NBC's Ad-lympic Weekend

And so it began - the 2010 Winter Olympics on NBC. For weeks now, the network has been whining about how much cash they're going to lose ($250 mil). I guess that's why they're airing hours and hours of ads occasionally interrupted with sporting events.

Part of the problem going in was there was no big-name star, specifically a female figure skater. Gone are the days of ice princesses Peggy Flemming and Kristi Yamaguchi, drama queens Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Divas and drama are the basic concepts that reality/competition shows thrive on. This year, there's nothing. And unlike a reality show, the producers can't really create anything, either.

So, no skating queen. And there are very few athletes who are household names. Taking all of this into consideration, NBC projected a loss. I suppose to compensate for cheaper ads, they sold more time. I'm only supposing this because all weekend the ad-time seemed to be more important that any of the games. During pairs figure skating, they'd cut to commercials before scores were announced. Moguls and luge, each about 25-seconds per run, were given two runs before a 60-second break. It is impossible to build any anticipation or excitement when every 30 seconds it's broken up with an ad for E*trade, Coke, or McDonalds.

NBC's Olympic problem stands for the whole network: They don't know how to build a good program block without getting in the way.

Super Bowl Ads 2010

Ah, yes, it's that special time of year where millions of people actually look forward to commercials. We all know how much money companies shell out for 15 or 30-second spots. Expectations are high. And now that the Neilsen numbers are out (and HUGE: 106 million people, beating out M*A*S*H as the most watched program EVER), these ads got major exposure. But were they any good?

Mmmm, not so much. About 85% of the ads were absolutely terrible: Set-ups with no punch, stupid instead of stupid-funny, or just plain dull (the Denny's chickens? Really?)

The best of the best? Betty White, no contest, although by the end of the game, we all forgot what the ad was for (Snickers). Great visuals, clear explanation, awesome tag.

Honorable mention goes to "The Late Show." Yes, it was cool seeing Dave, Oprah, and Jay all together. There could have been another joke or line in there to finalize the ad. It just ended awkwardly. But that star power all on one couch was impressive.

Worst? Hard to say. Dove for Men was pretty lame. Teleflora wasn't anything we haven't seen before. And personally, I'm not digging the new E*trade baby. Oh and those chickens...

The major themes this year were old people (Betty, future Brett Favre, the Boost Mobile "Shuffle" crew), and dumb men (Bud Light Book Club, multiple Doritos spots, "I Wear No Pants,").

Overall, kind of a disappointing year for ads. And there were over 45 minutes of them. Maybe next year will be better.

You can watch and rate all the Super Bowl 2010 ads here.

The Worst is Yet to Come for NBC's Late Night

As if the current situation isn't bad enough, NBC now knows where the industry stands: Team Coco all the way.

The PR nightmare drowning "The Tonight Show" worsened thanks to the Hollywood elite at last night's Golden Globe ceremonies. Ricky Gervais's comment during his monologue was expected. Arnold's jab was quaint. But it was during the red carpet walk where barbs flew from some very telling sources.

In reference to the rain that was pouring from the sky yesterday afternoon in L.A., Tina Fey said it was "God crying for NBC." Fey is known for speaking her mind about the network that employs her. In an Emmy acceptance speech, she thanked NBC for keeping "30 Rock" on the air, despite its cost compared to a talk show -- a not-so-subtle jab at NBC's reasoning for giving Leno an hour of prime time every night.

But the bigger concern for the future of "The Tonight Show" came from two stars whose celebrity status is above the "A-list."

When approached by NBC red carpet "correspondent" (I use that term loosely), Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks double-teamed the network. Julia started with claiming NBC was "in the toilet" right now. Hanks chimed in with "NBC said the rain would start at 10pm, and then they moved it to 11:30."

While these might have come off cute little quips by two well-liked stars, there may be more there then meets the eye (ear?).

Last night's ceremony is a giant, red flag for NBC. The industry came out for Conan. They took it personally because it could've happened to any one of them. And it's true that the industry's general opinion usually doesn't matter in television, that's not really the case for a variety show. "The Tonight Show" works from a careful balance between guests and viewers, with the host in charge of keeping the balance. The host must remain consistent but guests create those "must-see" and "YouTube" moments. If the vibe stays, Leno may find himself scrounging for guests.

NBC is in major trouble. Unitl they're ready to invest time, creativity, and yes, money into their schedule, their ratings won't be moving much.

Best of luck, Comcast.

Walter Cronkite vs. Today's Journalism

The journalism world lost one if it’s few heroes tonight. Walter Cronkite, journalist and CBS Evening News anchor for nearly 20 years, died at the age of 92.

The name might not be familiar to viewers today. What with our numerous networks of 24-hour coverage and up-to-the second updating online, it would be surprising if anyone under the age of 30 could name just two network news anchors. But there was a time when a significant portion of the population got their news from one source: Walter.

Maybe that was why Cronkite was completely objective in his reporting. Or maybe that was just the way journalism was back then. The proof of his objectivity? Just look at his most memorable anchoring moments…

There was the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Cronkite was a huge believer in the space program, and guided American without condescension through the complicated technologies behind NASA’s launches. And when those astronauts finally set foot on the moon, Walter looked on with admiration as a tear came to his eye, a happy tear.

But a sad tear came when Cronkite reported the devastating news of the death of JFK. Walter had only been on CBS for a little over a year at that point. And it proved to be his defining moment, a moment that would follow him throughout his career. Solemnly, he told the nation that the President of the United States had died. He didn’t break down. He took in the news with the rest of the country, but he was visibly upset by the news. He was simply reflecting what the rest of the country was feeling – that this was tragedy.

One of Cronkite’s boldest moves was in 1968 after he toured Vietnam on a “fact finding” mission. The war was not going well. A backlash was slowly brewing in the public. When Walter arrived back, he made a special commentary where he deemed the war a stalemate, at best, for the US. This was a huge step away from the rigid objectivity he practiced. Not long afterward, Lyndon Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Johnson’s reason? “If I lost Cronkite, I’ve lost middle America.”

These moments were memorable not only because of the sheer newsworthiness of the events, but because they were a few brief televised moments where Cronkite’s unshakable anchoring was clearly shaken.

We have no singular anchor figure today. The closest we had was in the eighties and nineties with Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings anchoring their network news desks. They stayed with us through 9/11, offering their familiar voices and faces to help a nation understand what had happened. But after that, the “anchor” image shattered, split into a million little pieces across cable channels and Internet videos.

Journalism today is all about the immediate, the opinions, and the entertainment value. That could simply be a repercussion of the media today. The Internet is now. Everyone can communicate with everyone else in a heartbeat. Pundits snapping at one another pull in ratings. Now, in a time where the country is divided by petty politics, where we’re at war in the Middle East for reasons we still don’t know, where our economy is down, we need a figure like Walter Cronkite to trust. To tell us exactly what’s going on without bias or fact-skewing. Cronkite made his break at a time where America was very skeptical. We need someone with the same integrity and the same values in journalism to help us through these times. To keep us together.

There was only one Walter Cronkite. We can only hope this generation finds that one media figure to trust.