ABC’s Paul Lee at TCA: “The ABC Brand Combines Smart with Heart.”

Ed Martin Live from TCA quotSpecial from Jack Myers Media Business ReportquotThe broadcast portion of the 2011 Winter Television Critics Association tour began yesterday with appearances by three new executives in the ABC hierarchy Ben Sherwood President ABC News Paul Lee President ABC Entertainment Group and Michael Riley President ABC FamilyAs expected the session with Sherwood was the most serious of the three given the questions about the current and future state of journalism that are top of mind these days especially in the aftermath of the attempted assassination in Tucson last weekend of US Rep Gabrielle Giffords that left Giffords and thirteen others injured and six people deadSherwood did something I have seen very few media executives do during press conferences particularly those at TCA tours After certain important questions he actually took a few moments to think before giving his answers briefly leaving the room in silence One of those questions was about the shameful racetobefirst reporting of false information by many news outlets including ABC News that followed the shooting of Giffords and othersamp8220Hereamp8217s what happened at ABC Newsamp8221 Sherwood explained amp8220This may be news for the newsroom but I want to explain to you Our mission is to get it right and accuracy is the most important thing And we were very very close to the facts the whole day For a brief moment for about ten minutes I believe part of our organization the ABCNewscom website put up a banner very briefly citing other reports from someplace else that the congresswoman had died and it came downamp8220That reflects one of my challenges at ABC News which is to bring the organization together into one editorial stream and one editorial voiceamp8221 he continued amp8220For a brief moment that went up on our website It did not go out on our airwaves in broadcast How does that happen Youamp8217ve already seen the apologies and the mea culpa from one organization And I can just tell you that it really hit me in the heart when I listened to what Giffordsamp8217 family went through and itamp8217s a reminder that we have to get it right Iamp8217m proud of how ABC News handled it on the broadcast side and we have to make sure that weamp8217re one voice through the whole organization unitedamp8221The questions and answers were considerably less serious when Paul Lee took the stage It came as no surprise last summer that Lee had little to say about any of ABCamp8217s current or upcoming series given that he had been on the job for about one day at the time But it was somewhat surprising how little he had to say about the networkamp8217s programming six months later other than to praise ABCamp8217s signature shows among them Modern Family Greyamp8217s Anatomy The Middle Private Practice Castle and Cougar Town ABC wisely used the occasion of its day at TCA to announce early renewals for those six series thereby generating some positive news Lee also noted that even though Desperate Housewives has not yet been officially renewed talks are underway amp8220We have ambitions to pick it upamp8221 he said amp8220We are not quite there ready to do soamp8221 Lee also said that no decision has been made regarding the fate of another of the networkamp8217s longrunning signature shows Brothers ampamp SistersLee also emphasized the importance of his networkamp8217s brand something you donamp8217t hear all that much from broadcast executives these days amp8220The ABC brand as I see it really combines smart with heart and that is a really unusual combinationamp8221 Lee said amp8220We donamp8217t always live up to it But at its very best we really make culturally defining smart big tent aspirational television and thatamp8217s how I see this brand and this network going forward into the futureamp8221 Lee later gave as examples two shows from other networks that amp8220could fitamp8221 ABCamp8217s brand Foxamp8217 Glee and CBSamp8217 The Good WifeABC brought only one new series to its day at TCA Off the Map a drama about a group of hot young medical professionals working at a medical center in a remote village in South America from Shonda Rhimes the executive producer of Greyamp8217s Anatomy and Private Practice The buzz isnamp8217t particularly strong for this show but it does boast one of the stronger casts of any new broadcast series this season including Mamie Gummer Meryl Streepamp8217s daughter and a scene stealer in her guest appearances on CBSamp8217 The Good Wife and Zach Gilford a standout in the outstanding cast of DirecTVNBCamp8217s Friday Night LightsOther than the Map cast the only other ABC network stars on hand to meet the press during the day were the hosts of Wipeout and its current midseason incarnation Winter Wipeout and a walking big red ball from that series affectionately referred to by ABCamp8217s publicity staff as Ballsy A cluster of stars from certain of the networkamp8217s midseason offerings were on hand for a brief cocktail party at the end of the day The other actors of note who appeared during ABCamp8217s day were the four leads from the ABC Family smash hit Pretty Little Liars Shay Mitchell Lucy Hale Ashley Benson and Troian Bellisario Sitting through the session for that show which was moderated by Michael Riley I couldnamp8217t help but think that a show like Liars would work very well as an 8 oamp8217clock offering on the ABC mothership It wasnamp8217t so long ago that ABC owned the young audience on Friday nights with shows that were as engaging to tweens and teens then as Liars is now

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ABC’s Paul Lee at TCA: “The ABC Brand Combines Smart with Heart.”

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