television – News Stories About television - Page 52

Saved by Zero? Or Sick to
Death of It?

Nov 6, 2008 2:30 PM CST

Saved by Zero? Or Sick to Death of It?

Toyota's relentless 0% APR ads wear thin ... and will continue

(Newser) - “Saved by zero?” Try bored. Toyota’s 0% APR ad campaign has left TV viewers annoyed—by both the jingle and the fact that it airs seemingly incessantly, AP reports. Though some might appreciate the extension of 0% financing, originally set to expire this week, most viewers are bemoaning...

Obama Owes Her Big Time

Nov 6, 2008 2:07 PM CST

Obama Owes Her Big Time

Winfrey's endorsement gave candidate huge boost, especially during primaries

(Newser) - As an early backer of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey may have made the difference in the close primary contest against Hillary Clinton, Jake Tapper writes for ABC’s Nightline. One statistician estimates Winfrey—whose choices for her book club, for example, have an astronomical impact on book sales—delivered between...

Oprah on
Obama Win:
'We Did This'

Nov 5, 2008 9:40 AM CST

Oprah on Obama Win: 'We Did This'

TV host plans special election show today

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey began to open up about the election last night in Chicago, and today on her show, she’ll “unleash” her views on Barack Obama’s victory, her website says. “This happened because we did this,” she told Mark Halperin at Obama’s rally. "We...

Edwards' ER
Check Funds
African Hospital

Nov 4, 2008 12:36 PM CST

Edwards' ER Check Funds African Hospital

Anthony Edwards asks for charity donation for cost of guest appearance

(Newser) - In lieu of a paycheck for his return to ER as the deceased Dr. Mark Greene, with scenes shot in flashbacks, Anthony Edwards asked Warner Bros. to donate $125,000 to help build a 250-bed hospital in Africa, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Steven Spielberg matched that money, and ER's executive...

Grey's Axes Lesbian Doc

Nov 4, 2008 12:09 PM CST

Grey's Axes Lesbian Doc

Brooke Smith's last show airs Thursday

(Newser) - ABC is ending Callie and Erica's lesbian romance on Grey's Anatomy—and Brooke Smith's role as Dr. Erica Hahn along with it. Though Grey's executive producer said Smith's firing was due to a lack of "magic and chemistry," not her character's sexual orientation, insiders told Entertainment Weekly that...

Could Rain Trigger Autism?

Nov 4, 2008 9:50 AM CST

Could Rain Trigger Autism?

Surprise link between autism and rainfall

(Newser) - US counties with higher rates of rainfall also have higher rates of autism, according to a controversial new study published by the American Medical Association. Pollutants in the precipitation, longer periods spent watching television, lower levels of vitamin D, or some other environmental factor linked to rainfall may trigger autism...

TV's Gimmickry
Diminishes Election

OPINION

Nov 3, 2008 1:27 PM CST

TV's Gimmickry Diminishes Election

News operations aim for ratings, shoot viewers instead

(Newser) - Tomorrow night will be a high-water mark for TV news gadget gimmickry as the networks try to hook some of the millions of viewers who will tune in for election coverage, Rick Kushman writes in the Sacramento Bee. Some, like the technology that will allow TV networks to have instant...

Maddow's Success
Defies TV's Formula

GLOSSIES

Nov 3, 2008 12:57 PM CST

Maddow's Success Defies TV's Formula

MSNBC's unlikely hit powered by brains, drive

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow is an unlikely cable-news pundit: butch lesbian, holder of a doctorate from Oxford, erstwhile drive-time radio sidekick. But her MSNBC show, launched in September, has been wildly successful, not least because of her good humor and outsider credentials. She plays well with Pat Buchanan, and still snags a...

CBS 'Comfort Food' Wins Over Younger Viewers

Nov 3, 2008 12:39 PM CST

CBS 'Comfort Food' Wins Over Younger Viewers

Though all networks see viewership dip, Eye boasts much smaller slide

(Newser) - CBS isn’t supposed to jockey for the much-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic—it’s supposed to be the network of cop shows starring 50-year-olds. But it’s creaming its rivals during the fall TV season, the New York Times reports, and exec Les Moonves has a theory: “comfort food.”...

Teen Pregnancy
Tied to Steamy TV

Nov 3, 2008 9:37 AM CST

Teen Pregnancy Tied to Steamy TV

Kids who watched most sex content twice as likely to face issue

(Newser) - Teenagers who watch more sexual content on TV are far more likely to face pregnancy, a new study suggests. Of 700 teens interviewed over 3 years, those who watched the most sexual material—on shows such as Friends and Sex and the City—were about twice as likely to get...

Betty's Ugly Charms Wear Thin

OPINION

Oct 31, 2008 3:30 PM CDT

Betty's Ugly Charms Wear Thin

Star Ferrera's rumored off-set cattiness isn't helping, either

(Newser) - When she lost the poncho, she lost the charm: America Ferrera’s Ugly Betty character “seems to be losing her very Betty-ness,” lament the Fug Girls in New York. “Ferrera and her scrappy, brace-faced alter ego” once brought “surprising heart” to ABC’s show, but “...

Is Don Draper Hooking Up With Tina Fey?

Oct 31, 2008 12:38 PM CDT

Is Don Draper Hooking Up With Tina Fey?

Rumor has it Mad Men star will play love interest on 30 Rock

(Newser) - Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better for Tina Fey, she’s about to get a hot, albeit fictional, new beau. A “Rock-solid mole” tells Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello that Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame has signed on for a multi-episode stint on 30 Rock....

Real McCain Set for SNL

Oct 31, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Real McCain Set for SNL

Exec won't deny rumor that Obama will be on, too

(Newser) - John McCain will take a page from Sarah Palin's book and appear on Saturday Night Live tomorrow, aides tell the AP. It will be his first appearance on the show since May. Meanwhile, rumors continue to fly that Barack Obama will stop, too, but SNL reps aren't confirming or denying...

TiVo Brings Netflix to a TV Near You

Oct 30, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

TiVo Brings Netflix to a TV Near You

Companies finally join forces to offer streaming video

(Newser) - Starting in December, TiVo owners will be able to watch Netflix movies and TV episodes on their televisions, Ars Technica reports. Consumers will need to own a compatible TiVo device and subscribe to both services to get access to over 12,000 movies and shows. The companies first discussed a...

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94

OBITUARY

Oct 30, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Estelle Reiner Dead at 94

'I’ll have what she’s having,' clan matriarch said after famous When Harry Met Sally scene

(Newser) - Estelle Reiner, wife of actor Carl Reiner and mother to actor/director Rob Reiner, died Saturday at her home in Beverly Hills at 94, the New York Times reports. Estelle is perhaps best known for her cameo in Rob’s 1989 film When Harry Met Sally, where, following Meg Ryan’s...

West Wing Writers
Get Election Déjà Vu

Oct 30, 2008 6:14 AM CDT

West Wing Writers Get Election Déjà Vu

Politics imitates fiction imitating politics in closing days of the 2008 race

(Newser) - A minority Democratic candidate battling an older Republican maverick in an election overshadowed by national crisis sounds pretty familiar to the makers of The West Wing—who wrote that script 4 years ago. As the 2008 race enters the home stretch, the parallels between it and The West Wing's final...

First Laser TV Hits the Market

Oct 29, 2008 5:25 PM CDT

First Laser TV Hits the Market

LaserVue promises more colors, needs less electricity

(Newser) - Mitsubishi has released the world’s first laser television, TechRadar reports. The LaserVue L65-A90 uses DLP technology, which runs most projectors, to deliver colors twice as rich as an HDTV. The LaserVue is also greener than HD, using a quarter of the power of a plasma TV. But it will...

Swayze: I Catch 'Myself With
a Smile on
My Face'

Oct 29, 2008 12:10 PM CDT

Swayze: I Catch 'Myself With a Smile on My Face'

Cancer-stricken actor is working, 'proud' of it

(Newser) - Patrick Swayze is healthy, working, and excited by the future, the New York Times reports. The actor, who is responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer, is shooting a cop drama for A&E, The Beast. “I do find myself, at the end of the day, riding home sort...

Fox Vetoes World Series
Day Game

Oct 29, 2008 12:00 PM CDT

Fox Vetoes World Series Day Game

Prefers prime time start

(Newser) - With all the late starts and later finishes plaguing the World Series, many are pining for an old-fashioned day game—including Bud Selig. The commish says he’d love to schedule an afternoon contest, if only Fox would let him. But the network insists on starting in prime time, when...

Hannity, Olbermann:
On Different Planets

OPINION

Oct 27, 2008 12:29 PM CDT

Hannity, Olbermann: On Different Planets

(Newser) - Barack Obama has suggested voters are “seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality”—and he’s right, Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post. "Adored by fans and derided by critics," Fox's Hannity is an unapologetic John McCain booster, while...