WJZ leads the way in weekday news ratings during May sweeps

Everyone in local TV says "sweeps" don't matter as much as they used to now that Baltimore has Nielsen's local people meters (contested as that data might be)

TLC's 'On the Fly' has plenty of Baltimore's BWI

The description at the TLC website for "On the Fly" gives a pretty good sense of the up-with-Southwest-Airlines tone that permeates this reality TV series premiering at 9 p.m. Thursday.

Some answers on WBFF Fox 45's strange robocalls asking about ticks and Gov. O'Malley

As if robocalls didn't have a bad enough reputation in the world of Baltimore media and politics thanks to consultant Julius Henson's activity in the last gubernatorial election, along comes WBFF (Channel 45) Monday night with its own questionable computer-generated calls into hundreds of thousands on Maryland homes.

Pat McDonough and our problem in talking about race in Baltimore

State Del. Pat McDonough's news release alleging that "black youth mobs terrorize" downtown Baltimore has certainly set off a firestorm of debate. But what about the nature of that discussion, particularly as it relates to race?

'VEEP' recap - Selina gets stuck with President's obesity initiative

"VEEP" keeps getting better week by week. And the last couple of weeks, it feels as if the HBO comedy has really found its feet.

Pat McDonough ratchets up 'mobs of black youth' talk, criticism of mayor on WCBM weekend show

State Del. Pat McDonough told the Sun last week that he wasn't going to back down from claims made in a press release that 'black youth mobs terrorize" downtown Baltimore. And in his Saturday night radio show on WCBM (AM-680), he not only made good on that pledge, he ratcheted up the rhetoric ripping Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake while vowing to bring the issue of downtown public safety to the front burner of public consciousness with a "news conference" Tuesday -- and other actions to follow.

Preakness coverage by NBC shows power of preparation

NBC Sports says it had 170 employees in Baltimore this week to cover the Preakness, and from the looks of the TV package it presented, all of them earned their keep.

How Josh Gad was almost Cameron, and Sarah Palin led Jason Winer to '1600 Penn'

Talk about instant success. Baltimore native Jason Winer doesn't even have a name yet for his Hollywood production company. But he and his two co-creators, "The Book of Mormon" Broadway star Josh Gad and former White House speechwriter Jon Lovett, already have an order for 13 episodes of their first production, a new NBC sitcom titled "1600 Penn."

Turn to Team NBC for most complete Preakness TV coverage

Last year, 8.8 million viewers saw NBC’s coverage of the Preakness. That’s the kind of big-tent mass audience that makes the race one of Baltimore’s showcase events. And that doesn’t count the hundreds of thousands who will watch pre- and post-race coverage on the NBC Sports Network cable channel.

Jeannine Edwards on covering the Preakness for ESPN

ESPN’s Jeannine Edwards started her TV career as an in-track host at Pimlico and Laurel in the early 1990s.

President Obama dazzles in latest campaign stop on 'The View' Tuesday

Readers of this blog know I have been grinding my teeth for years over President Obama's masterful manipulation of TV. It's not about Obama, it's about the press looking the other way, rolling over and refusing to critique and deconstruct the way Team Obama uses the media and the media allows themselves to be used.

Howard Stern and 'America's Got Talent' a winning combination

I will admit it, I came to the season premiere of "America's Got Talent" to rip Howard Stern.

American Masters does Carson to biographical perfection - except for that masculinity thing

From Norman Rockwell and Leonard Bernstein to Baltimore's Cab Calloway, no one does biography like "American Masters" on PBS.

Baltimore Ravens Joe Flacco, Ray Rice get HBO shoutout on 'VEEP'

For the second week in a row, Baltimore got some prime-time, Sunday-night love on high-end cable TV.

Maybe CBS News, not ABC, should have taken victory lap on Obama same-sex interview

Thursday morning, ABC senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper posted a TwitPic of "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts with the cutline "woman of the hour."

Jason Winer's '1600 Penn' sitcom wins midseason spot on NBC

It's pilot pickup time in Hollywood, and Baltimore's Jason Winer got some good news yesterday with an order from NBC for 13 episodes of "1600 Penn," a political comedy that he co-created, directs and executive produces. The series will introduced as a midseason replacement when NBC introduces its new fall lineup Monday in New York on the first day of the upfronts.

Mike Bordick in the broadcast booth: Thumbs up or thumbs down?

I have been putting off this post for a couple of weeks. It's about Mike Bordick's performance on MASN as an analyst on Orioles games.

WJZ-TV cuts away from incredible Orioles game - Can you say 'Heidi Bowl'?

The decision wasn't in a league with the infamous one NBC made in 1968 to cut away from the ending of an incredible AFC football game to show a rerun of the film "Heidi," but some Baltimore area viewers were feeling a "Heidi Bowl" kind of pain Sunday night when WJZ (Channel 13) left a extra inning Orioles game to carry the top-rated newsmagazine "60 Minutes."

Baltimore's 98 Rock knocked off the air by 'idiot' show host - a.k.a. Mickey

If you have ever spilled a cup of coffee onto your computer keyboard, you need to listen to this recording of 98 Rock's morning team as it reacts to Mickey Cucchiella after he knocked a cup of coffee onto the console in the station's studio Friday morning. The station was off the air for 20 minutes, according to the show hosts.

Awash in news, Baltimore media rises to the challenge

Even in May 'sweeps' week, journalism is mostly served.

HBO renews 'VEEP' and 'Girls' for second season

HBO renewed its two new Sunday-night comedies 'VEEP' and "Girls' for a second season, and that's great news for the Baltimore TV and film production community.

Why it is wrong to call HBO's 'Girls' racist

I have been watching the backlash against HBO's groundbreaking comedy "Girls" the last couple of weeks, and much of it looks to be coming from writers and wannabe critics who might just be jealous of Lena Dunham's success.

NBC News 'Situation Room' special: The upside of sucking up to White House

NBC News announced Friday that Brian Williams' ratings-impaired, journalistically-challenged "Rock Center" newsmagazine will have a report on what it was like inside the Situation Room on the night Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seals.

Pictures: First sightings of 'House of Cards' filming in Baltimore with David Fincher

document.write (""); "House of Cards" hit the streets of Baltimore for a night of filming this week. Here are some scenes of executive producer David Fincher directing Kate Mara, who plays a young reporter caught up in a deadly game of media manipulation. Fincher is directing the first two hours of the series. The filming took place on E. Preston Street in Mount Vernon, which serves as a stand-in for Washington. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright headline the $100 million production for Netflix.

Reporter Weijia Jiang leaving WJZ-TV for WCBS in New York

Weijia Jiang, who came to WJZ-TV in June of 2008 as a reporter, is leaving to join WCBS-TV in New York City. Both stations are owned by CBS. New York is the top market in the country.

Sunday night TV is DVR overload

With the arrival last week of HBO's "VEEP," it is official: Sunday night TV is out of control, but in a good way.

Chelsea Clinton back on 'Rock Center' with another lame report

The learning curve for Chelsea Clinton, special correspondent, continues to bend in the wrong direction.

Obama slow jams the campaign on late-night TV with Jimmy Fallon

Tuesday night, there was a two-hour report by "Frontline" that explained better than anything I have ever seen on TV how the middle-class got shredded by Wall Street and sold-out by our elected leaders in Washintgon -- and that includes Democrats in the White House.

HBO's 'VEEP' opens with larger audience than 'Girls' premiere

"VEEP," the widely-praised Maryland-made comedy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, got off to a solid start Sunday night with an audience of 1.7 million viewers for two showings. The 10 p.m. showing opposite AMC's  "Mad Men"  drew 1.4 million viewers.

From Sun Magazine: First look -- 'VEEP' set visit

It's a cold, gray Friday afternoon in a dark and drafty concrete warehouse at an industrial park in Columbia. Not exactly the setting in which anyone would expect to find glamour, wit or the next big thing in pop culture.