Patt Morrison Fri, 1/2

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, January 2, 2009

1-3 p.m.

 

1:00 – 1:30

OPEN

 

 

 

1:30 – 2:00

A Look Back at the 2008 TV Season and What's on the Tube for '09

TV is changing so fast it's hard to keep track. The major networks, both broadcast and cable, continue working hard to capture the vibe of the next Sopranos, or Seinfeld, with mixed success. NBC is moving Jay Leno to prime time....what impact will that have on expensive sitcoms and hour-long dramas? Meanwhile, new distribution methods such as YouTube and Hulu are changing the very way people watch TV. Conventional cable and airwave broadcasts are almost quaint now, with computer streaming rapidly replacing them. What can we expect to see moving forwards on our televisions and laptops?  And how will that influence content, when anybody can distribute a show to everybody via the Internet?

 

Guests:

Cynthia Littleton, deputy editor of news at Variety

Call her @

• Highlights of the year: Final episode of The Wire, The Shield, Big Bang Theory, How I met your Mother, the Mentalist, True Blood, Dexter, Friday Night Lights
• Quality wise: it's impossible to compare to previous years, but we had some stand out shows. Many shows have made a big splash.
• But commercially a tough year for everybody, but the sky is falling is overheated...new tech and hangover from writers strike hurts. Narrow slice of a younger audience for everyone. It's micro-slice of the audience. It's a real challenge.

 

Virginia Heffernan, writes "The Medium" Column for the New York Times Sunday Magazine

She'll call on line #9                 

• People are just finding solutions to how they want to watch TV.
• Networks are engaging the Internet, although there's some resistance to giving up the whole big production, LA-show runner model of TV production.
• Conflict between producers who are ad driven in their thinking and those who are user driven.

 

 

 

[NPR NEWS]

 

 

2:00 – 2:20

OPEN

 

 

 

 

2:20 – 2:30

Rovers Celebrate Five Years on Mars

January 3^rd marks the five-year anniversary of Spirit’s arrival on the red planet; Opportunity knocked at Mars’ door a few weeks later.  The rovers were only expected to operate for about three months, but both have continued to function, even through frigid cold and dust storms.  Their explorations have gleaned, among other things, evidence that liquid water once existed on Mars.  JPL has further plans for the rovers in 2009; we’ll find out where they’re headed from Project Manager John Callas.

 

Guests:

John Callas, Mars Exploration Rovers Project Manager

Call him @

 

 

 

 

2:30 – 3:00

We Need to Talk

Catherine Blyth says, "Conversation is the most fun you can have for free, without catching a disease."  And fun she has with her delightful tips on listening, talking shop and even surviving conversational bores, all contained in her new book, "The Art of Conversation."  In one ploy to redirect a bullying brother-in-law, she recommends interrupting him with flattery - ""I so agree. That's why I do X…"  Seek advice, offer praise. If the ranting continues, smile and, as China’s hallowed Thirty-Six Stratagems advises: "Relax while the enemy exhausts himself.""  Blyth shares her conversation arsenal and tells us how we can best "deal with bores, chores, and other conversational beasts."

Guests:

Catherine Blyth, writer and editor.  Her new book is "The Art of Conversation:  A Guided Tour of a Neglected Pleasure."

CALL HER @