Get a Load of This!

KPTM is advertising for a reporter/anchor and a couple of other positions, as we reported earlier. It turns out, however that the new suckers employees will be slapping together a 10 p.m. newscast for KXVO/WB15.The new program may not add much to the local broadcast scene, but think of the hundreds of dollars that these three new jobs will pump into the local economy each month.We now invite you

A Head-Spinning Month, So Far

We can't say this year's February sweeps period is boring. Then again, we won't say it's particularly good, either. If nothing else, though, it's weird as hell.• Has KETV chief meteorologist Bill Randby gotten into a crate of hysteria-inducing pills left behind by Jim Flowers? Thursday at 10 p.m., Randby led into a break by raising his voice to exclaim, "It's snowing RIGHT NOW!" and implying that

Google TV is coming to 10,000 lucky developers

Google TV is now available in Best Buy and Sony Style stores across the nation, as well as online through Amazon.com. We’re excited that consumers are finally taking these out of the box and have been hearing a lot of positive early feedback. And while people may think that Google TV is great now, we can’t wait for them to see what’s coming.



First and foremost, as with Android for mobile, we’ll continually push new system updates with new features and bug fixes as they become available. But just as important, we are focusing our efforts on empowering the developers of the world to make Google TV an even better experience, through websites that have been built with the TV screen in mind.



For users, better-looking and more interesting websites means that the overall Google TV experience is even better. We want to encourage a new generation of TV developers to come forward to make this vision a reality. Which is why, over the next few weeks, we’re planning to give away 10,000 Google TV devices to help developers start building for TV.



This morning, we gave away more than 3,000 Google TV devices to attendees of the Adobe MAX conference. Additionally, we’ll be reaching out to thousands of web developers in the Google Code community to offer them a free device. Finally, if you are a professional web developer who wants to help make the Google TV experience even better and you don’t happen to fall into one of those two groups, please submit an entry to our Google TV Web Developer Promotion and include a short summary about the type of interesting website your company would like to create or optimize for Google TV. We’re planning to select 2,500 winners from those entries to receive a free Google TV device.



We can’t wait to see the new sites people will build. Until then, check out some of the latest Spotlight sites that have just launched on Google TV. A few of our favorites include Net-A-Porter, which lets you watch runway videos and shop for high fashion; Meegenius, a place where you can read and customize children’s books; TuneIn, a personal radio for your TV; and The Onion which always gives us a good laugh.



As we’ve always said, the coolest thing about Google TV is that we don’t even know what the coolest thing about it will be. The experience is in the hands of its users and developers, and everyone is invited. Come play.

Update: To clarify, this giveaway is only for U.S based developers. We hope to make Google TV available in other markets soon.

Posted by Amanda Surya, Google TV Developer Relations Team

Bottomless

An alert reader sends us this alleged SuxNews tweet from a few days ago . . .



@WOWTweather: A cold front is just to our west. As it crosses the winds will shit to the northwest. We warm to near 76º today.

Missing

SuxNews morning twits Jimmy Thiedlecki and Maladroit Maddox were missing from their broadcast  for a second consecutive day Tuesday, replaced by the genial-but-clueless Brian Latham, who looks even more lost in front of a virtual set than usual.As for the regulars, let's hope they've been sent away for weeks of intensive voice coaching and speech therapy. It's more likely, however, that they're

Dorks

First, Channel Sux decided to rename what everyone else on the planet would call its website; they started calling it their "web channel."Then they put a computer on a desk and started referring to it as "the dot-com center."Now, an alert reader points out another classic Suxism: they've started using Google Maps in their coverage and calling it their "news navigator."No other station in Omaha

More Time to Reed

Aside from the Channel 6 "first response" event on Tuesday, the only other memorable item we've seen is the work of KETV's Kailyn Reed. We've decided Reed is the Anti-Fazal; she is everything that Fubar isn't. Attractive. Articulate. Poised. Intelligent.We were with friends who'd not seen her before when one of them remarked, "She's way too good to be working in Omaha." Yeah. We know.

Swing and a Miss

WOWT's SucksNews on Saturday aired footage of that day's Juneteenth parade but somehow managed to totally miss the fact that the rest of the celebration was cancelled when a group of unruly youths created a ruckus at the entrance to Metro Community College's Fort Omaha Campus, where the event was to have taken place. We aren't suggesting that Channel 6 was the only station to ignore the story

A Lazy Friday: Sorting the Mail

And now, as a public service, we scrounge through the mail and comment bag to engage with our readership in a thoughtful exchange of views about the local TV scene…One Anonymous reader writes, Let me say that your column about Pat Persaud is the most mean-spirited piece of writing that I have ever seen. Im trying to figure out what type of person would write that garbage. My guess is you are a

KETV Loses Managing Editor

KETV managing editor Joseph Kasmir, whose journalism career included a stint at Omaha radio station KFAB, died unexpectedly on Tuesday. Kasmir was a respected journalist who frequently helped colleagues by tapping into his own sources when a confirmation was needed.KETV has a post on his passing here.

A Wacky Weather Weekend

Anyone who thinks that moronicism in weathercasters is confined to local stations should've spent an hour or so watching the Weather Channel on Saturday or Sunday.As Hurricane Katrina charged toward the Louisina-Mississippi coast, Weather Channel personnel could barely contain their glee. Approximately thrice per half hour, viewers were treated to an overwrought, drum-saturated graphics package

People Who Deserve More Airtime

Lest our little effort here be perceived as devoid of kindness, we now offer a partial list of folks we'd like to see more of...• John Oakey. His switch from weekend sports guy to anchor was just what the doctor ordered for Channel 7's morning show. Unfortunately, he's now been saddled with the virtually unwatchable Elictia Hammond as his co-anchor, meaning less airtime for him and less watching

No More Big Squash Jokes

Okay, so we were out of town Thursday night/Friday and took the weekend off. We received an email this afternoon from one reader who claims to be suffering from withdrawl. It's nice to be missed. Here are a few miscellaneous items littering the desktop today...•••A belated thanks to Sean Weide of The Reader, whose “Media Notes” column last week mentioned our humble effort here for the second time

Yada

Even we are getting sick of griping about Channel Sux, especially the morning show; unfortunately, they can't stop shooting themselves in the foot long enough for us to take a break.This morning, we flipped over just in time to catch anchor Jimmy Thiedlecki, in his best know-it-all voice, trying to school someone about a Seinfeld reference."It was Kramer who had the puffy shirt!" he exclaimed

Observations

A few odds and ends at the end of a snowy week . . .

• We happened to catch Action 3rd's 10 p.m. Thursday 'cast and must admit that it was surprisingly not awful. Bland anchor Carol Wang was working without her bland co-anchor, What's-His-Name. While no stories were outstanding, it was a solid, fairly well-executed effort. If all (or even most) of the station's evening newscasts are of similar

You Can't Stop Her; You Can Only Hope to Contain Her

Even the most dogged efforts of her Channel 6 co-workers were no match for scrappy part-time anchor Pat Persaud (and/or the incessant high-voiced whining of meteorologist Jeff Jensen). After four days of anchoring, Persaud, who appears determined to use up every second of sick time accumulated over her 19 years at the station, escaped from the studio and took Friday off. Heir presumptive Tracy

Smudgectomy

An alert reader notifies us of a delightful development at SuxNews:
Nadia Singh is leaving Channel Sux...its been plastered all over her facebook...she's headed back to somewhere on the east coast. Tragic, laughing @ her clown makeup is usually a great way to start my day.Getting rid of this chubby little rascal with her bad haircut, one-size-too-small leather jacket, and monotone delivery can