Local TV Now

In this episode, we dissect the ratings from the first full week of the fall season.  We look at winners and losers, day-by-day.  Plus, there’s a leaked memo from CBS about their hatred of Hulu, and we talk about the new initiative from San Francisco’s PBS station to help start a non-profit journalistic enterprise.  Then, we finish up with Sony spending a LOT of money to get almost every channel to run their movie trailer.

Links:

• Mediaweek Programming Insider
• CBS’s Quincy Smith wants to make case against Hulu
• Hellman news play: KQED, UC — and N.Y. Times?
• Sony’s ‘2012′ Spot Blankets TV Homes

Listen Now:

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This week, we talk about the launch of LX New York, the replacement for Live at Five on WNBC. However, we still don’t know what the “X” in “LX” stands for. Can anybody help? And what will this new show mean to news viewers in New York and beyond? Plus, we talk about the continued expansion of hyperlocal blogs and NBC Miami’s lack on news online…well…except for the news that links to a competitor.

Links:

• TV’s premiere week overload
• WNBC Gets Extreme Makeover at 5
• NYC Bloody Promo Wars
• Q&A: Why Fisher and KOMO are jumping into ‘hyperlocal’ news
• NBCMiami.com has a crush on WSVN

Listen Now:

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We chat with Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star and TVBarn.com about the new fall season in this special, mid-week episode. From Jay Leno to the continued dominance of CBS, we cover it all.

Guest:
Aaron Barnhart, TVBarn.com & television critic for the Kansas City Star

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [ 31:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

We talk to a couple of journalism school leaders about the growth of students interested in journalism despite the fact that there aren’t supposed to be any jobs in this industry. Oh yeah, and they both say their students are finding jobs too. Plus, they tell us how new media has affected what and how they teach.

Guests:
Mark Lodato, News Director & Professor of Practice, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University

William McKeen, Professor and Chairman, University of Florida Department of Journalism

Bonus Link:
Mike and Doug’s favorite podcast: The Tony Kornheiser Show

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcasts [ 48:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download | Embeddable Player

We’re taking a week off this week for the Labor Day holiday weekend…not just because it’s a holiday though.  Actually, we have an interview in the can, but a technical meltdown of my Windows machine has put a hiccup in the process.

We’ll definitely be back next week.  Until then, I thought I’d post my Fall TV Preview.  I write this up every year for my friends, and I thought I’d post it here too.  Yes, I watch both geek TV and the TV of a 13-year-old girl.  I think it makes me diverse…you might call it odd.

A note about the preview, it ignores the Jay Leno Show which will air weeknights at 10 p.m. on NBC.  I won’t be watching.  Now, onto the rest of the preview.

Monday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 8/7, One Tree Hill (CW) 8/7, Gossip Girl (CW) 9/8, Lie to Me (FOX) 9/8, Big Bang Theory (CBS) 9:30/8:30, Castle 10/9

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: Accidentally On Purpose (CBS) 8:30/7:30

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: Trauma (NBC) 9/8

Notes: I’ve given up on Heroes on Monday nights…sad but true.  I’m excited by Accidentally On Purpose (premiering Sept 21).  Starring Jenna Elfman, I think this show has a lot of potential.  Elfman’s character finds herself pregnant after a one-night stand with a younger guy, so they move in together.  I think this show goes really well in the CBS Monday comedy block.  Trauma, on the other hand, looks awful.  It’s about first-responder paramedics, but, from what I’ve seen, none of the characters look really interesting.  I’ll pass.  What I won’t be passing on is Castle (returning Sept. 21).  I loved this mid-season replacement last year.  It’s a funny and smart procedural, and I hope it gains viewership in year 2.

Tuesday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: 90210 (CW) 8/7, So You Think You Can Dance (FOX) 9/8

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: Not sure yet.

New Shows I Might Be Watching: NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS) 9/8, Melrose Place (CW) 9/8, The Forgotten (ABC) 10/9, The Good Wife (CBS) 10/9

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: Shark Tank (ABC) 8/7

Notes: The new Tuesday night shows are all borderline for me, so I’m not sure what I’ll be watching.  The original Melrose Place never did anything for me, so I’m not sure if I’ll be watching the new one.  NCIS: LA is rumored to be better than the original NCIS (which I never really got into), so I might sample that show.  Then at 10/9 both The Forgotten and The Good Wife leave me a little cold.  The Forgotten is about a team that tries to identify unidentified bodies.  The Good Wife is about a mother who re-enters the work force after her husband, the politician, does something illegal and gets thrown in jail.  I’ll probably sample all 4 of these shows and see if any of them stick.

Wednesday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: So You Think You Can Dance (FOX) 8/7

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: Glee (FOX) 9/8, The Beautiful Life (CW) 9/8, Cougar Town (ABC) 9:30/8:30, Eastwick (ABC) 10/9

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: Hank (ABC) 8/7, Mercy (NBC) 8/7, The Middle (ABC) 8:30/7:30, Modern Family (ABC) 9/8

Notes: ABC’s got an all-new Wednesday night line-up.  Every single show on that night is new, and the first three look not-so-good.  I think Cougar Town (premiering Sept. 23) with Courtney Cox has potential.  However, I’m not a 40-year-old divorcee, so I might not get the jokes.  Eastwick is interesting.  It’s definitely got potential, and it’s a little supernatural, so it’s right up my alley, but I think it also has the potential to get canceled after three episodes.  The Beautiful Life is about the lives of young, good-looking models (one of which is played by The O.C.’s Mischa Barton), so how can you go wrong with that!

Thursday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: Bones (FOX) 8/7, Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 9/8, Fringe (FOX) 9/8, Private Practice (ABC) 10/9

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: Flash Forward (ABC) 8/7, The Vampire Diaries (CW) 8/7

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: Community (NBC) 9:30/8:30

Notes: Flash Forward is the highest concept show coming to TV this fall.  That means it could be awesome (see Lost), or it could die a horrible death (see The Nine).  I’m betting on good (but not as good as Lost when it first came out).  As for the Vampire Diaries, I’m not much for the movie Twilight, but I’m a sucker for a good teen romance from the CW, so I’ll give it a try.

Friday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: Ghost Whisperer (CBS) 8/7

Returning Shows I’m Adding: Dollhouse (FOX) 9/8

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: None

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: Brothers (FOX) 8/7

Notes: I still watch Ghost Whisperer for my wife, and it remains just OK.  My mom swears by Dollhouse, so I’m going to start watching the DVD’s now and watch it in the fall assuming I like it. UPDATE: I’m through the first DVD of the first season of Dollhouse, and it’s great.  Joss Whedon…I should have never doubted you!  I will be watching this fall.

Saturday

Um…do they still make TV on Saturday?  Answer:  not really.

Sunday

Returning Shows I’m Watching: The Amazing Race (CBS) 8/7, Desperate Housewives (ABC) 9/8, Brothers and Sisters (ABC) 10/9

New Shows I’ll Be Watching: Not sure yet.

New Shows I Might Be Watching: Three Rivers (CBS) 9/8

New Shows I Won’t Be Watching: The Cleveland Show (FOX) 8:30/7:30

Notes: The Amazing Race and Brothers and Sisters are still two of the best shows on TV.  As for Three Rivers, it’s another medical show…this time about a transplant doctor.  I’ll try it for a week or two and see if I like it.

Full list of premiere dates