Ryan's return
Jim Ryan didn't expect the bagpipe corps—drawn from the New York Department of Sanitation—and the confetti-strewn welcome he received last week when he returned to WNYW(TV)'s Good Day New York, two months after the longtime anchor had triple-bypass surgery. Ryan, 61, asked if the on-air reception was too
exciting, joked, "I only had a small piece of cake."
Ryan felt a pain across his back in May and and checked in for surgery with the famed Dr. Wayne Isom. He returned last Monday overwhelmed by well-wishers. "You don't realize the power of this medium," Ryan says. "The number of people whose lives you touch and who will respond to your own in such a lovely way."
Graham revisited
Remember the summer of love? If not, A&E network's 1,000th Biography
will help, recalling rock impresario Bill Graham, whose Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco was where it was at in the late '60s. The A&E program, produced by Black Canyon Productions, a unit of Clear Channel Entertainment, airs tonight at 8 EST (it's repeated, however). Among the attendees at a benefit screening June 30 (l-r) were George Roy, of Black Canyon; Joel Felk, of Clear Channel Entertainment; Jack Casady, of the Jefferson Airplane; Marc Kinderman, of Black Canyon; rock legend Carlos Santana; Jorma Kaukonen, of the Jefferson Airplane; Mickey Hart, of The Grateful Dead; and David and Alex Graham, sons of the late Bill Graham and trustees of his foundation.
Martha slipping
Ratings for Martha Stewart Living
have held up year to year, as we reported last week, but, for the second week in a row, Stewart was a no-show at The Early Show
on CBS, where she has—or has had—a regular segment every Wednesday morning. Maybe again, someday.
Now there's evidence that the insider-trading flap is affecting her popularity. CNN political pollster Bill Schneider last week reported that, for the first time since the ImClone story broke, "the public has turned negative, 39 [percent] to 30 [percent], unfavorable" toward her.
Schneider told CNN's Judy Woodruff, "Apparently, most Americans don't think she is perfect anymore."
Media Biz Quiz
1. When it debuts Aug. 4, Anna Nicole Smith's new show for E!, in which a camera follows her around
Osbournes
-style, will feature:
A) her dog, Sugar Pie
B) an admission she hasn't had sex in two years
C) her purple-haired assistant
D) all of the above
2.Pulse,
the Fox Network's summernews-magazine show that debuted last week, features a commentary segment from Bill O'Reilly titled:
A) "A Small Handful of Opinions Modified Each Week to Fit the Circumstances"
B) "Who's Annoying Me Now?"
C) "You Want a Knuckle Sandwich, Bub?"
D) "Republicans Are Your Father; Democrats Are Your Mother"
3. According to
The New York Post,
during the local-news break on
The Early Show
last week on CBS, host Jane Clayson, who used to be teamed with Bryant Gumbel, and guest host Deborah Norville, who also used to work with Gumbel, chit-chatted about what part of Gumbel's body?
A) his manicured hands
B) his big ears
C) his unusually fat ankles
D) all of the above
Answers: 1, D; 2, B; 3, A
