Connect to share and comment

NBC News looks to Britain for its new president

By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Deborah Turness, a former top TV news editor in Britain, will take over as NBC News president in August, at a time when it is looking to turn around the fortunes of its news division. Turness will replace Steve Capus, who left the network in February. She will report to Patricia Fili-Krushel, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, who oversees the news unit's business operations. NBC is owned by Comcast Corp.

NBC hires Deborah Turness of Britain's ITV as news division president; 1st woman to hold job

NEW YORK, N.Y. - NBC went out of the company and out of the country to find a president for its news division, on Monday naming the first woman to hold the top job. Deborah Turness, former editor of ITV News in Britain, replaces Steve Capus, who resigned earlier this year, and will begin her new job in August.

Original sitcoms coming to the USA network for the first time

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The USA television network is looking for laughs, and will premiere its first-ever original situation comedies next winter. "Sirens" focuses on three emergency medical technicians from Chicago who are good at their jobs but with personal lives that leave something to be desired. Denis Leary, who starred in FX's "Rescue Me," wrote and produced the series but is not onscreen. "Playing House" stars Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham as friends who draw closer when one has a baby.

CBS will premiere 4 new comedies in the fall, including 1 with Robin Williams

NEW YORK, N.Y. - CBS on Wednesday revealed a few nips and tucks it is planning next season for what is already network television's most successful schedule, including adding a comedy with Robin Williams playing an unorthodox advertising executive with Sarah Michelle Gellar as his daughter. It will move "Person of Interest" to Tuesdays, pairing it with "NCIS" and "NCIS: Los Angeles" to have television's three most-watched dramas on the same night and the same network.

CBS holds onto its ratings lead in prime time; TNT most popular cable network last week

NEW YORK, N.Y. - With broadcast networks unveiling their new schedules, the television industry is focused on potential ratings hits next season. But TV programming remained largely status quo last week with CBS maintaining its decisive lead, Nielsen Co. figures showed Tuesday. CBS' decade-old smash, "NCIS," held onto the No. 1 position, drawing more than 17 million viewers. Right behind was the network's sitcom hit, "The Big Bang Theory," seen by 16 million viewers, followed by spinoff "NCIS: Los Angeles," with 13 million viewers.

Bank of Japan in contact with Bloomberg on data access

Japan's central bank on Tuesday became the latest organisation to express concerns over the access journalists at Bloomberg News have had to potentially sensitive data. The Bank of Japan's comment comes as a scandal grows for the financial news wire, whose terminals are used every day by officials at many of the world's most important institutions and banks. "We are now in contact with Bloomberg's office in Tokyo to determine the facts," said a BoJ spokesman, adding that he hopes Bloomberg will make a formal announcement about the facts as "its responsibility to clients."

In ratings challenge, NBC and Fox revive old favorites

By Liana B. Baker and Lisa Richwine (Reuters) - Broadcast networks Fox and NBC are turning to proven favorites to lure new viewers next season, with Fox rebooting the defunct Kiefer Sutherland action series "24" and NBC bringing back Michael J. Fox in a comedy loosely based on his life. The two networks pitched their TV schedules to advertisers on Monday at the start of the "upfront" selling season, an annual rite when broadcasters try to persuade advertisers to shell out billions of dollars in advance for their new shows.

Report: More than 10,000 Bloomberg user messages leaked as editor apologizes for privacy lapse

NEW YORK, N.Y. - A published report says financial data and news service Bloomberg accidently leaked online more than 10,000 private messages containing sensitive pricing data exchanged by users of Bloomberg's financial information service. The Financial Times reported Monday that the messages between traders at dozens of large banks from one day in 2009 and one in 2010 had been put online by a former Bloomberg employee. The newspaper says it's possible he may have intended them to be uploaded to a secure site.

Pioneer US TV anchor Barbara Walters to retire

Barbara Walters, who in 1976 became the first woman to anchor one of the daily network television news shows, announced late Sunday that she will retire next year. Walters, 83, began her career in TV journalism in 1961 at NBC's morning news and entertainment program "The Today Show." Fifteen years later she moved to rival ABC to co-host the influential "Evening News," a first for a female journalist.

Pioneer US TV anchor Barbara Walters to retire

Barbara Walters, who in 1976 became the first woman to anchor one of the daily network television news shows, announced late Sunday that she will retire next year. Walters, 83, began her career in TV journalism in 1961 at NBC's morning news and entertainment program "The Today Show." Fifteen years later she moved to rival ABC to co-host the influential "Evening News," a first for a female journalist.
Syndicate content