TELEVISION
Cable news pilot
In a BBC interview, TV hit maker Aaron Sorkin says he’s written a pilot episode for HBO that takes place behind the scenes at a nightly cable show. The series is being cast.
After spending time observing at CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, Sorkin hopes to give viewers an appreciation of the fascinating work being done. He says he wants to bring to cable news the same sense of idealism that made government appealing on “The West Wing.”
“Skins” skids
The audience for MTV’s racy drama “Skins” plunged to 1.6 million Monday night, a drop-off of more than half from its premiere a week earlier, according to Nielsen Co. ratings.
The viewer slump may signal a triumph of the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group that had blasted the series’ content and condemned MTV for aiming the show at young people.
Since its initial airing, a number of advertisers had pulled their commercials from the program, which depicts teens engaging in sexual activity as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
The Associated Press
