TV Station Pitches Reality Show

[Conelrad]

KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler Texas pitching a reality show featuring oft-scantily clad Amber Smith as anchor.

General manager says "We need ratings. It's as simple as that."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgzryestNwE&search=cbs%2019

lol

[McFish]

First Stormy the Weather Dog... now this.

Is Amber anchoring there now?

[Buffalo Soldier]

Just when you thought tv news could not sink lower. My only thought as to why anyone would do this, is so they can get a lot of negative attention, then make it look like they're blessed with the power of integrity when they "clean house" while a large audience applauds.

Crazy manipulative bs.

[Kace]

Just imagine if that Terre Haute place was doing this.

[tvcigar]

speechless i am

[Buffalo Soldier]

Uh, I thought maybe this is a well produced hoax.
There's nothing about Amber on the Channell 19 homepage. And you think they'd kind of have a photo.

Maybe it was an April fools joke?

Or what's the deal, they're not going to hire Amber unless the reality show's picked up?

That makes the whole idea even worse that I first thought.

http://www.cbs19.tv/newsteam.php?PHPSESSID=db94b774c7d11763a7132930521 14545

But now I see that she did shoot an Anchorwoman pilot for Fox.

http://msn-uk.imdb.com/name/nm0807291/bio

So what's the deal? Was she ever really on the air pretending to be a journalist?

This isn't a reality show. It's entirely fiction.

[The Fedora]

Good God I hope this was a Hoax...

[Buffalo Soldier]

I've emailed the link to Jane Slater at the CBS station in Tyler. We'll see if she responds.

[Conelrad]

it was pitched to fox as a possible reality show, from what i heard, but she never actually anchored the news. this was scripted stuff for fox. if they picked it up, then it would have actually happened.

[Nanook of the North]

That's got to be one of the most unethical things I've ever seen in TV news! What kind of credibility can a station keep or expect to attain when this stuff gets out? As for KLTV Channel 7, way to go! This is good stuff for you guys. What few viewers CBS19 has will surely come back when word of this gets out.

[AlterEgo]

CBS 19 will do almost anything to get those LT's out of the ratings books for their newscasts.

[Fearmonger]

Wait a minute she's the hot anchorbabe who simply sits and reads what the producers write for her. What's the big deal? I do smell a hoax here somewhere....

We've got Jillian in L.A. What's the difference?

TV News is all about showmanship and ratings, right?

[Conelrad]

positively not a hoax. this piece pokes fun at Tyler and makes viewers out to be hicks. In fact, some of the shots of "small town" are of outlying communities. There is never a shot of downtown Tyler itself, not that impressive, but at least tall buildings.

the problem is the GM is a very well connected person in this town. Not just a few, but the ENTIRE Tyler leadership and "connected folks" would take offense to this. Especially the Rose Queen thing. "Congratulations, Rose Queen?" You'd have to have lived in Tyler to realize how many people would be ticked off by that.

This was never intended to see the light of day. It apparently took a few months, because one of the people sittng at the anchor desk left the station months ago.

[Anne Bonney]

Hmmm - let's see, earn 6 figures posing for Playboy ... or anchor for peanuts in a little Texas town? What is a super model to do? ;)

I think it's a hoax, you guys.

[sportzchick]

Oh. My. Gawd.

[e4effort]

so sad that we actually have to wonder if this is a hoax. If this biz had any integrity left we'd instantly know it was a joke. Instead everyone (me included) is like "hmmm, maybe they really did..."

I shoulda gone to law school.
graemlins/face_banghead.gif graemlins/face_banghead.gif graemlins/face_banghead.gif

[AlterEgo]

I've been told by a person who worked there that this most certainly was not a hoax. They are constantly getting 1 or 2 in the ratings book at news time...and that is only if their viewership was large enough to measure. Many times they get the "evil arrows." They seriously are desperate for ratings and desperate for money. I could say more, but I might get in too much trouble.

[Eeps Snorps Now]

That's what it will take if they ever intend to even take a nick out of KLTV. And I doubt they'd get a nick past the first day's curiosity tune-in.

[chuckbrown]

FYI, The ratings they received in the May book for Late news actually tied the NBC affiliate in Adults 25-54. This station has been doing news only since September 04 has had already tied a station that has had a news product for over 20 years. They are doing something right!!

As for needing money, the BCF is fine. There are a few other stations who's parent filed bankruptcy recently but not CBS19.

I just wanted to clear these things up. Now go back to doing the weather, Morgan.

[AlterEgo]

Originally posted by chuckbrown:
FYI, The ratings they received in the May book for Late news actually tied the NBC affiliate in Adults 25-54. This station has been doing news only since September 04 has had already tied a station that has had a news product for over 20 years. They are doing something right!!

As for needing money, the BCF is fine. There are a few other stations who's parent filed bankruptcy recently but not CBS19.

I just wanted to clear these things up. Now go back to doing the weather, Morgan.Morgan who smarto

[Buffalo Soldier]

As offensive as I find the premise, I have to admit, I'd watch the reality show had Fox picked it up.

[chuckbrown]

Morgan Palmer... Weather Guy for KLTV. The one who started this thread. Thanks for calling me smart!

[ June 25, 2006, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: chuckbrown ]

[Avatara]

Fox has ordered up six episodes of Anchorwoman from Studio 21 and starring Amber Smith. This hybrid reality/scripted series is about a supermodel who returns home to Texas and becomes the anchorwoman for the local news station.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Conelrad:
[QB]KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler Texas pitching a reality show featuring oft-scantily clad Amber Smith as anchor.

General manager says "We need ratings. It's as simple as that."

[The Thrill]

This idea makes Baby Jebus cry.

In other news, my head a splode.

[Zapata]

Something else to make people lose trust in local news. This is the worst.

[LittleBabyPuppy]

The original YouTube link isn't working anymore.

I remember watching that promo last year, and it was funny funny stuff. Anyone know where it could be found?

[TheGreenJacket]

This was a Christmas reel gig for KLTV a few years ago. The voice over is done by Joe Terrell, KLTV Anchor. Get it together people. The biggest employer in Tyler is a Baptist Church. That ain't gonna fly.

[BlackEagle08]

CBS 19 lead story tonight on the 6pm was that "Anchorwoman" has been picked up by FOX for 6 episodes. This was not a joke and "GreenJacket" I believe you are incorrect about Joe doing the voiceover. If he did, it was after the promo had hit youtube and he did it for the KLTV staffers as a joke.

[McFish]

Check out the story here:
http://www.cbs19.tv/story-2280.htm

[clif73]

Do these people not understand that the show is going to do nothing but make fun of Tyler and that TV station. How in the world can that be a good thing?

[McFish]

but according to the story, it will bring in MILLIONS to the economy :rolleyes:

[Paper Trail]

News Station In Tyler Subject Of Reality Show
By Greg Junek (http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070321/NEWS05/703210306)
Business Editor

Tyler citizens and their community could be part of a national television reality show as early as this summer, showcasing a Tyler television news department and the coverage of daily events.

On Tuesday, Phil Hurley, president and general manager of KYTX "CBS 19," told the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce board the Fox network had ordered six episodes of the comedy, "Anchorwoman," to be shot at the CBS 19 studios.

The show is 100 percent reality, Hurley and producer Brian Gadinsky said. Gadinsky, owner and president of The G Group in Hollywood and the first "American Idol" producer, is under contract to produce the six episodes.

Cameras will follow model and actress Lauren Jones through the ropes of learning what it takes to cut it in the small- to mid-size town television news business.

"Anchorwoman" will not have a cast; the other "characters" will be CBS 19 personnel and people in Tyler and East Texas.

"Out of about 100 television stations, CBS 19 was selected as the site and the backdrop of the series," Hurley said.

Ms. Jones will be a CBS 19 employee and perhaps start as a producer and work her way up to the anchor chair, he said. She will be required to follow the station's path of advancement to each level.

That includes producing, reporting and using a news camera, Hurley said.

Also, members of the station's news team appearing on the show will be monetarily compensated, he said.

Hurley told the chamber board that each episode of "Anchor-woman" has a $600,000 budget.

"Multiply that by six. He's going to be doing some business with you folks in Tyler, Texas, and all of East Texas," he said. "They're going to be bringing quite a bit of money here, and it's going to be spent in the community."

Gadinsky said the crew will need cars, food, lodging and other necessities while in Tyler.

"Also, there is going to be opportunities for your business to be included in the show, at your choice, of course," he said.

Last year, footage with a different actress, Hurley and some of the station's news team was posted on YouTube. Some who saw the footage said they found it unflattering to Tyler.

Hurley said the footage was a "spec tape," not a pilot, and it was posted on the public site "by my competitors." He said Gadinsky ordered the video removed from YouTube and it was.

Gadinsky's company produced the footage, but CBS 19 deemed it unacceptable and turned it down, Hurley said.

Since then, he said, Fox has assured the station "the show will do nothing to embarrass the station or embarrass the city."

Gadinsky said he loves Tyler, and Tuesday was about the fifth time he has visited the city. He said although he lives in Los Angeles, he does not believe he fits the Hollywood stereotype.

If somebody wants to say anything about the show, "the buck stops with me; you're not going to be dealing with a big, disembodied network," Gadinsky said. "If you have a request or an issue, you can deal directly with me."

A Jackson, Miss., native, Ms. Jones has appeared on the soap opera "Guiding Light," and was cast as one of the new Barker's Beauties on "The Price is Right." She will also appear in "Spiderman 3."

She is a magazine cover model and bikini model and was a World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler and "Smackdown diva."

"She's a wonderful human being and she's got that star quality; she's got that charisma," Gadinsky said. "I think you all will love her."

Gadinsky said he grew up working in local news, and the zaniness found in a local TV news station helped make that period the best in his career.

"I thought what a great idea it would be to take a station in a middle to smaller market and bring in an anchorwoman who has no experience, who wants to be a star," he said. "There's this whole fish-out-of-water tale to be told."

Elements could include how Ms. Jones reacts to Tyler and how people react to her, how the newsroom is affected by somebody who means well but has no experience, Gadinsky said. Another element could be what Ms. Jones' social and community life is like when she is in Tyler.

Shooting should begin in May. Hurley said he has heard the process would probably take about six weeks.

Gadinsky said Fox has not committed to an air date, but it is likely the shows will air mid- to late summer or in January.

The show will be shot by a separate crew, not the CBS 19 crew, Hurley said. Because it will be a Fox show, all signs and references to the station being a CBS affiliate will be removed for the shooting.

[Clever Login Name]

"I thought what a great idea it would be to take a station in a middle to smaller market and bring in an anchorwoman who has no experience, who wants to be a star," he said. "There's this whole fish-out-of-water tale to be told."
Who says there are no more original ideas on t-v? :rolleyes:

http://www.laurenjones.net/images/home.jpg

[Clever Login Name]

I'd also like to add that I'm still not exactly clear on how this is supposed to work. Are they going to/supposed to treat her the same as any other new hire, or is she only going to spend a few days in any given job before "moving up"? How realistic is that? And is the station under any obligation to put her on air in a certain time frame? If so, what does that say to your viewing public about your credibility? What a horrendously bad idea for this station to agree to ... it's a serious challenge to the old adage "there's no such thing as bad publicity".

[chuckbrown]

I don't believe that she will ever be seen on-air by the viewers. If they do put her in the anchor chair this can certainly be done in a mock setting" From what I've read this "reality show" (quotes to emphasize that none of these shows are real anymore) will use the station primarily as their set. She will interact with the staff but none will necessarily be seen by the public until it hits the Fox airwaves.

[BlackEagle08]

I don't know chuck....they do let Judy Jordan anchor the 5pm....someone who should have stayed in retirement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjHt6--eLXs

[ March 21, 2007, 01:35 PM: Message edited by: BlackEagle08 ]