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NBC won households and adults 18-49 last night but lost the 8 p.m. hour to CBS and ABC. CBS won households with “60 Minutes II,” and ABC won the hour in the demographic, with commanding wins by the sitcoms “My Wife and Kids” and “According to Jim.” NBC’s 8 p.m. show, “Ed,” was third in households and second among adults 18-49. ABC’s rescheduled “Bob Patterson” had a good news-bad news debut in its new time slot at 9:30 p.m., after “Drew Carey.” The good news was for “Bob Patterson,” whose household rating increased 18 percent and adult 18-49 rating 21 percent from its last Tuesday episode. The bad news was for ABC, since “Bob Patterson” lost 21 percent of “Drew Carey’s” lead-in household rating and 30 percent of its adult 18-49 rating. The show also dropped 10 percent in households and 22 percent in adults 18-49 from what “Whose Line is it Anyway” earned in the time period last week. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Wednesday night were: NBC 12.0/19 and 6.5, ABC 7.6/12 and 4.8, CBS 6.4/10 and 3.2, and Fox 3.5/5 and 2.9. On Tuesday, CBS won both households and adults 18-49 last night, sweeping the evening in households and winning three of six half-hours in the demographic. At 8 p.m., “JAG” won households by eight shares and won the hour among adults 18-49 by edging repeats of “That '70s Show” and “Undeclared” on Fox. At 9 p.m., “The Guardian” defeated “Frasier” by three household shares and “Scrubs” by six shares, but the NBC sitcoms won their half-hours in the demographic. At 10 p.m., ABC’s “Philly” showed signs of life, rebounding some from last week, but CBS’s “Judging Amy” won the hour by six household shares and almost a full adult 18-49 rating point over NBC’s “Dateline.” The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Tuesday night were: CBS 11.5/18 and 4.6, NBC 6.7/11 and 4.2, ABC 6.5/10 and 4.0, and Fox 3.6/5 and 2.9.
More anthrax cases in NY and DC media
The mailroom remains closed at The New York Times following an anthrax scare Tuesday. Officials at the paper are still waiting for test results for the powdery substance that arrived in an envelope. Meanwhile, two more media company employees have come down with what doctors believe to be anthrax infections, and an editor at The Wall Street Journal is suffering from an illness that appears to be linked to the World Trade Center collapse. A journalist in Washington is suspected of having developed inhalation anthrax, the most dangerous form of the disease, according to CNN.com. The journalist had been in the Hart Senate building, where the anthrax letter sent to Senator Daschle was received. It has not yet been confirmed that the journalist’s symptoms result from an anthrax infection. At the New York Post, a mailroom worker has developed suspicious symptoms of skin anthrax, according to the paper. Anthrax test results have not yet come in. The man, who had already been taking antibiotics as a prophylactic measure, is suspected of having handled the letter that infected editorial assistant Johanna Huden. In a case apparently unrelated to the anthrax threat, Wall Street Journal deputy national editor Rich Regis, 49, is receiving treatment for kidney failure, a perforated colon and sepsis, a generalized infection of the body, according to a report in the New York Daily News. Doctors say that the man may have been sickened by something he “inhaled or ingested” while fleeing the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11.
'Crossing Over' to contact WTC dead for sweeps
In the days following the World Trade Center attacks, it was a bit chilling to see the numerous New York City buses carrying ads for "Crossing Over with John Edward," ads offering the chance to communicate with a deceased loved one "one last time." Now Edward, in what one can only hope is not a deeply cynical move, plans to spend several episodes of "Crossing Over" using his purported psychic powers to contact people who died in the attacks on behalf of their relatives. The episodes will run in syndication and possibly on cable during November sweeps. An executive for Studios USA has said that Edward decided to do the special shows only after being asked by victims' families. "Crossing Over" is the best rated of a crop of freshman talk shows including "Iyanla," "The Other Half" and "The Ananda Lewis Show."
ABC's Simpson benched for anthrax disclosures
Observant viewers may have wondered why Carole Simpson was absent from this Sunday's edition of "World News Tonight." Simpson, who normally anchors ABC's flagship new show on Sundays, is serving out a two-week suspension handed down after she disclosed confidential and inaccurate information about the anthrax investigation at ABC News. Speaking at an Oct. 16 gathering of the International Women's Media Foundation in New York, Simpson told the crowd, which included several reporters, that the baby that contracted cutaneous anthrax after visiting the offices of ABC News was a 7 -month-old boy. ABC executives had previously declined to release details about the child's identity in keeping with the wishes of the mother, an ABC News producer. Simpson also said that Cokie Roberts, an ABC anchor, had received a letter postmarked, like other anthrax-bearing letters, Trenton, N.J. No such letter exists, and anthrax has yet to be found at ABC News. Simpson is expected to return on Nov. 4.
Snubbed, Oprah disinvites book club author
Oprah Winfrey has retracted an invitation for a celebrated young author to be a guest on her show after the writer appeared to snub her literary taste. Winfrey picked Jonathan Franzen's well-received new book for inclusion in her book-of-the-month club, a designation that is considered a virtual guarantee of bestseller status. But the certainty of hefty sales from Winfrey's loyal audience did not stop Franzen from expressing doubts about the selection in a variety of interviews. Franzen, who places his work in the "high art" tradition, said he was uneasy displaying Winfrey's "corporate logo" on his book, and wondered if he would be "misunderstood" in the popular literary world. "She's picked some good books, but she's picked enough schmaltzy, one-dimensional ones that I cringe, myself, even though I think she's really smart and she's really fighting the good fight," said Franzen in one interview. Winfrey subsequently rescinded her invitation, saying she regretted making him feel "uncomfortable." After the un-invitation, Franzen apologized, citing his naďveté in dealing with the media. Franzen's book remains a part of the book club, though new copies are being printed without the Oprah seal.
Financial news ratings soar for CNN and FNC
Initial doubts about the performance of the return of Lou Dobbs to CNN have been erased following a five-fold jump in ratings for his "Moneyline" program since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Lou Dobbs Moneyline" has clocked 1.2 million households in the four weeks since the fall of the World Trade Center towers, which translates to more than five times as many viewers as the month before the attacks. Not far behind has been Neil Cavuto on Fox News Channel. "Your World With Neil Cavuto" has brought in 961,000 viewers, representing nearly a four-fold increase during the same period, while appearing in 12 million fewer homes. At the same time, CNBC's "Business Center" has suffered, claiming just 267,000 homes during the same stretch of time. Its slide has been attributed to CNBC's focus on financial markets, while "Moneyline" and "Your World" pick up runoff viewers who flock to CNN and Fox News to learn about the war in Afghanistan and the anthrax scare.
October 25, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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