CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- A television news anchor appeared on the air nude in a first-person report about an artist's photographs, drawing a record number of viewers for the time slot, the station said.There's a headshot of her with the CNN piece. Maybe more news programs should "boost their ratings" by showing more "art pieces" like this one. Yeah. Right. Good idea. At least the station admits it's pandering.
Sharon Reed was one of hundreds of people who participated in Spencer Tunick's nude photo installation in Cleveland in June. Her report, shown Monday on the 11 p.m. newscast on WOIO-TV, showed far away angles of her nude and some closer seminude shots, as well as other participants.
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WOIO news director Steve Doerr said the idea was to cover Tunick, a well-known artist, in a different way. Doerr said the story also was aimed at bringing in ratings during November sweeps when audiences are measured to set advertising rates.
Monday night's newscast received a record 17.1 share, compared with the 13.6 earned during the newscast airing immediately after this year's Super Bowl, according to Broadcasting & Cable, an industry publication.
The station aired advisories before the piece, and FCC spokeswoman Janice Wise on Wednesday said WOIO followed commission rules that prohibit indecent material from being aired on broadcast television from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Doerr said the station received mostly supportive messages from viewers. Reed said she considered it an important story about art.
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CNN: The Kmart-Sears deal - Two of nation's oldest retailers set $11B merger. Will lower prices, better merchandise follow?
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Kmart is buying Sears, Roebuck & Co. for $11 billion in a deal that will marry two of the nation's oldest retailers that had trouble keeping up with the changes in American culture around them.Intriguing and highly relevant to my Antitrust class tomorrow morning. (I already e-mailed the prof.)
The deal, announced Wednesday morning, will create the third-largest retailer in the country. The new company, known as Sears Holdings, will be based at Sears headquarters outside Chicago.
While the new company will operate both Sears and Kmart stores, "several hundred" Kmarts will be converted to Sears, Sears Chairman Alan Lacy said at a news conference. The companies currently operate about 3,500 stores combined.
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Lastly, in a (somewhat) completely expected non-surprise, The Girl has gotten back together with her former ex-fiancee (not that they're engaged again but it wouldn't be too accurate to say ex-fiancee with no qualifier). Again, mildly interesting but not unexpected.
Time for me to start not thinking about the Crim. Pro. homework I haven't done and have to hand in tomorrow afternoon. It's non-graded but I have classes all tomorrow morning so it looks like another 4 or 5-hour sleep, tops. Ah well.