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David Letterman’s blackmailer gets gig on Paula Zahn show (Reuters)
Reuters – Robert “Joe” Halderman, the former CBS News producer who went to jail for trying to blackmail David Letterman, has secured a job at “On the Case with Paula Zahn,” a weekly news magazine on the Investigation Discovery Channel.
TV show on Muslims takes on Sept. 11 attacks (AP)
AP – A television show about members of a Muslim community in Michigan is focusing what may be its second-to-last episode almost entirely on the conflicted feelings that its featured participants have about marking anniversaries of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
CNN launching new morning shows a week ahead of CBS (Reuters)
Reuters – CNN will launch two new morning shows Monday, a week ahead of CBS’s revamped morning show.
CBS wins on an all-rerun night (Reuters)
Reuters – CBS won in the ratings Wednesday on a night when the Big 4 networks ran nothing but reruns, according to preliminary numbers.
Top cable programs for Dec. 19-25 (AP)
AP – Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Dec. 19-25. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:
Clark celebrates 40 years rocking New Year’s Eve (AP)
AP – Forty years ago, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve special was created to give young people an alternative to a seasonal institution, bandleader Guy Lombardo.
"Game of Thrones" author posts excerpt from new book (Reuters)
Reuters – Fans of novelist George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy series are melting. The “Game of Thrones” author just released a previously unpublished sample chapter from the upcoming sixth installment, “The Winds of Winter,” on his Website.
Winfrey: Dedicated to OWN despite rocky first year (AP)
AP – Oprah Winfrey earned the rare opportunity to convert her media charisma into a monogramed TV channel. Now she’s the one tasked with rescuing OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, after a disappointing first year.
Nielsen’s top programs for Dec. 19-25 (AP)
AP – Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 19-25. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
In up and down year for cable news, Fox dominates (AP)
AP – It was a good year in the ratings for cable news networks. Or a rough one. It depends on your perspective.
