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Flu-wary telecommuters may clog Web networks, GAO says By Cecilia Kang Wednesday, October 28, 2009 As the spread of the H1N1 flu keeps more Americans away from work and school, a federal report warns that all those people logging on to the Web from home could overwhelm Internet networks. The Government Accountability Office reported earlier this week that if the flu reaches a pandemic, a surge in telecommuting and children accessing video files and games at home could bog down local networks. And if that were to happen, it is not clear whether the federal government is prepared to deal...

But it’s more than the next Republican administration the networks need to worry about now. And it’s all very well to praise their noble or altruistic solidarity–it may be worth praising at that. But the networks ultimately know that it boils down to which side their bread is buttered on. The larger truth is that they are finally figuring out just what is really happening here. And they’re not liking it.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2009 – Afghan and international security forces killed multiple militants and detained several suspects in operations in Afghanistan over the past four days, military officials reported. A combined security force in Khowst detained several suspected militants today after searching a compound in the province’s Sabari district, north of Khowst City. Intelligence reports indicated militant activity there. The compound is known to be used by a Haqqani terrorist network facilitator and his element, believed to be responsible for funding and supplying weapons and homemade bomb materials to other militant elements in the region. The force searched the compound...

If you're new to social media, it can be extremely overwhelming. While social media courses are available, all it really takes is trial and error on your part in order to learn the basics. For example, a lot of people don't know how important it is to have separate personal and business accounts for Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. Customers and future clients do not want to hear about where you went to eat for lunch or your religious or political views. Unless you are an expert columnist on religion or politics, people don't care to see it. Plus, you could...

http://www.abc.com and http://www.cbs.com all show the networks are bowing their knees to their Messiah Hussein. Only at http://www.fox.com shows an entertainment show.

In the days before President Obama's last news conference, as the networks weighed whether to give up a chunk of their precious prime time, Rahm Emanuel went straight to the top. Rather than calling ABC, the White House chief of staff phoned Bob Iger, chief executive of parent company Disney. Instead of contacting NBC, Emanuel went to Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric. He also spoke with Les Moonves, the chief executive of CBS Corp., the company spun off from Viacom. Whether this amounted to undue pressure or plain old Chicago arm-twisting, Emanuel got results: the fourth hour...

Television networks planning Jackson coverage NEW YORK (AP) -- NBC executives changed their minds Sunday and decided to join other networks that will televise Michael Jackson's memorial service live this week. NBC joins ABC, CNN, MSNBC and E! Entertainment in offering the ceremony live. It's set for 10 a.m. PDT at Los Angeles' Staples Center. NBC had initially planned only a one-hour prime-time special on Tuesday night, but said Sunday it would also cover the event live. It was not immediately clear who would anchor. Charles Gibson will anchor coverage for ABC, which is setting aside its typical daytime programming....

Spot TV in the top 100 markets cratered The Television Bureau of Advertising on Friday released its broadcast TV crunch of the TNS Media Intelligence ad spending estimates put out earlier in the week. Total broadcast TV, including spot TV, syndication and network TV, dropped 11.9% to $10.5 billion in first quarter. The decline was driven by spot TV in the top 100 markets which cratered, falling 27.6% to $2.89 billion. In stark contrast, network TV dipped 4.8% to $6.5 billion, while syndication inched up 0.2% to nearly $1.1 billion. Spending in nine of local broadcast TV's top 10 ad...

Executives at the Big Four broadcast networks, upset that President Barack Obama has cumulatively cost them more than $30 million in revenue from preempted prime-time programming for three press conferences, say getting advertisers to sponsor future press events as a way to recoup lost revenue isn’t a viable option. After Fox balked at airing Obama in prime time on April 29, other nets joined in, saying they would consider the same action going forward depending on the event’s relevance. Industry observers wondered why networks couldn’t just get advertiser sponsors. Some suggested an ad prior to the conference and one at...

According to a TVNewser tipster, ABC News didn't feed "World News" to its West Coast affiliates Saturday evening as scheduled. The tipster writes, "Affiliates were left scrambling to fill; KGO-TV (San Francisco) went to 'Assignment 7' after five minutes of dead air accompanied by their legal ID slide." The image (right) is from 5:31pmPT on KOMO-TV in Seattle. The color bars and tone stayed up for more than three minutes. A "Technical Difficulties" slate went up for another six minutes. At 5:39pm, the station began airing "Wheel of Fortune." Another tipster surmises, "The SD feeds were discontinued Tuesday. I guess...

7TH UPDATE: ABC has officially picked up Jerry Bruckheimer's pilot THE FORGOTTEN to series. 6TH UPDATE: I'm told ABC just picked up THE MIDDLE with a 13 episode order. The pilot starring Patricia Heaton. Same with the pilot that Kelsey Grammar was exec-producing and starring in, AWESOME HANK which ABC also picked up. 5TH UPDATE: I just heard that ABC offered to pick up 6 episodes of V -- but Warner Bros has not accepted. ABC also has ordered the hour-long HAPPY TOWN. 4TH UPDATE: ABC has officially renewed Better Off Ted. 3RD UPDATE: I've just learned that ABC has...

After losing some $30 million from advertisers while they covered President Obama's three primetime news conferences in recent months, the major television networks are likely to follow Fox's lead and turn down the White House when it asks them to preempt a primetime time period any time soon, the Hollywood Reporter reported today (Friday), citing several unnamed network executives. "We will continue to make our decisions on White House requests on a case-by-case basis, but the Fox decision gives us cover to reject a request if we feel that there is no urgent breaking news that is going to be...

According to a report from THR.COM TELEVISION, the broadcast networks are considering asking President Obama to curtail prime-time appearances. No change of heart ideologically, mind you; the network execs are reported to be “seething” that Obama “has cost them about $30 million in cumulative ad revenue this year with his three primetime news conference pre-emptions.”

NBC and ABC on Tuesday night marked President Barack Obama's first 50 days -- not by pointing out all his unfilled executive positions, failed nominations or the long wait for the stimulus spending in the “stimulus” bill -- but by heralding his “whirlwind” of action and “whirling dervish of activity,” though both noted criticism that the administration is trying to do too much. “The President's first seven weeks have been a whirlwind with often dramatic movement in all directions, on all fronts. The economy, health care, two wars and today education reform,” NBC anchor Brian Williams breathlessly announced. Noting...

Viewers may be consuming more content overall, but live ratings and the commercial ratings that form the currency of the business continue to fall at the broadcast networks. Live viewing at CBS, Fox, NBC, My Network TV and The CW was down 7-10% through mid-January, while C3 numbers were down 5-8%, according to a report from Los Angeles based ad agency RPA While broadcast viewership was under siege before last year’s writer’s strike, RPA notes this year’s numbers were hurt by fewer new shows, shows that wouldn’t have normally returned, and the historic election cycle. In the 18-49 year old...

In his Saturday remarks during his campaign train ride, President-elect Barack Obama issued some soaring rhetoric about the state of the country today. At least the Old Media thought it was soaring rhetoric, anyway. Typically, the media was overawed by his mellifluous tones, of course. But during these remarks in Baltimore Obama made a startling suggestion. He said we need a "new Declaration of Independence." Apparently the original one isn't good enough for the new president, but it also seems a silly rhetorical flourish. After all, what is it that we are declaring independence from this time? Recall that the...

Battered by a one-two punch of declining readership and ad pages, Newsweek magazine is getting an extreme makeover this year that will include a large circulation reduction, deep cuts in operating costs, and a new effort to attract advertisers by concentrating on an elite audience. According to The New York Times, executives at Newsweek say the retooled magazine will focus on being a "thought leader" that focuses on telling readers how to think about news, rather than telling people what happened in the last week. The plan, similar to the editorial outlook espoused by The Economist magazine, is aimed at...

NEW YORK - The Al Jazeera Network plans to announce on Thursday that it has signed a deal to run its news on Worldfocus, a syndicated nightly news program produced in New York and distributed throughout the United States. The deal would help the international news network, one of the top services in the Arabic-speaking world, broaden its reach in the United States, where it so far has been available to only a limited audience. Worldfocus, hosted by former NBC News correspondent Martin Savidge, is produced by New York City public broadcaster WLIW and syndicated to a number of Public...

Marathon coverage plans in the works D.C. and the nets are gearing up for Tuesday's inauguration. Come Sunday, the cable news networks -- and plenty of other outlets -- will kick off a 72-hour marathon of Barack Obama coverage and programming tied to Tuesday's inauguration of the nation's 44th commander-in-chief. From channels around the world to such Internet vidcasters as Hulu to the blogger brigade, the inaugural and related events will generate more video footage and reportage than ever before. "This year, the inaugural (schedule) is bigger and more complex and vast than I've ever seen it," said David Bohrman,...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2009 – Coalition forces killed 37 armed militants and captured four others in operations targeting bomb networks in Afghanistan’s Zabol and Laghman provinces in recent days, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed 32 armed insurgents, including a woman, detained one suspected militant and destroyed a cache of weapons, explosives and roadside-bomb materials during an operation in Laghman province’s Alishang district. After the operation, local Afghan officials met with coalition forces and confirmed that all 32 killed were hostile militants. An Afghan governor approved a radio announcement stating these facts. “We stand by our initial news release, that...