Montel Williams: Quitting Is Not An Option
Variety reported on Wednesday (January 30, 2008) that Montel Williams has called it quits after key Fox-owned stations opted not to renew Montel for the 2008-2009 season. This decision by News Corp. is likely due to Montel recently challenging the status quo of the mainstream during his appearance on “Fox and Friends” (which is embedded below).
After 17 years as a respected TV personality, I must object to Mr. Williams making this decision. Of course, it’s his to make, but I feel there are other alternatives to continue his platform of reaching out to our society with thought provoking segments. Montel, your gig isn’t up, for your voice cannot be silenced.
Joost Loses CTO to BBC
Dirk-Willem van Gulik, CTO at P2P TV startup, Joost, has defected to the UK’s BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) to become Chief Technical Architect within their Future Media and Technology group according to the UK’s digital spy.
Is there a cloud looming over the future of Joost, or just a minor bump in its roadmap to deliver television via the Internet?
Excerpt:
“The BBC recognises that IP connectivity is quickly moving beyond the personal computer,” said Erik Huggers, controller of the BBC’s future media and technology group. “This appointment signals our commitment to providing licence-fee payers access to BBC content however they want it. Dirk-Willem has made significant contributions to the development of the Internet. His knowledge and expertise will be of great advantage to the BBC and the industry. It is a pleasure to welcome him to our division and I look forward to working with him.”
This is the first news about Joost in over a month and it’s certainly not a great way to start the New Year at the startup.
Update: NewTeeVee confirms my hunch that van Gulik was fired by Joost, most likely by its CEO, Mike Poli
Randy Pausch on Oprah?
By now, the world has heard about (or seen) the “last lecture” of dying CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) computer science professor Dr. Randy Pausch. In September of 2006, Dr. Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Hoping to beat the odds, Dr. Pausch underwent a bold treatment plan to defeat his cancer. Unfortunately, in August 2007, the cancer returned to his liver and spleen.
Read more: Live Your Best Life (Dr. Pausch’s lecture and more)
Since Dr. Pausch’s lecture on September 18, he’s been featured on national television programs to talk about his fate, life and more. And now, it appears that he might make an appearance on Oprah (based on a recent visitor to my site from CMU and their search query.) If he does appear, it would be a wonderful platform to share his message with the world.
Unconfirmed: Liz Claman at FOX
Earlier this month, CNBC’s Liz Claman opted not to renew her contract with NBC’s popular business news network. Some have speculated that she could be going to FOX to help launch their competing business news channel.
Well, there’s chatter that Claman will indeed make her debut this fall on FOX. Stay tuned.
Cat Fight at CNBC? Erin and Maria? Why?
I was just informed of a big NY Post article about a brewing war between Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo at CNBC. Seems there’s a lot of discussion on the Intertubes about this article and this explains the uptick in searches today that I’ve been seeing here on ronaldlewis.com.
My only guess is that Maria is feeling threatend by Erin’s rising stock at CNBC. As I’ve said before, I really don’t care much for “divas” and people with egos. Something tells me this “fight” is going to turn ugly, and someone will lose their job in the coming months. Why are women always getting involved in these public spats?
Look for a huge shakeup at CNBC over the next few months — That place is starting to crumble — and fast. Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch is smiling.
Finally, will someone drop the “Money Honey” tag already? It’s ridiculous.