MSNBC drops Pat Buchanan- And that's good for cable TV, country

Conservative analyst Pat Buchanan Thursday night confirmed what some in the worlds of politics and cable TV believed to be true for months: He hadn't just been suspended by MSNBC in the wake of his latest controversial book, he was through and would never be back on the cable channel again.

Chelsea Clinton fails Journalism 101 again on NBC's Rock Center'

Chelsea Clinton did her second report for NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams" Wednesday night, and it was just as flawed as the first. The learning curve does not appear to have bent one degree in the direction of growth.

First look at HBO's 'Game Change' - A film so political in so many good ways

I just walked out of a dark room after spending two hours with the screener for "Game Change," the HBO film about the 2008 Republican presidential campaign of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Second place for Goucher's Sarah Bart means $50,000 on 'Jeopardy!'

Sarah Bart's run at the college championship on 'Jeopardy!' ended Tuesday with the senior  history major finishing second. But as runner-up, Bart left with $50,000 for her effort.

Goucher student Sarah Bart trails going into finals on 'Jeopardy!' tonight

Goucher College senior Sarah Bart enters tonight's final on 'Jeopardy's College Championship'  in second place, $8,200 behind the leader.

Grammy TV averages 39.9 million - Bigger than last year's Oscar telecast

(UPDATES with final figures and total tune-in through the telecast.) The CBS telecast of the 54th Grammy Awards Sunday was seen by an average audience of 39.91 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratrings released by the network. That's the second largest Grammy average audience in history and the largest audience for the music awards show since 1984.

Adele, Hudson and the energy of archetype elevate Grammy telecast

I haven't watched a Grammy telecast all the way through in quite awhile. As much as I love the great TV-music moments when they happen, there haven't been enough of them lately to keep me tuned in when all the wretched excess, bizarre productions and self-absorbed, pop-star silliness inevitably arrived. Furthermore, I always felt the main reviewing rightfully belonged to the pop music critics at the paper on Grammy night.

Goucher senior Sarah Bart advances again on 'Jeopardy!'

Sarah Bart, a senior at Goucher College, won again Thursday night on the "Jeopardy! College Championship" competition.

Even with George Clooney, CBS 'Person to Person' feels thin, flat, plastic

I wanted to like "Person to Person," the new-old CBS News interview show with Charlie Rose and Lara Logan trying to fill the celebrity interviewer shoes once worn by the legendary Edward R. Murrow.

CNN suspends Roland Martin for offensive Super Bowl tweets

CNN suspended political analyst Roland Martin Wednesday over tweets he sent during the Super Bowl. The messages were seen by some as homophobic and advocating violence against members of the LGBT community.

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.