Mr Squiggle, the Man from 93 Crater Crescent, the Moon, turns 50 today. Created by cartoonist and puppeteer Norman Hetherington, who would take children's scribbles and then craft it into a drawing, Mr Squiggle, along with friends Gus the Snail, Bill the Steam Shovel and the ever grumpy Blackboard (whom Mr Squiggle would use as an easel, being told to "Hu-rry u-p, hu-rry u-p" as he did) has been something of an institution for generations of Australian kids. Relive some of the magic...
posted by Effigy2000 on Jun 30, 2009 - 18 comments

ABC News After four years researching for the documentary, Azam told "Good Morning America" that oral sex is as common as kissing for teens and that casual prostitution -- being paid at parties to strip, give sexual favors or have sex -- is far more commonplace than once believed.
posted by eiro0701 on May 29, 2009 - 127 comments

“Let’s get real here. Let’s get Dr. Phil-real here. These new fall shows? We’re going to cancel about 90 percent of them. Maybe more.” At ABC's annual Upfront meeting with advertisers and press, late night host Jimmy Kimmel had a breakdown/"Jerry Maguire" moment/opportunity to use blackmail photos, and rips into the whole practice. Via (the predictibly gleeful) Gawker.
posted by waraw on May 20, 2009 - 103 comments

"How do black women fight crime? They have abortions." "How do you stop a poofter from drowning? You take your foot off his head." These and other 'jokes' featured in an advertisement on The Gruen Transfer, an Australian television program focusing on advertising. The ad, part of a segment called 'The Pitch' which usually produces humorous ads, was banned by the ABC, but the national broadcaster has still allowed it to be viewed online, and hundreds have now seen it. The ad was designed to sell "fat pride", with creator Adam Hunt explaining his motivation behind the ad being to say "if you discriminate against somebody on the basis of their shape then you are no different to someone who is racist, homophobic or anti-Semitic." Debate has raged online if the ad is offensive and discriminatory, as the ABC has declared, and whether or not it was effective. Watch the ad and judge for yourself.
posted by Effigy2000 on May 15, 2009 - 157 comments

Twenty years old this year, fifteen-minute long Australian television programme Media Watch criticises television and print journalism. (Previously).
posted by Fiasco da Gama on May 7, 2009 - 17 comments

After appearing last month on the ABC reality television show 'Wife Swap,' "San Francisco resident Stephen Fowler was forced to resign from the boards of two nonprofits, allegedly received e-mailed death threats and stood on the sidelines as his wife, Renee Stephens, issued a public statement condemning his behavior and asking him to get 'professional help.'...Thanks to online TV and easy access to private information, Fowler's 15 minutes of fame have snowballed beyond his control." "What has generated such wrath is Fowler's condescending treatment of Gayla Long, a mother of four from rural Missouri....In wince-producing remarks, Fowler, who is British, wrote off middle America with such pronouncements as 'Your two languages seem to be bad English and redneck.'" Video highlights - 1, 2. [more inside]
posted by ericb on Feb 21, 2009 - 168 comments

In 1982, the comedy team of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker introduced Police Squad! to network TV viewers. It lasted six episodes before being cancelled. What, you missed it? You weren't even born? Here are episodes two, three, and four. [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Jan 27, 2009 - 84 comments

Newfoundland's Progressive Conservative Premier registered his Anything But Conservative campaign today with Elections Canada. The same agency also deemed that the online vote swap on Facebook is in fact legal. They're hiring.
posted by gman on Sep 17, 2008 - 62 comments

"We don't vote for them, we don't even know their names and we're not quite sure what they do. But they wield enormous influence. They are the power behind the power. They are The Hollowmen." You can watch the Australian Broadcasting Company's new political satire The Hollowmen [warning: sound] on the web. Or you can find it via Bittorrent. (Or if you live down under I suppose you could watch it on ABC 1 Wednesdays at 9pm or ABC 2 Thursdays at 8:30pm.) It's worth a look because it may be the funniest new satire on any English-language network. [more inside]
posted by sdodd on Sep 12, 2008 - 18 comments

ABC reporter arrested in Denver on a sidewalk after filming senators and VIP's at a private meeting with big-money donors. Video here. Asa Eslocker, the reporter in question, is now remaining mum, though he has been working on stories about the influence of lobbyists who throw some pretty lavish parties, including a private performance by Kanye West.
posted by waraw on Aug 28, 2008 - 74 comments

WAAALT! For fans of ABC's show LOST: Keeping track of Michael's annoyingness since....
posted by Fizz on Jun 14, 2008 - 43 comments

Earth2100.tv is a project by ABC (video preview) to solicit ideas from the public and experts about the dangers facing world in the next 100 years. "The world’s brightest minds agree that the “perfect storm” of population growth, resource depletion and climate change could converge with catastrophic results. We need you to bring this story to life."
posted by stbalbach on Jun 13, 2008 - 25 comments

"My name is Mike Wallace. The cigarette is Philip Morris." Before there was 60 Minutes, there was The Mike Wallace Interview. Thirty minutes with Steve Allen, Frank Lloyd Wright, Kirk Douglas, Pearl Buck, and Salvador Dali, to name just a few.
posted by steef on Apr 4, 2008 - 16 comments

The WGA strike has entered its third month. Since New Year's, Worldwide Pants, the Weinstein Co., and United Artists have reached interim deals with the WGA, with rumors of more to come. Microsoft announced new deals with Hollywood companies. And on Friday, ABC Studios terminated deals with more than a dozen writers. Tonight, CBS, NBC, and 20th Century Fox have followed suit. Names of producers, writers, and shows affected are still being revealed as letters are received. Force majeure. [more inside]
posted by Tehanu on Jan 14, 2008 - 169 comments

How do you fit Fred "Rerun" Berry, Shaun Cassidy, Howard Cosell, Kate Jackson, Hal Linden, Penny Marhsall, Kristy McNichol, Donny & Marie, Parker Stevenson, Dick Van Patten, Adam Rich, Abe Vigoda, and Cindy Williams all into a single 48 minute TV show? It would take a magician like David Copperfield, in his first television special in 1977.
posted by The Deej on Aug 18, 2007 - 42 comments

I watch virtually no television but this NPR review for the debut episode of Masters of Science Fiction (ABC) had me intrigued. (A similar review in the NY Times). ABC is being accused of burying this show with the timing of its introduction (and time slot). As for me, I'm still thinking about the debut episode, three hours later.
posted by spock on Aug 4, 2007 - 40 comments

You're the star today! In 1976, ABC's Record and Tape Division came up with the Captain Zoom Personalized Birthday Record. A two-minute song with 8 instances of the birthday boy or girl's name was recorded and mastered for a paper-thin flexible 7" record. It was sent in an envelope along with the lyrics to the song, a mini-coloring book, and an order form. In 1978, the Record and Tape Division was disbanded. Robert Stiller, a sales consultant who was involved with the project at ABC, bought the rights to the project and began distributing the record with his own company. Captain Zoom left a lasting impact on those who heard his little jingle.
And there's a wedding version too. How sweet.
posted by mkb on Jul 28, 2007 - 22 comments

Two news helicopters met in a deadly midair collision today while covering a police chase on live television (video, tragic but not graphic).
posted by hermitosis on Jul 27, 2007 - 107 comments

The Bladder Buddy. You can thank ABC's American Inventor for this.
posted by metasonix on Jul 13, 2007 - 30 comments

ABC is developing another new comedy pilot. Based on? Geico caveman commercials, of course. Because that kind of thing has worked so well before.
posted by miss lynnster on Mar 2, 2007 - 62 comments

From Broadband to Broadway Video bloggers are the newest phenomenon to go from online to the mainstream. For example, Amanda Congdon, former host of Rocketboom, has a new gig as an ABC contributor. In fact, major movie and TV studios are increasingly looking to the Web for new talent for both on and off-line projects. Here's a list (with pictures) of the up and comers.
posted by PreacherTom on Nov 14, 2006 - 19 comments

Blacklisted! The bankruptcy of the liberal Air America Radio Network is old news. What's new is a leaked ABC memo to affiliates (.pdf original) listing 90 corporations and major advertisers that stipulated that their ads not be aired during the broadcast of Air America content. Is there any hope that radio or television news in the United States can report stories that do not uniformly support the goals and viewpoints of the S&P 500? There are of course, alternative models. Is it time for a PBS Newschanel?
posted by washburn on Nov 4, 2006 - 58 comments

ABC agrees to take the lies out of their 9/11 miniseries. previously discussed here
posted by tsarfan on Sep 8, 2006 - 107 comments

ABC Streams full episodes of Lost, Alias, Desperate Housewives and Commmander in Chief for free in May via flash.
posted by blue_beetle on May 1, 2006 - 54 comments

"[S]ave more lives" is what George Bush pledged to do in a speech today about the AIDS epidemic. With more people living with AIDS in the world than ever before, is the US's problematic stance of promoting an ABC policy and other controversial policies working? Or is it an appropriate response to a culturally touchy topic that some oddball health officials in African nations are still coming to grips with?
posted by jessamyn on Dec 1, 2005 - 18 comments

Reason's Julian Sanchez thinks he's found the guy who was caught on ABC News kicking a protester at the Republican convention, whose identity has been the subject of much speculation on blogs like TalkLeft. But does this kind of thing have the potential to create the Internet's Richard Jewell?
posted by transona5 on Sep 16, 2004 - 58 comments

Where's Thursday, May 6 ? - Nightline "disappears" show segment - OK, I've waited almost 2 weeks. Now, it's official - Nightline "disappeared" it's own show. On Thursday May 6, 2004, Nightline featured, prominently, a call for a phased US pullout from Iraq by Retired Lieutenant General, William Odom - Ronald Reagan's head of the National Security Agency. Odom recommended turning the whole mess over to the UN. Mention of Odom or the segment is kind of hard to pry out of ABC . You can buy a transcript though, so this isn't really censorship, right?...........
posted by troutfishing on May 20, 2004 - 9 comments

Andy Griffith Beats Jessica Lynch Interview for Viewers
Well sure, it was for the Andy Griffith Reunion Show. What was ABC thinking putting Diane Sawyer and Jessica "Selective Amnesia" Lynch up against Andy, Opie and Aunt Bea?
posted by fenriq on Nov 12, 2003 - 23 comments

This is a rather strange, poorly reported, context free article about some troubling things that were recently said by Mel Gibson's parents. It's especially interesting, considering that Gibson has just directed a film called "The Passion", detailing the final days of Christ. Is anyone out there aware of the various controversies surrounding this film? Charges of anti-semitism, historical revisionism, and the bizarre decisions whether or not to include subtitles (the film was, daringly, I guess, shot in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin) abound. What the hell is going on here?
posted by ghastlyfop on Jul 25, 2003 - 99 comments

ABC's blog "The Note" suspends operations, citing lack of resources needed for war coverage, the blog's humorous style not being "the right national tonic," and this shocker: "We suspect that the amount of strictly political news — the kind of stuff that is the meat and starch of The Note — is likely to dramatically decrease in the coming days." GUH? Aren't blogs now more important than ever? Aren't politics now more important than ever? What message is being sent by the mainstream media here? (Via the indispensable Lloyd Grove of the Washington Post.)
posted by PrinceValium on Mar 11, 2003 - 10 comments

The greatest TV show you will probably never see: Aunty Jack, a ten-foot tall, boxing-glove wearing, motor-cycling, moustached cross-dresser, was the star of The Aunty Jack Show, which ran for thirteen episodes in 1972-73 on the Australian Broadcasting Commission TV network (and was the first show broadcast on Australian TV in colour). Many of the original episodes have been lost (but records of them exist). Re-release on video or DVD of the remaining episodes is tangled up in copyright issues. The 1974 album Aunty Jack Sings Wollongong was re-released on CD, and still seems to be available. It includes such classics as 'Fish Milkshakes' and 'Teenage Butcher' and the song 'Farewell Aunty Jack', which was a number 1 hit in Australia. Some samples can be found here. There were spinoffs from Aunty Jack, most notably the Norman Gunston Show, with Norman playing the prototypical terrrible interviewer and inspiring the much later Ali G, Dennis Pennis and many others. I was two years old when the series aired: Aunty Jack's threat at the end of each episode, that: 'If you don't watch next week, I'll rip your bloody arm off!' meant that I never, ever, missed it.
posted by chrisgregory on Jan 30, 2003 - 33 comments

ABC lets Koppel do his thing. Have you watched "Up Close", Ted Koppel's in-depth interview segment? NYTimes does a good job describing how Ted has chosen to be himself (i.e., high-brow and ministerial) with scant disregard to ratings. Is this type of program the antidote to the media's obsessive and corruptive focus on ratings?
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy on Dec 3, 2002 - 19 comments

The Truth Squad - ABC News wants your help. Specifically, the ABCNEWS Political Unit Election Watchdog (PUEW), looking to keep upcoming elections as truthful as possible, wants you to gather up your election mail; take notes about the campaign-related phone calls you get; and send them your tips and credible accounts, so that they can go through them. They have a page of descriptions of what they are looking for. Are they expecting things to be particularly ugly? Are they trying to dig something up, or is this really an attempt to neutralize election season lies?
posted by mikhail on Sep 27, 2002 - 8 comments

Go to Mickey D's. Watch ABC. Get happy. Go to Mickey D's. Watch ABC. Get happy. Go to Mickey D's. Watch ABC. Get... Under a deal to be announced today, McDonald's Corp. will heavily promote ABC's 8-to-9 p.m. slot, which the network has called the "Happy Hour." "The mantra of this campaign is: 'Go to Mickey D's, watch ABC, get happy,' " said Michael Benson, ABC's senior vice president for marketing, advertising and promotion, who helped assemble the deal.

Funny. I thought "happy hour" meant cheap beer and free wings.
posted by NedKoppel on Sep 9, 2002 - 37 comments

Terrorism takes the world stage
30 years ago today, armed terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage at the Munich Olympics. Did anyone see this past weekend's ABC News documentary on it? The Academy Award winning film? This is an utterly fascinating story, in my opinion. Even today, people are puzzling over just how much went wrong.
posted by Gilbert on Sep 5, 2002 - 8 comments

As a follow-up to his original story, discussed here, Paul Sheehan has written an article detailing recent developments, including reaction from an ABC science show. If this is true, it has enormous implications for our health care.
posted by emf on Sep 1, 2002 - 11 comments

Bond, James Jimmy Bond.

Last Saturday ABC television aired "Diamonds Are Forever" and digitally altered the color of character Plenty O’Toole’s panties, as well as adding a black brassiere.

What possesses a network experiencing serious viewership erosion to cause them to spend time and money is such ridiculous censorship? What are the issues regarding copyright and intellectual property?

More importantly, what are they smoking over there at ABC?
posted by jpburns on Mar 8, 2002 - 30 comments

You tell'm Ted! (nyt link) Koppel is first to publically denounce accusations that Nightline is irrelevant or lacks a competitive edge in the late night wars. David Letterman is still strangely silent about rumors that ABC is trying to steal him from CBS to replace Ted Koppel's long-running news program. Perhaps after publically ribbing Oprah Winfrey & getting the cold shoulder, Letterman has learned when not to open his mouth? ..nah!
posted by ZachsMind on Mar 5, 2002 - 14 comments

MNF: Miller out, Madden in? After two years of sinking ratings, is ABC and Monday Night Football ready to concede that Dennis Miller was not really good pick for a football commentator? Fox has released John Madden from his contract, making an Al Michaels-Madden booth a likelihood next fall.
posted by mattpusateri on Feb 28, 2002 - 40 comments

Social Cruelty in Adults: Does High School Ever End? An upcoming ABCNews Special with John Stossel (airing Friday) explores peer pressure, being in the "in crowd", and the role that popularity plays not only during our years in the groves of academe but also in the professional workplace. We'll see John's report on Friday, but I wish to redirect this discussion to the mefi crowd: Were you in the "in crowd" during your high school/collegiate years or on the outside looking in? Did it even matter, and if it did, how and in what way? Has it played a distinct role in the person who you feel you've become?
posted by iceblink on Feb 13, 2002 - 43 comments

News actuality from September 11th, 2001, from the Television Archive. Live coverage includes programming from ABC, BBC, CBC Newsworld, NBC, NTV Moscow, and China Central Television.
posted by tranquileye on Jan 28, 2002 - 14 comments

Audio from Flight 93 - Pennsylvania (Realvideo) Somehow ABCNews got ahold of this and made it an "exclusive" on Primetime Live. Certainly chilling, but also seemingly exploitative.
posted by owillis on Nov 15, 2001 - 22 comments

From the ABC Nightly News an interesting story about changes in buying habits over the past almost two months.
posted by bjgeiger on Nov 1, 2001 - 19 comments

ABC (not that one, the one down under) reports bioterror letter appearance in Genoa, Italy.
posted by mmarcos on Oct 13, 2001 - 5 comments

Inmates Claim Ownership of Dogs in the San Francisco dog mauling case (that was previously discussed here). Apparently they (the inmates) are in jail for life, and the theory is that they have nothing to lose by taking the blame for the killing.
posted by bshort on Jul 11, 2001 - 3 comments

Just some light reading... Buck Wolf is a producer at ABCNEWS.com who writes a twice-weekly column on items currently in the news. Nice, light reading, a few laughs, and some stuff you didn't know before (probably). Do any of you have favourite sites with interesting stuff for reading on slow news days?
posted by BGM on Jun 17, 2001 - 11 comments

Wall of Sound shuts down on Friday, June 1. The music news and reviews site, a long-time (4 years+) gem of the Internet, is going away. Visit while you still can.
posted by dan_of_brainlog on May 31, 2001 - 19 comments

ABC censors "Christ"? Very odd. On the 5/18 broadcast of Politically Incorrect on ABC, a word was bleeped (either "Christ" or "Jesus") and Bill Maher's lips digitally obscured when he was making a joke/observation that Christ/Jesus (it wasn't clear which he was saying) would be compassionate to someone who needed the drug to ease their pain. Does anyone know more on this?
posted by owillis on May 19, 2001 - 46 comments

Schadenfreude update: eToys has officially announced it will file Chapter 7 and liquidate in 5-10 days. And, as expected, Disney started Round 2 of layoffs from its cash-hemmoraghing operation, this time gutting ABCNEWS.com and ABC.com. Predictions as to who's next?
posted by aaron on Feb 26, 2001 - 5 comments

Feeling left out by the democratic process? Despair not. Now you can vote for your favorite artists for American Music Awards, favorite TV shows for the TV Guide Awards, or, if you are feeling extra patriotic, for America's National Tree at the Arbor Day website, and have the vote count.
posted by tamim on Jan 7, 2001 - 2 comments