EXCLUSIVE: Ricki Lake Returning to Daytime Twentieth developing new show with eye toward 2012

By Paige Albiniak

Twentieth Television is officially in development on a talk show starring Ricki Lake, the company said Wednesday.

"Ricki is a pop culture icon who has built a career on her candid, straight talk sensibility and her authentic, relatable nature. With an enormous fan base, that represents all ages and ethnicities, we are thrilled to develop a daytime talk show emphasizing Ricki's fresh and enhanced perspective," said Stephen Brown, Twentieth's senior vice president of programming and development, in a statement.

Last month, B&C reported that Lake was shopping a new talker. At the time, several distributors - including Twentieth, NBCUniversal and CBS Television Distribution - were considering the opportunity.

The hour-long show is in development with an eye toward a fall 2012 launch on broadcast stations, cable networks or a combination of both. Distributors expect the 2012 market for new shows to be more competitive than it's been in recent years. Besides Lake, the industry is waiting to learn whether Katie Couric will launch a new syndicated talker and with what distributor.

Lake starred in her own talk show that was distributed and produced by Sony Pictures Television from 1993 - 2004. That show was aimed at younger women, but Lake, now 42 and a single mom, plans to expand the show to include such topics as family, marriage, parenting and divorce, as well as subjects close to Lake's heart, like weight-loss (Lake lost 125 pounds in 2007), health and nutrition.

"It has been very fulfilling for the past seven years to focus my energy on advocacy work on behalf families and children," said Lake in a statement. "Now, I am excited to return to my roots and work with Twentieth Television to develop a talk show that will give me an opportunity to share my experiences and reconnect with audiences."

Since her first talk show ended, Lake has remained busy in television and film. In 2006, she hosted CBS' limited series, Gameshow Marathon, in which classic game shows were recreated with celebrity contestants. She also produced a documentary called The Business of Being Born, about home birth and midwifery, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. The documentary featured footage from Lake's own home-birthing experience. In 2009, she replaced Sharon Osbourne on the third season of VH1's Charm School.

IYANLA’S DRAMA WITH OPRAH MAKES HER BOOK #1

(blackmediaSCOOP) That tv cat fight between Iyanla Vanzant and Oprah Winfrey is paying off! Iyanla’s latest book “Peace From Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re Going Through” is now a New York Times bestseller! You may remember, Iyanla enjoyed regular segments as a self-help guru on “Oprah” until a falling out ended her appearances 10 years ago. In February she returned to the show for a no-holds-barred interview that aired in two parts.

The two finally got to the bottom of the miscommunication that forced them to go their separate ways, which left Iyanla broke and on the verge of committing suicide. FYI, “Peace From Broken Pieces,” is published talk show host/author Tavis Smiley’s SmileyBooks. It currently sits at #1 on the Times’ Hardcover Advice & Misc. list.

CLICK to get the book!

'Oprah Winfrey Show' Ending May 25

The final original episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will air May 25. Winfrey's Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed the date Friday. Winfrey announced live on the show in November 2009 that she would end its run after 25 years. She since has launched cable's Oprah Winfrey Network.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has been in reruns for the last few weeks. But Winfrey tweeted Thursday that she was "hard at work planning the final shows" and new episodes would begin April 7.

The final episode brings an end to what has been television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades. It airs in 145 countries worldwide.

Rolanda Watts, One Time WNBC and WABC Reporter, Arrested For DUI

By Jerry Barmash

Former WNBC and WABC anchor/reporter Rolanda Watts was arrested early Saturday morning on a suspicion of DUI, according to TMZ.

Watts, who was leaving the NAACP Image Awards, was booked at 1:30 a.m. in Hollywood. TMZ reports Watts was booked for a Van Nuys jail at 4:07 a.m. She was released on a $15,000 bond.

After her local stints at WABC and WCBS in the 1980s, Watts moved onto the national TV scene. In 1992 she was a named senior correspondent and weekend anchor on Inside Edition. Two years later, Watts had her biggest notoriety with her eponymous talk show.

Watts is a graduate of Columbia University’s School of Journalism.

TMZ says Watts is due back in court March 30.

United Airlines Unveils Oprah Winfrey Plane

United Airlines has unveiled "The Oprah Winfrey Show" farewell season plane to honor the iconic talk show host's 25th and last season on CBS before embarking on running her own cable channel.

The Boeing 757 aircraft is newly painted with imagery from the TV show. The interior also has been redecorated and passengers will be greeted by a special onboard video welcome from Winfrey.

At a send-off event Thursday at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, customers heard a special message from Winfrey before boarding the flight. One passenger will win enough United Mileage Plus miles for a trip around the world. Each customer on the inaugural flight also received a monogrammed "Oprah 25" fleece blanket.

In conjunction with the unveiling of plane, United is launching the "Million Mile Giveaway" -- a sweepstakes that will award one million United Mileage Plus miles to one winner each month through May 2011. Additional prizes include Oprah Store e-cards. Details for the sweepstakes can be found at the airline's dedicated microsite for the promotion: www.unitedmillionmiles.com.

United will fly the plane to and from cities in United's domestic network through May 2011. At the end of the show's season, the plane will be repainted.

Customers and "Oprah" show viewers are encouraged to take photos of the plane and upload them to the plane photo gallery on the sweepstakes Web site. Initial photos on the site include shots of the artists painting the outside of the plane.

Q&As about the plane on United's Web site include: Q: Will Oprah Winfrey be on the Plane? A: No. Oprah Winfrey will not be on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" Farewell Season Plane. However, unique to the plane will be an onboard video welcome from Oprah Winfrey.

"As Chicago's hometown airline, United is proud to celebrate The Oprah Winfrey Show's Farewell Season with our customers, employees and 'Oprah' show fans," said Mark Bergsrud, senior vice president of marketing for United, in a statement. "This unique plane represents the global reach of two great Chicago icons."

Playing The Bigger Game - PART 5

Step 5: Decide That Intimidation Is For Suckers

You know those people who wish you could work with – or at least get to notice you – that scare the hell out of you because they’re out of your league? Well, guess what – they’re actually real, normal people. (Well, maybe ‘normal’ is an overstatement). Unless they’re truly one of the “diva” types, there are generally a lot of ways to approach them successfully.
Remember, people are people. There is no magical halo around the people farther up the food chain –they are all as screwed up as (we!) are. They freak out over the things just like you do, have the same fears and worries as you do – and in fact their stress levels are higher than yours because everything they do is scrutinized so much more.

(Left to Right: Martha Stewart, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs & Michael Eisner)

So why are you intimidated by them? Why are you afraid to approach them for joint ventures, or call them for interviews, or get some foot in the door that would bring you closer to them?

Two reasons:
If you want their approval, you’re afraid you’ll be rejected. And the world will end if that happens, right? Wrong. See the earlier step about failure. Yes, you will be rejected the first time. All that means is that you’ll need a better strategy (more on that later).

Or

If they’re your competition they are scary to you. Maybe the person / company you’re intimidated by is a direct competitor and you’re freaked out that you could never thrive in their shadow. News flash: There’s room for other people if you’re committed to being remarkable. Go buy Seth Godin’s Purple Cow or Tribes and realize the pie is big enough for everyone.

Bottom line is, you have to consciously decide that you’re not going to be intimidated by other people. Nobody is out of your league, and nobody is indestructible.

Think a “regular person” can’t connect with A-listers? Watch carefully, people do it all the time. Think a “regular business” can’t compete with your dominant competitor? IBM thought that, and Dell kicked it’s butt starting out in a dorm room. And tiny little FireFox tore Internet Explorer a new one. It happens all the time. And there’s no reason it can’t happen for you.

Here’s the thing: Intimidation is just the manifestation of insecurity. You’re afraid someone won’t think you’re worthy to talk to or you’re afraid someone’s so much better than you that the free market won’t give you a fighting chance.
Dra-ma.

Instead of letting that twinge of fear paralyze your brain into thinking “never gonna happen” you need to get to the root of that fear, find out what’s causing it, and defuse it with rational thinking. You know, things that maybe have to do with that whole “define your value to others” thing we talked about earlier?

Intimidation is a sucker’s game because it’s all about your brain tricking you into not thinking your way around your insecurity. It’s a defense mechanism designed to protect you because on some level you don’t feel ready.

Game on. SEE YOU ON OPRAH!!!