• NY Times, Monday, January 9, 2006 10:45 AM

A short report in this morning's New York Times, citing Nielsen Media Research, says we're spending an additional four minutes a day watching TV this season as compared to the last season. The gain represents a two percent gain over the same period in 2004. "News is driving viewership," says Paul Donato, Nielsen's chief research officer, noting that TV viewing was flat for younger people but up during the reporting period for those 35 and older. Cited as some of the more compelling news stories in recent months:  hurricanse in the Gulf, the deaths of William Rehnquist and Rosa Parks, and the trial of Saddam Hussein. Also, according to Nielsen, this season has thus far failed to produce any major new hits.

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