Moraes on TV

Jackson Family Leaving Encino Estate for Funeral

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:02:35 -0500

At around 7:50 a.m. Pacific time, memorial organizers let the media take cameras inside the Staples Center to shoot images of the flower-edged stage, over which hangs a huge monitor. It read: In Loving Memory Michael Jackson King of Pop 1958 -- 2009 At 7:54, news channels began reporting the motorcade of black limos was starting to pull out of the family compound in Encino, though it was unclear whther they were heading to a reported private family gathering at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, or to the Staples Center downtown, where the memorial extravaganza is to being at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. in Washington).

LA Mayoral Aide Seeks Contributions for Funeral Costs

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:35:32 -0500

Journalists wondering all morning how the cash-strapped city of Los Angeles was going to pay for all those cops outside the Staples Center and other city services surrounding today's memorial got their answer when Matt Szabo, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's senior press secretary, began panhandling at the site. "Los Angeles is a world-class city that's used to putting on world class events" but is "not immune to the recession" Szabo told CNN's Heidi Collins. "We're asking Michael Jackson fans to help be a part of this event - to contribute online and literally support this great memorial." "Is that the first place you went - to fans?" Collins asked, sounding, understandably, confounded. "Have you spoken with the Jackson family or [concert promoter and memorial producer] AEG?" Szabo began to dance: "It is our understanding AEG is putting on this entire event. What we're concerned about is paying for all

Morning Shows: Memorial Service Will Include Casket

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:43:02 -0500

Michael Jackson's casket will be front and center during today's memorial service, morning infotainment shows reported early this morning. The presence of the actual remains of the King of Pop, who died suddenly and suspiciously last week at age 50, means "crowd control could become an even bigger issue," said "Today's" Meredith Vieira. Jackson family spokesperson Ken Sunshine, interviewed by Viera, refused to confirm or deny any reports about the casket. But he did want Meredith to know that the Jackson family "has shown extraordinary dignity in a very emotional time" and that "Michael Jackson is the biggest figure emitting love ever." "Has anybody been to a wedding or family event when a Michael Jackson or Jackson Five song came on it wasn't the highlight of the event?" he asked rhetorically. All the morning news/entertainment shows were anchoring their broadcasts from Los Angeles this morning, even though it was still

Michael Jackson TV Watercooler

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:55:58 -0500

From Nielsen, here's a greatest-hits list of Michael Jackson TV appearances: Notable Michael Jackson TV Apperances NETWORK DATE SHOW DETAILS VIEWERS ABC 2/6/2003 20/20 Special Controversial documentary on Jackson by Martin Bashir 27,111,000 CBS 12/28/2003 60 Minutes Ed Bradley interviews Michael Jackson 18,784,000 CBS 11/13/2001 30th Anniv Special Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Special 25,731,000 ABC 6/14/1995 Primetime Live Diane Sawyer interviews Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley 37,532,000 MTV 9/8/1994 MTV Video Music Awards Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley debut as husband/wife 5,359,000 ABC 2/10/1993 Oprah Winfrey Special Oprah and Jackson Interview 62,289,000 NBC 1/31/1993 Super Bowl XXVII Michael Jackson Super Bowl halftime show 90,990,000 Source: The Nielsen Company, which has some other interesting Jackson-related graphs.

Michael Jackson Marathon

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:13:37 -0500

Can't get enough Michael Jackson on TV? You're in luck: TODAY * noon: VH1 Classic Jackson music video tribute runs through midnight Sunday. * 7 p.m.: MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew" featuring Michael Jackson music. * 8 p.m.: TV One's "Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration" two-hour all-star concert salute. * 9 p.m.: CNN's "Larry King Live" Michael Jackson tribute. * 9 p.m.: ABC's special "20/20," "Michael Jackson: The Man and His Music," starting with his 1968 Motown audition tape. *10:30 p.m.: VH1's "Michael Jackson: King of Videos" video tribute. SATURDAY * 10:30 a.m.: E!'s "E! News Special: Michael & Farrah: Lost Icons" two-star mashup. * 12 p.m.: TV One's "The Jacksons: An American Dream" five-hour miniseries tracing the singer's life. (Also airs tomorrow on TV Land at 2 p.m.) * 7:30 p.m.: BET's "Forever the King: A Tribute to Michael Jackson" features recollections from celebrities and fans. * 8

All Obituary Thursday

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:14:51 -0500

*ABC and NBC are going virtually all-obit in primetime tonight. Both networks are airing dueling Farrah Fawcett specials at 10 p.m. Fawcett died this morning at St. John's hospital in Santa Monica after a long battle with cancer. ABC's "Farrah Fawcett: Her Life, Her Loves, Her Legacy" had originally been scheduled for Friday but got moved up a day after news reports said she was not expected to survive today. Several hours later, NBC announced it would air a news-division produced "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel" in the same timeslot. But Farrah's not-unexpected death got totally eclipsed this afternoon by the shocking death of Michael Jackson, 50, at his Holmby Hills home in West Los Angeles. Not long thereafter, both networks announced dueling Michael Jackson tributes for the 9 p.m. hour. CBS, which had decided to pass on a Farrah Fawcett special tonight and was sticking

ABC News, NBC News Fight Over Farrah's Carcass

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:05:41 -0500

ABC News and NBC News have been fighting over Farrah Fawcett's carcass today. It all started at 10:18 a.m. ET today when ABC News announced that sources close to Farrah had told Barbara Walters "these could be her final hours." Of course we now know Farrah died at St. John's hospital in Santa Monica around 9:30 a.m. But anyway, based on Babs's tip, ABC decided its "20/20" special about "the life, love and legacy of actress and iconic beauty...who appears to be in her final days," might appear a tad stale by its Friday airdate. So ABC announced that special would instead air tonight at 10. Then, at around 3:30 p.m., NBC sent out an email alerting the press NBC News would air a Fawcett special -- also at 10 p.m. tonight. This will put NBC News's "Farrah Fawcett: The Life and Death of an Angel" in head-to-head combat with

Gov. Sanford: Answer to Late Night Hosts' Prayers

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:16:39 -0500

Late night hosts prayed for fresh material. And god gave them Gov. Sanford: Craig Ferguson on "Late Late Show": Conan O'Brien on "Tonight Show": Dave Letterman on "Late Show": Stephen Colbert on "The Colbert Report": Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show":

Academy Awards Boosts Best Pix Noms in Vie for Viewers

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:22:14 -0500

The motion picture academy hopes it has figured out a way to attract more viewers to its Academy Awards broadcast on ABC - up the number of Best-Flick nominees from 5 to 10. That way, fans of 10 films, instead of fans of five films, will tune in to see if their fave flick wins The Big One. Take that, Golden Globes! It's not really a new concept - back in the really old days ('30s and 40s) the Best Picture derby was jammed with nominees, including nine years with 10 noms and even a couple years with a dozen contenders. FYI, the academy ended the practice after the 1943 Academy Awards - the year "Casablanca" was named best picture. Casablanca" (which, in case you just came out from under a flat rock, is a great WWII flick that starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet,

Sarah Palin's Traveling 'David Letterman's A Pervert' Tour

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:15:33 -0500

Alaska's Governess Sarah Palin took her David Letterman Is A Pervert Media Tour to NBC and CNN on Friday. On NBC's morning infotainment show, "Today," she told Matt Lauer how she'd found out Letterman had made a "comment" Monday on his CBS late-night show "about the statutory rape of my 14-year-old daughter, Willow." Palin kicked off her David Letterman Is A Pervert Tour on Tuesday, the morning after Letterman, on his CBS late-night show, made some cracks about Palin's visit to his hometown of New York City . Letterman noted that an "awkward moment" for Palin had occurred when she and her family were attending a Yankees baseball game and "her daughter was knocked-up by [third baseman] Alex Rodriguez" during the seventh-inning stretch. Palin and her husband, Todd, responded the next day with coordinating comments, in which they called Letterman's raunchy joke "sexually perverted" and a reminder that "some

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Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:15:33 -0500

MTV Discovers It's Coming to Washington for Next "Real World"

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:03:17 -0500

MTV finally got around to confirming what we've known for ages: the 23rd season of "The Real World" will explore the finer points of binge drinking and friends-with-benefits in our fair city of Washington, D.C. (Marissa Newhall -- The Washington Post) MTV said production starts "in the summer of 2009," which is, um, now. The D.C. edition will premiere "in 2010" is all MTV would say. "In a time when our country has witnessed the impact and spirit of our nation's young people, it is a pleasure to welcome MTV and 'The Real World' cast to the District of Columbia as they utilize the immense opportunities that the District's backdrop will undoubtedly provide," Major Adrian Fenty said in MTV's announcement. Or, as MTV programming chief Tony DiSanto put it: "The charged atmosphere of Washington D.C., the center of our country's social and political change, will provide an electric setting

Dave Bites Conan

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:32:15 -0500

CBS late-night star David Letterman took off his gloves and pounded his new NBC rival Conan O'Brien in preliminary ratings Tuesday night. Letterman clocked 3.4 percent of the TV homes in the metered markets, which represent about 70 percent of the country. Conan snagged 2.9 percent. It's the first time since Conan debuted as new host of "Tonight Show" that Dave has whomped him. On Monday night, Dave had come close but Conan eeked out another win in the early stats (final ratings for this week won't be available until a week from this Thursday because that's how Nielsen rolls). Many things worked in Dave's favor Tuesday night, starting with his guest, Julia Roberts -- a late night ratings magnet -- and the Black Eyed Peas. Conan's guest was Eddie Murphy, who is also a very good "get" but, let's face it, no Julia Roberts. Conan also had on

Washington: "Real"-er by the minute

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:17:39 -0500

Late last week, we brought word that MTV's creaky "Real World" -- the series that is now older than MTV's target audience -- is finally coming to explore the finer points of binge drinking in our fair city of Washington, D.C. Over the weekend, Web sleuths skulked around a big ol'-heap-of-ugly brick house in Dupont Circle that has been rumored to be the Real World House. It's at 2000 S St. If you drive by, it's the one that's infested with construction workers. In the latest development, the Post's intrepid Reliable Source team tracked down the superdeveloper who owns the joint: "The Real World: Dupont"? We Ask the Owner

"Tony, She Won"

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:32:25 -0500

The return of Angela Lansbury -- patron saint of CBS -- drove 7.5 million viewers to the network's Sunday broadcast of the 63rd annual Tony Awards. That's the trophy show's biggest audience in three years and second biggest in the last five. The three-hour orgy of excess -- the trophy show opened with a montage of the season's musicals, including Elton John at the piano, Liza Minnelli singing, Dolly Parton with performers from "9 to 5," and the cast of Hair performing "Let the Sun Shine In" -- was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris -- star of CBS's youngest skewing series, "How I Met Your Mother." CBS's Tonycast turned out to be Practically Perfect Counterprogramming to ABC's broadcast of the NBA Finals featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. That's as opposed to the other broadcast networks, which went with the Roll Over Play Dead strategy Sunday

D.C.'s "Blonde Charity Mafia" Deemed Too Good for Summer

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:04:09 -0500

The CW network has pulled "Blonde Charity Mafia" -- the first of a trilogy of reality series that will celebrate celebrating the fabulousness of Washington -- from its summer schedule. But wait -- it's not what you think! CW did not pull the show, about a bunch of 20-something alpha chicks who allegedly "run the D.C. social circuit," because the show is so bad. Nope, they pulled it because it's so good. Or at least something CW thought people would watch. Word is Dawn Ostroff, CW programming chief, liked the six half-hours that have been ordered and knew that, in a summer run, the network could not really give the show the kind of marketing and support it merited. So, instead of debuting July 7, as planned, "Blonde Charity Mafia" -- or "BCM," as it's called in the halls of CW -- is going to be held to run some