Harry Smith to Undergo Colonoscopy on Live Television

TVSpy

CBS's Harry Smith is scheduled to undergo a routine colonoscopy at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center on Wednesday morning. Making the procedure less routine, though, is the fact that it will be broadcast live on national television.

CBS News announced on Monday that, in an effort to draw attention to the procedure, Smith will file live reports from the medical center as he undergoes the colonoscopy. According to CBS, it will be the first time that "an anchor has had a colonoscopy live on network television."

According to the New York Daily News, Katie Couric convinced Smith to have the procedure live on the air. Couric lost her husband to colon cancer in 1998 and had NBC cameras on-hand in 2000 when she underwent a colonoscopy.

"I'm all for destigmatizing the process," Smith told the Daily News.

Musician Peter Yarrow made an appearance on the "Early Show" on Tuesday morning and played a song about his own experiences having a colonoscopy. While strumming his guitar, Yarrow sang, "When I had my colonoscopy, I had a question on my mind: Do we all look the same when a doctor sees us from behind?" Hopefully "Early Show" viewers won't be able to answer this question tomorrow morning.

With Instability, More Local Talent Staying Local

Broadcasting & Cable

KA KE Wichita anchor Jeff Herndon seems like a logical candidate to move out of DMA No. 69 on the way to bigger things. Talent scouts say Herndon, who anchors the 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news for the Gray Television station, has the sort of appeal that would play well on a larger stage: smooth on the set and in the field, natural delivery, appealing looks and voice.

Herndon, who's 34, turned down a job with a network-owned station in a Top 5 market a few years ago. He won't rule out a move in the future, but for now he says he's more than happy to work in his hometown market, for managers with local roots, and for a company that has been able to avoid furloughs and bankruptcy amidst the miserable local TV economy the last few years. More...

In Boston, WBZ Dumps Veteran Sports Reporter

Boston Herald

Well-known sports reporter Alice Cook, a former Olympic figure skater, is the latest casualty at WBZ-TV, joining her former colleague Bob Lobel on the bench as the station downsizes its sports roster.

Cook, who has been at Channel 4 for 25 years, was told Friday afternoon that her contract wasn't being renewed and she could continue to report throughout the football season, her agent confirmed. The station is waiting for her response.

"She's mulling her options at this point but she's excited about the future," said Cook's agent and husband, Patrick Voke of the Boston law firm LeClairRyan. More...

Twin Cities TV Community Mourns Pohland

Star Tribune

One of WCCO-TV reporter Darcy Pohland's best friends was listening to the police scanner Friday at Fox 9, as usual, when he heard Pohland's address mentioned.

On Monday, Fox 9 Managing Editor Kelly Huffman was back at work, where monitoring the police scanner for possible news stories is part of his job. Huffman, who formerly worked with Pohland at WCCO, is understandably brokenhearted over what he heard.

A heavy-hearted sigh was all Huffman could muster at first. Then he said: "It was awful. It was horrifying. I can't even stand to think about it." More...

Moving On, Reporter Reflects on Two Decades at WISC-TV

Wisconsin State Journal

In June 2008, when it seemed it might never stop raining, Channel 3 (WISC-TV) reporter Linda Eggert and her photographer Doug Wahl went fishing for a story in Sauk County.

They had no direct assignment. The weather was causing havoc, so there would likely be something. Eggert called an emergency management source with the county to see what was up, and her source said he was too busy to talk.

"We have an issue with Lake Delton."

He didn't say what it was, but Eggert, who by then had been with Channel 3 for two decades, suspected that she and Wahl had hooked their fish. They reached Lake Delton in time to see the top of a house float by. More...

Carey on Retrans Fees: Fox 'Not Just Another Channel'

The Hollywood Reporter

If affiliates want to maintain access to "American Idol," "24," NFL games and the World Series, it could cost them a bit more cash, News Corp. COO Chase Carey suggested Monday.

Retransmission fees "transform the business," and in a good way if you're the company collecting them, he told analysts at the Credit Suisse Global Media & Communications Convergence Conference in Palm Beach, Fla.

Although careful to praise Fox's affiliate relationships, Carey said deals need to be struck that reflect the network's importance to the consumer.

"It's not just another channel," he said. More...

NYT Developing Daily Webcast

Daily Finance

Print doesn't seem to have much of a future, even for an august brand like The New York Times. In fact, Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has said he doesn't know how much longer a printed version of the paper will exist and likened the medium to the Titanic.

Might the Times (NYT) have a brighter future as a purveyor of video news? That's one option the company is exploring. Later this spring, the paper will launch a daily webcast, according to sources familiar with the planning. The show, which could debut as soon as a month from now, will be produced on the fourth floor of the Times's offices and air around lunchtime EST, when consumption of online video peaks. More...

With Leno Return, NBC Affiliates' Confidence Renewed

Broadcasting & Cable

After months of lamenting the weak numbers Jay Leno's primetime program was serving up, general managers at NBC affiliates around the country are pleased with their Peacock partnership once again. The Olympics, of course, delivered blockbuster numbers, bolstered by what numerous affiliate managers say is NBC's expert production of the Winter Games. The March 1 return of Leno to his old Tonight Show digs has also goosed NBC stations' primetime and late-night ratings.

"It feels really good to be back in pattern, with Jay on after late news," says WDIV Detroit VP/General Manager Marla Drutz, who runs one of the few stations where The Jay Leno Show found an audience in primetime. "These are the kinds of numbers we've been hoping for. It's a win-win-win"-in terms of prime, late news and late night. More...

Google Tests TV Search Service

The Wall Street Journal

Google Inc. is testing a new television-programming search service with Dish Network Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, the latest development in a fast-moving race to combine Internet content with conventional TV.

The service, which runs on TV set-top boxes containing Google software, allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube, according to these people. It also lets users to personalize a lineup of shows, these people said. More...

Nexstar Looks on Bright Side of 8% Revenue Dip

TVNewsCheck

Nexstar Broadcasting Group today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, that included net revenue of $74 million, down 7.9% from the year-earlier quarter's $80.3 million. However, when political ad revenue is excluded from the comparison, net revenue rose 11.1%, from $63.8 million in 4Q 2008 to $70.8 million.

Nexstar reported income from operations for the quarter of $14.1 million, compared with a $17.5 million operating loss in 2008, which included a $33.9 million impairment charge. More...

'60 Minutes' Producer John Tiffin Dies at 80

CBS News

John Tiffin, whose award-winning foreign reports over four decades helped build and define the success of "60 Minutes" died at home in Rusper, England, last Thursday (March 4) after a long illness. He was 80.

Working almost exclusively with Morley Safer overseas, Tiffin turned out investigations, features and profiles in the "60 Minutes" London office from 1970 until 2002. Out of this long partnership came the off-beat, usually humorous stories that became Safer's signature. Tiffin's keen vision learned as a cameraman--he filmed and produced much of his early work--combined with Safer's gift with words to create the perfect newsmagazine team.

"John Tiffin was a remarkably talented man," said Safer. More...

Burke Named New 'Dancing With the Stars' Co-Host

Los Angeles Times

TV personality and Season 7 champion Brooke Burke will report for duty alongside Tom Bergeron as the new co-host of "Dancing With the Stars" when Season 10 premieres on March 22, ABC has announced.

The news came this morning on the network's "Good Morning America." Burke, as many "DWTS" fans may recall, claimed the hit reality TV series' coveted Mirrorball trophy with her professional dance partner Derek Hough back in 2008. Now she has a chance to claim the backstage interviews as well. More...

NFL to Syndicate Content on Hulu, Other Sites

Portfolio

The NFL is rolling out elements of a new digital syndication strategy that reverses previous efforts to push all of the league's key online content to NFL.com.

The league this week plans to announce an alliance with prominent video portal Hulu in which more than 600 clips of NFL content, encompassing more than 400 hours, will be made available. The clips will be mostly archival material and NFL Films-produced shows on NFL Network, such as Game of the Week and America's Game.

The partnership began on an experimental basis in late January. More...

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