Match.com has rolled out a multimedia push themed "It's okay to look" in ads created by Hanft Unlimited in New York. The campaign tries to relaunch the online dating service and pushes a "Portrait Toolkit" that allows users to seek advice from Jay Manuel of "America's Next Top Model" on wardrobe, hair, makeup, etc. to make photographs more appealing.

It is a break from Match's recent efforts featuring TV's Dr. Phil as pitchman. "The category as a whole has been missing real guidance about how to feel good about going online and be proud of the quirks that make you beautiful," says Jim Safka, CEO of Match.

"Romance and love are very personal, and yet many people create their profiles in minutes, using photos with bad lighting or not filling out any information about who they truly are as a person." Read the whole story...

CBS News did not break into programming for any special report on former Gerald Ford's death, opting to run an on-screen "crawl" to announce the death of the man who became president when Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace.

The Tiffany Network will, however, call Katie Couric home from vacation to anchor the "CBS Evening News" Thursday and any ceremonies over the weekend. News of the 93-year-old former president's demise broke shortly before midnight on the East Coast, but during prime time in the West.

Terry Moran, already working on ABC News' "Nightline," anchored a special report, while NBC had a two-minute special report simulcast on MSNBC. "We have contingency plans for these kinds of things and discuss them well in advance," says Bob Murphy, ABC News senior vice president. "There really was never a question that for a former president you would do a brief interrupt." Read the whole story...

The syndication business had a rotten week, ratings-wise, heading into the holidays, posting mostly dismal numbers due to repeats, pre-Christmas shopping and a December 14 power outage in Seattle and Portland.

People using television (PUT) levels fell by an average of 386,000 viewers from the previous week. And the talk-show genre slumped again, with 12 of the 13 veterans off by double-digit percentages from last year.

While "Dr. Phil" was a relative bright spot with a 6% drop, "Oprah" hit a new season low with a mere 6.0 rating. Meanwhile, rookie "Rachael Ray" dropped 5% on the week to a 2.1, although it did pull its best ratings in 10 weeks in the New York market. Read the whole story...

Local TV news is already getting up with the chickens, but the NBC affiliate in Chicago is about to launch the earliest yet.

On Jan. 15, WMAQ will premiere "Barely Today" at 4:30 a.m. Hosted by Bruce Wolf, it will also be simulcast on WLUP-FM, an Emmis Communications' rock station, in another first for the market. "These days, it is more important than ever to create new content and customer experiences," says Larry Wert, president and general manager of WMAQ.

The show will combine radio with TV as an unscripted, discussion-driven morning program to include top news headlines and audience participation. The station keeps rolling back the clock. It brought early local news to the market at 6 a.m. in 1990, 5:30 a.m. in 1993 and 5:00 a.m. in 1998. "We believe there is a viable audience for local news and information at 4:30 a.m.," said Frank Whittaker, vice president of news at WMAQ. Read the whole story...