|
|
As popular as U2 and Alicia Keys may be, their draw wasn't enough to excite viewers last night, as the 2002 Grammys on CBS fell 25 percent and 26 percent in its adult 18-49 and household rating, respectively, from last year. CBS won the night with a slim 9.5 in adults 18-49, NBC had a 5.5, Fox a 3.7 and ABC a 3.4, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. At 8 p.m. NBC's "Ed" edged ABC's duo of "My Wife and Kids" and "According to Jim" with a 4.2 to their 4.1 adult 18-49 rating. NBC's "The West Wing" built upon that lead by scoring a 5.8 in the demo, well above the 4.2 from the second hour of "Rush Hour" on Fox. In last place, ABC's "Drew Carey" and "The Job" hauled in a weak 3.2 for the hour. At 10 p.m. NBC came the closest to the Grammys as its "Law & Order" brought in a 6.6 adult 18-49 rating, compared to the music award show's 8.4. The average household rating and share for Wednesday night were: CBS 12.5/20, NBC 10.6/17, ABC 5.8/9 and Fox 5.5/8. On Tuesday night, the latest post-"Seinfeld" entry, NBC's "Watching Ellie," debuted to strong numbers, leading NBC to a solid win among adults 18-49. The peacock network had a 5.6, Fox a 4.9, CBS a 4.0 and ABC a 3.9, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. Surging 42 percent from its lead-in, a repeat of "Frasier," the new comedy from Julia Louis-Dreyfus scored a 7.1 adult 18-49 rating, two full points ahead of a rerun of Fox's "That '70s Show." For the 8 p.m. hour Fox finished second with a 5.2 in adults 18-49 from two episodes of "That '70s Show," while CBS trailed with a 4.2 from "JAG" and ABC struggled with a 2.7 from "The Chair." The next hour was similarly dominated by NBC, as a new "Frasier" and "Scrubs" hauled in a 6.5, well above a 4.7 from Fox's "24" and a 4.5 from ABC's "NYPD Blue." At 10 p.m. NBC's "Dateline" edged CBS's "Judging Amy" by a tenth of a rating point among adults 18-49. The average household rating and share for Tuesday night were: CBS 10.0/16, NBC 9.5/15, ABC 6.6/10, and Fox 5.8/9.
Ex-Clinton advisors join rejiggered 'Crossfire'
CNN is revamping "Crossfire," blowing out the show to a full hour and bringing in two former Clinton advisers to argue issues from the left. The moves come as the AOL Time Warner-owned network continues to lose ground in the ratings race to Fox News Channel, which was the most-watched cable news network in February for the second month running. Starting April 1, "Crossfire" will be shot in front of a live studio audience at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. To accommodate the show's expansion, its start time will move back from 7:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., taking over the time slot now occupied by "Wolf Blitzer Reports." Bill Press, who now argues the liberal point of view against either Tucker Carlson or Robert Novak, is leaving the show. Replacing him will be James Carville and Paul Begala, who rose to prominence as political strategists for President Bill Clinton. Begala previously hosted a similar show on MSNBC, "Equal Time," and Carville is married to Mary Matalin, a former conservative "Crossfire" host and current adviser to vice president Dick Cheney.
Alicia Keys and U2 come out on top at Grammys
Last night's Grammy Awards were a mix of the old and the new, with middle-aged rockers U2 and 21-year-old soul singer Alicia Keys divvying up most of the big honors. Keys led all artists with five trophies including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for her single "Fallin.'" U2 won Record of the Year for the second year in a row and ended up with a total of four awards on eight nominations. Album of the Year went to the bluegrass-heavy soundtrack of "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Comedian Jon Stewart hosted the CBS broadcast, making light of the airtight security by taking the stage in his underwear after a skit in which guards ripped off all his clothes.
Goodwin dropped from 'NewsHour' amid flap
Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, riding out a plagiarism scandal stemming from a book she wrote fifteen years ago, has taken a leave of absence from her job as a commentator on "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer." Goodwin, a Pulitzer-prize winner who is a frequent guest on NBC and its cable news networks, said a few weeks ago that her 1987 book "Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys" contained passages that she had inadvertently copied from another text. Then, last weekend, a New York Times investigation prompted her admission that the plagiarism was more widespread than she had originally indicated, involving numerous passages and more than one book by other authors. Goodwin is off "NewsHour" for the time being, and the University of Delaware has withdrawn its invitation for her to speak at commencement. Another popular historian, Stephen E. Ambrose, has been accused of plagiarism recently. Ambrose's books include "Band of Brothers," on which last fall’s HBO miniseries of the same name was based.
Doctors ask NBC to say no to liquor ads
The American Medical Association has escalated its drive to pressure NBC to rethink its recent decision to air hard-liquor ads on late-night TV. A full-page ad in The New York Times on Wednesday featured a warning box, like the ones on cigarette packs, addressed to parents, set within the screen of a TV: "Warning: Watching NBC can be hazardous to your children's health." The text warns parents of a coming ad barrage against their young ones and the gross health risks alcohol poses to teens. According to the ad, kids consume 1,000 hours of TV a year, and 25 percent of youngsters have TVs in their rooms. "Please, don't trade our kids for cash," it asks NBC. The network has restricted all hard-liquor ads to after 9 p.m. and only to shows with audiences that are 85 percent 21 and over. The ad comes on the heels of an admission by the Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse that it fudged the numbers in a report released earlier in the week. The report claimed that teens drank a quarter of all liquor, when the actual number was closer to 11 percent.
FT's Thomson picked to edit The Times
One of the UK's oldest newspapers will get its first non-British editor next week when Robert Thomson, U.S. managing editor of the Financial Times and an Australian citizen, takes over The Times of London. Peter Stothard, who nearly doubled The Times's circulation during his decade as editor, resigned last week. Owner Rupert Murdoch hopes Thomson will be able to take the paper's circulation from where it now stands, at 711,000, to the one million mark. Among the posts Thomson has held are Tokyo bureau chief, Beijing correspondent and editor of the Weekend FT.
February 28, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
