NYT correspondent Shadid
dies in Syria
Other shorts: Online players team up for web upfront
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 17, 2012
NYT correspondent Shadid dies in Syria
Anthony Shadid had cheated death twice before during his years as a Middle East correspondent for the New York Times, getting shot while reporting in the West Bank a decade ago and
getting kidnapped last year while reporting in Libya. Yesterday the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner died of an asthma attack while reporting from Syria, where colleagues were unable to get him to a hospital in time. Shadid, who had had asthma since childhood, had suffered an attack earlier in the week, according to The Times, and his asthma had been triggered again yesterday during a long walk behind horses, which he was allergic to. Tyler Hicks, a photographer for The Times, carried Shadid's body across the border to Turkey. Shadid was one of four Times employees who were kidnapped for six days last year in Libya by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. During his career Shadid also worked for the Associated Press, Boston Globe and Washington Post, where he won his first Pulitzer in 2004. He earned his second with The Times in 2010.
Big online players team up for web upfront
Very little in the advertising world can match the glitz and glamour of upfront week, when the networks roll out their new fall schedules while wining and dining media buyers and advertisers in hopes of getting them to buy into those shows. But the digital ad world is going to give it a try. Some of the online world's biggest names, including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Hulu, have agreed to collaborate on an upfront of their own, which will take place roughly a month before TV's mid-May extravaganza, according to The Wall Street Journal. The event was organized by digital agency Digitas, and it's being called the Digital Content New Fronts, a play off the upfront title. Each company will get its own day to present advertising opportunities and new digital video initiatives, which seem to grow with every day. The hope seems to be that sites can better reach advertisers by presenting a more organized and thorough opportunity for buying and presenting their wares, in a format that's already familiar from the upfronts. But it won't be the first time online has tried to copycat or horn in on the upfront; last year several digital firms, including Efficient Frontier, hosted events that competed with upfront parties and presentations.
NCAA charging for online March Madness
The NCAA's online March Madness service is getting an overhaul, and it will come with a price tag--$3.99, to be exact. For the first time ever college basketball fans will have to pay a fee to access March Madness Live (formerly March Madness on Demand), although this year's edition does come with a number of improvements that could make it worth it to hoops fans. For the $3.99 fee fans can watch all 67 tournament games live online using a computer, iPad, iPhone or Android device, as well as access video highlights of each game. Besides streaming the CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV video feeds, the app will allow users to listen to the Westwood One/Dial Global Radio Network audio broadcasts of the games as well. The app will also feature a social media area sponsored by Coke Zero that will incorporate Facebook and Twitter, including a special Twitter feed of all 68 teams in the tournament. There is still an option for those who don't want to pay, however. All games airing on CBS will be available for free on CBSSports.com, while Turner will stream games on TBS.com, TNT.tv and truTV.com for consumers who have a cable or satellite subscription. It will be interesting to see if
charging impacts online viewership, since the contests are all now available on television with the addition of the Turner networks showing games.
Programming notes: Syfy loads up for spring
This will be Syfy's most original spring ever. The cable network says this spring it will air more original programming hours than ever before, beginning with the premiere of "Monster Man" on March 14. The new original series "Dream Machines" will premiere on April 10, with the ninth season of "Ghost Hunters" kicking off the next night. On April 16 Syfy will premiere season five of "Eureka" at 9 p.m. and season two of "Lost Girl" at 10, while new episodes of "Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files" return to the schedule on April 17. The new game show "Total Blackout" will launch on April 25, the third season of "Hollywood Treasure" will premiere on May 22 and the original miniseries "Treasure Island" will air sometime in May. Meanwhile, in other programming, CNN has canceled a Republican presidential primary debate scheduled for March 1 after candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul decided to drop out. The network will still host a debate planned for Feb. 22. Oxygen has ordered two pilots: "Teen Weddings," which follows young couples as they plan their weddings, and "Thrift Wars," following those who shop at flea markets, estate sales and the like. Finally, on broadcast, NBC has named Jenny McCarthy host of its dating series "Love in the Wild," which will begin taping its second season in the Dominican Republic later this month. Darren McCullen hosted the first season of the show.
Cable networks plan Houston funeral coverage
Whitney Houston's funeral has been closed to the public but fans will be able to
remember the late singer through a host of TV specials planned for this weekend. Bounce TV, BET, Centric and CNN will all air coverage of the funeral tomorrow afternoon, with Bounce airing the ceremony in its entirety with no commercials. The Associated Press will also stream live coverage. There have been plenty of Houston specials airing throughout this week, and today is no different--VH1 will air "Whitney Houston's Greatest Moments" at 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., while the syndicated newsmagazines "Entertainment Tonight," "The Insider," "Access Hollywood" and "Extra" will all feature the singer. At 5, 8 and 11 p.m. TV Guide Network will air "Whitney Houston: An Icon Remembered," with E! airing "Whitney Houston: Last Days of a Legend" at 8 and ABC's "20/20" airing "One Moment in Time: The Life of Whitney Houston" at 9. Also tonight, Encore will show the Houston movies "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife" at 8 and 10:05 p.m. Lifetime tomorrow and Sunday will air "The Bodyguard," which is perhaps Houston's best-known movie, as well as the show "Biography" chronicling her life. Her "Bodyguard" co-star, Kevin Costner, is scheduled to speaker at Houston's funeral. And on Sunday CNN will air an episode of "CNN Presents" at 5, 8 and 11 p.m. looking at the life and death of the singer.
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