'Idol' Charges Record Ad Rates

You're a citizen before you're a couch potato, Roston writes

(NEWSER) - There is perhaps no “greater sign of our civilization’s decline” than the uproar about President Obama’s State of the Union address possibly preempting the season premiere of Lost or an episode of American Idol, Michael Roston writes. “Before we are couch potatoes, we are citizens,” he rants. "The annual address helps remind us of our elected leaders’ solemn obligation to communicate their intentions to a public they so often fail while in office." More»

Offensive as the Fox News host is, the bottom line is the bottom line

(NEWSER) - Rupert Murdoch will eventually fire Glenn Beck from Fox News, though not directly because of "his continued assault on the president," writes Ben Cohen. True, Beck's "remarkable slew of accusations and innuendo does not reflect well on the network," but arguments about politics miss the point: "Murdoch doesn't care about Left or Right. He cares about money." More»

(NEWSER) - A mysterious bald audience member turning up on various live Fox broadcasts is a viral marketing plant—as well as an actor on the show he’s subtly promoting. Michael Cerveris, in character as “The Observer” from the sci-fi drama Fringe, has so far been spotted, well, observing football, auto racing, and American Idol, reports Variety. Even better, staffers refer to the sub rosa campaign as “Where’s Baldo?” More»

Peacock plans to stagger show introductions throughout the year

(NEWSER) - NBC appears to have followed through on pledges to use the writers' strike as a springboard to changing the television industry, ditching traditional fall debuts of new shows for staggered introductions throughout the year. The move is designed so the network can keep things fresh, and work more closely with advertisers, the New York Times reports. More»

Reality programming cushions blow for Fox, NBC

(NEWSER) - The major television networks got a good look yesterday at the toll the 3-month-old writers strike has taken on ratings, Variety reports. Comparing last week to the same period in 2007, the top five networks lost an average 21% of viewers in the 18-49 age group. Fox topped ratings on the strength of American Idol, but was still off 15%. More»