• SOAPNet Won't Be Scrubbed Yet
    Looks like devoted soap fans, who recently suffered the blow of ABC's canceling two veteran daytime dramas (check out Jezebel for a scientific explanation for all the mishegoss folks are feeling) will have one less loss to mourn, at least for now. The cable channel SOAPNet, which was reportedly going to be replaced by Disney Jr. next January, is getting a reprieve. The launch of Disney Jr. is being pushed back to spring 2012, and both networks should be on the air simultaneously, at least for a bit, according to Deadline Hollywood.
  • How 'L.A. Times' Won Public Service Pulitzer
    It was a mixture of "traditional City Hall beat reporting with innovative digital storytelling" that led to the win, according to Poynter's Al Tompkins. He tells the behind-the scenes story of the Times' investigative series that led to the ouster of the Bell, Calif. city council.The paper also included a reader service angle by creating "a public records request form, to help people to get information from their local governments," says reporter Jeff Gottlieb. And in the Times' new online DocumentCloud section, "readers can share public documents they discover" writes Tomkins, and learn "about their rights to read public …
  • Newton Minow: TV Still 'Wasteland'?
    Interesting interview with former FCC head Newton Minow, he of the famous "TV is a vast wasteland" quote. Now, he says, "it's vaster,"and probably less of a wasteland because viewers have a "wider range of choice... The most constructive thing the FCC could do was to expand choice. And in that we certainly succeeded." Many of the points he made in his speech to the National Association of Broadcasters 50 years ago -- when he first coined that phrase -- are still relevant, as is his mention of violence on TV as the worst problem at the time: "Sadly, …
  • Gannett Will Expand Local Daily Deals Program
    With a renewed focus on digital rather than print offerings, Gannett announced it is rolling out its online local daily deals program nationwide for its 80 community newspapers. The plan also calls for "greater matching of hyperlocal community efforts tied to its TV broadcast stations as part of Gannett's rebranding campaign emphasizing itself as a traditional media company with a digital core," according to Paid Content.
  • Hoover To ABC: No Soap, We're Pulling Ads
    Hoover is pulling its ads from ABC to protest the network's cancellation of two long-time soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life To Live." Hoover's vice president of marketing, Brian Kirkendall, announced on the company's Facebook page that the ads will be gone Friday -- or even sooner.
  • NBC, Versus Makes New Deal With NHL
    In a deal reportedly worth $2 billion, the NHL agreed to stick with NBC and Versus to air the next 10 years of games exclusively, on broadcast and cable respectively. NBC Sports Group has been the home of the NHL for the past six years. Also, in a first, all Stanley Cup playoff games will air on one of the NBC Sports Group's channels.
  • Forecast: Cable Growth To Outpace Broadcast
    Cable network ad revenue is expected to rise 10.8% in 2011, which should make it one of the fastest-growing platforms -- as opposed to broadcast ad revenues, forecast to grow just 2.4%, according to media agency Magna Global. These figures show a continuing trend from 2010, when cable jumped 12.4% in 2010, Magna estimates.
  • Ad World Setting For New AMC Reality Show
    AMC, famed for taking a fictional look at a 1960s ad agency with its "Mad Men" series, in 2012 will air a reality show set in the wild world of present-day advertising. Each of the preliminary eight episodes of "The Pitch" AMC has ordered will follow folks from various agencies as they pitch a new account and prepare a campaign. "The Pitch," along with "Inside the DHS," an unscripted show set in the Department of Homeland Security scheduled for a fourth-quarter premiere, will mark AMC's first foray into the reality genre.
  • Viacom Holdout In Time Warner Streaming Ban
    Time Warner Cable is once again streaming all of the channels that withdrew from its tablet device app -- with the exception of Viacom's programming, according to Multichannel News.But while Viacom also regards Cablevision's iPad streaming of content in disfavor, the company has not fought the app legally, as it did with Time Warner's. Why? Cablevision's app is "more lawsuit-proof," with elements that stick more closely to the company's carriage agreement with Viacom, suggests Multichannel's Todd Spangler.
  • HBO Picks Up Julia-Louis Dreyfus Show, 'Veep'
    Can you see Julia-Louis Dreyfus as the vice president of the United States? Apparently somebody can, because she is set to take that role as the star of "Veep," the D.C.-set comedy pilot that will begin filming this fall for a 2012 debut on HBO.Frank Rich, who just moved to New York mag after a long stint as a political columnist at the New York Times, is one of the executive producers.
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