May 2008
WFAA8's Izaguirre gets her first star turn in a new and shiny spot
05/30/08 11:03 AM
By ED BARK
WFAA8's homespun new 30-second image campaign for Cynthia Izaguirre seems to be timed just right.
The station's ascendant Daybreak program, which she co-anchors, narrowly won the recently ended May "sweeps" among 25-to-54-year-olds, the key advertiser audience for news programming.
And Izaguirre's lame duck Daybreak desk partner, Justin Farmer -- better known as whatsisname at the station -- will be leaving in July to join WSB-TV in Atlanta, where his father, Don Farmer, once ruled the roost.
It's pretty much been Izaguirre's show since her Jan. 4th Daybreak debut coincided with Farmer's same-day decision to head for Atlanta when his contract expires. Station management understandably has cold-shouldered him in the months since while Izaguirre does each and every promotional tease. Now she's the star of her own half-minute show-and-tell, which ends with the Dallas-raised Izaguirre saying, "I love what I do and I love where I do it. I'm from here and I'm for here."
The ad hit home-screens just after the sweeps ended on May 21st. And it was strategically placed during Thursday night's season finale of Lost, which dominates the D-FW ratings among younger viewers.
It should be noted that Izaguirre has both an incandescent personality and a knack and appetite for selling herself. Her previous station, KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, N.M., aired a multi-part series titled "Raising Cynthia." And her tearful goodbye to the station and its viewers, for which she composed a poem, had to be one of the lengthiest in local TV history.
That said, Izaguirre clearly has the goods. Her WFAA8 spot finds her standing proudly onstage at Longfellow Academy in Dallas, where she attended middle school.
"We'd get talks from people who'd tell us we could do anything we wanted to do," she tells viewers. "And now I get to be one of those people."
The spot adapts an Ugly Betty motif with grade school pictures of Izaguirre in over-sized eyeglasses. The adult anchor also walks the Longfellow halls with her former drama teacher, Mrs. Kim Stidham.
"I grew up in Dallas, and I want to help people here," Izaguirre says. That can be accomplished by both bringing viewers their first news of the day and showing how dreams can come true, she adds.
The commercial ends with a closeup of a beaming anchor and her "News 8 Daybreak" logo. It's a slick, effective sales pitch that harkens to days when campaigns built around individual personalities were standard operating procedure.
Lately, only WFAA8 has gotten into this game. The station introduced weatherman Pete Delkus to the market via a series of comedy spots. And sports anchor Dale Hansen earlier was featured alongside dancing girls in "Hansen Style" commercials.
Rival stations might be wise to start firing back with their own personality-driven plans of attack. They can make lasting impressions when done right. And the high-appeal Izaguirre ad stars a willing subject who's got it -- and doesn't mind flaunting it.
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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., May 29)
05/30/08 09:56 AM
By ED BARK
ABC's two-hour finale of Lost expectedly paced the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old ratings Thursday. But its overall Nielsens fell short of two competing crime drama reruns on CBS.
Lost drew a total of 168,056 D-FW homes opposite reprises of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (172,928 homes) and Without A Trace (211,897 homes). That's not exactly going out with a bang, at least not in this TV market.
ABC's island-spun web of intrigue picked up some slack by luring 138,750 viewers in the 18-to-49 demo. That handily beat both CSI (75,682) and Trace (116,676).
NBC's 90-minute chunk of Last Comic Standing thudded to fourth place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. with 77,940 total homes and 50,454 viewers of the 18-to-49 persuasion.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 nipped CBS11 at 10 p.m. in total homes and won comfortably with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 took the 6 a.m. gold in total homes, but WFAA8 again had the edge in the 25-to-54 demo.
WFAA8 ran the table in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
ABC's two-hour finale of Lost expectedly paced the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old ratings Thursday. But its overall Nielsens fell short of two competing crime drama reruns on CBS.
Lost drew a total of 168,056 D-FW homes opposite reprises of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (172,928 homes) and Without A Trace (211,897 homes). That's not exactly going out with a bang, at least not in this TV market.
ABC's island-spun web of intrigue picked up some slack by luring 138,750 viewers in the 18-to-49 demo. That handily beat both CSI (75,682) and Trace (116,676).
NBC's 90-minute chunk of Last Comic Standing thudded to fourth place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. with 77,940 total homes and 50,454 viewers of the 18-to-49 persuasion.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 nipped CBS11 at 10 p.m. in total homes and won comfortably with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 took the 6 a.m. gold in total homes, but WFAA8 again had the edge in the 25-to-54 demo.
WFAA8 ran the table in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
University of diversity: who gets the Masters degree?
05/29/08 10:32 AM
By ED BARK
The May "sweeps" ratings battles are over, but readers of this Web site consistently have expressed an interest in another numbers game.
Namely, which of D-FW's major TV news providers are doing the best and worst jobs of both hiring minorities and giving them prominent on-camera roles?
First off, not everything has to boil down to race. Overall merit and the options open to station managers also are key considerations. It's foolhardy to hire a person of color who has no business being in what's supposed to be the big leagues. This is now the nation's fifth largest television market, so your career bicycle should be without training wheels by the time you get here.
But D-FW also is a highly diverse television market, and no one should be blind to that either. Any TV news staff is poorer for not reflecting its community. The newsroom balance can't always be perfect, but it should be on a relatively even keel. Still, that shouldn't obligate management to automatically replace a black male anchor with another of the same race and gender, etc.
Before diving into this, let's note that I'm a 60-year-old white male from Racine, WI. Neither of my late parents finished high school, and I went to college entirely at my own expense after serving in the U.S. Marines. I obviously don't know what it's like to be black, Hispanic or Asian. But I do know a little something about working my way up -- and down -- without any "connections" to fall back on.
So those are my own prejudices, if you can call them that. I understand that some people have it much harder than others. But there are many factors -- not just race -- that can figure into that. In the end, genuinely talented people will find ways to make themselves shine. I honestly believe that, but some surely will disagree.
Now let's take a look at the racial realities at Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11. (Note: minority anchors and reporters are in boldface.)
FOX4
The station's two major moneymakers -- its weekday early morning and 9 p.m. newscasts -- have no people of color in the featured news, weather or sports anchor positions. Sports reporter/anchor Max Morgan occasionally fills in for longstanding sports anchor Mike Doocy. Substitute early morning weather anchor Maria Sotolongo recently left the station to spend more time with her new baby.
Fox4 does, however, have D-FW's reigning dean of African-American anchors in Clarice Tinsley. Nearing her 30-year anniversary at the station, she co-anchors the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts with Baron James. Those newscasts aren't the big dogs they used to be, though. In the May sweeps, the 10 p.m. edition averaged fewer total homes than both the 9 p.m. news and the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day.
Fox4 still has a sizable core of minority reporters, although it lost a major contributor in Rebecca Aguilar, who was terminated earlier this year after a lengthy and controversial suspension. Shaun Rabb and Fil Alvarado have many years at the station, even if the latter is no longer named or pictured among the Fox4 newsroom "Personalities" on myfoxdfw.com.
Reporter Saul Garza is a major asset both in the early mornings and with his weekly "What's Buggin' You" segment on the 9 p.m. newscast.
Emily Lopez, Natalie Solis and Lynn Kawano, are regular contributors to various newscasts. Dionne Anglin is seen less frequently and Nita Wiggins hasn't been a major presence of late. Fox4's newest minority hire, Adrian Arambulo, has been nicely showcased on the early morning shift.
Overall Grade: B-minus
NBC5
The station's most prominent minority is featured sports anchor Newy Scruggs, who also gets by far the least time for his nightly, split-in-two sports reports. The other member of the Peacock's two-member sports team, Derek Castillo, is leaving in June after tiring of working weekends and missing out on family life.
NBC5 also has Deborah Ferguson as a high-profile early morning co-anchor. Its most prominent minority reporter, Randy McIlwain, is a very capable and prominent presence on the featured 10 p.m. newscasts. Ashanti Blaize infrequently reports on the late night show, as does Kristi Nelson, who used to be a major player. But both women regularly anchor in the late afternoons and early evenings.
Newcomer Omar Villafranca regularly works the early morning shift as a reporter while Susy Solis drops into view on occasion. NBC5 also has hired Jennifer Lopez -- not the actress -- to replace the deposed Rebecca Miller in the early mornings. She's scheduled to start next month.
Overall Grade: C-plus
WFAA8
The market's No. 1-rated news operation also has appreciably more minorities in key positions.
John McCaa and Gloria Campos, D-FW's first featured Hispanic woman anchor, have been a team at 6 and 10 p.m. for more than a dozen years. The station's early morning program likewise has a major minority presence in longtime weatherman Greg Fields and recently hired news anchor Cynthia Izaguirre.
Also regularly manning an anchor desk is sports guy Joe Trahan, the usual substitute for 25-year veteran Dale Hansen.
WFAA8 is losing Bob Greene, who's heading to law school next month. Its reporting staff still includes the oft-used Gary Reaves and Rebecca Lopez, both of whom are regulars on the featured 10 p.m. newscasts and earlier editions. Darla Miles and newcomer Monika Diaz are less seen. Veteran Debbie Denmon still reports on occasion and anchors the station's weekend morning newscasts.
Overall Grade: A-minus
CBS11
Featured 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor Karen Borta, who joined the station in 1995, has a full-blooded Mexican mother and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Relatively few viewers probably know this, let alone some of her co-workers. But it counts for something, right?
CBS11's most prominent minorities otherwise are out in the field. Steve Pickett has been a stalwart for many years, and deserves more visibility. Stephanie Lucero, another veteran, is regularly deployed on the 10 p.m. newscasts, as is relative newcomer Carol Cavazos, formerly of WFAA8.
Robbie Owens, wife of WFAA8's early rising Fields, likewise has a pre-dawn beat at CBS11.
Nerissa Knight, one of the market's most promising newcomers, splits her time between reporting and anchoring weekends for CBS11. Chris Salcedo divides time anchoring and reporting for CBS11 and sister station TXA21. Kenneth Taylor mainly co-anchors TXA21's 7 to 9 p.m. weeknight newscasts. And former Dallas Maverick Derek Harper logs ample air time in the basketball season on TXA21's pre- and post-game Mavs telecasts.
Overall Grade: C
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., May 28)
05/29/08 10:32 AM
By ED BARK
NBC put its prime-time ratings on ice Wednesday with Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final between Detroit and Pittsburgh.
The Penguins' 3-2 win interested just 36,534 homes in the D-FW viewing area. In comparison, Fox's competing two-hour So You Think You Can Dance, which focused in part on the show's Dallas auditions, drew 131,522 homes.
The 9 p.m. hour went to CBS' CSI: NY repeat, which also was Wednesday's most-watched program with 228,946 D-FW homes. CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast then held on to the lion's share of a big lead-in audience to notch its second straight narrow win over WFAA8.
Fox4's 10 p.m. newscast scored a rare victory among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8, CBS11 and NBC5 trailed in that order.
The 6 a.m. total homes gold also went to Fox4, but WFAA8 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds. The ABC station ran the table in both measurements with its 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.
NBC put its prime-time ratings on ice Wednesday with Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final between Detroit and Pittsburgh.
The Penguins' 3-2 win interested just 36,534 homes in the D-FW viewing area. In comparison, Fox's competing two-hour So You Think You Can Dance, which focused in part on the show's Dallas auditions, drew 131,522 homes.
The 9 p.m. hour went to CBS' CSI: NY repeat, which also was Wednesday's most-watched program with 228,946 D-FW homes. CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast then held on to the lion's share of a big lead-in audience to notch its second straight narrow win over WFAA8.
Fox4's 10 p.m. newscast scored a rare victory among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8, CBS11 and NBC5 trailed in that order.
The 6 a.m. total homes gold also went to Fox4, but WFAA8 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds. The ABC station ran the table in both measurements with its 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., May 27)
05/28/08 10:11 AM
By ED BARK
Fox's double dose of contestant humiliation paced Tuesday's prime-time ratings among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
The return of Moment of Truth controlled the 7 to 8 p.m. hour before Hell's Kitchen likewise fired up the Nielsens in this key audience demographic.
In the total homes measurement, Kitchen and a repeat of CBS' The Unit tied for first at 8 p.m. with 119,344 apiece. Moment of Truth (131,522 homes) ran second to CBS' competing NCIS (204,590), also a repeat.
CBS won in total D-FW homes at 9 p.m. with another dollop of 48 Hours Mystery (192,412). But NBC's repeat of Law & Order: SVU ran first with 18-to-49-year-olds.
Over on cable, the Lakers' last-second win over the Spurs in the Western Conference finals drew a very nice-sized 141,265 homes to TNT. The resurgent Texas Rangers' victory over the rising Rays managed 53,584 homes on MY27.
In the local news derby, CBS11 nipped WFAA8 at 10 p.m. in total homes, but fell to fourth among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8 took first in the latter measurement.
The 6 a.m. ratings again were split, with Fox4 winning in total homes but continuing to slump in the 25-to-54 demo. WFAA8 comfortably won that battle while Fox4 wilted to third.
WFAA8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m. and added a total homes gold in the later hour. NBC5 was tops in total homes at 5 p.m.
Fox's double dose of contestant humiliation paced Tuesday's prime-time ratings among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
The return of Moment of Truth controlled the 7 to 8 p.m. hour before Hell's Kitchen likewise fired up the Nielsens in this key audience demographic.
In the total homes measurement, Kitchen and a repeat of CBS' The Unit tied for first at 8 p.m. with 119,344 apiece. Moment of Truth (131,522 homes) ran second to CBS' competing NCIS (204,590), also a repeat.
CBS won in total D-FW homes at 9 p.m. with another dollop of 48 Hours Mystery (192,412). But NBC's repeat of Law & Order: SVU ran first with 18-to-49-year-olds.
Over on cable, the Lakers' last-second win over the Spurs in the Western Conference finals drew a very nice-sized 141,265 homes to TNT. The resurgent Texas Rangers' victory over the rising Rays managed 53,584 homes on MY27.
In the local news derby, CBS11 nipped WFAA8 at 10 p.m. in total homes, but fell to fourth among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8 took first in the latter measurement.
The 6 a.m. ratings again were split, with Fox4 winning in total homes but continuing to slump in the 25-to-54 demo. WFAA8 comfortably won that battle while Fox4 wilted to third.
WFAA8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m. and added a total homes gold in the later hour. NBC5 was tops in total homes at 5 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Mon., May 23-26)
05/27/08 02:54 PM
By ED BARK
Don't sound the alarm. It's 6 a.m. on Memorial Day, so there's little reason to get vertical at an hour when you otherwise might be wondering about the day's work and/or-school-related weather and traffic.
Ergo, the Nielsen ratings snoozed as well, giving CBS11's generally little-watched waker-upper a chance to run with the bulls after getting trampled as usual on Friday. Here's what a difference a day makes at that appointed hour:
Friday 6 a.m. ratings (total homes)
Fox4 -- 104,731
NBC5 -- 85,246
WFAA8 -- 73,068
CBS11 -- 41,405
25-to-54-year-olds (the preferred news target audience)
NBC5 -- 76,557
WFAA8 -- 73,613
Fox4 -- 50,057
CBS11 -- 17,667
Memorial Day 6 a.m. ratings (total homes)
Fox4 -- 43,841
CBS11 -- 41,405
WFAA8 -- 31,663
NBC5 -- 29,227
25-to-54-year-olds
WFAA8 -- 26,501
CBS11 -- 23,556
Fox4 -- 20,612
NBC5 -- 17,667
So the moral to this little ratings vignette is that CBS11 stands a chance of being right in the thick of the early morning ratings fight when much of the usual audience is sleeping in. Hey, it's a start, and the station probably can't wait for those Fourth of July numbers to roll in.
Memorial Day otherwise was notable for the really big Nielsens amassed by CBS' Two And A Half Men repeat. It drew 270,352 D-FW homes to easily rank as Monday's most-watched attraction.
Meanwhile, WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast won in total homes while running second to NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds. WFAA8 took first place at 5 and 6 p.m. in total homes, but the respective 25-to-54-year-old golds at those hours went to Fox4 and NBC5.
On Sunday, the Indy 500 on ABC had 119,344 homes to outgun the final round of D-FW's Colonial golf tournament on CBS (68,197 homes).
Saturday's overall puny prime-time numbers were paced by Fox4's local 9 p.m. newscast, which drew 114,473 D-FW homes to lead all programming.
The rest of Friday's local news derby results saw WFAA8's 10 p.m. edition nip NBC5 in total homes. But the Peacock won easily in the 25-to-54 demo.
Fox4 notched twin wins at 5 p.m., with NBC5 taking first at 6 p.m. in total homes. WFAA8 prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds at the later hour.
Don't sound the alarm. It's 6 a.m. on Memorial Day, so there's little reason to get vertical at an hour when you otherwise might be wondering about the day's work and/or-school-related weather and traffic.
Ergo, the Nielsen ratings snoozed as well, giving CBS11's generally little-watched waker-upper a chance to run with the bulls after getting trampled as usual on Friday. Here's what a difference a day makes at that appointed hour:
Friday 6 a.m. ratings (total homes)
Fox4 -- 104,731
NBC5 -- 85,246
WFAA8 -- 73,068
CBS11 -- 41,405
25-to-54-year-olds (the preferred news target audience)
NBC5 -- 76,557
WFAA8 -- 73,613
Fox4 -- 50,057
CBS11 -- 17,667
Memorial Day 6 a.m. ratings (total homes)
Fox4 -- 43,841
CBS11 -- 41,405
WFAA8 -- 31,663
NBC5 -- 29,227
25-to-54-year-olds
WFAA8 -- 26,501
CBS11 -- 23,556
Fox4 -- 20,612
NBC5 -- 17,667
So the moral to this little ratings vignette is that CBS11 stands a chance of being right in the thick of the early morning ratings fight when much of the usual audience is sleeping in. Hey, it's a start, and the station probably can't wait for those Fourth of July numbers to roll in.
Memorial Day otherwise was notable for the really big Nielsens amassed by CBS' Two And A Half Men repeat. It drew 270,352 D-FW homes to easily rank as Monday's most-watched attraction.
Meanwhile, WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast won in total homes while running second to NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds. WFAA8 took first place at 5 and 6 p.m. in total homes, but the respective 25-to-54-year-old golds at those hours went to Fox4 and NBC5.
On Sunday, the Indy 500 on ABC had 119,344 homes to outgun the final round of D-FW's Colonial golf tournament on CBS (68,197 homes).
Saturday's overall puny prime-time numbers were paced by Fox4's local 9 p.m. newscast, which drew 114,473 D-FW homes to lead all programming.
The rest of Friday's local news derby results saw WFAA8's 10 p.m. edition nip NBC5 in total homes. But the Peacock won easily in the 25-to-54 demo.
Fox4 notched twin wins at 5 p.m., with NBC5 taking first at 6 p.m. in total homes. WFAA8 prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds at the later hour.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., May 22)
05/23/08 10:59 AM
By ED BARK
Cruising through a sea of post-May sweeps reruns and reality competitions, ABC's two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy easily dominated Thursday's prime-time Nielsens.
Grey's reeled in 299,579 D-FW homes while also delivering a command performance among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox's season premiere of So You Think You Dance, whose second hour went against Grey's, managed to partner up with 114,473 homes. (The show's Dallas auditions will be showcased next week after Fox4 got information indicating that they'd be spotlighted Thursday.)
NBC's two-hour relaunch of Last Comic Standing wobbled with an opening night crowd of 97,424 homes.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 again flexed at 10 p.m., winning in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had a clear-cut win at 6 a.m. in total homes, but narrowly lost the 25-to-54 battle to WFAA8.
The 5 p.m. golds went to Fox4 in both ratings measurements. WFAA8 then rebounded to win across the board at 6 p.m.
Cruising through a sea of post-May sweeps reruns and reality competitions, ABC's two-hour season finale of Grey's Anatomy easily dominated Thursday's prime-time Nielsens.
Grey's reeled in 299,579 D-FW homes while also delivering a command performance among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox's season premiere of So You Think You Dance, whose second hour went against Grey's, managed to partner up with 114,473 homes. (The show's Dallas auditions will be showcased next week after Fox4 got information indicating that they'd be spotlighted Thursday.)
NBC's two-hour relaunch of Last Comic Standing wobbled with an opening night crowd of 97,424 homes.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 again flexed at 10 p.m., winning in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had a clear-cut win at 6 a.m. in total homes, but narrowly lost the 25-to-54 battle to WFAA8.
The 5 p.m. golds went to Fox4 in both ratings measurements. WFAA8 then rebounded to win across the board at 6 p.m.
Reporter Paul Adrian heading for Harvard, leaving Fox4
05/22/08 12:36 PM
By ED BARK
One of Fox4's best and brightest, reporter Paul Adrian, will be leaving the station in late June to study for the next year at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
He then plans to return to his native Texas with an eye toward reinvigorating the lost art of covering state government.
Adrian, 40, hopes to set up his own independent unit of print and broadcast investigative journalists. That's an ambitious undertaking, but Adrian figures the field is wide open, particularly in TV news.
"It scares me that so many people are leaving TV journalism," Adrian says in an interview with unclebarky.com. "My goal is not to get out. My goal is to get into this field more deeply. I'm taking a big risk. It'll be either a really smart thing I'm doing or a really dumb thing. But I'm willing to leave what's been a wonderful job to go and try to become a better reporter."
Adrian, who joined Fox4 seven years ago, stressed that he's not unhappy with the station. But he's disheartened by his profession's growing disinterest in covering the Texas state legislature, whose decisions have far wider-ranging implications than live overhead chopper shots of the latest car wreck or police chase.
"Typically now, it's a quick hit," he says of state government coverage. "We're down in Austin, the session opens and we're back. It's not Fox4's problem. It's an industry problem. We've collectively decided not to invest in this coverage, and it bugs me."
In his letter of resignation, Adrian praised Fox4 news director Maria Barrs as "a great boss."
"In my estimation," he said, "the KDFW-TV news department has more going for it than any news team in the city and most in the country. I attribute a lot of our success to your leadership and your support of hard-hitting, in-depth journalism."
His most recent investigative report for Fox4 was on the effectiveness of state tort reform enacted in 2003 to curb "frivolous" malpractice suits and keep doctors from leaving Texas. It's not a subject that quickens the pulses of most news managers or viewers. But Adrian made it work in times when stories on miracle diets and new breakthroughs in cosmetic surgery are both encouraged and heavily promoted.
"Government is at the heart of the stories that I'm proudest of over the last seven years," Adrian says. "But for better or worse, what we grew up with in television news is changing. So I've got to figure out, 'How can I keep my craft alive?' If I'm not at peace with myself, I'm going to be frustrated."
Adrian and his wife, Jade Kurian, a reporter for the HD News network, have a 17-month-old daughter named Lark. They'll mostly remain in North Texas while Adrian commutes back and forth for the next year.
"Any absence from journalism is going to create a longing to go out and do what I love to do -- shine a light, expose problems and try to nudge our political leaders to do the right thing," Adrian says.
Upon his planned return, he'll try to do just that as an entrepreneur who hopes to service a wide range of broadcast clients.
"I hope I'm aligned with somebody in every TV market in the state," Adrian says. "I just don't think you can be informed enough on what's good government and what isn't.
Barrs, who has a policy of not commenting on personnel matters, will be challenged with rebuilding Fox4's newsroom during the summer months. As previously posted, two other 9 p.m. news mainstays, reporters Jeff Crilley and Jason Overstreet, also will be leaving the station in June to start new ventures.
Heather Hays, the 9 p.m. co-anchor, is scheduled to go on maternity leave next month. And Fox4 could lose Good Day co-anchor Megan Henderson to Fox News Channel. She'll be talking with FNC chairman Roger Ailes about possible opportunities during her second guest-anchor stint early next month on Fox & Friends Weekend.
This just in: The May sweeps are over and the ratings are ready to serve
05/22/08 10:29 AM
By ED BARK
The four-week May sweeps ratings competition ended on a triumphant note for WFAA8, which ran first in all four major battlegrounds while upping its year-to-year Nielsen numbers in the key 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. battlegrounds.
The 6 a.m. total homes race basically ended in a first place tie with Fox4, although further numbers crunching gives WFAA8 the nod by three-hundredths of a rating point (730 homes).
WFAA8 and Fox4 ran a similar down-to-the-wire race in the February sweeps, with the latter station holding an even measlier 244-homes edge at 6 a.m. Advertisers interpret both of these outcomes as ties.
CBS11 finished no better than second place in any of the four major combat zones. But the station dramatically improved its performance at 10 p.m., where its press release is touting "the fastest-growing major market late news in the country."
Although still well behind at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m., CBS11 can tout overall year-to-year audience increases in all four time periods.
NBC5 can take some heart in an improved performance at 6 a.m. in the key 25-to-54 audience demographic. But it continued to lose substantial ground at 10 p.m., where it once dominated.
Fox4 can brag about whipping the three network morning shows with the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day. The station's 9 p.m. local newscast also continued to perform well, beating NBC entertainment programming in both ratings measurements.
The May book otherwise belongs to WFAA8, which thoroughly dominated the 10 p.m. Nielsens and also dethroned Fox4 as last May's 6 a.m. champ. The only dents in its May numbers are at 5 and 6 p.m., where WFAA8 again finished first despite significant year-to-year audience losses.
Here are the May sweeps newscast results, with the numbers in parentheses showing audience gains or losses from May 2007. (Note that each rating point equals 24,356 D-FW homes and 29,445 viewers in the 25-to-54 demographic.)
10 P.M.
Total Homes
WFAA8 -- 226,511 (+12,178)
CBS11 -- 182,670 (+58,454)
NBC5 -- 155,878 (-17,050)
Fox4 -- 97,424 (-4,871)
25-to-54
WFAA8 -- 147,225 (+8,833)
NBC5 -- 103,058 (-29,445)
CBS11 -- 97,169 (+41,223)
Fox4 -- 70,668 (+8,833)
6 A.M.
Total Homes
WFAA8 -- 90,604 (+7,100)
Fox4 -- 89,874 (-5,602)
NBC5 -- 77,939 (-2,436)
CBS11 -- 41,405 (+9,742)
25-to-54
WFAA8 -- 76,557 (+8,833)
NBC5 -- 67,724 (+20,612)
Fox4 -- 67,724 (-2,944)
CBS11 -- 23,556 (+2,944)
6 P.M.
WFAA8 -- 148,572 (-31,662)
NBC5 -- 99,860 (-14,613)
CBS11 -- 94,988 (+9,742)
Fox4 -- 80,375 (-9,742)
25-to-54
WFAA8 -- 79,502 (-14,722)
NBC5 -- 53,001 (-5,889)
Fox4 -- 47,112 (-5,889)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (even)
5 P.M.
Total homes
WFAA8 -- 124,216 (-36,534)
NBC5 -- 94,988 (-2,436)
Fox4 -- 82,810 (+9,742)
CBS11 -- 75,504 (+19,485)
25-to-54
WFAA8 -- 64,779 (-17,667)
NBC5 -- 44,168 (-2,944)
Fox4 -- 41,223 (+5,889)
CBS11 -- 29,445 (+8,833)
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., May 21)
05/22/08 09:11 AM
By ED BARK
Fox's two-hour Season 7 American Idol finale predictably crushed all in its path Wednesday as the May sweeps ended a four-week run just shy of Memorial Day weekend.
Idol averaged 365,340 D-FW homes, ballooning to 467,635 in the closing 15 minutes. From 8:45 to 9 p.m., Idol also amassed 343,721 advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, a huge bounty. Prime-time's next closest performer in this key demo, the last 15 minutes of CBS' Criminal Minds, drew 110,369 viewers in the 18-to-49 age group.
Fox4's following 9 p.m. local newscast also reaped big dividends, although the audience dropped sharply after the first 15 minutes. But the news still averaged 267,916 homes overall, easily enough to thump CBS' runnerup CSI: NY (209,462 homes). Fox4's news also won by wide margins among 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In the four-way local news derby, WFAA8 finished with a flourish in the hotly contested 6 a.m. race, edging Fox4 in total homes and winning more comfortably among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The ABC station also won across the board at 5, 6 and 10 p.m., rolling to its first double grand slam of the May sweeps. WFAA8's four major newscasts last circled the bases twice on April 8th.
Fox's two-hour Season 7 American Idol finale predictably crushed all in its path Wednesday as the May sweeps ended a four-week run just shy of Memorial Day weekend.
Idol averaged 365,340 D-FW homes, ballooning to 467,635 in the closing 15 minutes. From 8:45 to 9 p.m., Idol also amassed 343,721 advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, a huge bounty. Prime-time's next closest performer in this key demo, the last 15 minutes of CBS' Criminal Minds, drew 110,369 viewers in the 18-to-49 age group.
Fox4's following 9 p.m. local newscast also reaped big dividends, although the audience dropped sharply after the first 15 minutes. But the news still averaged 267,916 homes overall, easily enough to thump CBS' runnerup CSI: NY (209,462 homes). Fox4's news also won by wide margins among 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In the four-way local news derby, WFAA8 finished with a flourish in the hotly contested 6 a.m. race, edging Fox4 in total homes and winning more comfortably among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The ABC station also won across the board at 5, 6 and 10 p.m., rolling to its first double grand slam of the May sweeps. WFAA8's four major newscasts last circled the bases twice on April 8th.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., May 20)
05/21/08 02:41 PM
By ED BARK
First of all, please don't try this at home. That said, one of the easiest ways to make live "Breaking News" on TV is to drive a vehicle through someone's home.
It doesn't matter if no one's hurt. TV stations like putting on those pictures and invariably will rush to the scene by both air and land. You get two visceral visuals for the price of one -- twisted metal and a jagged, gaping hole in an innocent brick-and-mortar bystander. It's simply irresistible.
Arlington gave Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 a twofer Tuesday night. First a car swerved into a house while the driver was scrapping with another guy over a girl. Less than an hour later, an off-duty Duncanville police officer suffered a seizure, causing his pickup truck to crash through a bedroom.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in either mishap. Still, WFAA8 and CBS11 both led their 10 p.m. editions with "Breaking News" of the mishaps.
Fox4 and NBC5 first reported "Breaking News" of a pharmacy shooting in Dallas. Then it was quickly on to Arlington for Tuesday's night's big double dip.
Crime, tragedy and a wide variety of consumer scares almost always play leading roles in any given late night newscast. WFAA8 generally devotes less time to spot crime than its rivals. But Tuesday brought plenty of trouble on all four stations.
NBC5 as usual led the league, reeling off nine crime-related stories and three tragedies.
"Heading home from the grocery store, a Dallas woman is pulled from the street and raped," said anchor Jane McGarry before reporter Ellen Goldberg told of a 23-year-old victim's manhandling by four sub-humans.
"A horrific walk home," Goldberg added. "Perhaps there is no other way to describe it."
That story led directly to reporter Grant Stinchfield's tale of a 62-year-old Seagoville woman who was kidnapped and taken into the woods by a young scumbag who's a registered sex offender.
"He said, 'You got three choices. I can either shoot you, strangle you or put you in this well,' " the victim told Stinchfield as the camera focuses on her gnarled hands.
She chose the latter, and spent 20 hours "in the muck" before being discovered, Stinchfield said.
"Poor woman. Thank you, Grant," said McGarry. You ever wonder why anchors always feel it necessary to thank reporters for bringing news of horrific crimes or tragedies?
CBS11 offered seven crime-related stories, including Jay Gormley's piece on a woman who was shot by a burglar six months ago while working at a check-cashing place. She showed off the bullet wound in her belly to prove it.
Now the woman faces losing her job for failing to type in a "panic code" that would have notified police of a robbery in progress. But she feared that the robber would shoot her if she followed that particular company procedure. Four former Denver employees of the same company have similar stories and have hired an attorney, Gormley said.
Fox4 had six crime-related stories and WFAA8, five. But the latter station's David Schechter may have put more viewers on edge with a non-crime story titled "Poisonous Picnics."
Schechter found that many picnic tables in state- and city-owned parks have arsenic-treated wood that can be especially hazardous for smaller children inclined to put their fingers in their mouths among other things.
A standard wood sealant also would seal in the arsenic. But Schechter's report instead led to the quick dismantling of picnic tables in Cedar Hills State Park and Tennyson Park in Dallas. Some were outfitted with new wood and others simply carried off. It's always something, isn't it?
The overall point here is that North Texas really isn't as scary as your late night newscasts regularly portray it to be. But crime scenes are easy to cover, as are car wrecks, burning buildings and the like. All are picturesque in their own way, with yellow police tape serving as the official color of local newscasts here, there and everywhere.
WFAA8 generally is less likely to bite than others, but timing can be crucial. Smash into a house or shoot someone an hour or so before air time and you're sure to attract lots of attention. It's the easiest "immediacy" there is -- and on Tuesday night you could see ample evidence of that on all four major late night news providers.
AND IN OTHER NEWS
***Fox4 also had two good human interest stories that had nothing to do with crime, tragedy or fears that your next deep breath of surrounding air could be your last.
Jeff Crilley reported on a resourceful 10-year-old boy who now is the last legal owner of chickens in University Park. The kid, Julius Stener, did his own computer research to find that there's nothing in the city code to prevent this. So he petitioned the University Park City Council, which grudgingly grandfathered him in before immediately voting to close an existing loophole and prohibit any further raising of chickens within city limits.
Reporter Jason Overstreet, in Lake Worth, said that some Fourth of July holiday celebrations may be dampened or curtailed all together by a major shortage of fireworks in China, where they're all made these days. That's because 20 China warehouses housing many of them were recently destroyed by an explosion.
Overstreet put it succinctly after interviewing an area vendor of airborne oohs and ahs: "With hardly any fireworks made in the U.S.," he said, "this tradition for celebrating America's independence is almost totally dependent on China."
***Over on NBC5, dogged Scott Gordon steered clear of crime to tell a nice little story of identical triplets being born at Harris Methodist Hospital. Their neonatologist is the same doctor who saved the triplets' dad during a problematic birth 23 years ago.
***WFAA8's Macie Jepson made an infrequent foray into late night news reporting with a less than memorable contribution. Her amply promoted story on the "15-Minute Nose Job" focused on a notably busty 25-year-old blonde who underwent a new procedure that can "sculpt" your beak without a scalpel.
"Celebrities have long been the object of consumers' desire," Jepson said in setting up the story. Gimme rewrite on that one. By the way, said anchor Gloria Campos, this latest treatment can smooth bumps, dips and irregularities, but can't make your nose smaller. Honk if you care.
***Brandishing a fast food drink and sack, CBS11's Nerissa Knight offered Part 2 of her report on how some foods have lots more calories and fat grams than others.
As previously noted here, CBS11 is copying a February sweeps offering by NBC5's Brian Curtis, who relied on the same book, Eat This, Not That!, for his restaurant meal comparisons.
Both reporters also utilized tight shots of anonymous big asses to show what can happen to those who consistently make fattier menu choices.
CBS11 anchor Doug Dunbar then carped, "That's two nights in a row I feel just like (being) caught like a thief right in the middle of the night."
He's got the thievery part right.
One night to go.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., May 20)
05/21/08 09:30 AM
By ED BARK
American Idol's duel of the Davids not surprisingly had its way Tuesday among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
But the night's biggest overall draw wasn't Idol. Nor was it Dancing with the Stars' two-hour climax on ABC. Leapin' lizards, CBS' two-hour NCIS, a huge hit with older viewers, had the most D-FW homes watching on the second-to-last night of the May sweeps. Here are breakdowns in those two audience measurements, plus viewers 55 years and older:
Total Homes
NCIS -- 277,658
American Idol -- 275,223
Dancing with the Stars (with Kristi Yamaguchi victorious) -- 265,480
18-to-49
American Idol -- 195,635
Dancing with the Stars -- 151,363
NCIS -- 104,062
55 years and older
NCIS -- 273,600
American Idol -- 164,800
Dancing with the Stars -- 100,800
That left NBC with scraps for two clip specials and a pair of Law & Order: SVU episodes. The 9 p.m. hour of SVU drew 99,860 D-FW homes to easily rank as the Peacock's most-watched program of the night.
The local news derby remained a Tilt-A-Whirl in the early mornings. NBC5's 6 a.m. show suddenly rose up and won Tuesday by comfortable margins in total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It ran third in both measurements on Monday.
With just Wednesday left to count, it's still pretty much a three-way race among the Peacock, WFAA8 and Fox4. The latter two stations have better chances of placing first in total homes. But in the 25-to-54 demo, NBC5 has a solid chance of running second and a shot at tying WFAA8 for first.
WFAA8, aided by a big Dancing with the Stars lead-in, thumped its 10 p.m. news rivals in both ratings measurements. Its newscasts also again cruised to across-the-board wins at 5 and 6 p.m.
American Idol's duel of the Davids not surprisingly had its way Tuesday among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
But the night's biggest overall draw wasn't Idol. Nor was it Dancing with the Stars' two-hour climax on ABC. Leapin' lizards, CBS' two-hour NCIS, a huge hit with older viewers, had the most D-FW homes watching on the second-to-last night of the May sweeps. Here are breakdowns in those two audience measurements, plus viewers 55 years and older:
Total Homes
NCIS -- 277,658
American Idol -- 275,223
Dancing with the Stars (with Kristi Yamaguchi victorious) -- 265,480
18-to-49
American Idol -- 195,635
Dancing with the Stars -- 151,363
NCIS -- 104,062
55 years and older
NCIS -- 273,600
American Idol -- 164,800
Dancing with the Stars -- 100,800
That left NBC with scraps for two clip specials and a pair of Law & Order: SVU episodes. The 9 p.m. hour of SVU drew 99,860 D-FW homes to easily rank as the Peacock's most-watched program of the night.
The local news derby remained a Tilt-A-Whirl in the early mornings. NBC5's 6 a.m. show suddenly rose up and won Tuesday by comfortable margins in total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It ran third in both measurements on Monday.
With just Wednesday left to count, it's still pretty much a three-way race among the Peacock, WFAA8 and Fox4. The latter two stations have better chances of placing first in total homes. But in the 25-to-54 demo, NBC5 has a solid chance of running second and a shot at tying WFAA8 for first.
WFAA8, aided by a big Dancing with the Stars lead-in, thumped its 10 p.m. news rivals in both ratings measurements. Its newscasts also again cruised to across-the-board wins at 5 and 6 p.m.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Mon., May 19)
05/20/08 02:31 PM
By ED BARK
Oh cruel, cruel fate. Not to say petty theft.
Happily trouncing third-place NBC5 in the 10 p.m. total homes ratings, runnerup CBS11 also is ripping pages from the February sweeps playbook of the Peacock's Brian Curtis. Way to rub it in.
It's not as if they're filching from Edward R. Murrow. NBC5's resident pretty boy isn't exactly known for blowing the lid off of anything -- unless it's a crock pot. Still, his light touch perfectly suits the second halves of NBC5's newscasts, where fluff has always had a home. So CBS11 lately is copying from the master.
Last Thursday's Ginger Allen piece on "The Grocery Game" method of cutting supermarket costs had a familiar ring to it. That's because Curtis opened this year's February sweeps ratings period with a story on the same system. As did Allen, he accompanied a giddy woman to the checkout counter, where she rang up big savings through the miracle of The Grocery Game, which costs about $20 a month to obtain.
On Monday's 10 p.m. CBS11 newscast, reporter Nerissa Knight's "Menu Mistakes" story spotlighted a paperback book titled Eat This, Not That!
Hmm, Curtis did exactly the same thing during his Feb. 8th "Weight Loss Wonder" story on how seemingly healthier foods can have higher calorie and fat gram counts than stuff that looks worse for you. It's all detailed in the Eat This, Not That! book, which both stations of course linked to on their Web sites.
CBS11 anchor Doug Dunbar pitched in Monday by first standing in front of pictures of Outback Steak House's prime rib and strip steak dinners.
"It might surprise you to learn," he said, that the prime rib has only half as many calories as the strip steak. Knight then added, "One menu mistake could actually make or break your diet."
A few D-FW diners threw out sound bites during her survey of five restaurant chains.
"You sound like my wife or something," one poor sap said while apparently hoping to eat That! instead of This.
Still, it's the book that does almost all of the work for reporters, and it certainly did so for Dunbar's opening pitch.
It's quite possible that neither Knight nor Allen knew of Curtis' February sweeps stories. Both also hold down anchoring spots at CBS11, and have minimal time to do the stories thrown at them.
But surely there are assignments editors, producers or even news directors at CBS11 who are fully aware of what's going on. Perhaps their defense is that recycling is good for the environment, particularly if you also can gig NBC5 in the bargain.
AND IN OTHER NEWS
***CBS11 reeled off seven consecutive crime stories at the top of Monday's newscast. It then cleansed the palate with reporter Katherine Blake's poignant followup story on a six-year-old girl from Aledo who's set to undergo major brain surgery in hopes of combatting a rare, often fatal disease.
All four stations covered a community rally for Jessie Hall earlier this month. CBS11 then went the extra miles to Baltimore -- or at least somebody's cameras were there -- for her family's meeting with renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital surgeon Benjamin Carson.
***Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 all had reporter-driven followups to Friday night's shooting at prestigious NorthPark shopping center. The victim, 43-year-old Mary Boyd, is recovering from a gunshot wound to the cheek sustained when she tried to drive away from an armed carjacker who's still at large. She had been waiting to pick up her 16-year-old daughter from a movie.
It's probably fair to ask at this point whether a shooting at a less prosperous mall in a lower-income neighborhood would get the same extensive TV coverage. Frankly, probably not. That's not to diminish what happened to Mary Boyd. But it is a question worth considering.
***Hard-charging Becky Oliver, Fox4's longtime investigative reporter, had a solid expose earlier in the May sweeps on a crooked in-home care operation supported in large part by Medicare funds. Not so with Monday's overwrought look at whether Child Care Associates is infested with volunteers who have past criminal records.
The lengthy piece quickly resorted to laughably generic slasher movie music while popping up mug shots of three alleged volunteers with previous convictions for family violence, aggravated assault and drug dealing.
A former unidentified employee shot in silhouette was Oliver's primary, but not terribly convincing source. That same person provided a list of 2007's volunteers at the centers, which mostly serve lower-income families and are encouraged to use family members as volunteers.
"We had asked Child Care Associates for that same list," she told viewers. "But the agency said no, then hired a law firm with your tax dollars to fight our request."
The "your tax dollars" gambit is an old, oft-reliable standby. But Child Care Associates CEO John Whitcamp in fact did talk on-camera to Oliver, who strove to make him look bad but basically failed.
She also hunted down some of the supposed volunteers with criminal records. Confronting them made for showy video, but really didn't prove anything one way or the other. Oliver's piece never alleged any instances of child abuse or mistreatment. But it did put a number of minorities on camera -- all of them portrayed as pretty unsavory.
Oliver's work generally has been praised more often than not in these spaces. But Monday's investigation mostly brought out the worst in her. She just didn't have the goods. And when that happens, her trademark brawling approach can be all the more grating.
***WFAA8's Janet St. James had a piece on early-morning "Boot Camp Fitness" programs that stress basic, demanding exercise over the miracle regimens often touted on NBC5.
Patrons come "to have their Spandex-clad booties kicked into shape," said St. James, perhaps becoming the first WFAA8 reporter to work "booties" into a story that has nothing to do with infant apparel.
***NBC5's Randy McIlwain, a very capable street reporter, surely would admit to having a big booty. He had a good story, too, on a man who's been charged with check forgery in the face of evidence that very much seems to say otherwise. McIlwain made a convincing case for him.
***Reporter Rebecca Lopez had an interesting account on efforts by Dallas police and firefighters to transform James Madison High School into a "public safety academy" that would train future members of those two professions.
***Finally, NBC's aforementioned Brian Curtis put the ballyhooed new "Wii Fit" device to the test at the Cooper Fitness Center. An expert gave it a passing grade. CBS11 countered with anchor Karen Borta's reader on the plusses and minuses of the "Botox Breast Lift."
Two nights to go.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., May 19)
05/20/08 10:33 AM
By ED BARK
CBS and ABC controlled Monday's prime-time terrain with their respective big boppers, CSI: Miami and Dancing with the Stars.
The sixth season finale of CBS' sunny side homicides drew 287,401 D-FW homes to rank as the night's biggest draw. Dancing ran just a few steps behind with 265,480 total homes.
CBS also scored with its fifth season finale of Two and a Half Men (243,356 homes) while Fox's House closer had 163,185 homes. That left NBC in dire straits with a 90-minute edition of American Gladiators. It wimped out with just 56,019 homes from 7 to 8:30 p.m. but fared a bit better among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
ABC's two-hour premiere of The Bachelorette had 168,056 homes to finish second overall from 8 to 10 p.m.
The Dallas Stars' season finale, a Stanley Cup elimination loss to Detroit, managed 75,504 homes on Versus, which spelled backward is Susrev. Same difference.
In the local news derby, CBS11 retained a good chunk of its CSI: Miami lead-in audience to top the 10 p.m. news ratings in total homes. It's won five of the 18 late night competitions in this measurement, and will end up a solid second behind WFAA8 after the final May sweeps bell sounds Wednesday night.
WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It's also locked up that race.
Early mornings are still a cock-a-doodle doo, though. Fox4's Monday 6 a.m. win gave it five in a row in total homes. But the race is still on between the defending February sweeps champ and WFAA8, which had built a precarious lead earlier in the sweeps.
The two stations tied for first among 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 just a nose behind. WFAA8 has the inside track in this demo, but not by much. NBC5 still hopes to take at least second place while Fox4 is fighting to stay out of third.
WFAA8 had across-the-board wins at 5 and 6 p.m., where it's coasting to the checkered flag.
CBS and ABC controlled Monday's prime-time terrain with their respective big boppers, CSI: Miami and Dancing with the Stars.
The sixth season finale of CBS' sunny side homicides drew 287,401 D-FW homes to rank as the night's biggest draw. Dancing ran just a few steps behind with 265,480 total homes.
CBS also scored with its fifth season finale of Two and a Half Men (243,356 homes) while Fox's House closer had 163,185 homes. That left NBC in dire straits with a 90-minute edition of American Gladiators. It wimped out with just 56,019 homes from 7 to 8:30 p.m. but fared a bit better among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
ABC's two-hour premiere of The Bachelorette had 168,056 homes to finish second overall from 8 to 10 p.m.
The Dallas Stars' season finale, a Stanley Cup elimination loss to Detroit, managed 75,504 homes on Versus, which spelled backward is Susrev. Same difference.
In the local news derby, CBS11 retained a good chunk of its CSI: Miami lead-in audience to top the 10 p.m. news ratings in total homes. It's won five of the 18 late night competitions in this measurement, and will end up a solid second behind WFAA8 after the final May sweeps bell sounds Wednesday night.
WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. It's also locked up that race.
Early mornings are still a cock-a-doodle doo, though. Fox4's Monday 6 a.m. win gave it five in a row in total homes. But the race is still on between the defending February sweeps champ and WFAA8, which had built a precarious lead earlier in the sweeps.
The two stations tied for first among 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 just a nose behind. WFAA8 has the inside track in this demo, but not by much. NBC5 still hopes to take at least second place while Fox4 is fighting to stay out of third.
WFAA8 had across-the-board wins at 5 and 6 p.m., where it's coasting to the checkered flag.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., May 16-18)
05/19/08 03:19 PM
By ED BARK
CBS' Academy of Country Music Awards and ABC's two-hour season finale of Desperate Housewives went twang-to-toe for ratings supremacy Sunday night.
It ended up a near draw(l) in the total homes Nielsens. The ACMs, hosted by redoubtable Reba McEntire, averaged 229,555 D-FW homes in its closing two hours opposite DH, which drew 236,253 for that same 8 to 10 p.m. slot.
Wisteria Lane's catfighters had a much easier time of it with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, though, ranking as the night's biggest attraction by a fer piece.
On Saturday, NBC's afternoon, pre-Preakness presentation of the Dallas Stars' clutch road win over the Red Wings pulled in 97,424 homes, peaking at a very nice-sized 168,056 homes at game's end. Curses, it's Versus again Monday night.
Meanwhile, the 6 a.m. local news race remained hotter than a tabasco-dipped chipotle jalapeno. Fox4 took the golds Friday in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8 ran close behind in both measurements.
With just three weekdays left in the May "sweeps," Fox4 and WFAA8 are in a virtual dead heat in total homes while the ABC station has perhaps a sub-smidgen of breathing room in a three-way race to top the 25-to-54 demo.
WFAA8 ran the table at 10 p.m., where victory long has been assured. And another solid second-place finish in total homes by CBS11 served to shove NBC5 deeper into third place.
WFAA8 also had twin wins at 5 p.m. while sharing the total homes lead at 6 p.m. with NBC5. The Peacock prevailed in the latter hour among 25-to-54-year-olds.
CBS' Academy of Country Music Awards and ABC's two-hour season finale of Desperate Housewives went twang-to-toe for ratings supremacy Sunday night.
It ended up a near draw(l) in the total homes Nielsens. The ACMs, hosted by redoubtable Reba McEntire, averaged 229,555 D-FW homes in its closing two hours opposite DH, which drew 236,253 for that same 8 to 10 p.m. slot.
Wisteria Lane's catfighters had a much easier time of it with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, though, ranking as the night's biggest attraction by a fer piece.
On Saturday, NBC's afternoon, pre-Preakness presentation of the Dallas Stars' clutch road win over the Red Wings pulled in 97,424 homes, peaking at a very nice-sized 168,056 homes at game's end. Curses, it's Versus again Monday night.
Meanwhile, the 6 a.m. local news race remained hotter than a tabasco-dipped chipotle jalapeno. Fox4 took the golds Friday in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8 ran close behind in both measurements.
With just three weekdays left in the May "sweeps," Fox4 and WFAA8 are in a virtual dead heat in total homes while the ABC station has perhaps a sub-smidgen of breathing room in a three-way race to top the 25-to-54 demo.
WFAA8 ran the table at 10 p.m., where victory long has been assured. And another solid second-place finish in total homes by CBS11 served to shove NBC5 deeper into third place.
WFAA8 also had twin wins at 5 p.m. while sharing the total homes lead at 6 p.m. with NBC5. The Peacock prevailed in the latter hour among 25-to-54-year-olds.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Fri., May 16)
05/19/08 08:52 AM
By ED BARK
Going live to scenes of crime or tragedy of course is nothing new on D-FW's late night newscasts.
Sometimes it's even justified, with Friday providing not one, but two such instances.
The multiple home explosions in McKinney, apparently triggered when workmen ruptured a gas line, found the four major TV news providers rushing to the scene early Friday evening. Later that night, an attempted car-jacking and shooting at NorthPark Mall likewise prompted live overhead shots and reporting from those stations quick enough to get there.
WFAA8's Gary Reaves had the most detailed reports from the second front. You might well ask, "Is it really that big a deal?" But when the city's oldest and most prestigious shopping center is in virtual police lockdown, it in fact merits the initial live report and two updates provided by WFAA8. The victim, shot in the face by a still at-large assailant, ended up watching her son's high school graduation Sunday from a hospital bed.
CBS11 had two NorthPark updates with live chopper pictures, but no visible reporter on the scene. Instead, anchor Doug Dunbar told viewers, "There is a suspect on the loose and an all-out search as we speak."
NBC5, far off in Fort Worth, had only a map and a cursory brief from anchor Mike Snyder. Fox4's 9 p.m newscast, the one monitored for these daily ratings sweeps briefings, had nothing on the NorthPark situation during that hour. But Fox4's Web site indicates it had a report on its 10 p.m. news.
Three of the four stations had live on-camera standups on the developing situation in McKinney.
"As you can see, still plenty of action," WFAA8 anchor Jeff Brady told viewers in setting up reporter Jonathan Betz's live report.
That wasn't an ideal way to describe the scene. But those overhead copter pictures still spoke volumes of what can happen when gas leaks strike without warning.
CBS11 had live reports from both Stephanie Lucero and J.D. Miles. NBC5 deployed Randy McIlwain and Scott Gordon. Fox4 led with Brandon Todd's detailed report. But unlike all of his competitors, Todd delivered his live dispatch on the telephone because of an apparent technical problem. So Fox4 suffered in comparison -- visually at least.
AND IN OTHER NEWS . . .
***NBC5 looked clueless in reporting that the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, pastor of Dallas' Friendship-West Baptist Church, remained one of three finalists in the running for the NAACP's national presidency. In fact he wasn't. Fox4, WFAA8 and CBS11 all reported accurately that Haynes in fact would not be getting the position.
***All four stations jumped on the story of a Prestonwood Baptist Church minister who drove 200 miles to Bryan with the intent of having sex with a 13-year-old girl he thought he'd met on the Internet. Instead it was a police sting operation.
"It's really, really sad that a man of God has this secret, sick, twisted life," a young woman told NBC reporter Grant Stinchfield. The problem is, she said this with an odd, camera-conscious half-smile on her face, as though she were trying to get that line just right during a retake.
Over on CBS11, a seemingly blissed-out parishioner had a novel way of looking at the situation after reporter Brooke Richie told viewers, "The word everyone is using is 'shock.' "
This woman wasn't, though. "It's a sad thing, but it's also a blessing for the church," she said. That's because she had prayed two weeks ago "for protection for the church and to expose anybody there who needs to be exposed."
***WFAA8's Brett Shipp followed up on Thursday's investigation of alleged grade-fixing at South Oak Cliff High School that could force it to forfeit a second state basketball title. The star player in question also was a key member of this year's Kansas Jayhawks national championship team, with that title also possibly in jeopardy, Shipp said.
South Oak Cliff basketball coach James Mays II participated in "an orchestrated campaign to cover it all up," alleges a former math teacher who on Thursday had shown Shipp a doctored grade book.
Mays had declined to be interviewed for Shipp's second investigation after the reporter confronted him at school during a February sweeps series that led to forfeiture of the 2006 state title. But Mays did talk to ESPN 103.3 personality Michael Irvin. In an excerpt played during Shipp's Friday's report, Mays said, "The media can make the public believe anything they wish, especially if it's presented in a certain type way."
Shipp's first reports made DISD officials believe that South Oak Cliff indeed had cheated. This investigation hasn't played out yet, but it again doesn't look pretty.
***NBC5 and CBS11 again went hard after women viewers -- who watch newscasts in much larger numbers than men -- with second-half-of-the-newscast reports of skin-deep depth.
For second time in this sweeps period, the Peacock drafted early morning anchor Deborah Ferguson, on this occasion for a report titled "Bargain Browlift."
"Tough times can mean tough choices," said anchor Jane McGarry, who recently blogged on her station's Web site about the pros and cons of bikini waxing. "But North Texas women don't have to skimp on beauty."
Ferguson then introduced viewers to the miracle of relatively low-cost eyebrow-arching, with one very satisfied customer proclaiming, "Believe it or not, I'm 56 years old. My daughter is 36. And I can pass for 42."
Um, no you can't, lady.
"It's kinda gross to see all that hair come out," Ferguson warned as NBC5's camera closed in. But, she added, the finished product is worth it.
***CBS11 anchor Karen Borta teased an "HD Makeup" story with the heartening news that "every woman can steal the same beauty secrets used to achieve a high-definition look."
The station's in-house high-definition makeup maestro found at least one over-the-counter product wanting, though. The so-called Smashbox High-Definition X Box Foundation worked OK. But the Dior Air Flash Spray Foundation pretty much missed its mark and got all over a model's hair.
"It's very overwhelming," she said. You're trapped in a big makeup cloud."
***The nightly Fox4 "Viewers' Voice" segment can be pretty depressing if you dare stop to realize that some callers and emailers appear to have the IQs of rutabagas. And they're your audience!
On Friday night, a male viewer drawled his opposition to Good Day anchor Tim Ryan doing oblique crunches on an exercise mat while a fitness trainer coached him.
"The last thing I want to see is Tim Ryan exercising his big fat butt right up into the camera," the caller carped.
Somehow this guy's just gotta have a beer gut and a cancer stick dangling from his yapper.
Three nights to go.
Doocy and "The Hammer" -- one really needs a job
05/19/08 05:14 AM
By ED BARK
All dressed up but still with no place to go, former big-time radio personality Greg "The Hammer" Williams looked a bit older and maybe even wiser Sunday night during his first public appearance in more than seven months.
The former co-host of "The Ticket's" Hardline afternoon drive show talked sports and eventually other things with Fox4 sports anchor Mike Doocy on his 10 p.m. Sports Sunday program. Those other things, of course, were of more interest.
"Why'd ya leave?" Doocy asked of Williams' abrupt October disappearance from The Ticket, followed by a January announcement of his resignation.
"Well, it was my own fault," Williams said. "It was my own fault that I left, and ya know, if I hadn't a done some of the things I did, some bad things, I'd probably still be with The Ticket. But I did them, and I'm not there anymore."
Doocy, whose program has been a regular venue for Ticket personalities, then asked him to specify "the bad things."
"Illegal drug use -- exactly what it was," Williams said. "And I'm embarrassed to admit that. But that's the truth and something I've got to live with . . . something I'm trying to overcome and something I battle every single day. But that's what it was."
Williams said he's been diagnosed with depression, but "I don't think that had anything do with that (his drug addiction)." Daily medication has put him back in play, he said. "Everything is great. I haven't felt this well in probably five or six years."
Asked whether he yearns to return to radio, Williams said, "Well, yeah, I really do. And all I can say is stay tuned . . . I might just pop up."
ESPN 103.3 has acknowledged talking to him, but that was last year. On The Ticket he cast himself as a know-it-all, reliably coarse "common man" who particularly enjoyed discoursing on women's "boobs."
"How do you know I have to go to an all-sports station?" Williams asked Doocy. "How do you know?"
"I don't think Kidd Kraddick's in any trouble," Doocy rejoined, referring to the longtime king of Dallas morning drive.
"Don't think I don't have my eye on his job," Williams said.
He curiously closed his segment by wishing a happy birthday to "one of my best friends," Jud (Tall?), who turns 112 years old on Thursday, Williams said.
Good night and good luck.
WFAA8 weekend Daybreak meteorologist heading south for higher-profile Austin job
05/18/08 06:39 PM
By ED BARK
WFAA8 weekend Daybreak meteorologist Meghan Danahey, who joined the station in 2007, is heading for Austin to become the weekday morning temperature taker for KVUE-TV, the market's ABC affiliate.
Both stations are owned by Dallas-based Belo Corp., so Danahey is moving down in market size take but moving up to a higher profile position within the company. She's replacing Ilona Torok, who resigned in March from KVUE to spend more time with her family. She had been with KVUE since 2000.
Danahey had a summer internship with former featured WFAA8 weatherman Troy Dungan before working her way back to Dallas via stints in the Wichita Falls/Lawton, TX and Fort Myers/Naples FL markets. She's a graduate of Texas A&M University and Trinity High School in Euless.
Danahey announced her departure on Saturday's weekend Daybreak program.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Thurs., May 15)
05/16/08 01:44 PM
By ED BARK
Whatever Brett Shipp is, he's not chicken-hearted.
WFAA8's star gumshoe no doubt cast a wider net over his hate mail potential Thursday with another investigation of possible grade-fixing at South Oak Cliff High School. This time Shipp also raised the possibility that the Kansas Jayhawks might have to forfeit their recent NCAA basketball championship because one of their star players, Darrell Arthur, apparently received unwarranted passing grades in math while at South Oak Cliff. That could make his athletic scholarship invalid.
A series of February "sweeps" stories by Shipp led to the high school's forfeiture of its 2006 state basketball title after officials determined that another star athlete had his grades laundered so that he could stay on the team.
In Thursday's lead story, Shipp cast Arthur as a likeable, good-hearted kid whom educators had let down.
"Once again," he said, "we've obtained school records which appear to show that some adults in his life may have broken the rules in an effort to win."
The story included an interview with Arthur's former math teacher, Winford Ashmore, who told Shipp, "These people (namely South Oak Cliff's former principal and its current basketball coach) knew what was going on with a lot of this type stuff, but yet they covered up for it."
Ashmore, no longer with the school, produced a 2002 grade book for freshman math that showed Arthur performing way below passing levels before other school officials upgraded him. Later failing grades also apparently were doctored.
WFAA8's new allegations are "being fully investigated" by the DISD, Shipp said. Any subsequent NCAA probe obviously could make this an even bigger scandal.
Shipp also has been making enemies of Dallas Cowboys officials with reports on the high costs of luxury suites being built for the team's new palace in Arlington. But he was otherwise occupied Thursday when the team announced pricing structures for the rest of the stadium's seats.
WFAA8's Craig Civale picked up Shipp's baton and painted a grim picture of longtime season ticket-holders being disenfranchised.
"The new stadium will certainly blow you away, but so will its prices," he said before longtime season ticketer Randy Daniels lamented, "How can it be America's Team when America can't afford to walk in the gate?"
Civale's report emphasized that nearly seven out of eight seats will require additional payments of seat licenses. What he didn't say is that it's a one-time fee that can be paid out over 30 years time.
In Daniels' case, said Civale, four season tickets for $5,800 at Texas Stadium in Irving will balloon to more than $600,000, including license fees, at the new Arlington showplace.
That can't be entirely accurate, at least not under the pricing structure announced Thursday. But WFAA8 seemed intent on sticking it to the Cowboys while rival stations -- and The Dallas Morning News -- emphasized that the cheapest seats, at $59 each with no license fee, would be just $9 more expensive than the current nosebleeds at Texas Stadium.
Fox4 sports anchor Mike Doocy said for starters, "The cost of one of those 50,000 or so seats in the upper or lower bowls might be a pleasant surprise to some Cowboys fans, believe it or not. The average reserved ticket price jumps only about $6 dollars from 84 bucks at Texa