News Shorts

Rosy #s for ABC's 'Rose Red'
In this problematic year for ABC, it can be thankful for its miniseries and specials, which have done well with viewers. This time it was the second installment of Stephen King's three-part miniseries "Rose Red," which gave the network a solid win in adults 18-49 for the night, with a 6.5. NBC had a 5.3, CBS a 4.9 and Fox a 4.3, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. Rising steadily each half-hour, the suspense miniseries averaged a 8.3 in the demo for its two hours, though it started out just a half-point above CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond" at 9 p.m. with a 7.6. NBC's "Third Watch" hauled in a strong 4.9 for the hour, thanks to reruns on Fox of "That '70s Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle." At 10 p.m. "Rose Red" dominated the ratings, nearly doubling the audience for NBC's "Crossing Jordan" for a 8.7 adult 18-49 rating. At 8 p.m., "Fear Factor" continued to put up big numbers, posting an impressive 6.5 among 18-49s for first in the hour. The average household rating and share for Monday night were: ABC 10.1/15, CBS 9.6/15, NBC 8.1/12 and Fox 5.8/9. On Sunday night, the thrilling, neck-and-neck NFC Championship game between the St. Louis Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles gave Fox the win in households and 18-49s. A 45-minute run-over, fueled in part by extensive post-game coverage, prolonged the big numbers for Fox. The network won the night with an 8.5 in adults 18-49, ABC had a 6.6, NBC a 3.4 and CBS a 2.9. For the 7 p.m. hour the playoff game drew a 13.2 adult 18-49 rating, while ABC's feature film "Mouse Hunt," CBS's "60 Minutes" and NBC's "Dateline" all came in below 2.8 for the hour. The end of the game, "The Simpsons" and the first half of "Malcolm in the Middle" took first with a combined 7.7 for the 8 p.m. hour. ABC's "Mouse Hunt" ratings hopped up to a 4.4 for the hour, eclipsing the 3.9 for NBC's "Weakest Link" and the 2.6 for CBS's "The Education of Max Bickford." ABC took the rest of the night on the strength of the first two hours of Stephen King's six-hour TV miniseries "Rose Red," which averaged a 9.7 among adults 18-49. The second half of "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The X-Files" trailed with a 4.8 in the demo. NBC's "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" took third with a 4.4, while CBS's TV movie "My Sister's Keeper" drew a 3.2 for its first hour but slipped past NBC's "Third Watch" in its second hour. The average household rating and share for Sunday night were: Fox 10.9/17, CBS 9.5/15, ABC 8.7/13, and NBC 6.6/10.

NBC: Conan's staying right here, thanks
Is Conan O'Brien planning to leave his perch at NBC in hopes of finding an earlier roost at Fox? Don't count on it. Although the lanky "Late Night" host's contract is up at the end of the summer, a representative for NBC is calling it a "sure bet" that O'Brien will re-sign with the network, according to an AP report. Unlike his predecessor, David Letterman, O'Brien has generally seemed happy at NBC, but he has said more than once that he would like someday to play to a bigger audience than the one his 12:35 a.m. slot affords him. Meanwhile, Fox will have to continue its search for a comedian to headline the network's first late-night talk show since 1993. Two names that have been mentioned so far are Jon Stewart, host of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," and Bill Maher, host of ABC's "Politically Incorrect." Maher may be available at the end of this season. He has said that he considers himself unwelcome at ABC following the flap that erupted in September after he said that cruise missile-wielding U.S. forces are more cowardly than suicidal hijackers.

Discovery, IDG among Fortune's best employers
It's hard to complain too much about your job when there's a recession on, but the fact stands that some employers are better to work for than others, and this week Fortune magazine weighs in with its list of the 100 companies that are the best of all. Perhaps it won't surprise you to learn that media and advertising companies didn't fare particularly well in the rankings. Only two media companies, Discovery Communications and International Data Group, made the list, and no agencies did. IDG, which publishes a host of tech titles and was the majority investor in the now-defunct Industry Standard, came in at No. 21, earning high marks for its "gourmet coffee and popcorn" and "chair massages." Discovery Communications, ranked No. 89, was lauded for offering "flexible work schedules" and the opportunity for employees to chat with COO Judith McHale at twice-monthly coffee parties. Fortune also noted that "[w]omen outnumber men two to one here," although whether that's supposed to be a selling point for men or women isn't made clear.

New BBC reality show raises ethical questions
If you think "Weakest Link" shows a bad side of humanity, prepare yourself for "The Experiment," British Broadcasting Corp.'s new reality TV series in which participants will be blindly divided into groups of "prisoners" and "guards." BBC psychologists claim that the show, inspired by a famous experiment conducted by Stanford professor Phillip Zimbardo in 1971, is being created for scientific purposes. Zimbardo's experiment, which was supposed to run for two weeks, had to be canceled after only six days when the guards' brutality became uncontrollable and inhumane. The premier British network has asked Zimbardo to be involved, but Zimbardo says it would be unethical and has refused to have anything to do with the show. The BBC insists its program will offer new insights into current social problems, and it plans to air the series starting in March.

CBS curtails its order for 'Ellen' to 18 shows
CBS's gratitude towards Ellen Degeneres for hosting the twice-delayed Emmys seems to have dried up somewhat, as the network has scaled back its full-season order for "The Ellen Show" from 22 to 18 episodes. The network says the delay in its schedule caused by extensive news coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks was the primary reason for the reduction. But its low rating--just a 2.0 season average among adults 18-49--certainly factors into the equation. A rerun of the veteran "JAG" last Friday drew a 1.9 for the comedy's 8:30 p.m. time slot. The remaining five episodes will run in March and April, and a renewal decision will be made in May.

Coming this fall: New Rupert Murdoch bio
Rupert Murdoch, the Australian mogul who puts the media in the phrase "media tycoon," has managed to remain remarkably unknown in spite of his vast influence and power. Fellow Australian and journalist Neil Chenoweth hopes to change that with the publication this fall of "Rupert Murdoch: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Media Wizard." It will be an expanded version of his 2001 U.K.-only Murdoch biography, "Virtual Murdoch." The new version will include the media giant's bid to buy DirecTV as well as other recent events of interest. Chenoweth's work is the first extensive biography of Murdoch since William Shawcross' "Murdoch" in 1993.

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