Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By DAVID BAUDER AP Television Writer NEW YORK - Some weeks NBC must wish it could start prime time a couple of hours earlier. The network's "Nightly News" broadcast with Brian Williams averaged 9.1 million viewers over five days last week, clearly outdistancing rivals at ABC and CBS. The problem for NBC is that it also beats virtually everything the network shows in prime time. Take away Sunday night football and its preview shows and the most-watched NBC show last week was "Law & Order: SVU," with 7.3 million viewers. "Harry's Law" had 7.2 million, Nielsen said. NBC has moved Williams to prime time once a week, with his newsmagazine "Rock Center" on Mondays. Viewership has yet to catch up with its content, with 3.9 million people watching Bob Costas interview disgraced Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky last week. In prime time, CBS is the king - sometimes to starlin...

BOCA RATON, Florida -- Irving R. Levine, the NBC newsman who explained the fine points of economics for nearly a quarter century, has died. He was 86. Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, says Levine died Thursday. Further details were not released. The bow-tied Levine was a presence at NBC since 1950 when he began covering the Korean War until his retirement in 1995. His overseas assignments included stints in Moscow and Rome. He had become the network's full-time economics correspondent in 1971. He did weekly commentaries on CNBC in later years and appeared on "Meet the Press" more than 100 times. After retiring from NBC in 1995, Levine joined Lynn University as dean of the college of international communication. --- Source: The Associated Press

NBC News presents ''The Inauguration of Barack Obama,'' a comprehensive look at all the extraordinary events of January 20, 2009. Brian Williams hosts this commemorative four-hour DVD, covering the historic Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. You'll see the complete swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol, as well as President Obama's Inaugural Address in its entirety. And there's much more, including the changing of the guard at the White House, the Inaugural parade, and a glamourous evening of Inaugural Balls honoring the new President and First Lady. This DVD is your ticket to a front-row seat for all the unforgettable moments of a remarkable day, as covered by the award-winning NBC News team. Please note: This item can only be shipped domestically. Please note: This item cannot be paid for with PayPal. Price: $19.99 Availability: Ships on March 10th To order go to this link: http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com

We are sad to learn that NBC's Tim Russert has died at age 58. The network says Tim died this afternoon after collapsing from a sudden heart attack the network is confirming on MSNBC.com Tim was the Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, and hosted 'Tim Russert,' a weekly interview program on MSNBC, a frequent correspondent and guest on other NBC News programs, such as 'The Today Show' and 'Hardball,' and Tim co-hosted the network's presidential Election Night coverage. He also presented the polling results of the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey on the NBC Nightly News, alongside the anchor of the show. Russert was born in Buffalo, New York, and received a Jesuit education. Russert is an alumnus of Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York and a graduate of John Carroll University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. MSNBC COVERAGE: NBC PHOTOGALLERY: CLICK HERE A DIRECTOR'S CUT LOOK BACK... The fo...

Chris Jansing has been named NBC News correspondent, effective immediately. Chris is a native of Fairport Harbor, Ohio, and graduated from Otterbein College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism. She began her journalism career working both for newspapers and radio stations in Ohio and New York. Jansing will be based in Burbank and will contribute to all NBC News properties, including "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Today" and as a contributing anchor for MSNBC. Jansing joined NBC News in June 1998 as an anchor for MSNBC and has covered major national and international stories for NBC News. Most recently, Jansing reported live from Southern California on the devastating fires affecting the region. She played a vital role in MSNBC's "Super Tuesday" coverage throughout 2007 and anchored MSNBC's coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. In addition, Jansing anchored MSNBC's "Ethical Edge," a series of awar...

We were the first to tell you on Friday about NBC News introducing its new studios on Monday, October 22nd on WKYC at 6:30 PM, ET. To view article: CLICK HERE If you would like to see a sneak peak, click on the video below. If you can't view it, click on the following link: CLICK HERE Video Courtesy: WNBC-TV