The collapse of KOZK Springfield, Mo.’s tower in April that killed an engineer was caused by mistakes made by contractors, according to a report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA: Contractors At Fault In Tower Accident
Top News
‘Dancing With the Stars’ No Longer Hopping For ABC
Viewership is down for ABC’s competition franchise, which concluded its fall season on Monday with country radio host Bobby Bones beating Disney star Milo Manheim, actress Evanna Lynch and model Alexis Ren. Each episode averaged 8.2 million viewers the night that it aired and during the week afterward, down 22% from last year’s average of 10.4 million, Nielsen said.
Dow Tumbles 552, Nasdaq Loses 120
Technology giants plunged again on Tuesday, pushing the stock market into the red for the year. Tech companies were hit after the Trump administration proposed new national security regulations that could limit exports of high-tech products in fields such as quantum computing, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Brand Connections
Amazon Bids For Disney’s 22 RSNs
Bidding has begun for the 22 regional sports TV networks Disney acquired from 21st Century Fox. Amazon is bidding for all of the networks, including the YES Network, sources familiar with the matter said. In addition to Amazon, Apollo Global Management, KKR & Co, The Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tegna also made first round bids for the full slate of networks, the sources said.
Broadcast Shows Fall Opposite ESPN’s ‘MNF’
The NBC singing competition drew a 1.4 rating in the 18-49 demo, 0.3 below last week and a tenth of a point under its previous Monday low of 1.5. As for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, its 11.3 household rating in metered markets was the highest for the franchise since 2014.
Exclusives
Chuck Todd Rips ‘Absurd’ White House Rules
NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd on Tuesday criticized the White House’s new rules for reporters at presidential news conferences, calling them “absurd” and predicting that journalists won’t follow them.
‘Judy’ Climbs To New Season-High 7.5
The victory in the frame ending Nov. 11 made the show No. 1 among courtrooms and put it in first place overall among households for the 15th week in a row with its widest margin of victory yet this season.
Calif. Fires Disrupt TV, Commercial Production
A number of TV and commercial shoots that have experienced disruptions because of the fires that have devastated California in recent weeks. Some prime shooting locations — including Paramount Ranch, which serves as a set for HBO’s Westworld, and the Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills — have experienced extensive damage, rendering them inaccessible to crews. Large swaths of Malibu that are popular filming sites are also closed to production.
David Kenny Tapped As Nielsen’s New CEO
As senior vice president of cognitive solutions at IBM, he led IBM’s AI platform and portfolio. He was also responsible for developing IBM Watson and its cloud platform.
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Tech, Next-Gen Storytelling At NewsTECHForum
At NewsTECHForum on Dec. 10 at the New York Hilton, Matt Danzico, NBC; Emily Kassie, The Marshall Project; Matt Pearl, Tegna’s WXIA and Frederic Roux, Dalet North America, will show and discuss examples of their, or in Roux’s case, his clients’ groundbreaking work.
‘Salvation’ Canceled At CBS After 2 Seasons
The series centered on Liam Cole, an MIT grad student, and Darius Tanz, a tech superstar, who bring Pentagon official Grace Barrows a staggering discovery — that an asteroid is just months away from colliding with Earth. In the second season, the secret of the asteroid got out, setting off a global panic.
Alex Duda Named EP Of ‘Kelly Clarkson’
The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Voice judge and Grammy winner’s upcoming daytime talk show, has named Alex Duda executive producer and showrunner. Duda is a five-time Emmy winner who previously worked as executive producer of daytime talkers Steve Harvey and The Tyra Banks Show.
Megyn Kelly Finalizing $30M Exit From NBC
Megyn Kelly is close to completing a $30 million exit from NBC, sources confirm. The embattled anchor, who celebrated her 48th birthday Sunday, was dumped from her 9 a.m. slot on Today last month after questioning why it was racist to wear blackface for Halloween.
Acosta’s Press Pass Restored, With A Warning
The White House on Monday abruptly dropped its effort to bar CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House. However, it said going forward, reporters would be permitted one question each if called upon at news conferences and allowed follow-ups only at the discretion of the president. CNN said that, as a result, it has dropped its lawsuit against the White House filed on Acosta’s behalf.
Social Media Excellence At NewsTECHForum
To honor innovative, creative and effective use of social media, this year’s NewsTECHForum on Dec. 10 will present the first Social Media Excellent Awards to WTVT Tampa, Fla.; KCCI Des Moines, Iowa; Josh Johnson of WSFA Montgomery, Ala.; and Kristen Hampton of WBTV Charlotte, N.C. After accepting their awards, winners will participate in a panel discussion moderated by Kim Wilson of Social News Desk.
Sinclair Partners With Pollster, Analyst
Scott Rasmussen will produce weekly polls and stories on national trending topics developed from national poll questions designed to get to the heart of what matters to viewers in the context of the Sinclair’s many markets.
Wallace: Fox News’s Man In The Middle
Chris Wallace was born into journalism royalty, but that hasn’t stopped the anchor for Donald Trump’s favorite network from blazing a surprising path all his own.
Appeals Court: Byron Allen Cases Can Proceed
A federal appeals court cleared the way for Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks to pursue civil rights suits against two of the nation’s biggest cable operators, Charter Communications and Comcast. These lawsuits seek sizable damages — $20 billion against Comcast and $10 billion against Charter — for alleged violations of the Civil Rights Act.
CBS Ups Raftery To Communications EVP
Kelli Raftery will work with Dana McClintock and Chris Ender, guiding CBS Corp.’s overall media relations and communications strategy.
Soaking Up Millennials With A Sponge
Great stories don’t grow on trees. But ABC O&O KFSN Fresno, Calif., found one that grows on vines.
White Promoted To Food Network President
Discovery Inc. has promoted HGTV and Food Network executive Courtney White to president of Food Network. The executive will relocate to New York and oversee all of Discovery Inc.’s food-related brands.