The Best TV in 2006

I know i'm usually taking this space to complain about all the annoying things on TV these days -– all these new game shows with washed-up comics and actors are my prime examples du jour. Still, this critic remains convinced  2006 was one of the best years for the small screen in ages.

It’s not just that outlets finally ponied up the cash for well-produced series with innovative storytelling styles and complex characters. There is so much great television on so many different platforms that if you can’t find something cool to watch among the broadcast networks, cable channels, video podcasts, streaming video and DVD releases, you just aren’t trying.

As proof, here’s my list of the 10 coolest things about TV in 2006.

10. Battlestar Galactica
Forget that it used to be a cheesy ‘70s TV show starring Bonanza dad Lorne Greene. The Sci Fi Channel’s remake has become a gritty, imaginative allegory for the Iraq war, as a nearly-decimated group of spacefaring humans flee the Cylon machine race determined to exterminate them. This fall’s two-hour debut, featuring a brutal Cylon occupation, suicide bombings and a turncoat human security force managed to echo the war in Iraq and the Holocaust almost in the same moment. Pure, science fiction geek heaven.

9. FX as the new HBO
Rescue Me, Denis Leary’s brilliant dramedy about a firefighter who screws up everything except his job is Exhibit A here. Filled with characters both real and totally outlandish -– How does a guy wind up sleeping with his deceased cousin’s wife, and her son’s teacher in the same lifetime? -– Rescue Me joins other FX successes such as the amped-up cop drama The Shield and bizarre plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck as the three boldest shows on TV (and keep an eye out for the Tuesday debut of former Friend Courteney Cox's new show about tabloid news, Dirt). It’s the kind of entertainment HBO used to deliver before it got paralyzed by its own hipness.

8. Heroes saves NBC.
NBC thought heavy hitters like Aaron Sorkin and Tina Fey would turn its fourth-place fortunes around. But it took a comic book-fed mystery about a scattered group of people who slowly discover capabilities such as mind-reading and teleportation to bring viewers back to the peacock network. Comic book nerds everywhere stand triumphant.

7. 24 comes into its own
Its success last season with a breakneck plotline featuring superbad hero Jack Bauer against the President of the United States spawned a raft of new serialized shows this fall. And in Hollywood, when they rip you off, it's always the the ultimate compliment.

6. YouTube rewrites the rules for TV
Time was, when something cool happened on TV, you had to pray a friend stuck a tape in the VCR. Then three computer geeks saw how fast video clips of Jon Stewart berating the hosts of CNN’s Crossfire flew across the Internet and created their own video-sharing Web site. Now, anything of consequence that happens on video -– from Michael Richards’ n-word rant to Impressionists Week on David Letterman’s Late Show -– is available at the flick of a mouse button. And just ask former Virginia Senator George Allen how a couple of ill-timed racial slurs hurled during a campaign speech can cost you a cushy incumbency when YouTube keep the clip rocketing across cyberspace. 

5. The networks stream video online

When you can call up crystal-clear online versions of top-rated series such as Lost, Desperate Housewives, Heroes and CSI from the networks’ own Web sites, the concept of appointment viewing goes out the window. Now, hit TV shows have to catch up with viewers -- who are increasingly demanding that programming catch them when and where they want to see it.

4. Dexter supercharges Showtime
Who knew watching a serial killer who only murders murderers would prove such an addictive pastime? But Six Feet Under alum Michael C. Hall seems born to play Dexter Morgan, an unassuming forensic expert for the Miami police who hides a passion for killing killers. In the   process, this absorbing series helped Showtime escape its reputation as a dumping ground for shows too lame to get on premium cable king HBO. 

3. The Wire stays hot
One of HBO’s last compelling series, The Wire this year added the futility and inadequacy of the modern school system to its laundry list of themes. Bent on humanizing criminals, demythologizing cops and offering no easy answers, the show this season outlined how a series of failed institutions can turn kinds from a troubled chunk of blighted West Baltimore into streetwise players and worse.

2. Ugly Betty scores beautiful ratings for ABC
Though at times a bit too cartoonish and predictable for my taste, this candy-coated fable about a plucky, plain Jane trying to make it at a cutthroat Manhattan fashion magazine shines – mostly on the charisma of cast members such as star America Ferrera (see how good ABC's makeup crew is by comparing after and before pics at left) and deliciously bad villain Vanessa Williams.

1. Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart keep the media honest

When one interviewer asked how Jon Stewart and the Daily Show keep coming up with telling media gaffes, he replied: "Uh, a researcher and a VCR." Indeed, Colbert and Stewart have become so adept at pointing out the absurdities of modern politics and media that they make it look too easy. And like most sharp satirists, they understand the nooks and crannies of what they're taking apart better than many who call themselves journalists and/or media critics. From the Stewart rant that got Crossfire canceled to Colbert taking names at the White House Correspondents Dinner, this pair has shaken up mainstream media more than a trainload of bloggers and Tony Snow's office combined.

(As always, click on pictures to enlarge!)

The Death of Shock and the Life of James Brown

I'm on vacation this week, so I wasn't planning on much blogging. But my last act in the office last week was to exchange emails with military blogger (or milblogger) Michael Yon, and his responses spoke volumes.

I wrote about Yon last year, while doing a story about the tension between reporters and those who insist the media is missing all the "good news" stories in Iraq (these days, only the First Lady has the stones to make that claim). He'd earned some fame as a military guy who went over to Iraq and hung out with the troops without representing a news agency. Yon tried to get at the reality of soldiering in Iraq and Afghanistan through his posts, though some initially hailed him as the guy who would tell the good news all the other reporters would not.

I wrote about him again when he and his blogger buddies took on Shock magazine -- an awful collection of lurid photos which editor Mike Hammer called "the Life magazine of the future," but mmost people just called a horrible mess. Turns out, they nicked one of Yon's signature photos for the cover of the magazine from a photo agency which wasn't authorized to sell it, according to the blogger.  

So when news broke late last week that the magazine -- which Yon said continually stiffed on settling the dispute -- finally gave up the ghost, six months after it debuted, I reached out to Yon for his thoughts. The blogger is back in Iraq, probably for the next year, enjoying the sweet sight of watching Shock go down in flames on the other side of the world.

The time difference made speaking by telephone difficult, but he emailed answers to a few questions:

Do you think your efforts led to the end of the magazine?

Actually, the blogosphere did it. I only learned about the magazine’s use of my copyrighted photograph on the cover of its first issue when numerous readers first noticed it and contacted me about it, some furious thinking I’d allowed the image to be used in that way, and on Memorial Day, of all days. I informed a few colleagues that I’d never authorized the use and that’s when bloggers like Blackfive, Pajamas Media, Op-For, Little Green Footballs, Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, and Pundit Review in Boston mercilessly pounded HFM, which is the largest magazine conglomerate in the world. The efforts of this Army of David’s (as Glenn Reynolds characterizes the blogosphere) brought the fight to the internet and felled another Goliath who only a few years ago would have walked away unscathed.

How was your dispute with them resolved?

The dispute was never resolved. If they were telling the truth about their launch costs, then the only thing resolved is that HFM has apparently lost tens of millions of dollars in the past half-year trying to keep Shock alive. The legal battle has not even begun, and the bloggers have not finished yet either. As news of the dispute spread, some military bloggers started stabbing away at HFM flagship publications like Car & Driver with boycott calls. It's very easy and inexpensive for the bloggers to attack, yet fantastically costly for Goliath to keep dodging stones. Competition in the magazine industry has never been tighter and as the demise of Shock, the third HFM title that’s been shelved this year, shows, there is not much slack for flagging sales, no matter what the cause. Some believe that with persistence the entire two billion dollar behemoth can be defeated without ever going to court, by picking off their publications, one by one. This could take years, but the statute of limitations gives us time and we can also attack on multiple fronts.

How did you hear about the magazine's end, and what was your reaction?

I heard about it when a few bloggers emailed me links to news stories. I was heading out to the Kuwait airport to catch a flight to Qatar, one of the last stops on my trip back to embed with our troops in Iraq. I was ecstatic at the news and gratified that “the Army of David’s” had succeeded in another just cause.

Does this end your dispute with them?

The dispute is just beginning. HFM has refused to negotiate but clearly the demise of Shock, after such a clumsy launch, has changed the dynamics. As long as they refuse to negotiate, they and their distributors will be hit steadily and mercilessly in the months ahead as we begin suing those retailers who refused to pull the magazine even after having been informed that it violated my copyright. Many were urged to continue selling it in a letter from HFM CEO Jack Kliger, but their actions facilitated and furthered HFM’s criminal infringement. The collapse of the title doesn’t cancel out the retailers’ liability for willfully infringing on my copyright, any more than it absolves HFM of its accountability to US laws. HFM has broken federal law. They had a chance for a quick settlement, but instead engaged in a spiral of insipid spin tactics that insulted the entire blogosphere and are learning what that means. I could die next week in Iraq, but HFM and Borders and 7/11 and the others will still feel the fire from the Army of David’s.

Why are you in Iraq now?

I am in Qatar researching some important military operations, and am scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on Christmas day. I’m heading there now for the same reason I went in late December 2004: I want to see for myself what is happening there, and I want to document my observations, good, bad or ugly.

You were initially hailed as someone who challenged the negative reporting of media from Iraq. How do you feel about reporting from there now?

I reported what I observed first hand. I did not go there with an agenda to challenge the MSM, but I learned after much time in Iraq that many MSM reports seemed agenda-driven and that much of what passed for news in America was not an accurate reflection of what I was seeing. I did not know what a blog was when I landed in Baghdad. I was not part of or party to the battle between alternative and mainstream media. I blogged because it was a low-cost way to get my photographs and dispatches before a wider audience. I did not selectively report only good or bad news. I reported on the progress being made because I was there to see it being made. I reported on mistakes being made when I saw them being made. When I left for Iraq I saw there was no shortage of “expert commentators” so I thought I would concentrate on what the soldiers I embedded with were doing, seeing, and thinking and the same for those Iraqi civilians who I encountered. People over here responded to that and with each new dispatch my readership was doubling and sometimes tripling. People seemed hungry for news based on the kind of first hand from the ground up writing I published on my website and not a lot of the MSM reporting was doing that kind of reporting. However--and this is a very big however--some of the best reporting from Iraq comes from MSM. The trick is finding the right MSM writers to read. Dexter Filkins is a great. Tony Castenada is an unsung jewel. Monte Morin, Rich Oppel, and love him or hate him, Mick Ware earns his opinions. Jacki Lyden. Lee Pitts. Tom Ricks. There is a long list of excellent writers and I've left most of them out. No, I do not dismiss the MSM. I learn too much from them, and many are extremely courageous. I have said many times that its not so much who they work for but how long they spend in a place so they can put information into an informed context. I object to anyone, bloggers or mainstream reporters, who pop in for a week or two and start making broad statements about what’s going on. A lap dog blogger is no better a news source than an agenda driven journalist.

Given the steady sectarian violence, is it fair to criticize journalists who have reported repeatedly on the danger there?

No, but I was the first writer, to my knowledge, to definitively say that Iraq was in a state of Civil War. I published those observations in February 2005, when I wrote about the 1st ID heading back to the US after completing a long deployment. I have increasingly warned about the growing Civil War, both from over there and from the US. In fact, if I have a criticism here, it's that practically no writer would admit this fact for more than a year after I first went on record with it. [Eric--you and I actually talked about this maybe six months ago.] In fact, there was more violence going on than I could convey in my own writing. The danger is severe. It’s always been concentrated in certain areas, and the reporting is usually focused on those areas. There are places in Iraq where progress has been made and Iraqis are running things and making them work. But whether or not that gets reported on often enough doesn’t change the fact that violence in the other areas has not abated and by all accounts appears to have gotten only worse. I’ll be in those areas next week so I will letting people know very soon what I see when I hit the ground.

What kind of journalism is needed from Iraq now? Will you provide it?

We need more photo journalists. Photo-journalists are in a unique position and have certain advantages in this particular area at this time. But good ones are hard to come by, and especially those who are willing or able to spend month after month after month at war and I continue to believe that people get better over time at understanding and reporting the events here. I think it would help everyone understand if they could hear more from a variety of people on the ground: the soldiers, civilians, and contractors who are living the history as they make it. I'll do the best I can to capture what they experience in photographs and words until either my courage fails me, a bullet finds me, or the military tells me it's time to go.

Any other thoughts you think my readers would be interested in?

Good Bless America. Like “Merry Christmas,” I know it’s been said many times before, but I've been around this world so many times, and in so many places, that no matter how hard we may have it at home at times, I still say, God Bless America, and today, Merry Christmas. As tempting as it is to be there with you, I will be with our troops where I belong.

Last DEGGANS Punditry in '06!

In case you missed it, the transcript for my appearance on Howie Kurtz's CNN m,edia show Reliable Sources is here. I remain amazed that a guy as laid back at Baltimore Sun TV Critic David Zurawik could sound like he's blowing a head gasket when he gets on camera. He's learned his TV pundit skills well.

James Brown Lives on YouTube

I could never understand why my wife was so dismissive of my love for the Godfather of Soul until we had a conversation a few years ago and I realized: she had never really seen him in his prime.

The James Brown she knew was the guy from Living in America -- a James Brown who was already a parody of himself, twisting during performances like the weird Uncle you always stay away from at parties.

But the Godfather of the '60s and '70s -- this was the guy who inspired stage moves by everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Prince; the guy who controlled his band like a tyrant and ruled his stage like a champion prizefighter. Before he became known as the drugged-out crazy man who chased people from an insurance seminar with a shotgun, he was redefining black music and personifying the proud black man in America.

So, if you want to see THAT guy, look here, and here and here and here.

Rest easy Godfather. Crazy as you could be sometimes, you still earned it...

   

Bill O'Reilly Drops the Other Shoe; I go on CNN Sunday

The War on Christmas has turned him into a laughingstock. And the GOP's decisive electoral defeat in November made his views on the war suspect.

  So now Fox News Channel blowhard Bill O'Reilly is picking the last controversial fight he has left.

With the nation's TV critics?

Here's his rant, from Thursday's Talking Points Memo: "If FOX News is the dominant number one rated cable network, and our presentation appeals to millions, why are we hammered in the press? The answer, of course, is ideology.

We can't find one TV critic in the United States of America, not one who isn't  a liberal or a registered Democrat. Most are committed liberals, who dislike us for giving conservative and traditional Americans a fair shot.

By the way, if you know of a non-liberal TV critic, please let us know because we always want to be fair and balanced."

Of course, I predicted this nonsense weeks ago, when a researcher from O'Reilly's staff called to ask about my party affiliation and political contribution history. I predicted he would use his findings to pick a fight with TV critics across the country, and try demonizing our work through our affiliations.

What's also predictable is O'Reilly's twisted presentation of his "results." We don't for example, know how he knows what he says he does. Was this a public records search, phone calls similar to the one I endured, or more? How many critics are we talking about?

His phrasing is also suspect: "We can't find one TV critic in the United States of America, not one who isn't a liberal or a registered Democrat. Most are committed liberals, who dislike us for giving conservative and traditional Americans a fair shot."

He said they can't find a liberal critic, without saying what they've done to find one. My hunch is that a lot of us blew off the personal calls -- especially after my column about his nonsense surfaced in the Huffington Post -- and the records checks didn't reveal much. 

But what really spun my top, was when he went on to point out that industry magazines such as Daily Variety, Broadcasting and Cable and Publisher's Weekly are all owned by Reed Business Information, whose CEO is Tad Smith:

"And who is Tad Smith?

He's a far left guy who donates major money to people like Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton. Nothing wrong with that! But Smith also hires editors in his own image and his publications often disparage conservatives and praised liberals."

O'Reilly's no fool. So he knows critics like me will note that he is employed by right-leaning Fox News Channel, which is owned by News Corp., which is owned by Australian mogul Rupert Murdoch -- a longtime Republican supporter whose holdings also include the right-leaning newspaper the New York Post  and the right-leaning magazine the Weekly Standard.

He knows we will also note that there are plenty of other right-leaning media moguls who copuld face similar scrutiny: conservative stalwart Richard Mellon Scaife, the Pittsburgh billionaire who owns the local Tribune-Review newspaper and part of the conservative-oriented Newsmax Web site, also owned the American Spectator magazine when it decided to dig up dirt on then-President and Democrat Bill Clinton.

There's Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, a steadfast supporter of  Republican presidents Nixon and Reagan, who founded the conservative newspaper the Washington Times.

And there's David Smith, the conservative president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, a nationwide chain of more than 60 TV stations which refused to air Nightline's tribute to soldiers killed in Iraq (for fear it would hurt the war effort), and insisted its stations air Stolen Honor, a documentary supported by political opponents of Democratic candidate John Kerry which criticized his activism against the Vietnam War.  (though Smith has denied he has a political agenda, Washington Post noted his federal contributions to Republicans dwarfed those given to Democrats)

So if O'Reilly's conservative-backing boss can bankroll a "fair and balanced" news operation, why can't we TV critics overcome our party affiliations?

As usual, O'Reilly has exposed the silliness of criticizing journalists' political affiliations without also looking at the substance of their work.

And then we come to his primary piece of liberal bias evidence: that Fox News receives constant criticism from TV columnists despite the fact that they are the Number One cable news network.

To answer that, I can only note that the Number One non-sports cable show last week was World Wrestling Entertainment's WWE Raw show, with 3.5-million viewers.

And I'm sure no one would suggest there isn't lots to criticize on their programs.

The Last DEGGANS Punditry in '06

I just wrapped pre-taping a fun exchange with Batimore sun TV critic David Zurawik and Philadelphia Inquirer TV columnist Gail Shister on CNN's Reliable Sources regarding the state of TV this year -- including runaway coverage of lost climbers, the network news anchor wars and, of course, Donald VS Rosie.

The episode airs Sunday at 10 a.m., I believe, hosted by Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz. Watch it while you're firing up the yule log and mixing up the egg nog...

The Most Popular Media in 2006 According to Nielsen

Media tabulation giant Nielsen Media Research just issued a release listing the top 10 products of the year for TV, movies, DVDs and more. here's a sample of what they noticed in 2006.

NIELSEN ISSUES MOST POPULAR LISTS FOR 2006

New York, NY, December 20, 2006 – Several Nielsen media tracking businesses today released a year-end look at the most popular media trends among Americans during 2006.  This is the first time the Nielsen companies have released a compilation of “Top 10’s” for the Nielsen brands.  Going forward this information will be released publicly on a regular basis. 

TELEVISION – from Nielsen Media Research

Top 10 TV Programs - Regularly Scheduled - 2006
Rank    Programs        Network % of Homes in U.S. (Rating)   
1       AMERICAN IDOL-TUESDAY   FOX     17.7   
2       AMERICAN IDOL-WEDNESDAY FOX     17.2   
3       DANCING WITH THE STARS  ABC     12.7   
4       CSI     CBS     12.0   
5       DANCING W/STARS RESULTS ABC     11.4   
6       NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL       NBC     11.1   
7       CSI: MIAMI      CBS     10.3   
8       DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES    ABC     10.2   
9       HOUSE   FOX     10.0   
10      DEAL OR NO DEAL-MON     NBC     9.8   
10      WITHOUT A TRACE CBS     9.8   
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note:  Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 17, 2006.  Household Ratings include Live and Same Day timeshifted viewing.

Top 10 TV Programs - Single Telecasts - 2006   
Rank    Telecast        Network Date Aired      % of Homes in U.S. (Rating)   
1       SUPER BOWL XL   ABC     2/5/2006        41.6   
2       SUPER BOWL POST GAME    ABC     2/5/2006        29.0   
3       ACADEMY AWARDS  ABC     3/5/2006        23.1   
4       ROSE BOWL       ABC     1/4/2006        21.7   
5       GREY'S ANATOMY  ABC     2/5/2006        21.0   
6       FOX NFC CHAMPIONSHIP    FOX     1/22/2006       20.8   
7       AMERICAN IDOL-WED       FOX     5/24/2006       20.5   
8       AMERICAN IDOL-TUES      FOX     1/24/2006       19.6   
9       AMERICAN IDOL-TUES      FOX     1/17/2006       19.3   
10      AMERICAN IDOL-TUES      FOX     3/21/2006       19.2   
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 17, 2006.  Household Ratings include Live and Same Day timeshifted viewing. Excludes telecasts under 5 minutes.

Top 10 "Timeshifted" Primetime TV Programs - 2006      
                        % Increase    
Rank    Programs        Network in Viewership 
1       STUDIO 60       NBC     10.9   
2       HEROES  NBC     9.1   
3       GILMORE GIRLS   CW      7.9   
4       AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL        CW      7.7   
5       30 ROCK NBC     7.5   
5       FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS     NBC     7.5   
7       NINE, THE       ABC     6.7   
7       SUPERNATURAL    CW      6.7   
9       KIDNAPPED       NBC     6.6   
9       ONE TREE HILL   CW      6.6   
9       SMALLVILLE      CW      6.6   
Source: Nielsen Media Research

Note: Data from Dec 26, 2005 - Dec 3, 2006.  Percent Increase in viewership is based on difference between Live Household Ratings and Live+7.

MOVIES – from Nielsen EDI and Nielsen VideoScan

Top 10 Box Office - All Theatrical - 2006      
Rank    Title   Cumulative Total US $   Open Date      
1       Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead  $423,315,812    7/7/2006      
2       Cars    $244,082,982    6/9/2006      
3       X-Men: The Last Stand   $234,362,462    5/26/2006      
4       The Da Vinci Code       $217,536,138    5/19/2006      
5       Superman Returns        $200,081,192    6/28/2006      
6       Ice Age: The Meltdown   $195,330,621    3/31/2006      
7       Over the Hedge  $155,019,340    5/19/2006      
8       Happy Feet      $149,244,791    11/17/2006    
9       Talladega Nights: The Ballad    $148,213,377    8/4/2006      
10      Casino Royale   $137,501,384    11/17/2006    
Source:  Nielsen EDI

Note: Data from Jan 1 – Dec 17, 2006, US and Canada Only

Newt Gingrich, Keith Olbermann and You -- Media Odds and Ends During a Holiday Week

It's one of those weeks where there doesn't seem to be much in the old media news hopper. So we'll have to make do with some odds and edds I have observed so far while trying to get through the pre-Xmas stuff.

Newt Gingrich was doing a fine job recasting himself as a more even-handed politician on Sunday's Meet the Press -- talking up his much-balleyhooed rapproachment with Hillary Clinton for example -- before he took a detour into crazy conservative-land.

The shift occurred when Russert asked about past comment from Ginrich that he would essentially suspend the First Amendment to deal with terrorism. Here's how it went down:

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: You close down any Web site that is jihadist.

MR. RUSSERT: But who makes that judgment?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: Look, I—you can appoint three federal judges if you want to and say, “Review this stuff and tell us which ones to close down.” I would just like to have them be federal judges who’ve served in combat.

MR. RUSSERT: Are you concerned, however, that with carte blanche, that the government could move in and say, “This mosque is closed, this Web site is shut down”?

FMR. REP. GINGRICH: (some nonsense about the McCain-Feingold bill, then...)So we’ve had a 30-year period of saying it’s OK to infringe free speech as long as it’s about politics. But now if you want to be a jihadist, and you want to go kill people, well who are we to say that’s morally wrong? I think that’s suicidal. I’m using the word deliberately. A country—a Supreme Court justice once said “The Constitution is not a suicide pact.” This country has every right to defend itself, and you saw the same thing recently on this U.S. Airlines provocation, where you had six people go way out of their way to cause trouble, and then claim they were infringed upon. And I think, frankly, the president should invite that U.S. Airlines crew to the White House and thank them, because we ought to set a standard that if you’re provocative about killing people, we’re not going to show you any mercy."

Forget that Gingrich just advocated ripping the Constitution to shreds. What struck me, is that there are plenty of Web sites out there which already advocate violence against Americans.

There are loads of racist sites in which white supremacists call for fueling race war in America. There are other sites which advociate similar ends for homosexuals and Jews and any other group you can imagine.

If Gingrich cares so much about the American people, why isn't he advoating those sites get shut down? (not that I think they should; I believe, unless someone makes a direct, specific threat of violence, free speech -- even abhorrent speech -- rules).

Even by his own crazytown rules, Gingrich makes no sense.

DVD Surpasses VCRs in Homes for the First Time

For all those who insist YouTube will make Tv networks obsolete, peep this fact: we just crossed the line where there' more DVD players in American homes than VCRs.

The press release follows: "Nielsen Media Research released findings today from its 3rd Quarter Home Technology Report which show that more U.S. households now own DVD players (81.2% of all households) than VCRs (79.2% of households).   Findings from this quarterly study also show ownership of most media technology trending up from previous years, which could continue to climb as the upcoming Christmas season approaches.   

Computers -- 73.4% of U.S. homes currently have a computer in the household, and homes with children and teens are more likely to have a home computer.  There is a large difference in the percentage of lower income homes vs. higher income homes that own a home computer.  Homes with an income over $60K are 50% more likely to own a home computer than homes with an income below $60K.

Internet – 95.4% of consumers with Internet access go online at least once a week, and 37.3% of Internet users go online more than once a day.  78.2% of online users have made purchases over the Internet. 46.8% of online users (ages 12+) have used the Internet to download and play music from the Internet.

MP3 Players – 26.7% of U.S. homes own or rent an MP3 player.  Households with the presence of children 12-17 years of age are nearly 2 ½ times more likely to own or rent an MP3 player than compared to the Total U.S.  The percentage of homes owning an MP3 player has risen by 149.5% since 3rd Quarter 2003.

PDA – 16.4% of U.S. homes own a PDA, and since 3rd quarter 2003, PDA ownership has increased by 4.5%.  Not surprisingly, higher income homes are more than four times as likely as lower income homes to own a PDA."

More Krazy Konservative Stuff

With great fanfare, the conservative think tank Media Research Center presented its quote of the year -- evidence of liberal bias, I guess:

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. You weren’t supposed to be graduating into an America fighting a misbegotten war in a foreign land. You weren’t supposed to be graduating into a world where we are still fighting for fundamental human rights, whether it’s the rights of immigrants to start a new life, or the rights of gays to marry, or the rights of women to choose. You weren’t supposed to be graduating into a world where oil still drove policy and environmentalists have to fight relentlessly for every gain. You weren’t. But you are. And for that, I’m sorry.”

—New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.’s May 21 graduation address at the State University of New York at New Paltz, shown on C-SPAN May 27.

Call me crazy, but Arthur's making al ot of sense to me....

More Odds and Ends

Can we call a moratorium on griping about TIME magazine's pick for Person of the Year: the digital media user, or You? Yes, lots of folks have been doing YouTube and MySpace and iPodding for years, but it reached critical mass in 2006 and it's TIME's job to tell us about trends we're already hip deep in. If you're hip enough to know they're not, griping about it just makes you look petty.

After watching the first two episodes of NBC's Los Angeles iteration of the Apprentice, I'm not shocked by the Survivor-like twist forcing the team which  loses competitions to live on the lawn of a California mansion; and I'm not surprised a knuckleheaded Donald Trump rewarded the winning team in the second episode with a party at the Playboy mansion, forcing the women on the team to find fun in hanging with a roomful of jiggling Playmates. I was surprised by how pasty Trump looked when he stripped off his shoes and socks for a beachside fashion show -- somebody grab a tanning bed stat!

 

 

Overrated Media in 2006?

Regular readers of this space know I'm not above nicking a good idea for my own use -- with fair credit attached.

So I'm announcing upfront that my notion to pick the most overrated subjects in TV/media for 2006 came from local alternative newsweekly Creative Loafing, which kinda hampered a great idea with some questionable choices last month (Wizard of Oz and M*A*S*H as most overrated? In a world where Madonna, Paris Hilton, Colin Farrell and CSI still reign supreme?)

Here's my list. Please, please, please feel free to leave comments here with your own choices. Even if you pick me, I'll still let you have your say. To a point.

The Sopranos -- This one is tough to write because, like so many TV critics nationwide, I really want this series to be so much better than it often is. And what most often ails The Sopranos is what has also hobbled a wide swath of HBO series, from Deadwood to Big Love to Rome and beyond: lack of a coherent story. You need more than compelling characters and an amazing setting to make a quality TV series. You need a compelling story to pull viewers through episode after episode -- which the Sopranos, these days, does not.

MySpace -- Sure, this social-networking site is an amazing collection of cyberspace junkies -- from high-schoolers hanging out online to the middle-aged men who hope to meet them. But despite all the networking, blog creating and emailing going on, no one has yet figured out how to turn some 140 million different free user pages into cold, hard cash. Owner News Corp has tried to create its own MySpace-based version of YouTube, but the system doesn't have many videos and hangs up often. It's tried to promote films and TV shows such as Nip/Tuck and Failure to Launch -- only to find users who clog promotional web sites don't necessarily buy movie tickets or have Nielsen boxes stuck on their TVs. This service keeps Rupert Murdoch's media empire from looking totally behind the times, but it's a little like having a way-cool stereo receiver you don't know how to operate.

The Simpsons -- More TV critic sacriliege! Yes, there was a time when Fox's animated series was the coolest cultural commentary around. But that time is long past; now, the show's rapid-fire pace and sprawling voice cast is just an excuse for humorless non sequiturs and increasingly vapid storylines (one-eyed aliens invading Springfield as a allegory to Iraq? Yawn.) Unfortunately, Comedy Central's South Park long ago snatched the mantle of shocking, groundbreaking social commentary. But TV critics, loathe to admit they stopped watching years ago, keep up the charade (runner up: the never-funny Family Guy)

Blogs (and Vlogs) Producing the Next Wave of Big Names in Media -- Much as I personally love the idea of bloggers becoming the next Thomas Friedman or Andy Rooney, the decidedly unimpressive efforts of ex-Wonkette queen Ana Marie Cox (Time.com columnist) and former Rocketboom video blogger Amanda Congdon (ABC.com commentator, seen at left) leave little hope. This stuff also serves as a fateful reminder -- blogs are about inventing new forms of media; excelling in that world doesn't mean you're any more prepared to acheive in the old system.

Rachael Ray and Rosie O'Donnell -- I just can't pick one. Do I skewer the over-leveraged pixie with the grating voice and limited talent, or the obnoxious diva who is so busy inflicting her opinions on others she hasn't noticed what a gigantic drag she's become? Granted, they're both successful -- Ray's new daytime talk show is the brightest spot, ratings-wise, in a fading field and O'Donnell's senseless feuds have boosted The View's viewership by about 20 percent. But Ray's limp show is also real-time proof that TV chefs should never be allowed to do anything but cook on camera, and O'Donnell's inconsistency (railing about homophobia one minute, shrugging off stereotyping Asian people the next) only makes this occasional View watcher's head hurt.

There lots of others, of course. But I would rather hear your picks (and again, be more original than picking me or the St. Petersburg Times. That's a really old joke).

And, as always, click on a photo to enlarge...

 

Pat Robertson's Worst Nightmare: WGAY TV

Dunno how I missed this story, but a TV station in -- where else? -- Key West is preparing to become the first over-air station targeting gay viewers. The start date's been pushed back from January to February, but that didn't stop Late Show with David Letterman from offering a Top 10 list pegged to what South Florida viewers can expect once the station comes online.

Check it out:

10. "How I Met Your Brother"
9. "Gary's Anatomy"
8. "Desperate Poolboys"
7. "Everybody Loves Raymond...Especially Steve"
6. "The King Of Queens"
5. "Not-So-Smallville"
4. "I Dream Of Gene"
3. "Gays Of Our Lives"
2. "My Name Is Earl And I Like Construction Workers"
1. "His Deal Or No Deal"

ALSO:

Classic good news/bad news scenario for us newspaper types in media use figures recently released by the Census Bureau.

Good news -- Americans spend more time with media, about 9.5 hours, than any other activity except breathing. Bad news -- less of that time is spent with newspapers than ever, with time spent on the Internet eclipsing time spent with newspapers for the first time.

Here's the figures projected for next year, courtesy of the Associated Press:

1,555 hours watching television, up from 1,467 in 2000. The estimate includes 678 hours watching broadcast TV and 877 watching cable and satellite.

974 hours listening to the radio, up from 942 in 2000.

195 hours using the Internet, up from 104.

175 hours reading daily newspapers, down from 201.

122 hours reading magazines, down from 135.

106 hours reading books, down an hour.

86 hours playing video games, up from 64.

Beefin' Wth NewsBlues
Much as I enjoy reading Mike James' spicy industry Web site NewsBlues, the one place we often agree to disagree is on racial issues.

At the risk of speaking for somebody else, I think Mike feels minorities have too often used the TV industry's concern over looking racist to unfairly get jobs and push for special treatment.

Today, a few days after linking to my column on CBS' lack of diversity, he published this paragraph about somebody hired at a CBS-owned station:

"Burton's hire is part of the "CBS News Development Program" designed
to train young reporters and producers at CBS-owned stations in local
markets for two years, with the goal of then promoting them to the
network. CBS News is covering Burton's salary, giving WBZ, which
recently cut back on freelancers and overtime, an extra set of hands.
(So much for squeaky wheel claims that CBS isn't making an effort to
develop minority talent.)" 

So much for accuracy as well -- my column never claimed they weren't making an effort, and actually detailed the program he references. My point was that it seemed a late effort, and it would take years to see these hires get to the network level -- which is bound to be true in Burton's case if he's just starting work at an O&O now...

But it's a lot easier to knock down a point I never made than address the problem I clearly outlined.

Beefin' With Lou Dobbs

It was maybe the second time in 15 years as a journalist that I had to do it.

But when a telephone interview with Lou Dobbs yesterday deteriorated to the point where he questioned my intelligence and my journalism abilities three times, I had to respectfully end the conversation.

It was too bad, because I was hoping to explore the phenomenon of his recent success at CNN, using his town hall meeting convened in Tampa tonight as a handy news peg.  According to a most excellent Dobbs profile by Ken Auletta in the New Yorker, his show's audience has grown by 23 percent in the past year.

It seems our problems during the interview surfaced after a question I asked about that profile -- specifically, how he felt about Auletta drawing a marked contrast between his high-flying lifestyle (lunch at the Four Seasons, friendships with powerful moguls such as former Miramax head Harvey Weinstein) and his current aggressive advocacy of middle class issues.

Insisting he loved the story and it implications were obvious, Dobbs gave me a hard time for bringing up what he felt was such an obvious question. It was an odd situation -- critics' rap on Dobbs is that he presents complex issues such as illegal immigration in black and white terms, treating those who disagree with him as either idiots or charlatans.

Now, I was on the receiving end of that intimidating process. And it was not fun.

Given the jacked-up state of world events, I don't blame viewers for gravitating to an authortarian figure who offers to take away the uncertainty surrounding some of the toughest issues of our time.

So what if the U.S. has spent decades building entire industries on the back of illegal immigration? Fine employers, build a wall, encourage vigilantees to help patrol the border and treat anybody who helps illegal immigrants like a criminal.

Who cares if loads of America's ports, gas stations and skyscrapers are owned by foriegn companies? If an Arab-owned corporation wants to buy  the company which owns several American ports, the government needs to stop them. Now.

Doesn't matter that state and local governments provide the funding for America's schools and local communities elect boards to control them, under the reasoning that local experts would know what their kids need best. Schools are failing across the country, so it's time to enact a national education standard that every school distrct must follow -- whether they're in Des Moines, Iowa or Miami, Fla.

These are just a few positions Dobbs has advocated on his show, where he is allowed to express a level of opinion most news anchors on CNN are not. It's no secret that such steady advocacy is the key to keeping audiences engaged when news is slow; no matter how good your news operation is, there are always times when the events at hand are not nearly as compelling as the wacky theories some people have constructed to explain it all.

Critics may grouse that Dobbs expects the reporters on his show to echo his view of the issues the advocates -- to a degree that even Fox News rarely approaches. But second-place CNN can't risk conflict with one of the few guys whose audience is growing in cable news by asking him to make the news reports on his show more even-handed.

Brian Stelter of the most-excellent TV news Web site TVNewser noted that Dobbs' show drew about 1-million viewers Monday -- more than CNN star Larry King and timeslot rival, Fox News Channel's Brit Hume. Given that Hume's ratings usually dominate the time period, that was news, indeed.

No wonder CNN is trying hard to spread him around -- including him among the four anchors who handled their election coverage in November, continuing the town hall meetings which are often more highly rated than his regular program (according to Stelter), and including him as a guest on a CNN Newsroom report Saturday on people who have been squeezed out of the middle class called A Paycheck Away.

Given that King is getting older and has had health problems in the past, it's not a stretch to imagine Dobbs well-positioned to take his place whenever he decides to step down.

It's an amazing story of survival for a guy who started when CNN began as a business anchor/reporter and experienced a 9/11-inspired transformation into an advocate -- riding the trend of business boosterism when it was high and now surfing the wave of cable news opinionating. 

"He created a brand for himself early (on CNN)...I don't think others did that, said Stelter. "Now, it's kind of accepted that people do that. He's reinvented himself."

What a cool story. Wish Dobbs had kept his cool long enough for me to explore it with him. 

Why I Still Have Hope for the Golden Globes

Their decisions about who actually gets awards can still be baffling and irritating -- William Shatner as best supporting TV comedy actor in 2005, over Will & Grace's Sean Hayes and entourage's Jeremy Piven?

But this year's passel of Globe TV nominees, announced this morning, also shows how tuned in they can be to new gems -- WAAY before Emmy ever gets a clue.

Michael C. Hall from Showtime's Dexter, NBC's super-powered hit Heroes, ABC's infectious hit Ugly Betty, and Alec Baldwin's amazingly vapid corporate boss in NBC's 30 Rock are all major, spot-on nominations from shows which hit the small screen just a few months ago.

Three nominees for acting in a miniseries came from HBO's Tsunami miniseries -- WHICH HASN'T EVEN CONCLUDED PLAYING ON THE CHANNEL.

Last year's Emmy awards featured nominations for some series which had already been cancelled. Talk about contrast.

Worried about diversity? Then note that the Globes have nominated Sleeper Cell standout Michael Ealy; Thief star Andre Braugher; the amazing British couple from Tsunami, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sophie Okonedo; Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and Masi Oka from Heroes. (other than Ferrera, no people of color were nominated in major acting categories, however.)

The Globes have their pets as well -- Weed's Mary Louise Parker, Monk's Tony Shaloub, the Office's Steve Carell. And I'm stil frakked off that the Sci Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica remake -- which I still maintain is one of the best series on TV right now -- was not recognized.

But the fact is, if you want a list of the coolest, most creative shows on TV, you need go no further than this year's Golden Globes list. And it's been a long time since you could say that about the Emmys. 

R.I.P. Peter Boyle

At the time, it was an embarrassing moment -- but it also signaled to this TV critic that Peter Boyle had crossed into the legend column as a comic performer.

I was joking around with my kids about something surprising in the household and my then-9-year-old middle daughter piped up with an enthusiastic response: "Holy Crap!"

As a parent, I was chagrined  that my kid had picked up such a phrase from the crusty Frank Barone character on Everybody Loves Raymond. But I was also secretly pleased that my daughter had learned something I'd known since sitting in a dark theater in 1974, watching him ham up a portrayal of the Frankenstein monster in Mel Brooks' most excellent Young Frankenstein.

Peter Boyle is one hell of a comic actor.

According to the Web site TMZ.com and the Associated Press, Boyle died at New York Presbyterian Hospital, after suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease. I'd noticed that Boyle -- who has had a heart attack and a stroke since 1990 -- seemed weak and a little out-of-it during some interviews on the end of Raymond's run lastyear, and wondered if something serious was afoot.

Boyle, who seemed in person to be a free-spirited artist, seemed to enjoy the contradiction of nailing signature roles as crusty, closed-off, conservative jerks. The guy who was close enough to John Lennon that the Beatle was Best Man at his 1977 wedding, played a murderous anti-hippie bigot (think a darkly relaistic Archie Bunker) in the classic 1970 movie Joe; red-baiting Sen. Joe McCarthy in the TV movie Tail Gunner Joe and, of course Frank Barone.

Maybe in heaven he'll get that Emmy the academy was never smart enough to hand him in this world. Check his What I've Learned interview with Esquire from 2002. And his sidesplitting duet with Gene Wilder on "Puttin' on the Ritz" from Young Frankestein on YouTube.

UPDATE: I see my pals at Stuck in the 80s have listed their Top 5 Boyle movies. I wonder, blogfriends, what you think? Got any cool Boyle moments to share here?

UPDATE, PART II: A&E's Biography series will re-run its episode on Boyle at 8 p.m. Saturday. Here's a description:

"Educated in Roman Catholic schools in his hometown of Philadelphia, Boyle spent three years in a world as far removed from acting as one might imagine.  However, once he determined that his life was best spent wearing robes of a different color, he decamped for New York to study with famed teacher Uta Hagen.  From there, the one-time friend of John Lennon (who was best man at Boyle’s wedding), landed roles in commercials, off-Broadway plays and, finally, films.  It was here that Boyle first gained notice as angry working-man bigot in 1975’s sleeper hit, the Oscar-nominated Joe.  Shrugging off type-casting, he then made a name for himself as the unforgettable singing, dancing Frankenstein monster in Brook’s classic farce.  From here, Boyle starred in dozens of TV and film projects, winning an Emmy for a guest-starring role on “The X Files,” and seven nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his indelible ensemble work on “Everybody Loves Raymond.”  And although he suffered a stroke in 1990 and an on-set heart attack in ’99, Boyle, who made New York home, always returned quickly to a job that defined him."

Lou Dobbs Brings His War on the Middle Class to Tampa Thursday

CNN just announced that Lou Dobbs is coming to town Thursday, stopping by Tampa's Italian Club to chew over the plight of the middle class in a town hall meeting featuring U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and 90 people handpicked by the show's staff.

I'm kinda surprised I haven't heard of this project before now, but Dobbs' visit comes at an interesting time. His ratings are on the upswing, thanks to his unabashed advocacy on issues ranging from the middle class squeeze to illegal immigration. Ken Auletta did a particularly piercing profile noting that the former insider business reporter's tycoon buddies all think he's lost his mind.

I hope to get some time with him tomorrow morning. Until then, check out CNN's announcement on the whole enchilada:

"CNN anchor and best-selling author Lou Dobbs will host a town hall meeting live from the Italian Club in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. (ET).  Dobbs will examine the impact of rising property taxes, a higher cost of living and the trade deficit for residents of Tampa as well as the rest of the country and the middle class.

Dobbs will be joined by guests U.S. Rep. Jim Davis (D-Fla.) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Maryellen Elia, superintendent of Hillsborough County, Fla., Public Schools; and Ron Pollack, founding executive director of Families USA.  Dobbs will also broadcast Lou Dobbs Tonight live from Tampa prior to the town hall at 6 p.m. (ET).

                Viewers can learn more about Lou Dobbs on CNN.com/loudobbstonight, where they can offer feedback and ask questions. CNN Pipeline, CNN.com’s premium live news video service, will also air the town hall.

Weirdest Press Release in December: First Nominee

I just got this one, via email....

   "Court TV and Al Roker enter the dark, underground world of the child sex industry. Al Roker Investigates: Innocence for Sale tells the gripping story of a young girl’s terrifying ordeal in the sex trade. “Tiffany” left her house to go to the movies on her 14th birthday, and ended up being forced into the terrifying world of child prostitution. "

Apparently, Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw and David Gregory were busy. So they sent THE WEATHERGUY FROM THE TODAY SHOW to look into this tragic, important news story...

Can't wait for Martha Stewart's gripping reports from Iraq...

Weirdest Press Release in December: Take Two

"BlackPressMagazine.com has learned that former boxing champion Mike Tyson has pulled out of a deal to "offer his services" at Heidi Fleiss' male brothel in Nevada, where prostitution is legal. Instead, Tyson has inked a deal to begin filming segments of Being Bobby Brown since Whitney will not return to the show."

I can't really add anything to that!
                 

Watch This: The Belated Edition

Originally, Sunday's newspaper was supposed to feature my blatant, TV-centered rip-off of music critic Sean Daly's most excellent Listen to This Sunday recommendations column.

But, there was a miscommunication and my list of stuff to watch this week -- dubbed, originally enough, Watch This -- was not published. But thanks to the magic of the blogosphere, I can get it to you guys reading online.

Check it out -- you can still follow most of my recommendations:

Sleeper Cell: American Terror
Airs: at 9 tonight and six additional nights, concluding next Sunday on Showtime. It debuted last night. TV-MA (mature audiences).
Why you should care: This is the Golden Globe-nominated drama about terrorism in the U.S. we always figured would follow the trauma of Sept. 11. Pretty-boy Michael Ealy shows he's got acting chops beyond the Barbershop movies playing Darwyn Al-Sayeed, a practicing African American Muslim and ex-convict who also just happens to be an FBI agent. Fresh off breaking up a Los Angeles-based cell of terrorists in the show's first season, he's sucked into the game again when a new group recruits him and he becomes its leader.
Why I love it: It's expensive, expansive and nuanced, showing terrorists who are brutal, committed to their cause, but human beings avoiding easy stereotypes. The new cell Darwyn falls into is diverse - forget about racial profiling; this group has a Hispanic male and white female in its ranks. And the cast includes spot-on character actors like Oded Fehr (The Mummy) and Sonia Walger (NBC's Coupling).
Where else can you get it? Taking a cue from HBO,  Showtime is showcasing Sleeper Cell in its on demand service, making all eight episodes of the second season available at once starting tonight (for fun, play TV critic and watch them all at once!). There's also podcasts, computer wallpaper, video downloads for playStation Portables and more here.

Tsunami, the Aftermath
Airs: at 8 p.m. last Sunday and next Sunday on HBO. TV-MA.
Why you should care: This emotional and penetrating three-hour miniseries puts a human face on the tsunami that ravaged Thailand the day after Christmas 2004. Opening at a resort in Khao Lak, Thailand, the movie follows the lives of several characters caught up in the tragedy: a resort worker whose family is wiped out when his village is destroyed; a British mother who loses her son and husband while on vacation; a British official who loses faith in a overwhelmed system and a driven journalist working to expose the dark corners of the tragedy.
Why I love it: Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) is magnetic as the journalist and Toni Collette (The Hours) shines as an irrepressible relief worker. But I was captivated by Hotel Rwanda alum Sophie Okonedo and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Inside Man, seen here at right) as a black British couple who lose their 6-year-old daughter when the father is separated from her in the rushing water. While Okenedo's character takes another young girl from a hospital who resembles their daughter and gives up hope, Ejiofor's Ian Carter keeps searching, driven by guilt and grief even as opportunists raze destroyed villages to grab the land and monks cremate unidentified bodies.
Where else can you get it? HBO's got an on demand channel as well; perfect for catching this signature event on your own schedule. Check the Web site here.

The Lost Room
Airs: at 9 tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday on the Sci Fi Channel.
Why you should care: It's an adventurous, X-Files-style miniseries about Pittsburgh cop Joe Miller (Six Feet Under's Peter Krause) who stumbles on a mysterious key which can lead to any doorway in the world. Turns out, it's one of a host of special items which look like everyday objects, given supernatural powers because they were inside a particular hotel room in 1961. When his supercute daughter (Dakota's supercute sister Elle Fanning) disappears in the room, Miller is forced to navigate an assortment of underground collectors who ruthlessly track the items to save her.
Why I love it: Besides featuring a passel of actors I love - Krause, ER alum Julianna Margulies and the best William Shatner impersonator ever, Kevin Pollak - it's a great yarn with cool special effects and a twisted sense of humor (wait 'til you see where the magic bus ticket sends people!). Like X-Files and The 4400, it's a science fiction show that people who don't like science fiction might actually like. Or something like that. See the site here.

   

Hardest Working Guy at CBS News Named Early Show Anchor

Affable anchor Russ Mitchell said when CBS announced his new gig as news anchor for the Early Show -- also noting that he will continue to serve as anchor of the CBS Evening News on Sunday, contribute stories to CBS News Sunday Morning and work in the rotation of co-anchors for the weekend Evening News -- he got an email from a friend.

"The subject line was: 'You're nuts,'" said Mitchell, who just married producer Karina Mahtani recently. "The truth of the matter is, many of my colleagues, I would say most of my colleagues, work six and seven days a week. Let’s face it; this is the big time. When you sign on to be a correspondent at the network, you’re going to work hard. I’ve worked six- and seven-day weeks continuously for the past nine or ten years. It’s kind of the way the business operates. And I certainly spoke about this with my new bride before I took the job. Didn’t want to mess that up right away."

Mitchell and I were talking mostly for a column I've assembled for Monday's paper on CBS and its on air diversity -- mostly an expansion of thoughts I wrote about earlier this week in this space.

But along the way, we were able to discuss many other aspects of his new job. So, since I only had room to drop one last-minute quote into my newspaper column, I figured I'd share more of the interview here.

ME: You've been in a position to join the weekday newscast before, back in 1997 before they hired Bryant Gumbel to lead a revamped Early Show. Have you felt like a perpetual bridesmaid sometimes?

Mitchell: " I anchor the CBS Sunday Evening News -- if that’s being a bridesmaid, I’ll take it every single day of the week....(but) you always want to go to that next level. When Bryant left – I’ve been there for 15 years. You wouldn’t be a competitve person if you didn’t take those situations and look at them and say, 'Wow I would love to do that,' of course. There have been those moments when you go for a job, you try your best to get it and it doesn’t work out. In this business, it’s all about timing...and this seems like a good time.”

Were you worried that the press speculation didn't include your name?

Mitchell: "“Quite honestly, the press doesn’t sign my paycheck. I love you guys, I think you guys are great...(but) at the end of the day, it’s not about what you guys speculate, it’s about what really happens. If we want to talk about all the people, not including myself, who have been talked about as heir apparents for jobs at CBS, NBC and ABC and didn’t get them, we could talk all day.”

But some people seem to think they may have a better chance at such jobs, if the press builds a buzz around their name.

Mitchell: "If I was 35 years old, I might feel that way. I may say, 'Oh wow, my name’s not being talked about, that’s just terrible.' But I’m 46 years old (laughs) and I’ve been doing this for 25