Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

By RYAN NAKASHIMA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES -- It appears Fox won't accept Time Warner Cable's offer to carry its broadcast signal while a fee dispute continues. Chase Carey, chief operating officer of Fox owner News Corp., told staff in a memo that a signal interruption was likely when the current deal over fees expires at midnight Thursday, halting service to millions of viewers. Carey says an interim deal would simply help Time Warner without fair compensation to Fox. Fox argues it needs to be paid more for broadcast signals that are retransmitted to subscribers of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said Wednesday the cable operator will agree to binding arbitration and whatever steps are necessary to preserve uninterrupted access to Fox signals. Fox will respond formally later Wednesday.

NEW YORK -- Anchor changes at ABC's two biggest newscasts have so far done nothing to shake NBC's dominance in the ratings. The Nielsen Co. says Diane Sawyer of ABC's "World News" finished behind NBC's Brian Williams on her first night and first week in competition. NBC's "Today" show handily beat ABC's "Good Morning America" during the first week of the George Stephanopoulos-Robin Roberts anchor team. Sawyer moved from "Good Morning America" to "World News" to replace the retired Charles Gibson. Stephanopoulos moved up from Washington to take her morning job. ABC says the ratings were about what they expected them to be. The network has downplayed those debut weeks to avoid outsized expectations and to emphasize they're in it for the long haul. --- Source: The Associated Press

By Frank Macek After two weeks of quiet time with the family, your blogger has returned to the WKYC Digital Broadcast Center with plenty of news for this edition of "Notes from the Newsroom." --- First the good news - Darrielle Snipes is joining the Channel 3 News family starting on January 4th. She comes to us from KOCO in Oklahoma City where she was most recently as weekday reporter and weekend anchor. Before that, she worked at television stations in Baltimore, Detroit, Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Darrielle is originally from Chicago and will join Channel 3 News Today as a morning reporter. Now the bad news - former WKYC Director Anthony Harris passed away last week after a heart attack he suffered while driving home after work. After leaving WKYC in January 2006, Anthony headed to Houston where he was most recently a beloved Director at KPRC, our NBC sister station. While at WKYC, Anthony directed many of the shows you sa...

A Note from the Editor: As Christmas nears and the year (and decade) winds down, the Director's Cut Blog would like to recognize my colleagues here at WKYC-TV and SportsTime Ohio who have worked so hard and tiredlessly to bring you the market's best local news and sports coverage in a year that was so devastating from an economic standpoint. We had good days, and some were bad. There were heartbreaking stories to cover, but also stories of hope. Some of our long time friends are gone, but now we have new friends and colleagues to build new memories with. We celebrated with the Cavs, who came so close. But, the Indians and Browns have a long road ahead. We were a little nervous about the transition to all digital in June, but our new tower was built with days to spare and the transition turned out not so bad. You may have noticed our news set got a tweak or two. We added a little color to the nightly colorcasts. You did...

Our partners at USA Today are tracking the success of this Fall's television season. These ratings are season to date since September 20th and shows how the networks are faring through this week.

By Frank Macek WKYC General Assignment Reporter Dave Summers  steps into our "Get to Know Team 3" Spotlight this time around. Dave sat down with us in the Channel 3 Newsroom recently to answer a few questions the Director's Cut Blog had about Dave's past and interesting things you might not know about him. Question: What stations have your worked for during your career? Dave: I have been around the Buckeye State. My career stops have included WCMH-TV in Columbus, WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, WJW-TV in Cleveland and most recently here at WKYC-TV. Question: Which do you like better - being an investigative reporter or general assignment reporter? Dave: I like each position equally. There are great rewards doing both. It's great to be in on the daily fast pace, but also in taking more time with a story and peeling the layers that makes it an interesting challenge. Question: What are some of the questions fans ask you when you meet them on the street? Dave: ...

As you know, several WKYC staffers have left during the past year due to economic reasons and have moved on in their careers. We get emails almost weekly about where these folks have landed and we thought we'd share some of those with you. So, here's our latest list: Abby Ham - WBIR/Knoxville Carole Sullivan - KGTV/San Diego Lydia Esparra - WOIO/Cleveland Obie Shelton - City of Cleveland Clerk of Courts Spokeman Eileen McShea - WEWS/Cleveland Joy Benedict - WEWS/Cleveland John Kosich - WEWS/Cleveland

By the end of this week, the Cleveland Browns will have played two games... Sunday afternoon's game was against the San Diego Chargers. Thursday night's game will be against the Pittsburgh Steelers and airs on WKYC beginning at 8 p.m. As a result, WKYC will air a second edition of "The Point After" this week on Friday at 7 p.m. following NBC Nightly News. WKYC's Jim Donovan, former Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano, the Plain Dealer's Tony Grossi and Browns radio booth color analyst Doug Dieken will break down the Browns vs. Steelers Game. If you can't watch it live on Channel 3, you can also watch "The Point After" on wkyc.com at 7 PM or on-demand following the broadcast.

From: Jill in Mayfield Heights Q: I was wondering when the Dec. 10th episodes of Community, Parks & Rec., The Office & 30 Rock will be rebroadcast due to the showing of the Browns vs. Steelers game? A: The Jay Leno Show will air early Friday morning from 3:30-4:30 a.m. The other shows will be broadcast from 2 - 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. This includes "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "The Office" and "30 Rock." You can email your questions to me: fmacek@wkyc.com

NEW YORK -- Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw and his wife say they were involved in a three-car accident on a New York City highway that killed one woman. Neither Brokaw nor his wife was hurt. The accident happened Friday afternoon on the Bruckner Expressway. Brokaw says he was driving in the highway's left lane when an SUV driver lost control of her vehicle in the right lane. Brokaw and police say the SUV driver, an unidentified woman, slid into the middle lane, forcing a mail truck in front of Brokaw's car. Brokaw says his car collided with the mail truck. Police say the SUV driver was thrown from the car and killed. The 69-year-old Brokaw and his wife, Meredith, were not injured. --- Source: The Associated Press

CLEVELAND -- WKYC.COM and Gannett's ContentOne are launching a new page dedicated to the coverage of climate change and how it affects you. Our new page features local and national stories about our climate, interesting videos from our Gannett partner sites and photos that show how climate change is happening around you every day. We invite you to bookmark the site and visit it often for daily updates, new developments, conferences and debates and a chance for you to voice your concerns with our on-line Twitter feed. You'll find the site on our weather page ( wkyc.com/weather ) or at the following link below:

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Deborah Yao & Stephen Manning, AP Business Writers PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The Associated Press has learned that Comcast is expected to pay General Electric $13.75 billion in cash and assets for control of NBC Universal. The deal, which was set to be announced Thursday morning, calls for the nation's biggest cable TV provider to spend $6.5 billion in cash and contribute cable channels worth $7.25 billion for a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal. That is according to people familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been made public. The new NBC Universal also is expected to borrow $9.1 billion -- part of which will be used to cover the $5.8 billion that GE is giving to Vivendi SA. General Electric Co. had to buy Vivendi's 20 percent stake in NBC Universal before selling a controlling interest in the movie and TV company to Comcast Corp. --- Source: The Associated Press (CL...

Special to the Director's Cut By Deborah Yao, AP Business Writer PHILADELPHIA -- General Electric Co. has reached an agreement to buy the 20 percent stake in NBC Universal held by French media conglomerate Vivendi SA, The Associated Press has learned. The agreement would pave the way for GE to sell control of the TV and movie company to Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable TV provider. That deal, which would make Philadelphia-based Comcast one of the nation's largest entertainment companies, is valued at about $30 billion. An understanding between GE and Vivendi has been reached but has yet to be formalized, according to a person with knowledge of the talks who requested anonymity because the talks were private. The Wall Street Journal reported that GE would pay $5.8 billion for the stake. -- Source: The Associated Press

By Frank Macek It's time again for an edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of his thoughts on our little corner of local broadcast television. --- The Thanksgiving Holidays are over and now we look forward to Christmas and finally kissing off the worst year in the 22 years I have been a Cleveland broadcaster. Fortunately, advertising is beginning to rebound, according to various trade publications - particularly at the national level. Now, some programming notes: Don't forget next Thursday night, December 10th, Channel 3 will bring you to the Browns vs. Steelers game from Cleveland Browns Stadium. Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. Our lineup that evening will include the following: *6 pm - Channel 3 News at 6 *6:30 pm - Browns Pre Game Huddle *7 pm - NBC Nightly News *7:30 pm - Channel 3 News at 7 *8 to 11:30 pm - Browns vs. Steelers *11:30 pm - Channel 3 News at 11 Cleveland Magazine is featuring a number of former Channel 3 p...

Our partners at USA Today are tracking the success of this Fall's television season. These ratings are season to date since September 20th and shows how the networks are faring.

Make your child's snow day even more special with a LIVE ON-AIR phone call from Channel 3 News Today meteorologist Hollie Strano! When schools are being closed due to wintry weather, our Channel 3 News Today meteorologist will call some lucky students LIVE on-air to let them know their schools been closed! To make your child eligible, you'll need to fill out the form at the following link:

CLEVELAND -- Channel 3 News and wkyc.com are on the hunt for the area's best light displays to feature on-air and on-line. We invite you to snap your favorite holiday lighting displays and upload them on our website. We'll feature the best of 2009 on Channel 3 News at 11 PM throughout the holiday season, on wkyc.com and on our WKYC Facebook page to share with everyone. Also, we'll put together an on-line video to help remember the "Christmas of 2009." It's easy to participate. Just upload yours at the links provided below and be sure to tell us what city each photo is from. * To Upload your photos: * To View our photogallery:

WASHINGTON -- Museum visitors in Washington will get the chance to step into "Meet the Press" moderator Tim Russert's old NBC office, which has been reassembled at the Newseum. An exhibit opens Friday with the office recreated to look as it did in June 2008 when Russert died of a heart attack at age 58. The journalism museum will keep the office on display through 2010. Curators say it's an unpretentious office with Russert's favorite books, family photos and Buffalo Bills pennants. Newspapers and research binders cluttered his desk. Russert was NBC's Washington bureau chief. A wooden sign for his staff reads "Thou Shalt Not Whine." Newseum chief executive Charles Overby has said the only other journalist who gets such prominent treatment is Edward R. Murrow. Find out more about this new exhibit:  --- Source: The Associated Press Photo Courtesy: The Newseum

Our partners at USA Today are tracking the success of this Fall's television season. These ratings are season to date since September 20th and shows how the networks are faring.

NBC gives the gift of holiday-themed series episodes and specials throughout late November and December with a multitude of festivities, a special military audience for "The Jay Leno Show" airing Thanksgiving evening and a night of holiday-themed Thursday night comedies from "Community," "Parks and Recreation," "The Office" and "30 Rock" on December 10. In addition, NBC premieres "The Sing-Off" as a four-night holiday event series beginning Monday, December 14 featuring the hottest a cappella singing groups from across America competing for the chance at an Epic Records/Sony Entertainment recording contract. Also, a new SNL holiday special "Saturday Night Live Christmas 2009" is set to air on Thursday, December 17. Other programs joining in on the holiday spirit are the family friendly specials and movies -- the all-new special "Merry Madagascar," "83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade," ...

A new Nielsen report finds daily television viewership continues to grow as Americans have more choices than ever before. Among the report's key points: For the 2008-2009 TV season, the amount of television watched reached an all-time high as Americans spent four hours and 49 minutes a day on average in front of the TV, up four minutes from last year and up 20% from 10 years ago. The average household watched eight hours and 21 minutes a day on average, also at an all-time high. Daily viewing during primetime remained flat compared to a year ago, but is still at its highest peak since 1991. The continued increase in television consumption can be attributed to several factors including more television sets in the home, and Americans also have more channels and content to choose from and are using their DVRs more than ever. You can download Nielsen's historical daily viewing activity among households and person 2+ from 1949 to 2009 at the following link: Courtesy: Ni...

By Frank Macek After all the bad press Leno has been getting the last few weeks, it looks like NBC brass, under pressure from affiliates, are forcing changes at "The Jay Leno Show." Broadcasting and Cable is reporting today (Tuesday) the show is being re-formatted to be even more like his old "Tonight Show," with familiar skits including "Headlines" and "Jay Walking" following his opening monologue. We also hear more changes are coming. Ratings on Monday hit an all time low, when the show fell to a 1.2 rating nationally - apparently being the last straw. Many NBC stations are being hurt by Leno's low ratings leading into their 11 p.m. newscasts during November sweeps. Locally, Tuesday night's ratings were better with a 5.3 rating in households (3rd place at 10 p.m.) and a 3.2 rating in adults 25-54 (4th place when comparing Channels 3, 5, 8 & 19).

By Frank Macek After two months, NBC executives must be asking themselves whether its finally time to shelve "The Jay Leno Show." The show's strong start in September has been followed by a dramatic drop off that has kept the network in 4th place during the fall and has seriously hurt affilates 11 PM newscasts across the country. Nielsen ratings recently showed Cleveland as among Jay's most watched markets. Sad thing is, the ratings have wobbled between only a three and a five rating every week since the show's launch. We can only imagine how smaller markets must be faring. NBC brass suggested early on that even a three rating would satisfy advertisers and make the network a ton of money in comparison to the amount they would have to pay for dramas or scripted shows in the 10 p.m. hour. But is destroying the network worth it in the long run? With NBC's arrogance the show would re-invent television, without considering "what if" the sho...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Frazier Moore, AP Television Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Jay Leno's plugging away in prime time, but he still says he would have rather stayed put at "The Tonight Show" -- and if NBC offered him that late-night job again, he says he'd take it. In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Leno hastily adds that such a decision isn't his to make. Conan O'Brien, his successor as "Tonight" host after 17 years, is "doing fine," says Leno. "The Jay Leno Show" began on NBC in September, airing Monday through Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern, where it has displaced prime-time scripted dramas. For that, and for his less-than-stellar ratings thus far, Leno has taken heat within the TV industry as well as from critics. But getting beat up is just part of the game, says Leno, who insists he enjoys his role "being the underdog."

CLEVELAND -- WKYC's sports anchor, Jim Donovan, as well as managing editor, Dick Russ, will be among those formally inducted into the Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame at a dinner reception this evening in Westlake. Former WKYC investigative reporter, Paul Sciria as well as columnist, Regina Brett, and photographer William Wynne from The Plain Dealer are the other inductees. Jim Donovan came to Northeast Ohio as a weekend sports anchor in 1985 and has gone on to be arguable Cleveland's most prominent voice in sports. Donovan has been the radio play-by-play announcer for the Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999. He has covered the Summer Olympics in 1992 and 1996 and World Cup soccer in 1994. Dick Russ has proven to be one of Northeast Ohio's most versatile broadcasters. He has worked as a reporter, anchor and now managing editor at WKYC-TV 3. Colleagues say Russ' talent with words has always set him apart from his peers. Russ is also a member of the Oh...

Special to the Director's Cut Blog By Gary Levin, USA TODAY Viewers are tuning in to the major networks this fall. Ratings are up 2% after years of steady declines. New hits, big gains for some returning shows and comparisons with last fall's strike-hobbled start have helped. But the biggest factor: "There's much more DVR recording this year than in the past, which has had an impact on all the numbers," says ABC prime-time research chief Larry Hyams. A fourth of young-adult viewership is now recorded, though ratings among ages 18-49 are flat. Starcom Media analyst Sam Armando says the season is off to a decent start: "People are aware of the shows and are checking them out." But overall, cable is down, partly from news networks' post-election drops. AAmong the networks: -- Top-rated CBS is up 6 percent (and flat among young adults), thanks to big gains from the seventh-season wonder "NCIS" and a strong launch for its L.A.-based s...

By Frank Macek It's time again for an edition of "Notes from the Newsroom" as your blogger shares some of his thoughts on our little corner of local broadcast television. --- Thanks to everyone involved in our station wide event called "Heroes Help Northeast Ohio" that took place all day on Thursday, October 22nd. Over 17 bins of food were collected and lots of cash that will provide for over 30,000 meals for our local needy. Also, 312 coats were received for area childen and a room full of toys will delight northeast Ohio children this holiday season. A big thank you from all of us at WKYC, the Cleveland Foodbank, "Coats for Kids" and "The Salvation Army" and to WKYC producer Jon Adkins who made the day so successful. Surf in tonight (Tuesday) to WKYC.COM from 7:30 until 8 p.m. for a webcast followup to the "Road to Reform" special that aired on WVIZ last Friday Night and WKYC on Sunday morning hosted by WKYC Senior Politica...

Special to the Director's Cut by Gary Levin, USA Today Five weeks into the new TV season, it's clear that few new shows are tanking in the ratings. But breakout hits are elusive, too. The top new show is CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles." The spinoff follows the original "NCIS," which has eclipsed CSI to become TV's No. 1 drama. "L.A." and "The Good Wife," also on CBS, Fox's "Cleveland Show" and "Glee," and ABC's "FlashForward," "Modern Family," "Cougar Town" and "The Middle" are doing well enough to earn full seasons. (Cleveland has already been renewed for next season.) CW's "The Vampire Diaries" also is expected to keep going. "All in all, the networks are in decent shape" with new series, says CBS scheduling chief Kelly Kahl. "It feels a little more optimistic to me than it has" in the past. That's not to say TV doesn...