Tag Archives: television

May 9, 2011 · 9:45 pm

U.S. CEO Pay Jumps 11 Percent

Interesting that Media company CEO’s take 4 of the top 10 slots…

Kind of tells you why we can’t trust the mainstream media….

Does the phrase “bought and paid for” jump out to you like it does me?

This is why “hard” news is being replaced by entertainment programming….

WASHINGTON — Compensation received by chief executives of the biggest US companies surged 11 percent over the past 12 months — to $9.3 million on average, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing a study conducted for the newspaper by management consultancy Hay Group, The Journal said the increase was largely due to decisions by company boards to reward CEOs for strong profit and share-price growth with bigger bonuses and stock grants.

The survey covered the 350 biggest companies that filed their statement between May 1, 2010, and April 30, 2011.

Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman topped the list after receiving compensation valued at $84.3 million, more than double his 2009 pay, the report said.

Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle, took second place, according to The Journal.

Long ranked among the highest-paid chiefs, he received compensation valued at $68.6 million for the year ended last May 31.

CBS CEO Leslie Moonves landed the number three spot with compensation valued at $53.9 million.

Overall, the CEOs of media companies claimed four of the top 10 spots, the paper noted.

via U.S. CEO pay jumps 11 percent: survey | The Raw Story.

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May 9, 2011 · 8:01 pm

Could I Live in an Airstream Trailer in Alaska?

I certainly could not and would not now, but this man made me briefly contemplate that question back in the early 1990’s…

Happy Birthday, John Corbett….

Chris of “Northern Exposure” fame….and “Sex and the City”….And a few more shows…

He’s 50 today…

But he’ll always be the 30ish Chris to me…

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May 9, 2011 · 7:40 pm

Marg Helgenberger Calls ‘CSI’ Guest Star Justin Bieber ‘A Brat’

Is anyone surprised?

Helgenberger was asked if Bieber’s role was written just to raise sagging ratings, or because the singer is “truly a good actor.”

The 52-year-old actress rolled her eyes and said, “Justin Bieber wasn’t bad bad. But he’d never acted before … He’s better than you’d think.”

Helgenberger then said, “I shouldn’t be saying this, but he was kind of a brat.”

She seemed to backtrack a bit by saying, “I only had one small part (with Bieber) … he was very nice to me.”

But then Helgenberger gave her reason on why she had such a low opinion of the ‘Baby’ singer: “But he locked one of the producers in a closet and he put his fist through a cake that was on the cast’s table.”

via Marg Helgenberger Calls ‘CSI’ Guest Star Justin Bieber ‘A Brat’.

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May 8, 2011 · 9:32 pm

Don’t Mess with Elly May….

I’ve seen recent pictures….

She is one scary woman….

And she’s still playing Elly May on the road….

They really should just cut her a check…

The actress who played buxom hayseed Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies believes Mattel (MAT) done her wrong over a doll.

Donna Douglas, who appeared as Elly May in every episode of the TV comedy from 1962 to 1971, is suing the toy giant for marketing its Elly May Barbie and a photo of Douglas in the packaging without her endorsement. The suit seeks compensation for illegal usage of her name and likeness, according to a Associated Press story in The Los Angeles Times. Mattel didn’t comment in the article.

Douglas, now 77, joins an odd list of other celebrities who toyed with legal action after a doll ticked them off.

via She Ain’t Playing: ‘Hillbillies’ Actress Sues Mattel Over Doll – DailyFinance.

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May 8, 2011 · 7:56 pm

Love Will Keep Us Together: Toni Tennille is 71 Today

I’m in shock…

Toni Tennille, who is still married to The Captain, was born May 8, 1940 in Montgomery, Alabama…

I can’t believe she’s 71 !!!

Here is a video of their big hit….

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May 8, 2011 · 12:37 pm

Could John Krasinski Be the Next George Clooney?

George Clooney turned 50 last week, so they have to start pushing him off to the graveyard…

Sorry, but this is a little premature.

He’s one of the few genuine Stars still out there.

He looks better now than he did when he was younger, he’s smart, he’s an excellent Director and a damn fine Actor.

He is going to be around for a while…

That said, I like John Krasinski a lot, too.  He’s a standout in today’s bland world of interchangeable young actors.

I think he’s going to be around for a while also….

I agree with some later observations in the attached article:  He’s much more of a Jack Lemon/Tom Hanks type…

I’ve never seen his TV show, but I found him very endearing in “It’s Complicated”….

John Krasinski isn’t the lead character of “Something Borrowed”, but you wouldn’t know that from the recent barrage of TV ads, all of which lean heavily on his presence to sell a story with an eyebrow-raising plot: Ginnifer Goodwin’s character sleeps with the fiancé of her best friend, played by Kate Hudson, but you’re still supposed to root for her. Meanwhile, Krasinski is the platonic fourth lead who occasionally comments on the action, but it’s a testament to his natural likability — and, perhaps, his big-screen potential — that the studio is putting its marketing campaign on his shoulders. As he continues to topline The Office after the departure of Steve Carell, it may even be a sign that he could follow in the footsteps of another refugee from NBC Thursday nights who made it big in the movies: George Clooney. To find out, we spoke to industry insiders to answer the question: If John Krasinski were a stock, would you buy, sell, or hold?

via The Star Market: Could Movie Hopeful John Krasinski Be the Next George Clooney? — Vulture.

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May 7, 2011 · 10:37 pm

Don’t Leave Me This Way

Diva Thelma Houston gets her first Social Security check this month…

Happy 65th Birthday, today, to the Disco Diva!

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May 7, 2011 · 11:46 am

‘I Wanted A New Life,’ Says Actor, Author Rob Lowe : NPR

Okay…

I’ve fought against it.

I’ve resisted buying or reading this….

But…

I just went to Amazon and bought it…

When even NPR is taking it seriously, I now have acceptable cover…

From NPR:

Well before Rob Lowe made it to Hollywood, he’d gone out of his way to meet Liza Minelli: As a kid in Dayton, Ohio, he’d knocked on her hotel room door, and stayed to share a chat and some chocolates. As he left, Minelli told him, “See you in Hollywood, kid.”

And a few years later, he did make it to Hollywood — as one of its breakout stars.

But for all his success, Lowe is also a child of divorce, a veteran of alcoholism and an actor who has experienced many personal and public highs and lows. He’s chronicled his rocky ascension to stardom in a new memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends.

via ‘I Wanted A New Life,’ Says Actor, Author Rob Lowe : NPR.

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May 6, 2011 · 9:31 pm

Margaret and Helen are Back!

My favorite 80 something year old bloggers have been quiet for a while and I was growing concerned…

Well, they’re back with a new post.

I’m glad to see the old girls are still alive and kicking!

Margaret, I wish Harold could have lived to see this day.  As a veteran, he was always hopeful that we would one day get Bin Laden.  He would have been very proud and then he would have been pissed.

Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed it.  FOX found a way to turn even this into a negative for Obama.  I tuned in after you called and watched Sean Hannity make a fool of himself like you were saying.  Honestly, that is exactly what I would have expected from FOX – complaining because the US military took the time to follow Muslim traditions before eventually ditching the son-of-a-bitch at sea.   Sean, of course, wanted something a bit more flashy.  Had we done it Hannity’s way, the body would have been photographed wearing Princess Beatrice’s hat.  Honestly FOX, why don’t we just  hang him on a cross and see if his followers retaliate?  Sean is an idiot.

Of course Greta and Glenn were vying for stupidest person on FOX as well, but a race to the bottom on that network is over before it begins.  Was I the only one who noticed all three of them kept accidentally saying Obama rather than Usama? I bet not.  But I bet I am the only one who points it out.

It’s called honor Mr. Hannity, Mr. Beck and Mr. Van Susteren… you jackasses.  Obama understands it.  The US military has it.   FOX needs it. It makes us better than them.  But I guess the morons over at FOX are more worried that 72 Virgins really were waiting for him.  And yes, I know I typed Mister Van Susteren… plastic surgery can only get you so far.

Ten years were a long time to wait for the end of Bin Laden.  I ask you, how long before we see an end to FOX?

Change the channel America.  I mean it.  Really.

via Margaret and Helen.

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May 3, 2011 · 10:07 pm

Television Ownership Drops in U.S.

I’m not surprised…

We barely watch TV and if we do, it’s usually to watch a DVD or stream a movie in from on-line….

Broadcast TV has become a wasteland of mindless trash and insipid commercials….

I don’t miss it….

I choose to watch a few quality shows on DVD, get my news on the internet and ignore the trash culture TV perpetuates….

From the New York Times:

For the first time in 20 years, the number of homes in the United States with television sets has dropped.

The Nielsen Company, which takes TV set ownership into account when it produces ratings, will tell television networks and advertisers on Tuesday that 96.7 percent of American households now own sets, down from 98.9 percent previously.

There are two reasons for the decline, according to Nielsen. One is poverty: some low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas.

The other is technological wizardry: young people who have grown up with laptops in their hands instead of remote controls are opting not to buy TV sets when they graduate from college or enter the work force, at least not at first. Instead, they are subsisting on a diet of television shows and movies from the Internet.

That second reason is prompting Nielsen to think about a redefinition of the term “television household” to include Internet video viewers.

“We’ve been having conversations with clients,” said Pat McDonough, the senior vice president for insights and analysis at Nielsen. “That would be a big change for this industry, and we’d be doing it in consultation with clients if we do it.”

Nielsen’s household figures suggest that while the TV set is still firmly at the center of the average American’s media life, a small minority of Americans are finding ways to live without it. The “persistently rocky economy” is a factor, the company says in the report to be released Tuesday.

via Television Ownership Drops in U.S., Nielsen Reports – NYTimes.com.

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