News Shorts

'Ellie' slips but still wins 18-49s in second outing
Though suffering a sizable drop from its debut viewership of last week, NBC's "Watching Ellie" featuring "Seinfeld" alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus still performed well enough to give the network a clear win in adults 18-49 for the night. NBC garnered a 4.5 in the demo, Fox had a 4.0, ABC a 3.7 and CBS a 3.6, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. Though its 27 percent tumble is not unexpected for such a heavily hyped offering, any further drops for "Ellie" may prove troublesome. In another dose of bad news for ABC, the return of its "Dharma and Greg" and "Spin City" drew only a 3.0 among adults 18-49 for the hour. At 9 p.m. ABC's "NYPD Blue" regained some ground for the network with a strong 4.7 adult 18-49 rating, not far off from a 5.4 from NBC's usually dominant duo of "Frasier" and "Scrubs." Fox's "24" managed only a 4.0 in the demo for a third place finish. At 10 p.m. CBS's "Judging Amy" edged NBC's "Dateline" with a 4.2 to its 3.8 in adults 18-49. The average household rating and share for Tuesday night were: CBS 9.6/15, NBC 8.0/13, ABC 6.6/11, and Fox 5.0/8. On Monday night, strong showings from "Yes, Dear" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS propelled the network to a slim win over NBC in adults 18-49. CBS drew a 5.1 in the demo, NBC had a 4.9, Fox a 3.5 and ABC a 2.6, based on preliminary Nielsen ratings. The once-dominant "Fear Factor" on NBC saw a slide in its viewership at 8 p.m., as it only managed a 4.8 among adults 18-49 compared to a 5.4 from "King of Queens" and "Yes, Dear" on CBS. The debut of "Wayne Brady" failed to light it up on ABC at 8:30 p.m., as the sketch/musical comedy show came in third place with a 3.1 adult 18-49 rating, dropping slightly from its lead-in of a repeat of "My Wife & Kids." That's still better than the rest of the night for ABC. The reality/game show "The Chair" averaged a measly 2.1 adult 18-49 rating the next hour, dwarfed by a 6.7 from "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Becker" on CBS and a 4.9 from "Third Watch" on NBC. At 10 p.m. ABC's on-the-ropes "Once and Again" came in third place with a 2.8 in adults 18-49, just more than half of the 5.1 garnered by NBC's "Crossing Jordan." The average household rating and share for Monday night were: CBS 10.1/16, NBC 7.9/12, Fox 4.9/7, and ABC 4.1/6.

Justice Dept. will review media mergers
Shrugging off objections, the Bush administration pushed ahead yesterday with its plan to consolidate all authority over media mergers under the aegis of the Justice Department. Although the plan strips the Federal Trade Commission of its power to review mergers, the proposal has the support of FTC Chairman Tim Muris, who says the Justice Department is better equipped to evaluate issues arising from vertical integration. Among those who disagree is Sen. Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Hollings has complained that the Bush administration, which announced its new policy yesterday, is violating appropriations laws by bypassing Congress and implementing the change by executive fiat.

RDA folds 50-plus title New Choices
Just because the over-50 crowd is one of the fastest-growing market segments doesn’t mean it’s an easy one to make money off. In the latest proof of this, Reader’s Digest Association has decided to fold New Choices magazine, a 600,000-circulation, 12-year-old bimonthly aimed at older readers. The magazine’s problems ranged from weak advertising support to a reliance on stamp-sheet circulation. Its last issue will be May/June. Last year, New Choices decreased its frequency from 10 to six times a year, and Mature Outlook, a joint venture of Meredith Corp. and Sears, suspended publication.

ABC: We're not dropping Sam and Cokie
Is ABC planning to can Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts as hosts of "This Week"? It's a simple enough question, seemingly, but the answer is a bit complicated. The network's news division has emphatically denied a report by USA Today that George Stephanopoulos and Claire Shipman have been tapped to replace Donaldson and Roberts in the near future. But Roberts says she has been planning to leave the political talk show in November anyway, and Donaldson, participating in a panel discussion yesterday, indicated that he would not be surprised if he were replaced. Elsewhere at ABC, Barbara Walters has finally voiced a modicum of support for longtime colleague Ted Koppel, whose show, "Nightline," is threatened by the network's negotiations with David Letterman. "I and my colleagues are very well fed," Walters said yesterday on "The View." "We can understand why a program might need to be changed, moved or even replaced. But to not be told until after the fact, not to be consulted and never asked if we have any thoughts as to what alternatives there might be, to be treated as dispensable and irrelevant is thoughtless and hurtful."

Bond girl dons a bra for ABC viewers
Toplessness doesn't fly at the Disney-owned ABC network--not even if you’re a Bond girl. Alert viewers who tuned in for the broadcast of the classic James Bond movie "Diamonds Are Forever" on Saturday night may have noticed a small addition: an undergarment that didn't appear in the original film. Network censors digitally altered a scene in which actress Lana Wood, starring as Plenty O’Toole, appears in a pair of tan panties and nothing else. Even though Wood's breasts are concealed, with the camera shooting her first from behind and then with her arms crossed over her chest, ABC felt the need to superimpose a black bra onto her torso, according to thesmokinggun.com. Whoever did the touchup also had the courtesy to retouch her panties to match. Even without the digitally-enhanced prudery, the 1971 film earned a PG rating.

Grieving for Fluffy? Buy her an obit
A Philadelphia newspaper has come up with a novel response to declining classified advertising revenue: paid pet obituaries. For $52.08, bereaved animal owners can place a death notice in the Philadelphia Daily News beginning this week. The notices, which will include photographs of the deceased, will run once a month under the heading "A Fond Farewell to our Beloved Pet," according to the AP. The Daily News isn't the first paper to try out the idea. An item that ran last year in the Bremerton, Wash., Sun offers a taste of how a typical tribute might read, memorializing Bayba, "a friendly, spunky, playful dog who loved her squeaky toys, soft blankies and chasing after a tennis ball."

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