The Hollywood Reporter
Ben Silverman’s Electus Launches Online Morning Show ‘AOL Daybreak’
Former network TV executive Diane Masciale serves as senior executive producer. Lindsay Campbell Hosts
NEW YORK – AOL Inc. on Monday launched a new morning video show, called AOL Daybreak, on its home page in partnership with Ben Silverman’s multimedia studio Electus.
Lindsay Campbell, best known for her work hosting humorous financial web series Wallstrip and then news and politics series MobLogic, serves as the host for the morning news roundup with “a lighthearted take on recent headlines.” The launch of the series, expected to be available on demand in the early morning, comes as AOL has looked to create more online video offers.
“On any given day AOL.com has a larger audience than most television networks,” said David Eun, president of AOL Media and Studios. “We want to provide our audience with the most engaging, informative and entertaining content on the Internet, and ‘AOL Daybreak’ delivers.”
Said Silverman: “We are thrilled to partner with AOL on the next generation of morning news. Lindsay Campbell’s fun and contemporary point of view will resonate with approachable content in a dynamic medium.”
The new series, about two minutes long in its debut that featured Campbell asking people in the streets of Manhattan what they would like from a morning news show, is produced by network TV veteran, Diane Masciale, Adam Eland and Jeff Marks. Masciale, who serves as senior executive producer, previously was executive editor of ABC’s Good Morning America and executive producer in the ABC long form unit. She also formerly worked for NBC’s Today Show and Dateline NBC. Al Roker makes a guest appearance in the AOL show’s first edition.
Amid the continuing cord cutting debate in the cable industry that has seen some suggest that some consumers are looking to end their pay TV subscriptions to watch more Web video, at least one young woman interviewed by Campbell for the Monday launch episode seemed confused about where to find AOL Daybreak. Asked if she would watch a morning show on AOL, the woman said she may do so if she was at home and flipped through the channels, although she added she wasn’t sure if she even had AOL. Campbell then pointed out that she was not referring to a TV network, but the AOL home page.
ABC Executive Announcement
ABC Announces Diane Masciale to Join “Good Morning America” as Executive Editor for Special Coverage
Masciale to Also Contribute to ABC News Long Form Documentary Unit as Executive Producer
Longtime news producer, Diane Masciale, has been named executive editor for special coverage of ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” effective November 1, it was announced today by Phyllis McGrady, the senior vice president of morning, primetime and development at ABC News. In this new role, Ms. Masciale will report directly to Ms. McGrady and “GMA” senior executive producer, Jim Murphy, where she will play an instrumental part in the planning and development of sweeps series as well as overall special events for “GMA”. In addition to her role at “Good Morning America,” Ms. Masciale will executive produce programs for the long form documentary unit at ABC News.
“Diane Masciale is an innovative producer who brings years of experience to ‘Good Morning America,'” said Ms. McGrady. “We look forward to her ideas and knowledge of the morning television landscape as ‘Good Morning America’ continues to perform strongly with its first-rate team of Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion.”
“I am honored to accept this position at ‘GMA,'” said Ms. Masciale. “Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion are the best in the business and the chance to work with them and the talented and dedicated staff of ‘Good Morning America’ was an opportunity I could not turn down.”
Ms. Masciale is a longtime news producer who has spent the last 13 years at NBC News. There, she held senior broadcast producer positions with both “Dateline” and “Today.” Prior to NBC News, Ms. Masciale spent many years in California working in local news. From 1991-1993, she was the assistant general manager and program director of KCNS-TV in San Francisco. In addition, from 1982 -1988, Ms. Masciale was an executive producer at KRON-TV. In 1991 she developed a television pilot for Westinghouse Broadcasting. From 1978-1980, Ms. Masciale was a reporter at WLOS-TV in Asheville, NC and for KRNT/KRNQ Radio in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ms. Masciale holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. She is a native New Yorker and currently resides on Long Island with her husband and two children.
ABC News’ “Good Morning America” is anchored by Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts. Chris Cuomo is the news anchor and Sam Champion is the weather anchor. The two-hour morning news program airs live Monday through Friday from 7:00am to 9:00 am/EDT on the ABC Television Network. Jim Murphy is the senior executive producer and Tom Cibrowski is the executive producer.
Highbeam Business
Masciale gets special gig at ABC’s ‘GMA’ – Diane Masciale appointed executive editor of “Good Morning America”
Longtime news producer, Diane Masciale, has been named executive editor for special coverage of ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” effective November 1, it was announced today by Phyllis McGrady, the senior vice president of morning, primetime and development at ABC News. “Diane Masciale is an innovative producer who brings years of experience to ‘Good Morning America,'” said Ms. McGrady. “We look forward to her ideas and knowledge of the morning television landscape as ‘Good Morning America’ continues to perform strongly with its first-rate team of Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts, Chris Cuomo and Sam Champion.”
The Futon Critic
A Katie Couric Special That Every Parent and Teenager Must See – ‘The 411: Teens & Sex’
David Corvo is the executive producer of “The 411: Teens & Sex”, Diane Masciale is the senior broadcast producer and Sophia Faskianos is the producer
NEW YORK — January 24, 2005 — Are young teens going too far too fast? If so, is it the exception or the rule? NBC’s Katie Couric takes on the sensitive subject of young teens and sex in her hour-long, primetime NBC News special, “The 411: Teens & Sex,” to be broadcast on Wednesday, Jan. 26 (10 PM, ET).
Based upon findings from a groundbreaking national survey of young teens commissioned by NBC News and People Magazine, Couric’s special explores how teens, ages 13 to 16 years-old, are coming to terms with their sexuality. Couric traveled to Key Biscayne, Fla., along with 11 girls and nine boys from all across America to discuss cultural influences, peer pressure, abstinence, and oral sex. Parents of the teens also talked about their concerns with two adolescent specialists and explored ways to better communicate with their teens.
During the long weekend, amidst lights, cameras, and raging hormones, the kids got to know each other and Couric got an earful about what teens are actually doing, how little parents really know and how teens wish they could broach the subject more easily with their moms and dads. The teens selected by NBC News from across the country have different attitudes, backgrounds and experiences. They reveal that in a world where belonging feels so urgently important and swimming against the tide requires great strength, teenage life has changed since the quaint days of going steady. When asked about the term, “friends with benefits,” Sam, 16, says: ” I think you could compare friends with benefits to the driving range. There’s no commitment to playing a round of golf. You just go there, work on your game, figure out what shots are working for you and practice up.”
Their willingness to tackle sensitive and controversial subjects and their unflinching openness also illustrate that childhood is ending much sooner than one can imagine. Natalia, 17: “They call me ‘The Condom Lady.’ A lot of parents where I come from…they’re very conservative…But if they really knew what was going on with their teens…maybe they would feel a bit differently about me handing out condoms.”
The NBC News/People National Survey of Young Teens Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors is a pioneering scientific study that polls 13 and 14 year olds about intimate sexual practices. NBC News and People Magazine commissioned Princeton Survey Research Associates International to conduct a nationally representative telephone survey of young teenagers and their parents. The goal of this survey was to conduct a nationwide survey of young teenagers (ages 13 to 16) on issues related to sexual health and activity. A companion survey was conducted among parents, in part to acquaint parents with the survey topic so they could give informed consent for their teen to participate and in part to provide a point of comparison against which to view teen responses.
David Corvo is the executive producer of “The 411: Teens & Sex,” Diane Masciale is the senior broadcast producer and Sophia Faskianos is the producer.
