More interesting than Gail Shister's report about 10 and 11 o'clock local newscasts – nationwide, they're down, but Nielsen's reporting techniques might be to blame – is the fact that her report ran at all. Shister, the six-figure salaried byline for the Philadelphia Inquirer, supposedly lost her insider TV industry column because it was too narrow. She's even said to have applied for the TVNewser gig to get back to her industry niche.
But here she is today, chronicling viewership stats in Philly and elsewhere.
Her most recent columns have featured the culturally broad strokes that she was supposedly relegated to in April: thought pieces on The Closer, The View, Rescue Me, and The Sopranos. But there have been exceptions, like her report on The CW's troubles, The Daily Show's youth audience, and a profile on NBC News' Steve Capus, all of which followed April's notorious Katie Couric "hatchet job."
Asks one television industry vet: "What happened to Gail being a benchwarmer for generic TV reporting?" What happened, indeed.
Editorial Director
it's time for Gail to crawl back in the hole…it's too sad watching her try to gain back her days of glory…it seems to have come to an end.
sad, but entertaining — the old witch will need a few more spells to make some waves in this industry.
Oh, please. Anyone who's been paying attention knows that her 'days of glory' - that is, her talent, connections, analysis - continue; that her editors knew the only way they could get her to write about the crap on tv was to pull the power of choice that came with the column; and that the 'local news numbers are down! Oh Wow!' story was imposed on her, as were all the others she's written since losing the column. She can write only what her editors are interested in having her write - the job of a GA. Meanwhile, they've begun again to use her name above the masthead to tout her copy. "The old witch" indeed. Long may she live.