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Lou Dobbs quits CNN

If you thought CNN's ratings could not sink any lower, here comes a gaping hole in the ocean floor.

CNN's one man Minuteman force, Lou Dobbs, announced he's leaving CNN as of tonight. He's stepping away from his contract with the news network two years early and leaving television...for now.

He hasn't announced if he's leaving for another network or even another job in or outside of television, even though he was seen getting cozy with Fox's Roger Ailes two months ago. But neither Dobbs nor the network have confirmed if he's going to be hired by the Fox News Channel. Translation? He's going to be hired by the Fox News Channel.

Continue reading Lou Dobbs quits CNN

New At The Movies promo introduces new hosts, dumps on the old ones

I'm glad that At The Movies has new hosts. The two Bens just didn't work out. The new hosts in the reviewing chairs are A.O. Scott from The New York Times and Michael Phillips from The Chicago Tribune, both of whom filled in for Roger Ebert several times. Here's a preview where the two critics tell us about themselves.

Funny how the announcer says that there will be "serious reviews" by "serious journalists." I'm taking that as a dig at Ben and Ben. It premieres this weekend.

Olbermann, O'Reilly told to end personal feud, which just creates another feud

Keith Olbermann hiding behind Bill O'Reilly's giant puppet headIt seems the never-ending feud between Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly has become a kangaroo boxing match. The worst thing you can do is get in the middle of it.

That's exactly what the parent owners of Fox News and MSNBC tried to do when they arranged a "cease-fire" between them and their top-tier shows' "lieutenants."

The cease-fire, however, didn't last long. It's another case of the ol' Rufus T. Firefly conundrum for peace. Either side might be willing to do whatever it takes to end this war, but they've already paid two months' rent on the battlefield.

Continue reading Olbermann, O'Reilly told to end personal feud, which just creates another feud

What You Missed Last Night: The Daily Show visits The New York Times

I hope that print journalism survives forever, but this Daily Show visit to the offices of The New York Times is hysterical, from the newsreel voice that Jason Jones uses to narrate the piece to his asking "tell me what's in the paper that happened today." (And if you're wondering why Jon Stewart is surrounded by coffee-related items, it's part of his response to Morning Joe).

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
End Times
www.thedailyshow.com



Would you watch Scrubs sans Zach Braff?

zach braff scrubsIt's a question worth asking as we approach the show's supposed final season.

In an article that ran in yesterday's New York Times, Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence confirmed that ABC, the show's new home, might continue the show in some form after the upcoming eighth season. As we reported in November, star Zach Braff and Lawrence are both leaving Scrubs after season eight, even if the show continues. I'm not opposed to the idea of keeping the show going without them, but I got one question -- What would a Braff and Lawrence-free Scrubs look like?

"It would have to be like Frasier was to Cheers, " Lawrence told the NYT.

Continue reading Would you watch Scrubs sans Zach Braff?

Fox News airs doctored photos

Steven ReddicliffeOn Wednesday morning's edition of Fox and Friends, the Fox News channel aired altered photos of two New York Times reporters to retaliate against a Times Saturday edition piece which pointed out some "ominous trends" in the show's ratings.

Co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade showed the photos which portrayed Jacques Steinberg with yellow teeth, a wider chin, and big ears, and Times television editor Steven Reddicliffe with the same yellow smile and a receding hairline. The caricatures seem to be done with Adobe Photoshop (tm) tools.

Continue reading Fox News airs doctored photos

Who's replacing Tim Russert?

Tim RussertI'm sure a lot of you were scratching your heads over the weekend, wondering how Tim Russert's passing merited the all-encompassing, presidential-like coverage it got, especially on his home network of NBC. He's only a reporter, right? Why the wall-to-wall coverage? Well, first of all, it seems that by all accounts, Russert was one of the most well-liked people in the news business, so the outpouring might have been a function of people mourning a friend who was taken from them too soon. But, I have another, more off-beat theory as to why NBC did a broadcast version of sitting shiva for Russert: it was because they have no idea how to replace him.

Think about it: he wasn't only the longtime moderator of Meet The Press, where he took the venerable show and rejiggered its format, making him the face of the show. He was also NBC News' Washington bureau chief and the main political voice for the network. "It's going to take four or five people to replace Tim," CBS' Bob Schieffer told The New York Times.

For now, though, the immediate question is who will replace him on Meet The Press. Speculation is already underway.

Continue reading Who's replacing Tim Russert?

Jon Stewart to pay writers himself for two weeks

wga strike
By now, you've surely heard about the writers' strike currently in full swing across the television and film industry in New York City and Los Angeles. And apparently, the writers are not the only ones getting in on the act. The Huffington Post is reporting that Jon Stewart of The Daily Show has committed to pay the salaries of his own writers and those of The Colbert Report for the next two weeks, so his writers won't be harmed financially by the strike during that period.

Continue reading Jon Stewart to pay writers himself for two weeks

Dan Rather suing CBS for $70 million

Dan RatherWhat, Eddie Haskell suing someone isn't enough for you today? OK, how about this: former CBS anchor Dan Rather is suing CBS for $70 million. Also named in the suit are CBS CEO Les Moonves, Sumner Redstone, and former CBS news chief Andrew Heyward.

The lawsuit claims that the network forced him to step down from The CBS Evening News and did not give him enough time on 60 Minutes. He also claims that because of all this, the network aired a "biased" and "incomplete" investigation into the National Guard story and seriously hurt his reputation. New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg broke the story earlier this afternoon. Rather is currently an anchor on HDNet.

Now let's see if Katie Couric (or Harry Smith, if he's still filling in) reports this story on tonight's show.

It's Married... With Children... in Russian

The Russian version of Al and Peg Bundy on that country's version of Married, With ChildrenIt's a typical night in Moscow. You have just finished supper and are now ready to sit down with your wife, children, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to watch some television. On the screen a sad-faced shoe salesman is anchored to his living room couch watching his own TV. Strutting behind him is his gaudily-dressed, shockingly red-haired wife. To the side his ditsy blonde-haired daughter and fairly intelligent son, who dreams of something bigger in his life, bicker over something or other.

Sounds a bit like Married... With Children, doesn't it? Well, truth be told, it actually is. The name of the show is Schastlivy Vmeste (translated to Happy Together) and it is an authorized copy of the former FOX sitcom featuring Russian cast members and dialog. It is also a huge hit in Russia, especially among younger viewers. According to a spokesperson for Russian channel TNT, Vmeste is the most popular scripted series among the 18 to 30 crowd.


Continue reading It's Married... With Children... in Russian

NYTVF: Digital Frontiers in the Advertising Markeplace

NYTVF Advertising Panel DiscussionI entered the NYTVF panel discussion about advertising with some trepidation. After all, I love TV, but I hate commercials. In fact, I'm in love with my DVR because it allows me to fast forward through all that garbage. And I really love watching my shows on DVD because I don't have to worry about about commercials at all.

However, I also realize that much of my beloved television programming (and now) internet content wouldn't be possible without the support of its sponsors. Advertising is an unfortunate necessary evil. For bloggers it means the difference between getting paid (like here at TV Squad) or diligently toiling away without any compensation with the unselfish commitment of a Harry Potter house elf.

Continue reading NYTVF: Digital Frontiers in the Advertising Markeplace

TV and film writers looking for a fair deal

typewriter keysWriting is one of the oddest professions. A lot of people just don't get what we do, why we do it, how we do it, or what we get paid. I've encountered countless numbers of people who think that I'm rich because I'm a writer and "that lady J.K. Rowling is a writer and she's rich!" or they think I shouldn't get paid that much because "writing is easy and fun" or some other sort of logic.

Brookes Barnes doesn't get it either. He has an op-ed piece in the New York Times this week about the latest negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP. TV and film writers want a piece of the DVD sales pie. Barnes seems to think that they're asking for too much because...well, I'll let Barnes explain it himself, in his opening paragraph:

Continue reading TV and film writers looking for a fair deal

New York Times likes first Top Chef winner's restaurant

Harold DieterleThis review confused me for a moment. New York Times restaurant critic Frank Bruni gives Perilla, the restaurant owned by first season Top Chef winner Harold Dieterle, one star out of four. Now, if you're talking about movies or TV shows or albums, that's probably the "poor" category. But the way Bruni and the Times do it, it actually stands for "good" (if you get zero stars or just get a "satisfactory" rating, that's a bad thing). I wonder what four stars means? Best meal in the history of the universe?

Continue reading New York Times likes first Top Chef winner's restaurant

TV news news: Claman, a game show, and a new TV Newser

Liz Claman

Lots of changes this week in the land of TV news:

  • Liz Claman is leaving CNBC. She was going to renew her contract, but decided she wanted to go some place else. She has to wait 90 days, however, because of a non-compete clause in her contract. She's been with the financial network for almost 10 years. I remember Claman from her days on Channel 7 in Boston.

Continue reading TV news news: Claman, a game show, and a new TV Newser

Entourage creator says he'd kill himself if his kids were like his characters

Entourage castFun Q & A with Entourage creator Doug Ellin in the New York Times. They touch on everything from what it was like growing up on Long Island, how much money he makes at HBO, and his irritation at how people nowadays want a quick "home run" in their career instead of working hard for success.

He also has a lot of interesting things to say about the four main characters on the show. HBO originally considered the show a satire, but Ellin had to convince them that it's actually reality and he knows people like this. It's how he perceives friendship and how it was when he was growing up.

He also says that he'd kill himself if his own kids grew up to be like Vince or Drama or Turtle or Eric, so I guess even friendship has its limits. Entourage returns for another season June 17.

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