Brian Williams' 'Rock Center' needs more than new time period

I was going to be nice and NOT write about the NBC newsmagazine "Rock Center" moving to 9 p.m. tonight after a failed run at 10 Mondays with Brian Williams at the helm.

WBAL-TV to launch 10 p.m. newscast with Kate Amara March 5

WBAL-TV, which has seen a drop in its year-to-year news audience, is adding another newscast on its WBAL Plus (digital channel) starting in March.

Sunday's Super Bowl most watched show in TV history

The New York Giants victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl made history as the most watched show ever on television, according to NBC and Nielsen Media Research.

Sunday's Super Bowl scores third-highest overnight in history

Sunday's Super Bowl scored the third highest overnight rating in history with almost one out of every two households tuned to the game, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Super Bowl TV: Good game, nasty ads, pathetic half-time show

I was supposed to review NBC's telecast of the Super Bowl itself. You know, what kind of job did Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Bob Costas do? And I will deliver a short, fast version of that.

WBAL news may be losing its edge

Local TV news ratings in Baltimore are rarely news.

HBO's 'Game Change' trailer: Gibson vs. Palin brings back memories of 2008

Seeing HBO's latest trailer for "Game Change," the made-for-TV version of the 2008 GOP presidential campaign with John McCain and Sarah Palin, brought back memories of the early days of Z on TV when I was doing media-and-politics 24/7 -- and loving it.

Richard Sher's 'Square Off' moves to 11 a.m. Sunday

Richard Sher's "Square Off," Baltimore's longest-running public affairs, moves to 11 a.m. Sunday on WMAR-TV's schedule.

WJZ-TV tops major newscasts in January with adult viewers

WJZ-TV enjoyed one of its most successful ratings books ever in January winning all competitive weekday news time periods with viewers 25 to 54 years of age, the demographic on which most TV news ad sales are made. WJZ also won in total viewers in those time periods.

African-American focused 'Find Our Missing' aims to fill the void left by mainstream media

Everyone who has ever tuned into a cable channel has heard the names Natalee Holloway and Laci Peterson. Show hosts like Nancy Grace have used their TV pulpits to chronicle the disappearance of such white, female victims night after night.

Honoring 'Welcome Back, Kotter's' Robert Hegyes for being one of TV's first 'Tough Jews'

As a young critic, I liked the ABC sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter." But I had a special spot in my heart for Juan Epstein, the character played with such energy and adventure by Robert Hegyes.

Poised Wolf Blitzer stands up to, backs down Gingrich in CNN debate

Yessssssss. God is in his heaven, and for a couple of minutes Thursday night during CNN's  GOP debate, the relationship between the press and grandstanding TV politicians was finally back in balance.

Donna Hamilton to join Rod Daniels on WBAL's 11 p.m. news starting Super Bowl night

Donna Hamilton will be joining Rod Daniels at the 11 p.m. anchor desk at WBAL-TV  (Channel 11) starting Super Bowl night, General Manager Dan Joerres confirmed Wednesday.

Ravens-Patriots, Giants-49ers: Biggest national TV audiences since Super Bowl

The Ravens-Patriots and Giants-49ers championship games Sunday drew the largest audiences of any shows on television since the Super Bowl, according to Nielsen data released by the NFL.

1.1 million in area watched Ravens on WJZ Sunday - Tops Super Bowl 2001

WJZ-TVreports that 1.112 million area viewers watched the Ravens-Patriots game on Channel 13 Sunday, setting what is believed to be a record for the station, according to general manager Jay Newman.

Ravens-Patriots game helps set record for social media comments

Sunday's AFC and NFC championship games each generated more social media comments than last year's Super Bowl, and they are now the top two games on record.

Ravens TV: A painful game to watch, but not because of CBS Sports

As appealing as it might be to vent my own frustration and play to the rage of tens of thousands of Ravens fans by ripping the TV coverage of Baltimore’s agonizing 23-20 loss to the New England Patriots, facts are facts. And the fact of the matter is that CBS Sports did an outstanding job of telecasting Sunday’s AFC championship game.

CNN, John King, ABC, Brian Ross have nothing to apologize for with Gingrich

In November, I advanced one of CNN's  debates with a piece hoping aloud that Wolf Blitzer would not let Newt Gingrich bully him as the the former Speaker of the House had been doing to other debate moderators.

ESPN's Trent Dilfer attributes Ed Reed's Flacco comments to 'insecurity' about Brady

ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer Thursday attributed Ed Reed's negative comments earlier in the week about Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco to "insecurity" on the part of Reed and the Ravens defense.

'Ring of Honor' wrestling gets a stranglehold on Baltimore

It's Saturday night at Canton's Du Burns Arena, and Mike "The Prodigy" Bennett flexes and preens as his opponent, Ring of Honor champion Jay Lethal, staggers across the mat.

Pictures: 'Ring of Honor' wrestling sets up shop in Baltimore

Sinclair Broadcast Group, of Hunt Valley, is bringing live wrestling to Baltimore in 2012. The Baltimore-based broadcaster took over the struggling Ring of Honor circuit last June and is now using its distribution muscle of to air the pro wrestling matches nationally.

CBS Sports president Sean McManus defends having Ndamukong Suh on AFC pre-game show

CBS is defending its decision to bring Ndamukong Suh on as an analyst last Sunday in its pre-game show prior to the AFC divisional matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

S. Epatha Merkerson hosts TV One series on missing Black Americans

TV One will launch a series tonight that addresses the issue of missing Black Americans.

'Robbie's' Baltimore area sports memorabilia shop to be focus of reality show

ABC will enter the cable-dominated TV terrain of such shows as "Pawn Stars" starting March 24 with the debut of "Ball Boys," a 12-episode, Saturday-afternoon, reality TV series set in Baltimore County at Robbie's 1st Base.

Pictures: The changing face of TV news in Baltimore

In recent years, the normally static world of Baltimore TV news has been shaken up after a series of high-profile retirements and other departures.

Weatherman Justin Berk out at WMAR - Station cites contract differences

UPDATES AGAIN 6:10 p.m. Wednesday with more comments from Berk on reaction to his departure.

Pictures: Ron Smith memorial service

document.write (""); Friends, family and colleagues of Ron Smith gathered at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium Jan. 17 to celebrate the life of Ron Smith, Baltimore radio's "volce of reason." Smith died Dec. 19 of pancreatic cancer. He was 70. See past obituaries in the Baltimore Sun here.

Friends, family, community offer touching farewell to WBAL's Ron Smith

Friends, family, fans and colleagues said a public farewell to WBAL radio show host Ron Smith Tuesday at Goucher College. And it was as powerful and moving in some respects as the way Smith, who died in December at age 70, lived his final weeks and months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October.

849,000 area viewers watched Ravens beat Texans on CBS-owned WJZ

An audience of 849,000 area viewers tuned into WJZ-TV Sunday to see the Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans in the divisional playoff game, station managment said Monday.

Ravens on CBS: Beyond pre-game agitation of Ndamukong Suh, a better telecast

Once you got past the pre-game show and the outrageous attempt by CBS Sports to use the telecast to try to rehabilitate the reputation of Detroit Lions stomper Ndamukong Suh, TV coverage of the Baltimore Ravens 20-13 victory over the Houston Texans wasn’t too bad at all Sunday.