Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

The Director's Cut Blog has learned the guest list for the first two weeks of the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" which returns to 11:35 p.m. beginning on Monday, March 1st. We've also got our first look at the new "Tonight Show" logo. Monday, March 1 - Jamie Foxx, Olympic Gold Medal Skier Lindsey Vonn and a musical performance by Brad Paisley Tuesday, March 2 - Sarah Palin, Olympic Gold Medal Snowboarder Shaun White Wednesday, March 3 - "Jaywalk All-Stars" with the Cast of "Jersey Shore," Chelsea Handler, the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all time Speed Skater Apolo Anton Ohno and a musical performance by Avril Lavigne Thursday, March 4 - Matthew McConaughey and Jason Reitman Friday, March 5 - Morgan Freeman and Meredith Vieira Monday, March 8 - Simon Cowell Tuesday, March 9 - Christoph Waltz, Animal Expert Dave Salmoni and a musical performance by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Wednesday, March 10 - Guests inc...

Special to the Director's Cut By Tom Beres, Channel 3 Senior Political Reporter CLEVELAND -- Former Channel 3 anchorman Tim White has filed to run for the 17th House District seat. That's the seat now held by Josh Mandel who is running as the Republican candidate for State Treasurer. White left Channel 3 in December, 2008. He has homes in Pepper Pike and Wyoming. He is running as a Democrat. Some people found that surprising. White said, "Think blue dog." If he stays in the race, he will face Democrat Kellie Perk in the May 3 primary. Republican Marlene Anielski and Libertarian David Macko are also running for the seat.

Special to the Director's Cut By Gary Levin, USA Today NBC considered depicting the failed Jay Leno Show as a mere dream: Promo spots would feature Leno and Victoria Principal in the shower, an homage to the classic Dallas scene in which Principal dreamed the death of her onscreen husband. Instead, the network is opting for a low-key echo of the commercials that launched Leno: Last fall, he was shown driving a race car emblazoned with a 10, a reminder of his new slot. In spots that began airing during the Olympics Wednesday night, he's driving the same car, only the 10 is replaced by 11:35 (or 10:35, depending on your time zone), as the Beatles song urges him to "Get back to where you once belonged." The approach is in marked contrast to the hype - painted buildings, grocery-aisle ads - that greeted his move to prime time last fall. Back then he was heralded on the cover of Time as the "future of television"; on March 1, NBC tries to relaunch Leno i...

McLEAN, VA -- Four local Gannett NBC affiliate stations were among the Top 10 most watched TV stations for the first four days of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. KUSA-TV in Denver ranked second; KARE-TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul was fifth; KSDK-TV in St. Louis placed seventh; and WKYC-TV in Cleveland was ninth. Gannett stations also took 3 of the top 5 spots in the 25 largest television markets -- KUSA was ranked first, KARE third and KSDK fourth. "We congratulate all our local NBC affiliates for successfully launching these Olympics. The high viewing is a clear result of unique content from NBC matched to strong local brands," says Dave Lougee, president of Gannett Broadcasting. "The Winter Olympics are off to a tremendous start from the most watched opening ceremony ever for a non-U.S. Winter Olympics (up 35% over the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy), to great weekend ratings (Saturday night was more highly viewed than any single night of Torino coverage) to h...

By Frank Macek CLEVELAND -- Despite weather that's far from a wintry feel in Canada, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, have racked up big ratings for NBC and WKYC. In the half-century of televised Olympics, NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday was the MOST WATCHED EVER for a non-U.S. Winter Olympics with 67.5 million viewers. Those numbers were 17 million higher than the Torino, Italy, games four years ago and six 6 million more than the previous record holder, Lillehammer Games in 1994. Those tabloid fueled games held the record for 16 years. According to NBC Universal, the top five most watched include: Vancouver (2010) - 67.5  million Lillehammer (1994) - 62.0 million Nagano (1998) - 52.4 million Torino (2006) - 50.2 million Albertville (1992) - 46.7 million Locally, WKYC was the 6th highest rated station in the nation for the Opening Ceremonies with a 23.1 rating and 38 ...

Spring is just around the corner. WKYC and  Moms Like Me.Com are big sponsors of this year's Great Big Home and Garden Expo at the IX Center. Our Director's Cut spies were on location and had their digital camera handy to bring you a few photos of the fun going on. We even spotted star Ty Pennington who stopped by this year's show. To see our photogallery, click on the picture.

CLEVELAND -- They're not Olympians, but they'll still give it their all! Betsy Kling, Monica Robins, and Eric Mansfield will compete in 10 events in the first Anchor Olympics, starting Monday night February 15th on Channel 3 News at 7. The trio will do battle in winter olympic sports ech night during the broadcast. Hockey, skiing, luging, tubing, and curling are just some of the activities. So, who do you think will win? Tune in Monday as the Anchor Olympics gets underway!

The Director's Cut blog has put together a "Must See TV" list of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games you will want to catch. The Olympics kick off Friday night, February 12th on WKYC and NBC. And don't forget to join us for the Olympic Zone with Jim Donovan every weeknight during the games beginning Monday, February 15th at 7:30 p.m. Click on the graphic below to save and print a Adobe Acrobat .pdf file:

This afternoon, our News Director Rita Andolsen gave us a little sugar... No, not that kind...but delicious dessert to help us kick off February sweeps which started Thursday. Assistant News Director Howard Fencl had the hidden camera rolling and snapped a few shots of the staff. Unfortunately, he forgot to take a picture of the dessert. Click on the photo for several more pictures from our WKYC Facebook page. (Your blogger is the guy in the middle waiting for the speech to be over so we could get right to the sweet treats.)

WKYC production assistant Ashley Glaze took some time off to volunteer in Haiti with her church group to help the victims of the recent, devastating earthquake. While she is in Haiti, she will be filing reports for Channel 3 News including flipcam video and photographs from her first person account. She'll file reports as often as she has internet connectivity, which is sparse at times, in the still recovering nation. We invite you to follow Ashley's on scene work and ask you continue to keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers. Here's a link to her first set of pictures we have received: http://bit.ly/dzpkzf For her on scene report: http://bit.ly/cj7ZSV

By Frank Macek Time for another edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as we blog from the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center about what's going on behind the scenes at Channel 3. The Olympics are getting close and Channel 3 is pysched up for the big event which features 15 sports, 86 medal events and 2,500 athletes all competing on the world stage. WKYC and WKYC.com will have complete coverage including: *Opening Ceremonies - February 12th at 7:30 p.m. *Olympic Zone w/Jim Donovan - Feb. 15th -19th & Feb. 22nd - 26th at 7:30 p.m. on WKYC *Olympic Coverage on NBC & WKYC - February 15th through February 28th * Olympic Zone on WKYC.COM  ( www.nbcolympics.com/wkyc ) * Olympic Zone Weather for Vancouver on WKYC.COM * Closing Ceremonies - February 28th at 7:00 p.m. Something new and fresh is coming to Channel 3 News. We can't quite tell you yet what it is. But, we have spotted painters, carpenters, electricians, designers, l...

Editor's Note: The following is news regarding WKYC parent company, Gannett. McLEAN, Virginia -- Gracia C. Martore has been named president and chief operating officer of Gannett Co, Inc., Craig A. Dubow, chairman and chief executive officer, announced Monday. Martore, who was most recently Gannett's executive vice president and chief financial officer, will continue to serve as CFO until a new CFO is appointed. She will continue to report to Dubow. "Gracia is an outstanding leader and business executive," Dubow said. "She has made enormous contributions to Gannett during her many years here and most recently as our CFO and executive vice president. She has tremendous financial skills and extensive knowledge of our business operations. She's earned this opportunity and I couldn't be more pleased that she will serve as our president and COO." "Craig has brought new vision and direction to our company. As the economy continues to move ahea...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Joe Smith We've been seeing horrible images of devastation out of Haiti for the past several weeks. Now a new high-tech camera is giving the world a 360 degree view of the devastation. "It's immersive because it gets everything," says Immersive Media's co-founder David McCutchen. He envisioned the camera while working in special effects. First there was a black and white attempt, and then came color. McCutchen took a cue from everything spherical. "This shape a dodecahedron it's called. It's the most efficient way to divide a sphere optically," McCutchen explains. The camera is made of 11 lenses that capture full motion video. Cameraman Craig Adkins had to learn a new way of shooting. "The world of 360 is a completely new way to perceive the world. You tend to always want to be panning," he explains. "Everything happens around you and you want to pan with it. It's really tou...

LOS ANGELES -- About 48 million viewers watched President Barack Obama's first State of the Union address on 11 networks, with Fox TV drawing the biggest share. The Nielsen Co. said viewership for Wednesday's speech was 7 percent lower than for President George W. Bush's first such address in 2002 but 5 percent higher than for President Bill Clinton's inaugural State of the Union speech in 1994. From 9-10 p.m. EST, more than 9.7 million people watched the hour-plus speech on Fox, with ABC drawing 7.6 million viewers, NBC 7.2 million and CBS 6.2 million, according to preliminary Nielsen figures Thursday. Those early numbers don't reflect West Coast viewership of the speech that aired at 5 p.m. PST. Among the cable news networks, Fox News was the leader with 5.7 million, followed by CNN with 3.3 million and MSNBC with 2.4 million. The speech also was carried live on Telemundo, Univision, BET and CNBC. --- Source: The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- Jay Leno tells Oprah Winfrey that he hasn't spoken to Conan O'Brien throughout the recent contentious negotiations over "The Tonight Show." In quotes provided Wednesday by Harpo Productions, Leno tells Winfrey that "it didn't seem appropriate" to speak to O'Brien. But Leno says the two comedians might talk when "things cool down." NBC unseated O'Brien and moved Leno back to the program he hosted for 17 years. Leno is scheduled to return to "Tonight" on March 1. In a video previewing "The Oprah Winfrey Show" interview, Leno says: "This whole thing was a huge mess." Leno's interview is slated to air Thursday. Harpo Productions made an offer for O'Brien to appear on her show, but it hasn't been confirmed. Here's a Director's Cut Blog preview: --- Story Source: The Associated Press Video Courtesy: Harpo Productions

NEW YORK -- NBC says it has a deal with Conan O'Brien to produce a possible series, only days after his rancorous exit as host of the network's "Tonight Show." NBC is picking up a pilot from O'Brien's production company, Conaco. The drama, as yet untitled, focuses on a Supreme Court justice who leaves the bench to start his own practice. Casting has yet to be announced for the pilot, which is bucking for a series slot on NBC's fall schedule. Despite O'Brien's recent split from NBC as an on-camera star, he retains a development deal with the network. Past series produced by Conaco include the comedy "Andy Barker, P.I.," which featured O'Brien's longtime talk-show sidekick Andy Richter. --- Source: The Associated Press

Hard to believe it has been 3 years this month since we launched the Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek. We are proud of our accomplishments and grateful to you, our readers, for following what goes on here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. Our readership has ballooned over the past 3 years as our blog has exceeded a half million views. So, thanks for celebrating with us as we begin year 4 on the Director's Cut Blog. Don't forget, your comments and letters are always welcome. You can reach our blogger, Frank Macek, at fmacek@wkyc.com Now, back to the party! Who brought the champagne?

LOS ANGELES -- Scott Brown is going prime time. The Republican who rocketed to national prominence by winning a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts is scheduled to appear Thursday on "The Jay Leno Show." NBC spokeswoman Tracy St. Pierre says Brown will do a skit via satellite hookup in which Leno fires off 10 quick questions. The once little-known state legislator jolted the national political landscape last week by capturing the Senate seat once held by Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy. --- The Associated Press

By Frank Macek The digital revolution has not only given us high definition television, but has also opened up the possibility of 3DTV just as fast. If you think HD is good, wait until you see stereoscropic content come alive in your own living room. And, it will all begin THIS year. Like HDTV, early broadcast adopters will be sports television. ESPN will be credited as the sports leader in the technology when it launches its new 3D network on June 11th. The sports network will begin with a 3D telecast of the World Cup soccer championship between Mexico and South Africa. By the end of its first year, ESPN plans to offer viewers a target of 85 live events in 3D. In July, Direct TV will jump on the bandwagon as it teams up with Fox Sports to air a 3D broadcast of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Dallas at the equally high tech, new Cowboys' stadium in Arlington. And later this year, Discovery will be involved in several productio...

Ever wonder what goes on "behind the scenes" during a live, Channel 3 News broadcast? The Director's Cut is excited to finally be able to show you. Click "Play" and sit back and enjoy the show "behind the scenes." Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

With the final episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien upon us, we thought we'd join the "fun." Click here to download a printable version of "The Chin" and "The Hair " The same link will also take you to the best clips recently of Conan and Jay as they and others react to the late-night war.

UNIVERSAL CITY, California - NBC confirmed today that popular late-night host Jay Leno will return to host "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from 11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. (ET) beginning March 1, 2010 and that "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" will continue to be broadcast from 12:35-1:35 a.m. (ET). The announcements were made by Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment. "We're pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years," said Gaspin. "He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television." Leno previously hosted "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from May 1992-May 2009. The program will continue to showcase many of the features that made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years. "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" made its broadcast debut on March 2, 2009 with "...

Special to the Director's Cut By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Conan O'Brien all but tacked up a farewell banner on this week's "Tonight" shows, even as his exit deal with NBC remained under discussion. O'Brien's guest lineup for Thursday and Friday had the ring of finality, with several big names, including Robin Williams and Barry Manilow on Thursday. Tom Hanks was scheduled for Friday, as was Will Ferrell, who was the first guest O'Brien welcomed when he started last June as "Tonight" host. O'Brien, whose show was scheduled to be in reruns next week, also joked in a monologue about looking forward to history's biggest drinking binge in a few days. --- Source: The Associated Press DIRECTOR'S CUT EXTRA: Must See Video: Chinese Animation of NBC Latenight Woes.

CLEVELAND -- Winter's just started, but the baseball season will be here before you know it. The Indians announced Wednesday their broadcast plans and schedule for the 2010 season. WKYC-TV, the flagship station of the Indians over-the-air network again this year, will air 20 regular season games. WKYC's sister station, SportsTime Ohio, will air 148 regular season games and simulcast the games aired by WKYC. April 12 vs TEX 3:05 April 18 vs CWS 1:05 May 2 vs MIN 1:05 May 16 @ BAL 1:35 May 23 vs CIN 1:05 May 28 @ NYY 7:05 June 10 vs BOS 7:05 June 13 vs WAS 1:05 June 15 vs NYM 7:05 June 27 @ CIN 1:10 July 18 vs DET 1:05 July 25 vs TB 1:05 July 29 vs NYY 7:05 August 8 vs MIN 1:05 August 15 vs SEA 1:05 August 22 @ DET 1:05 August 29 vs KC 1:05 September 12 vs MIN 1:05 September 19 @ KC 2:10 October 3 @ CWS 2:05 Click here for the complete 2010 Indians Schedule

Darrielle Snipes joined the Channel 3 News in January of 2010 and primarily reports for Channel 3 News in the morning. Before moving back to the Midwest, Darrielle worked as a weekend anchor/reporter at KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City. While there, she covered breaking news stories and lots of weather stories. Darrielle says she saw three tornados and covered a major ice storm that knocked out power to more than 500,000 people. Darrielle has also worked in Baltimore, Detroit and Indianapolis as a reporter/fill-in anchor. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism. She grew up in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and spent her summers as a child with relatives in Washington, D.C. Family members tell Darrielle she told them at the age of 7 she wanted to report the news. So, it is a dream come true to be able to tell stories for a living. She is excited to be here in Cleveland where she has relatives and a host of friends. Darrielle is a m...

Special to the Director's Cut By Lynn Elber, AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES -- The sticking point in Conan O'Brien's exit negotiations with NBC may involve his TV staff, not Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. A person close to the talks said Tuesday that O'Brien is intent on guaranteeing severance deals for his "Tonight Show" staff and crew and he is dug in on that point. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract talks were intended to be private. The issue of whether NBC retains rights to familiar O'Brien comedy bits including Triumph or Pimpbot 5000 was undecided Tuesday but not a key issue for O'Brien, whose focus was his staff's welfare, the person said. The proposed deal could pay more than $30 million to O'Brien to leave NBC and "Tonight," allowing Jay Leno to move back to late night.

CLEVELAND -- Hundreds of thousands of Ohioans are eligible for government benefits, but have never applied. In fact, every year nearly $2 billion in benefits and tax credits go unclaimed in the State of Ohio. That's why WKYC and the Ohio Benefit Bank are teaming up to get you faster access to assistance. Channel 3 will offer a special phone bank staffed by benefit bank counselors to answer your questions, take your information and help you sign up for any benefits you may qualify for. The phone bank will be open from 10 a.m. through 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 21st. Phones numbers will be displayed on Channel 3 News throughout the day. Read more about the program from WKYC Reporter Dick Russ.

February's going to be a big month here on WKYC Channel 3. Enjoy this sneak peek!

Editor's Note: Locally, the Globes did a 13.45 rating, 19.1 share on WKYC-TV in HH in Nielsen Overnight Ratings. ---- Special to the Director's Cut Blog By FRAZIER Moore, AP Television Writer NEW YORK -- NBC says its Golden Globes broadcast won a ratings prize: a 14 percent increase in viewers from last year. "The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards" won its three-hour time slot Sunday, drawing 16.9 million viewers. That beat its audience of 14.9 million viewers in 2009. Originating from Los Angeles at 5 p.m. local time, the event was aired live by NBC in all time zones coast-to-coast, rather than delayed for prime-time broadcast in the West. British actor-comedian Ricky Gervais was its host. Even with the audience upswing, viewership was far below the biggest year for the awards show. In 2004, 26.8 million viewers tuned in. The awards are given annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. --- Source: The Associated Press

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES -- NBC is nearing a deal with "Tonight" host Conan O'Brien to leave the network, freeing Jay Leno to reclaim the late-night show he stewarded for 17 years. A person familiar with the negotiations says top NBC Universal executives and representatives for O'Brien on Friday were close to settling details of his departure. The person, who did not have the authority to discuss the issue, spoke on condition of anonymity. The person says Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer is among those involved in the talks. The focus is on how much O'Brien, who has time left on his NBC contract, would be paid for leaving and what limits NBC may put on his future employment at another network. --- Source: The Associated Press