Emergency at CBS Studios: White Powder in Mailroom

Police and emergency vehicles arrived to CBS Television City in Hollywood moments ago … after someone reported that white powder spilled out of a letter in the CBS mailroom.

Law enforcement sources confirm … cops are investigating the scene.

Sources on the lot tell TMZ … the letter was NOT addressed to anyone on "Dancing with the Stars" … but so far, it’s unclear who the intended recipient was. 

It’s not the first time CBS has had an anthrax scare — just last year, the studio went on lockdown when production staff found white powder in a letter addressed to Bristol Palin.

Officials also intercepted a threatening letter addressed to "Late Late Show" host Craig Ferguson just last month. The letter also contained white powder — which was later determined to be cornmeal.

read the entire article  at "TMZ"

CBS News Wins 10 Emmy Awards

CBS News led the way with 10 wins at the 32nd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards Monday night.

60 Minutes won seven awards, The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric won two and Sunday Morning won one.

Other winners included the National Geographic Channel with seven wins, PBS with six, Discovery Channel with three, CNN, NBC and with the New York Times won two each. BBC America, HBO, HDNet, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, NPR and the Smithsonian channel won one each.

60 Minutes won in 2 Emmys – Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a News Magazine, and Best Report in a News Magazine – for its coverage of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion.

"Football Island," a 60 Minutes story about a small community that produces more players for the NFL than anyplace else in America, won for Outstanding Feature in a News Magazine.

"21st Century Snake Oil," which exposed medical con men, won for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine for 60 Minutes

Outstanding Interview went to 60 Minutes for its "Medal of Honor" interview with Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta.

"The Lost Children of Haiti," also by 60 Minutes also won for Best Report in a News Magazine.

60 Minutes editors Richard Buddenhagen, Daniel J. Glucksman, Tom Honeysett, Warren Lustig, Stephanie Palewski and Matthew Richman won Outstanding Individual Achievment in a Craft: Editing-Quick Turnaround for "Haiti."

The CBS Evening News picked up Emmys for its coverage of an Afghan Bomb Squad, and the Hidden Dangers of Photocopies in the Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Reguarly Scheduled Newscast, and Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast categories.

read the entire article at "CBS News"

Reduced Role for Rooney on – 60 MINUTES

Andy Rooney, whose folksy and often curmudgeonly essays have been a staple of “60 Minutes” for more than three decades, will end his regular weekly appearances on the program, CBS said Tuesday.

Andy Rooney will step back from his weekly appearances on “60 Minutes” this fall.

Mr. Rooney, 92, has delivered 1,096 commentaries to the newsmagazine since becoming a regular contributor in 1978, according to CBS. He will formally announce his reduced role in essay No. 1,097 on Sunday night.

His essay will be “preceded by a segment in which Rooney looks back on his career in an interview with Morley Safer,” the network said in a statement.

“It’s harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on ‘60 Minutes’ when the urge hits him,” said Jeff Fager, the chairman of CBS News and executive producer of the show.

But people close to Mr. Rooney said it was unlikely that he would make many appearances, if any, in the future. The people, who did not want to be identified, said the plan for him to step away from the program had been in the works for some time. Because of the honored place he has occupied on the show, Mr. Rooney’s move is not being characterized in terms of a formal retirement, they said.

“There’s nobody like Andy and there never will be,” Mr. Fager’s statement said. “He’ll hate hearing this, but he’s an American original.”

Through CBS, Mr. Rooney declined to comment.

Mr. Rooney was noticeably absent when the newsmagazine started a new season on Sunday night, and he was not quoted in the announcement by CBS.

read the entire article at "The NYT’s Media Decoder"

NFL TV Schedule 2011: Official Pairings for FOX and CBS Telecasts this Season

With the 2011 NFL TV schedule kicking off on Thursday with a matchup between the last two Super Bowl Champions (Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints), the excitement over the NFL is higher than it has been in the last few seasons.

The deprivation of football that was the lockout-shortened offseason has made the fans who love football even more hungry for the sport, and television ratings are expected to rise from their record numbers last season.

In 2010, CBS and FOX averaged 20 million viewers, more than twice what networks receive for their prime-time programming, and they have revamped their announcing crews to get ready for the viewership rush.

CBS Sports president Sean McManus told Sports Illustrated:

"With all the movement and so much activity, I think people are really excited about the NFL season. I’ve given up trying to predict how high NFL ratings will go because often our most optimistic projections are exceeded. But I think there is certainly room for growth and if you get the kind of season and postseason we had last year, I think anything is possible."

Both CBS and FOX have kept the same pregame and halftime crews from last season, and the familiarity is something many football fans will lean on, as the NFL itself had an enormous turnover in personnel this offseason.

read the entire article at "Bleacher Report"

PGA Renews TV Agreements

New deal keeps Tour events on CBS, NBC through 2021

By Tim Baysinger

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem announced Thursday that the PGA has renewed their broadcast deals, keeping the sport on CBS and NBC through 2021.

The nine-year extension coincides with the remaining years of the PGA’s 15-year deal with Golf Channel that began in 2007. The current deal was set to expire in 2012.

"[CBS and NBC] have become exceptional partners in all areas," said Finchem.

CBS, which will continue to air 20 events per year, retains the popular West Coast Swing, the World Golf Championships’ Bridgestone Invitational, the Wyndham Championship and The Barclays, which open the FedEx Cup Playoffs. CBS will maintain more than 130 hours of live weekend coverage per year.

CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus commented that the length, as well as CBS’ longstanding partnership with the PGA, were two important factors in getting the deal done. He also lauded network television as an "important component" of sports coverage.

"The broadcast partners are also an important part of the equation," said McManus, "not just attracting sponsors, but keeping those sponsors on long-term deals."

NBC continues its slate of ten events per year, with more than 75 hours of live coverage annually.  The network retains its rights to the Accenture Match Play Championship, Cadillac Championship, Players Championship and the final three events playoff events (Deutsche Bank, BMW and Tour Championship). The biennial President’s Cup will also continue to reside on NBC.

read the entire article at "B&C"

CBS Jumps into Hulu in Japan

Library shows including ‘CSI’ available on new subscription service

By Jon Lafayette

Hulu is launching a subscription service in Japan that will have content from CBS for the first time in the streaming site’s history, in addition to programming from its owners.

CBS said it signed a multi-year, non-exclusive licensing agreement giving Hulu subscribers access to shows from the CBS library including previous seasons of the CSI franchise, and the CW’s 90210, plus older shows including Star Trek and Twin Peaks.

In the last fiscal quarter, CBS began registering millions of dollars in revenue and profits thanks to digital distribution deals with Netflix. It has also made a deal with Amazon.com, and indicated more deals were to come that would not disrupt CBS’ main broadcast business or traditional syndication interests.

The deal comes as Hulu’s owners, including CBS rivals News Corp., Walt Disney Co., and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, are considering a sale. Bids were due last week and companies including Google, Yahoo and Dish Network were reportedly among the possible buyers.

"We’re thrilled to have CBS’s world class content be part of Hulu’s first international market and their new venture in Japan," Armando Nuñez, president, CBS Studios International, said in a statement.  "This new subscription service marks yet another opportunity to deliver CBS programming to more global viewers in a way that complements our traditional licensing business and realizes even more incremental value from our library."

read the entire article at "Broadcasting and Cable"

Used Cars: 10 Most-Stolen Models

If you have a car more than 10 years old, you may think that it is too old for thieves to bother with.

That would be a big mistake. The annual “Hot Wheels” list of most-stolen cars released today shows models from the 1990s as the biggest target.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau compiled the list of cars stolen most often in 2010 from FBI data. The 1994 Honda Accord, the 1995 Honda Civic and the 1991 Toyota Camry are the top three. Pickups of slightly more recent vintage from Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge (like the 2004 Dodge Ram, at left) also made the list; the Detroit brands held six of the top 10 spots. (Keep reading to see the full list.)

Why do old cars top the list?  They are easier to steal, and chop-shop thieves can turn them into parts worth more than the car itself. In a slow economy, people are keeping their cars longer and demand for replacement parts is strong. And the Hondas and Toyota Camry atop the list are durable models that sold strongly year after year — creating a solid aftermarket for replacement parts.

The NICB, a nonprofit group supported by the auto industry, offers a quick lesson in chop-shop economics. A car like the 1994 Honda Accord (at right) is worth about $1,900 if bought from a private seller, according to Kelley Blue Book. But parts harvested from that car can be worth as much as $5,000, says Frank Scafidi, the NICB’s public affairs director. Cars from the 1990s also had fewer factory-installed anti-theft devices and thus are easier to steal, Scafidi adds.

read the entire article at "CBS MoneyWatch.com"

Scott Pelley Gets Hero’s Welcome as New CBS ‘Evening News’ Anchor for Delivering News ‘Straight’

The high command of CBS News did everything but whistle "Happy Days Are Here Again" Wednesday

They hailed "Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley for reinvigorating the old-school journalism on which the network built its reputation.

Dismissing the currently fashionable news-talk journalism as "not what we do," CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager told TV reporters that viewers "absolutely" want an impartial, "strongly reported" summary of the news every night.

Fager and CBS News President David Rhodes also made it clear they think they’ve found their deliveryman in Pelley, who took the anchor slot June 6 after the modestly rated and sometimes controversial five-year run of Katie Couric.

Just as their CBS Entertainment counterpart, Nina Tassler, never mentioned Charlie Sheen, Fager and Rhodes never spoke Couric’s name. But like Tassler, they made it clear they are delighted to have closed that chapter and moved on. Fager and Rhodes said ratings for the "Evening News" have risen over the past two months.

"I think it’s no accident some [viewers] who may have left us the last few years are coming back," said Fager.

Pelley said he takes the same approach to the "Evening News" that he has taken as a correspondent on "60 Minutes."

"I drive straight down the middle of the road," he said. "My question with every story is, ‘Were we fair to everyone involved?’"

Rhodes was a little more delicate about whether well-publicized cutbacks at CBS News the last few years, mirroring cutback throughout the media, have affected the quality of news reportis.

read the entire article at "The NY Daily News"

CBS News chief: We Don’t Pay for Photos

In light of a recent announcement by ABC News that it won’t pay for photos in exchange for interviews, CBS News Chairman Jeff Fager told the press Wednesday that he, too, is against handing over cash for potentially newsworthy (or salacious) images.

“We’ve had people approach us at 60 Minutes regularly who say we want money for pictures, we want you to pay for video. We won’t do it,” said Fager, who also is the executive producer of the Sunday newsmagazine. “I know it’s happened in stories in the past. For a certain sum, a small fee, pictures become available. I’m against it, I’m against it for our organization. Others want to do it?  Fine. There are so many stories out there to tell. We don’t need to get involved in that line of work. It goes against everything it stands for.”

ABC News came under fire for giving Casey Anthony money in 2008 in exchange for photos of her daughter, Caylee. The network also reportedly copped to paying $15,000 for photos from a woman who allegedly had a relationship with former Rep. Anthony Weiner.

from "EW.com – Inside TV"

CBS Makes Old New

Star Trek and I Love Lucy are making CBS an emerging winner in the media space.

The media conglomerate reported profit more than doubled in its second quarter, lifted by its domestic streaming content deal with  Netflix which rakes in new money for old shows.

CBS’ revenue grew by 8%, driven by a 21% surge in content licensing and distribution.

Most recently, CBS also struck a similar deal with Amazon, the benefit of which was not realized during the quarter, but which CBS expects to get a boost from in the second half of the year.

"When you look at our current content, our ownership position, we have a pretty phenomenal library. And what we like to say about both Amazon and Netflix, none of the things we sold are currently shows that are on the air," Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said during a conference call with Wall Street.

While the deals include original episodes of old classics, as well as staples like Cheers and Frasier, they also include more recent series like Medium, which went off the air this past year.

"What we’ve been able to do successfully is continue to replenish our library, Moonves said. We have three CSIs that are now on the air that aren’t part of these Netflix deals or Amazon deals. One day, they will come off the air, and we will get a lot of money for those in those platforms."

read the entire article at "The Street"