Kirk Cameron
Kirk Cameron says he "absolutely" does not hate gay people and is surprised that his previous remarks that condemned homosexuality caused such a firestorm.
In an interview Tuesday with Today, the Growing Pains star denied that he is homophobic and clarified the comments he made on Piers Morgan Tonight earlier this month when he called homosexuality "unnatural" and "destructive."
GLAAD blasts Kirk Cameron for calling homosexuality "unnatural" and "destructive"
"Absolutely not," he said. "I love all people, I hate no one. ... When you take a subject and reduce it to something like a four-second sound bite and a check mark on a ballot, I think that that's inappropriate ...
read more
Lane Garrison
On Monday's episode of Today, Prison Break's Lane Garrison discussed his 22-month jail stay with Matt Lauer. It was billed as Garrison's "first sit-down" interview since getting out of jail in April 2009, which differentiates it from the stand-up interview he did with TMZ earlier this month. And that's on top of the gory details of his real-life prison experience he divulged to In Touch over a year ago. Garrison seemed content to play along and act like this was the first time he's really talked about his jail stay, going as far as to say he's kept quiet till now "out of respect for the family" of his victim. Hmmm...
read more
Kirstie Alley
Following a Today feature that raised questions about whether Kirstie Alley's new weight-loss program is linked to Scientology, the actress said Wednesday there is no connection.
"That I would need to clarify the intentions or affiliations of my LLC [limited liability company] corporation in the year 2010 is indicative of the intolerances that we as a country still need to overcome," Alley said during an event for her new A&E show, Big Life (premiering Sunday at 10/9c) .
VIDEO: Kirstie Alley fired up over Big Life, Scientology
During an introduction to her interview Tuesday on Today, columnist Roger Friedman said that many of the executives of Alley's weight-loss program, Organic Liaison, are ...
read more
Katie Couric, CBS Evening News
Former Today coanchor Katie Couric will take over the desk at CBS Evening News on Sept. 5. The program will have a new set, new theme music ("Aaron Copeland-esque," says Couric) and some touches that will aim to distinguish it from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and ABC World News with Charles Gibson (which are ahead in the ratings). The Biz recently talked to Couric about the challenges ahead.
TVGuide.com: Are you nervous at all?Katie Couric: Yeah, of course. It's a new job and a new challenge and something I haven't done before on a full-time basis. So I would say I'm slightly nervous, but also really excited and anxious to get started.
TVGuide.com: What's your biggest
read more
Robin Roberts and Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America
Jim Murphy has returned to the morning-TV wars. On July 19 he was named the new executive producer of ABC's Good Morning America, which has been entrenched in second place behind NBC's Today for over a decade. But Murphy knows it could be worse: In the 1990s he helmed CBS This Morning, which struggled to get attention because the network still disdained morning TV's breezy blend of newsmaker interviews, cooking segments and pop concerts. That's no longer the case. As Murphy told the Biz, morning shows are now the main profit engines of all news divisions and are getting more attention than ever. We talked to Murphy about the new gig he's taking on after a six-year stint at CBS Evening News.
TVGuide.com: You left morning TV in 1998. How has it changed since then?Jim Murphy: It's become more competitive, for all the obvious reasons. It's the on
read more
Connie Chung
If you haven't seen Connie Chung's swan song on her MSNBC show Weekends with Connie and Maury, you're one of the few. Her parody of "Thanks for the Memory" — warbled off-key while she writhed on top of a piano in a slinky gown — has become the watercooler video clip of the moment. The segment racked up thousands of views on YouTube.com and was dissected on Today and the cable news channels. The Biz spoke with Chung, who left for a family vacation before she became a singing sensation, to discuss this surprise phenomenon. We can report that the veteran newswoman is having more than a few laughs over all the attention.
TVGuide.com: Clearly doing the song was a joke. You've done stuff like
read more
Dan Abrams, MSNBC
MSNBC marks its 10th year on the air this summer, but there isn't a lot to celebrate. Even with the muscle of NBC News behind it, the cable news network has lagged in third place behind Fox News Channel and CNN in recent years. The powers that be at 30 Rock hope to jump-start the operation with the surprising appointment of Dan Abrams as its new general manager. The network legal correspondent and host of The Abrams Report will run the day-to-day operation and report to Phil Griffin, a senior executive at NBC News who also keeps his eye on Today. The Biz talked to Abrams, son of well-known First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, about his new job behind the camera.
TVGuide.com: So how was that first day?Dan Abrams: A lot of phone calls. A lot of interviews. But also a lot of walking around. I'm trying to make it cl
read more
Question: Read the Dispatch on Katie Couric. Agreed with everything you said. I've read a lot about her leaving Today, but in all that I've read, I haven't seen any mention of when she'll actually start anchoring CBS Evening News. Do you have any idea?
Answer: She'll begin her reign in the CBS Evening News anchor chair in September. That's when Meredith Vieira settles into Katie's old job at Today as well.
Hey, Matt fans! Join our exclusive reader panel to share your thoughts about TV Guide and your favorite shows, plus enter our Talk to TV Guide Sweepstakes for a chance to win a free trip for two to L.A. to attend the 2006 TV Guide After Party following the Emmy Awards. Sign up here.
...
read more
Charles Gibson
After Charles Gibson was named anchor of ABC World News Tonight, he got a call from a colleague saying, "The tortoise has won the race." Indeed, after all the hype about traveling anchors, webcasts and updates for the West Coast, the network turned to its most experienced and least flashy veteran to head its flagship broadcast. Gibson takes over for Elizabeth Vargas, who has been flying solo since coanchor Bob Woodruff sustained
read more
Meredith Vieira, The View
History is about to repeat itself at NBC's Today.
Any minute now, The View's Meredith Vieira will sign on as coanchor to replace Katie Couric after she leaves to join the CBS Evening News. But it looks like Vieira will keep her other gig as host of the syndicated
read more