FCC TO LAUNCH SWEEPING STUDY OF NEWS CONSUMPTION

The FCC is about to launch a study to determine whether all Americans have access to news and information, regardless of their location, ethnicity, financial resources or any other relevant factor. In doing so, he commission will be casting an eye outside of its usual sphere — broadcasting — and encompassing newspapers and the Internet […]

VIEWERS WATCHING MORE NEWS, BELIEVING IT LESS

The “believability” ratings of the major TV and print news organizations have taken another hit. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, only 56 percent of the population give the 13 organizations included in the survey a positive believability rating. That compares with 62 percent in 2010 […]

AP GOES HD

In what it called “a major milestone,” the Associated Press announced Tuesday that it has completed its conversion to high-definition. AP said that it began upgrading its technical facilities to HDTV 18 months ago and in November 2011 began offering broadcast and cable stations entertainment news in HD. In January of this year, it started […]

CNN TO MAKE MOVIES

CNN is getting into the movie business. The website TVNewser.com reported on Monday that the cable news network is planning to develop “tentpole” documentaries under the banner CNN Films to be distributed theatrically and air on television — presumably over its own channel. They are expected to cover a variety of subjects. The first movies, […]

ABC TO AIR INTERVIEW WITH GINGRICH’S EX-WIFE

Once again raising the question of how far a news organization should go in revealing the personal foibles of a presidential candidate, ABC is planning to broadcast an interview with one of the ex-wives of Newt Gingrich tonight (Thursday), just two days before the South Carolina primary. Various reports had indicated that ABC executives had […]

WILL TODAY BECOME AN ENTERTAINMENT SHOW WITH RYAN SECREST?

As rumors continued to gain traction that NBC was in talks with Ryan Secrest about replacing Matt Lauer on the Today show if Lauer decides to depart at the end of his contract next year, AdWeek has noted that such a change could hasten the transformation of the morning program to “a softer, more entertainment-focused […]

AL-JAZEERA WINS PLAUDITS FOR EGYPT COVERAGE

Al-Jazeera continued non-stop broadcasting out of Egypt on Monday even as Egyptian authorities made what appeared to be clumsy moves to shut it down. The government has blocked entrance to the Arab news network’s offices in Cairo, arrested at least two of its news crews then released them after confiscating their equipment. And while all […]