Praise All Around

Back stage, the cast and crew of The West Wing
were especially gracious in victory at the 53rd annual Emmy awards. They uniformly praised the opposition — Home Box Office's The Sopranos —
when they could have touted the plot points planned for their own show this season.

As they piled on the kudos, Emmy winner Edie Falco appeared at the door to wait for her turn before the press. Spotting her, fellow Emmy winner Bradley Whitford quipped, "Edie Falco is an acting God to us." The NBC crew then yielded the stage to her.

Asked for her response, Falco jokingly scoffed, "They gotta get out more."

And for those of you addicted to the "Who did your hair?" line of questioning, Falco wouldn't reveal whether Carmela Soprano will also have a chic new 'do, or whether the actress will wear wigs over her new coif to replicate her character's updos.

Baseball Blues

The fact that the Emmy Awards ceremony was held at the same time as the seventh game of the World Series caused some real angst for Hollywood's baseball partisans.

Emmy producers were compelled to air Fox's baseball telecast in the Shubert Theater during commerical breaks to keep fans from lingering backstage, watching the game on a monitor, or from huddling around sets in the lobby.

But the commercials-only feed only irked many in the house. Producer-writer John Wells noted that every time there was a crucial at bat, fans would lean forward — only to have the action replaced by a blue screen announcing "30 seconds to air."

Exit, Stage Right

MTV Networks' recent round of layoffs — about 450 in all — also involved a reorganization at VH1. MTVN and VH1 officials continue to remain mum about exactly who was let go, but more names leaked out last week.

Among those who got pink slips at VH1 were Eddie Dalva, who earlier this year was promoted to the slot of senior vice president of programming, co-productions and creative affairs for VH1 and CMT: Country Music Television, which both fall under John Sykes' purview. Dalva had relocated to VH1's Santa Monica, Calif., office this spring.

Other VH1 staffers who were cut are Geoff Whalen, a creative director involved in on-air promotion; Jill Newfield, a general counsel in VH1's law and business affairs department; and Stacey Sanner, a director of communications for VH1.

Backstreet Blurb

If you want youngsters to listen to your conservation message, get someone they can identify with to deliver it: like Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson. Great concept, but how did Charter Communications get a member of one of the hottest boy bands to be their spokesman in power-saving PSAs?

Well, it helps to pick the right partner, said Western region director of public affairs Michael Waxman. The MSO designed a campaign to help mitigate the California energy crisis, and turned to the Sierra Club as a partner. With both companies on board, the talent was drawn to the opportunity to speak to more than 500,000 cable homes, he said.

In addition to Richardson, actor Harry Shearer (the voice of C. Montgomery Burns and others on The Simpsons) recorded a conservation spot.

The Real Grinch

Fox Family Channel decided to replace its annual "25 Days of Christmas" party at Rockefeller Center's skating rink "long before [the Walt Disney Co. acquisition] was even on the radar screen," a Fox Family spokesman noted last week. The network instead did "13 Days of Halloween" at Man Ray in lower Manhattan.

So The Wire, in a recent item, should have portrayed Fox Family rather than Disney as the Grinch in this situation.

Indeed, the newly christened ABC Family last week sent out its first press kits — for the 225-hour "25 Days of Christmas" programming stunt, along with a maroon throw blanket and videos of Donner, an animated special, and the movie Three Days, a romantic drama.

We're Still Sending a TV

Add Bloomberg Television to the list of programmers scrapping plans to exhibit at the Western Show, which has evolved largely into a technology confab.

Instead of setting up an exhibit, Bloomberg will use the space it had already paid for as a lounge for attendees, spokeswoman Chris Taylor said. A television monitor running the Bloomberg feed will be in the lounge, she added. Affiliate sales staff for the network, whose founder Michael Bloomberg was elected mayor of New York City last week, will still attend the show, Taylor said.

Bill vs. George

Here's the latest in the dustup between Bill O'Reilly of Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor
and George Clooney. Last week, the actor sent out a two-page letter blasting the FNC host for trying to hype his ratings during "the first week of sweeps." O'Reilly rightly pointed out that the sweeps involve the broadcasters, not cable.

The acerbic O'Reilly has taken to task Clooney and the other celebrities who appeared on America: A Tribute to Heroes. That event designed to raise money for the families of the Sept. 11 terrorists' victims and was simulcast on numerous TV and cable networks. O'Reilly charges that precious little of the money raised for the September 11 Fund has reached those families. Celebs should use their star power to compel distribution of the money, O'Reilly fumes.

O'Reilly actually launched his rant on the sluggishness of distribution of such funds, including those administered by the American Red Cross and the United Way, weeks before the November sweeps period.

Cable's Prom

After the annual Walter Kaitz fundraiser was canceled the week of Sept. 11, Thursday night's Women in Cable and Telecommunications gala substituted as this year's "cable prom."

Congratulations to WICT for a very solid effort. From the passion of Pat Mitchell and Catherine Crier to the grace of honoree

Carole Black to the humor of Henry Schleiff, WICT couldn't have put together a better program.