"60 Minutes" glitch sparks conspiracy theories

"60 MINUTES" GLITCH SPARKS CONSPIRACY THEORIES
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Paul J. Gough]
An Alabama TV station's (WHNT-TV) outage during a "60 Minutes" segment about the state's former governor has stirred speculation that the blackout may have been politically motivated. The station's technical troubles began at 6 p.m. CST, when "60 Minutes" began, and lasted for 12 minutes. The 13-minute report in question began about 6:05 p.m. The outage raised eyebrows in Alabama and elsewhere, with some bloggers claiming it was a deliberate attempt to keep the segment off the air. CBS seemed satisfied that there was no hanky-panky. Another CBS affiliate in Alabama, WAKA-TV in Montgomery, Ala., didn't report any problems. Nor has CBS heard of any other stations with problems during the broadcast.
http://www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSN2528426120080226

-- See also --
* Times Co. Agrees to Sell TV Stations to Equity Firm (01.05.07)
In January 2007, the New York Times Company agreed to sell WHNT-TV to Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/business/media/05times.html
* New Station Super Group Reaches Half of U.S. (01.01.08)
In January 2008, in the wake of Sam Zell's purchase of the Tribune Company, Tribune combined its own 23 television stations with the nine stations owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners. And Tribune hired Randy Michaels, a veteran Clear Channel executive, to run the new company.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/01/01/daily.2/
* Clear Channel veteran expected to play a big role at Tribune (12.20.07)
Most recently, Michaels has been chief executive of Local TV, a chain of nine mid-size Midwestern television stations acquired in May with the backing of Oak Hill Capital, a private equity firm run by Fort Worth investor Robert Bass. Under Michaels, the chain has emphasized live local newscasts as audience builders. Michaels, 55, last worked for Zell at Jacor Communications Inc., a radio chain Zell bought in 1993 and sold at a huge profit in 1998 to Clear Channel Communications Inc. He helped build Clear Channel into a network of 1,200 stations coast to coast. But he had also alienated record companies by exploiting the company's market strength to build its concert business, forcing the industry to do business with both units. Critics also blamed him for homogenizing local radio, a reference to Clear Channel's use of disc jockeys operating out of a centralized location but projecting the impression that they were locally based. Although Michaels helped implement the policy at Clear Channel, it is not certain he originated it.
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-michaels20dec20,1,524...
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