Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says President Barack Obama will sign a bill to give consumers more time to get ready for the switch from analog to digital television broadcasts. The switch under current law is set for Feb. 17. The Senate earlier this week passed the bill to delay that until June, but it failed in the House under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for passage. The Senate passed the bill again Thursday night, and the House plans to take another run at it next week under regular procedures. That means a simple majority vote is required. Gibbs said Obama will sign the bill because he wants more time to ensure that people don't lose their television signals. Source: The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Gannett Co. (owner of WKYC-TV) is reporting lower preliminary fourth-quarter earnings, and says it expects to take writedowns of as much as $5.9 billion to reflect the declining value of its newspapers. Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper publisher, says preliminary net income fell to $158 million, or 69 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, down 36 percent from a year ago, as advertising revenue continues to take a beating because of the recession. Severance and other expenses related to job cuts have further reduced profits. The figures do not reflect the accounting writedowns, which Gannett expects to total $5.1 billion to $5.9 billion before taxes. Excluding severance charges, earnings were 85 cents a share, slightly above the 81 cents a share expected by analysts. Revenue fell 8.5 percent to $1.74 billion, below expectations of $1.79 billion. Source: The Associated Press

Some behind the scenes fun as Channel 3 News 6 PM producer Amanda finds a surprise waiting for her when she arrives at work. Happy Birthday Amanda!

Here is a list of some of Sunday's special features with Superbowl XLIII. At 9a, NBC's Today will open the network's coverage with a special two-hour program with Meredith Viera, Al Roker and Ann Curry giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at all the Super Sunday preparations. At noon, Bob Costas will lead the pregame coverage with Road to the Super Bowl. Costas will be joined by co-hosts Cris Collinsworth, Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick; analysts Jerome Bettis and Tiki Barber; and reporter Peter King among other sports contributors and Super Bowl winning coaches. Some of the highlights during the afternoon pregame show include NBC News' Matt Lauer's live interview with President Barack Obama from the White House; Bob Costas' interview with halftime performer, Bruce Springsteen; profiles of players from both teams; Al Roker hosting the Super Suite with pregame celebrity appearances/segments by Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon ...

Super Bowl XLIII is just days away and while the Cardinals and Steelers are getting ready for the biggest game in many of their lives, so are a whole lot of advertisers. In fact for them, a win during the big game means even more this year with so many suffering. Tough economic times mean some of the traditional sponsors like FedEx and the U.S. automakers have opted out of Super Bowl advertising this year. But for those that are still shelling out big bucks for the game expect them to try to make the most of their 30 seconds and make us feel a little better in the process. In a year when the economy has left many feeling like they are just hanging on advertisers hope Super Bowl Sunday might provide a break from the worlds woes. Expect the big game's spots to go for big laughs. "They want to be sensitive to the people who have lost their jobs and lost their houses and most of them have decided that people want respite and they want to be entertained," said Adwe...

CLEVELAND -- The Indians, SportsTimeOhio and WKYC announced the 2009 TV schedule for the Tribe Wednesday. For the second year in a row, games on the two stations will be televised in HD. SportsTimeOhio will show 154 regular season and seven spring training games. WKYC-TV will air 20 regular season games. Those games will also be simulcast on STO. FOX will televise eight games, locally seen on WJW. Rick Manning, Matt Underwood and Al Pawlowski will handle broadcasting duties during the regular season. Manning and Underwood will begin daily updates starting February 16 at 10 p.m. on STO. 2009 Indians TV schedule * Click here for printable version (PDF)

WASHINGTON -- The House has defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12. House Republicans succeeded in scuttling a bill to delay the transition, which is scheduled for Feb. 17, less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed the plan. The defeat is a setback for the Obama administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who fear too many Americans are not ready for the switchover. The Nielsen Co. estimates more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog television sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals could see their TV sets go dark next month if the transition is not postponed.

The match: The Steelers vs. The Cardinals... The place: Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida The date: Sunday, February 1st on NBC and WKYC. Kristin Dahlgren's behind-the-scenes tour of media operations Mark Barger's behind-the-scenes tour of Super Bowl Media Day.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who have not gotten their TV sets ready for the changeover to digital signals could earn a four-month reprieve under a bill making its way through Congress. The Senate voted Monday to delay until June 12 the deadline for the changeover from analog to digital television broadcasting. People still getting their pictures through old-fashioned antennas otherwise would face a Feb. 17 cutoff. Comparable legislation is being readied in the House, and the Obama administration has called for a delay amid mounting concerns that too many Americans who rely on over-the-air broadcast signals won't be ready. It's estimated that more than 6.5 million U.S. households are still not prepared for the upcoming transition. Courtesy: The Associated Press

Channel 3 Sports reported this evening that Mike Sullivan, the husband of 7 pm Sports Anchor Carole Sullivan is going to the San Diego Chargers. Mike has been with the Browns since he and Carole returned to the Cleveland area as an Assistant Offensive Line coach for the team in 2007. Before that, Mike was assistant coach/offensive line at Western Michigan from 2005 to 2006. Could this mean Carole is leaving us (again) at WKYC???? Cleveland or San Diego? Cleveland or San Diego? This is an easy one. Stay tuned.

Here's our update of what's happening around the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, on NBC and around the television industry: Not Much Happening January continues to be a fairly quiet month here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center. As much as I would like to share new things with you, there just isn't anything happening at the moment. So, I'll give you a little update on NBC and other tv business that has crossed our desks recently. New NBC/WKYC Programming Widget We have added a brand new widget on the Director's Cut Blog that will give you a daily update on what's coming up on NBC in Prime time each night. Plus, the widget has links to several other online content provided by the network. Check it out on the right hand menu. Some Superbowl Ads on WKYC to Air in 3D Next weekend is the Superbowl. And some of the commercials will air in 3-D according to the Wall Street Journal . NBC has teamed up with DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. and PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater ...

More than 6.5 million U.S. households -- or 5.7 percent of all homes -- are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting and would be unable to receive any television programming at all if the transition occurred today, the Nielsen Company reported Thursday. That translates into 5.7 percent of all U.S. households. In the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area in Ohio, Nielsen says 5.91 percent of households are not ready. In Columbus, that number is 4.29 percent and in Dayton, that number is 6.88 percent. Under government-mandated action, all television stations are required to switch to digital programming by February 17, 2009, which will leave viewers without a television signal unless they purchase digital television sets, connect to cable, satellite, and alternate delivery systems or purchase a converter box. For information or to learn about the converter box, contact DTV Answers online or call (888) DTV-2009. Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with electro...

Senate negotiators reached an agreement today to take action on altering the digital TV changeover. The move could have legislation before the Senate as soon as Friday, according to several Senate aides.

By Frank Macek January 20, 2009, is one of those moments in history you'll remember in your golden years - the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation's first African American President. The coverage and attendance by our fellow Americans in Washington D.C. was unprecedented. A brand new day had come to our nation. Here at the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, we spent much our day preparing for our local coverage that included a special edition of Channel 3 News at 5 PM following NBC's day long coverage. The thinking started long ago, but the day's plan fell into place as we got set to bring our viewers the local flavor of what the day meant. That was our mission of the day. Behind the scenes, the staff worked in a state of controlled chaos which usually comes on a big news day. On Inauguration Day, we not only had the 5 pm special, but the 6 pm and a special 7:30 pm broadcast to prepare and to execute as well. At 5:00 as the Director of the 5 pm broadcast, I called ...

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

Academy Award winner Mira Sorvino stars in this epic action-adventure tale about the greatest mystery of our time. In this four-hour miniseries, Oscar winner Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite," "Mimic") stars in an epic action-adventure tale about the greatest mystery of modern time. As the journey begins, Tess Chaykin (Sorvino), a Manhattan archaeologist, reluctantly teams up with FBI agent Sean Daley (Scott Foley, "The Unit," "Felicity") - and the pair are drawn into a fast-paced, romantic adventure as they attempt to uncover the lost secrets of the legendary medieval Knights Templar. The miniseries also features Victor Garber ("Eli Stone," "Alias") as Monsignor De Angelis, a high-placed Vatican envoy. Veteran thespian Omar Sharif ("Doctor Zhivago," "Lawrence of Arabia") rounds out the all-star cast playing the role of Konstantine, a Greek savant who rescues Tess and Agent Daley after they are shipwrecked a...

By Frank Macek We've waited for this big day - February 17, 2009, for basically 12 years since the idea of digital broadcasting and high definition television was decided upon as the next logical step in our wonderful world of broadcasting. Less than a month to go, lawmakers are being asked to postpone that mandate until at least June 12th. Broadcasters are not happy. The number one concern of the President-elect is to ensure that everyone who needs $40 coupons to purchase analog to digital converter boxes have the ability to get them after the funds that Congress appropriated ran out. For those that have waited, will June 12th make any difference? Probably not. Most of the consumers who are complaining waited too long. Many of the consumers who requested coupons never used them. Most of the consumers feel it's their right to free tv. I have yet to read in the Constitution where people have the right to get television signals delivered in their homes at no cost to them. We cert...

Here's our update of what's happening around the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, on NBC and around the television industry: Special Edition of Channel 3 News Tuesday WKYC will present a special edition of Channel 3 News following the end of NBC's coverage on Tuesday around 5 p.m. Anchors Romona Robinson, Eric Mansfield and Carole Chandler will bring you live, in depth, local analysis of the day's events from our team of reporters covering every angle of the transition of power. At 6 p.m., Channel 3 News will present a single sponsor newscast with Romona Robinson. Also Channel 3 News at 7 p.m. will move to 7:30 p.m. so that we may bring you a special edition of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. Super Bowl, February 1st on NBC We now know you will be playing in the Super Bowl this year: the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals. You'll see all the action on NBC and Channel 3 this year, including extended pre-game coverage. Speaking of t...

Update: The Senate has blocked a bill Friday evening to move the switchover to June 12th. However, Democrats will bring back the bill for a vote within a week. --------- Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., incoming chairman of the powerful Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, on Thursday proposed legislation that would delay the USA's switch to digital TV nearly four months, to June 12. "I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready to make this transition," Rockefeller said in a statement. Any extension also must be approved by the House. Separately, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $650 million in new funds for the DTV transition. "We're pleased to see Congress moving so quickly on an issue that will affect millions of consumers," says Chris Murray, a senior lawyer with Consumers Union, which supports a delay. Congress originally ordered the switch to digital TV ...

NEW YORK -- NBC announces that Dateline NBC will feature a special one hour show tonight (Friday) at 10 p.m. "Miracle on the Hudson." Ann Curry will anchor a special "Dateline" tonight, "Miracle on the Hudson," at 10 PM/ET. The hour long broadcast will take a minute-by-minute look at the miraculous landing of US Airways flight in the Hudson River just off New York City yesterday and why it went right. The report also includes interviews with some of the 155 survivors and some of the heroes that made what could have been a tragedy, a remarkable and inspiring story.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is proposing the transition to all-digital television signals be delayed until June 12. The current DTV-switch date is Feb. 17, but President-elect Barack Obama last week asked legislators to push the date back. Meanwhile the Associated Press is reporting today that at noon sharp in Hawaii, a message appeared on analog TV sets across the islands: "All full-power Hawaii TV stations are now digital." The state has shut down old-fashioned broadcast signals more than a month before the rest of the country is set to make the now-contentious switch. Even before the change, residents lit up special TV help center phone lines set up by the Federal Communication Commission. On home screens, the shutdown message flashed for about a minute in white text on a blue background. Then, a seven-minute announcement video began a broadcast loop that will continue for several weeks on major island stations. Technicians are calling it t...

Two issues have cropped up consistently: The bottom of the crawl is hard to see on some TVs and not everyone is getting a text alert when their school closes. I can't see all the lines on your new on-air iAlert. Fix it! We know there are display issues and our artists and engineers are working on them; they are dealing specifically the display issue on the lowest line of information so that is moved up on the screen. We appreciate your patience. We appreciate your input and invite your comments and suggestions any time. How do I sign up for iAlert text messages? Why haven't I gotten a text alert yet? Click here to sign up for iAlert school closing text messages It can take up to 36 hours for you to get a confirmation code on your mobile device. Our iAlert system delivers text messages to your mobile phone provider, such as AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Alltel, and so on. It is up to your provider to then deliver the text message to your phone or mobile device. All text messaging...

NEW YORK -- Gannett is requiring employees at its newspapers in Ohio and throughout the country to take unpaid, week-long furloughs. The northern Virginia-based newspaper publisher says the move could help minimize further layoffs amid a severe downturn in advertising. Gannett had several rounds of layoffs last year. In Ohio, the company owns The Cincinnati Enquirer and 10 newspapers in central Ohio cities. Employees must take the furloughs during the first quarter. Union-covered employees will be asked to participate, and layoffs are possible if they refuse. Gannett owns 85 U.S. daily newspapers, including USA Today, and 23 TV stations (including WKYC). It has more than 40,000 employees. USA Today also has declared a one-year freeze on wages, effective Feb. 1. Source: The Associated Press

NBC has obliged the White House in giving President Bush 15 minutes of prime time coverage for his farewell address on Thursday, January 15th beginning at 8 PM. The network also announced their revised Thursday night lineup as a result: PRESIDENTIAL FAREWELL ADDRESS (O) 8:00 PM MY NAME IS EARL (E) 8:15 PM THOSE CHEATIN' HEARTS - GUEST STAR BEAU BRIDGES RETURNS AS EARL'S FATHER AND THE TWO BOND OVER THEIR WOMEN TROUBLE - Earl (Jason Lee) and Randy (Ethan Suplee) decide it's time to make amends with their childhood neighbors, the Clarks. But when they discover more skeletons in the closet than they had expected, the brothers find themselves needing to sort out some family issues between their mom (Nancy Lenehan) and dad (Guest Star Beau Bridges). Meanwhile, Joy (Jaime Pressly) has duped one-eyed Willy out of his glass eye, and despite Darnell's (Eddie Steeples) efforts Willy may never "see" that eye again. MY NAME IS EARL (O) 8:30 PM "CHiPs'" ERIK ...

While sitting in the newsroom this afternoon, I happened to notice the Plain Dealer's Julie Washington in the building. What was she doing? Who was she talking to? Why was she here? The answer is coming sooner than later.

More than 40 Ohio television stations representing eight media markets in the state will take part in a digital television (DTV) test on Thursday, January 15. Most stations will start the five-minute tests at 7:30 p.m., although local start times may vary. The test will air on stations' analog signals only and will alert TV audiences if their television sets are not ready for the DTV transition. Instead of regular programming, viewers whose TVs are not digital ready will see a graphic informing them that they need to take action to prepare for the digital conversion. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has requested that television stations participate in these DTV tests as a means of alerting consumers who are not prepared for the DTV transition to take action. The actual DTV conversion is scheduled to occur on February 17, 2009, when the Federal government will require that all full-power television stations turn off their over-the-air analog signals and begin broadcastin...

Here's our update of what's happening around the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center, on NBC and around the television industry: Inuguration Coverage on WKYC and NBC WKYC will have complete Inauguration coverage of President Elect Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20th. Our coverage will begin with Channel 3 News Today at 5 a.m. with the latest news on preparations in Washington D.C. At 7 a.m., the "Today Show" will bring you 3 1/2 hours of live coverage as we inch closer to the big moment. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams will take over at 10:30 a.m. and anchor coverage for the next 5 1/2 hours featuring commentary by "Meet the Press" host David Gregory and NBC Political Director & White House Correspondent Chuck Todd. We'll then have complete wrap up coverage on Channel 3 News at 6 & 11 PM following a special edition of NBC Nightly News beginning at 6:30 p.m. WKYC.com Presents Complete Inauguration Coverage On-line, WKYC.com will provide exten...

We've all be talking about how much younger our newsroom staffers are becoming these days. In fact, those of us in our 30s seem ancient anymore. Here's one story we found about the youngest reporter who will be covering the inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama. ----------- The hardest working 10-year-old in the news business just learned that its all paying off. The Presidential Inaugural Committee has been following Florida fifth-grader Damon Weaver's quest to cover the inauguration as a correspondent. Weaver, a student at West Palm Beach's Canal Point Elementary School was denied press credentials for the inauguration ceremony, so the Presidential Inaugural Committee decided to step in, offering him credentials to the inaugural welcoming event, the parade and a children's concert that will be aired on live television. Presidential Inaugural Committee spokesperson Melanie Roussell says Damon will be the only student reporter receiving i...

Special to the Director's Cut by Tom Beres CLEVELAND -- Dick Feagler is not shy and he's not retiring. Cleveland's longtime columnist is ending his regular columns for the Plain Dealer. Feagler's been a reporter/columnist at the Cleveland Press. He spent 19 years at Channel 3 as an award-winning commentator and briefly was an anchorman. "Biggest mistake I ever made," he says about the anchor experiment. He most enjoyed covering Carl Stokes and Dennis Kucinich. His politics have gone from lefty-liberal to cranky-conservative to radical- try-something-different. He's enjoyed a week of tributes and accolades. But he's not disappearing. He may work on another book and will continue doing "Feagler and Friends" on WVIZ covering Northeast Ohio, calling things as he sees them. He's 70 years old and he says he's in pretty good health despite a recent scare involving blood clots. He is one of Cleveland's longest...

Here's another one of those stories about the media becoming part of the news. A major earthquake rocked Costa Rica on Thursday and was centered about 22 miles northwest of the capital of San Jose. The six-point-one magnitude quake caught thousands of people off guard this afternoon, including workers at this television studio. Hold On!