Nov 2007
Nov. sweeps ratings odds & ends
11/30/07 01:54 PM
By ED BARK
Here are a few other Nielsen ratings results of note from the just-concluded November sweeps:
***The 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Fox's Good Day ran a close second to ABC's Good Morning America, but beat all three competing network a.m. shows among the two principal advertiser target audiences -- 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds.
***KUVN's Spanish language Noticias 23 newscast ran fourth in total homes at 10 p.m., edging Fox4's local newscast by one-tenth of a rating point (2,436 homes). But it jumped to second place among the 25-to-54-year-old news target audience, trailing only Belo8 and running slightly ahead of both NBC5 and CBS11.
***The competitive 9 to 10 a.m. weekday slot found CBS11's Rachael Ray on top in total homes, followed closely by the third hour of NBC's Today and Belo8's homegrown Good Morning Texas. But Today led the pack among 18-to-49-year-olds, the key advertiser demographic for entertainment programming. GMT slipped to fourth, behind Live with Regis & Kelly on Fox4 and RR.
***The Oprah Winfrey Show on Belo remained in first at 4 p.m., comfortably outpointing Fox4's syndicated Judge Judy in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds.
***At 6:30 p.m., Wheel of Fortune on CBS11 continued to roll in the total homes Nielsens, soundly beating runnerup Entertainment Tonight on Belo8. It was much closer among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Wheel nipping ET by a scant one-tenth of a rating point.
***The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric drew closer to the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams in the fight for second place at 5:30 p.m. among the three network newscasts. It trailed by just 17,049 total homes, with ABC's World News with Charles Gibson still the clear frontrunner.
Here are a few other Nielsen ratings results of note from the just-concluded November sweeps:
***The 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Fox's Good Day ran a close second to ABC's Good Morning America, but beat all three competing network a.m. shows among the two principal advertiser target audiences -- 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds.
***KUVN's Spanish language Noticias 23 newscast ran fourth in total homes at 10 p.m., edging Fox4's local newscast by one-tenth of a rating point (2,436 homes). But it jumped to second place among the 25-to-54-year-old news target audience, trailing only Belo8 and running slightly ahead of both NBC5 and CBS11.
***The competitive 9 to 10 a.m. weekday slot found CBS11's Rachael Ray on top in total homes, followed closely by the third hour of NBC's Today and Belo8's homegrown Good Morning Texas. But Today led the pack among 18-to-49-year-olds, the key advertiser demographic for entertainment programming. GMT slipped to fourth, behind Live with Regis & Kelly on Fox4 and RR.
***The Oprah Winfrey Show on Belo remained in first at 4 p.m., comfortably outpointing Fox4's syndicated Judge Judy in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds.
***At 6:30 p.m., Wheel of Fortune on CBS11 continued to roll in the total homes Nielsens, soundly beating runnerup Entertainment Tonight on Belo8. It was much closer among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Wheel nipping ET by a scant one-tenth of a rating point.
***The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric drew closer to the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams in the fight for second place at 5:30 p.m. among the three network newscasts. It trailed by just 17,049 total homes, with ABC's World News with Charles Gibson still the clear frontrunner.
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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Nov. 29)
11/30/07 09:35 AM
By ED BARK
D-FW football fans withstood announcer Bryant Gumbel and made a Goliath of MY27 Thursday night.
The station's simulcast of the NFL Network's Cowboys-Packers game averaged 815,739 total homes from start -- 7:17 p.m. -- to finish -- 10:32 p.m.
But wait, there's more. Nielsen Media Research numbers say that another 273,162 D-FW homes tuned to the NFL Network, which has limited distribution in this viewing area.
Those surprisingly robust numbers for NFL Network puts the grand total at 1,088,901, shattering the previous 2007 regular season record set by the Oct. 14th Cowboys-Patriots game on CBS (884,123 total homes). Wow.
(Note to readers: These are precise numbers calculated from the actual running time of the game, not the estimated running time on ratings printouts.)
Nothing stood a chance opposite Cowboys-Packers, including the local 10 p.m. newscasts. Airing directly opposite the game's closing half-hour, they drew roughly one-third their usual audiences.
Belo8 led with 90,117 total homes (its Nov. sweeps average was 248,432 homes), followed by CBS11 (68,197), Fox4 (51,148) and NBC5 (48,712).
The ABC station also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. That's small consolation when your newscast draws 61,835 of these viewers and the Cowboys amass 789,126 of 'em on MY27 alone from 10 to 10:30 p.m.
Belo8 also won at 6 a.m. in total homes on the day after the end of the November "sweeps" ratings period. Fox4 fired back by placing first with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The ABC station again ran the table in both measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
D-FW football fans withstood announcer Bryant Gumbel and made a Goliath of MY27 Thursday night.
The station's simulcast of the NFL Network's Cowboys-Packers game averaged 815,739 total homes from start -- 7:17 p.m. -- to finish -- 10:32 p.m.
But wait, there's more. Nielsen Media Research numbers say that another 273,162 D-FW homes tuned to the NFL Network, which has limited distribution in this viewing area.
Those surprisingly robust numbers for NFL Network puts the grand total at 1,088,901, shattering the previous 2007 regular season record set by the Oct. 14th Cowboys-Patriots game on CBS (884,123 total homes). Wow.
(Note to readers: These are precise numbers calculated from the actual running time of the game, not the estimated running time on ratings printouts.)
Nothing stood a chance opposite Cowboys-Packers, including the local 10 p.m. newscasts. Airing directly opposite the game's closing half-hour, they drew roughly one-third their usual audiences.
Belo8 led with 90,117 total homes (its Nov. sweeps average was 248,432 homes), followed by CBS11 (68,197), Fox4 (51,148) and NBC5 (48,712).
The ABC station also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. That's small consolation when your newscast draws 61,835 of these viewers and the Cowboys amass 789,126 of 'em on MY27 alone from 10 to 10:30 p.m.
Belo8 also won at 6 a.m. in total homes on the day after the end of the November "sweeps" ratings period. Fox4 fired back by placing first with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The ABC station again ran the table in both measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
Fielding a new D-FW All-Star team
11/29/07 01:26 PM
By ED BARK
It's time to put the neck in a noose and name another D-FW all-star team of anchors and reporters.
The first one is now a year old and in need of some updates. Choices are drawn from what unclebarky.com witnessed during 20 weeknights of watching the 10 p.m. newscasts on NBC5, Belo8 and CBS11, and the featured 9 p.m. program on Fox4.
Some reporters that might have made the team simply didn't show up enough on the late night newscasts. These choices are drawn from those who made at least three appearances during the November "sweeps." That allows the generally less frequently seen investigators to be a part of this.
You'll also notice a paucity of women in the reporting ranks. It's not sexism. It's just recognizing the best work. And men tend to get the lion's share of exposure on the four stations' marquee newscasts.
We'll also throw in a best-dressed anchor team, and a few other odds and ends. Your comments of course are welcome.
ANCHORS -- John McCaa (Belo8) and Karen Borta (CBS11)
McCaa is the steady, stabilizing force of his station's 10 p.m. newscasts. When the happy talk goes overboard, it's good to have a strong hand at the rudder. He's not without a sense of humor, but would rather be old-school than Animal House. He's also the guiding force behind the station's feel-good Gospel Jubilee competitions. An unpretentious, standup guy in a profession that doesn't prize these attributes as much as before.
Borta has matured into an assured, steady anchor with both presence and style. Her killer looks are part of the package, but this is no bimbo. She's come a long way in her 12 years at CBS11, surviving myriad format changes and news directors. It hasn't slowed her progress or dimmed her glow. Borta is better than she's ever been. And she was HD-ready from the start.
WEATHER AND SPORTS -- Dan Henry (Fox4) and Dale Hansen (Belo8)
Henry no doubt will be a surprise choice to many. But it's time he received some recognition as a thorough, personable prognosticator who never seems to stumble or call attention to himself. He knows his craft and translates it into the weather basics that viewers want. Watch him. He'll grow on you. And he's gone unheralded long enough.
Hansen is Hansen, and that can be a problem sometimes. But he's still the go-to guy for strong, straight-from-the-shoulder opinions. The almost nightly intercourse, um, discourse, with playmate weathercaster Pete Delkus is usually instigated by the latter. Hansen basically just plays along, and sometimes he shouldn't. His delivery is still without peer, though, and his viewpoints take no prisoners.
RUNNERSUP -- Steve Eagar (Fox4), Gloria Campos (Belo8), Pete Delkus (Belo8), Mike Doocy (Fox4)
REPORTING TEAM
Paul Adrian (Fox4) -- Outstanding fact-digger who excelled with lengthy, revealing reports on red light camera districts and disparate property valuations. Making that material come alive isn't easy. But Adrian is up to the task.
Jeff Crilley (Fox4) -- His soft-spoken narratives could double as lullabies. But he's almost always more thorough than his competitors when they share the same assignments. Antithesis of the projectile reporter.
Scott Gordon (NBC5) -- The veteran Night Ranger keeps his head down, prowls the pavement and makes the best of what he's given. He'll sometimes throw in a scoop, too, but seldom is given much time to really shine. Solid as a rock, though.
Randy McIlwain (NBC5) -- Largely new to the late night scene, McIlwain capably brings a bit of flair to his storytelling without shoving it in viewers' faces. His bird poop dispatch was a classic. He actually pulled off the line, "You don't know crap."
J.D. Miles (CBS11) -- Didn't get quite enough to do in November, but is always flawless in the field. Needs to get meatier in February, though.
Jason Overstreet (Fox4) -- An inventive and consistently interesting neighborhood reporter who generally manages to steer his way clear of crime and tragedy stories.
Brett Shipp (Belo8) -- Had a very eventful sweeps, with eye-opening, make-a-difference investigations of faulty natural gas pipe connections and alleged grade-fixing at South Oak Cliff High School. Has an outsized ego, but guts to match.
Janet St. James (Belo8) -- It wasn't her best sweeps, but St. James still ranks well above rival medical and health reporters. "Tree yoga's" not her style, though. Let's do better in February.
Honorable mentions -- Derek Castillo (NBC5); Jack Fink (CBS11); Saul Garza (Fox4); Jay Gormley (CBS11); George Riba (Belo8); Robert Riggs (CBS11).
LIGHTNING ROUND
Best newscast -- Belo8
Most valuable reporter -- Brett Shipp (Belo8)
Best dressed anchors -- News: John McCaa (Belo8), Karen Borta (CBS11). Weather: Pete Delkus (Belo8). Sports: Babe Laufenberg (CBS11).
Most promising newcomers -- Ellen Goldberg (NBC5), Nerissa Knight (CBS11)
Dumbest gimmick -- The "CBS11 City Cam"
Best gimmick -- Belo8's "Hansen Unplugged"
Most mentions of Wal-Mart -- Hands down, NBC5
Most overplayed story -- Duncanville's Cherry Pit "Swingers' Club"
Most brain cells destroyed in the line of duty -- unclebarky.com
It's time to put the neck in a noose and name another D-FW all-star team of anchors and reporters.
The first one is now a year old and in need of some updates. Choices are drawn from what unclebarky.com witnessed during 20 weeknights of watching the 10 p.m. newscasts on NBC5, Belo8 and CBS11, and the featured 9 p.m. program on Fox4.
Some reporters that might have made the team simply didn't show up enough on the late night newscasts. These choices are drawn from those who made at least three appearances during the November "sweeps." That allows the generally less frequently seen investigators to be a part of this.
You'll also notice a paucity of women in the reporting ranks. It's not sexism. It's just recognizing the best work. And men tend to get the lion's share of exposure on the four stations' marquee newscasts.
We'll also throw in a best-dressed anchor team, and a few other odds and ends. Your comments of course are welcome.
ANCHORS -- John McCaa (Belo8) and Karen Borta (CBS11)
McCaa is the steady, stabilizing force of his station's 10 p.m. newscasts. When the happy talk goes overboard, it's good to have a strong hand at the rudder. He's not without a sense of humor, but would rather be old-school than Animal House. He's also the guiding force behind the station's feel-good Gospel Jubilee competitions. An unpretentious, standup guy in a profession that doesn't prize these attributes as much as before.
Borta has matured into an assured, steady anchor with both presence and style. Her killer looks are part of the package, but this is no bimbo. She's come a long way in her 12 years at CBS11, surviving myriad format changes and news directors. It hasn't slowed her progress or dimmed her glow. Borta is better than she's ever been. And she was HD-ready from the start.
WEATHER AND SPORTS -- Dan Henry (Fox4) and Dale Hansen (Belo8)
Henry no doubt will be a surprise choice to many. But it's time he received some recognition as a thorough, personable prognosticator who never seems to stumble or call attention to himself. He knows his craft and translates it into the weather basics that viewers want. Watch him. He'll grow on you. And he's gone unheralded long enough.
Hansen is Hansen, and that can be a problem sometimes. But he's still the go-to guy for strong, straight-from-the-shoulder opinions. The almost nightly intercourse, um, discourse, with playmate weathercaster Pete Delkus is usually instigated by the latter. Hansen basically just plays along, and sometimes he shouldn't. His delivery is still without peer, though, and his viewpoints take no prisoners.
RUNNERSUP -- Steve Eagar (Fox4), Gloria Campos (Belo8), Pete Delkus (Belo8), Mike Doocy (Fox4)
REPORTING TEAM
Paul Adrian (Fox4) -- Outstanding fact-digger who excelled with lengthy, revealing reports on red light camera districts and disparate property valuations. Making that material come alive isn't easy. But Adrian is up to the task.
Jeff Crilley (Fox4) -- His soft-spoken narratives could double as lullabies. But he's almost always more thorough than his competitors when they share the same assignments. Antithesis of the projectile reporter.
Scott Gordon (NBC5) -- The veteran Night Ranger keeps his head down, prowls the pavement and makes the best of what he's given. He'll sometimes throw in a scoop, too, but seldom is given much time to really shine. Solid as a rock, though.
Randy McIlwain (NBC5) -- Largely new to the late night scene, McIlwain capably brings a bit of flair to his storytelling without shoving it in viewers' faces. His bird poop dispatch was a classic. He actually pulled off the line, "You don't know crap."
J.D. Miles (CBS11) -- Didn't get quite enough to do in November, but is always flawless in the field. Needs to get meatier in February, though.
Jason Overstreet (Fox4) -- An inventive and consistently interesting neighborhood reporter who generally manages to steer his way clear of crime and tragedy stories.
Brett Shipp (Belo8) -- Had a very eventful sweeps, with eye-opening, make-a-difference investigations of faulty natural gas pipe connections and alleged grade-fixing at South Oak Cliff High School. Has an outsized ego, but guts to match.
Janet St. James (Belo8) -- It wasn't her best sweeps, but St. James still ranks well above rival medical and health reporters. "Tree yoga's" not her style, though. Let's do better in February.
Honorable mentions -- Derek Castillo (NBC5); Jack Fink (CBS11); Saul Garza (Fox4); Jay Gormley (CBS11); George Riba (Belo8); Robert Riggs (CBS11).
LIGHTNING ROUND
Best newscast -- Belo8
Most valuable reporter -- Brett Shipp (Belo8)
Best dressed anchors -- News: John McCaa (Belo8), Karen Borta (CBS11). Weather: Pete Delkus (Belo8). Sports: Babe Laufenberg (CBS11).
Most promising newcomers -- Ellen Goldberg (NBC5), Nerissa Knight (CBS11)
Dumbest gimmick -- The "CBS11 City Cam"
Best gimmick -- Belo8's "Hansen Unplugged"
Most mentions of Wal-Mart -- Hands down, NBC5
Most overplayed story -- Duncanville's Cherry Pit "Swingers' Club"
Most brain cells destroyed in the line of duty -- unclebarky.com
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Final Nov. sweeps results)
11/29/07 09:34 AM
By ED BARK
Belo8 can toast itself; NBC5 can drown its sorrows.
CBS11 can point to significant signs of progress; Fox4 can still crow about the early mornings.
The final November sweeps newscast ratings are in, and Belo8 is a Colossus in the marquee 10 p.m. race.
Juiced by a big Tuesday night lead-in from ABC's Dancing with the Stars finale, Belo8 closed with a flourish to average a double-digit Nielsen rating (10.2) in routing No. 2 CBS11. A year ago, Belo8 finished a close second to NBC5 with an 8.5 rating.
Now the Peacock is de-feathered while Belo8 has accomplished something that wasn't thought possible anymore. Hitting for a double-figure average at 10 p.m. is a major achievement in these fragmented times. And we didn't even have any bonafide "arctic blasts" to boost those numbers.
CBS11 knocked previously dominant NBC5 into a distant third place in the 10 p.m. total homes race. It also came within a hair of taking second place among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In year-to-year performance, the Peacock also fell from first to third at 6 a.m.
Fox4, the early morning runnerup a year ago, reclaimed both top spots while Belo8 climbed from third to second. NBC5's major audience losses helped to put CBS11 within shouting distance of third place in the early mornings.
Belo8 had comfortable twin wins at 5 and 6 p.m., replicating its performance from a year ago. It was the only station to increase its audience year-to-year in all four newscast battle zones. NBC5, in contrast, took frightening plunges at 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Or as the station's newscasts say almost every night: "Very scary."
Here are the November sweeps results in the four major local newscast time slots, with year-to-year plusses or minuses in parentheses. (Note: there's been some ratings inflation since November, 2006. Each rating point now is worth 24,356 total homes, compared to 23,800 last year. And in the key 25-to-54 demo, a rating point now equals 29,445 viewers, up from 28,700.)
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 248,431 (+41,371)
CBS11 -- 177,799 (+27,859)
NBC5 -- 138,829 (-68,231)
Fox4 -- 97,424 (-156)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 173,726 (+40,857)
NBC5 -- 103,058 (-63,735)
CBS11 -- 100,113 (+18,130)
Fox4 -- 61,835 (-3,186)
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 107,166 (+4,826)
Belo8 -- 97,424 (+14,124)
NBC5 -- 68,197 (-46,043)
CBS11 -- 41,405 (-1,435)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 73,613 (+11,419)
Belo8 -- 58,890 (+8,004)
NBC5 -- 38,279 (-29,569)
CBS11 -- 23,556 (-1,887)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 172,928 (+25,368)
CBS11 -- 107,166 (-30,874)
NBC5 -- 99,860 (-14,380)
Fox4 -- 90,117 (-16,983)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 85,391 (+20,370)
NBC5 -- 58,890 (-477)
Fox4 -- 53,001 (-26,155)
CBS11 -- 35,334 (-15,552)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 155,878 (+8,318)
Fox4 -- 99,860 (+4,660)
NBC5 -- 87,682 (-24,178)
CBS11 -- 73,068 (-3,092)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 76,557 (+8,709)
NBC5 -- 50,057 (-6,483)
Fox4 -- 44,168 (-3,891)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (+3,265)
Belo8 can toast itself; NBC5 can drown its sorrows.
CBS11 can point to significant signs of progress; Fox4 can still crow about the early mornings.
The final November sweeps newscast ratings are in, and Belo8 is a Colossus in the marquee 10 p.m. race.
Juiced by a big Tuesday night lead-in from ABC's Dancing with the Stars finale, Belo8 closed with a flourish to average a double-digit Nielsen rating (10.2) in routing No. 2 CBS11. A year ago, Belo8 finished a close second to NBC5 with an 8.5 rating.
Now the Peacock is de-feathered while Belo8 has accomplished something that wasn't thought possible anymore. Hitting for a double-figure average at 10 p.m. is a major achievement in these fragmented times. And we didn't even have any bonafide "arctic blasts" to boost those numbers.
CBS11 knocked previously dominant NBC5 into a distant third place in the 10 p.m. total homes race. It also came within a hair of taking second place among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In year-to-year performance, the Peacock also fell from first to third at 6 a.m.
Fox4, the early morning runnerup a year ago, reclaimed both top spots while Belo8 climbed from third to second. NBC5's major audience losses helped to put CBS11 within shouting distance of third place in the early mornings.
Belo8 had comfortable twin wins at 5 and 6 p.m., replicating its performance from a year ago. It was the only station to increase its audience year-to-year in all four newscast battle zones. NBC5, in contrast, took frightening plunges at 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Or as the station's newscasts say almost every night: "Very scary."
Here are the November sweeps results in the four major local newscast time slots, with year-to-year plusses or minuses in parentheses. (Note: there's been some ratings inflation since November, 2006. Each rating point now is worth 24,356 total homes, compared to 23,800 last year. And in the key 25-to-54 demo, a rating point now equals 29,445 viewers, up from 28,700.)
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 248,431 (+41,371)
CBS11 -- 177,799 (+27,859)
NBC5 -- 138,829 (-68,231)
Fox4 -- 97,424 (-156)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 173,726 (+40,857)
NBC5 -- 103,058 (-63,735)
CBS11 -- 100,113 (+18,130)
Fox4 -- 61,835 (-3,186)
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 107,166 (+4,826)
Belo8 -- 97,424 (+14,124)
NBC5 -- 68,197 (-46,043)
CBS11 -- 41,405 (-1,435)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 73,613 (+11,419)
Belo8 -- 58,890 (+8,004)
NBC5 -- 38,279 (-29,569)
CBS11 -- 23,556 (-1,887)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 172,928 (+25,368)
CBS11 -- 107,166 (-30,874)
NBC5 -- 99,860 (-14,380)
Fox4 -- 90,117 (-16,983)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 85,391 (+20,370)
NBC5 -- 58,890 (-477)
Fox4 -- 53,001 (-26,155)
CBS11 -- 35,334 (-15,552)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 155,878 (+8,318)
Fox4 -- 99,860 (+4,660)
NBC5 -- 87,682 (-24,178)
CBS11 -- 73,068 (-3,092)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 76,557 (+8,709)
NBC5 -- 50,057 (-6,483)
Fox4 -- 44,168 (-3,891)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (+3,265)
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., Nov. 27)
11/28/07 12:36 PM
By ED BARK
"Denture Danger" -- Belo8
"You're hunting for good bargains, but you'll also be hunted at the same time." -- NBC5
"Shopping Center Shoot-out -- Images you'll see only on Fox4."
"You should be on high alert when you exit or enter your home." -- CBS11
And that was the good news.
There's seldom a shortage of crime, tragedy or dire consequences on any day's batch of late night D-FW newscasts. Still, Tuesday proved especially dispiriting, particularly to your faithful, obviously masochistic chronicler of all four stations' November "sweeps" offerings.
NBC5 anchor Mike Snyder did say it was OK, though, to eat "one or two Christmas cookies" without contracting the ugly wrinkles that sugar can cause. Thanks for that at least.
Some crime news obviously has to be reported. Some warnings should be issued. Some cautions should be taken. But Tuesday's late nighters collectively beat this viewer into mushy pulp, which by the way is known to cause baldness in laboratory rats.
NBC5 and CBS11 both led with hospital bed interviews of a 45-year-old woman who was attacked by two sub-humans while she bicycled along Katy Trail.
"They were actually beating me up, and enjoying it," the woman told both stations.
The Peacock next offered a "Golfers Attacked" brief while CBS11 segued to an elderly Fort Worth couple's tale about being mugged in their driveway. That's where the aforementioned "high alert" police safety tip came in.
Before teasing its exclusive "Shopping Center Shoot-out" surveillance video, Fox4 bragged about being "the only ones there" when a serial burglar named Corey Lee Caldwell was brought to jail. He fittingly was apprehended at an adult book store. Class act.
Belo8 medical reporter Janet St. James gave false teeth-wearers pause with a "Denture Paste Poison?" piece on how some stickums can cause nerve damage via their zinc toxicity. A poor old guy now getting around with a walker was submitted as evidence.
Earlier, Belo8's Shelly Slater made "some frightening finds" in the words of co-anchor Gloria Campos. Made-in-China children's jewelry available at several prominent retailers contains super-high concentrations of lead, Slater reported. A Sam Moon Santa pin had 730 times the allowed amount, according to a tester deployed by Belo8.
"Oh my gosh. So what does that mean?" a mom asked. It supposedly means that your kid could get really sick.
NBC5 offered a "Health Alert" on Tamiflu, which in very rare cases can be linked to "psychotic behavior" in children. Then came the sugar consumption scare followed by Scott Friedman's report on the perils of Christmas shopping at area malls. A security expert advised "hunted" consumers to drive to different parts of parking lots if they intend to resume shopping after putting their purchases in car trunks. Has it really come to that?
All four stations ganged up on the tragic death of a construction worker who was run down and killed by a conscience-less SUV driver. His grieving family rightfully demanded justice while cameras caught them in closeup.
NBC5 offered a charming update on the "Scarecrow Bandits," so dubbed because they wear floppy hats and flannel shirts during robberies.
Fox4 and Belo8 had briefs on a new Web site called bandittracker.com. CBS11's Bennett Cunningham had another followup on the potential dangers of the anti-smoking drug Chantix, being marketed as Champix in the United Kingdom. The station also reported on the alleged molestation of a four-year-old child by a teacher. And so on.
Watching all four newscasts, one after the other, obviously isn't the way most people experience the nightly goings-on at Fox4, NBC5, Belo8 and CBS11. Still, it's instructive. Crime, tragedy and consumer scares can't entirely be dealt out of any newscast. But they shouldn't be virtually the only games in town. On Tuesday night, though, that's pretty much the way it was.
THIS AND THAT
***Belo8 investigator Brett Shipp advanced his earlier exclusive on cheating allegations at South Oak Cliff High School. Those who reflexively doubted his story's validity should be persuaded otherwise by an open letter to DISD officials from the former English teacher of basketball star Kendrake Johnigan.
The teacher, John Yourse, said he was coerced by then school principal Donald Moten into fixing Johnigan's failing grade "for the sake of the school." The upgrade, from a 50 to a 73, enabled Johnigan to compete in the 2006 basketball playoffs and help lead South Oak Cliff to its second straight state championship.
This was very gutty reporting on Shipp's part, and he's taken plenty of heat for it. But his story seems ironclad at this point.
***Another ace investigator, Fox4's Paul Adrian, concluded his lengthy and very informative two-part report on wide variations in property valuations. The stakes are high if you're a homeowner experiencing inexplicable major hikes in your taxes.
Adrian was bracingly fair to all sides. And his thorough job on an important issue shows what can be accomplished when stations are willing to invest in time-consuming, meritorious, non-showy storytelling.
***CBS11 newcomer Nerissa Knight is the latest reporter to draw the short straw in the station's newly aggressive efforts to pander to women viewers. Her Tuesday night report on "hand beautification" at least played better than recent stories on cellulite-fighting soap and vaginal makeovers.
Still, who can afford this crap? A typical hand job costs $1,800 and isn't covered by insurance. In return you lose a few wrinkles. Let's get real.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Nov. 27)
11/28/07 09:16 AM
By ED BARK
Belo8 piled on the ratings points Tuesday night, running up the biggest 10 p.m. newscast score of the year.
Exiting a minute early from ABC's two-hour Dancing with the Stars finale, Belo8 had a mega 16.9 Nielsen rating for its next-to-last late night November "sweeps" newscast. That equals 411,616 total D-FW homes, nearly triple the number for the nearest competitor.
For the record, NBC5 (141,265 homes), Fox4 (133,958 homes) and CBS11 (129,087 homes) finished in a virtual three-way tie for a very distant second place.
Dancing had the night's biggest haul, amassing 455,457 homes in more than doubling the crowd for any network competitor. The finale peaked in its final 15 minutes, when more than a half-million homes -- 511,476 -- tuned to the sight of Indy 500 race car champ Helio Castroneves jumping up and down with the show's trademark mirror ball trophy.
ABC's preceding A Charlie Brown Christmas also did pretty well, drawing 194,848 homes in finishing second to CBS' competing NCIS. Chuck won his time period among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, though.
Belo8's other main newscasts very nearly rolled up a second clean-cut double grand slam this month.
The ABC station won at 6 a.m. and at 5 and 6 p.m. in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. But it had to settle for a 6 a.m. tie with Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demo. The latter station's Good Day will take the overall sweeps crowns in both ratings measurements, though, with Belo8 a very competitive second.
Belo8 piled on the ratings points Tuesday night, running up the biggest 10 p.m. newscast score of the year.
Exiting a minute early from ABC's two-hour Dancing with the Stars finale, Belo8 had a mega 16.9 Nielsen rating for its next-to-last late night November "sweeps" newscast. That equals 411,616 total D-FW homes, nearly triple the number for the nearest competitor.
For the record, NBC5 (141,265 homes), Fox4 (133,958 homes) and CBS11 (129,087 homes) finished in a virtual three-way tie for a very distant second place.
Dancing had the night's biggest haul, amassing 455,457 homes in more than doubling the crowd for any network competitor. The finale peaked in its final 15 minutes, when more than a half-million homes -- 511,476 -- tuned to the sight of Indy 500 race car champ Helio Castroneves jumping up and down with the show's trademark mirror ball trophy.
ABC's preceding A Charlie Brown Christmas also did pretty well, drawing 194,848 homes in finishing second to CBS' competing NCIS. Chuck won his time period among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, though.
Belo8's other main newscasts very nearly rolled up a second clean-cut double grand slam this month.
The ABC station won at 6 a.m. and at 5 and 6 p.m. in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. But it had to settle for a 6 a.m. tie with Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demo. The latter station's Good Day will take the overall sweeps crowns in both ratings measurements, though, with Belo8 a very competitive second.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Mon., Nov. 26)
11/27/07 02:30 PM
By ED BARK
Belo8 continues to thump once-dominant NBC5 in the 10 p.m. Nielsen ratings. So it shouldn't have to recycle some of the Peacock's earlier stories. Perhaps they thought no one was watching? Alas, that's what they don't pay unclebarky.com to do.
The ABC station led Monday's late nighter with claims of exclusivity that simply weren't accurate. Later in the broadcast, Belo8 glommed onto a health story that NBC5 likewise had done much earlier in the November "sweeps." Here's a regress report.
Belo8 anchor Gloria Campos began the newscast by teasing a followup to the brutal purse snatching and beating earlier this month of elementary school teacher Sheryl Walsh. She was accosted in the Tom Thumb grocery store parking lot at Preston and Beltline, and remains hospitalized.
"Police say the purse snatchers have struck before, and only News 8 knows where," Campos told viewers.
Co-anchor John McCaa added, "You'll only hear this information on News 8."
Reporter Rebecca Lopez then said that surveillance pictures taken at the Mockingbird and Abrams Tom Thumb show what seems to be the same black SUV leaving the scene of a purse snatching that occurred five days before Walsh was assaulted. Police think the two crimes might be connected. No other D-FW station supposedly had this alleged scoop.
In fact, NBC5 newcomer Ellen Goldberg reported this information a week earlier on the station's 10 p.m. newscast. At the end of her Walsh followup, she said police were investigating a similar crime -- by perhaps the same assailant -- at the Mockingbird and Abrams Tom Thumb. Goldberg said police also believed that a purse snatching at a Mesquite Albertson's store likewise may have had the same perpetrator. As evidence, she showed viewers surveillance cam pictures of the black SUV.
Any and all efforts to catch the pig who's committing these crimes should be applauded. But Belo8 erred in claiming that it alone had advanced the story.
Later in the newscast, medical reporter Janet St. James tested a calorie-counting contraption called the Body Bugg. It costs more than $300 and you strap it to your arm as an aid to losing weight.
St. James said she didn't like wearing the Body Bugg. Or as she put it, "Like excess weight, I couldn't wait to lose it."
Another woman loved the thing, though, leaving viewers to decide for themselves at the end of St. James' report.
She didn't claim any exclusivity. But let the record show that another NBC5 newcomer, Lindsay Wilcox, had a less critical Body Bugg story way back on Nov. 8th.
James usually is much better than that, but she's had a notably sub-par November. An earlier piece on tree yoga made her look like a sap. And a story about a pricey, low-fat catering service played more like a spoon-fed infomercial.
James hasn't yet resorted, though, to a story on "vaginal rejuvenation." But CBS11's Monday night piece did have an indirect Belo8 connection.
Reporter Kimberly Ball interviewed one of D-FW's most prominent practitioners, Dr. Wesley Anne Brady. Her vaginal tuneups, she said, make women feel "just sexier, more feminine and just more attractive and confident in themselves."
Dr. Brady is the wife of Belo8 anchor Jeff Brady, which Ball of course didn't mention. His salary just might be peanuts compared to the reported $5,000 to $8,000 his wife charges for each vaginal makeover.
It also should be noted that new CBS11 assistant news director Sarah Garza, formerly of both Belo8 and Fox4, is a big believer in stories aimed directly at female viewers. They just happen to watch newscasts in appreciably greater numbers than men, according to Nielsen Media Research statistics.
In the end Ball's report wasn't nearly as salacious as her station's promotions. Co-anchor Doug Dunbar steered clear of any verbalizing Monday night, teasing a pair of upcoming stories before adding, "Plus." Viewers then were treated to video of a young woman whispering to another while a narrator cautioned, "Shhh, don't talk about it out loud. But many North Texas women have found a new way to change their sex lives for the better."
Accompanying horn music sounded like the mood-setter at Vinny VaVoom's Triple X Chalet. But hey, that's sweeps.
THIS AND THAT
***Fox4 investigator Paul Adrian, one of D-FW's very best, had a thorough and revealing look at a wide range of puzzling home appraisals. Such reporting obviously isn't very "visual," but Adrian again made his painstaking efforts come alive. He also talked to the Dallas Central Appraisal District's head man, Ken Nolan, who made a game effort to explain the discrepancies.
Adrian's reporting isn't flashy but it's definitely on the mark. Viewers invariably are well-served by his sleuthing. He gets at big issues of genuine import, as he did earlier this November with a lengthy piece on the questionable signal timing at red light camera intersections. Is he an endangered species, though? Probably.
***Veteran D-FW street reporters Jeff Crilley (Fox4) and Scott Gordon (NBC5) reported live from a heavily attended candlelight vigil for two high school students from The Colony who died in a weekend car wreck. Each invariably can be counted on to handle such stories with grace and sensitivity. And that they did. Belo8 and CBS11 offered only brief, anchor-narrated video.
***CBS11 had the night's big blooper, courtesy of reporter Katherine Blake. She led the newscast with a piece on the alleged attempted kidnapping of a Fort Worth child.
It didn't merit such prominent play, but Blake made her dispatch memorable after anchor Dunbar said, "CBS11's Katherine Blake (is) live there tonight with the rest of this story."
Blake then asked, "Are we still in the program before us?"
Um, no. CSI: Miami already was over and out.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Nov. 26)
11/27/07 11:26 AM
By ED BARK
Not that you didn't know this, but football is king in D-FW.
So much so that ESPN's virtually scoreless Monday night mudbath between the winless Miami Dolphins and underachieving Pittsburgh Steelers managed to outscore all of the 10 p.m. local newscasts. By the way, Pittsburgh won 3-0 on a last-second field goal.
The game's closing half-hour, from 10 to 10:30 p.m., drew 265,480 total homes. Belo8's otherwise No. 1-rated 10 p.m. news program had 228,946 homes in whipping runnerup CBS11 (180,234 homes) and also-rans NBC5 (112,038 homes) and Fox4 (63,326 homes).
Monday's top draw, the fifth season's final performance edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, amassed 372,647 homes before the network's sliding scale of Samantha Who? (226,511 homes), Notes From the Underbelly (160,750 homes) and October Road (138,830 homes).
Road was rutted at 9 p.m. by CBS' potent CSI: Miami, the night's No. 2 ratings performer with 304,450 homes.
In the local news wars, Belo8 also won easily at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5's No. 2 finish in that demographic pretty much ended CBS11's hopes of catching the Peacock with just two nights remaining in the November "sweeps." CBS11 will be a solid No. 2 in total homes, though, with NBC5 dropping from first to third in a year's time.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 in turn ended Belo8's faint hopes of catching it in either ratings measurement. The station's Good Day triumphed Monday in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. Even a larger than usual tune-in for Daybreak co-anchor Jackie Hyland's Wednesday goodbye won't be enough to change the order of finish.
Belo8's newscasts again ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m.
In other sports ratings, the Dallas Mavericks' third consecutive loss drew just 48,712 homes to Fox Sports Southwest. The Dallas Stars' sixth consecutive win averaged a sub-puny 14,614 homes on MY27. Thursday's Cowboys-Packers game on MY27 is sure to draw at least 50 times that audience. Unclebarky.com will be a proud co-sponsor -- in my dreams.
Not that you didn't know this, but football is king in D-FW.
So much so that ESPN's virtually scoreless Monday night mudbath between the winless Miami Dolphins and underachieving Pittsburgh Steelers managed to outscore all of the 10 p.m. local newscasts. By the way, Pittsburgh won 3-0 on a last-second field goal.
The game's closing half-hour, from 10 to 10:30 p.m., drew 265,480 total homes. Belo8's otherwise No. 1-rated 10 p.m. news program had 228,946 homes in whipping runnerup CBS11 (180,234 homes) and also-rans NBC5 (112,038 homes) and Fox4 (63,326 homes).
Monday's top draw, the fifth season's final performance edition of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, amassed 372,647 homes before the network's sliding scale of Samantha Who? (226,511 homes), Notes From the Underbelly (160,750 homes) and October Road (138,830 homes).
Road was rutted at 9 p.m. by CBS' potent CSI: Miami, the night's No. 2 ratings performer with 304,450 homes.
In the local news wars, Belo8 also won easily at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5's No. 2 finish in that demographic pretty much ended CBS11's hopes of catching the Peacock with just two nights remaining in the November "sweeps." CBS11 will be a solid No. 2 in total homes, though, with NBC5 dropping from first to third in a year's time.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 in turn ended Belo8's faint hopes of catching it in either ratings measurement. The station's Good Day triumphed Monday in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. Even a larger than usual tune-in for Daybreak co-anchor Jackie Hyland's Wednesday goodbye won't be enough to change the order of finish.
Belo8's newscasts again ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m.
In other sports ratings, the Dallas Mavericks' third consecutive loss drew just 48,712 homes to Fox Sports Southwest. The Dallas Stars' sixth consecutive win averaged a sub-puny 14,614 homes on MY27. Thursday's Cowboys-Packers game on MY27 is sure to draw at least 50 times that audience. Unclebarky.com will be a proud co-sponsor -- in my dreams.
This just in: nights in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Wed.-Fri., Nov. 21-23)
11/26/07 11:20 AM
By ED BARK
CBS11's 10 p.m. newscasts are significantly improved in these post-Regent Ducas times.
One thing he didn't do, though, is pander to women viewers, who watch news programming in significantly larger numbers than men. Ducas, who lasted five months as CBS11's news director, instead was too intent on stocking his shelves with "urgent" crime and tragedy reports.
"You're not going to see a lot of diet-oriented stories in the second quarter-hour. Absolutely not," Ducas told unclebarky.com early in a regime that ended with his abrupt firing in early September. "If that's the magic to success, then I'm not going to try to beat 'em at their game. I'm a big believer that solid, topical news is going to drive viewership. I'm just not into tailoring news."
His successors, news director Scott Diener and newly hired assistant news director Sarah Garza, clearly have gone to the tailor shop. Earlier in the November "sweeps," anchor/reporter Tracy Kornet narrated a canned story titled "The Sex Diet."
Pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday brought anchor/reporter Maria Arita's less than skin deep, 10 p.m. piece on Butt-u-Tiful, a cellulite-fighting, coffee grounds-based concoction being marketed out of Flower Mound.
Two women tested the pricey product -- $42.95 for a month's supply -- by lathering their legs in a shower for four consecutive days. One user's thighs supposedly went from a 26-inch to a 25-inch circumference. She jumped up and down with unbridled glee while Arita watched approvingly.
This is all mere foreplay, though. On Monday's 10 p.m. CBS11 newscast, look for -- or not -- an already heavily promoted piece on how women can make their va-jay-jays a better fit for Mr. Excitement. Now that's "Coverage You Can Count On," ladies.
Belo8 and NBC5 already are old hands at sugaring the second halves of their newscasts with news women supposedly can use. This generally falls into the categories of miracle diets or miracle cosmetic cures. Cellulite long has ruled this particular roost, with unsightly wrinkles also a popular passtime. Only Fox4 pretty much stays off this playing field. But they're not even in HD yet, so whadda they know?
What you won't see on your 10 p.m. newscasts are stories about D-FW's best sports bars, or tips on how to pick your nose discreetly. Men don't count for much in the grand newscast scheme of things, and here's why. In the key newscast target audience -- 25-to-54-year-olds -- look at the combined average audiences for the 10 p.m. news through 17 weeknights of the November "sweeps," which end on Wednesday:
Women 25-to-54 -- 256,573 (each Nielsen rating point equals 14,578 women in this age group)
Men 25-to-54 -- 173,944 (each rating point equals 14,867 men in this age group)
All four major news providers draw more women than men at 10 p.m., with Belo8 flexing the biggest gender gap. Its late night newscasts average 102,046 women and 63,928 men.
The Wednesday-Friday newscasts otherwise were relatively tame, with many of the first-team anchors taking time off. It all revs up again on Monday, even though the orders of finish are pretty much determined in the four major newscast battle zones. For the particulars, scroll down on this page to our latest ratings report.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Sun., Nov. 21-25)
11/26/07 11:20 AM
By ED BARK
Just three weeknights remain in the November "sweeps," with only one big battle still in the balance.
That's the fight for second place at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5 is clinging to a thin two-tenths of a rating point lead over CBS11, but the latter station can count on big lead-ins Monday and Wednesday nights from CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. So the Peacock will have to score big with Tuesday night's Law & Order: SVU, a solid bet to whomp CBS' ratings-deficient Cane.
Belo8 otherwise will score decisive wins at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. And Fox4 will turn back a strong challenge from Belo8 at 6 a.m..
NBC5, which ran the table at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. last November, has been out of those races throughout these sweeps. It will be the Peacock's most dismal ratings performance in this century. More on this in our complete sweeps report this Thursday.
Gamesmanship otherwise dominated the Thanksgiving period, and that's not just football. NBC5 "threw out" all of its local newscasts from Wednesday to Friday, which is allowed by Nielsen during holiday periods. None of those ratings will be figured into the final sweeps averages.
Belo8 counted only Wednesday's 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, where it won across the board.
CBS11 counted all of its Wednesday newscasts, and also its Thanksgiving, 10 p.m. entry, where it placed first in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox 4 threw out all of its Good Day hours for the three-day period, but otherwise counted its 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Wednesday, and its 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts on Friday.
Thanksgiving's big attraction, the Cowboys rout of the Jets, averaged a relatively lowly 616,207 homes on CBS11. That makes it the least-watched game of the regular season, "surpassing" the Sept. 16th Cowboys-Dolphins faceoff on Fox (625,949 homes).
Green Bay's earlier Thanksgiving Day win over Detroit drew 348,291 homes on Fox4. Now comes the battle of the titans Thursday, with MY27 the broadcast beneficiary in D-FW on a game that otherwise belongs to cable's still fledgling NFL Network.
Still warring with Time Warner and Comcast, the NFL Network remains largely invisible to the country at large. But league rules require a game to be shown on free TV in the two teams' home markets. So MY27, sister station of Fox4, will be cashing in big-time when the two 10-1 teams clash Thursday night.
One more pro football note: The down-to-the-wire New England-Philadelphia game on NBC's Sunday Night Football averaged a robust 433,537 homes to beat everything in its path, including a first run episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives.
Just three weeknights remain in the November "sweeps," with only one big battle still in the balance.
That's the fight for second place at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5 is clinging to a thin two-tenths of a rating point lead over CBS11, but the latter station can count on big lead-ins Monday and Wednesday nights from CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. So the Peacock will have to score big with Tuesday night's Law & Order: SVU, a solid bet to whomp CBS' ratings-deficient Cane.
Belo8 otherwise will score decisive wins at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. And Fox4 will turn back a strong challenge from Belo8 at 6 a.m..
NBC5, which ran the table at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. last November, has been out of those races throughout these sweeps. It will be the Peacock's most dismal ratings performance in this century. More on this in our complete sweeps report this Thursday.
Gamesmanship otherwise dominated the Thanksgiving period, and that's not just football. NBC5 "threw out" all of its local newscasts from Wednesday to Friday, which is allowed by Nielsen during holiday periods. None of those ratings will be figured into the final sweeps averages.
Belo8 counted only Wednesday's 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, where it won across the board.
CBS11 counted all of its Wednesday newscasts, and also its Thanksgiving, 10 p.m. entry, where it placed first in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox 4 threw out all of its Good Day hours for the three-day period, but otherwise counted its 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Wednesday, and its 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts on Friday.
Thanksgiving's big attraction, the Cowboys rout of the Jets, averaged a relatively lowly 616,207 homes on CBS11. That makes it the least-watched game of the regular season, "surpassing" the Sept. 16th Cowboys-Dolphins faceoff on Fox (625,949 homes).
Green Bay's earlier Thanksgiving Day win over Detroit drew 348,291 homes on Fox4. Now comes the battle of the titans Thursday, with MY27 the broadcast beneficiary in D-FW on a game that otherwise belongs to cable's still fledgling NFL Network.
Still warring with Time Warner and Comcast, the NFL Network remains largely invisible to the country at large. But league rules require a game to be shown on free TV in the two teams' home markets. So MY27, sister station of Fox4, will be cashing in big-time when the two 10-1 teams clash Thursday night.
One more pro football note: The down-to-the-wire New England-Philadelphia game on NBC's Sunday Night Football averaged a robust 433,537 homes to beat everything in its path, including a first run episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., Nov. 20)
11/21/07 12:29 PM
Contrary to what some people might think, aggressive investigative reporting often is a gut-churning experience -- and not for just those under fire.
Bulldogs such as Belo8's Brett Shipp must confront the targets of their stories, often with unpleasant results. They're called names, denied access, and branded as ambushers or grandstanders. And if your investigation targets people of color, return charges of racism invariably come your way.
Shipp no doubt is taking ample heat today for his Tuesday night investigation of South Oak Cliff's 2006 state basketball championship team. School records obtained by Belo8 indicate that one of the team's star players, Kendrake Johnigan, should have been bounced from the team for failing an English class, Shipp asserted. And if that's the case, then the basketball powerhouse's 2006 title also is in danger of being forfeited under the state's "No Pass, No Play" edict, he said.
Johnigan, who received his high school diploma, now is a member of Eastfield Junior College's basketball team. "I had the class, but I didn't know I had the class," he told Shipp of the English course that he was dropped from but later somehow passed.
Shipp also talked to Johnigan's coach, James Mays II, at the South Oak Cliff gym. Mays said he had signed the document transferring Johnigan from English III to a physical education course. Shortly before the state championship game, Johnigan also was assigned to bring up his grade -- from 50 -- in an after-school "reconnect class."
Mays balked at further questions, asking Shipp, "Have you guys got permission?"
The reporter then fired a parting shot while being escorted from the school. "Sir, did you cheat to win a state championship?" Shipp asked.
"I don't never cheat," Mays replied. "No sir, I never cheat . . . Talk to our principal, OK?"
Regina Jones is the current principal. But her predecessor, Donald Moten, is the one who signed off on Johnigan's rather magical passing grade of 73. Belo8 investigated Moten in May 2006 for alleged grade-changing, with footage showing him refusing to talk to the station. Shipp told viewers that Moten "has yet to respond" to Belo8's requests for a followup interview on the Johnigan situation.
Shipp's investigations have won a number of major awards over the years. He generally has his facts straight before sticking his neck out. And this latest expose is one of the more volatile he's ever undertaken.
Part 2 of his report will air on Wednesday's 10 p.m. newscast, Shipp told viewers. Sports anchor Dale Hansen also said he'll go "Unplugged" on the matter -- and in support of Shipp's reporting.
Meanwhile, DISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa, in attendance when South Oak Cliff won the 2006 state title, is promising a full investigation based on Belo8's findings.
One could argue that Shipp and Belo8 should simply let bygones be bygones rather than open what could be a gaping wound to South Oak Cliff's basketball program. That would have been a far easier path than the one they're taking. And it's hoped that Shipp and Belo8 would show the same zeal in investigating a predominantly white high school.
Still, facts are facts, wrong is wrong, and the case against South Oak Cliff seems to be pretty damning. None of this is pretty, though. And whatever the school, all of it is a shame.
In contrast, another school story, by Fox4's Lynn Kawano, may have been the most nonsensical of the ongoing November sweeps.
Her "Haircut Hassle" piece focused on a five-year-old kid who's showing his support for the Dallas Cowboys by having a star cut on the top of his otherwise shaved head. His Richland school says that violates policy. So the pint-sized fan, still two years shy of the age of reason, can't return to class until his hair conforms to code. That's perfectly sensible, right?
Enter the kid's ridiculous father, who told Kawano, "I don't particularly care for the look of the haircut myself, but he has the right of individuality and to present himself just like anybody else does. And I'm not gonna let the school dictate that."
This guy apparently hasn't read "Parenting for Dummies" yet. By his rational, the kid could attended classes naked in the further interest of expressing his "individuality." Or maybe he'd like to punch ol' Dad in the gut whenever he pleases. After all, you don't want to inhibit a five-year-old kid's freedom of choice. How the hell did this "story" ever make the air?
Fox4 investigator Becky Oliver had a firmer grip on reality with her "Veterans Care Crisis" probe into alleged abuses at North Texas VA hospitals. She buttered it a bit thick for starters, though, telling viewers, "They risked their lives for our country. Making sacrifices. Defending freedom -- all over the world. But their enemy is no longer on the battlefield. To these vets and their families, it's at North Texas VA hospitals."
It is truly sad the way some aging veterans are treated. Unfortunately, these VA hospital malpractice stories are getting to be a dime a dozen. Or as vet Sam Dillard told Oliver, "The care I got at the VA is 'Don't care'."
As a veteran myself (1967-'70, U.S. Marines), let me say this. I wouldn't go to a VA hospital if my life depended on it. Oliver's investigation, scheduled to continue Wednesday night, only underscores the glaringly and tragically obvious. And the lawsuits filed by some of these aggrieved veterans aren't going to change that.
THIS AND THAT
***These spaces are usually critical of NBC5's bottom-scraping brand of news coverage. But Tuesday's 10 p.m. show actually hit a few high notes.
Reporter Scott Friedman followed up on last week's piece on GM pickups and SUVs with faulty speedometers. Other motorists have contacted the station with their complaints, and they seem legitimate. The problem is with some 2003 and 2004 models, and the maker has offered free repairs for vehicles with mileage of less than 70,000. But there's been no recall, Friedman reported, because GM doesn't consider broken speedometers to be a "safety concern." Say what?
***NBC5's reliable Randy McIlwain had the night's best report on the dump truck nail spill that shut down a stretch of I-75 near Anna during rush hour Tuesday. McIlwain reported live from the scene, telling viewers that the road only recently had re-opened. In contrast, Fox4's Jason Overstreet reported live via telephone. Belo8 offered a brief, reporter-less blip and CBS11 had no coverage at all on its 10 p.m. newscast.
***Grant Stinchfield, also of NBC5, had an interesting story on the Dallas police department's disinterest in investigating roughly 70 percnt of property theft crimes. "There's no use in wasting time and resources on a case that we know we can't solve," said Dallas police Lt. Vernon Hale.
***All four stations led their newscasts with weather briefs on Wednesday's incoming cold front. CBS11's Kristine Kahanek had the best way of putting it: "Get your winter woolies ready."
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Nov. 20)
11/21/07 09:05 AM
By ED BARK
Belo8 quick-stepped to another 10 p.m. news ratings win Tuesday while ABC's Dancing with the Stars results show again ruled the prime-time universe.
The bigger news at 10 p.m., though, is the clear rejection of NBC5's once dominant newscast, which had the night's biggest network lead-in. Here's the telling tale of the tape in the total homes measurement:
Lead-in (9:45 to 10 p.m.): The Bachelor: After the Final Rose -- 238,689 homes
Belo8 news -- 245,996 homes
Lead-in: Law & Order: SVU -- 263,045 homes
NBC5 news -- 170,492 homes
Lead-in: Cane -- 131,522 homes
CBS11 news -- 146,136 homes
Lead-in: Fox4 9 p.m. local news -- 112,038 homes
Fox4 10 p.m. news -- 107,166 homes
NBC5 won the 10 p.m. ratings last November in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. After the dust clears this time, the Peacock will be third in homes and possibly in the same spot with 25-to-54-year-olds, where it's fighting to hold off CBS11.
Tuesday's Nielsens also saw Belo8 rout the competition at 10 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demo, with CBS11 falling into fourth place and hurting its chances against NBC5.
Belo8 also won at 6 a.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds, but Fox4 took first in total homes. Those races remain pretty close, with Fox4 still on top with just six weekdays to go. During the holiday period, though, stations have the option of "throwing out" various newscasts. So we'll see who does what.
Belo8 again controlled the 5 and 6 p.m. races in both measurements, and will have comfortable across-the-board victories when the final sweeps numbers are in.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks' big comeback win against Toronto drew a sub-standard 73,0658 homes on Fox Sports Southwest. And Katie Couric's CBS Evening News, no longer a doormat in D-FW, edged Brian Williams' NBC Nightly News for the second straight day.
Belo8 quick-stepped to another 10 p.m. news ratings win Tuesday while ABC's Dancing with the Stars results show again ruled the prime-time universe.
The bigger news at 10 p.m., though, is the clear rejection of NBC5's once dominant newscast, which had the night's biggest network lead-in. Here's the telling tale of the tape in the total homes measurement:
Lead-in (9:45 to 10 p.m.): The Bachelor: After the Final Rose -- 238,689 homes
Belo8 news -- 245,996 homes
Lead-in: Law & Order: SVU -- 263,045 homes
NBC5 news -- 170,492 homes
Lead-in: Cane -- 131,522 homes
CBS11 news -- 146,136 homes
Lead-in: Fox4 9 p.m. local news -- 112,038 homes
Fox4 10 p.m. news -- 107,166 homes
NBC5 won the 10 p.m. ratings last November in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. After the dust clears this time, the Peacock will be third in homes and possibly in the same spot with 25-to-54-year-olds, where it's fighting to hold off CBS11.
Tuesday's Nielsens also saw Belo8 rout the competition at 10 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demo, with CBS11 falling into fourth place and hurting its chances against NBC5.
Belo8 also won at 6 a.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds, but Fox4 took first in total homes. Those races remain pretty close, with Fox4 still on top with just six weekdays to go. During the holiday period, though, stations have the option of "throwing out" various newscasts. So we'll see who does what.
Belo8 again controlled the 5 and 6 p.m. races in both measurements, and will have comfortable across-the-board victories when the final sweeps numbers are in.
Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks' big comeback win against Toronto drew a sub-standard 73,0658 homes on Fox Sports Southwest. And Katie Couric's CBS Evening News, no longer a doormat in D-FW, edged Brian Williams' NBC Nightly News for the second straight day.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Mon., Nov. 19)
11/20/07 11:31 AM
By ED BARK
Live at the Improv, weatherman Pete Delkus and sports anchor Dale Hansen had a pseudo-gay old time again Monday night.
And earlier from Austin, correspondent Debbie Denmon got all girly with The Bachelor finale at a raucous Sixth Street bar.
Belo8's dominant 10 p.m. newscast already is the slap-happiest in town, but this one spiked the punch and wore lampshades. Co-anchor Gloria Campos even flashed a little cleavage while old school headmaster John McCaa loosened his belt a notch.
Not that there isn't plenty to celebrate. Belo8's late night newscasts are like chainsaws cutting through plywood, reducing the competition to sawdust on most nights. So send in the clowning, which invariably escalates whenever Hansen's in the house.
Delkus had mourned the absence of an ill Hansen on Friday night's newscast, professing his "man-love" for the ol' hefty bag.
"It was a bad cold," Hansen told him upon Monday's return to action. "And then I see that nonsense that you miss me and you love me. One night at our swimming party does not count. And then I got sick all over again."
Yo ho ho and a bottle of Dale's favorite rum. Pete then retorted at newscast's end.
"Hey, you said you weren't going to tell anybody about the pool thing," he jabbed Hansen before a gamely grinning McCaa urged Belo8's Crassus and Antoninus to "Leave it alone."
McCaa earlier seemed a bit perplexed by Denmon's live dispatch on The Bachelor's end-game. Austin-based bar owner Brad Womack decided to give neither of his final suitors a rose despite professing his love for them throughout the episode. The cad.
One female bar patron told Denmon, "We were completely shocked and disappointed." Meanwhile, a male customer made variations of the peace sign behind her.
"You thought he was a gentleman, right?" Denmon probed.
"Well, I think he still is," the woman replied.
"What!" Denmon protested. "He left the girl hangin'."
"I can't help it. He's so good lookin'," said the woman before Denmon pivoted over to two more happy campers who likewise said they still have the hots for Womack.
"Don't know quite what to make of any of that," McCaa then mused while Delkus laughed uproariously. His forecast of plunging Thanksgiving Day temperatures is "not as exciting as what we just saw in Austin," Playful Pete added.
He's got that right. But ratings are boffo for Belo8's 10 p.m. newscasts, and the almost nightly hijinks apparently aren't hurting. Still, Monday's show did seem to go more than a little bit bonkers.
CBS11 led its Monday, 10 p.m. newscast with a big, showy "Gotcha" investigation from Bennett Cunningham.
His extended "Overseas Adventure" piece tracked five executives from the North Texas Tollway Authority to a business conference in Vienna, Austria, where the total tab built to $42,500 just a week after tolls were raised for commoners. Hidden cameras tracked some execs playing hooky in times when they were supposed to be attending seminars. One even bought a walking stick. But they all found time to attend the conference's prototypically "lavish" parties and dinners, viewers were told.
Cunningham would do well to pull back a bit rather than baste his narratives with an overcoat of sarcasm. But this was pretty juicy stuff, and Cunningham had the added advantage of a camera-friendly NTTA bossman. The agency's new executive director, Jose Figueredo, sat down with the CBS11 reporter and tried to absorb his best shots.
"I'm disappointed that we didn't hold as true to the line as I had wanted us to," Figueredo said after Cunningham showed him some embarrassing undercover camera video. "But again, I just got here."
Figueredo also sought to defend the executives and said that the toll increases had nothing to do with "our travel policy." But in the end he conceded, "It's not acceptable what I saw there."
Cunningham's own expense reports on his trip to Vienna weren't a part of this story. For his sake, he'd best have taken his meals at Wienerschnitzel-On-a-Stick or some equivalent.
Over on NBC5, new reporter Ellen Goldberg further advanced a story she's been ahead on. Last week's brutal assault of elementary school teacher Sheryl Walsh in a North Dallas Tom Thumb parking lot may have been preceded by the same assailant's purse-snatching at a Mesquite Albertson's, authorities believe. In each case, apparently the same black SUV was caught on surveillance cameras.
Both crimes were committed on the same day, said Goldberg, who also reported that Walsh's condition had been upgraded to serious at Parkland hospital. None of NBC5's rivals had any of this new information on their Monday late night newscasts.
THIS AND THAT
***Fox4 consumer reporter Steve Noviello, cast as an avenging cartoon character in station promotions, splashed in with his "Point and Shoot Showdown."
Combatants were three digital cameras with escalating "mega pixels" and prices. Would the most expensive camera also take the best pictures? A veteran photographer basically couldn't tell the difference after Noviello snapped the same shot with each camera and had it developed at the same place. Not a bad little story.
***As posted earlier Monday, NBC5 reporter Nigel Wheeler, a k a Kali Green, is the budding "Rock Star" teased in promotions for that night's 10 p.m. newscast.
Wheeler, lead singer for the Dallas-based band Egress, is quitting the station after three years to devote all of his energies to a music career.
"It seems like most of the world thinks I'm totally nuts for what I'm about to do," Wheeler said on the newscast. His father, for instance, "described the decision as catastrophic."
But Wheeler's going to take his shot, and more power to him.
"Hopefully next time you'll come and you'll see us at the American Airlines Center," he said.
***Ace Belo8 medical reporter Janet St. James unaccountably gushed over a chef who makes pricey dishes that are low on fat, sodium and cholesterol. Consumers trying to lose weight can have them delivered to their homes. Mmm mmm good. Otherwise it all smelled too much like an infomercial, and St. James is usually above that.
***Fox4 anchor Steve Eagar used his tongue as a machete during a "News Edge" reader on the suicide of a 13-year-old girl who became despondent after an Internet-met boyfriend suddenly began insulting her. It turns out that the boyfriend and the on-line insult campaign were concocted by a mother who had it in for the teenage girl.
"Straight out of the 'Texas Cheerleader Mom' sicko handbook," said Eagar, who added, "There's a special place for her waiting." Hard to argue with that.
***NBC5 had another technical foulup, briefly re-displaying a "Staph Infection" graphic at the start of a brief story on a new list of safest and most dangerous cities. And anchor Mike Snyder lobbed another punch line that played dead after an end-of-newscast brief on Plano scuba divers posing underwater in Christmas costumes.
"I think that's pretty cool," said Snyder. "But some people'd say they're all wet."
"Well, maybe," riposted anchor Jane McGarry while Snyder chortled at his wit. "I think Scuba Claus needs a bikini myself."
Sports anchor Newy Scruggs as always sat mute with a frozen smile until NBC's Tonight Show kicked in. Who can blame him?
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Nov. 19)
11/20/07 09:13 AM
By ED BARK
These are very high times for Belo8, which scored a rare double grand slam Monday in the four major local newscast faceoffs.
The ABC station swept the 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Nielsens in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. That hadn't happened since March 6 of this year, when Belo8 also touched all the bases.
Barring a mega-implosion, Belo8 already has locked up November "sweeps" wins at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Now it's starting to look like a horse race in total homes at 6 a.m., where Belo8 lately has been closing in on frontrunning Fox4. That station's Good Day still holds the upper hand, but a big closing rush by Belo8's Daybreak could make it interesting. Fox4 is still the likely victor, though, with just seven weekdays remaining before the sweeps wrap up on Nov. 28th.
The 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day regrouped to outdraw the three competing network morning shows in both ratings measurements.
Meanwhile, CBS11's long dormant waker-upper continues its push to eventually reach parity with NBC5's slumping 6 a.m. show. In Monday's ratings, the third-place Peacock beat CBS11 by just 3,410 total homes and 883 viewers in the 25-to-54 demo.
In prime-time, Austin-based bar owner Brad Womack rejected both DeAnna and Jenni in The Bachelor's alleged final rose ceremony. The thing finished second at 9 p.m., running well behind CBS' CSI: Miami in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds, the key advertiser audience for entertainment programming. A post mortem Bachelor is scheduled for tonight.
ABC's penultimate Dancing with the Stars performance show again drew prime-time's biggest crowd, amassing 362,904 total homes. The network's new Samantha Who? continued to run strong in the post-Dancing slot, with 275,223 homes.
These are very high times for Belo8, which scored a rare double grand slam Monday in the four major local newscast faceoffs.
The ABC station swept the 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Nielsens in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. That hadn't happened since March 6 of this year, when Belo8 also touched all the bases.
Barring a mega-implosion, Belo8 already has locked up November "sweeps" wins at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. Now it's starting to look like a horse race in total homes at 6 a.m., where Belo8 lately has been closing in on frontrunning Fox4. That station's Good Day still holds the upper hand, but a big closing rush by Belo8's Daybreak could make it interesting. Fox4 is still the likely victor, though, with just seven weekdays remaining before the sweeps wrap up on Nov. 28th.
The 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day regrouped to outdraw the three competing network morning shows in both ratings measurements.
Meanwhile, CBS11's long dormant waker-upper continues its push to eventually reach parity with NBC5's slumping 6 a.m. show. In Monday's ratings, the third-place Peacock beat CBS11 by just 3,410 total homes and 883 viewers in the 25-to-54 demo.
In prime-time, Austin-based bar owner Brad Womack rejected both DeAnna and Jenni in The Bachelor's alleged final rose ceremony. The thing finished second at 9 p.m., running well behind CBS' CSI: Miami in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds, the key advertiser audience for entertainment programming. A post mortem Bachelor is scheduled for tonight.
ABC's penultimate Dancing with the Stars performance show again drew prime-time's biggest crowd, amassing 362,904 total homes. The network's new Samantha Who? continued to run strong in the post-Dancing slot, with 275,223 homes.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Fri., Nov. 16)
11/19/07 10:25 AM
By ED BARK
When's an "exclusive" in fact nothing of the sort? When it's on NBC5.
On the station's Friday 10 p.m. newscast, anchor Mike Snyder told viewers that reporter Meredith Land's interview with the widow of a deceased tanker truck driver had scooped the competition.
It's a "story you will see only on NBC5," he crowed.
Land supposedly had exclusive comments on the tragedy from grieving Sarah Webb, whose pain was palpable as she talked about her husband, Matt. He was the driver of a tanker that burst into flames on I-35E Friday afternoon after hitting a concrete divider. The entire freeway was shut down, creating a huge traffic jam that dominated that day's news coverage.
Belo8 didn't claim any bogus exclusives. But it also led Friday's late night newscast with Sarah Webb's tearful memories of her late husband. In this case she talked to reporter Chris Hawes one-on-one. Rival stations Fox4 and CBS11 missed out on the Sarah Webb interview, but NBC5 misled its viewers in touting an exclusive that simply wasn't.
The Peacock further cheapened its newscast with a top-of-the-marquee tease from anchor Jane McGarry, who warned, "Don't deck those halls just yet. The important health alert about Christmas trees."
The "important health alert" turned out to be a 16-second throwaway from anchor Snyder.
"If you're not feeling well during the holidays, your Christmas tree may be to blame," he said before citing a study that said mold thrives on tree branches and could have an impact on allergy and asthma sufferers.
NBC5 also had its annual holiday season informercial for a merchant that sells discounted Christmas trappings every year.
"Brian, look!" a hyperactive shopper told reporter Brian Curtis. Furthermore, "It's not cheesy. It's the good stuff."
She couldn't say as much for most NBC5 newscasts, particularly this one.
Over on Belo8, investigator Byron Harris again poked around some nefarious electronic poker parlors, announcing his presence in one case with a jaunty, "Byron Harris from Channel 8. How are ya?"
These fly-by-night operations all look pretty sleazy, if not cheesy. But Harris and fellow investigator Brett Shipp seem almost obsessed with bringing them down. Too much so, frankly. Know when to fold 'em.
Later, reporter Steve Stoler had a "Blinded by the Light" story from Little Elm, where some residents don't like the heavy wattage coming from a nearby football field.
"It disturbs my quality of living," said one neighbor. Another said he couldn't enjoy the stars because he can't see them.
Other residents welcome the brighter lighting, which makes them feel safer when taking nighttime walks. It basically seemed like lotsa ado about nothing, with cameras unable to effectively illustrate the alleged problem.
Fox4 had another largely nondescript Friday night newscast, which was cut in half by a companion sports Hilites program anchored by veteran Max Morgan. Its network's prime-time ratings invariably are dismal on Fridays. Fox4 in turn seems to be pretty much throwing in the towel rather than investing much energy and resources into that night's 9 p.m. news show.
Largely uneventful as well, CBS11 did have a heartfelt human interest story from Nerissa Knight, a newcomer who clearly has the common touch. She spotlighted a 70-year-old Goodwill employee who had her well-dented 1995 Oldsmobile Sierra stolen from the store's parking lot while she worked inside. The car clearly is important to her, and Knight's story communicated that. Maybe a Good Samaritan can help out.
THIS AND THAT
***As anticipated, Fox4 picked Roger Staubach as its "Greatest Cowboy" on Sunday night's sports special, with Troy Aikman ranking No. 2. It was a good "sweeps" gimmick while it lasted, and sports anchor Mike Doocy did a nice job with the segments.
***Meanwhile, Doocy's counterpart at Belo8, Dale Hansen, was out sick on Thursday and Friday. Weatherman Pete Delkus, who regularly makes fun of Hansen's ample weight or disappearing hair, play-acted like a forlorn Cisco without his Pancho.
"I have a heavy heart tonight," he told anchors John McCaa and Gloria Campos. "I haven't seen Dale in two days. And Dale, I know you're watching tonight. I just want you to know I miss you. I love you."
Substitute sports anchor Joe Trahan, left to feel like burnt toast at a Ritz Carlton brunch, said he'd "never seen two men love each other so much."
"We man-love," Delkus said, laughing.
Only eight more weeknights to go.
NBC5's Nigel Wheeler is musically inclined, too
11/19/07 09:47 AM
By ED BARK
NBC5 is promoting a 10 p.m. story Monday on one of its news personality's aspirations to become a "Rock Star."
The station laughably has floated anchors Mike Snyder and Jane McGarry as possibilities, but look for the picture of reporter Nigel Wheeler. He's the one. Also known as Kali Green on his band's Web site, Wheeler has been the lead vocalist of Dallas-based Egress since 2005. They have a new CD, Freshly Squeezed, and will start a nine-city tour Friday in Norman, OK.
Check out their music. And good luck to Wheeler and Egress.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Nov. 16-18)
11/19/07 09:46 AM
By ED BARK
The Cowboys-Redskins game is in the ratings books, and it surprisingly doesn't rank among the most-watched of the season.
Maybe a picture-perfect day and a wealth of holiday shopping sales held down the in-home crowd. But the narrow Dallas win still averaged an imposing 801,312 homes on Fox, putting it eighth on the list of 10 regular season games. It outdrew Cowboys-Dolphins on Sept. 16th (625,949 homes on Fox) and Cowboys-Rams on Sept. 30th (650,305 homes on Fox).
Sunday's game peaked at 932,835 homes in its final 15 minutes. The next closest competing attraction, ABC's telecast of NASCAR's Nextel Cup finale, sputtered in with an average of 75,504 homes.
NBC's Sunday Night Football later collided with ABC's American Music Awards, with the Patriots rout of the Bills drawing the biggest crowd from 7:15 to 9 p.m. The AMAs then took over, with Sunday Night Football barely beating CBS' third-place Shark in total homes from 9 to 10 p.m.
On Saturday night, Texas Tech's upset win over Oklahoma on ABC came close to tripling the overall audience for the Mavericks game against the Memphis Grizzlies on TXA21. The Mavs managed 73,068 homes while Tech-OU pulled in 203,830. Peak numbers for Tech-OU -- 253,302 homes -- were between 10:45 and 11 p.m.
Friday's local news wars again were dominated by Belo8. The ABC station won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 also tied Fox4 for the total homes lead at 6 a.m.. But Fox4 was comfortably on top in the 25-to-54 demo.
The Cowboys-Redskins game is in the ratings books, and it surprisingly doesn't rank among the most-watched of the season.
Maybe a picture-perfect day and a wealth of holiday shopping sales held down the in-home crowd. But the narrow Dallas win still averaged an imposing 801,312 homes on Fox, putting it eighth on the list of 10 regular season games. It outdrew Cowboys-Dolphins on Sept. 16th (625,949 homes on Fox) and Cowboys-Rams on Sept. 30th (650,305 homes on Fox).
Sunday's game peaked at 932,835 homes in its final 15 minutes. The next closest competing attraction, ABC's telecast of NASCAR's Nextel Cup finale, sputtered in with an average of 75,504 homes.
NBC's Sunday Night Football later collided with ABC's American Music Awards, with the Patriots rout of the Bills drawing the biggest crowd from 7:15 to 9 p.m. The AMAs then took over, with Sunday Night Football barely beating CBS' third-place Shark in total homes from 9 to 10 p.m.
On Saturday night, Texas Tech's upset win over Oklahoma on ABC came close to tripling the overall audience for the Mavericks game against the Memphis Grizzlies on TXA21. The Mavs managed 73,068 homes while Tech-OU pulled in 203,830. Peak numbers for Tech-OU -- 253,302 homes -- were between 10:45 and 11 p.m.
Friday's local news wars again were dominated by Belo8. The ABC station won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 also tied Fox4 for the total homes lead at 6 a.m.. But Fox4 was comfortably on top in the 25-to-54 demo.
This just in: a night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Thurs., Nov. 15)
11/16/07 10:34 AM
By ED BARK
A tragic, traffic-clogging oil tanker explosion and a lengthy investigation into lead-footed toy trucks figured prominently in Thursday's late night local news
coverage.
All four stations led with the big rig blowup that shut down both sides of Interstate 35E near Lake Dallas Thursday afternoon. Three relied on viewer video and still pictures for backup, with only CBS11 a holdout -- at least on its 10 p.m. news.
Such images increasingly are commonplace and also perfect for Web site promotion. NBC5 was the most