Jul 2007
On the road again: D-FW stations rev their motors for another live police pursuit
07/30/07 03:53 PM
By ED BARK
They keep telling us it's for our own good. Never mind that it primarily provides a showy picture story with a predictable yet uncertain ending.
Led by Fox4 and CBS11, D-FW's four major TV news providers again joined in the live police pursuit of a runaway idiot Monday afternoon. They broke from the starting gate just a few hours after one of Fox4's helicopters made an emergency landing after developing out-of-the-blue engine failure. Thankfully, none of the three passengers was seriously hurt.
Last week, however, four TV news reporters were killed in Phoenix when two station helicopters collided in mid-air while covering a police chase. That's a very sobering backdrop for the events of mid-Monday afternoon, when Fox4 and CBS11 knocked out regularly scheduled entertainment programming from 2:30 to 3 p.m. before NBC5 and Belo8 likewise went live at around 3 p.m.
CBS11 anchor Doug Dunbar kept referring to the obvious questions being raised in many viewer's minds.
Why cover this? Because "it is a threat to public safety this afternoon, and you should be aware of it," he said.
How dangerous or foolhardy is it for all those news helicopters? "They're talking to each other on the radio, ensuring the safest possible environment while they cover this," Dunbar assured. The news choppers also are flying well above a Texas Dept. of Public Safety copter so as not to get in its way, he said.
Chopper 4's Scott Wallace took the same tack, telling viewers that the runaway SUV driver with out-of-state license plates is "a real danger to the traveling public."
Wow, how did we ever survive before the era of live TV pictures at any time from anywhere?
It all finally ended at 3:23 p.m., when the motorist pulled over after his left front tire went flat courtesy of spike strips thrown in his path by police officers. He had swerved and wound his way at sometimes high speeds through Garland, Mesquite, Plano, McKinney and Allen before being apprehended in Richardson.
So was the public really served? Anchors stir visions of mothers grabbing their toddlers and racing indoors to avoid coming within even a 25-mile radius of an unpredictable driver. But seriously, those motorists already on the roads weren't likely to be swayed by TV coverage they couldn't see. In reality, the risks taken by the news station choppers seem to far outweigh any dangers to the public at large.
It can be a transfixing picture story, though. Stations in Los Angeles have been on these scents for years. Now they're staples in markets large and small. Hell, more people watch this stuff than NASCAR.
The driver, Ron Teague, later told reporters that he was only trying to get his sick cat to a veterinarian. A star is born. Make that two of them. Only in America, where the news just keeps getting dumb and dumber.
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Allen in for good on CBS11's waker-upper
07/27/07 03:20 PM
By ED BARK
CBS11 has gone in-house to name Ginger Allen co-anchor of CBS11's News This Morning
The well-tanned veteran, who joined CBS11 in 1999 from a Cincinnati station, will team with the recently hired Scott Sams. She had been filling in on occasion for Shannon Hori, who left Dallas last month to anchor at Miami's CBS-owned WFOR-TV.
CBS11 remains last in the Nielsen ratings among the early morning's four major news providers. The station said Allen will continue to do investigative reports as well.
Summer TV "press tour" -- It's a wrap
07/27/07 01:11 PM
BEVERLY HILLS -- It's all over but the packing. TV's annual summer "press tour" finally wrote an end to itself Thursday night. Check out The Last Picture Show for unclebarky.com's parting shots.
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 16
07/26/07 04:32 PM
Prison Break stars Wentworth
Miller and Dominic Purcell gird for the
Dallas-based show's third season, with Miller
also commenting on former castmate Lane Garrison's
real-life criminal behavior. Also, hear from
Kiefer Sutherland on 24 and marvel at
unclebarky.com's latest homemade pics.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
This just in: Sarah Dodd departs CBS11
07/26/07 02:46 PM
By ED BARK
High profile reporter/anchor Sarah Dodd has decided to leave CBS11. Her resignation was effective July 14th.
Dodd, who couldn't immediately be reached for comment, reportedly was dissatisfied with the new direction of the station under vice president of news Regent Ducas. His "urgent" approach to the news, most notably at 10 p.m., generally calls for a volley of quick-hit crime and tragedy stories at the top of newscasts.
CBS11 president and general manager Steve Mauldin praised Dodd's contributions in a note sent to staffers Thursday afternoon.
"She has been around the world covering important news for the station, including spending a month in Iraq covering the beginning of the war," Mauldin said in part. "Sarah has broken some of the biggest and most memorable stories at Dallas City Hall, and in 2006 won an Edward R. Murrow award for her work . . . We wish Sarah good luck in her future endeavors."
Dodd joined CBS11 in 2000 and in December married Dallas police chief David Kunkle. A splashy D Magazine cover story ensued. Before joining CBS11, the Baylor University grad worked at TV stations in Tyler, Waco and Oklahoma City.
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 15
07/25/07 09:04 PM
ABC's entertainment president pointedly unloads
on his new NBC rival and Dallasite Angie
Harmon talks about balancing work on her new TV
series with being the mother of two preschoolers.
Homegrown unclebarky.com pictures add to your
enjoyment.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 14
07/24/07 07:03 PM
Lauren Jones hopes to be like her
idol, Katie Couric, someday. For now the model and
former wrestling villainess will settle for Fox's
Anchorwoman, an upcoming reality series set at
KYTX-TV in Tyler, TX. See how she
handled herself with TV critics and check out
another collection of homegrown unclebarky.com
pics.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 13
07/23/07 03:32 AM
Meet Fox's new Batman and
Robin, while also getting a taste of the
network's big Kelsey Grammer/Patricia Heaton
sitcom. Another pair of homegrown unclebarky.com
pictures also help to tell these stories.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 12
07/22/07 06:39 PM
The Television Critics Association had its 23rd annual awards ceremony Saturday night, with Sopranos mystery man David Chase the prize attendee. Hear his cryptic musings and get another eyeful of unclebarky.com pics.
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 11
07/21/07 07:12 PM
Jericho fans sure knew what to do with their nut sacks. Read all about it and check out another batch of unclebarky.com pictures, too!
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day 10
07/20/07 08:17 PM
Come along for a rare look at the innards of CBS' Big Brother, complete with more one-of-a-kind unclebarky.com camera shots.
(Note: Some of the comments from my daughter Liz's previous China pages are showing up with these dispatches. Don't know how to remedy that from out here, but they really are nice comments.)
Ed Bark
Acclaim game: annual Emmy nominations again give some critical darlings a thumbs up and others the finger
07/19/07 11:25 AM
The 59th annual Emmy Awards are in,
with some shows crowing and others pouting. See
unclebarky.com's instant
analysis and also link to the complete list.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Nine
07/18/07 07:40 PM
Keith Olbermann takes on Bill O'Reilly again, and winds up pictured on the business end of a horse. See the story and the unclebarky.com pictures in our latest dispatch from the all-too-real land of make-believe.
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Eight
07/18/07 01:27 PM
Positioning itself as anything but a "football show," NBC's Friday Night Lights will play on this fall. Get all the latest info on the Austin-made series and also feast your peepers on a new batch of unclebarky.com star shots.
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Seven
07/17/07 12:37 AM
NBC's new entertainment head, Ben Silverman,
isn't messing around. See what he's already put in
motion for the No. 4 network. You also can learn a
few new things about NBC Nightly News
anchor Brian Williams and see another group of
on-site unclebarky.com photos from Beverly Hills.
And on the eve of weatherman Troy Dungan's departure from Belo8,
read our original scoop from last fall. Good luck,
Troy.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Six
07/16/07 04:48 PM
A dramatically
slimmer Star Jones runs into a buzzsaw during
an interview session with TV critics. Then she
talks to unclebarky.com in hopes of making it all
better. Also, check out our new homegrown
pictures, including a shot of actor Jeff Goldlum
moonlighting as a jazz pianist at the Beverly
Hills Friar's Club.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Five
07/15/07 09:14 PM
"Press tour" sex files, a likely new
X-Files movie and Mary-Kate Olsen as a
pot-smoking Christian. Interested?
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Four
07/14/07 10:28 PM
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and
former Cowboy "Rocket" Raghib Ismail braved the
nation's TV critics Friday. See how they
fared while also taking a look at some more
homegrown "press tour" pictures.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Three
07/13/07 04:46 PM
Get an up-close look at former
Sopranos star James
Gandolfini and see some more unclebarky.com
pictures in our latest in-depth dispatch from
Beverly Hills. Also, please patronize our newest
advertiser, Sunnyland Furniture. Show
unclebarky.com your love, and help to keep the
site alive, by printing and using those handy
click-on coupons. Thank ya.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day Two
07/12/07 12:15 AM
Ken Burns' latest epic, The
War, ostensibly was finished 18 months ago. But
now come some 11th hour changes to appease Hispanics
who felt their contributions were ignored. Read
what Burns had to
say and also check out the Jane Austen "action
figure" sunning on a Beverly Hills hotel balcony.
Homegrown unclebarky.com pictures help to tell
these important stories. And The latest D-FW Nielsen
ratings are in their usual spot.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Summer TV "press tour" -- Day One
07/11/07 01:54 AM
Five TV "pioneers" met with critics
Tuesday. They definitely weren't tongue-tied. See
what a jerk Jackie Gleason could be and try Dick
Cavett's ego on for size in our first tale-telling
dispatch.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
And so it begins . . . Summer TV "press tour" 2007
07/10/07 04:04 PM
By ED BARK
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- How's this for a scene-setter? Network TV's 2007 summer "press tour" began Monday night with a lengthy bus jaunt from the Beverly Hilton to the almighty Griffith Observatory.
There you could see Hollywood's brightest stars, all without facelifts, through some venerable high-powered telescopes. Cell phone service couldn't survive such heights, knocking out your friendly correspondent's regular Monday night radio segment on KMOX-AM radio in St. Louis just as it was about to begin.
PBS chose the site to tout its new Wired Science series, which premieres on Oct. 3rd. Assembled TV critics then partook of a Wolfgang Puck-catered buffet starring salmon and noodles.
Uncle Barky, paying his own way to see such splendors, cut costs with all-day connecting flights from Dallas to Denver to Palm Springs to L.A. That last plane flight sounded like a lawnmower with wings. And the temps took a mighty plunge, from 105 degrees to 71. Pretty cool.
Beginning on Wednesday, look to our special July TV Press Tour page for daily reports on this 18-day march from PBS to ABC. It's Uncle Barky's 28th straight life-shortener, so keep him in your prayers and please patronize his advertisers. Gotta run. Talk to you soon.
Leaving on a jet plane
07/08/07 03:34 PM
The semi-annual network TV "press
tour" starts Monday night (July 9) in L.A., and
unclebarky.com again will be there to provide unique
eyewitness accounts. To help defray costs just a
smidgen, be sure to patronize our advertisers
whenever possible by ordering through the website if
you're buying on amazon.com, overstock.com, etc.
Meanwhile, check out our review of a superb new baseball
miniseries beginning Monday night on ESPN.
Even diehard New York Yankee haters likely will be
impressed by this depiction of the team's
tumultuous 1977 season.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Hail, hail D-FW's underappreciated TV news-getters
07/06/07 02:49 PM
You see them all the time, but seldom
if ever behind an anchor desk. They're D-FW
television's long-entrenched men and women in the
trenches. Unclebarky.com's latest Top 10 list recognizes
them for what they are -- mostly unheralded pros
who deserve a big ol' back-pat.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
A holiday ode to Belo8 rainmaker Pete Delkus
07/04/07 11:44 AM
By ED BARK
We loathe you, Pete Delkus
Though it's not your doing.
You keep bringing wetness
While we can't stop booing.
You seem to enjoy
All this rain beyond norm.
Your eyes begin brightening
As clouds start to form.
Your Chia Pet hairdo
Is always fresh cut.
Our lawns are not likewise.
We're all in a rut.
These bad weather forecasts
Are given by others.
But they seem so downcast
While you're like Tom Smothers.
You get so excited
When talking of storm cells.
But your seven-day forecasts
Are our living hells.
If "Delkus Delivers"
Then return to sender.
You're nothing but trouble
A real weather bender.
So try something different,
Do the weather in shades.
Put on a swimsuit
Pass around lemonades.
Give Gloria a hickey
And Dale a goose.
Pretend it's all clear
You're carefree and loose.
The sun's shining brightly
No Mudvilles in sight.
Live in denial
Go fly a kite.
Whatever you do
End this talk about records.
Let it rain, let it pour
But only on Decherds.
Kwik-E Monster
07/03/07 12:37 PM
Dallas' newest tourist attraction has been constantly crowded since re-opening for business as a Kwik-E-Mart tied to the July 27th opening of The Simpsons Movie. Tuesday morning was no different, with workers resorting to threatening signage in an effort to keep the small parking lot in working order. "5-Minute Parking. Violators Will Be Executed," they warn. OK, it's pretty much just a joke. For more pictures and details, see the Dallas-Fort Worth TV page.
Ed Bark
Audition alert: Survivor
07/02/07 11:06 AM
CBS' Survivor 16: Top Secret
Location soon will be trolling for competitors at
an area auto dealership.
The July 13th locale is Bankston Dodge Superstore in Grand Prairie (2615 Interstate 20 at Great Southwest Pkwy.), where you can line up from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You've got to be at least 21 and consider yourself strong-willed, outgoing, adventurous and adaptable. A background check also could be in the cards.
Bring along a photocopy of your driver's license or U.S. Passport, a passport-sized photo and a completed official application, which you can download here. Um, there's also a "Speed Pass" that will give you "priority consideration" at the auditions. Go here if you want one of those.
Ed Bark
The July 13th locale is Bankston Dodge Superstore in Grand Prairie (2615 Interstate 20 at Great Southwest Pkwy.), where you can line up from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You've got to be at least 21 and consider yourself strong-willed, outgoing, adventurous and adaptable. A background check also could be in the cards.
Bring along a photocopy of your driver's license or U.S. Passport, a passport-sized photo and a completed official application, which you can download here. Um, there's also a "Speed Pass" that will give you "priority consideration" at the auditions. Go here if you want one of those.
Ed Bark