Daily Marauder

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Tim Russert, 58, moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press and the network’s Washington Bureau Chief died of a sudden heart attack last Friday.  Tim began as moderator of Meet the Press in 1991 and led the show longer than any other person in the show’s 60-year history. (Cynopsis 6/16)

I have been a loyal Meet the Press fan for years.  I sat down last night, Meet the Press mug in hand, and watched the retrospective from Sunday morning’s show in sadness.  To a reporter who always asked the uncomfortable questions in the search of truth behind the politics, I raise my mug.  FAVORITE Meet the Press moment: Russert asked President Bush whether the war in Iraq was a war of necessity or a war of choice.  Bush stumbled a bit but eventually answered the question (necessity).  In the first moment after the question, you can clearly see a mixture of fear and uncertainty wash over the president’s face.  Here is where Russert made politicians human.  Click below for a slideshow brought to you by the New York Times.

Next, speculation abounds about who will take Tim’s seat as moderator of Meet the Press, especially as the November presidential election looms closer. On the short list, those named in various reports include MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, David Gregory and Joe Scarborough. (Cynopsis 6/16)

NBC Universal has confirmed that it is the sole negotiator, along with private-equity partners Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, for Landmark Communications’ The Weather Channel. NBCU is reportedly looking to nab the channel for about $3 billion, a much lower price than the $5 billion sought by Landmark. Time Warner withdrew from the hunt for The Weather Channel on Friday. (Financial News Online 6/16, The New York Times 6/14, Los Angeles Times 6/14)

HBO has a Latino-themed drama in the works titled Palladium from screenwriter Franc Reyes, according to THR. The one-hour project will be set inside a posh nightclub in New York where the owner has a volatile relationship with his son. Franc is writer and executive producer and if a pilot is ordered will also direct. (Cynopsis 6/16)

20th Century Fox TV made a first-look pact with Jason Bateman to develop television series in addition to producing and directing projects. The terms give 20th TV first dibs on anything Jason develops under his production banner, F+A Productions. (Cynopsis 6/16)

Two series are in the works for AMC’s 2009 season as the cable network looks to follow the success of original shows “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad.” The exploits of a 1920s magician inspire “Carter Beats the Devil,” while “Ice” takes on the domestic drama of New York City diamond sellers. (Variety 6/15)

Rabid Jericho fans are at it again trying to whip up support for the ill-fated show. This time a group called the Jericho Rangers is pushing to get the show brought back on cable or online. Fans have pooled their resources for a slickly-produced TV spot that will air in LA-based Time Warner cable homes some 200 times during the 3rd week of June. (Cynopsis 6/16)

Pretty impressive. . .

Sony Pictures Television (SPT) secured the rights to co-produce and distribute Dr. Oz, the newest project from Harpo Productions. Another “spinoff talent” from The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Mehmet Oz has appeared on Oprah and Discovery Communications programs many times and his own show will launch in 2009. (Cynopsis 6/16)

NBC moved up its series debut of Celebrity Family Feud to June 24 at 8p. The opening episode will feature a match between rapper/actor Ice T and his family versus Joan and Melissa Rivers and family, followed by singer/actress Raven-Symone and family squaring off against Wayne Newton and family. (Cynopsis 6/16)

Bravo’s first-ever The A-List Awards show hosted by Kathy Griffin aired Thursday night (10p) and drew in 663,000 A18-49 viewers and 1.1 million total viewers. The A-List Red Carpet Preview Special (830p) which aired for 30 minutes and hosted by Tim Gunn attracted 359,000 A18-49 viewers and 533,000 total viewers. In between these two, the fourth season of Kathy Griffin: My Life on The D-List (9p) debuted with 569,000 A18-49 viewers and 928,000 total viewers. The series moves to its regular time slot of Thursdays at 10p starting this week. (Cynopsis 6/16)

Comcast and Big Ten Network are expected to announce an end to their long-standing programming dispute this week, after the companies have reportedly hammered out a truce. If a partnership is announced, BTN’s reach will be extended from 30 million homes to 55 million. (Chicago Tribune 6/15)

Canoe Ventures, the new venture set up by U.S. cable giants to build the next generation of cable-TV advertising, plans to sell its technology platform to cable programmers, who will in turn resell ad inventory to marketers. “We’re half tech company,” says CEO David Verklin. (Iwantmedia 6/16, http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6570402.html 6/15)