PullQuote: Saint Lucia in the Sky with Diamonds

Rev. Dan O'Connell, host of We've Got to Talk, while promoting the cable channel's incorporation of 3-D programming on Tuesday;

It reaches out, it goes from the screen right into the room where you are and that's what I think is the bottom line to the message of CatholicTV network, that God reaches out to us constantly.

(Source)

Kurtz: Behind the Curtain of Fox's 5 O'Clock Show

At eleven o'clock Eastern, Howard Kurtz is going to participate in one of his regular Q&As with online readers, but after this morning's column, where he shines a somewhat negative, but fairly even-handed light on Glenn Beck, one might expect the midday session to be swarmed by Beckheads and become something of a chore for the moderator.

A few takeaways;

• A FNC VP was assigned last fall "'to help keep an eye on that program' and review its content in advance".
• He "has surrounded himself with loyalists from Mercury, some of whom remain on that company's payroll".
• During rehearsals, "Beck has teared up or paused at the same moments as he later did during the show".

All together, Kurtz's column is an interesting read for anyone interested in the media phenomenon that is Glenn Beck.

R5 Sons: Alaska

A guest visiting Rainy Pass Lodge in the Alaska Range suggested that life for the family with five sons, on a ranch accessible only by air in one of the most remote places on the American frontier would make for a good reality show.

At first, Steve Perrins dismissed the idea, but after further consideration and probably a few discussions, the family hired cinematographers, editors and at the cost of "hundreds of thousands of dollars", everybody pitched-in to self-produce a television show.

The first thirteen episode season will be recapped on RFD-TV, January 3rd and the second season will begin the following week.

Of course the family would love for a larger network to pick them up, so that they might better recoup their investment, but they seem to be having fun with what they have and they may already be making headway toward finding mates for the rest of the sons.

Mixed Bag for Atlanta-based TV

Though overall cable viewership was up 3% this year and ad spending has increased by 9%, four of the seven major Atlanta-based cable networks saw their audience totals erode.

Among the reasons cited: Increased competition, fewer hurricanes and baseball games, plus though it wasn't mentioned in the AJC article, 2008 was an election year.

TWC "Educates" Customers

Time-Warner Cable is asking for their customer's guidance, as to whether they'd prefer to keep the same channel lineup and let cable rates rise, or if they'd rather the cable company negotiate for lower carriage fees, even if it means the loss of specific channels on a temporary, if not permanent basis.