Natalie Hall made her Hallmark Channel debut in 2011's Love's Christmas Journey and was last seen on the network in 2012's The Seven Year Hitch.  Now, after a lengthy sabbatical, she's back in A Winter Princess, part of Hallmark's Winterfest programming event.  "After The Seven Year Hitch with Darin Brooks, I moved back to New York for many years and did theater," Hall said when MediaVillage asked about her lengthy absence.  "I hadn't done a Hallmark movie since and I honestly love working with Hallmark.  They like strong, independent, career-driven women and that's something I've always respected and admired.  They're one of the networks that has always done that, but I just got busy with other stuff and I am so happy to be back.

Christina Ricci returns to Lifetime this weekend in the premiere of the original movie Escaping the Madhouse: The Nellie Bly Story.  Set in early 19th century New York, the movie tells a fictionalized version of the true tale of pioneering investigative journalist Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, who under the name of Nellie Bly feigned mental illness to gain entry to the infamous Women’s Lunatic Asylum on New York's Blackwell's Island. Her report would later shine a light on the despicable treatment of its patients and eventually lead to such institutions having their doors closed forever.

I got this idea from local broadcasters.  Well, sort of.  It actually comes from the recent aggressive aggregators of local stations.  Not, mind you, that they were suggesting it and they certainly wouldn't agree with it but near as I can tell they’re making the same long- term mistake that long-tail cable network operators have been making for years.  It is something often called “greed” and justified with a sprightly, “Well, we’ve gotten away with it, haven’t we?”  Well, not really.  The local broadcaster mistake with ever-escalating retransmission consent requests is believing the following:  “Let’s keep raising the rates.  What could go wrong?”  There are a couple of answers to that question.

America is a very dangerous place.  That’s why I am happy to report that John Walsh, the justice advocate who turned his family’s personal tragedy into a national crime solving movement, is back on television.  This week we attended the premiere screening of his new program In Pursuit with John Walsh, which premiered on Investigation Discovery on January 16.

There's often a debate in marketing and advertising.  What is the most essential element to successful campaigns: art or science?

MediaVillage is pleased to introduce our new critical commentary on media news coverage by Erich Prince.  Published weekly, “News on the Record” will share behind-the-scenes insights and knowledge on the issues and realities confronting all of us who take the ethics, honesty and influence of media news seriously.