CBS has OK'd a pilot based on the tweets of an agry 74-year-old man. William Shatner is set to play him in the production based on Justin Halpern's Twitter account called "Stuff My Dad Says." It's unclear how CBS will adapt the actually profane Twitter title. Halpern is co-penning the show about his cranky dad with long-time writing partner Patrick Schumacker. The Twitter account has passed 1 million followers. By some accounts, it was the first profile on Twitter to reach such a milestone without the help of Twitter's prized suggested users list -- though Halpern's page has …

U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc. is creating a video Web site for the popular telenovela soap-opera genre, hoping to fill a void as Internet use grows among Hispanics. The new service, dubbed "Novela y Series," or "Novelas and Series," is slated to start in the spring. Between 2006 and 2008, the percentage of Hispanic adults in the U.S. who use the Internet grew to 64%, according to survey results from the Pew Hispanic Center. Telenovelas are among the most popular programs on Univision, which is the fifth-most-watched broadcast network in the U.S. in prime time, according to …

Financial channel CNBC is set to launch on the subscription-free satellite platform Freesat next Tuesday as part of a strategy to widen distribution in the UK. CNBC has been available on Sky, Virgin and TalkTalk since January; adding Freesat means the channel will now be distributed to 12 million UK households. Mick Buckley, president and chief executive EMEA of CNBC, said the decision to become a free-to-air channel in the UK, is part of CNBC's strategy to "aggressively grow" its distribution across EMEA in 2010. Chris Haywood, head of trading at ZenithOptimedia, said becoming free to air will …

Some 45 titles representing 15 publishing companies are running ads for the Kia Sorento in their March and April digital editions. They include Hachette Filipacchi Media's Car and Driver, Hearst's Esquire and Active Interest Media's Yoga Journal. The buy launches Zinio's newly created Publisher Advertising Network. Zinio creates digital editions of magazines for personal computers and Apple's iPhone. The big issue is how ads on the still-nascent iPhone and e-reader platforms will be priced. Zinio said its pricing is based on confirmed views by readers, and that the Kia campaign is expected to reach "hundreds of thousands." In most cases …

NBC has teamed with Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart for "The Jensen Project." It will be funded by P&G, produced by Canada-based Muse Entertainment and air on NBC as a time buy. Kellie Martin, Brady Smith, Patricia Richardson and LeVar Burton have been tapped to star. Set in 1988, it revolves around 12 geniuses who moved to an isolated spot in the Allegheny Mountains to form the Jensen Project. For 20 years, they inventing ways to fix the world's problems and then shared their discoveries freely and anonymously with the world. But when a few decide to take …

USA Today will launch a specialized Puerto Rico edition that will cater to travelers and tourists on the island Feb. 22. In addition to the regular newspaper, the Puerto Rico edition will include two pages of translated articles from Spanish-language Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia. The translated articles will be focused on Puerto Rican politics, economy, society, sports, entertainment and tourism. USA Today has a similar partnership in Cancun, Mexico. The Puerto Rico Daily Sun is currently the only English-language daily on the island. It was created in 2008 by a group of journalists after the San Juan …

For now, the Kindle and other devices present a viable alternative to plain black and white text, but do not capture the full experience of a glossy magazine. Hearst recently unveiled its own device and content delivery service targeted to e-readers, smartphones and other digital devices, known as Skiff. It provides ad services and a companion digital store with selections from newspapers, magazines, books and other content from multiple publishers. But Hearst magazine president Cathie Black predicts in the next year electronic readers will provide better color and graphic representation of photography and illustrations that will enhance the magazine …

New national polls have found that the American people find PBS the most trusted and unbiased institution among nationally known organizations; the most trusted source of news and public affairs among broadcast and cable sources; and the most educational media brand for children ages 2-8. The research was commissioned by PBS and conducted in December 2009 and January 2010 by the nonpartisan, international research company GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. In the 2010 poll, 45% of respondents said they trust PBS more than any other nationally known organization. (Fox News Channel was second with 29% and CNN was …

E.W. Scripps newspaper division is moving closer to its re-organization plan 3.0 that shifts focus to content and sales. The managers in charge of operations, sales, content, human resources, finance, and information technology will begin meeting with Scripps newspapers to reveal more details about re-org. Scripps plans to implement consistent advertising, circulation and editorial front-end systems throughout its newspaper division and standardize other functions not core to content or sales. One area is simplifying the rate structures, as well as taking a look at IT, HR editorial and production for efficiencies. There will, however, be job losses, per Mark …

The FCC formally launched its inquiry into the future of the media and the information needs of communities with a pledge to keep the First Amendment top of mind. Another starting point will be the first workshop on the issue, scheduled for March 4. Steve Waldman said that it would focus on TV and radio stations, saying there had been a "newspaper centrism" to the future of media discussions heretofore. Waldman is a former print journalist (at Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report). FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski echoed that sentiment, saying that the process would be open and …