No "Lion" in a Theater

If you missed "A Lion in the House," you can order a DVD copy ($29.95) of the four-hour documentary about five Cincinnati area kids with cancer. Copies will be available sometime next month through www.lioninthehouse.com. You can also order the companion book for $19.95.

If you wanted to see the film in a local theater, you'll have to wait even longer. Producers had hoped to arrange a local screening in June or July, but now they're looking at August.... though that might not happen. They're just not sure how many people are interested in going to a theatrical screening after the national telecast June 21-22.

"A Lion in the House" was a moderate ratings success in Cincinnati. The two-night broadcast averaged a 1.2 rating (about 10,500 homes) on CET. That’s higher than the 1.0 rating for most PBS prime-time documentaries on CET, but lower than CET’s prime-time average (1.3) for normal programming, says Grace Hill, CET program director. The show generated a lot of calls, she says. "It was a difficult show to watch, but very powerful."

More CET
CET needs your help. To be precise, CET needs your money. The station is $68,000 shy of a balanced budget for the fiscal year ending Friday. The station was about $220,000 away from its goal at the first of June, before the on-air pledge days. CET also is worried about next year’s budget, knowing that the station’s PBS costs will increase 6.8%, and that federal funding could be cut by Congress, says Susan Howarth, CEO and president. For more info go to
www.cetconnect.org

Smooth jazz returns
Good news for smooth jazz fans. I just discovered Greg Brown’s smooth jazz internet station WINR Smoothjazz4u from his home in Mason. He says he has over 25,000 listeners a week at
www.smoothjazz4u.com.
Brown this summer also is bringing smooth jazz to nonprofit WAIF-FM (88.3) on 4-5 p.m. Fridays. Sounds like a great way to unwind if you’re headed home from work early on Friday.

And I can’t mention smooth jazz without plugging Michael Grayson’s “Cincinnati After Dark” smooth jazz show Saturday night on WARM98 (98.5).

Welcome back, DeVito!
Have you seen the clever parody of the "Friends" open in commercials for FX’s "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (10 & 10:30 p.m. today, FX)? Danny DeVito joins the cast for the second season, his first regular sitcom role since "Taxi." DeVito plays Frank Reynolds, estranged father of Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson), regulars at Paddy’s Irish Pub in Philadelphia. This "Cheers" knock-off, which premiered last summer, is rated TV-MA for its strong language and adult themes.

News 5 Nation

The “citizen journalist” trend has arrived at WLWT-T. Ch. 5 is soliciting viewers to tell their stories – in their own words with a digital camera – on the station’s Web site, Channelcincinnati.com. It says: “News 5 Nation lets you tell the story! You produce the news story using the latest digital production gear. We help you put it together, and your story will air on News 5. Also, you can submit your own finished story. We’ll archive all the stories on our News 5 Nation Web site so you can vote for your favorites and share them with your friends. We need to hear from you now! E-mail newsdirector@channnelcincinnati.com for more details.”
The buzz around the station is that the plan is to have 10-12 of these done before the segment debuts in August.

NBC and YouTube and You
NBC has cut a deal with YouTube to preview NBC’s fall TV lineup “and other preferred shows over the next year,” NBC says. YouTube will create a NBC channel to post clips from new fall shows, “The Office,” “Saturday Night Live” and Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show.”

“Big Brother All Stars” vote closes tonight
If you're a "Big Brother" fan, here's a reminder that voting closes at 11:59 p.m. today at CBS.com for “Big Brother All Stars.” Two of the 20 candidates are from here:
--William “Bunky” Miller, 41, a 1983 New Richmond High School graduate living in Los Angeles and working as a technical writer and stand-up comic.
--Diane Henry, 24, a 2000 Hillsboro High School graduate and former NKU student and Burlington resident living in Los Angeles and working as a model.
On the July 6 premiere, all 20 will be on CBS’ live “Big Brother All Stars” premiere. The 12 cast members will be named, and they immediately will move into the Big Brother house. The last resident remaining in September will win $500,000.

TV tonight
Haven’t previewed this one, but it sounds like fun: “My First Time” (10 p.m., TV Land) looks at the first TV roles of stars -- starting with Henry Winkler as Rhoda’s date on “The Mary Tyler Moore” show and Katey Sagal on MTM’s short-lived “Mary” sitcom.
And “American Masters” repeats Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan film from last fall (9 p.m., Chs 48, 54, 16).

Breaking News!

Have you heard about the Louisville TV station manager who ripped TV stations a new one for all the “Breaking News?” Bill Lamb, general manager of Fox affiliate WDRB-TV (Channel 41), flat out called it a gimmick, hype, and “trickery designed to fool the audience.”
Here is his entire commentary from June 15:

“The ‘Breaking News’ Gimmick” (June 15, 2006)
“I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in local television news.
“At the direction of national News consultants, some local stations are using the term "Breaking News" as often as possible. Everything is "Breaking News" now. The problem is, the vast majority of news they are touting as "breaking" isn’t breaking at all. This tactic is just hype and trickery designed to fool the audience into thinking their station is on top of more news than the other stations.
“And when one station in a city starts abusing the term, other stations tend to begin overusing it too. I even saw our own newsroom fall victim to this gimmick when we had a "Breaking News" story about an Indiana teacher who was arrested for a DUI. I certainly didn’t think it was "breaking" and it probably wasn’t even "news." Barry Fulmer, our news director agreed and then emphatically told our newsroom that we are not going to cry "wolf" just because others do. Lying to viewers is no way to get them to watch.
“Using the phrase "breaking news" isn’t wrong but it better be big and it better be happening right now!
“So why do I care what the other stations do? I think it’s dangerous to play with a news organization’s reputation and this "breaking news" gimmick threatens to damage everyone’s credibility. Ours included.
“I’m Bill Lamb and that’s my Point of View. Bill’s can be reached at email: Billlamb@Fox41.com.
Here’s a link to the commentary:
http://www.fox41.com/article/view/6186/?tf=wdrbarticleview.tpl
About 200 people have posted responses to his editorial. Here’s that link:
http://www.fox41.com/article/view/196
Couldn't a TV station manager here ever say the same thing?

"Wheel" keeps turning

The “Wheel of Justice” keeps turning up more publicity for Channel 12. Since my May 30 story about the “Wheel” – a carnival wheel plastered with police mugshots spun at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday on Ch. 12 by Deborah Dixon – the “Wheel” has been featured in USA Today and on CBS News, Fox News and CNBC. Yeah, the “Wheel” is a goofy concept that might only work in Cincinnati… but it works here. About 20 fugitives have been captured since the weekly “Wheel” segments started in Feburary.

WLW changes
WLW-AM and the Clear Channel AMs played music chairs with their news networks today – but WLW-AM’s switch from Ch. 12 to Ch. 5 will wait until next month. ABC News returned to WLW-AM, after a 10-month absence. Fox News went to conservative WKRC-AM (550), and CBS returns to WCKY-AM (1530) where it had been for years. WLW-AM’s news partnership with Ch. 5 will start sometime next month…. And don’t be surprised if Ch. 12 soon cuts a deal to serve the CBS Radio stations (B105, Q102, WGRR) that had been using Ch. 5 meteorologists.

MOJO Baby News
MOJO 94.9 co-host Laura Powell and news anchor Angie Irick will return to the airwaves in August. Powell had a baby boy last week, and Irick had a baby girl. So morning co-host Keith Mitchell will have a busy summer without their help in the morning.

Kiese watching
Couldn’t find anything decent to watch last night when I stumbled into Dustin Hoffman on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” What a joy. Hoffman spent two hours with James Lipton talking about his career. It was fascinating hearing his insights… and to be reminded of all the great films he’s made: “The Graduate,” “All the President’s Men,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Tootsie,” “Rain Man,” etc. I don’t see a repeat listed on bravotv.com, but keep an eye out for it. You won’t be disappointed.

Bunky too? Who knew!

Bunky too? Who knew... that Bunky Miller, the bald gay guy from “Big Brother 2” in 2001, was from here? He was Bill Miller at New Richmond High School, where he was 1983 senior class president, on the tennis team, school chorus, and the newspaper and yearbook staff. Then he earned degrees in marketing and computer information systems from UC in 1989.
Bunky and Diane Henry, a former NKU student from “Big Brother 5” in 2004, are among the 20 candidates for “Big Brothers All Stars.” You can vote for your favorite cast member at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother7/
Deadline is 11:59 p.m. June 28.
Five years ago, Bunky was identified on “BB2” as a technical writer from Charlotte, N.C., where he was working at the time. He was nicknamed Bunky by coworkers in Charlotte, after making fun of the name a U-Haul manager had embroidered on his U-Haul shirt. He used it on his “BB2” application to catch producers’ eyes. It worked.
In 2003, he moved to Burbank, where he has taken improv and acting lessons. Earlier this year he started doing stand-up comedy as “Bill The Bald Eegle.” His goal is to get on “MAD TV” or a sitcom. (He was the King in his high school production of “The King & I.” Now he’s a member of the Gay Mens Chorus of LA.)
Bunky asked for WEBN, Q102 and WLW phone numbers, hoping to get some time on morning shows to promote his candidacy for "BB2." He says he wants to win the $500,000 so he can be financially stable and donate to his favorite charity – The Trevor Project, a 24/7 suicide hotline for teen-age gays and lesbians (www.thetrevorproject.org). He volunteers there 10 hours a month.


Bless this mess
It’s not surprising that TLC’s new “Home Made Simple” show would shoot episodes here, since P&G products and its www.homemadesimple.com sponsor the show. At 1 p.m. Sunday, the first of four consecutive weekly episodes will feature Cincinnati area families whose lives are organized by the “Home Made Simple” team. First up: Cheri LaEace from Green Township, a mother of three and her messy basement and laundry area.

Area woman up for Big Brother 7: All Stars

Did you see that Local “Big Brother 5” contestant Diane Henry wants to be an All-Star? Henry, best known for her “Big Brother5” romance with Miami University student Drew Daniel, was on CBS last night as one of the 20 former residents up for “Big Brother 7 All-Stars”
Viewers will select this year’s cast by voting at CBS.com through next Wednesday. Profiles of and videos from the 20 are posted at the site. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/bigbrother7/
The 12 winners will be announced on the season premiere July 6.
On TV, Henry called herself tough and ruthless. “I was the best player in Big Brother 5, but I got wrapped up on some stupid boy. Being with him absolutely cost me the entire game. We all know I would have won.”
Her campaign message on the web site: “Ya’ll should vote me back in the house because there’s nothing like a hot chick fight.”
The 20 candidates include "Chicken" George, Bunky, "Boogie" (Mike), Cowboy Michael and his sister Nakomis.

“Lion” concludes
Don’t forget that PBS’ extraordinary “A Lion In The House” concludes today 9-11 p.m. on Ch. 48 and 16.

Channel 5 news
Channel 5 newsReporter Michael Moely from the Indianapolis Fox station starts Wednesday at WLWT-TV (Ch. 5). He takes the full-time slot created by the job sharing of weekend anchor Jonathan Hawgood and reporter Amy Wagner.

Need you help
Speaking of Channel 5, I need your help. I'm looking for comments about Channel 5's female co-anchor team, Saundra and Sheree. Do you watch them? Do you like them?
Here's the deal: Email your comments to me at jkiesewetter@enquirer.com. You must include your name, neighborhood/suburb and age. I'm not interested in anonymous remarks....

Terrific TV: "A Lion in the House"

Yes, I know, watching five kids battle cancer doesn’t sound like much fun. But give “A Lion in the House” (9-11 p.m. today and Thursday, Ch. 48, 16) a few minutes, and you’ll fall in love with the Cincinnati-area kids in this extraordinary film shot here since 1997.
Filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar from Yellow Springs have injected a lot of heart and humor into their chronicle of how cancer impacts families. They were granted 24/7 access by the families and hospital, so all of the good and bad about a long-term serious illness is in the film – the highs and the lows, the celebrations and homecomings as well as the surgeries and hospital loneliness. It isn’t the easiest thing to watch, but everyone will find it educational. The themes are universal for anyone with a family member facing serious medical issues – the uncertainties about experimental treatments, questions about how far to push for a cure, and how to handle end-of-life decisions.
“A Lion in the House” is terrific television. It’s not easy to watch, granted, but it’s worth your time. The film can help you be more sensitive to the needs of those battling cancer, and prepare you for facing a long-term illness in your family sometime in the future.

Note to Steve
Will someone tell Reds announcer Steve Stewart how to spell Nuxhall? In his blog at www.reds.com, he writes about playing in the Joe Nuxall scholarship fund golf tournament last week.

Excellent HBO report on asthma & air pollution

Yeah, you hear it all the time during sweeps, "a story EVERY parent should see..." But this story truly is one parents with young athletes should see -- a report linking a high rate of asthma in children to the coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River valley and other areas, at 10 p.m. today on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." Reporter Jon Frankel came to Ohio and Pittsburgh to connect the dots between asthma in kids and the power plants. Doctors blame the pollution from coal-fired plants for damaging lungs of kids whose higher rate of inhalation during sports brings more pollutants into their respiratory systems. In the second part, two former EPA investigators and former EPA head Christine Whitman complain about pollution controls not being a priority for the Bush administration. It’s a terrific piece of reporting that should be on free broadcast television for everyone to see. “Real Sports” repeats nine times through July 4, so you have plenty of opportunities to record it and share it with parents whose kids have breathing problems.

"Survivor" meets "Guiding Light"
This one is for “Survivor” fans. “Survivor: Panama -- Exile Island” cast members Cirie Fields, a fan favorite on “Survivor” last spring, and Melinda Hyder will do a guest shot on Procter & Gamble’s “Guiding Light” on Thursday (3 p.m., Ch. 12). Cirie, a nurse from South Carolina, finished third on “Survivor.” She’ll play an internal affairs officer who has scenes with Ricky Paull Goldin (“Gus Aitoro”). Hyder (who?) – the second person voted off the island last spring – will play a waitress at the restaurant, Company, and do scenes with Justin Deas (“Buzz Cooper”). Hyder lives in Tennessee and once sang at Dollywood. P&G has been a major sponsor on "Survivor" since the first season.

Dan Rather gone
We've all been waiting for the shoe to drop on Dan Rather.... and this morning it's official: CBS News announced that Rather is leaving CBS. His contract runs through November, but he's gone today. Rather, 74, has done little for CBS since being removed from the anchor desk a year ago after the botched 2004 story on President Bush's military service. He did a few pieces for "60 Minutes," and a "CBS Sunday Morning" report last Sunday. CBS will do a special about him this fall -- probably during November sweeps, to cash in on his name.
I've met him several times on the press tour, and always found him tightly wound. Once he stood through an entire press conference... and when we were talking to him afterwards, he said he planned to sit down for the Q&A but forgot. Weird.
What I'll miss most is Rather on Election Night, when he spewed all these wacky "Danisms" -- races being "as tight as Willie Nelson's headband" or "tighter than last year's bathing suit." I watched him on Election Night in 2004 figuring it was his last election, and it was.
So where will Dan end up? I can't imagine the old reporter putting away his notebook... Wonder if he'll join a cable network, or do documentaries for some cable channel, or write books, or teach? What do you think?

WLW-AM News Changes Next Week

This just in Tuesday morning: WLW-AM will switch from Channel 12 weather/news to Channel 5 sooner than later, but not next Monday as I posted below Monday in this blog. Due to technical issues, Channel 5 won't be ready to provide info to WLW-AM on Monday when the radio station switches around its news networks. The change to Channel 5 could happen before the end of June. Here's what I wrote Monday:

Look for news changes at WLW-AM next Monday. The Clear Channel radio station is expected to launch its news partnership with WLWT (Ch 5), about five weeks earlier than announced. The June 26 date coincides with Clear Channel radio here playing musical chairs with its news networks. Fox News moves off WLW-AM to conservative talker WKRC-AM (550). ABC News, which was bumped from WLW-AM last summer because of Clear Channel’s corporate deal with Fox News, returns to WLW-AM from progressive talker WCKY-AM. CBS News, which had been WKRC-AM, likely will move up the dial to WCKY-AM.
Jim Scott will continue to chat each week with Fox News’ Chris Wallace and Bill Hemmer – though Hemmer will be on assignment this summer, and won’t resume weekly chats with Scott until September, I’m told.
WLW-AM folks stunned managers at sister Clear Channel TV station WKRC-TV (Ch 12) in late May by announcing the switch to Channel 5. Folks at Channel 5 – a distant third in the household TV news ratings at 6 & 11 p.m.—see the deal with WLW-AM, the No. 1 radio station here for six years – as a big step in turning around ratings.

History Detectives here
“History Detectives” opens its fourth season on PBS (9 p.m. today, Ch 48, 16) with a brief scene from Cincinnati, but it’s incidental. PBS shot here because co-host and Americana expert Wes Cowan is here. A man named Shawn Kennedy flew here from the state of Washington to show his old U.S. flag to Cowan, claiming it was draped over McKinley’s coffin. After looking at the flag, Cowan and the film crew went to Canton for McKinley research.
“History Detectives” will be filming in the area again today and Tuesday. A crew will be in Dayton today and at Cowan’s East End auction house Tuesday shooting a story about a Toledo-area woman with an undated sketch from “Superman” creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

WLW adds to podcasts

Have you noticed that WLW-AM has really jumped into podcasting? A year ago, the station only offered Gary Burbank bits and a few other things. Now through www.700wlw.com or Apple's iTunes you can get free downloads of entire Mike McConnell and Bill Cunningham shows, Rich Walberg’s funny “Showbiz Stuff” and Jim Scott’s interviews. WLW had 14,991 downloads last week, which put it in the top 5 among all Clear Channel stations.

More podcasts
HBO now has free audio and video podcasts from the second season of “Entourage” and “Deadwood,” which debuted Sunday. Go to www.hbo.com/podcasts or iTunes for them, or podcasts from “The Sopranos,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Rome” or “Big Love.” In only a few months, “Real Time with Bill Maher” has topped 1 million downloads, HBO says.

Musical notes
Some weekend musical notes:
--97.3 WAQZ-FM goes “under the covers” for the weekend, starting at 5 p.m. today. The “everything alternative” station will play 97.3 artists doing cover songs -- U2 doing “Beat the Brat” by The Ramones, Staind doing “Black” by Pearl Jam, Velvet Revolver doing “Money” by Pink Floyd, etc.
--The “Nick Lachey Custom Concert Featuring Natasha Bedingfield” airs at 11 p.m. today on Oxygen.
--CET is streaming a clip from the “Blue Man Group: Inside The Tube” pledge special at 9 p.m. Saturday on Channel 48. During pledge breaks, Ch 48 will have some tickets to the Blue Man Group show Oct. 8 at US Bank Arena. The clip is at:
http://www.cetconnect.org/television/index.asp
--Sunday night CET has “Great Performances: Cook, Dixon & Young in Concert," the artists formerly known as the “Three Mo’ Tenors” (7-9 p.m.); “John Fogerty: The Long Road Home” (9-10:30 p.m.) and “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1975” (10:30-midnight). During the Fogerty show pledge breaks, they’ll have some tickets to his Aug. 16 date at Riverbend with Willie Nelson.

Ch 12 News: Harvey's Replacement

You may not know the name, but the folks at Channel 12 do: Tara Pachmayer. She’s the new weekend sports anchor-reporter replacing Harvey Smilovitz.
Pachmeyer is a 1995 Princeton H.S. grad who was a news writer and sports producer at WKRC-TV after graduating from UK in 1999. She left four years ago to be an on-air reporter at WREG-TV, the CBS affiliate in Memphis. During her first stint at Ch. 12, she helped cover the NCAA basketball tourney, the Motor City Bowl, Reds, Bengals and high school sports.
She was Princeton’s head cheerleader when her brother, Michael, played football for the Vikings. The WREG-TV web site www.wreg.com has this quote from her: “I can’t actually call being a Sports Reporter my job. It’s my life-long passion.” She signs off Sunday in Memphis and starts next week at Local 12.
Smilovitz left Sunday after 8 years. His contract was not renewed.

Tee It Up for Ruth
Ch. 5 and the American Amateur Golf Tour has teamed up for the Ruth Lyons Amateur Championship July 1-2 at The Vineyards. This is not to be confused with the annual Ruth Lyons golf outing fund-raiser held each fall. This event for serious golfers is open to any amateur with a verifiable USGA handicap. You don’t have to be a member of the tour to enter. Ch. 5 attached the Ruth Lyons name to the tournament to promote the station’s 66-year-old charity to a different audience. Lyons was Cincinnati’s biggest TV star in the 1950s and 1960s, hosting a live noon variety show simulcast on Ch. 5 and WLW-AM.

Matt & Britney
Gee, I bet Matt Lauer really misses Katie Couric. She would have been stuck with the Britney Spears interview today, if she were still at NBC. It airs on “Dateline NBC” at 9 p.m. today (Ch. 5), instead of a “Windfall” rerun.

Ch 12 names Ch 64 anchor team

This just in: We now know the face(s) of Channel 64's new 10 p.m. newscast to be produced in August by WKRC-TV. Cammy Dierking and Dave Burchell will be moving to prime-time on Ch. 64 , in addition to keeping their anchor jobs at Local 12. Paula Toti will anchor weekends on both stations -- 10 p.m. on Ch 64, and 11 p.m. on Ch. 12.
The two stations announced the news partnership in April. Channel 64 canceled its 10 p.m. newscast in February, leaving WXIX-TV (Channel 19) with the only 10 p.m. local news. We'll see how putting Dierking on the air at 10 p.m. will do in the ratings. She was a winner for years in the morning for Ch. 12.
Channel 12 did not name a meteorologist for the Channel 64 newscast. And if the 10 p.m. newscast has sports, Harvey Smilovitz won’t be part of it. The reporter-weekend anchor signed off Sunday, after his contract was not renewed after 8 years. Smilovitz declined to comment when I reached him Monday.

Some summer good stuff

Good news for TV viewers today --some shows worth watching come back this week.
--Kyra Sedgwick returns as Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson as “The Closer” comes back for a second season on TNT (9 p.m.), followed by Tom Everett Scott in TNT’s new “Saved,” a drama about Portland, Ore., paramedics (10 p.m..)
--“Friends” has jumped from Fox19 to Star64. So catch Rachel, Ross, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler and Joey at 7 & 7:30 p.m. on Channel 64.
--Mad Mike revs up a new season of “Pimp My Ride” at 10 p.m. Thursday on MTV.
--And Fox repeats “24” this summer in two-hour blocks on Friday (8-10 p.m.), starting this week.
Any of these are better than CBS’ new “Tuesday Night Book Club” (10 p.m.) reality show about seven Arizona women… or NBC’s dreadful new “Windfall” summer drama. NBC just pulled a repeat of the “Windfall” pilot from 9 p.m. Thursday for Matt Lauer’s “Dateline NBC” interview with Britney Spears. (The pilot reran Sunday night too.)

Welcome back Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose, one of TV’s best interviewers, finally resumes hosting his “Charlie Rose” show today (midnight, Channel 16). He had heart surgery in March.

View from the bridge
Boy, NBC’s “Weekend Today” show really cut off Sheree Paolello’s report from the Purple People Bridge Climb Saturday morning, didn’t they? And yes, Lester Holt called her Sherry… Tonight Ch 5 devotes a half-hour special (7:30 p.m.) to the bridge climb, which opens Tuesday.

Here Comes the Big Red Machine

My Father’s Day gift came early, and it’s terrific. This week I’ve been watching a review copy of the 7-disc boxed set of the Big Red Machine's 1975 World Series. It’s awesome.
The “Cincinnati Reds 1975 World Series Collector’s Edition” ($69.95) -- due out Tuesday – has all 7 games, as broadcast by Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek on NBC. On the three games from Riverfront (Games 3, 4, 5), a very young Marty Brennaman is in the booth to add insights and call a couple of innings.
It’s such great fun seeing Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Ken Griffey (no need to call him Senior back then), Gary Nolan, George Foster as powerful young men in their prime. And to see Sparky Anderson and Klu in the dugout.
It’s cool to see Riverfront Stadium again – the faded hard plastic grass, the dirt cut-outs around the bases, the white line designating the end of the infield, even the goofy metric measurements on the outfield wall.
This boxed set is a magical trip back in time for Baby Boomer Reds fans.
The extras are cool too. My favorite is the clip from the team’s Fountain Square celebration, with Johnny Bench in a wide-lapel leisure suit, Tony Perez and family (was that Eduardo?), Pete Rose and Petey, and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn presenting the World Series trophy to Bob Howsam (wearing the bright red sports coat, of course). Disc 7 also has NBC’s coverage of the Reds victory celebration in the Fenway locker room; some NBC pre-game and post-game interviews; and recent comments by Rose, Bench, Morgan, Don Gullett, Sparky, Brennaman and others.
The box set will be in stores Tuesday (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Best Buy for sure). It’s also available at http://www.amazon.com and http://shop.mlb.com/home/index.jsp


Channel 19 news
Former Channel 5 news anchor Barbara Cain Brady hosts “Change the Outcome” (7:30 p.m. today, Ch. 19), a special about kids who have had surgery at Children’s Hospital Medical Center. “Change the Outcome” is a pilot for a possible series, says Marla Hurston Fuller, hospital community relations manager.

Juliette Vara says goodbye

For you Juliette Vara fans, here's my email from the Channel 5 reporter before she leaves the station on Friday:
"John: I have accepted a job as a full time reporter in San Diego. I will be working for KGTV, the ABC affiliate. I went to San Diego in March for a 4-day mini-vacation and loved it! Two weeks later a job popped up on tvjobs.com. I sent my resume tape and I got a call back from the news director, Mike Stutz. I start the week of July 10th.
"I’m looking forward to moving to the West Coast. I’m originally from Florida so I welcome the warm weather, the sun, and the beach. It’s going to a be a wild and new experience for me, but I’m thrilled to embrace it. Leaving Cincinnati and WLWT to start over again isn’t easy. I’ve invested 2-1/2 years in this community and nearly five years with Hearst-Argyle. I’ve bonded with co-workers, made great friends and loyal contacts. I’ll miss going to football games and Reds games, but I’ll get my fix now at a Padres or Chargers game.
"I’ve learned a great deal about the news business while working at WLWT. I thank my news director, Brennan Donnellan, for scooping me out of Ft. Smith, Arkansas and taking a chance on me. It’s been a challenging, yet worthwhile experience that I hope has shaped me into a well rounded reporter.
"I hope exciting opportunities come my way in San Diego. I’m looking forward to my new life! Thanks again for your interest.” --Juliette

Old is new on the web
More and more TV coming to the web:
--AOL and Warner Brothers have launched two more broadband channels with free TV programs at www.aol.com/in2tv.
The "Gone But Not Forgotten" channel has episodes (including some never aired, due to quick cancellations) of “The Michael Richards Show,” “The George Carlin Show,” Wanda Sykes’ “Wanda at Large,” John Goodman’s “Center of the Universe,” Anthony Anderson’s “All About the Andersons” and “The Ben Stiller Show.”
The "Get Real" channel has “The Will,” “ElimiDate,” “Moral Court” and old Judge Wapner’s “The People Court.”
While at in2TV check out the channels filled with tons of old TV from the Warner Bros. vault: “Lois & Clark. “ “Babylon 5,” “Head of the Class,” “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper,” “Pinky and the Brain,” “Maverick,” “Eight is Enough,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” “Sisters,” “Growing Pains,” “F Troop,” “Wonder Woman” and “Welcome Back Kotter.”
--CBS has just loaded episodes on iTunes from the recently completed TV season of “Survivor,” “NCIS,” “Numb3rs” and all three “CSI” shows (for $1.99 each).

Nick news
Today is the last day to help select songs for Nick Lachey’s Oxygen concert, and to submit questions he might answer during the telecast. The “Nick Lachey Custom Concert Featuring Natasha Bedingfield” will be taped Friday in New York City. It airs 11 p.m. July 16 on Oxygen.

"Weekend Today" live from Cincinnati

The Purple People Bridge Climb gets national publicity on NBC’s “Weekend Today” show Saturday. Channel 5 anchor Sheree Paolello will report live from atop the bridge during the 7 a.m. national telecast – which isn’t seen here at that hour. So Channel 5 will cut away from its local 7 a.m. news to air the live NBC coverage. The segment will be repeated in Channel 5’s 10 a.m. news. Channel 5 also will devote a half-hour special at 7:30 p.m. Monday to the bridge climb.

More Channel 5 news
Reporter Juliette Vara leaves Channel 5 Friday for a job with a San Diego TV station, says News Director Brennan Donnellan. I'm not sure what station, or what position. I’ll provide more info when I hear from Juliette – though I suspect some Channel 5 staffers will post more details on this blog before I hear from her….

Another honor for Clooney
Oscar-winner George Clooney will receive the 21st American Cinematheque Award at the organization’s annual gala on Oct. 13. The Beverly Hills ceremony will be taped by American Movie Classics and telecast in December.

Lion’s share of publicity
The national publicity campaign for “A Lion in the House,” the June 21-22 PBS/Independent Lens documentary about five Cincinnati area children and families battling cancer, is kicking into high gear. Members of Congress were invited to a screening this morning in the U.S. Capitol. Tonight at the Aronoff Center, more than 4,000 families and Children’s Hospital Medical Center staffers will attend a screening with filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert and families in the film.
I’ve seen “A Lion in the House” twice now, and it’s a very powerful, candid film showing kids (and families) coping with cancer. This PBS film deserves all the publicity it can get. It's an exceptional documentary.

Welcome back Pee-wee!

Pee-wee Returns!
I can’t wait to see this: Paul Reubens “Pee-wee Playhouse” finally returns to TV July 10 on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. After a 15-year absence, we’ll finally get to see the King of Cartoons, Chairry the chair, Globey the Globe, Conky the robot, Pteri the Pterodactyl, Jambi the genie, Miss Yvonne and the Penny cartoons.
The late-night network bought all 45 episodes of the old Saturday morning series (1986-91), which was abruptly canceled by CBS when Reubens was charged with indecent exposure in an adult theater. “Pee-wee” won 22 Emmys(!) during its brief run. Recurring cast members included Phil Hartman, Laurence Fishburne and S. Epatha Merkerson.

Leno on iTunes
Starting today, Jay Leno’s full “Tonight Show” monologue will be available on iTunes for $1.99. Since December, NBC had offered only 2-5 minutes of his opening monologue. Leno fans also can buy a monthly pass for $9.99 for 20 monologues.

“Deadwood” deal
Fans of HBO’s “Deadwood” gritty Western no longer have to be mad about “John from Cincinnati.” A national protest campaign was launched last month when trade publications reported that HBO had dropped a fourth season of “Deadwood” so creator David Milch could work on a new HBO surfer drama, “John from Cincinnati.” (I don’t know where that title came from, but I know it’s not me.)
Milch and HBO have reached a compromise for the Peabody- and Emmy-winning series. Milch will write two two-hour “Deadwood” movies to wrap up the series. HBO had canceled the fourth season because the expense ($5 million per hour) and low ratings.
The third 12-week season of “Deadwood” premieres Sunday (9 p.m.), followed by new episodes of “Entourage” (10 p.m.) and the premiere of “Lucky Louie” (10:30 p.m.).

TV tonight
Chip Chinery isn’t the only Cincinnati native in NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” competiton. Cincinnati native Nikki Glaser, a University of Kansas student, also has advanced to the second round for tonight’s show (9 p.m., Ch 5). Glaser is the daughter of EJ and Julie Glaser of St. Louis. Nikki lived here for six years, while her father was Time Warner Cable marketing director. The family moved to St. Louis 15 years ago. You can vote for your favorite comic at
http://www.nbc.com/Last_Comic_Standing/voting/

Trump on B105

Did you hear Donald Trump talking about his Cincinnati days with Bill Whyte and Amanda Orlando on WUBE-FM (B105.1) this morning? They talked about the Swifton Village apartment complex and the stalled Banks development. As a college kid, Trump spent two summers at the Swifton Village complex his father had bought and rehabbed. When Whyte asked him if he knew about the downtown undeveloped riverfront property, Trump said: “Send me something on that area between the stadiums. I know the city well.” (Yeah, sure, Trump will bail out the banks...)
More from Trump will be heard Monday at 6:40 and 8:20 a.m. on B105. Trump will promote the season finale of “The Apprentice” (9:30-11 p.m. Monday, Ch 5) – will it be Lee or Sean? -- with guest stars Michael J. Fox, Jaime Pressly, Denis Leary, Jason Priestley, Stephen Baldwin and Barenaked Ladies.

More finales Monday
WB's fine "Everwood," which was not picked up for the new CW network, ends with a two-hour episode Monday (8-10 p.m., Ch 64). .... NBC's hit "Deal or No Deal" airs its last original episode 8-9:30 p.m. Monday (Ch. 5)

Telethon this weekend
Ch. 19 news anchors have recorded 10 local inserts into the Children’s Miracle Network telethon this weekend. It airs 5-8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.

Studio 89 rocks again

WNKU-FM folks were really rocking and rolling behind the scenes this week bailing out Monday’s season debut of “Studio 89,” when the Katie Reider Band canceled earlier this week. Station folks tell me she was upset the show would not be videotaped for KET, as it has in past years. So ’NKU folks scrambled to get the Rumpke Moutain Boys to open the fifth season at 9:04 p.m. Monday on WNKU-FM (89.7) and the web (www.wnku.org).
For the first time, the concerts will be available the next day as podcasts. Or you can see the show live at 305 Landrum Academic Center on the NKU campus in Highland Heights by making reservations at www.wnku.org The studio audience should be seated by 8:30. Booked for the 13-week series are Greg Johnson (“Save Yourself”), Danny Tate, Ellery, the Hiders and Pieta Brown. The full list is posted on the web.

20 Years on WAIF
When Cynthia Dye Wimmers proposed doing a two-hour radio show in 1986 devoted entirely to local musicians, the program director at WAIF-FM questioned whether she could find enough material and put her on at 6 a.m. Well, finding enough local music was never a problem. Wimmers celebrates her 20th anniversary of the “Kindred Sanction” show 8-10 p.m. today on WAIF-FM (88.3). She hosts the first Thursday of each month, and shares the show with long time co-host Jerry Adams (second Thursday each month), Tom Willis (third Thursday), Jennifer Sullivan (fourth Thursday) and Lynne Wilson (any fifth Thursday).