There will likely be more reports about Superstorm Sandy's negative impact on the U.S. ad industry. But a flurry of them could also emerge soon about how the impending fiscal cliff could affect TV spending and other media.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie showed an unusual degree of emotion Tuesday as he spoke about the devastation Superstorm Sandy had on his state. In one moment in particular, he revealed a different side from the bombastic, take-on-all-comers politician he has shown himself to be.

The awful cliche hovering around local newscasts for years has been "if it bleeds, it leads," suggesting that viewers are attracted to stories about gruesome crimes and stations are more than happy to provide them. But it's hard to top a weather story of the Hurricane Sandy variety for a station, where the mantra is "let it, let it blow, let it blow."

Not everyone is waiting for the prices to come down. Sony has taken orders on its new $25,000 Ultra High Definition TV sets and they'll begin shipping next month. Bargain hunters can walk into a Southern California store as of Friday and order up one of LG's Ultra HD versions for $20,000.

Wolf Blitzer seems like an interesting enough guy. He's sure seen a lot, having reported on practically every major news story over the past few decades, while no doubt privy to lots of Washington gossip he doesn't feel comfortable reporting. And yet, at least according to one poll, he's considered kind of a snore.

The national TV market has been using a version of commercial ratings for several years now. It was a historic step when it started, but is it time for another big leap? Will the business move in this crazy, wacky direction that has advertisers paying based simply on how many people watched their specific spot, not on some average?

The Longhorn Network may not have much of an audience, but some of its viewers might be the most engaged in all of TV. Not to mention upscale. An ad sales department couldn't ask for a better combination. These glued viewers apparently aren't just checking out the live feed. They're burning out some DVRs by watching over and over again, breaking things down frame by frame.

The country failed to eliminate the farce that is the Electoral College 12 years ago when hanging chads were thrust into the national conversation. It is past time. The prospect of GOP candidate Mitt Romney winning more votes than President Obama, but being denied the White House by the outdated system looms. Hopefully, the American people will stand up and fight for a change once this campaign ends.Getting rid of the Electoral College would also seem to be a priority for the trade organizations representing local broadcasters (TVB and NAB) and cable outlets (CAB) - as well as the Big …

ESPN's efforts to give its "SportsCenter" brand a higher-profile, multi-platform role have moved to another playing field. Rooted in Twitter's DNA, a digital SportsCenter Feed - tabbed SC Feed -- offers a constantly updated vertical stream of links to stories, blogs, audio content and videos, which can be customized in multiple ways. Samsung is backing a beta version.

Pepsi and Coke talk about reaching young people through music and sports. So, it's no shocker that Pepsi is melding the two in a new campaign, which is running on music and sports programming. A new iteration of its "Live For Now" effort features boy band One Direction and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a spot that debuted on "The X Factor" last week and is also teed up for the World Series. (Sounds like Fox might make out OK.)