CBS moves morning show to devastated town (AP)
AP - While the "Today" show's globe-trotting Matt Lauer has touched down in Argentina, Holland and Laos, his rivals at CBS are spending the week in Kansas. More »
`The View,' Ellen DeGeneres among Daytime Emmy nominees (AP)
AP - "The View," "Rachael Ray" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" were among the Daytime Emmy Award nominees announced Wednesday. More »
Judge tosses out lawsuit against J.Lo (AP)
AP - A judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit by a television writer who claimed Jennifer Lopez had a hand in stealing his idea for a TV series. More »
Ono in fight over copyright of rarely seen Lennon video (AP)
AP - They are rare, intimate images of John Lennon just before the breakup of the Beatles: He's hunched over a piano writing songs, smoking pot, joking about putting LSD in President Nixon's tea. More »
Time Warner plans to split off cable services (Reuters)
Reuters - Time Warner Inc said on Wednesday it plans to fully separate its cable services division, responding to Wall Street's demands to refocus as a pure media content company to boost an ailing stock price. More »
TV Tidbits: Notes of Interest (Mediaweek.com)
Mediaweek.com - ION Media Networks has secured a deal with CBS Television Distribution for the broadcast rights to CBS drama Ghost Whisperer. Look for its debut on ION in fall 2009. More »
National Ratings in Prime-Time: Week of April 21, 2008 (Mediaweek.com)
Mediaweek.com - It was a week of mixed leadership, with declining CBS first in households and total viewers, and also eroding Fox No. 1 in the three key demos -- adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. Comparably (and despite a year-to-year loss of 24 percent in the demo), this was Fox's 16th consecutive weekly win among adults 18-49. Both CBS and Fox, in fact, were down by double-digit across-the-board percentages. More »
Ratings Box: What's Hot/What's Not (Mediaweek.com)
Mediaweek.com - The CW scored its best Monday to-date in teens (2.1 rating/6 share) and female teens (3.4/10). Based on ratings for April 28, new Monday 8 p.m. occupant Gossip Girl grew from one week earlier by 18 percent in teens (2.0/ 6) and 25 percent in female teens (3.5/11), with a slight bump in total viewers, with 2.53 million. Gossip Girl also ranked first in the hour in female teens, and second among females 12-34 (3.0/ 8) and teens (2.0/ 6). At 9 p.m., veteran One Tree Hill ranked second in the hour in teens (2.2/ 7) and female teens. More »
Prime-Time Metered Market Tuesday Ratings: Idol Ignited Fox Wins; CBS a Distant Second (Mediaweek.com)
Mediaweek.com - -Yesterday's Winners: American Idol (Fox), NCIS (CBS), Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC) More »
Studios, actors remain at odds in labor talks (Reuters)
Reuters - With two days left before a self-imposed deadline in contract talks with actors, major Hollywood studios said on Wednesday the two sides remained far from a deal and that excessive union demands were to blame. More »
Tina Turner says she's hitting the road again (AP)
AP - Tina Turner says she's hitting the road again for her first tour in the United States in seven years. More »
Shelton celebrates 20 years for 'Bull Durham' (AP)
AP - Ron Shelton says he's just now realizing what a home run he hit with "Bull Durham." More »
Once-feisty Algerian press grows tamer (Reuters)
Reuters - A campaign of murder failed to crush blossoming Algerian journalism in the 1990s, but now civil war has been replaced by an uneasy peace, the country's press may have lost in liberty what it gained in security. More »
Monk Finds New Couch to Lie On (E! Online)
E! Online - Despite a tragic loss, Adrian Monk will still be able to get the help he needs this summer. More »
'The View,' Ellen DeGeneres among Daytime Emmy nominees (AP)
AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The View," "Rachael Ray" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" were among the Daytime Emmy Award nominees announced Wednesday. More »
'Idol' boots another finalist; 4 singers remain (AP)
AP - Diamond wasn't Brooke White's best friend on "American Idol" Wednesday night. More »
AP source: Cruise talks to Oprah about image, faith, family (AP)
AP - Tom Cruise's two-part interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" includes a snowmobile ride and a frank discussion of his rocky media image, followed by an in-studio celebration of "Risky Business" 25 years ago, a person close to the production told The Associated Press Wednesday. More »
Idol Reaches the Final Four (E! Online)
E! Online - Ryan defended Paula from the vicious rumors unleashed when she momentarily lost her bearings last night, but the voters refused to get behind one aspiring pop star, leaving four to sing it out next week. More »
McCready back to recording after Clemens report (AP)
AP - Mindy McCready has "caught her breath" and gone back to work on a new album following her admission of a long-standing relationship with Roger Clemens, a representative for the country star said Wednesday. More »
Common lightens up with new "Summer" album (Reuters)
Reuters - Common's upcoming album is shaping up to be an electro-tinged departure from the Chicago rapper's previous lyric-driven releases. More »
John Legend seeking ad savvy for album (Reuters)
Reuters - R&B singer John Legend is seeking non-traditional advertisers to help promote his new album. More »
Madonna set to top U.S. chart despite sales slump (Reuters)
Reuters - Madonna is on track to net her seventh No. 1 album on next week's Billboard 200, despite a big drop in sales, according to preliminary data issued Wednesday. More »
Nine Inch Nails hammers scalpers with new policy (Reuters)
Reuters - In a move meant to get fans into premium seats and bypass ticket brokers and scalpers, industrial-rock band Nine Inch Nails has reserved tickets to each of its upcoming summer tour dates for registered users of its Web site, NIN.com. More »
Henry Brant, avant-garde composer, dies at 94 (AP)
AP - Henry Brant, an avant-garde composer whose works placed dozens and sometimes hundreds of musicians throughout a concert hall — and sometimes throughout an entire city — has died. He was 94. More »