Jessell: Broadcasting Needs To Party Like It's 1999

Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen was charged Monday with felony menacing and two misdeameanors -- assault and criminal mischief -- in connection with a Christmas Day incident involving alleged domestic assault against his wife Brooke Mueller. If convicted of the felony charge, Sheen faces one to three years in jail.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months Monday on nagging concerns about debt loads in Europe.

To succeed online and in mobile, TV stations need the one-two punch of getting into the market as soon as possible and making sure the content is engaging to users and advertisers.

Brian Doherty will oversee all national advertising sales efforts for The CW and continue to manage the sales teams in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Reputation management services can help small and medium businesses struggling to stay on top of the explosion of social media, ratings, reviews and other online content.

Kip Cassino, Borrell Associates VP of research and development, predicts mobile marketing to double this year, rising from 4% to 8% of all online marketing. And by 2013, about half of all online ad dollars will be spent on mobile, he said.

Toyota dealers in five southeast states have pulled their commercials off local ABC affiliates, complaining about the coverage of Toyota safety problems by ABC News and its chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross. The ad agency representing the 173 dealers told ABC affiliates last week that the shift was due to "excessive stories on the Toyota issues."

The Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H  to become the most-watched program in television history.

The bloom may be coming off the TV advertising rose. According to a joint Association of National Advertisers and Forrester Research survey of more than 100 national advertisers, 62% think TV ads have become less effective in the past two years. The main culprit cited was clutter, with 69% saying they would like fewer commercials per pod.

Selling print and online services together is not just about the sales relationship, the Borrell conference was told. It's also about profits.

Jeff Jarvis, director of the City University of New York's interactive media, says that by tapping reporters and contributors who are more integrally involved with -- and accountable to -- the communities they cover, hyperlocal sites could raise the bar for the kind of news content, news sources people -- and advertisers -- care about.

Though the advertising share of revenues from digital and retransmission fees will grow in the coming years, overall ad dollars for TV stations will still be $3 billion less in three years than they were in 2006. A recent report from SNL Kagan says overall TV station revenue will be $21.7 billion in 2013 -- against the $24.6 billion take in 2006.

It looks like CBS may have set the record for the most-watched Super Bowl ever, if early numbers are any indication. The network's metered-market average for last night's Super Bowl soared over last year's. In fact, it was the best in 23 years. CBS averaged a 46.4 household rating and 68 share from 6:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., according to Nielsen's metered-market numbers.

With data from the satellite TV operator's 14 million satellite homes and other cable and telco TV companies, Rentrak says it can now track viewing in more than 15 million homes across all 210 TV markets.

ABC's affiliates are not only in a battle with the network over retransmission fees, but they are also boiling mad that corporate sibling ESPN is being handed live sports events they were initially supposed to carry.

After a brutal two-year slump, Madison Avenue is hoping the Super Bowl kicks off a Hail-Mary comeback for the beleaguered ad business. And there is reason to think there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Super Bowl viewers were rubbing their eyes at the sight of a TV spot pairing CBS late-night host David Letterman with longtime NBC archrival Jay Leno, plus media magnate Oprah Winfrey.

Life in New Orleans is always vibrant, but it's been extra lively of late. There was the Saints' memorable Super Bowl run and the mayoral election in early February. Of course, Mardi Gras, with all its cocktails and parades, kicks off Feb. 16. Belo's WWL has ruled ratings for decades, and had another big book in November. Stations are fighting hard for No. 2. WGNO is growing its Good Morning New Orleans, which launched in fall 2008. WDSU has a new partnership with the Times-Picayune's NOLA.com.

Even as major marketers once again threaten to pull back on TV spending -- a new survey indicates they will allocate only 41% of their budgets to the medium this year -- the TV networks are gearing up for an "upfront" ad-sales market they expect will be more robust than in the recent past.

Once, the topic would have been off-limts on daytime TV, but not anymore. And Washington's paying attention.

Many big TV producers are back with new projects this pilot season, and most of them are sticking to the genre that made them successful.

The network's decision to back off live Olympics Web coverage reflects concerns over the core product.

Steven Waldman, senior advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, believes that, theoretically speaking, there is no harm in the decline and fall of broadcast outlets and newspapers, so long as there is something immediately set to replace their useful function of delivering news and civic information.

Just weeks after NBC stations were cited as a major reason the network pulled the plug on The Jay Leno Show, they are top of mind once again in the syndication world, thanks to Martha Stewart's abrupt switch from syndication to cable at the end of last month.

While many station executives are painting a prettier economic picture at their stations these days, several are becoming more bullish on plans to launch unique programming on their multicast channels.

The founder of the consulting and research firm that still carries his name, Magid was best known for his work in shaping national and local news. He died Feb. 5 in Santa Barbara, Calif., after a battle with lymphoma.

The former owner of radio and TV stations and one-time Democratic congressman from Hawaii had "been in failing health for a while and died of natural causes," according to his family. He was 85.

Comcast and NBC Universal executives may be through arguing about their merger with former Saturday Night Live performer Sen. Al Franken, but the two companies will be making return trips to Capitol Hill to again sell their deal in the weeks ahead.

Andrea Wong has finalized a deal to exit as president of Lifetimes Networks, sources confirm. Wong's exit from the cable service has been widely expected in the wake of the network's acquisition by A&E Television Networks.

Sharan Magnuson, one of the TV industry's top public-relations executives, is leaving the business because of health reasons. Magnuson was at Warner Bros. TV for the past 12 years, most recently as SVP of worldwide publicity, overseeing publicity for all Warner Bros. TV Group's production and distribution divisions.