Afternoon bits

*The guy who never slows down - Parade Magazine feature on Ryan Seacrest

*The L.A. Times thinks this Rose Parade documentary is worth your time. It airs Sunday on KTLA at 3pm.

Saturday Soapbox

Twas the open thread before Christmas...

Afternoon bits

*Life and Style Magazine covered Jillian Barberie's (FOX 11) baby shower. She posted a twit pic of the page.

*Stephanie Miller (KTLK 1150) had a run in with her fireplace mantle. You can see the damage to her eye at her gallery (should be the first 3 pics).

*Eric Spillman (KTLA) has been on the mayor's case about his travel. His latest is the Copenhagen tab.

NewsCentral not central to your life

There are a lot of rumors going around that NewsCentral is dead. Gone. The stations have gone back to identifying themselves as KCAL 9 or KCBS 2. I'm still trying to find some official confirmation, but it might have something to do with the new boss in town. NewsCentral was a misfire from the beginning. The tagline "News that is central to your life" annoyed me. Also annoying - the way the anchors kept telling me that the stories they were covering were "central to my life" when they clearly weren't. Let's chalk it up to a failed experiment and forget it ever happened.

Mon afternoon update: The KCAL 9 and KCBS 2 websites have both removed the NewsCentral logo. Each page is back to "9" and "2."

Saturday Soapbox

Open thread time.

BTW, I've noticed a couple of comments about the weather widget that used to be on the front page. I deleted it because it stopped working a while back. If there is interest (I had no idea people had even noticed), I can certainly try to find another one to use.

NewsCentral gets a new boss

Variety is reporting that GM Patrick McClenahan is out at KCBS/KCAL and Steve Mauldin is in. Mauldin is coming from the CBS affiliate in Dallas/Fort Worth but has also worked at KABC in the past. Head of CBS TV Stations, Peter Dunn stated "Los Angeles is a huge market for CBS and we're privileged to have one of our strongest operators leading the charge."

Chase through NoHo

There was a pretty decent car chase last night which all the 10pm newscasts covered. I watched KCAL 9 with Larry Welk up in the chopper. I've always thought he does a great job with these kinds of chases giving some good narration with a good knowledge of the roads. The police were no slouches either, ending the chase using a textbook PIT maneuver. If you missed it, KCAL has the chase up on their webpage.

Sam vs. Perez

There was some fallout from a scheduled Perez Hilton appearance yesterday on the KTLA morning news. I had heard a bit about it, but just found the time to go through some of the tweets.

These are from Perez:
@KTLA It's unfortunate I was unable to be on your show but it is NOT acceptable or ethical to lie to your viewers http://bit.ly/6ksCXn 9:16 AM Dec 7th from web

@KTLA I expect an apology and an on-air correction/retraction! 10:06 AM Dec 7th from web

What is this all about? Sam Rubin explains everything below. As the KTLAMorning show Twitter feed says: You asked for it..Perez H gets what he deserves...

Having trouble embedding it - click here for video.

Carson coming to AMP

Carson Daly is coming to mornings on AMP 97.1 starting January 4, 2010. He is no stranger to the LA market as he used to do nights at KROQ before moving to MTV.

Daly stated: "Now, not only can people fall asleep to my late-night show on NBC, but they can wake up with me on the radio, too. I'm thrilled to join a thriving new station in my own hometown."

Source: All Access

Morning bits

*John Batchelor has turned up on 790 KABC from 12-3am weeknights. (thanks Mig)

*John Ziegler closed his Church of Tiger Woods blog because of Tiger's less than honorable behavior with his wife. John then proceeded to list all the links of the media reacting to his closing of his blog (which I didn't know existed). (thanks BeaAnon)

*Is anyone as sick of "Storm Watch" as I am?

*On a personal note, I may not be able to update as frequently as I'd like this week. I've been really under the weather for the past week or so and have a hell week at work. So, please feel free to send me any items you might find, and I'll do my best to get them up. Thanks.

Saturday Soapbox

Open thread - have at it.

Morning bits

*New radio ratings are out (LA Times)

*Doug McIntyre will be a front page columnist twice a week for the LA Daily News where he had previously published a column. (thanks Greg)

*Tim Conway, Jr will fill in for Bryan Suits tonight on KFI

Morning bits

Some random, superficial thoughts...

*Pat Harvey (KCAL) cut her hair and looks fabulous.

*I caught the first few minutes of the KTLA 10pm news last night. Wendy Burch was sitting in for Victoria Recano and I have to say I liked it. I've never been a fan of Recano as she seems too lightweight for my tastes. And while I've never been a huge fan of Ohlman's, I have to admit I am warming to him as he carries the newscast.

*Last night 5 and 9 led their 10pm newscasts with the Tiger Woods story. Only 11 led with the president's speech.

KNBC adds showbiz show

According to Variety, KNBC is launching a new show with Peter Bart and Peter Guber. Show Business with Bart and Guber, will air Saturdays at 5pm starting this Saturday. The show will cover topics related to the showbiz community in the Southland. Bart and Guber had a similar show, Shootout, which aired for several years on AMC.

Speaking of traffic reports...

A reader sent this in about the traffic scroll disappearing from the morning news on KNBC.

Only reason I watch Channel 4 in a.m. is for scroll. Yes Paul is great but but if you are running out the door and he's not on, this is the one.

Anyone insiders out there know why the scroll was removed?