I kind of stumbled onto a new combination of meds. I thought, ‘There’s no reason not to work.’ And so I started to accept more work.Michael J. Fox, in an interview with Diane Sawyer earlier this year. Fox, 51, has been out of the show business limelight for many years, after going public with his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in 1998 and leaving behind TV to focus on his health, and helping the effort to discover a cure. Now, fourteen years later, Fox’s drug regimen has improved to the point that he feels it’s time to return to the screen with a regular gig — an NBC sitcom. We couldn’t be happier for him – and he was great on Curb Your Enthusiasm last year, too.
It’s undeniable we hurt our ratings by doing that. We have to balance what we’re trying to do for viewers across the country and our business model.NBC Sports Chairman Mark Lazarus • Discussing whether or not NBC should have tape-delayed some events which ran live; specifically noting the men’s basketball finals between the U.S. and Spain, and men’s tennis finals between Andy Murray and Roger Federer. The London Olympics became the most-watched television event in U.S. history, surpassing the 2008 games in Beijing, and drew a total audience of 219.4 million viewers. The network may even turn a profit on the coverage, after initially forecasting a $200 million loss, and is now wondering if additional tape delays during future Olympics might be in their best interest. source (via • follow)
neightkelly asks: What seems rather suspect? That twitter silenced him or that he leaked the email?
» SFB says: That Twitter silenced him. That sets a very bad precedent for the company and suggests it was for reasons other than those specifically stated. — Ernie @ SFB
Specific or general, a tribute to the missing seems like precisely the most sensitive section of a ceremony to edit out. And besides that, given the stranglehold NBC maintains on content for an event its audience has a massive interest in, why edit anything out? It may have been a long ceremony, as they always are, but there was plenty of time to air the song rather than have Ryan Seacrest interview athletes (which NBC has the rest of the games to do, over and over and over).James Poniewozik, Time Magazine television critic, on NBC’s edit of yesterday’s Olympics opening ceremony. NBC set off a bit of a hullabaloo over the exclusion of a sequence officially billed as a tribute for “loved ones who couldn’t be with us,” which was widely interpreted and reported as a remembrance of victims of the 7/7 London metro bombings. Instead of airing the sequence, they played an interview (panned as “bland” by the UK’s Daily Mail) with swimmer Michael Phelps. The July 7th terrorist attacks occurred all the way back in 2005, within a day of the announcement that London would host this year’s games.
A look back at pre-split MSNBC: How did a news brand, meant to be the ultimate TV/online integration, split in two? Sixteen years after the fact, we look back at the circumstances that at first made MSNBC a good idea for Microsoft and NBC News, and the difficulties that eventually led the two companies to go their separate ways. For fans of cool tools, we made this with Jux, which is something of a Tumblr for slideshows. Check it out.
It’s official: MSNBC.com is now NBCNews.com
Howard Kurtz may not have had the exclusive, but his timing wasn’t far off.
It’s “going to be a bit of a tough day,” she told USA TODAY in a 40-minute phone interview Wednesday, sounding as though she were fighting back tears. “I’m going to have to tell our viewers. That’s what makes me more emotional than anything. I don’t want to leave them. I love them. And I will really miss them.‘Today’ co-host Ann Curry will bid farewell today – USATODAY.com (via apsies)
I didn’t go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I’ve helped. There are many that I didn’t have — I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways.Jerry Sandusky • In unaired footage from his interview with Bob Costas for NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams”, which prosecutors may show to members of the jury in his child molestation trial. Costas had questioned whether Sandusky fit the modus operandi of most pedophiles, considering his heavily-cited work with a number of youth throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Many believe Sandusky’s comments will be end any hopes he may have had for coming out of this ordeal without jail time. source (via • follow)
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Reddit user Britta-Bot has set to work recreating “Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne”, the 8-bit title featured on NBC sitcom Community’s season finale. While the title is in it’s early stages, featuring little more than a handful of maps and characters seen on the show, Britta-Bot plans to introduce health and inventory systems, new maps, and more in future releases. Community fans, this is definitely something worth checking in on from time to time. (thanks to LaughterKey for the tip) source
Still early, but we have one. More as we get them.
EDIT: Here’s the banner on MSNBC’s front page:
Powell not ready to “throw my weight” behind anyone: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is making a trip around the media circuit to promote his latest book, but all people want to ask him about is who he’ll support in the upcoming election. Maybe he’d make this announcement on a morning talk show, right? Wrong. He did offer a mixed review of President Obama’s first term in office, listing Guantanamo Bay as a failure and the more stable economy as a success. Powell endorsed Obama in 2008. source
In case you haven’t heard, Kristen Wiig’s final episode as an SNL cast member was last night. (It was also rumored that the ep would be Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg’s last, but neither of them received the tearful goodbye that Wiig did — though unlike them, it was confirmed in her case.)
Be sure to watch this with tissues nearby; Wiig’s wacky characters will be missed from SNL’s stage, but we can’t wait for when she has the opportunity to host an episode all on her own. Lorne Michaels, the show creator, said “any decision on cast changes will wait until the summer.” source
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