Broadcasting & Cable articles from March 2003

Broadcasting & Cable archives from March 2003

Latest prime suspect in FCC coup: Powell. (News Analysis).
March 3, 2003... Judging by the headlines of the past few weeks, you might believe that the biggest headache afflicting FCC Chairman Michael Powell is fellow commissioner and fellow Republican Kevin Martin. But some in Washington say Powell's biggest problem...

All the right moves: at MSNBC, liberal Donahue is out; Savage, other conservatives are in.
March 3, 2003... CNN was once nicknamed the Clinton News Network, and Fox News takes heat for leaning towards the Bush administration. Maybe, because MSNBC has been so out of the ratings race and NBC News wants to guard the mother network's reputation, that...

Scoop goes up in flames.(news station catches horrific nightclub fire on film)
March 3, 2003... What should have been a triumph for competitor WPRI-TV Providence, R.I., says WLNE(TV) Providence News Director Kathy Gazda, "has become Channel 12's worst nightmare." A reporter and cameraman at the scene of the biggest story to hit the...

KPIX-TV is S.F. sweeps victor: first time in 10 years, CBS-owned station has been No. 1 at 11 p.m. (Top of the Week).(San Francisco and Bay Area television ratings)
March 3, 2003... When Bay Area television suffered a different sort of ground-shaking in 2000 with the revelation that powerful KRON-TV would lose its NBC affiliation, local broadcasters predicted that ratings leadership would be changing hands. But, with an...

FCC hears Richmond views en dereg . (Breaking).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... RICHMOND, VA.-FCC commissioners meeting here to discussion media deregulation with the public were greeted by dozens of activists, many donning blue coats in the guise of mad scientists with cardboard televisions framing their heads. Their...

Cable channel for Chisox, Cubs? (Breaking).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CHICAGO-Officials from Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox and Cubs would not comment Friday on a report that they are considering forming a Chicago-area regional sports network. The Chicago Tribune reported that Tribune Co., which owns...

WLS-TV bumps burns. (Breaking).(Diann Burns pulled off newscasts)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CHICAGO-Anchor Diann Burns was pulled off WLS-TV newscasts last week after she and the ABC-owned, top-rated station failed to reach an agreement on further employment. Her contract with the station runs until June. Local speculation is that she...

Buyers swing at SNTA's first pitch: syndicators felt that they got their money's worth. (Top of the Week).(Syndicated Network Television Association)
March 3, 2003... By most accounts, the first annual Syndicated Network Television Association conference in New York last week was a big hit with the agency/advertiser community and the syndicators that financed it. Year one attendance totaled more than 700,...

ABC, Fox make early renewals. (Programming).
March 3, 2003... Critically acclaimed action dramas Alias on ABC and 24 on Fox have already been assured that they will return next season, ABC and Fox executives said last week. Fox also has definite plans to air another version of Joe Millionaire, Fox...

B&C Indices.(stock statistics for various broadcasting companies)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
March 3, 2003... B&C INDICES WEEK YTD THE B&C 10 0.9% -8.9% BROADCAST TV GROUPS -0.8% -3.1% CABLE TV MSO'S 7.9% 7.4% RADIO -1.4% -7.9% CLOSE WEEK YTD Dow...

Funny, it's all we ever read about. (Fast Track).(media ownership survey)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... A new survey by PROJECT FOR EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM and the PEW RESEARCH CENTER concludes that nearly three-quarters of Americans have heard nothing about the debate over media ownership. It also suggests, citing media critics, that one reason...

Sarah the series Slayer. (Fast Track).(Sarah Michelle Gellar to leave "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" show)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Sarah Michelle Gellar is driving a stake into Buffy the Vampire Slayer after this, its seventh season. The show's future has been shaky all year, but Gellar finally confirmed to creator Joss Whedon that she would not return. "It's hard to...

Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. (And Now, the News).(Univision to reduce stake in Entravision to win government approval of purchase of Hispanic Broadcasting)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... UNIVISION will reduce its investment stake in fellow Spanish-language broadcaster ENTRAVISION in order to win government approval of its $3 billion acquisition of radio giant HISPANIC BROADCASTING CORP. Univision said last week it has reached...

OPRAH WINFREY is bringing her once-discontinued Book Club back to her syndicated talk show. (And Now, the News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... OPRAH WINFREY is bringing her once-discontinued Book Club back to her syndicated talk show. This time around, only three to five books will be featured on the show each year. The segment, tentatively titled "Traveling With the Classics," will...

NAB President EDDIE FRITTS' speech to the Media Institute had to be canceled last week. (And Now, the News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... NAB President EDDIE FRITTS' speech to the Media Institute had to be canceled last week, due to the death of his father-in-law, JOHN PIERCE RICHIE, late Tuesday. Fritts and wife, MARTHA DALE, traveled to Tennessee for the funeral.

CNBC recruited print veteran JUDITH H. DOBRZYNSKI to be managing editor. (And Now, the News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CNBC recruited print veteran JUDITH H. DOBRZYNSKI to be managing editor. Most recently, she has been deputy business editor of The New York Times and editor of the paper's Sunday "Money & Business" section, positions she has held since 2000. At...

NBC has quietly scrapped its Tuesday-night 8-9 p.m. programming and will replace it with specials from now through most of the May sweeps, sources say. (News From the Nets).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... NBC has quietly scrapped its Tuesday-night 8-9 p.m. programming and will replace it with specials from now through most of the May sweeps, sources say. The network started the season with veteran sitcom Just Shoot Me and rookie The In-Laws, but...

CBS got a huge sampling last Monday night for the first episode of midseason comedy My Big Fat Greek Life. (News From the Nets).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CBS got a huge sampling last Monday night for the first episode of midseason comedy My Big Fat Greek Life, which drew 22.7 million viewers and was the most-watched show of the night. CBS said that's the biggest audience for a first episode of a...

The Grammy Awards. (News From the Nets).(ratings for the broadcast)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The Grammy Awards hit No. 1 with a bullet on Feb. 23, scoring a 14.7 rating/23 share in households, according to Nielsen Media Research's fast national index. That's a 24% improvement over last year's telecast. The Grammys were up 31% in...

Cable has a steady month: its audience grows despite broadcast's batch of reality events. (Top of the Week).
March 3, 2003... For all the buzz about broadcast reality shows in February cable channels still managed to build viewership. Basic-cable channels tallied a 31.1 total household rating in February, up from a 27.2 rating in February 2002, according to Nielsen...

Counting clutter sets expensive. (Advertising).(Media Conference will not be publishing report this year in effort to cut costs)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... If you're holding your breath for the annual clutter study usually released at the AAAA's Media Conference every year, let it out. When the conference begins in New Orleans this week, you won't be getting a report at all. The reason: What...

Looking for a job? Tune in here. (Syndication).(Dick Hubert, Alan Perris buy rights to Argentine reality/game show television program)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Veteran producers Dick Hubert and Alan Perris just bought U.S. format rights to Argentine reality/game-show hit Human Resources, on which the winners get a good old basic job. Of course, with U.S. unemployment hovering around 10% Perris says,...

A spat over Cable, DBS-and AIDS. (Cable).(Cable Positive discusses a grant from T Howard Foundation)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... You wouldn't think $25,000 would cause this kind of quandary. AIDS charity Cable Positive has been discussing a grant from the T Howard Foundation, a similar industry nonprofit group that promotes diversity. The problem: Cable Positive is...

Comcast sure on rebuilding AT&T ops.
March 3, 2003... Three months into their takeover of AT&T's cable systems, Comcast executives are confident of their ability to get the operations into the shape they want. The upbeat forecast came as Comcast posted earnings for the fourth quarter and...

B&C's special booking service. (News Nets).(Broadcasting & Cable to mediate between Michael Savage and representative of gay/lesbian community)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... As a bit of public service, BROADCASTING & CABLE last week helped put controversial conservative radio host Michael Savage in touch--with one his fiercest detractors. Savage, who has a long list of anti-gay statements attributed to him,...

Friction over news report cards. (Station Break).(Project for Excellence in Journalism)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... WASHINGTON--TWO members of the design team for the Project for Excellence in Journalism's periodic report cards on local broadcast journalism--one of them the project's former deputy director--have resigned after not being notified that five...

MacLennan leaves WBBM-TV. (Station Break).(Linda MacLennan)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CHICAGO--Linda MacLennan, a staple at the ever-changing WBBM-TV left last week after 16 years. She said that the departure was amicable, that new General Manager Joe Ahern was increasing the demands on staff. "New management was brought in six...

Real-life lesson in Broadcasting. (Station Break).(Broadcast Journalism Department of Syracuse University's New-house School could drop its internships with WTVH(TV))(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... SYRACUSE, N.Y.--The Broadcast Journalism Department of Syracuse University's New-house School could drop its internships with WTVH(TV) because of a controversial program that mixes paid programming with news elements. Faculty members will try...

WHAS-TV aims for all-week news crown. (Station Break).(to expand local news to Sunday mornings)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... LOUISVILLE, Ky.--WHAS-TV plans to expand its local news to Sunday mornings. Good Morning Kentuckiana will begin April 20, from 7 to 9 a.m. Vice President and General Manager Robert Mingle called the move "a natural progression for us. We have...

Tale of the tape. (Station Break).(Curtis Mozie's documentary work)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... WRC-TV Washington anchor Jim Vance (l) demonstrated last week how local man Curtis Mozie (r), in trying to steer boys away from dangerous behavior , used video to tell the stories of many young men killed in his Shaw neighborhood. Vance, one of...

Mr. Roger's 'hallowed ground': how a friend rembers the late Fred Rogers. (An Appreciation).(Obituary)
March 3, 2003... My friends at NBC thought I was crazy," Fred Rogers would recall. It was 1953, and just a year out of college, Rogers was already a network floor manager on the fast track. But he'd watched his fill of pratfalls and pie fights. Certain that...

CBS scores with NCAA deal: two-pronged strategy targets blue-chip advertisers. (TV Buyer).
March 3, 2003... With a $6 billion price tag to pay over the next 11 years for a rights package to 22 National Collegiate Athletic Association sports, CBS has embarked on an ambitious program to get blue-chip advertisers to buy into a two-pronged strategy of...

'02 Network sales up 8.3%. (EBB & Flow).(television advertising sales)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Stick a fork in it: First-quarter network scatter is done. And the second quarter is going pretty fast at rates well into the double digits above upfront pricing. MindShare President/CEO Marc Goldstein reports that broadcast networks are...

Nielsen grows Local People Meter: measurement method will be in top 10 markets by 2005. (TV Buyer).(Nielsen Media Research)
March 3, 2003... A year-long run in the Boston market has drawn mixed reviews at best, but Nielsen Media Research has scheduled rollout of its expensive and controversial "Local People Meters" in the rest of the top 10 DMAs--representing nearly 32 million...

Cartoon nabs WB Kids sales. (TV Buyer).(Cartoon Network)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... In another sign that cable has just about cornered the kids-network business, Cartoon Net will take charge of ad sales for co-owned Kids' WB. The two units have been selling as a team for two years, but The WB will simply bow out of the...

Campaigns and sponsorships. (Hot Spots).(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CINGULAR WIRELESS next month will break a TV campaign using the theme line already previewed in its print ads: "Cingular fits you best." BBDO WORLDWIDE, New York and Atlanta (where Cingular is based), created the campaign; OMNICOM GROUP sibling...

Agencies. (Hot Spots).(multiple topics)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... COX COMMUNICATIONS' ad-sales division changed its name from CABLEREP ADVERTISING to COX MEDIA. The change was announced Monday. NEXTEL COMMUNICATIONS, Boston, has trimmed the competition for its estimated $150 million-plus account to six...

The view ahead for cable. (Hot Spots).(cable advertising)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... So far, so good: That's the consensus of several MSO execs surveying the cable ad-sales horizon through the first quarter. COMCAST Ad Sales SVP HANK OSTER said automotive "is looking very strong for the first quarter of '03"--a period that is...

Top 10: TV buyers and planners. (Special Report).
March 3, 2003... Most of the money that pours into television flows through a handful of media agencies that help allocate the advertising dollars among media and then actually make the buys. Here, BROADCASTING & CABLE identifies the top 10 TV spenders in...

In Reality, it was the weirdest sweeps ever: Fox wins 18-49, CBS takes total viewers. (Programming).
March 3, 2003... After a February sweeps that CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves characterized as "perhaps the craziest in show-business history" Fox claimed its first 18-49 win in its 20 years on the air, toppling NBC from its 18-49 perch for the first time...

February heated up for cable news. (Programming).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... It's practically yesterday's news that Fox News beat out CNN in ratings. February's headline, though, is that Fox boasts ratings in the upper echelon of cable ratings last month, keeping company with cable megaplayers like TNT, Nickelodeon and...

Matthews' steady rose. (News Talk).(The Chris Matthews Show shows strong growth)
March 3, 2003... NBC Enterprises' The Chris Matthews Show is syndicated, but, after five months on the air, the weekly public-affairs half-hour is competitive with its network counterparts in many markets. To do that, the show's producers have made staying...

My Wife and Kids to some Trib stations. (Syndie Insider).(key Tribune stations to air newly syndicated show)
March 3, 2003... Key Tribune stations will air Buena Vista Television's My Wife and Kids when the show premieres in syndication in September 2005. So far, the stations are WPIX-TV New York, KTLA-TV Los Angeles, WGN-TV Chicago, WBDC-TV Washington, D.C., and...

CosmoGirl! needs time to mature. (Syndie Insider).(television program development is pulled back)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Hearst Entertainment is pulling back on its planned weekly half-hour syndicated show, CosmoGirl!, which was to have been an FCC-friendly, teen-focused program for stations. A spokesman for Hearst said company executives decided they could not...

Dr. Phil in prime time. (Syndie Insider).(some stations air the talk show in the evenings)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Several stations are airing Dr. Phil in prime time. Young Broadcasting's independent KRON-TV San Francisco has done that from the show's beginning last September, running it at 8 p.m. each weeknight to very respectable ratings. Belo's...

Barberie has yes, dear date. (Syndie Insider).(Jillian Barberie to gues spont on "Yes, Dear")(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Jillian Barberie is adding one more show to her lengthy TV resume, although this time she's leaving syndication and sports for a stint in network prime time. This month, Barberie will shoot a guest spot on CBS sitcom Yes, Dear, playing the wife...

Nielsen Ratings.(television ratings for week February 17-23)(Illustration)
March 3, 2003... NIELSEN \ Feb. 17-23 \ RATINGS abc Week 22 6.7/9 MONDAY 8:00 43. Primetime 4.3/6 8:30 9:00 9:30 48. 20/20 6.6/9 10:00...

The Prime Time Race.(cable show ratings for week of February 17-23)(Illustration)
March 3, 2003... THE PRIME TIME RACE Top 10 Basic Cable Shows Feb. 17-23 Total Households (in millions) PROGRAM DATE NET HH 1. WWE 10 p 2/17 TNN 3.6 2. Spongebob Sq 9:30 a 2/22 NICK 3.4 3....

Cable's Trio buys KTLA-TV eyeballs.(Trio buys one hour block on a WB affiliate in Los Angeles)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Cable network Trio is hitting the broadcast airwaves in Los Angeles. Well, at least for an hour. The arts channel is buying an hour block on The WB affiliate KTLA-TV March 15 to showcase its original documentary The Blockbuster Imperative. ...

An emphasis on the beach. (Market Focus).(television stations want to add Myrtle Beach to market name)
March 3, 2003... A sign on a practice green in Myrtle Beach, S.C., notes that it's half-way between Miami and New York. All the other signs point toward Myrtle Beach. Florence, notes one TV executive in the Florence-Myrtle Beach market, is a city in Italy...

Panel finds media Emergency Alert System needs a big fix. (Washington).
March 3, 2003... Lack of coordination among state and local emergency agencies could hamper the use of the media-operated Emergency Alert System following a terrorist attack or environmental disaster, say members of an industry group charged with improving...

Media companies endorse U. Mich. affirmative action. (Capital Watch).(University of Michigan)
March 3, 2003... Sixty-four of the largest U.S. companies, including NBC parent General Electric, and nearly 20 other media companies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the University of Michigan's affirmative-action policy last week. In friend-of-the-court...

Bush spectrum fee is DOA. (Capital Watch).("dead on arrival")(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The president's proposed spectrum tax on TV stations is "dead on arrival," said Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Telecommunications and Internet subcommittee. "I don't see that happening." As part of the fiscal-2004 budget submitted...

Bill would ease media limits. (Capital Watch).(Rep. Cliff Stearns introduces legislation )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Rep, Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) Wednesday introduced legislation that would lift the broadcast-TV reach cap to 45% TV households and remove restrictions limiting crossownership of TV stations and local newspapers. The bill would be an end run...

Sachs derides broadband anti-discrimination plans. (Capital Watch).(National Cable and Telecommunications Association chief Robert Sachs)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Broadband anti-discrimination rules proposed by Amazon.com, Disney and Microsoft came under attack from NCTA chief Robert Sachs. "Microsoft and others want to use the government to leverage negotiations with network providers and others to get...

Dingell urges 'raising bar'. (Capital Watch).(Rep. John Dingell )(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Rep John Dingell (D-Mich.) praised the 35% cap on TV-household reach for preserving local programming but warned broadcasters that they must do more to convince others in Washington. The ranking member of the House Commerce Committee told the...

TVs. (Changing Hands).(Nexstar Broadcasting Group L.P. buys two TV stations from Morris Multimedia Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... WDHN-TV Dothan, Ala. and KARK-TV Little Rock (Little Rock-Pine Bluff), Ark. PRICE: $40 million BUYER: Nexstar Broadcasting Group LP (Perry A. Sook, president/CEO) SELLER: Morris Multimedia Inc. (H. Dean Hinson, president) ...

Combos. (Changing Hands).(list of various acquisitions in radio broadcasting)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... WKAQ-FM and WKAQ(AM) San Juan, WUKQ-FM Mayaguez and WUKQ (AM) Ponce, P.R. PRICE: $32 million BUYER: Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. (McHenry Tichenor Jr., president/CEO); owns seven other stations, none in this market SELLER: El Mundo...

FMs. (Changing Hands).(list of radio station transactions)
March 3, 2003... WSUX-FM Red Lion (York), Pa. PRICE: $9 million BUYER: Brill Media Co. (Alan R. Brill, president); no other broadcast interests SELLER: Pioneer Broadcasting Corp. (Thomas Moffit Sr., president) FACILITIES: 96.1 MHz, 50 kW, ant....

Ams. (Changing Hands).(Mercury Broadcasting Inc. buys radio station from ABC Radio Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... KALL(AM) Salt Lake City (Salt Lake City-Ogden), Utah PRICE: $3.7 million BUYER: ABC Radio Inc. (John Hare, president, ABC Radio); No. 5 group owns 70 other stations, none in this market SELLER: Mercury Broadcasting Co. Inc. (Van...

War fears prompt advertiser caution. (Business).
March 3, 2003... The Bush Administration's war drums are having an evident effect, but maybe more on American advertisers than on Iraqi generals. As they reported strong gains for the fourth quarter ended December, radio stations noted that they are seeing...

Surround era under way: Grammys are first of what should be many 5.1 telecasts. (Audio).(CBS is commended for its HD telecast of the Grammy Awards)
March 3, 2003... Last week's Grammy Awards ceremony on CBS earned kudos from viewers as one of the best HD telecasts ever. It also signaled the beginning of the 5.1 surround sound era for CBS. "We knew that our ability to not send 5.1 audio to our stations...

For-a gets CBS in Sync. (Cutting Edge).(CBS buys two For-A FA0820 digital frame synchronizers)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CBS has purchased two For-A FA0820 digital frame synchronizers for use in two mobile production trucks located at CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles. The trucks are used for location shoots for shows like Malcolm in the Middle, That '70s Show,...

TNT taps Pinnacle. (Cutting Edge).(TNT to use FXDeko II character generators)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... TNT is using Pinnacle's FXDeko II character generators to create and deliver on-air graphics for the network's NBA coverage. The units are located in TNTs mobile trucks as well as in the TNT basketball studio and in master control. As many as...

Olympic Glory via Panasonic HD. (Cutting Edge).(new show to air using Panasonic Ad-HDC27 VariCam HD Cinema cameras)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Showtime's Salt Lake 2002: Bud Greenspan's Stories of Olympic Glory began airing this week, a two-hour special shot using Panasonic Ad-HDC27 VariCam HD Cinema cameras. Greenspan and his production company, Cappy Productions, had eight crews...

Tandberg offers pretty pictures, prettier features. (Focus).(company unveils new HD encoder)
March 3, 2003... Some of the gap between what broadcasters want from an HD encoder and what they can actually have will be closed at NAB when Tandberg rolls out its 5780 HD encoder, offering statistical-multiplexing capability plus 4:2:2 encoding by year-end....

Towers still seek a home: Denver, NYC siting issues move toward settlement. (Transmission).
March 3, 2003... Two of the more interesting tower issues in the country--one in Denver, the other in New York--continue to zigzag their way to a resolution. Earlier this month, Colorado's Jefferson County Board of Commissioners granted six Denver...

Remaking Meredith on the Cox model: O'Brien draws on 15 years of overseeing TV stations. (The Fifth Estater).(Kevin O'Brien)
March 3, 2003... Taking over the presidency of Meredith Television two years ago, O'Brien hit the ground running, drawing on observations about Meredith stations made over a five-month negotiation period and the names of people he had noticed over the years. At...

Broadcast TV. (Fates & Fortune).(multiple personnel changes)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... ELSIE B. GARNER, interim president, WEDU(TV) Tampa, Fla., named president/CEO WTV(TV) Charlotte, effective July 2003. SHAUN MCDONALD, director, sales, WGNO(TV) and WNOL-TV New Orleans, named VP/GM, WNDY-TV Indianapolis and WWHO(TV)...

Cable TV. (Fates & Fortune).(multiple personnel changes)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... PATRICK L. DEVILLE, VP/GM, Erie County Cablevision, Sandusky, Ohio, promoted to president. MELANIE SOMMER, director, new product marketing, Comcast Cable, Philadelphia, promoted to VP, new product marketing, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and...

Programming. (Fates & Fortune).(various personnel changes)
March 3, 2003... DAVID M. GALE, senior VP, feature film division, MTV Films, Santa Monica, Calif., promoted to executive VP, MTV Films. KURT SCHNEIDER, president/CEO, Asimba, Redwood, Calif., joins World Wrestling Entertainment, Los Angeles, as executive...

Media. (Fates & Fortunes).(multiple personnel changes)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... NANCY HESSEL WEBER, creative director, Seventeen magazine, New York, joins Lifetime magazine, New York, as lifestyle director. PETE HAEFFNER, publisher, New Choices, New York, joins TV Guide Publishing Group, New York, as eastern...

Journalism. (Fates & Fortunes).(multiple personnel changes)
March 3, 2003... ELISABETH PEREZ-LUNA, interim news director, WHYY-FM Philadelphia, named news director. JOHN MUSSONI, freelance producer, WHYY-TV Washington/KYW(AM) Philadelphia, joins CN8, Philadelphia, as executive producer, 7 and 10 p.m. newscasts. ...

Radio. (Fates & Fortunes).(radio industry personnel briefs)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CHARLIE COLOMBO, executive VP, United Stations, New York, named executive VP/GM, Launch Radio Networks, New York. BRUCE GILBERT, director, programming, Susquehanna Broadcasting, Dallas, joins ESPN Radio Network, Bristol, Conn., as GM. ...

Advertising/Marketing/PR. (Fates & Fortunes).(personnel announcments)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... CARRIE COOK, senior producer, ABC News, New York, joins Hill, Holiday, Boston, as VP/director, event marketing. RON TIPPE, producer, animated series, Los Angeles, joins Route 66 productions, Culver City, Calif., as VP, development. At...

Technology. (Fates & Fortunes).(industry personnel announcements)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... RALPH E. FAISON, president/COO, Andrew Corp., Orland Park, Ill., appointed, CEO/president. BOW RODGERS, COO, BigBand Networks, Redwood City, Calif., joins MyDTV, Burlingame, Calif., as CEO. JAY DRAGON, national account director,...

Internet. (Fates & Fortunes).(RealNetworks promotes Bob Kimball)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... BOB KIMBALL, associate general counsel/VP, RealNetworks Inc., Seattle, promoted to general counsel/VP legal and business affairs/corporate secretary.

Obituary.(KGGF (AM) part-owner Robert L. Pratt)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 3, 2003... ROBERT L. PRATT, former GM and part-owner of KGGF(AM) Coffeyville, Kan., passed away on Feb. 21 while visiting his son in Greenwich, Conn. He was 82. Pratt exhibited an early interest in radio when, fresh from Kansas's Pittsburg High...

Major meetings. (Date Book).(for the broadcasting and cable television industries)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 3, 2003... April 5-10 National Association of Broadcasters 2003. Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Contact: Mona Gabbin, 202-775-2521. April 7-9 Radio-Television News Directors Association RTNA@NAB--International Conference and Exhibition. Las...

CBS's President and CEO LES MOONVES. (Facetime).
March 3, 2003... CBS's President and CEO LES MOONVES (l) was in on the joke with Laugh-In creator GEORGE SCHLATTER at the 20th Anniversary William S. Paley Television Festival last week. The event was held at the Museum of Television and Radio in Los Angeles.

PAGE DAVIS (c), host of TLC's home redecorating hit. (Facetime).(emcees Yum! Brands' first quarter 2003 meeting)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... PAGE DAVIS (c), host of TLC's home redecorating hit, Trading Spaces, took her emceeing skills to the first quarter 2003 meeting of Yum! Brands' chief marketing officers. Yum! the fast-food conglomerate that includes KFC and Taco Bell, tapped...

Wright gets golden mike. (Facetime).(NBC Chairman and CEO Bob Wright wins the Golden Mike Award)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... NBC Chairman and CEO BOB WRIGHT (c) last week at New York's Plaza Hotel received the Golden Mike Award, given annually by the Broadcasters' Foundation, lauding his 16-year run as NBC's highest honcho. NBC Nightly News anchor TOM BROKAW,...

Generous Mouse. (Facetime).(Walt Disney Co. presents $10,000 to Starlight Children's Foundation)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Jim Belushi (r), star of ABC's According to Jim, presented Starlight Children's Foundation co-founder Peter Samuelson with a check for $10,000 from Walt Disney Co. last week. Starlight held its 20th anniversary celebration on The Walt Disney...

Charter Communications President and CEO CARL VOGEL (second from left) was all smiles at appliance store Marvin Electronics in Fort Worth, Texas, last month. (Facetime).
March 3, 2003... Charter Communications President and CEO CARL VOGEL (second from left) was all smiles at appliance store Marvin Electronics in Fort Worth, Texas, last month. Vogel was in town with HDNet Founder and President MARK CUBAN (far left) to announce...