Wednesday, July 30

Titan Radio is one of the "Best College Radio Station"


Titan Radio is one of the "BEST COLLEGE RADIO STATIONS" in the U.S., according to the 2009 Princeton Review BEST 369 College Rankings . A survey of 120,000 students generates the annual report ranking everything from biggest party school to how nice the dorms are...



Titan Radio/WWNW in little ol' New Wilmington, PA, is listed in the top 20 "BEST" college radio stations. While Emerson College in Boston took number one, small but polished Titan Radio came in 18th in the country. WOW!



This is a mega-honor for the students, faculty and staff. We didn't go looking for this recognition. We didn't apply to some contest and pay an application fee. This title came to us as a wonderful surprise. Dr. B and all the student's who dedicated their time and efforts to Titan Radio and www.titanradio.net since I've been at Titan Radio (and before) share in this honor. This is fantastic validation for what we do in the classroom, in the station, in the newsroom and at all those live sports broadcasts. How cool is this?

Monday, July 28

WTAE-TV News Director Bob Longo on resume DVDs

ADVICE from a large market News Director


Bob Longo says you want to showcase snippets from your best stand-ups or live shots in a short montage on your videotape. He agrees videotape is outdated, but so many news directors still ask for a non-returnable VHS tape when they post a job opening. He suggests you also create a resume DVD and even post your demo reel online via YouTube. You can click watch the video clip here of Longo offering more advice for college students trying to break into the TV news business.



Friday, July 25

A CAPSTONE BLOG FIRST

For the first time ever a capstone-related blog features blogger video of a former capstone student's marriage proposal. Chris Norris (Class of '08) pulled a fast one on his beloved Beth and it's all on his blog. He even went down on one knee. What a summer he's having!

Congratulations to Chris & Beth!

CHECK IT OUT.

Friday, July 18

Who knew? HULU


As NBC sheds off its o & o stations (like the Miami station this week), it's another signal the company is moving away from old media and embracing new media. NBC's has some mixed signals in the news that shows users of HULU are happy and the demos are good-- but the numbers are not as BIG as hoped.

TV WEEK
runs donw the numbers...

Despite a high-profile in the media business, only 15% of online Americans have even heard of Hulu.com, the NBC-Fox online video venture. But those who have used the site like it a lot. That’s the conclusion of a recent study from Solutions Research Group. Hulu users say they like the ability to search and find both old episodes of TV shows and recent ones they missed. Hulu visitors also like that the shows are free and that the service operates as something of an online digital video recorder.Their only complaint is that the site offers only the most recent episodes of certain shows.The average age of a Hulu user is 32, 10 years younger than the average online American. Also, two-thirds of Hulu users are male. Solutions Research Group said 51% of users are between 12 and 29, and their average income is 22% higher than the U.S. average.Hulu users are more likely to own laptops, smart phones and video-capable MP3 players than the average online American.About 39% of Hulu users said they “frequently paid attention to ads seen online.”


Meanwhile, the online video thing appears to be catching on for ABC. The network reports
ABC.com users clicked on and watched a record 815 million minutes of full-length episodes during the month of May.

Why do you need an affiliate? Maybe that's why NBC is turning the tables now and making the affiliates pay the network. The day is coming when the networks will abandon the local stations.

And the Primetime Emmy nominations are,,,

With all the reality crap on network television, there's little wonder why the big drama series prize now includes shows from basic cable networks like FX and AMC. Where are the quality shows, NBC, CBS? But hey, the Emmy's cultivates more reality/game show programming by creating a new category this year for best reality competition show host. Like Howie Mandel needs an Emmy for keeping people waiting through the next commercial break?

Here's the complete Primetime Emmy nomination list.
This is the 60th anniversary for the event.


I predicted in a pervious post that I think Mad Men
will walk away with the outstanding drama series Emmy since television is all about the business of advertising. Mad Men is a great show worth finding and watching (just like BSG). It's tragic characters bring the days before seat belt laws to life as children jump merrily on big bench seats of the cars of the early 1960s as mommy struggles to light up a smoke and navigate the road. The show has a bitter-sweet irony yanking on the nostalgia and romanticism of the era. Mad Men has great moments peppered with twisted little background elements showing the naivete' of the times-- like mothers scolding children playing with dry cleaning plastic because they're worried about the clothes and oblivious to the suffocation risk it poses. That same simple nostalgia and romanticism is carefully manipulated by the ad men and women the show is about as they ply their trade on Madison Avenue.

While I'm a big
LOST fan, my money is on Mad Men. My wife's now squarely behind Dexter after watching it on TiVo downloads. I was disappointed to see Pushing Daisies was passed over in the outstanding comedy series category. A couple of the actors from that show received some Emmy noms. I guess I must be missing something for not being plugged into Two and a Half Men all these years.

Outstanding Drama Series

  • Boston Legal
  • Damages
  • Dexter
  • House
  • Lost
  • Mad Men

Saturday, July 5

The Police Beat Leads to Romance


TV reporter Melissa Batulis (Westminster '03) dropped some alumni news via email over the break as she revealed she's engaged to her police officer beau. She's engaged to Exeter Twp. Patrolman Sean Fullerton, has now upgraded his status to fiancee' (see the two in the picture here taken back in November when Melissa visited campus). Melissa met Sean when she was looking to get cover vids of a local police department for a story she was working on at WFMZ. Congratulations to the happy couple.

Wednesday, July 2

Emmy choices could get LOST again


The Emmy's released a list this week of the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards’ top ten vote-getters for outstanding drama series and outstanding comedy series, as voted on by the Television Academy. LOST made it into the top 10. BSG is ignored once again. Lost won for it's first season. Then everyone drifted away because the storyline became too strange and chaotic, etc.

M
y favorites on the drama list are Mad Men and Lost. I suspect Mad Men will definitely make it into the final nomination as it's about the advertising gig in the 1960s. Since advertising drives the industry, voting members are really drawn to the show. In the comedy category I'm split between my fondness for Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock. The Emmy's has an interesting process in place now to draft a final list of nominees to be announced on July 17.

Here's the top 10 list for drama votes:
  1. Boston Legal (ABC)
  2. Damages (FX)
  3. Dexter (Showtime)
  4. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
  5. House (Fox)
  6. LOST (ABC)
  7. Mad Men (AMC)
  8. The Tudors (Showtime)
  9. The Wire (HBO)

The top ten comedies are:
  1. Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
  2. Entourage (HBO)
  3. Family Guy (Fox)
  4. The Office (NBC)
  5. Pushing Daisies (ABC)
  6. 30 Rock (NBC)
  7. Flight of the Conchords (HBO
  8. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
  9. Ugly Betty (ABC)
  10. Weeds (Showtime)