hottest girls of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball championship. Playboy photographers have started looking for the sexiest and most beautiful girls in campus and their first stop was in North Carolina State University last March 23 and 24. Succeeding auditions will also be held in the other 12 ACC schools including Florida State University, University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech University, to name a few.
Thousands of college girls have auditioned in the past and some have used Playboy as a stepping stone for a career in show business. Sara Jean Underwood was selected as Playmate of the Year for 2007 and she was first featured in the “Girls of PAC 10” of the October 2005 issue. Selected beauties will be part of the magazine’s “Girls of the ACC” feature included in the October 2009 issue which will hit newsstands on Friday, September 11, 2009.

Tyra Banks Says the Show Must Go On

KV — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:16:45 +0000

After a chaotic riot that ensued in the streets of New York City during the auditions of the popular television show “America’s Next Top Model,” super model Tyra Banks, executive producer and host of the show, recently announced that auditions will push through. Organizers of the event did not expect that much people and measures were not taken to ensure the safety of all.
The police say that the skirmish was caused by shoving and pushing among the hopefuls as everyone wanted to audition for the show. The situation became worse when a vehicle broke down close by and began emitting smoke. Factions of the oversized crowd suspected that this was a bomb and people began panicking. Banks mentioned in an interview that they are taking measures to make sure that everyone who was not seen still gets a chance to audition. A clip of the melee is posted in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fjpwTWbAyQ

The Don Faces His Greatest Test

KV — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:15:05 +0000

Legendary television executive and news producer Don S. Hewitt, creator of the very popular CBS news program “60 Minutes,” was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The sad news was confirmed by Kevin Tedesco, the show’s spokesman. Hewitt was a pioneer in the magazine format of delivering news in television programs and in 1968, he was the mastermind behind the release of “60 Minutes.” Today the show is the longest-running program in American television that airs in prime time.
Hewitt started his career with CBS in 1948 where he directed and produced a number of news programs for the network. He stepped down as executive producer of “60 Minutes” in 2004. Hewitt was born in December 14, 1922 and is currently 86 years old.

Hef is No Exception to the Recession

KV — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:12:49 +0000

Hugh Hefner-owned Playboy Enterprises Inc. has also emerged as one of the thousands of corporations affected by the global recession.
Martha Lindeman, company spokeswoman, recently announced that the organization intends to close down its Manhattan office. The Fifth Avenue branch currently employs around one hundred employees and Lindeman says that most of these jobs will be lost. The branch is mainly involved in licensing work and publishing. Playboy Inc. expects to close the office on May 1 and have announced that the decision, although unwanted, was necessary as doing so would translate to $5 million saved annually. This news bit is just further proof that times are definitely hard and that everyone is trying to save up in any way possible.

The Return of the Bark

KV — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:11:19 +0000

Two years after his retirement from the show Bob Barker was back in the set of “The Price Is Right,” one of America’s longest running game shows in television. Successor Drew Carey however need not worry that he might be relinquishing his post as Barker’s return was merely for promotional purposes. The 85-year-old former host was invited to promote his memoir aptly entitled “Priceless Memories.”
Barker hosted the CBS game show for 35 years before retiring, taping a total of 6,856 episodes before giving up his throne in June of 2007. The legendary show host has always been known to be an animal-lover and his retirement from national television has not stopped him being involved in various projects related to animal rights. Proceeds of the book will be given to the DJ&T foundation, a charity founded by Barker himself which is involved in controlling the pet population.

LIN TV’s Changes in the Helm

KV — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:09:51 +0000

Television broadcasting corporation LIN TV recently announced that they have decided to appoint Nicholas N. Mohamed as Vice President Controller. The post will be filled effective March 31, 2009 and Mohamed will be replacing William Cunningham who has been of service for the company for several years. Cunningham’s resignation will be effective on March 31 as well and the former VP intends to pursue other opportunities.
New VP Mohamed will be bringing experience to the table as he was previously a Director for Finance Mergers & Acquisitions for Sensata Technologies, Inc. He will be tasked to oversee the company’s day-to-day accounting, finance, and treasury operations. Mohamed is an alumnus of Georgetown University where he graduated as a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. This is seen by some as a positive move as LIN TV attempts to amend its rocky financial state.

Hearst-Argyle Board Confirm Possibility of Buyout

KV — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:08:13 +0000

After weeks of rumours circulating regarding Hearst Corporation’s desire to buyout Argyle’s shares in the Hearst-Argyle broadcasting company, the board finally confirmed on Thursday, March 26, 2009, that a special committee has been formed to consider this possibility. To date Heart Corp. owns 67% of the corporation’s class A stock; they announced on Wednesday that they are willing to pay as much as $4 per share for the other 32% to ensure that the organization becomes a fully-owned subsidiary.
This is not the first time Hearst has attempted to buyout its partner as a similar failed move was done in 2007. The Hearst-Argyle stock went down by 2% in Thursday after the announcement was made. This trend will almost certainly continue until the uncertainty is resolved; unfortunately the biggest loser in this mix-up will be the stockholders.

Richard Hatch Surviving Behind Bars

KV — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:06:39 +0000

“Surivivor” season one winner Richard Hatch recently sent out a 43-page memo to petition his 13-year prison sentence for tax evasion. Hatch was sentenced to a 51-month sentence on May 16, 2006 when he was found guilty after failing to declare and pay taxes for the $1 million he won on the show. The survivor maintains his innocence and blames his ineffective lawyers for the crime. There is no ruling on the request as of yet but prosecutors are expected to respond to the request in the next few weeks.
This is a very bizarre case. Either Hatch is really stupid for thinking he could get away with not paying taxes for his highly publicised winnings or he was simply manipulated by malicious people. Whatever the case may be, let’s just leave it to the courts and see if they’re willing to give the ultimate survivor a break.

60 Minutes with the King

KV — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:04:58 +0000

CBS news program “60 Minutes” will be showing a feature of NBA MVP contender LeBron James in this Sunday’s episode. “King James” has led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the current best record in the NBA this season and the team has clinched the Central Division title weeks before the end of the regular season.
The show filmed James during practice and followed him around as he co-hosted a concert for President Barack Obama with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. Gloria James, the superstar’s mother, is also interviewed on the feature. The former teenage sensation also makes a return to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, the place where James first gained international recognition because of his extraordinary skills on the hard court.

New CBS Show Promoted Through iPhone

KV — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:04:40 +0000

CBS’s newest show, “Harper’s Island,” is set to premiere two weeks from now. It is a murder mystery reality show wherein contestants are tasked to solve various crimes. In a brilliant marketing move CBS has created and released an application of the show which can be used through the iPhone or the iPod touch.
The game allows users to interact with the show by getting them involved. Players of the game are able to navigate through the interactive map, get more information on the island’s guests and read through the “Harper’s Globe”, the island’s local paper. The game will also include previews of upcoming shows as well as summaries of previous episodes. If this turns out as a success, look out for other television programs to follow in the footsteps of “Harper’s Island”.