TV-News+Update+5

CNN selects iReporter to cover royal wedding
-Tucker Bass

I was unaware that Prince William was getting married, let alone that anybody cared. Apparently it's a big deal. The "Royal Wedding" isn't very interesting however the fact that CNN chose a blogger on iReport with no journalistic experience, save for her blogging skills is of some significance. The Royal Wedding to most people is a big deal, the first born of Princess Diana is finally getting married. Woopdie -doo. Considering the insane amount of press and attention this wedding has received, I found it interesting that CNN picked a nobody to cover it. Maybe they don't care either? If anything, their reporter selection shows a change in the industry from hard news to an abundance of crap and the loss of jobs to people who with no credentials. Harsh, maybe, however it's frustrating to turn on the television after spending four years in college and find nothing except for "Royal Wedding!" "Royal Wedding!"

http://www.tvnewsinsider.com/11842

Co-Founder of Los Angeles Magazine Passes Away
= Posted by: Adam White =

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Geoff Miller, co-founder of the legendary Los Angeles Magazine dies at 74. According to Miller's wife, he died of a degenerative nerve disease. Los Angeles Magazine is regarded as one of the nation's first city magazines, which began circulation in 1960 and is today 140,000 readers strong. He was the editor-in-chief of the magazine from 1974-1990, when he became publisher. It is noteworthy to mention that the readership was 17,000 at the time he became the lead editor and reached as high as 160,000. The magazine is known for its "star-studded" covers and its guide into the pulse of the city of Los Angeles. Miller and his business partner David Brown, started the magazine on a $50,000 budget. Ironically, their very first issue was cut and pasted together. Some famous contributors to the magazine included Ray Bradbury, Joseph Wambaugh, and Budd Schulberg. Celebrities that were featured on the front cover included Alfred Hitchcock and Christopher Reeve. =====

[|http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/business/media/18miller.html?ref=]

=ABC News President Announces New Members to Senior Leadership Team= Posted By: Sarah Jasso http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/abc-news-president-ben-sherwood-names-barbara-fedida/story?id=13407410&page=1

ABC News President Ben Sherwood recently announced three additions to his senior leadership team at ABC News including two people who he brought back to the network. Barbara Fedida will be returning to ABC news as Senior Vice President for Talent and Business. Fedida comes to ABC news from competitor CBS news where she worked as the top talent executive. Prior to working at CBS, she spent many years at ABC News as an award-winning producer for Peter Jennings at World News Tonight.  Joe Ruffolo will be responsible for building on the success of ABC News Digital and charting a bold course to greater impact, reach and revenue as the new Senior Vice President of ABC News Digital. Most recently, Joe held the position of Vice President of AOL.com, where he managed their homepage operations and supervised daily video series. As one of the top providers of news and information AOL.com currently serves 15 million users per day. Lastly, Susan Mercandetti will be returning to ABC as Vice President for Business Development and Partnerships. Prior to leaving ABC to venture in print, Mercandetti spent over a decade in the news division at ABC as producer for Good Morning America and then as a producer for Nightline.

= Newsers Dragged Into FTC Inquiry = Posted By: Rachel Mayes

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission caught 10 companies making "fake news websites" in order to illegally promote their product. They used the logos of News websites such as NBC, CBS News, CNN, MSNBC and FOX News to legitimize their product the Acai Berry and that it actually causes weight loss. The News stations have talked about the Acia Berry during one of their news segments stating that research has been done and the Acai berry made lead to weight loss however, the problem is the companies never asked the news stations to endorse their products. Which is exactly what their websites portrayed. This is just another prime example of people abusing the internet and how what is read on the internet may not always be legitimate.

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/newsers-dragged-into-ftc-inquiry_b62411#more-62411

NBC Nightly News Reaches 1 Million More Total Viewers than ABC Elizabeth Stone

NBC’s Nightly News with Brian has been America’s number one nightly news broadcasts for 83 consecutive weeks in a row. This week the NBC’s Nightly News Broadcast was able to pull in 8.729 million viewers, while ABC had 7.703 viewers and CBS trailing with 5.482 viewers. The most significant part about having this amount of viewers is that NBC has been able to pull in the most viewers in the key demographic of the 25-54 age bracket. This demographic is extremely important because they are the demographic that advertisers find most willing to be influenced by advertisements and most likely to buy their products. Selling ad space is crucial for nightly new broadcast programs because they are a dying medium in a time where people can online for news information or use an application on their smart phone. If NBC continues to bring in a high number of viewers, they will attract the more advertisers allowing them to stay on the air.

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=**Univision Plans Three New Cable Channels, Including a Potential 24-Hour News Channel**= Univision Communications, the most watched U.S. Spanish language broadcast network, is planning to introduce three new cable channels in the coming two years. The company is looking to add a telenovela station, a sports station, and a 24-hour news network according to a broadcaster in New York who remained anonymous. Univision is looking to expand in the cable market even as its broadcast network is growing in total viewers in the age 18-49 audience. According to the Wall Street Journal, Univision plans to spend $20 million to $30 million on new TV networks and sales efforts, and another $40 million on soccer TV rights.
 * Andrew Burer**

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Broadcasting Revenue Down For Media General Inc.

By Andrea Alfano According to an article from the TV News Insider website, Media General Inc. said that its first quarter loss worsened by 54%. Media General Inc. is a news company that owns many local news stations and newspapers in southeastern part of the United States. The company said in the report that the loss of revenue was due to a lack of special events. Broadcasting revenue was up for its NBC stations due to last year’s Olympic activities, but since then there has been nothing but losses for the company. This is significant to the television news industry because without special events or breaking news stories like the natural disasters or the crisis in Egypt, viewership would be lower than ever. This affects all television news companies, not just Media General Inc. The trend seems to be shifting from viewing the news on television sets to reading and viewing the news stories online.

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