I don't really know why I'm so angered by the NBC time delay on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic events, because it really doesn't affect me. I'm lucky enough to bypass it through the use of technology that I probably shouldn't discuss publicly. All week, I've had the luxury of watching just about anything I want live on the CTV feed from Canada. I guess the NBC thing just irks me on principle. (more...)

They've been warming up all week. But this morning NBC kicked off its Olympics coverage in earnest from the temporary mountaintop studio of the Today Show. The network's decision to put Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira 3800 feet above Vancouver on Grouse Mountain was brilliant. The mountain agreed to open to the public around the clock (snow problems aside) so that the live broadcast at 4am Pacific Time wouldn't have a lifeless backdrop. (more...)

I’m trying really hard this week to say “Twenty Ten.” When we do a story looking back at 2009, I typically say “Two Thousand Nine.” And when 2010 comes up in a script my first instinct is to continue the pattern and say “Two Thousand Ten.” But it’s time for a format change. There is, of course, no governing body to make this decision for the world. And it's not like "Two Thousand Ten" is horrible. But we've got to think ahead on this so we can get back into the pattern that leaves us with easy historical references like the "Summer of '69." The example set by the media in the next few days will be a critical one. Whether it’s Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark on “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” or Anderson Cooper on CNN, anybody who’s on the air this week will have to figure out how to react to the number 2010. (more...)

There it is — at the bottom of the “Trio high-stepping with South Beach consignment sneaker shop” story. There’s now a little badge at the bottom of each Miami Herald story inviting you to make a donation to the business if you like what you’ve read. It’s an interesting move, but I don’t think we’re getting a glimpse into the true future of journalism. Rather, I’m betting it’s just another of the steps along the way toward convincing the public that quality content isn’t free. (more...)

Get it? Because her name is Blanche. Washington Post columnist and Power Grid #3 Dana Milbank delivers an impassioned Sunday column today, using a literary allusion and extended metaphor to describe the dealmaking that occurred yesterday in the Senate. It's all very Southern -- straight out of a Tennessee Williams play, he contends in "Sweeteners for the South." And it may sound like your typical gimmicky op-ed fare, but it works this time. I mean, her name is Blanche. (more...)

promo Somewhere in the back of your head are the answers to life’s important questions -- like what name Jack Black’s character adopted in “School of Rock.” We all allow our minds to fill with the random facts of life. Trivia, definitely. Trivial, no way. I had the privilege of providing Americans with the chance to dust off their stockpile of pop culture ephemera as host of VH1’s “World Series of Pop Culture.” They even paid me to recite the lyrics to “My Humps” using my best monotone. (more...)

Attention readers of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune or any of the Tribune Co.’s dozen other publications: something is missing from your paper this week. The Tribune Co. is struggling. Struggling to keep readership up, costs down, and its news empire afloat. So this week, as an experiment, they taking a week-long break from the Associated Press. (To understand the complexity of this decision, let me point out that I read about this on the Chicago Tribune website - in an AP story.) Content from Reuters, Bloomberg and CNN will fill the spaces normally occupied by the Associated Press. And, if editors are creative, readers won’t have a clue that anything has changed. But the simple test of “can we get by?” overlooks the broader role of the AP because much of what the AP provides is unseen by readers, listeners and viewers. The organization keeps event calendars, staffs bureaus in state capitals, distributes pool reports and acts as a non-partisan clearing house. In short, the AP is the 24-hour foundation for almost every newsroom in the country. (more...)

Regis Philbin's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire returns to ABC primetime on Sunday. Earlier this week, CBS revealed Let’s Make a Deal is coming back to TV in the fall with Wayne Brady as host. I’m hopeful both shows deliver solid ratings. Somewhere in the rush to fill dozens of hours a week with reality-competition shows we’ve left behind the traditional studio game show. (more...)

It's hard for me to admit this.  Because I'd like to have a $15 million a year job.  But I think the American Idol producers will get their money's worth after signing Ryan Seacrest to a 3-year contract. American Idol is one of the only shows I seem to be able to make time for regularly.  I've long said it's a near-perfect reality television creation, and the masses seem to agree.  The ratings have turned Idol into a billion-dollar franchise for Fox Television.  So the negotiations with the stars for contract extensions are less about what their services are worth and more about protecting the franchise at almost any cost. (more...)

This was not the best year ever. And I’m not even talking about the economy being a mess.  I’m talking about the fact that VH1’s Best Week Ever may have paid tribute to pop culture news for the final time. (more...)