Not such a hot summer as Fox & CBS tie for No. 1
Fox finished the best season in its history by tying for first place for the summer among viewers 18-49, the only network to show summer-to-summer gains in the demo. Fox tied with CBS, each with a 2.3 average rating and a 7 share. Fox was up 5 percent versus a 2.2/7 last summer while CBS slipped 8 percent from a 2.5/8. ABC finished third with a competitive 2.2 average rating and 7 share, flat versus summer 2004 thanks mainly to “Dancing With the Stars.” NBC was fourth for the summer with a 2.0 rating and 6 share, down 43 percent from an Olympic-enhanced 3.5/11 last summer. UPN and the WB were both off slightly versus summer 2004, UPN down 9 percent from a 1.1/3 to a 1.0/3 and the WB off 10 percent from a 1.0/3 to a 0.9/3. Collectively, the six broadcast networks averaged a 10.7 rating and a 33 share, down from last year’s 12.5/39.

Jennings tribute: 'I felt a thrill whenever I saw him'
The late Peter Jennings was fondly remembered in his third public tribute in as many days yesterday at Carnegie Hall, coming after appreciations at the Primetime and News and Documentary Emmys earlier this week. More than 2,000 people, including Larry King, Dan Rather and Al Sharpton, attended. Many spoke in between varied styles of music, from a gospel choir to a jazz combo. Several homeless people were also in the audience, as Jennings served meals to them after work. "Nightline" host Ted Koppel remembered his longtime colleague, who died in August of lung cancer, with particular affection: “From the time I first met Peter 41 years ago until our last meeting a few weeks ago, I felt a thrill whenever I saw him. Not that many people have that charisma, that kind of animal magnetism that makes it difficult to focus on anybody else in the room.” Jennings' two children also spoke during the two-hour tribute. 

Houston PPMs find listeners flip to more stations
Arbitron is happily hawking the results of its portable people meter testing. Yesterday it released a study of TV viewing and radio listening habits in Houston as measured by the PPMs. On the radio side, Arbitron's study found that participants listen to twice as many stations as reported under the old paper diary measurement system but that their total listening time is about 50 percent lower. For TV, the meters found that only 7 percent of TV households with a video recorder are watching programs at times other than when the program is actually broadcast, and out-of-home viewing accounts for 15 percent of total TV watching. Arbitron also found that the meters showed higher ratings for TV shows than their Nielsen counterpart in July for nearly every time period. Much different than the traditional paper diary system, PPM participants carry a small pager-like device that picks up inaudible codes embedded within audio streams. Participants connect the device into a station during the evening to send data to Arbitron.

NY Times & Philly papers making major job cuts 
The New York Times Company and Philadelphia Newspapers are the latest in an ever-growing line of newspaper companies cutting their work forces. The New York Times cut, which will total 500 jobs beginning in October, includes 45 editorial positions at the Times and 35 jobs at the Boston Globe. The paper cited lower-than expected third quarter earnings and low advertising revenues as reasons for the cuts. Philadelphia Newspapers said it plans to axe 100 editorial positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. "We are going to have to fight our way through the fear and anxiety,” the paper quoted Inquirer editor Amanda Bennett as saying. This is hardly a new trend in the industry in 2005. Just three weeks ago, Tribune Co.’s New York Newsday cut 45 from its newsroom. NY Times Co. cut 200 jobs back in May.     

Smack talk: Dutch TV host gets high on the air 
Kids, don't try this at home: A Dutch talk show host is set to give a first-hand demonstration of just what drugs do to you. Filemon Wesselink plans to take drugs including heroin and LSD while on air in an effort to reach young people. The show, which is called “Spuiten & Slikken,” (“Swallow and Shoot Up"), will be on late-night TV on BNN-TV in the Netherlands starting Oct. 10. “The reason that we are doing this show is that a lot of young people have confrontations with drugs. They want to know more and this show gives them that information,” BNN-TV spokeswoman Ingrid Timmer tells Media Life. She explains that Wesselink will be accompanied by a medic who will both monitor him and give details to the audience about the dangers of drugs and what they do to your body. The 26-year-old Wesselink will take a different drug in each episode as well as partaking in an on-air pub crawl with the usual result – getting drunk – to explore the effects of alcohol. Just what reaction Wesselink’s drug-taking antics will get from the authorities remains to be seen. While Holland has long been known for its lenient attitudes toward marijuana, LSD and heroin are illegal. This late night show on BNN-TV will also delve into the world of sex, with another presenter carrying out sex experiments during the show. Ties Westing will disappear into a room without cameras at the beginning of the show with a sex act, for instance a threesome, to take part in. Later in the show Westing will answer questions from the audience about the activity.