Posts Tagged ‘NBC’

12 News joins Education Nation

Last year at this time I expressed my disappointment, and the P&T community had a lively discussion over the lack of special coverage in Erie and other local NBC markets during the network’s Education Nation week. This year, I’m excited and congratulate Lisa Adams, News Director and the WICU/WSEE reporting team for taking advantage of this event and hugely important topic.

Here’s coverage from Sunday:

The stations are planning on stories throughout the week on education issues. That’s the power of media as a force for good, and our community’s future depends on getting our schools right.

Deep Background for October 3 – 9, 2010

If you think nobody watches local TV, you could have fooled me!

By the chatter on the P&T comments on the whereabouts of 12 News Today’s Kara Coleman and Mark Soliday, you would have sworn that the PSP had an all-points bulletin out for the anchors. Instead Kara and Mark were on a pre-November sweeps junket to 30 Rock for a promo shoot with the TODAY show stars. Glad we found them!

Share news about other lost and found items or people in Erie media on this open forum through your comments below, dropping me an e-mail, or by tweeting @pressandtower.

Embrace the chaos!

Just for fun: Jimmy and JT

In the last few weeks Jimmy Fallon has proved to me that he is one of the most talented people on television today.
Add to his greatness the great Justin Timberlake and Jimmy’s amazing house band on Late Night, The Roots, and you have TV magic (HT to my friend Danielle for sharing this on her Facebook…I go to sleep at 10 these days!):

Local NBC affiliates miss the Education Nation moment

Education Nation

NBC News Education Nation

This week, the broadcast, cable and online assets of NBC News are giving unprecedented coverage to what might be the greatest crisis our nation faces: the decline of our education system.

Now GE/NBC is not known for throwing a bunch of money around, remember, this is the network that brought us the 10:00 Jay Leno strip to save money from the episodic dramas they once and now again carry. For their week-long Education Nation initiative, NBC built a temporary studio and interactive stations on the mall at Rockefeller Center along with a new website,  and they are conducting big town hall meetings and interviews with President Obama and the like. The network is serious about putting the spotlight on the terrible statistics facing US schools and what can be done about it.

What is unfortunate is that seemingly few of NBC’s local affiliates have taken advantage of the moment the network has provided. In an online search of the Erie, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh NBC affiliate websites, as well as the 10 DMA markets immediately larger than Erie, only WGRZ/Buffalo and WKYC/Cleveland currently are making any attempt to cover a local angle to this important national conversation.

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Hulu seeks a piece of the cash action

OK, so you fork out $70-80 a month for digital cable, another $9 or more for Netflix, not to mention your $14 Sirius/XM, and $15+ newspaper subscriptions. Now the TV networks behind Hulu are hoping that you’ll share a ten-spot for unlimited access to your favorite TV series. Introducing Hulu Plus

What do you think? Is $10 a month for TV worth the same as $9 a month for DVD and streaming movies?

This media stuff for the consumer is getting expensive!

Crunch time for Kanzius/Pepsi fundraiser

Although I’ve never experienced it, they say that there is some kind of runners euphoria in the final miles of a marathon.

That endorphin rush is being experienced right now by the supporters of the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation, as they attempt to cross the finish line in 1st place and win $250,000 from the Pepsi Refresh project. With just four full days to go at this writing, the cause has jumped from 17th in the first week to number one over the weekend, and it’s supporters are going full-throttle to keep it there.

A massive social and new media effort very early on became a constant on traditional media, and if I’m Pepsi, I’m thinking that this little expenditure of $1.3 million each month is worth far more than exploding fireworks and Michael Jackson (RIP) singing Pepsi lyrics to the tune of “Billie Jean.”

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Friday historical evening in TV

In the middle of our wide-ranging conversation with A.J. Miceli on the P&T Podcast, he said something that was again revealed last night: the reason was programs like the evening newscasts still work is that the medium of television transcends media, but is a central facilitator of our popular culture.

That was so evident last night in a couple ways as no less than 22 broadcast and cable networks simultaneously aired the Hope for Haiti Now fund-raising telethon. The two-hour event was overwhelmed by stars of film, television and music, complete with some of the most tasteful and unique mashups of talent I’ve ever seen. One of my favorite moments was supplied by Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris.

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Later, the last Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien was a triumph (pun intended). He had some great moments, including his exit interview conducted by NBC employee Steven Carell.

The Huffington Post has the text and video of his final farewell to NBC, which was strikingly poignant.

Friday night showed that TV continues to be about shared experiences, which helps to bind us together as a nation. That’s a good thing, no matter what the circumstances that precipitated these events.