Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

SAN DIEGO - Despite a government extension for the shutdown of analog TV signals hundreds of stations say they will still make the transition come this Tuesday. Because it is costly to keep broadcasting analog signals, nearly 500 stations say they will make the switch this month and not June 12 -- the Federal Communications Commission's new deadline. The FCC has gotten about 43 stations to halt the switch on Tuesday but the others plan to move forward. It means TV viewers like Isidro Diaz of San Diego who surfs channels on his old television about three hours a night will have an even more limited number of programs to watch. Diaz, who recently lost his job says eventually he'll come up with $200 for a digital television. The Obama administration sought the delay in the analog TV shutdown after the government ran out of money for the $40 coupons that subsidize digital converter boxes. The program has a waiting list of 4 million coupons; each household can get up to two. Source:...

Editor's Note: So, Saturday Night Live is in trouble because it makes fun of people - especially those with disabilities. We find it ironic that this is the first time anyone has complained, especially after all those skits of former George W. Bush for years and no one cared. Apparently, this guy isn't the most righteous of folks either. ----- MORRISVILLE, N.Y. -- The legally blind governor of New York says a second parody of him on the television show "Saturday Night Live" promotes insensitivity against the disabled. Democratic Gov. David Paterson said Thursday that the show's continued parodies hurt disabled people not in a position to fight back. A segment on Paterson aired last week featured "SNL" cast member Fred Armisen -- with one eye closed most of the time, the other focused on his own nose -- unable to see fellow cast member Seth Meyers or a prop. Armisen portrayed the governor as a clueless blind man with a past of youthful drug use and womani...

We found this little article on the wires Sunday evening and were so moved, we just had to share this with the world. At the Director's Cut Blog, we were shocked someone actually could pull this off without going nuts. Then again, maybe he did. Scary! ---- STOCKHOLM -- Suresh Joachim has broken his own Guinness world record for nonstop broadcast-television watching, clocking 72 hours in the Swedish capital. "I feel fine, I drank between 25 and 30 cups of coffee," Joachim said Sunday. His previous record was 69 hours, 48 minutes, set in 2005. Joachim, a Sri Lanka native who lives in Toronto, watched three seasons of the drama series "24" featuring Kiefer Sutherland, said Swedish TV4 spokeswoman Janina Witkowski. Courtesy: The Associated Press

Just in time for the new year, the Screen Actors Guild is getting ready to call for a strike vote. Will 2009 be a repeat of the Writer's Strike that brought network show productions to a screeching halt? If the actors are smart, they'll settle this before the put us all out of business. In these lean times, we all must compromise. ---------- LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Screen Actors Guild says it will send strike authorization ballots to its 120,000 members on Jan. 2. The votes will be counted on Jan. 23, which will not be in time to potentially disrupt the Golden Globe Awards like the writers' strike did last year. Approval by 75 percent of members is required to pass the measure. If approved, the SAG national board can call a strike. Guild President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement Wednesday that the future of professional actors is at stake. The guild remains at odds with Hollywood studios over treatment of Internet productions and actor benefits in the event of unplanned ...

While the following story doesn't affect WKYC or parent company, Gannett, it is an indicator of how bad things are getting for the media industry in this recession. ----- NEW YORK (AP) -- Media conglomerate Tribune Co. has filed for bankruptcy protection. The owner of the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Cubs and other properties has $13 billion in debt. Severe reductions in advertising this year because of the recession has put pressure on the company. Most of its debt comes from the complex transaction in which the company was taken private by real estate mogul Sam Zell last year. Although the next major principal payment isn't due until June, analysts say Tribune has been in danger of missing lender-imposed financial targets. Tribune made the filing Monday in bankruptcy court in Delaware.

ATLANTA (AP) -- A restaurant industry spokeswoman says a new study linking obesity and fast-food ads is based on old information. At issue is a study suggesting that banning fast-food ads on TV could reduce the number of obese young children by 18 percent. The number of obese older kids could drop by 14 percent. The study is based in part on several years of government survey data from the late 1990s. A spokeswoman for the National Council of Chain Restaurants says restaurant menus have changed a lot since then, including healthier options. She also argues that parents -- not kids -- have control over most of a family's food spending. The study is being published this month in the Journal of Law & Economics. Source: The Associated Press

By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- For television news organizations, Election Night is like the Super Bowl -- the year's best chance to show off their talent and technological innovations. A couple of folks sitting behind a desk reading numbers? How 1950s. Tuesday will see holograms and virtual reality, a "magic wall" and a "launchpad," and two New York City landmarks -- Rockefeller Center and Times Square -- turned into TV studios. NBC News will imprint a map of the United States on the Rockefeller Center skating rink, turning states blue or red as they are called for Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain. Giant banners for each candidate will climb 16 stories up 30 Rockefeller Plaza, marking the progress to 270 electoral votes. Three giant video screens put in place by ABC News will loom over Times Square, where Bill Weir will be stationed to get the reaction of people watching the vote. "We wanted the scale and scope of the ...

The 2nd presidential debate is in the books between Barack Obama and John McCain. Just released Nielsen ratings show that this second debate was better watched than their first. However, the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin had more attention. I wonder why? ---- LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The second presidential debate drew more viewers than the first but still proved less of a draw than the Joe Biden-Sarah Palin matchup. A total of 63.2 million viewers watched Tuesday's debate in Nashville, Tenn., between Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday. The figure represents the collective audience for 11 networks. The Obama-McCain debate on Sept. 26 was watched by 52.4 million viewers, while more than 70 million saw Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin's sole meeting on Oct. 2. It's the second most-watched political debate ever, behind the 80.6 million people who watched the 1980 Carter-Reagan debate. Nielsen tallied viewership fo...

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Screen Actors Guild negotiating committee has called for its board to support a strike authorization vote. The committee adopted a motion Wednesday calling for the vote, saying it "is necessary to overcome the employers' intransigence." Contract talks dealing with prime-time TV shows and movies have been at a standstill since the last contract expired June 30. Actors have been working under the terms of the old deal since then. A strike authorization vote would need the approval of 75 percent of the guild's some 120,000 members.