Z on TV

A poll: What are you 'favorite' Jon & Kate moments?

2009-11-07T21:28:14Z

TLC is promoting Monday night's clip-job, cut-and-paste hour of video scraps as a special evening of nostalgia with Kate Gosselin.

Here's the way TLC describes it: "Kate takes a walk down memory lane as she looks back at viewers' favorite moments from Jon & Kate plus 8 and helps the audience countdown some of the best moments on the show."

So, these are going to be the "viewers' favorite moments," huh? How about the viewers who regularly visit this blog? What are your "favorite" moments?

]]> In the name of deconstructing this series that has so embraced duplicity, let's have a Z on TV poll of your favorite mock moments -- moments that show the Gosselin parents for what they really are.

In fairness, we will also accept genuine favorite moments -- because I know many bloggers here once really liked this show and do have some fond memories.

Either way -- genuine or mock -- is fine. Just be clear which it is. Heck, you can have one of each.

Nominations for favorite or "favorite" moments are accepted until 9 p.m. Monday (ET) when TLC airs the laundered and sanitized list with Kate as emcee.

Let the nominations begin.

Fox's Kilmeade on sharing foxhole with a Muslim

2009-11-07T17:51:39Z

What do you think about this statement made by co-host Brain Kilmeade on "Fox & Friends" in the wake of the Fort Hood killings? It starts out as a question, but ends up a controversial statement about Muslims in the U.S. military. Kilmeade is the Fox News anchor who earlier this year apologized for another controversial on-air statement he made about intermarriage.

]]> Did you notice Geraldo Rivera's initial "wow" reaction to Kilmeade's words? ... Well, again, what do you think?

C-SPAN shines on this historic weekend in House

2009-11-07T16:08:31Z

If you care at all about the future of health care in this country, please turn on C-SPAN today and watch the live debate in the House. It's historic, informative and passionate.

By 11 p.m., the Republicans had raised so many points of order that all conversation besically ground to a halt. Michigan Democrat John Dingell, who held the chair, brought his gavel down repeatedly amid pleas for "commity." You did not need to understand the ins and outs of Parliamentary Procedure to appreciate the battle that was playing out on the floor of the House.

All hail C-SPAN. I went to bed Friday night with the sounds of a late-night debate in the House Rules Committe coming from my bedside radio tuned to CSPN (90.1 FM), and awoke at 7 a.m. to C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" skillfully raising the curtain on the live and historic debate taking place in the House Saturday.

]]> Please spend some time this weekend with C-SPAN. These public service cable channels and their radio sister station really are a national treasure. If you want the kind of information it takes to be a truly informed citizen as this country goes through epic change, you need to make C-SPAN part of your core media diet. These are tumultuous times of monumental change, and much of the rest of the media has never been more polarized and ideologically contaminated.

I am going to be in Washington Sunday to appear on CNN's "Reliable Sources" at 10 a.m. (ET). I am looking forward to a spirted discussion there. But outside of that, my weekend is going to spent with C-SPAN until the vote is concluded. And even then, I'll probably stick around for the post-game analysis.

Viewers tuned to Fox News for Fort Hood coverage

2009-11-06T22:54:28Z

Fox News swamped the cable competition Thursday on a day and night when millions turned to their TVs for coverage of the rampage at Fort Hood.

CNN was the second most watched channel, but it wasn't close to Fox when it came to viewership. From Shepard Smith to Bret Baier and Bill O'Reilly, all the newscasters and show hosts dominated in their time period.

From 3 p.m. to midnight, Fox drew an average audience of 3.04 million viewers, while CNN was seen by 1.57 million. MSNBC drew an audience of 820,000. In the key demographic of viewers 25 to 54 years of age, almost doubled CNN's audience and more than tripled that of MSNBC.

Smith's newscasts proved to be among the cable channel's most watched programs. From 7 to 8 p.m., "Fox Report with Shepard Smith" drew an audience of 3.97 million viewers, while Lou Dobbs was seen by 1.52 million on CNN. Chris Matthews attracted 1.06 million on MSNBC.

]]> The ratings for Bill O'Reilly's hour at 8 p.m., which also included some live coverage of Fort Hood, were huge. O'Reilly was seen by 5 million viewers -- topping the audiences viewing such network shows as "Fringe" (Fox), "Parks and Recreation" (NBC) and the "Jay Leno Show" (NBC).

Rihanna, Brown and Oprah: Assault as a TV topic

2009-11-06T20:10:49Z

MTV Shows

Is there anything left in American life that does not ultimately find itself folded, bent and packaged for television? I am thinking about the strange interplay of TV interviews Friday night that will find Chris Brown being interviewed on MTV at 6 p.m. about his assault of former girlfriend, Rihanna, while she talks about the attack at 10 p.m. on ABC with Diane Sawyer. In one sense, I am glad to see the subject of such abuse discussed in a large public forum, but I do not know what lesson young men watching MTV will take about the consequences of such acts when they see Brown still being treated like a rock star hero. While there are issues involved with someone being judged guilty in the media before being found guilty in court, I think perhaps Oprah Winfrey's act of editing Bebe Winans out of her show in response to him being charged with misdemeanor domestic assault might have a greater impact. It shows men that there can be consequences for such acts. Tell me what you think about Brown's apology in this video. Do you think he gets it? Rihanna's TV interview will be one of the topics I'll be talking about as a guest on "Reliable Sources" Sunday at 10 a.m. on CNN.

MTV Shows

]]> I'll bet Winans gets it, though, now that he knows someone as powerful as Oprah is willing to make him pay for him alleged abusive actions.

Sawyer's 'sweeps' scoop: Rihanna 'breaks silence'

2009-11-05T13:37:22Z

It used to be that TV networks tried to present blockbuster special event entertainment programming in prime time during "sweeps" months to attract larger audiences. Expensive mini-series, controversial movies and big-name guest stars filled the airwaves in November, February and May.

Scratch that strategy as too expensive in these downsized media days.

Now the game is to get big-name stars and/or controversial guests on your talk shows. Think of Oprah and Barbara Walters with Sarah Palin later this month -- or Diane Sawyer scoring a November sweeps scoop Thursday on "Good Morning America" with Rihanna talking about the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of then-boyfriend Chris Brown. It is the first time she has talked about the widely-reported assault.

The pop star said it was "humiliating" and "traumatizing" to acknowledge that the assault took place. She also said it was "wrong" that she went back to Brown after the beatings. (AP Photo\ABC Ida Mae Astute)

]]> "That's embarrassing that that's the type of person that I fell in love with," Rihanna told Sawyer. "So far in love. So unconditional that I went back. It's humiliating to say this happened. To accept that? It's a traumatizing experience."

She added: "I stayed. I even went back after he beat me, which was wrong. But again ... I'm a human being and people put me on a very unrealistic pedestal. And all these expectations, I'm not perfect."

The full interview will air Friday at 10 p.m. on ABC's "20/20." Read more of the interview and see video here.

And I am sorry, NBC. But having Kate Gosselin on for the 50th time doesn't count in this league.

How about you? Will you be watching the Palin interviews? Will you watch Rihanna Friday night? Who would you like to see interviewed? Who are you sick of seeing? Yes, Kate Gosselin does count in this caregory.

WCHH changes gears to all-hit format as Z104.3

2009-11-05T12:51:10Z

Radio station WCHH-FM (104.3) changed format this week going to an Top 40 hits playlist. The story here is a fairly straightforward one of the former home to alternative music continuing to lose ratings ground to Baltimore's 98 Rock.

The Clear Channel station that is now packaged as Z104.3 will feature such artists as Britney Spears, Kanye West, Jay Z, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Black Eyed Peas.

"Baltimore is one of the rare exceptions in top 25 markets to not have a CHR format. It is finally time for listeners to be able to hear all the hits in one place, and Z104.3 is the new home for those hits. Operations Manager Thea Mitchem has put together an amazing music intensive format that Baltimore has asked for and we know they will love." President/Market Manager Hartley Adkins says in a Radio Online report of the shift.

]]> You can see and hear the station's new look and sound at online the www.z1043.com. It is in the midst of playing 10,000 songs commerfcial-free as part of the re-launch.

And now it is Jon Gosselin's turn to act out on TV

2009-11-04T16:47:59Z

]]> This is an insane story about the insane genre of reality TV -- and it is all playing out on TV. People ask me why I am so involved with the "Jon & Kate" story. When I started this blog last year, I promised that among other matters, I would also include in my coverage "the craziness" that is American TV. It does not get much crazier than what's going on with "Jon & Kate." This is a hit show gone out of control and headed for one of the most spectaular crack-ups in the history of television.

Kate Gosselin: Not so much in the ratings Monday

2009-11-04T11:27:28Z

After all the hype by TLC and the money spent by the Maryland-based cable company to try and buy some credibility from NBC News, Monday night's interview show with Kate Gosselin did not make much of a dent in the ratings loss that "Jon & Kate Plus 8" has suffered in recent months.

"Kate: Her Story," an hourlong interview of Kate Gosselin by NBC News correspondent Natalie Morales, drew an audience of 3.795 million viewers. That is up from 3 million the week before. But it is long way from the audience on 10 million with which the reality TV show, "Jon & Kate Plus 8," started the season in June. Last March before the tabloid explosion, the regular weekly show was averaging about 3.7 million, as I wrote at the time.

The program was promoted as a special hour of the most "intimate" conversation yet with Gosselin, who seems to have been interviewed a lot about herself in recent months. The only thing "special" about it was the peculiar arrangement of its production that saw TLC hire NBC's Peacock Productions to make the program. TLC appears to have been trying to buy some of the credibility of NBC News for its falling star, Kate Gosselin. Judging from yesterday's online reviews and blog comments, the reality-TV drenched cable channel did not seem to be so successful in that regard.

]]> TLC is not going to be making money off Kate Gosselin with 3.8 million viewers if it has to hire outside producers like NBC News to make programs featuring her. But the cable channel is in a desperate place with the show, since Kate Gosselin's estranged husband, Jon, has gone to court to shut down production. Jon Gosselin says he had an "epiphany" recently and came to understand that being on TV is bad for the couple's eight children.

TLC literally cannot make new epsiodes of the show unless Jon Gosselin, whom it is suing, relents -- or a court rules against his efforts to keep his children off this controversial TV show.

The cable channel will try to keep "Jon & Kate Plus 8" going with clip-job productions -- shows made up of film from eisodes that previously aired. I suspect they will use Kate Gosslin is a kind of hosting role, trying to package some of the old material as her "favorite" moments.

Kate Gosselin seems as desperate as TLC to stay on the air with some version of this franchise. They have managed in the last two weeks with unusual and heavily promoted episodes featuring Kate Gosselin to halt a ratings skid that saw the show drop to a low of 1.9 million viewers.

It appears that neither TLC nor Kate Gosselin is ready to throw in the towel.

HBO offers backstage pass to Obama campaign

2009-11-03T20:28:03Z

There are three things you should know about the HBO documentary "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama."

First, this two-hour film is the document in all likelihood by which the landmark presidential campaign of 2008 will be known to future generations. Think Theodore White's book on the 1960 campaign of John F. Kennedy, "The Making of the President."

Second, the documentary is so skillfully crafted that it will transport many viewers back to Nov. 4, 2008, and they will re-experience what they felt on that emotion-charged election night as the returns came in and it was announced that the nation had elected its first African-American president. I am astonished at the visceral and profound ways in which this film affected me.

And after three decades of parsing campaign documentaries ranging from "Primary" (1960) and "The War Room" (1993), to "Journeys with George" (2002), I thought I was immune.

Third, as skeptical as I am about anything born of an alliance between Hollywood and Washington, especially when it might shape national memory of a landmark event, I believe that producer Edward Norton and filmmakers Alicia Sams and Amy Rice have created a documentary that will stand the test of historical scrutiny.
]]> CNN's Wolf Blitzer announces on TV that Ben Cardin has been elected senator from Maryland. Obama and aide Robert Gibbs exchange smiles at the news as the senator from Illinois announces his goal of wanting "every candidate" for whom he campaigned to win.

The overture ends with Obama in a moment of joy saying, "I love elections. It's so much fun. It's even more fun when you're not on the ballot."

Quick cut to a snowy Iowa in February, 2007, with Obama on the ballot for president of the United States. Inside the modest campaign headquarters, it's about work, not fun, as viewers meet staffer Ronnie Cho, a twentysomething organizer handling Iowa's Polk County for Obama.

Cho's story is one of the narratives that makes "By the People" soar. Following him on and off all the way to election night in 2008 was a brilliant choice by Rice and Sams. Cho represents so many of the themes of this film and Obama's campaign: hope, youth, change, multiculturalism and unbridled optimism.

And he wears all of his emotions on his sleeve -- calling home to his mother from rental cars and motel rooms on the campaign trail, speaking from his heart about what he feels. One measure of the greatness of this film: When Cho cries, you feel his joy, you feel his pain. On election night, his ecstatic, tearful inability to do anything but sob into the phone is overwhelming.

Being able to reach back to mid-term elections in 2006 and the opening days of the Iowa caucuses contributes greatly to the power of the documentary. It also helps explain why Sams and Rice got access instead of others. Seeing the kind of hardball the Obama administration is now playing with media outlets like Fox News, it is not unreasonable to wonder about what went into them being the filmmakers allowed to get so close to the candidate.

"There was never a very clearly defined proposal and then a blanket acceptance," Norton, the Maryland-born actor, says when asked about access. "It was very much sort of access by stages and slow increments. We never said, 'We want to follow your presidential campaign.' We started talking to them in early 2006 in terms of a long-term political diary of sorts that chronicled his experiences as freshman senator as he confronted the realities of government and politics."

Norton says he and Rice told Obama and his advisers in their first meetings that they thought there was a "trend toward disengagement with politics by younger generations." They attributed that in part to lack of interest and appeal of "political candidates of the baby boomer generation." They said it was their belief that Obama "represented the new face of politics" and that they would like to try and "use him as a vehicle for introducing new generations to the political experience."

That sensibility -- a point of view that looks at the promise of Obama through the eyes of youth -- permeates the film. And it extends well beyond Cho. As the Iowa caucuses heat up, the film catches fire. And it is in part because the cameras of Sams and Rice take us into the trenches with the young campaign workers.

On Christmas Eve, just days before the caucuses themselves, we are in the makeshift Iowa headquarters at night with the staffers and volunteers. Most are far from home and you can sense an uncertainty about the price they are being asked to pay to help get Obama elected. It is faith, hope and mainly volunteer charity that keeps them hitting the phones and the computer keyboards on the candidate's behalf.

A short time later, it is easy to get caught up in the film's celebration of Obama's surprise victory, because through our identification with the young staffers and volunteers, we see it as much as a vindication of their belief in American politics as we do a victory for the candidate.

Understand that "By the People" is ultimately a celebration of Obama. And given the intense involvement in the lives of a candidate and campaign that such a documentary requires, it at least raises the question of how objective the filmmakers were able to remain after two years of traveling alongside Team Obama as it battled to win the White House.

"I never worried about, like, Stockholm Syndrome with the directors," Norton says in direct answer to that question. "Amy and Alicia had a pretty firm commitment to verite filmmaking from the beginning. They were never going to be Michael Moores imposing themselves or questions and points of view on the film. They were both clearly inclined -- both in their influences and references and personalities -- to be true documentarians."

Norton says their goal was "to absorb as much as possible with the cameras." As a result, he believes, "The objectivity of the film is very clear when you watch it."

That "objectivity" is rooted in what the filmmakers termed "man on the street" marching orders from Norton and his producing partners, Stuart Blumberg and Bill Migliore.

"We always kind of held onto the notion that Barack was going to be a prism through which the country would reveal itself -- that his candidacy would reverberate through the country in a way that would reflect where we are," Norton says, explaining the directive given Sams and Rice to constantly record reaction to Obama along parade roots, on front porches, on the press plane, and up and down Main Streets across the country.

"So, almost in a classical sense, what you would have is the notion of a Greek chorus," Norton says. "You would have intimacy with Barack, but then, you would also have the film stepping out to see how he's being received by the country. ... We all felt that if we were also studying the way people were reacting to him, then we were doing something that was an objective piece of documentary history."

On TV: "By the People: The Election of Barack Obama" airs 9 p.m. Tuesday on HBO.

TLC, NBC, Morales host pity party for Kate Gosselin

2009-11-03T03:19:01Z

TLC and NBC News teamed up to deliver a pity party and Kate Gosselin cry-a-thon all rolled into one Monday night. It was a new low in the pathos and bathos of what has become the greatest reality TV crackup of all time. Kate started crying less than 10 minutes into the hour, and she never turned the tears off until the final credits rolled.

Let me give you the big picture of what was going on first in this NBC News approved and produced hourlong interview of Kate Gosselin by "Today" show correspondent Natalie Morales. TLC paid for a piece of the credibility of NBC News, and here is the trick that the network producers used to try and deliver the goods.

Instead of performing like a journalistic interviewer, Morales played the role of a defense attorney forced to put her client on the stand because there is so much evidence against the client. So, what Morales did in her defense attorney role is time after time state the charges against her client in such a way that Kate could easily refute them. This is beyond asking softball questions. This is a far more sophisticated manuever that undermines and seeks to dismiss the allegations against a client even as the defense attorney states them.

Typical of the back and forth was this exchange with Morales bringing up rumors of Kate having an affair with her bodyguard.

]]> After a voiceover intro that says, "Now, Kate Gosselin is responding to the gossip and innuendo," Morales says: "There have been a lot of rumors about Jon and infidelity. There have been rumors about you and infidelity. And Jon said in past interviews that he suspected first that you were having an affair with your bodyguard. Would you like to set the record straight?"

So, now whatever Kate says is implied to be the truth: She is setting the record straight.

And Kate says, "It is so unthinkable to me that to have to think about it makes me sick...."

Great, now the record is straight. Glad that was cleared up so decisively.

How about her lies about her having only $1,000 and being unable to pay her bills? Or how about her not yet accounting for the money she took from the account? Here's the way "Kate's Story" dealt with that.

MORALES: Let's talk about finances -- Jon tapping into your account, your joint account. Was the money returned in full? What's the status of the money right now?

KATE: "The judge ruled it's all been taken care of. I did everything that I needed to do. I'm the bill payer in the household, and all the money I spent has been spent on family things, mortgage, utility. So, the important thing is it's all figured out for now."

Ok, fine, Kate says it's all figured out and she doesn't want to be any more specific about the money the judge ordered her to account for, and the hard-hitting Natalie Morales leaves it right there. Except Kate's shopping buddy has some more mopping up to do as regards allegations that Kate has not put aside all the money she says she has for the kids.

MORALES: In terms of a separate account for the children, that's secure?

KATE: Secure. Because it's their money, and my goal in all of this is that they have the opportunity to go to college. It is absolutely secure, locked up and safe. I'm very proud of that.

Once again, no specifics, no evidence, no follow-up. We must simply take Kate at her word -- actually Morales' word that the kids money is "secure."

Kate was unbelieavable in all her old and tedious ways. She said again, "I just want peace for my kids."

She said again that she is a "contract honorer," and Jon is not, and that is why TLC is in her judgment righteous in suing him.

And here is Natalie Morales, for the defense, once again: "Some have accused you of using the show as paycheck. This is your income. What do you say?"

Come on, Kate, knock it down. You can do it.

KATE: I've heard accusations that I set out for this reality show as my paycheck and that I wanted to become some huge celebrity, which I laugh about. It has become our primary source of income, but nobody could have predicted that."

Why not? You signed contracts, and TLC gave you money. Even in the first season, it was more than you and Jon ever saw at your other jobs. How could you not see it was your primary source of income?

But that would be my follow-up question. As for Morales, she had already served her role as setting up Kate to refute the accusation.

Here is one of Kate's greatest moments, though, playing the childbirth and mommy cards in the face of one of the most serious charges against her.

MORALES: SO when people ask you, 'Are you exploiting the children, allowing these cameras to come in?' Are you compromising your children in any way by doing that?

KATE: (Pause while Kate gathers herself) Coming from a mom who laid on bedrest from the time I found out I was pregnant, seven-weeks pregnant 'til 30 weeks. And absolutely would not put anything in my mouth that would harm them, and fought for every second of their existence. I can tell you that there is nothing that would ever force me to put them in harm's way."

When Kate plays the "laid on bedrest" card, it is all over but the shouting.

She was more ridiculous and pathetic than ever, but maybe that is just because she was on camera saying crazy stuff longer than ever.

One of my favorite moments came when she became so overcome with emotion that she had to stop altogether and gather herself to deliver this line: "I still wake up every day and I think the phone will ring, and it will be the old Jon."

But later, she said the old Jon was filled with "anger," and they would have broken up anyway even if they never had a reality TV show.

And at another point, she said actually it was her "kids" who say they want the "old Jon" back.

Which is it Kate? And did you ever wake up even one day hoping that angry guy whose breathing you couldn't stand would call?

Or, did you just think people would feel sorry for you if you said it? And you knew you could get away with saying such stuff, because Morales, your defense attorney, wouldn't call you on it?

See NBC News shill for Kate Gosselin special

2009-11-02T21:52:04Z

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

]]> This is shameless, and to think I defended Meredith Vieira's interview with Kate. I will be back later Monday night with a review of the interview. Please stop back.

ESPN film revisits death of Maryland's Len Bias

2009-11-02T11:42:58Z

Maryland is again the focus of the ESPN film series "30 for 30" this week as it premieres Kirk Fraser's "Without Bias," a look at the career, death and impact of one-time University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias.

This production is part of the same film series that last month showcased Barry Levinson's documentary on the Baltimore Colts Marching Band, "The Band That Wouldn't Die."

The publicity notes promise "the most ambitious, comprehensive and uncompromising account of Bias' life and death ever captured on film." And I will say Fraser seems to have had excellent access to members of Bias' family, teammates, coaches, Washington area media types who covered Bias and even the athlete's girlfriend.

]]> But the best even the promotional material can claim is that Fraser "utilizes dozens of interviews ... in an effort to determine exactly what happened on that fateful night" when Bias died after consuming cocaine in a University of Maryland dorm room.

And that is what "Without Bias" comes down to in the end: an "effort" to determine what happened -- not any kind of convincing determination. Like so many before him, Fraser ends up with a raft of unanswered questions. Bias' girlfriend says she never saw him use drugs, while the classmate who was with him in the room and was ultimately acquitted on four cocaine charges says today that he and Bias had used cocaine before.

To his credit, Fraser does explore some of the fallout -- and even legacy of Bias' death. That ranges from the resignations and firing at the University of Maryland, to passage of federal maximum minimum laws for users of small amounts of certain drugs.

What the documentary lacks is a strong dramatic arc. In the end, it feels more like a long magazine piece than a documentary film.

The death of Len Bias still has power, and the film captures some of that. But while it could have been a poignant meditation on all that promise lost, it merely leaves you feeling sad and somewhat confused about this athlete who died so young.

The film premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.

See photos of Len Bias here.

'Leno Factor' is killing Baltimore's WBAL -- Part 2

2009-11-01T16:14:20Z

On Oct. 2, two weeks into the fall season, I wrote a piece saying it looked as if we had a preliminary answer to the question of the TV year: How will Jay Leno do in prime time for NBC?

That answer: Not very well.

I also said that while the troubled NBC is probably willing to live with being a low-cost alternative to the other networks in prime time, affiliates like Baltimore's WBAL (Channel 11), looked as if they were going to be feeling some real pain in the pocketbook from reduced sales on their late newscasts as a result of NBC's bold move. I wondered how long they would be willing to live with it.

After four more weeks, the October ratings are in, and the news is even worse than I predicted for Leno and WBAL in Baltimore. At 10 p.m., not only does Leno get beat by prime-time entertainment programming on the other network owned and affiliated stations in the market, WBFF Fox-45 beats Leno with its 10 p.m. newscast.

I'm talking about the key sales demographic of viewers 25 to 54 years of age, because that is what the stations live or die with in the real world. And when you extend the look at those figures into 11 p.m., the news only gets worse for WBAL.

]]> For decades, the story of the late news was one of a back-and-forth struggle between WBAL and WJZ for leadership.

Say goodbye to that story line in the new post-Leno era. WJZ not only is firmly established in first place, it doubles WBAL's audience in the key demographic. In fact, WBFF gets a bigger audience at 10 for its news than WBAL now does at 11.

The rating for viewers 25-54 goes from a 3.8 for NBC programming in prime time up until 10 p.m., to 2.2 for Leno from 10 to 11. After that, it is 2.0 for WBAL's late news, followed by only 0.9 for Conan O'Brien's "Tonight" show -- and 0.5 for Jimmy Fallon.

These are the numbers of a failed programming move made by NBC that its owned and affiliated stations like WBAL must now live -- and suffer -- with.

NBC News risks its name on Kate Gosselin interview

2009-10-30T18:32:04Z

On the one hand, you have a Maryland-based cable company with a dying show that it can't even keep in production. On the other, you have a faltering network with sinking revenues looking for any way it can to make a buck off its celebrated brand. Sounds like a perfect TV marriage, no?

Those are the story lines behind TLC's weird Monday-night production, "Kate: Her Story," which the cable channel in grand-hype mode promises will be Gosselin's "most intimate interview" ever. Sure.

But the surprising thing to me is the way in which NBC News is risking its reputation on such a dicey character as Kate Gosselin. Natalie Morales, NBC News correspondent, will conduct the interview with the mother of eight.

The one-hour program scheduled to air Monday at 9 p.m. is officially an NBC production, reviewed and approved by NBC News, according to Lauren Kapp, vice president of communications for the network news division.

"NBC news has final approval," Kapp said in e-mail statement Friday to the "Sun" on Friday. "All shows produced by Peacock Productions are reviewed by NBC News management." (AP Photo/Katy Winn)

]]> In answer to a question asked over the telephone, Kapp said that while TLC hired NBC to produce Monday's show, there was no deal between the cable company and the network to make Kate Gosselin available to NBC's "Today" show for recent morning show interviews.

So, let me translate what this means, because there are larger stories here both in terms of where TLC stands with this beleaguered show and what's happening at NBC, the last place major network.

"Jon & Kate" is dead as a doornail. They can't use the kids as long as Jon stays with his court action to keep them off the air, and TLC is already about two beats past what it can do with only Kate. It had her read sanitized letters last week, and the audience edged up from 1.9 million the week before to 3 million. Two week ago, the audience was 2.5 million.

Even if the audience holds at 3 million, the show will still have lost more than 70 percent of its audience the last four months. I cannot think of any other prime-time series to which that has ever happened in the three decades I have been writing about TV. That is a massive tune-out.

So, now comes this interview Monday. TLC's action doesn't surprise me in the least. It can't put a "Jon & Kate" epsiode on the air. So, it pays NBC to do a show in which one of the network's newswomen interviews Kate, and the NBC Peacock Productions logo goes on the product.

TLC is trying to buy some of the credibility that the NBC News brand has built up over an impressive six decades of journalism. If Monday's interview is a shameless softball session with Kate spinning her brains out and talking in code, while Morales nods approvingly and seems to sanction Kate's words, the network shames all the people who once made NBC News great.

But, in fairness, let's not pre-judge the interview. And let's also admit in these revolutionary media days and hard economic times, that all sorts of journalistic institutions are getting involved in partnerships they would not have touched with a 10 foot pole just a few years ago. And the kinds of things Kate Gosselin says in interviews is definitely the stuff for which 10-foot poles were made when it comes to a news division's credibility.

Remember how she told Meredith Vieira on "Today" that she had a purse full of bills she couldn't pay because Jon stole all their money and she and the kids had only $1,000 left. Sure.