Nov 2007
One last plug
11/30/07 02:27 PM
The banner ad above pretty much
explains it all. But let me again say I'm greatly
looking forward to meeting many of the faithful
unclebarky.com readers at Saturday's event with guest
Gordon Keith. Best of all, we'll announce a generous
contribution to Gordon's favorite charity at the end
of the show. So c'mon, get happy, and also have some
very good food and drink at special prices.
Also, thanks to Quick for Thursday's really nice note about the first Uncle Barky Show. And to Pegasus News for offering to tape it. We'll soon see how it all turns out.
Ed Bark
P.S. There's fresh stuff on the Dallas-Fort Worth, Network News & Reviews and TV Bulletin Board pages. Have a browse.
Also, thanks to Quick for Thursday's really nice note about the first Uncle Barky Show. And to Pegasus News for offering to tape it. We'll soon see how it all turns out.
Ed Bark
P.S. There's fresh stuff on the Dallas-Fort Worth, Network News & Reviews and TV Bulletin Board pages. Have a browse.
Rowlett will stay in the game
11/30/07 11:09 AM
By ED BARK
D-FW's Walter Cronkite, a k a CBS11's Tracy Rowlett, is forestalling his planned July retirement and re-upping for two more years.
"This is an exciting time at CBS11," he said in a statement released Friday morning. "And I'm looking forward to being here when the station emerges as number one in the market."
That could take a good deal of time. CBS11 emerged from the November "sweeps" as No. 2 in total homes in the key 10 p.m. ratings race and also at 6 p.m. But it ran last among four stations at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. CBS11 has even further to go among advertiser-preferred 25-to-54-year-olds, where it ranks no better than third in any of those four news slots.
Still, the station came out of the Belo8-dominated sweeps with some momentum, particularly against badly slumping NBC5. As of January, Rowlett will anchor only the station's 5 p.m. newscasts as well as contribute his weekly Sunday night "Perspectives" pieces. But his principal value to the station may be as a behind-the-scenes producer of special reports for the station.
"His talent, skills and knowledge are invaluable to us," president and general manager Steve Mauldin said. "And his influence on our on-air product is enormous. We are very fortunate to have him."
Rowlett joined CBS11 in 1999 after 25 years as a mainstay anchor at Belo8.
Cowboys survive Packers, Gumbel
11/29/07 10:52 PM
By ED BARK
What a beating -- not so much by the Cowboys but by the NFL Network's Bryant ("It would appear") Gumbel. Brutal. Just brutal.
The referees didn't help much down the stretch either, but let's not act like whiny Cowboys fans. Your lifelong Green Bay Packer-backer will accept defeat, buy CBS11 anchor Tracy Rowlett lunch and agree that Dallas made the big plays when needed in the season's biggest game for both teams.
Tony Romo again was extraordinary and Brett Favre pretty much played like a high school quarterback until being knocked out of the game. Under those circumstances, a 37-27 loss is about 20 points closer than it could have been.
Here's what Cowboys fans really should fear, though. Not a possible rematch with Green Bay but the certainty that the Dec. 22nd Dallas-Carolina game also will be in the hands of Gumbel and the NFL Network. Obviously the best recourse is to turn down the sound and tune in "The Ticket" for the Brad Sham/Babe Laufenberg radio-cast. Otherwise, it might be best to drink yourself into a stupor early by having a shot every time Gumbel says "would appear."
In Thursday night's game, you would have been out cold by halftime. Gumbel had eight "would appears" under his belt at that point, and added another five in the second half.
Those were collectively annoying enough, but Gumbel also has a penchant for fumbling names and identities.
And here come the Pack -- the Cowboys," he said as Dallas charged onto the field minutes before kickoff.
"The crowd doesn't like it, but the Packers will go for the tie," Gumbel later informed viewers as Cowboys kicker Nick Folk kicked a 26-yard field goal to knot the score at 3-3.
At game's end, Gumbel held open the possibility of a post-game interview by saying, "We'll see if he (sideline reporter Adam Schefter) can get a few words with Rick Romo."
Gumbel, in his second season as the NFL Network's point man, has admitted he wasn't very good last year. Wow, he must have been awfully, awfully bad if this represents an improvement.
Gumbel is the kind of announcer who says that Cowboys running back Marion Barber "would appear to have the first down" after he picks it up by more than 10 yards.
As the first half drew to a close, Gumbel told viewers, "The Packers will have to go some to get this one off before the two-minute warning." Not really. They snapped the ball just seconds later -- at the 2:09 mark.
The play clock later tripped him up. "Did he get it off? No, he did not," Gumbel said as a flag was thrown. But the penalty was for a false start against Dallas.
Near the start of the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys leading 27-24, Terrell Owens muffed a touchdown pass in the end zone, with the ball rebounding into the arms of Packers' defensive back Al Harris. Had Owens caught the TD, it virtually would have been "game over," Gumbel said. Game over? With 14:08 left and still just a 10-point lead for Dallas?
Oh mercy. Very luckily for Gumbel, he has an accomplished, savvy analyst beside him in Cris Collinsworth. The guy knows all the intricacies of the game, and adds to his arsenal with strong, informed opinions. Imagine Gumbel working side by side with the likes of Emmitt Smith, who's proved to be a mostly inept ESPN analyst this season. The two of them together would be akin to Donny and Marie calling an NBA game.
Maybe Gumbel somehow can get his head right with football before the Cowboys again are subjected to him. But at this point, as he'd say, it would appear not.
It's not easy being green-and-gold in Dallas
11/29/07 04:32 PM
In honor of my lunch bet with CBS11 anchor Tracy Rowlett -- he's still bitter about that 1967 Ice Bowl loss -- I've assembled some of my old Green Bay Packer trinkets as good luck charms.
Left to right, it's running back Jim Taylor, Brett Favre (atop the friendly Packer bear), quarterback Bart Starr and linebacker Ray Nitschke. The Taylor and Nitschke figures are older than fellow Wisconsin native Tony Romo.
This cheesehead's prediction: Packers 24, Cowboys 20. Ratings prediction: Tonight's high-stakes matchup on lil' MY27 will average more than 900,000 homes to become this season's most-watched game -- ahead of the 884,123 that watched the Oct. 14th Cowboys-Patriots game.
Ed Bark
Taking the field: unclebarky.com's second annual D-FW news all-star team
11/29/07 03:49 PM
One of the easier ways to make new
friends -- and enemies -- in the TV biz is to pick a
new all-star team of D-FW anchors and reporters. See
what you think of this one.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Nov. sweeps almost a clean sweep for Belo8
11/29/07 10:56 AM
Belo8 became a towering redwood at 10
p.m. again while NBC5 went timbe-r-r-r-r.
Only Fox4's early morning Good Day held the ABC station at bay, but not by that much. The complete November "sweeps" newscast results are in, as well as year-to-year comparisons. Check 'em out.
Ed Bark
Only Fox4's early morning Good Day held the ABC station at bay, but not by that much. The complete November "sweeps" newscast results are in, as well as year-to-year comparisons. Check 'em out.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 19 of the Nov. sweeps
11/28/07 03:22 PM
Just about anything can kill or harm
you. So be afraid. Be very afraid. See what we mean.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Blowing in from Orlando: CBS11 hires new 10 p.m. weathercaster
11/27/07 05:32 PM
By ED BARK
CBS11 will have a new featured temperature taker in January as part of a station shuffle that also will further diminish the on-air visibility of anchor Tracy Rowlett.
The station has hired Orlando, FL weatherman Larry Mowry as its new 10 p.m. forecaster, with incumbent Kristine Kahanek shifting to the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, president and general manager Steve Mauldin announced early Tuesday evening. Kahanek, formerly of Belo8, has been with CBS11 since 2002.
Rowlett, also a Belo8 alum, stepped down from the station's 10 p.m. newscasts earlier this year, and was replaced by Doug Dunbar. As of January, Dunbar also will co-anchor the 6 p.m. newscasts with holdover Karen Borta.
Rowlett, who had planned to retire in July, will continue to co-anchor CBS11's 5 p.m. newscasts as well as contribute his weekly Sunday night "Perspectives" feature. The CBS11 announcement says that Rowlett, who joined the station in 1999, also will "expand his role in producing special reports."
Mauldin said he hopes to keep Rowlett at CBS11 beyond July and "well into the future. His value is immeasurable."
Rowlett is still considering that option, which would require a salary reduction. He had been a mainstay of Belo8's newscasts for 25 years before changing stations at the same time CBS bought Ch. 11.
Mowry also has worked at WLS-TV in Chicago and WSBT-TV in South Bend. He lately has been the early morning weathercaster at Orlando's WKMG-TV, a CBS affiliate.
P.S. -- Cynthia Izaguirre
11/27/07 04:44 PM
We all make mistakes, of course. It's
just that anchors and reporters regularly make them
for public consumption.
That brings us to FrontBurner's addendum to this Web site's previous report that Cynthia Izaguirre of Albuquerque's KOAT-TV will join incumbent Justin Farmer as the new co-anchor on Belo8's Daybreak. It turns out that she turned in a memorable blooper while anchoring at her old station.
Further advancing this story, sources say that Izaguirre earlier interviewed for an anchoring position at CBS11. But one of the two parties obviously walked away from that one. Also, KOAT's been fertile ground for another D-FW station. New NBC5 reporter Ellen Goldberg likewise prepped at New Mexico's ABC affiliate just before migrating to North Texas.
Anyway, here's the Izaguirre gaffe, which so far has been viewed by more than 180,000 YouTube-ians. This will be the last time it's mentioned here. Everyone deserves a fresh start. Oh, almost forgot. It took Izaguirre FOREVER to do just the first part of her goodbye to KOAT and New Mexico. She even read a poem to her fans.
Ed Bark
That brings us to FrontBurner's addendum to this Web site's previous report that Cynthia Izaguirre of Albuquerque's KOAT-TV will join incumbent Justin Farmer as the new co-anchor on Belo8's Daybreak. It turns out that she turned in a memorable blooper while anchoring at her old station.
Further advancing this story, sources say that Izaguirre earlier interviewed for an anchoring position at CBS11. But one of the two parties obviously walked away from that one. Also, KOAT's been fertile ground for another D-FW station. New NBC5 reporter Ellen Goldberg likewise prepped at New Mexico's ABC affiliate just before migrating to North Texas.
Anyway, here's the Izaguirre gaffe, which so far has been viewed by more than 180,000 YouTube-ians. This will be the last time it's mentioned here. Everyone deserves a fresh start. Oh, almost forgot. It took Izaguirre FOREVER to do just the first part of her goodbye to KOAT and New Mexico. She even read a poem to her fans.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 18 of the Nov. sweeps
11/27/07 04:26 PM
Whew, Monday night proved very eventful on late night D-FW
newscasts. See for yourself. The latest local ratings also await
your inspection.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Belo8 tabs New Mexico for new Daybreak co-anchor
11/27/07 09:53 AM
By ED BARK
Cynthia Izaguirre, a University of North Texas graduate who has spent the last eight years at KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., has been named to replace Jackie Hyland as co-anchor of Belo8's early morning Daybreak program.
"When you talk to her, you'll see the things we saw in her," Belo8 news director Mike Valentine said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "She's so vibrant and has such an outgoing personality. I think the viewers will really kind of respond to her. We think it's going to be a home run."
Izaguirre, a grad of Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, will join incumbent Justin Farmer on Jan. 2nd, Valentine said. As previously reported, Hyland is returning to New York to spend more time with her family after joining Belo8 in August, 2005.
Valentine interviewed both in-house and outside candidates for the position, including Christine Haas of Belo-owned KVUE-TV in Austin.
"We thought she (Izaguirre) provided the best fit for the show," he said. "It was a tough decision. We thought we had some really great people, both internally and externally. But bringing a home town girl back was really important to us."
Izaguirre had been co-anchoring the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts at KOAT, Albuquerque's ABC affiliate. Earlier in her tenure at the station, she worked the early morning shift.
On her station's web site, Izaguirre said, "New Mexico will always be my second home. I grew up here professionally and personally, and I will forever be thankful to the beautiful people who supported me every step of the way."
Daybreak will finish a close second to Fox4's Good Day in the November "sweeps" ratings period, which ends on Wednesday. Valentine hopes that Izaguirre will help put the station on top. Belo8 newscasts already are No. 1 at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
"You just put the best product on, and you hope viewers will like it," Valentine said. "There's no single thing you can do and then say, 'We'll win.' But it was either hire Cynthia or put Hansen and Delkus on in the morning."
He's jokingly referring to sports anchor Dale Hansen and weathercaster Pete Delkus, whose jabs at each other have become a staple of Belo8's 10 p.m. newscasts.
A Green and Gold parable
11/26/07 09:10 PM
True story from a native Wisconsinite.
Had breakfast with my son, brothers and other
relatives at Max McGee's pancake restaurant near
Minneapolis on the crisp, crystal-clear morning of
Oct. 20th, 2007. Enjoyed the house specialty, Eggs
Maxwell, in honor of the colorful Green Bay Packers
receiver, who should have been the MVP of Super Bowl
I.
Later that very same day, the Sexton City, TX native fell off a roof and died. He was 75.
Hope that's not a bad omen for the Pack's chances against Dallas in Thursday's big game.
Ed Bark
Later that very same day, the Sexton City, TX native fell off a roof and died. He was 75.
Hope that's not a bad omen for the Pack's chances against Dallas in Thursday's big game.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Nights 15-17 of the Nov. sweeps
11/26/07 12:16 PM
Which D-FW news provider had a
penetrating report on a cellulite-fighting product called
Butt-u-Tiful? But wait, it's only going to get
better/worse on Monday night. Also, check out the
latest D-FW ratings, including
down-the-stretch news numbers and the Cowboys'
Thanksgiving Day romp over the Jets.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Shop talk
11/23/07 10:00 AM
Hello again, and happy
post-Thanksgiving. As the holiday shopping season
officially begins, please remember to make your
amazon.com purchases by clicking through the banner
ad on unclebarky.com. We get a small commission for
each purchase, and it all helps to keep our lights
burning.
Also, here again are the ad and details for the inaugural Uncle Barky Show, which also will be filmed and posted by Pegasus News. Hope to see you there!
Please join your friendly content provider and radio/TV star Gordon Keith for this very special live event!
It's the first in a planned monthly series of interviews and audience interaction with topflight local media personalities. But only you can make it all work with your enthusiastic attendance.
As the above ad says, there's no charge for admission and we'll have food and drink specials throughout the day. Best of all, a generous contribution will be made to each of our guest's favorite charity.
Triple-threat Gordon Keith, our first attraction, is the longtime jester-in-residence on morning drive time's Dunham and Miller Show (5:30-10 a.m. on 1310 KTCK-AM, "The Ticket"). He also hosts The Gordon Keith Show on Saturdays at 12:05 a.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). And his weekly musings appear in Quick.
Crazed Gordon and deranged Uncle Barky seem like a perfect match, so don't you dare miss us on Dec. 1st, 2 p.m. at Stratos Greek Taverna, 2907 W. Northwest Hwy. in Dallas! It's also a great way to show your support for unclebarky.com, your homegrown window into the oft-puzzling but ever-changing worlds of local and national TV.
Ed Bark
Also, here again are the ad and details for the inaugural Uncle Barky Show, which also will be filmed and posted by Pegasus News. Hope to see you there!
Please join your friendly content provider and radio/TV star Gordon Keith for this very special live event!
It's the first in a planned monthly series of interviews and audience interaction with topflight local media personalities. But only you can make it all work with your enthusiastic attendance.
As the above ad says, there's no charge for admission and we'll have food and drink specials throughout the day. Best of all, a generous contribution will be made to each of our guest's favorite charity.
Triple-threat Gordon Keith, our first attraction, is the longtime jester-in-residence on morning drive time's Dunham and Miller Show (5:30-10 a.m. on 1310 KTCK-AM, "The Ticket"). He also hosts The Gordon Keith Show on Saturdays at 12:05 a.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). And his weekly musings appear in Quick.
Crazed Gordon and deranged Uncle Barky seem like a perfect match, so don't you dare miss us on Dec. 1st, 2 p.m. at Stratos Greek Taverna, 2907 W. Northwest Hwy. in Dallas! It's also a great way to show your support for unclebarky.com, your homegrown window into the oft-puzzling but ever-changing worlds of local and national TV.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 14 of the Nov. sweeps
11/21/07 03:10 PM
Belo8 investigator Brett Shipp went hard after South Oak
Cliff and its possibly tainted 2006 state
basketball championship. Was he out of bounds?
Also, your latest D-FW ratings are in the
house.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Daybreak rising: a new name in the mix
11/20/07 04:05 PM
By ED BARK
Belo8 may end up having it both ways on Daybreak, hiring from both without and within to replace co-anchor Jackie Hyland.
Well-informed sources say that Austin news anchor Christine Haas, of corporate cousin KVUE-TV, has auditioned for the chance to join incumbent Justin Farmer on the currently No. 2-rated early morning show. Hyland is leaving at the end of the November "sweeps" to spend more time with her family in New York City.
Haas anchors the 6 and 10 p.m. weeknight newscasts for Belo-owned KVUE, Austin's ABC affiliate. She joined the station in August 2003, and has a wealth of awards to her credit, according to her official bio.
Haas arrived at KVUE from NBC station KARE-TV in Minneapolis, and is a 1998 graduate of Illinois State University. You can go here to read her KVUE blog, although the last entry dates back to Oct. 19th.
Up-close and objective: Night 13 of the Nov. sweeps
11/20/07 03:41 PM
As their world turns. Dale spurned
Pete's man-love on the latest episode of Belo8's 10
p.m. newscasts. Read all about the
slap-happier-than-usual goings-on in our latest sweeps sum-up. Meanwhile,
Belo8 has very good reason to be holly jolly.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Making an o'fool of O'Reilly?
11/19/07 06:12 PM
Did Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly
despise Redacted enough to refuse an ad for it
on his show? One of its co-producers and
distributors, Mark Cuban, decided to put The
O'Reilly Factor to the test, with interesting
results. You can find Cuban's pointed account on his
blog, where he also accuses
O'Reilly of at least indirectly instigating bomb
threats against his businesses and of causing his
Fallen Patriot Fund's Web site to crash for the
first time ever last Thursday (Nov. 15).
O'Reilly has repeatedly attacked Redacted as "vile garbage" and worse for its portrayal of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The O'Reilly offensive coincided with Dan Rather telling The New York Daily News that the Dallas Mavericks owner had been "sensationally good to me" during his first year as anchor of Dan Rather Reports on Cuban's HDNet. What a country.
Ed Bark
O'Reilly has repeatedly attacked Redacted as "vile garbage" and worse for its portrayal of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The O'Reilly offensive coincided with Dan Rather telling The New York Daily News that the Dallas Mavericks owner had been "sensationally good to me" during his first year as anchor of Dan Rather Reports on Cuban's HDNet. What a country.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 12 of the Nov. sweeps
11/19/07 12:23 PM
False claims of an exclusive and a
silly Christmas tree warning soiled the latest NBC5 newscast. Meanwhile,
see what NBC5 reporter/"rock star" Nigel Wheeler is up to, and check
out the latest Cowboys game ratings, too. Also,
amuse yourself with the roster of so-called stars
on Donald Trump's Celebrity
Apprentice.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Coming soon: The Uncle Barky Show (Episode one)
11/18/07 02:10 PM
Please join your friendly content provider and radio/TV star Gordon Keith for this very special live event!
It's the first in a planned monthly series of interviews and audience interaction with topflight local media personalities. But only you can make it all work with your enthusiastic attendance.
As the above ad says, there's no charge for admission and we'll have food and drink specials throughout the day. Best of all, a generous contribution will be made to each of our guest's favorite charity.
Triple-threat Gordon Keith, our first attraction, is the longtime jester-in-residence on morning drive time's Dunham and Miller Show (5:30-10 a.m. on 1310 KTCK-AM, "The Ticket"). He also hosts The Gordon Keith Show on Saturdays at 12:05 a.m. on WFAA-TV (Channel 8). And his weekly musings appear in Quick.
Crazed Gordon and deranged Uncle Barky seem like a perfect match, so don't you dare miss us on Dec. 1st, 2 p.m. at Stratos Greek Taverna, 2907 W. Northwest Hwy. in Dallas! It's also a great way to show your support for unclebarky.com, your homegrown window into the oft-puzzling but ever-changing worlds of local and national TV.
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 11 of the Nov. sweeps
11/16/07 01:18 PM
Thursday's traffic-stopping oil tanker
explosion near Lake Dallas and a toy truck
investigation figured prominently in late night news
coverage. How so? Take our toll-free expressway to the latest
daily digest of newscast highs and lows.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 10 of the Nov. sweeps
11/15/07 03:25 PM
NBC5 offered some classic grackle cackles while
everyone ganged up on Wednesday night's Hannah
Montana concert. We're halfway through the sweeps,
and Uncle Barky is teetering on the brink of
insanity. Oh, but we kid.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Nov. sweeps ratings lowdown
11/15/07 10:49 AM
We're at the midpoint of the November
sweeps ratings wars, with NBC5 taking a serious licking in
the 10 p.m. showcase showdown. Anchors Mike Snyder
and Jane McGarry probably wish they could turn
black the clock to happier times, so we'll do it
for them. Here's the way they were in the early
stages of their partnership, circa 1995:
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 9 of the Nov. sweeps
11/14/07 04:47 PM
Riding high in the 10 p.m. newscast
Nielsens, Belo8's Tuesday edition had a warmed-over feel. On three stories
it followed rival stations' leads. And that's not
so hot.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
O'Reilly and Cuban take offense at each other
11/13/07 05:37 PM
Bill O'Reilly continues to war with
Mark Cuban over Redacted, the anti-war film
directed by Brian DePalma and distributed by
Cuban's and partner Todd Wagner's Magnolia
Pictures. Now Cuban's warring back on his blog while
encouraging people to see a sneak preview of the
movie on his HDNet Movies channel. For the still
relative handful who have access to it, the sneaks
are on Wednesday (Nov.14) at 9:15 and 11 p.m.
(central). The controversial film opens in
theaters this Friday.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 8 of the Nov. sweeps
11/13/07 04:16 PM
Pant-puff, another daily "sweeps" report card has been
graded. And Fox4 gets high marks for its lengthy
"Red Light Camera Red Alert" investigation.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Incoming at Belo8
11/12/07 01:42 PM
By ED BARK
Monika Diaz from ABC affiliate KXTV-TV in Sacramento is the latest addition to Belo8's reporting team.
The former Telemundo reporter will join the station in early December, Belo8 news director Mike Valentine confirmed Monday.
Diaz, raised in Miami, is a Florida State University graduate who joined KXTV in fall 2003. That station's bio says she began her broadcast career in 1996 as a "feedbay operator" at Miami-Fort Lauderdale's WSVN-TV, a Fox affiliate. Diaz, 33, quickly became a news writer before getting her first full-time reporting job at Telemundo affiliate KSTS-TV in San Jose. She spent six years at the Spanish language station before moving to KXTV.
Addendum: Diaz does have a rather saucy MySpace page that doesn't exactly fit the old Belo mold. Times change.
Up-close and objective: Night 7 of the Nov. sweeps
11/11/07 11:34 PM
CBS11 investigator Robert Riggs ran afoul of Belo
Corp.'s ability to strike fast when its big
shots are anywhere near the crosshairs. Otherwise
would The Dallas Morning News have gone to
the extent it did with Friday's preemptive front
page story? The latest D-FW ratings are in, too.
How'd the Cowboys do? Also, I'm still thinking
that the Reba McEntire-LeAnn Rimes duet on last
week's CMA awards was one of the greatest live TV
performances in recent memory. So here it is again in all its glory.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 6 of the Nov. sweeps
11/09/07 03:53 PM
CBS11 stooped to a ballyhooed "Sex
Diet" feature on Thursday's 10 p.m. newscast. So we
in turn tell you about anchor Doug Dunbar's sexy turn
in the late 1980s. There's lots more, too, in our
latest daily digest of sweeps highs and lows.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 5 of the Nov. sweeps
11/08/07 03:37 PM
As Ringo Starr exclaims on The
Beatles' White Album, "I've got blisters on me
fingers!" Still, another look at the different
drumming on 10 p.m. newscasts is ready for your inspection.
Spotlighted this time are Belo8's Brett Shipp and
televangelist Kenneth Copeland. Plus, did NBC5
keep its Wal-Mart streak alive? And which two
reporters deserve extra credit for looking deeper
into stories that all four stations reported?
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 4 of the Nov. sweeps
11/07/07 04:39 PM
NBC5 and Wal-Mart: They've got a thing
goin' on. Our latest 10 p.m. news roundup is ready to
ride, and boy, are my brain cells tired. Also,
scroll down to see Tuesday's ratings highs and
lows. Maybe it's going to be an early morning news
battle after all.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Reporter Dan Ronan dismissed from Belo8. Says, "I think things will be fine"
11/07/07 01:01 PM
By ED BARK
Belo8 reporter Dan Ronan has been dropped by the station and left the newsroom early Wednesday morning.
News director Mike Valentine confirmed Ronan's dismissal later Wednesday, but said he would have no further comment. Ronan, reached at mid-afternoon Wednesday, said, "Maybe it's time for a change in my life. We were all in agreement on that."
Ronan, 48, declined to specify why the station dropped him, but said, "I think things will be fine."
"This is always a dynamically changing business," he said, "and sometimes things do change and you have to roll with it."
Ronan joined Belo8 in August 2003 and had a story on the station as recently as Friday's 10 p.m. newscast. It was about marathon runners no longer being allowed to wear iPods and other listening devices while racing in either the Dallas White Rock or Fort Worth Cowtown events. He recently won a Lone Star Emmy award at an Oct. 27th ceremony in Dallas.
Ronan had been a general assignment reporter for Belo8 after previously working at CNN and WAGA-TV in Atlanta. He won three Emmys overall during his four years at Belo8.
Up-close and objective: Night 3 of the Nov. sweeps
11/06/07 07:08 PM
Technical difficulties at
unclebarky.com central have delayed this report, but
now it's in the bank. So let's look at the
comportment of hard-edged Fox4 investigator Becky Oliver on
Monday's 9 p.m. news.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
What's the frequency, Kenneth?
11/06/07 09:56 AM
By ED BARK
Maybe an in-studio Peanut Gallery's coming next?
TXA21's First in Prime newscasts have launched what the station describes as "an aggressive on-air and online campaign" that will include viewer chats with anchors Kenneth Taylor and Tracy Kornet during the 7 to 9 p.m. program.
This would have greatly helped President Lyndon Johnson, who famously phoned Walter Cronkite during the CBS Evening News but couldn't get through to bitch about something. Were LBJ alive today, he at least could tell Kornet via the Internet, "Ya'll sure do look purdy tonight, honey. C'mon up to the ranch when ya get a chance."
TXA21 senior vice president and station manager Gary Schneider says he's intent on "doing the newscast in a way that's never been done in Dallas-Fort Worth." In a news release, Schneider encourages viewers to "get directly involved with the broadcast by sending in anything from mobile phone video of severe weather in their neighborhood to photos of their children in Halloween costumes."
Schneider is most pumped, though, about the live online chat aspect. "Now that's instant, personal connectivity!" he says.
Well, we'll see. But if you want to participate, email iTexas@ktxa.tv or go online here. As an icebreaker, tell 'em how much you love unclebarky.com.
Up-close and objective: Night 2 of the Nov. sweeps
11/05/07 11:31 AM
CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast looks more
and more like a bright spot from this view. Also,
see how Sunday's mega-sports menu played in the D-FW
ratings.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
A short film by Jay Gormley
11/04/07 04:57 PM
The recent Lone Star Emmy Awards in
Dallas featured a choice spoof written and directed
by CBS11 reporter Jay Gormley. Look for the comedy
stylings of Fox4's Steve Eagar, Heather Hays and
Shaun Rabb, NBC5's Scott Gordon, CBS11/TXA21's Rance
Adams and Belo8's Jeff Brady and Brett Shipp, who
disdainfully drops his Katy Award in the trash in
favor of the newly bigger and better-endowed
Lonestar.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark
Up-close and objective: Night 1 of the Nov. sweeps
11/02/07 01:52 PM
Take a look at what we found as D-FW's
late night newscasts opened fire Thursday night on
Night 1 of the hotly competitive
November sweeps. For the next 19 weeknights as
well, we'll hold a magnifying glass to the 10 p.m.
news programs on NBC, Belo8 and CBS11, and the
featured 9 p.m. show on Fox4. For starters it's a
pepperoni pizza scare (on one station at least)
and a live, flaming mattress on another.
Ed Bark
Ed Bark