Kathy Griffin is God: Meeting the Queen of the D-List

                            

  I am probably the unlikeliest Kathy Griffin fan on the planet.
    Not just because I'€™m not gay, or a big fan of reality TV or a little creeped out by people who get massive amounts of plastic surgery.
    I think it'€™s because a) I love the way she dishes on the kind of stupid encounters with celebrities that most people in the entertainment industry keep to themselves. And b) I have a soft spot for working stiffs who never stop trying.
    You can see how hard she works for her A-list home by checking her addictive reality series, My Life on the D-List, a way-cool excavation of all the stuff she must subject herself to as somebody who isn’t quite Brangelina or TomKat material.
    (Click here to watch the woman who calls herself the “red-headed Oprah” try to give away money on the streets of Hollywood.)
    So for me, the coolest thing about doing my story for Saturday'€™s Floridian about the surge in women-centered TV series, was getting 10 minutes on the phone with the Divine Ms. G.

Unfortunately, when we talked, Rosie was still on The View and buzz about Griffin replacing her hadn'€™t begun, so there'€™s no questions on that. New episodes of D-List start up at 10 p.m. Tuesday; her stand up special Everybody Can Suck It premieres at 9 p.m. Tuesday. See the first new episode here.

To hear the interview, click here. To hear my much less catty interview with Closer star Kyra Sedgwick, click here.

Here'€™s the edited transcript (BE WARNED:€“ there'€™s lots of profanity going on here):

Kathy: Bravo'€™s so cheap that I had to pay for my own billboard, which I really, honestly, don'€™t think has happened in the history of television. I don’t know anyone else: you know Heidi Klum'€™s not buying her billboard.

Eric: I just have a feeling you'€™re the only person in Hollywood who would admit it.

K: (laughs) Ooooh, that is actually a comfort to me. I hope that'€™s true.

E: The first thing I wanted to ask you; have you created your own show biz niche here? I mean, I can'€™t think of a performer who has kind of is in the public eye but still claims to be so disrespected as you do.

K: Claims? Call Jay Leno, call Conan O'€™Brien, call David Letterman. Yeah, I think that we'€™re in an era where I think people are responding now to people being honest, you know? I'€™m looking at what shows are a hit and Rachael Ray has a giant hit show and this is a girl who sort of, you know, her whole image is €˜I'€™m kind of like you.€™ Even Tyra Banks, who while being a supermodel, her show is very much, '€˜Sure, come feel my boobs, I'€™ll prove that they'€™re real,'€™ you know. '€˜Sure, I'€™ll put on a fat suit on and see what it'€™s like to be fat,'€™ you know. So the abject glee that people are experiencing because of the Paris Hilton sentencing really says it all, you know? I think we'€™re kind of entering a phase where people are a little sick of celebrities being above the law and want to kinda take the piss out of them, as they would say in England.

E: Yeah, we exalt celebrities. At the same time, we want to bring them down to our level. It'€™s a very odd dynamic.

K: I feel the same way. I love celebrities and I'€™m fascinated by them but I'€™m also sick of their shit. So (laughs), you know, for me, it'€™s kind of like life is like high school and I'™m still the nerdy girl that couldn'€™t get, you know, onto the cheerleading squad. I still have a lot of fun taking down those cheerleaders in a way that I never could in high school, so I think if, you know, high school kind of set the stage that I'€™m gonna just relive that fantasy over and over.

And I'€™ve finally figured out how to take those cheerleaders down, and I think people like that. I mean, that'€™s really the concept of the D List is that a lot more people relate to me than relate to Nicole Kidman, you know. And when people come to my shows or they watch the D List, that'€™s what they tell me more than anything is, you know, I feel like I'€™m sitting with a friend in the living room gossiping, or I'€™m gossiping on the phone or something. So I think people love to gawk at celebrities and, at the same time, they like to look at their mug shots. I know I do.

Uncle Eric Explains Local TV Ratings -- Again

With May sweeps behind us and the 2006-07 TV season officially over, we now have a report card on how local stations did this month: the household ratings.

Those of you who read my first blog post in 07 about local TV ratings, know that household ratings are NOT what local stations use to sell advertising, and thus are not worth much to the local industry. They only estimate what each household in the Tampa Bay area was watching, not what individual groups of people were watching.  But they can indicate a few trends.

For example:

We don't hate Katie Couric as much as the rest of the nation does.
At 6:30 p.m., NBC Nightly News is tops among news programming, followed by  Couric on CBS, WTVT-Ch. 13's local newscast and then Charlie Gibson on ABC.

CBS leads ins are helping WTSP-Ch. 10's 11 p.m. news.
WTSP is about 2/10ths of ratings point behind WFLA in late night news, probably because CBS wins the ratings in prime time locally. Wonder what will happen in July, when we have the first ratings period without popular anchor Bob Hite appearing on WFLA's 11 p.m. newscast.

Locally produced daytime shows are behind national names.
Both WFLA's Daytime (at right) and WTSP's Studio 10 -- locally-produced entertainment shows at 10 a.m. which feature guests who have paid to appear -- got slightly lower household ratings than Martha Stewart's show on WFTS-Ch. 28 and the new daytime show with former Fox News Channel anchors Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy on WTVT. Now the local shows probably make more money for the stations, but viewers seem to be indicating how they feel about them.

Judge Judy is kicking Oprah's behind locally
WTVT's Judge Judy got household ratings almost two points above Oprah at 4 p.m. In fact, WTSP's telecast of Dr. Phil at 5 p.m., which outrates any newscast at 5 p.m., also got a higher rating than Oprah at 4 p.m. -- not the fairest comparison because more people are probably watching TV at 5 p.m., but still surprising.

The highest rated show on the dial, excluding prime time, is Jeopardy.
The only thing that comes close, in all the hours of TV programming except for 8 p.m to 11 p.m., is WTVT's 10 p.m. news, which was likely boosted by American Idol ratings. At 10 p.m., WTSP's Jeopardy does a 10.54 rating at 7 p.m., meaning 10 percent of local households with TVs -- 16 percent of those watching TV locally at 7 p.m. -- were watching this show (and that's a 19 percent decline from February).

What that really proves is what we already know; the local TV audience skews old.

Here's some more figures, courtesy of WTSP-Ch. 10: numbers to the left of slash are ratings (percentage of local households which have TVs), numbers to the right of slash are the share (percentage of local households actually watching  TV)

11 p.m. newscasts:
WFLA NC8 at 11p               6.6 / 13
WTSP-Ch. 10                     6.5 / 13   
WTVT Fox 13 News 10p-11p M-Su  6.5 / 10
WFTS Action News at 11p   4.8 / 10

5 p.m. to 6 p.m.newscasts:
Dr. Phil/WTSP   6.7 / 14
WFLA               5.9 / 12
WTVT Fox 13    5.7 / 12
WFTS Action News 1.7 / 3

6 p.m. newscasts:
WFLA-NewsChannel8              7.9 / 15   
WTSP-Tampa Bays10             6.5 / 12
WTVT Fox 13                        4.9 / 9
WFTS Action News                 2.8 / 5

Prime Time - 8 p.m to 11 p.m.:
CBS/WTSP                    9.4 / 15
FOX Prime on WTVT (8 p.m to 10 p.m.)      8.3 / 13
NBC Prime on WFLA      6.4 / 10
ABC Prime on WFTS      5.9 / 9

When TBT Crosses the Line, What's a Times Media Critic To Do?

The first thing I want my readers to know, is that I didn't have anything to do with the TBT headline in print editions today on the John Winter story: He Died of Shame.

The impact of TBT's in-your-face headlines sometimes brings friction. Some reporters have worked hard to develop reputations for fairness on their beats, only to see a saucy headline slapped on the version of their story published in TBT, damaging that reputation in an instant.

My name is apparently included in TBT's story today on WFLA meteorologist John Winter's suicide because they used material from a story I wrote nearly two months ago. Ironically,the point of that story was that suicide is rarely the result of a single event, particularly when the person has been struggling with depression the way Winter was.

What upset me most about today's headline was its adoption of a misconception that suicide prevention activists have been fighting for years: that a single incident can "cause" suicide. It's like believing a shocking surprise can cause a heart attack -- it happens sometimes, but more often the culprit is a longstanding problem festering over a long period.

Given that the online edition bears a different headline as I write this, I wonder if somebody else in Timesland isn't similarly disappointed.

When Winter killed himself, I heard from suicide prevention activists from all over the country, begging us to be sensitive about how these things happen. I spent time on the phone with Winter's family, and even though they declined to talk to me, I promised to handle my reporting as respectfully as possible and was proud of the story which resulted.

Now I'm fielding a call from the general manager at WFTS-Ch. 28, where Winter's father works, who says they are desperately trying to grab all copies of the newspaper from the building before Jack shows up for work and sees them. I know we do lots of stories that others might not want their loved ones to see, but in this case, the headline didn't have to be as blunt or as misguided.

I'm also NOT distancing myself from our reporting on the details just before Winter's death, especially police reports detailing his admission he'd had an affair.  There were too many rumors flying about to avoid telling the community what the police revealed in public documents about his suicide. I'm still wondering why journalists at WFLA-Ch. 8 didn't seem to reference this material at all during their broadcasts last night.

But such reporting  also needs to be handled with some sensitivity and context.

All I can do now is use this space, which I control more than any other area of Timesland, to express my own objections to this awful cover and disassociate myself from it much as I can.

Wonder how long it's going to take me to live this one down?

Reilly Out, Silverman in as NBC Flails for a Focus

It seems to be all over but for the official press release.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, every major newspaper outlet reported on the scoop I first read on Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily blog Friday: that NBC entertainment president Kevin Reilly (far left) was out, to be replaced by hotshot industry dealmaker Ben Silverman (not-so-far left) in an amped-up title.

You know times have changed when the head of NBC Entertainment gets ousted for the guy who first brought Who Wants to be a Millionaire to American shores.

Sure, NBC's new golden boy Silverman also helped develop shows diverse as the network's Office remake, Showtime's The Tudors and ABC's Ugly Betty. But the first time many of us in the TV industry heard of Silverman was as an agent at the William Morris Agency pulling together deals for this new type of programming called reality TV.

So he's also one of the producers behind Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Identity, Celebrity Cooking Showdown, The Restaurant, 30 Days, the Biggest Loser and Nashville Star.

In short, he may be the first entertainment head at the network drawn from the ranks of reality TV producers. Taken together with the ascendancy of Andrea Wong, former head of alternative (meaning, reality) programming at ABC now heading to Lifetime as president and CEO, Silverman's advance may herald something new in TV programing.

The rise of the reality gurus.

Reilly's ouster also shows how slick former entertainment head Jeff Zucker has been about managing his rise at NBC. Despite leading network during the time it failed to find worthy successors for Friends, Frasier, Seinfeld, ER and Law & Order, he managed to get kicked upstairs just before the music stopped and the peacock network dropped to fourth place.

With talent like this in charge, it's just a matter of time for NBC.

UPDATE: The press release is finally here! Silverman shares the title of chairman, NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio with longtime NBC executive Marc Graboff, who is essentially expected to run the business side of the empire. Silverman also gets a two-year extension on his production company's first-look deal with the network -- meaning his Revielle company will be pitching ideas for new series to  the network whose primtime schedule he controls.

Nice work if you can get it. But isn't it a little like putting a fox in charge of a chicken-breeding facility?

Bill Maxwell's Series: My Take

Over the past couple of weeks, at least six people have asked me what I think of columnist Bill Maxwell's three-part series on his experiences leaving the Times to spend two years teaching at the historically black Stillman College.

Often, these questions have come from folks who, knowing my past work, expect me to have some problems with his amazingly written, but highly critical narrative. And I do. But my position sometimes doesn't seem to matter much; what they really want is an excuse to vent their own passionate disagreements with much of what Bill has written.

After a few of these encounters, I decided to wait until the series was fully published and then weigh in myself, here. 

As usual, I am impressed with the depth of Bill's writing and his ability to cut to the heart of the matter. I doubt there are many other writers who could tackle such a sprawling story over so many weeks and leave pieces so compelling I had to read every word.

He raises some troubling questions as well. How can college students care so little for their campus that they set parts of it on fire? Or refuse to buy textbooks? How can a college which charges more than $11,000 annually in tuition tolerate clerks so rude that even professors at the school would rather email documents than deal with them personally?

BUT -- and you knew there was one coming -- I found the biggest weakness of this project was its tone. This series felt like three weeks of generational warfare playing out in the pages of the St. Petersburg Times -- with Bill serving as the hectoring elder facing down the moral bankruptcy of his former students.

I wish these stories had more voices in them, particularly of Stillman kids. I kept wondering, as I read these barbed accounts of lazy students who wouldn't attend free outings or congregated on the steps of school buildings, what explanations the pupils would offer for their actions. I wanted to know how some of the school officials felt about the criticisms of their institution. I knew there were other sides to these stories, and the tale felt incomplete without them.

The numbers also spoke volumes. According to the statistics presented with the stories, Stillman had the smallest student body with the highest percentage of kids receiving federal Pell Grants of any historically black college listed -- these mostly were kids who wouldn't be going to college if facilities like Stillman weren't around, accepting most every student with the financial aid to pay tuition.

Did he really think these kids would be at the same scholastic level as an average college student of any race?   

Mostly, I think Bill's series is a reflection of where we are with diversity initiatives and education. Efforts to make college more accessible for students of color have always been blunt instruments, most effective at helping minority students who already are poised for success, particularly among the middle class.

But what do we do with the underclass?   As I have said many times before, it seems too easy to condemn people for their self-destructive choices, their in-your-face music, their defiantly anti-intellectual attitudes. Condemning people doesn't really help them,  though it can make others feel good about their own choices.

Bill's not alone. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby and NPR correspondent Juan Williams are just a few high profile black people who have grown impatient with the black underclass. Most, if not all of them overcame tough, deprived childhoods to make something special of themselves and expect the same from others. 

And because these folks are black, they have license to make the kind of pointed, generalized comments which would cost a white commentator his or her job. For some white people, this feels like the revelation of a truth long hidden -- accountability finally demanded from black people by a black person. To some black folks, it feels like an attack -- a way to earn plaudits and prestige by echoing the kind of unfair generalizations white people can't get away with in polite company anymore.

Of course, neither extreme is right, especially in the case of Bill, who I've always known as an earnest truth-seeker who could give a crap what others think of him. And I certainly wouldn't have the guts to cut my income in half to spend two years teaching kids who mostly couldn't care less who I was or what I was telling them.

Funny this is, i've never been a strong advocate for historically black colleges. I've often felt that, to succeed in a white-dominated society, black folks must learn how to live and work with white people as soon as possible. I remember how hard it was me to learn how to negotiate white culture and I've attended white-dominated schools since the 5th grade. I worry that historically black colleges allow some folks to delay  the culture shock of being surrounded by while culture until they start their careers -- when problems adjusting can hurt you most.

I have a desperate feeling about these issues which hit me hardest reading Bill's stories. I feel we're talking past each other -- confusing race problems with class problems and generational problems with motivational problems. As I told Juan Williams during a radio debate, I don't think many kids in the underclass think they have a realistic chance of being a rap or basketball star -- the problem is, they see their chances of getting a job which earns a middle class wage as remote as getting a job playing point guard for the Knicks.

And how you change that awful reality, I'm not sure.

Rosie and Elisabeth: Frenemies Forever As O'Donnell Leaves The View for Good

In an odd turn, ABC publicity distributed to critics a link to an ABC News story confirming that View co-star Rosie O'Donnell will not return to the show after her Memorial Day break, despite the fact that three weeks remain on her contract.

UPDATE: Here's O'Donnell's self-indulgent video blog on the whole thing.

O'Donnell apparently was so tweaked over an on camera spat about the Iraq war with resident conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck that she's making her long weekend even longer. What the ABC story doesn't say: that the New York Post is reporting O'Donnell's chief writer (somebody writes that stuff?!) was escorted from the building Thursday after drawing moustaches on pictures of Hasselbeck around the office (in the blog, her Rosie-ness denied rumors she trashed her View dressing room after the argument).

The announcement shreds the thin pretense that O'Donnell was leaving the View purely over contract negotiations which didn't pan out, and fuels her own reputation as  a self-destructive star who can't work with anyone.

It also makes Barbara Walters look like a guest on her own show; she had just released a statement to ABC News saying: "Welcome to 'The View' & so Aunt Barbara is back and there will be peace in the kingdom," Walters said in an exclusive statement to ABC News Thursday. "Rosie O'Donnell is off today: It is her partner Kelly's birthday, so Rosie asked to have the day off."

"It's a hot weekend, so everybody can cool off," Walters continued. "And for those who think, let us say, the interesting day, was planned for ratings -- that's just absurd. The highest ratings we've had for 'The View' this whole year were in February, when there were no feuds."

I know this is hardly the Iraq war or Abu Ghraib, but why has ABC News suddenly become a conduit for statements from The View? Shouldn't they be reporting on them like they would any other TV show?

But the coolest twist in this twisted tale: the person who started th argument was co-host Joy Behar.

ABC's Charles Gibson Savors Victory; Times Reports News But Doesn't Deliver It

For somebody who always thought ABC news anchor Charles Gibson was an underappreciated gem, it's been particulaerly delicious to see his success in the evening news ratings wars.

According to ABC, “World News with Charles Gibson” won May's "sweeps" reatings period among Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 -- averaging nearly 8 million viewers a day -- marking the broadcast’s second consecutive sweeps win. The last time “World News” won back-to-back sweeps among both Total Viewers and the demo was eleven years ago in 1996.

“World News” also was the only evening newscast to grow its Total Viewing audience, increasing 7%; NBC dropped 11% and CBS’ “Evening News” declined 15%. In fact, Variety reports CBS' average of 6.1-million viewers was its lowest since Nielsen Media Research began keeping electronic records in 1991.

The only trouble with this success is what it may say about the preferences of the evening news audience. CBS, too, saw ratings gains when Bob Schieffer replaced Dan Rather -- indicating that the core network evening news audience may prefer getting its reports from an old white guy than tan, middle-aged Brian Williams or the first solo female anchor, Katie Couric.

Times Doesn't Deliver the News It Reports

We've got a particularly disappointing letter to the editor today from a reader who noticed that Tropicana Field had no copies of the St. Petersburg Times or TBT* on the day we ran a tough story about allegations Devil Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes had threatened to kill his estranged wife and their young children.

Even some folks inside our building assumed the decision was made by Devil Rays management. But according to letter writer Aaron Peter, one of our own circulation executives admitted deciding to withhold copies of the publications from the facility.

Fortunately, I placed a call to tbt* circulation manager Craig Holley, who spent much of yesterday apologizing for misunderstanding what happened and giving Peter an incorrect explanation.

Turns out the Times offers charities the opportunity to sell papers at the Trop to raise money. Because our executives knew the Dukes story might upset some fans, they decided to cancel the distribution of charity papers; unfortunately, by the time circulation got the news, the order garbled into withholding all newspapers -- a decision which incensed several editors here, before they learned it was a mistake. 

It almost goes without saying that great reporting loses its impact when the business side of the newspaper keeps the stories from going where they most need to be seen. I'm hopeful that our executives now realize the kind of communication needed to ensure there isn't even the appearance of censoring news.

Reading Your Mind By Reading Your Body

Five minutes after completing a TV interview with former FBI interrogator Joe Navarro, I knew I had to write about him.

We were talking with WTVT-Ch. 13 anchor Kathy Fountain, and he nonchalantly dissected what several physical things she did indicated about her mental state-- from the way she held her head to the way she clasped her hands.

Even though I was a little worried about what he might read from me (at right, is a sign of concern, especially for women), I  immediately resolved to meet him and talk over what it's like to know so much about people without even talking to them. And with editing help from our Pulitzer Prize winner Tom French, I also mostly presented the story in his own words.

Check it out here and let me know what you think.

Jordin Wins, While Bob Hite Plans His Exit

What do American Idol champion Jordin Sparks and longtime WFLA-Ch. 8 anchor Bob Hite have in common?

Not much, besides the fact that I was forced to work up stories on both of them on tight deadlines Wednesday night.

It's a sad journalism truism that big news often breaks at a time when you're least prepared to cover it. And Hite's announcement that he was finally going to implement a retirement he had been threatening to take for years -- capping a 30-year career at WFLA and likely kicking off a furious battle for ratings supremacy in local news -- came just as I was all ready to spend the evening drowning in Fox's horribly bloated Idol finale.

First, Jordin's victory. Widely predicted and desperately needed to preserve idol's credibility, her win Wednesday not only kicked off a career I'm sure we'll be watching for some time to come, it preserved that odd friction within Idol itself between singers who are compelling personalities and those that are just great singers.

The fact is, most idol winners are an uneasy compromise between the two values -- something we saw watching the cavalcade of champions perform in what proved to be the only benefit of the finale's two-hour-plus running time: up close looks at Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard, post-Idol.

News reports had already said past winner Fantasia Barrino wouldn't appear due to her commitment to star in The Color Purple on Broadway, but two other million-selling non-winners also didn't show: Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry.

If only Sanjaya could have gotten that memo. His version of You Really Got Me with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry only underscored why America should have voted him off sooner. And Hicks' twitchy whiteguy soul man shtick wore thin midway through his first song -- unfortunately, he had another one coming.

it all added up to a bright, bustling cavalcade of showbiz oddities mostly focused on making you forget you were waiting two hours to hear the answer to one question. Fortunately, this year, idol came up with the right one.

Bob Hite Retires After 30 Years

it started with an email from a friend: Bob Hite had said at 6 p.m. he had a big announcement about his future prepared for the 11 p.m. newscast. I knew right away what it was going to be: he was retiring.

The plan is for Hite to stop doing the 11 p.m. newscasts after this week. At the end of the year, he'll leave regular employment at the station for good, with hopes to come back with the occasional documentary series -- which is what he expects to spend his days doing full time after leaving WFLA.

Calling me at home last night in between shows, Hite avoided using the term retirement. "I'm just getting off the night shift," he insisted, his familiar baritone rumbling the tinny speaker on my cellphone. "I'm not leaving until December."

if there was a specific incident which prompted him to take this step -- just months before his 60th  birthday in august -- Hite didn't say so. instead, he talked about wanting to get off the anchor desk before he got to old to run around filming the documentaries he enjoys putting together in his spare time.

Keith Cate will take over the 11 p.m. slot and fill Hite's slot as the station's top male anchor when he leaves. 

 

 

The Only Idol Question Left: Is It Really a Singing Competition?

...Because if it is, we already know who won this year's contest.

That's how dramatic the difference was in vocal ability among American Idol's last two contenders last night, especially on the sappy pop song both had to sing, "This Is My Now."

In the words of the show's only consistently coherent judge, Simon Cowell, 17-year-old phenom Jordin Sparks "wiped the floor" vocally with beatbox king Blake Lewis -- who once again came up perpetually short on every song where he couldn't leverage that mouth percussion gimmick.

When it works, particularly on Lewis' inspired revamp of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name (extra props to unheralded drummer Teddy Campbell, who helps make that rendition sing with some jaw dropping drum licks), it's powerful enough to nearly counter the fact that he has so much less vocal talent than his rival.

But Sparks took the sappy ballad "This is My Now" to Kelly Clarkson-land, with a soaring, powerful vocal capped with a touching falter at the end to hammer home the song's too-obvious, Idol-compatible theme (I also kept thinking: it took a nationwide songwriting competition to come up with this?)

Indeed, the only sign of Sparks' inexperience comes in her lack of stage presence. She can stand in one spot and belt it out with the best of them, but when it comes time to sell a song, she flounders a bit.

So it comes down to a simple question for Wednesday's two-hour finale. Is this a singing contest, or not?

(Dial Idol seems to think it is, predicting this morning that Jordin will take the crown; Hitwis,e a service which tracks Internet searches, says it is not, prediciting blake will win because more people search his name. ).

ALSO:

-- RealityBlurred.com alerted me to a way cool .PDF file from the Chicago Tribune outlining the ratings trajectory of all the American Idol editions. The upshot: ratings for the Tuesday performance episodes are falling dramatically, while the results shows are staying steady.

-- Hitwise also notes Blake's searches focused first on the topic of sexual preference, with "blake lewis gay" accounting for 4.25% of his searches. Apparently Internet searchers are undecided on his orientation; 0.5% of Blake's searches were for "blake lewis girlfriend."

-- Does it seem odd that Lewis is from Seattle, Sparks was discovered at a Seattle audition and the songwriting winners are also from the Sea-town? Somebody's either got one hell of a hookup or there's something in the water there.

-- Why do the judges suddenly turn into pussycats for the finale? The same Cowell who had no problems predicting LaKisha's fall and smirking when Sanjaya was finally voted off, let Lewis' awful, off-key version of the big Idol song pass with nary a criticism -- asking Lewis what HE thought, instead. When has Cowell ever been interested in anyone else's opinion?

-- Is anybody buying that Abdul broke her nose -- excuse me, "bruised" her nose -- by tripping over her dog?

-- Why did Sparks get to sing a new song first, while Blake pulled out a tune he had performed before?

Wes Sarginson Retires

Not that many people in blogland have memories this long, but some may remember Wes Sarginson as WFLA's longtime 5 p.m. anchor. Tired of waiting for Bob Hite to step aside, he moved on to Atlanta's WXIA-TV in 1997, where he is retiring after 41 years in the game. Check this blog post for a little information on what Wes has been up to since he left the Sunshine State.   

Stone Phillips Leaves NBC; Lessons for Real Newsies In Jon Stewart's Fake News

For as long as anyone can remember, he's been the anchor's anchor.

Okay, no one really remembers Stone Phillips for the stories he's covered in 15 years at NBC News. Or for the dozen years he spent at ABC before that.

Instead, people remember the name. And that distinctive baritone delivery. And the immovable hair. Don't forget the heroic chin.

But all that will be gone at the end of June, when Phillips hits the road in a surprise departure the Associated Press called a cost-cutting move. Tough times for an anchor who came over from ABC to share Dateline anchoring duties with Jane Pauley, only to see the franchise's biggest stories -- the To Catch a Predator Series or the interview with Debra LaFave -- go to others.

So it seems Stephen Colbert will have to find a new competitor for his gravitas contests and Today show newsreader Ann Curry just got a new gig. And even though I'll shed few tears for one less Ted Baxter-style robo anchor on network TV, I have a feeling  my saturday nights will be a little more drab and gravtas-less.

Ain't TV news grand?

Jon Stewart Inspires Traditional News Folks

You'll have to read all the way to the bottom of this long, but excellent story in American Journalism Review to see my contribution. But ther I am, waxing philosophically on the need for journalists to loosen up and reinvent themselves in the wake of the Jon Stewart revolution.

Even though I'm at the end, my comments seem to sum up the whole focus of the story. Check it out here.

Fixing American Idol: How to Save TV's Last Blockbuster Series

A billion dollar franchise is on the line.

To be sure, American Idol's not going anywhere soon. But even the show's biggest fans have to admit that there's a little something wrong with the Fox network's golden goose this time out.

I think the problem stretches back to last season, the show's most-watched edition, in which disappointing, charisma-less winner,Taylor Hicks, rode to victory on the backs of middle-aged moms and grandmoms everywhere.

Things have only gotten worse this season, as a field of lackluster contestants -- briefly relieved by the curiously perfect timing of teen idol Sanjaya Malakar -- have yielded mostly predictable results and an anticlimatic finale.

Tonight, we'll see Pretty Girl Jordin Sparks (a close family friend tells me relatives are upset that fans have taken to calling her Pretty Betty -- as in, an attractive version of Ugly Betty star America Ferrera) up against beatbox guy Blake Lewis. I'm going to wait until after the performances tonight to deliver my prediction -- which will be wrong, like all my other ones.

But once the winner is announced and host Ryan Seacrest continues his quest to become the 21st century Dick Clark, Idol producers must upgrade a series which has single-handedly propped up the Fox network (and saved us all from the showbiz travesty which is George Lopez's sitcom).

Here's a few ideas:

ACTIVELY RECRUIT CONTESTANTS. When CBS's Survivor found that open casting calls kept attracting the same kind of people, they recruited a more diverse group that helped revitalize the program.

Idol expands its open casting calls every year, yet culls increasingly blander lineups. Sparks was even rejected from the Los Angeles auditions (she won a contest that flew her to Seattle for another try), and Doolittle only auditioned because she was accompanying a friend.

Experts tell me editions of Idol presented overseas had the same problem; eventually, the same sorts of contestants keep showing up to open casting calls, and more compelling talents refuse to debase themselves by submitting to the process. Time to take the initiative and find new voices.

UPGRADE THE CELEBRITY COACHES. NOW. Every celebrity mentor who performed on Idol this year sounded markedly worse than the contestants themselves. And some - say, balding, paunchy disco icon Barry Gibb - have little connection to the current pop scene.

It's time for coaches who are better performers and teachers. Who wouldn't tune in to see Prince or even Michael Jackson put these kids through some changes?

COMBINE JUDGES' VOTES WITH THE PUBLIC'S. One of the biggest post-Idol problems for winners such as Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino and Taylor Hicks is that their musical styles are not the most popular genres, limiting their chances to live up to the Idol title. More guidance is needed from the presumed industry experts.

GET PAULA BACK ON THE CRAZY TRAIN, OR GET HER GONE. It sounds awful to say, but since Paula Abdul has toned down her nonsensical asides and oddball behavior, she has become a platitude-spouting bore. Where's the pointless affairs with contestants? The nonsencial comments after performances? The inexplicably bad chair dancing from a former choreagrapher anytime a good looking guy steps up to the microphone?

STOP PADDING THE SHOWS. The trade magazine Variety noted last week that ratings for Wednesday Idol editions are far higher than for Tuesday; nearly a third of last Wednesday's audience just tuned in for the ejection episode and hadn't watched the competition on Tuesday.

Time to stop filling out episodes. Cut the results show back to a half-hour and don't even think about interrupting the competition for a week of charity fundraising. Cool at is was to see Idol raise $70-million for the needy, it required hoodwinking the competitors and the audience about what was going to happen that week.

Can Anyone Be a Critic? And Would Anybody Answer No Who Isn't Getting Paid to Do It Already?

I was trolling through Jim Romenesko's Media News site this morning, when I stumbled on a piece which nearly made my coffee come out my nose.

The item at hand was a column by Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel, in which the accomplished and amazing writer made the most high-handed justification for keeping professional critics employed in journalism that I have ever seen.

A sample: "Criticism — and its humble cousin, reviewing — is not a democratic activity. It is, or should be, an elite enterprise, ideally undertaken by individuals who bring something to the party beyond their hasty, instinctive opinions of a book (or any other cultural object). It is work that requires disciplined taste, historical and theoretical knowledge and a fairly deep sense of the author's (or filmmaker's or painter's) entire body of work, among other qualities."

I do agree that good criticism does go beyond saying whether you liked something or don't. And I also agree that such work often requires people who know the history of the medium and have a discerning taste.

But the elusive aspect of covering pop culture is always the "pop" part of the equation. The fact is, some people instinctively have compelling and insteresting takes on why mass entertainment works the way it does. And not all those people are lucky enough to have jobs in which they are paid to put their opinions into print.

I know I'm flirting with my own disaster by articulating this point of view. Already, the newspaper industry has signaled its willingness to disregard the experience and expertise of seasoned critics at places such as the Dallas Morning News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Indianapolis Star and yes, our competitor across the bay, the Tampa Tribune.

But I've viewed many of those decisions as a failure of imagination -- either on the critic's part or his/her manager. Some of the most exciting stories in pop culture are accessible through the critic's work. If they are not surfacing regularly, then somebody -- editor or critic -- isn't doing their job well.

You don't see newspapers eliminating their cops reporting beat because someone takes on the job who doesn't do it well -- or someone sits in the job so long they get stale. You find ways to shake up the beat, so that the good stories start flowing again.

At a time when critics experienced as the Tribune's Bob Ross are losing their newspaper jobs, I understand Schickel's motivation to point out how much better a great film critic is from the countless bloggers with little experience or taste. Still, the bloggers vs. print journalists debate is a worn one; the real question is how do critics stay fresh and impactful enough that news managers won't even consider kicking them off the staff?

When I give speeches on the subject, I've always told people I have one real qualification for being a critic at the St. Petersburg Times. I convinced the newspaper's management to pay me to do it.

I try to accomplish that anew every day. It may not help me keep my job, but it does highlight a much less snooty reason for my continued employment.

Why Is MSNBC Obsessed With Car Crashes and Troubled Planes?

I spent long minutes this afternoon watching  continuous coverage by MSNBC of a plane with faulty landing gear attempting an emergency landing at a Davis Island airport. Not even local affilaites cut into their daytime programming to for a play-by-play of the struggling twin-engine Cessna, which eventually landed safely with two seemingly uninjured passengers.

But MSNBC had two experts watching the decent with an anchor and an unarticulated possiblity hanging in the background: What if they crash? (a fellow editor here sez CNN also offered live coverage, though I'm pretty sure they were covering other stories right before the landing)

Given that it wasn't a major airliner with hundreds of lives at stake, it seemed prudent to do what competitors did and wait for the plane to land, then report quickly on the aftermath. (a pal suggests NBC was trying to scoop ABC in case the plane crashed in the Extreme Makeover house there in Tampa)

As I write this, MSNBC is showing a slow motion car chase involving a suspect who police are pursuing for failure to yield.   

When did MSNBC turn into the "dramatic police footage which means nothing to you" channel?      

Local TV and 'Bump Keys': When Does Reporting the News Go Too Far?

For those who regularly report on crime, it's an important question: Where is the line between informing the public of alooming danger and educating criminals?

WFLA-Ch. 8 anchor Keith Cate faced the question Thursday, when considering a story he reported on "bump keys" -- special keys which can open any lock of the type they are crafted for, simply by inserting the key and tapping it to align the pins inside the lock.

Such keys are hardly news: There are Web pages and tutorials on YouTube describing what bump keys are and how to use them. But a burglar conversant with them could theoretically enter a home or apartment -- especially a domicile with old and often-used locks -- without detection.

So far, it sounds like a typical fearmongering local TV piece for sweeps. Especially since Cate's piece noted that Tampa police estimated only about two or three area burglaries in the last two or three years can be connected to such keys (the news peg was that a couple of guys in Polk County have recently been accused of using them in a string of burglaries)

Cate, to his credit, told me he was conflicted about airing the piece and asked the station to stop airing a promotional ad which made it look as if they were mostly educating people how to break into homes.

"I didnt want to promote it at all," he said. "I had my reservations about the story from the get-go. Are we giving criminals too much information? Are they benefitting more than the average citizen? Even when I was interviewing the locksmith, I said 'We may not run this story.'"

In the end, WFLA did broadcast the story, with lots of disclaimers from Cate explaining that they were trying to inform viewers and tell people the solution to bump keys is to buy new, expensive high security locks which cannot be bumped.

Cate said the station didn't get any complaints from viewers after his story ran though some people did complain about the promo ads they pulled.

What do you think? Check out Cate's story on WFLA's web site, under the news area, headlined "Bump Key Burglars."

"This story made me want to change the locks on my door," said Cate.   

Eric Needs to Choose the Best TV of 2006-07!

Blogosphere buddies, this plea is for you.

Remember back when I asked for your help in picking nominees for the Television Critics Association's Awards? Well the final nominations are due tomorrow -- Friday, May 18 -- so I need your final feedback.

Steve Carrell or Neil Patrick Harris for best achievement in comedy? Denis Leary or Adrian Pasdar for achievement in drama? 30Rock, Heroes or Ugly Betty for best new program?

So many choices, so little time.

Feel free to weigh in here or on the original page where I asked for suggestions. The nomination form goes out tomorrow, so there's not much time left!

Another American Idol Shocker: Melinda Ain't Mad at Nobody

For us bottom-feeding, scandal-seeking rumor mongers -- otherwise known as entertainment reporters -- it was anti-climactic as watching Simon Cowell crack a gay joke about Ryan Seacrest.

  Because, despite the fact that she's been favored to win American Idol since the finalist competition began; despite the fact that America ignored Cowell himself begging them to keep her in the competition and despite the rumors that her age and the songs selected for her Tuesday were her downfall...

Melinda Doolittle was determined to leave Idol classy as the way she came in Thursday, facing reporters on a conference call by refusing to diss her fellow competitors or bemoan a third-place finish in TV's biggest talent competition.

“I was up against two amazing contestants," she said during the interview, which ended about an hour ago. "Also, I know that I was probably getting a little of the older vote, which is great. They may not spend a full two hours voting and that’s ok. I really feel personally that I’ve won as far as where I ended up in the competition."

She spent about 40 minutes talking to press -- why they couldn't make the subject of the most shocking Idol result in years available for at least an hour, I'll never know -- remaining as down to earth as you might expect about her star-making turn on the show. Wioth former employers such as Cece Winans and Anointedcalling her up to offer support and former Idol contestant Mandisa Hundley as her best buddy, Melinda is well prepared for post-Idol challenges.

  What kind of solo album will she make? "The only way I know to describe it is soul music. I love a groove, anything where I can tell a story. I hope to have a great soul album.”

Why did she seem so surprised by her success? “It is part of my personality. Plus I was coming out of singing background for so many years, I get used to trying to sound like other people. American Idol was the first time I sounded like myself. It’s my little adjustment process there."

Web sites are buzzing about the fact that Ryan said "When we come back...Melinda's going home," implying that he gave away the show's ending before the end. Did she hear it that way?

“Either I didn’t notice or I thought he was talking about the package they were going to show, of me going back to Nashville. I just assumed that what he was talking about. He was getting us ready for the next package they were going to show...A couple of my friends called and asked me did I even know. I don’t think it was even a slip. I just think that was what he was talking about. I was completely fine with it.”

Reaction to being called up with Blake to the front of the stage before her ejection: “When he called me up front, just by the nature of the show, I kinda had an idea that it might be me. I was kinda prepared for it and taking deep breaths and trying to get to the next step. It was actually a happy occasion that I made it this far. I’m kind of glad that it turned out this way.”

How was Simon, a consistent supporter, after the ejection? “He was ultra supportive last night. He was really explaining to me that he believed in me and wanted to see me succeed. That was really great to hear, especially from simon. I’m looking forward to what’s coming next."

On how she developed a sexy look over time: “I’m going to blame it on the new wig. I love them, I started to name them. Last night, I think I had Whitney on – so maybe she helped with that one.

On whether status as the oldest contestant -- at the ripe age of 29 -- led to her ejection: "I think it may have figured in, it may not have. In speculating, I’m not sure. It could just be that more people liked Jordan and blake and I’m okay with that too. I do’t know how much that played into it. I read that in certain places it played into that.”

On Jordin: “It does not make any sense for a girl that young to sing so amazingly well. She’s got one of the most mature voices I’ve ever heard. And she’s got such a pure heart, so I think it coems out whenever she sings.

On Blake: “He might be one of the most original performers American idol has ever had. I believe tha he took risks, and I am so proud of him for that. Stepping out and making people .”

“I was driving down with a friend of mine and wanting to support him. The way he talked me into it was saying remember the funny auditions – now you can see them in person. So we took a few more people and all went down to audition. I wound up being the only one to make it through. It’s forced me to take it by the reins and say OK God, we’re going to take it through.”

   

American Idol Shocker: Deggans, Daly and Fink Turn Melinda's Loss Into Podcast Gold

One thing we know for sure now. The best singer in the competition is not going to win this year's American Idol.

I don't much care if it sounds like sour grapes. The vote which sent Melinda Doolittle home tonight eliminated Idol's best singer -- in part, because she was unlucky enough to have a tough night down to the wire.

Despite judge Simon Cowell's valiant attempts to talk up her performances Tuesday, Melinda didn't connect with the show's teenybopper audience singing chestnuts like Nutbush City Limits and a vocally strained version of a Whitney Houston tune. So we are down to beatboxing Blake and jolting Jordin Sparks

It was an unfortunate disappointment for the show's most consistent performer. but, as LaKisha proved a week earlier, it is far to easy for idol front runners to peak too early (and, as my blog buddy Sean Daly pointed out tonight, Melinda was crazy enough to wear a "death cheater" t-shirt, jinxing her chances but good). Even Dial Idol got it wrong, naming Melinda least likely to go tonight.

How could I exchange Idol gossip with my good buddy Sean before we saw each other in the halls of Mother Times Thursday morning?

Well, Sean, fashion queen/pop culture goddess Sharon Fink and myself had the pleasure of conducting our first-ever Idol podcast tonight, kicking around the Doolittle upset and much more with Brandon Rogers, the first guy to get kicked off the top 12 for committing a cardinal Idol sin -- forgetting song lyrics.

Turns out, Brandon is still a pretty cool dude. And because he lives in Los Angeles, he still visits the show occasionally and has become friends with Blake, Phil Stacey, LaKisha, Jordin and others.

When our Stuck in the '80s guru Steve Spears finishes with the editing and posts the podcast later tonight, you'll hear us yammering about the continuing allure of Sanjaya's sister -- well, at least to Sean -- and why the crop of Idol contestants seems to get worse the more they expand the audition pool.

It will be just like you're perched near our cubicles on a Thursday morning, picking apart every Idol detail with the obsessive zeal of a Simon Cowell. Click here to swim in our wisdom.

Prediction-wise, Sean and I are on Jordin's team, while Sharon is holding out hope her hunk-a Blake takes it home.

What do you think?

CBS' New Schedule: A Calculated Risk

At CBS, the new school is the old school, reimagined.

That's why hits such as CSI and Criminal Minds feel fresh and familiar at the same time: traditional cops 'n' robbers stories centered on older stars, gussied up with new camera techniques and explicit violence. (In honor of their achievement, let me present this way-cool collection of David Caruso one-liners).

Which also is why the network's fall schedule, announced today, seems so unusual. Because CBS, among the Big Three networks, is taking the largest chances.

A series adapted from British television starring a singing, aspiring Las Vegas casino owner. A drama centered on a Hispanic family which owns rum and sugar companies in South Florida. A comedy about geeky physics geniuses who lust after a lovely neighbor. A romantic thriller about a private eye who just happens to be a vampire (at left).

In a TV universe where the big hits are crime dramas, relationship dramas and American Idol, it's a gamble of serious proportions. CBS has often claimed to not be your parents network anymore; this new crop of shows, if they even come close to working, might actually turn that boast to reality. See for yourself by clicking here.

The talent combinations are the most intriguing. Tony winner Hugh Jackman executive produces and co-stars in Viva Laughlin, an Americanized revamp of the BBC's Viva Blackpool. Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo head the Cuban family at the heart of Cane (at least they're not in the drug trade -- one stereotype dodged), a series executive produced by the guy who created American Dreams.

Matrix producer Joel Silver pulled together the vampire P.I. drama Moonlight. And Chuck Lorre, creator of Two and Half Men, came up with the lusting geniuses sitcom Big Bang Theory -- which will be a success in my book if it only gives a season's worth of work to former Roseanne co-star Johnny Galecki.

There's also a midseason game show starring -- gasp! -- Drew Carey. And a midseason drama about wife-swapping couples set in the 70s, Swingtown. And a remake Lord of the Flies with 40 kids aged 8 to 15 rebuilding a New Mexico town that died in the 19th century, dubbed, Kid Nation.

Okaay. This is definitely not my momma's CBS.

Losers in this new schedule included promising newcomer Jericho, which never recovered from its two-month midseason break, The Class and Close to Home. Seinfeld alum Julia Louis Dreyfus' New Adventures of Old Christine is coming back in midseason for just 13 episodes, along with The Amazing Race.

CBS has always had the smartest programmers in the biz. And if they pull off a big hit with a field of newcomers this eclectic, they will have proved it beyond any doubt.

Here's the schedule -- new stuff in bold.   

MONDAY

8:00-8:30 PM              HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

8:30-9:00 PM             THE BIG BANG THEORY (N)

9:00-9:30 PM              TWO AND A HALF MEN

9:30-10:00 PM            RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: MIAMI

TUESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              NCIS

9:00-10:00 PM            THE UNIT

10:00-11:00 PM         CANE (N)

WEDNESDAY

8:00-9:00 PM             KID NATION (N)

9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMINAL MINDS

10:00-11:00 PM          CSI: NY

THURSDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              SURVIVOR

9:00-10:00 PM            CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

10:00-11:00 PM          WITHOUT A TRACE (NT)

FRIDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              GHOST WHISPERER

9:00-10:00 PM           MOONLIGHT (N)

10:00-11:00 PM          NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8:00-9:00 PM              CRIMETIME SATURDAY

9:00-10:00 PM            CRIMETIME SATURDAY

10:00-11:00 PM          48 HOURS: MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7:00-8:00 PM              60 MINUTES

8:00-9:00 PM             VIVA LAUGHLIN (N)

9:00-10:00 PM            COLD CASE

10:00-11:00 PM          SHARK (NT)