Gawker: shelley ross

CBS Early Show Staffers: Watch Your Backs

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:41:37 EDT

How is it humanly possible for the CBS Early Show to be so dysfunctional? And so early in the morning, at that? The show has been a nest of infighting for months, since the times of deposed mean boss Shelley Ross. Now, we hear that more scheming and devious machinations are underway. A tipster says that Zev Shalev, who was named a senior producer for the show in March (and who CBS execs are said to want to take over permanently as the show's top producer), may be in the crosshairs of Michael Rosen, another senior producer who was once described to us as "a tyrant to the staff." Laurye Blackford, a departing senior producer and "mean girl," may also be involved. Of course, anyone who has survived at the show through all of its internal turbulence must be presumed to be an expert Machiavellian corporate backstabber. Beware, CBS staffers! Do you have any more info on the Early Show's drama? Email us, please.

Man Charged With Saving CBS Leaves Second Failing Show?

Pareene — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:19:16 EDT

CBS continues to be a total disaster. Last year they brought in former MSNBC president Rick Kaplan to save Katie Couric's Evening News (without asking Katie's opinion). We all know how that went! Not that Kaplan stayed there long—soon he was dispatched to take control of the constantly failing Early Show, where he replaced the scary, tequila-swigging Shelley Ross. Ross left, but her "mean girl" staff remained. So far, Kaplan has not righted the sunk ship. Now we hear it's curtains for Kaplan. Or at least he's taking a suspicious two-week vacation during sweeps. The kind of vacation you don't come back from. Speculation from a leaky CBSer, below.

Word is that he's going on vacation next week for two weeks — DURING SWEEPS — this is a show that under Shelley Ross you couldn't take off even if you died — and that he won't be returning to the network after his vacation.

Yes — he has been pushed out of the Evening News and the Early Show.

Word is that a senior producer Shelley hired from Canada will be the next EP — but that could be a tough sell b/c well he has NO news experience. He was the EP of a program in Canada titled "Gay TV."

Things are still tough at the morning show — in fact a senior producer David Shenfeld — who has lost all his power to Laurye Blackford — in fact just didn't come to work starting last Sunday — just didn't bother to call or e-mail anyone. Apparently he was so fed up and frustrated he just decided to come to work. Really professional.

Btw — Rick is having a staff meeting on Friday — I'm sure no one over there will admit that he's leaving — but what a shame — he really tried to get the show to a better place after the Shelley debacle...and now he's being pushed out. You gotta wonder what the execs are really doing there except reading staffers' e-mails.

All Is Not Well at CBS's Early Show

Sheila — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:14:20 EDT

Are staffers at CBS's Early Show so much happier since holy-terror producer Shelley Ross left a few weeks ago? Maybe not! A mole tells us that Ross, while she had her issues, wasn't the only problem. No staffers that quit have returned, and even with Rick Kaplan as new producer, we hear that Ross's "mean girl" senior staff still survives and carries on her unfortunate ways. In fact, two more people have quit, and others plan on leaving soon.

Ben Sherwood Spotted In CBS Early Show Talks

Ryan Tate — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:24:50 EDT

On Friday we asked if former Good Morning America producer Ben Sherwood was in talks about running CBS' Early Show following the departure of disastrous producer Shelley Ross. Since then, TVNewser spoke to "insiders" who said Sherwood talked to CBS executives about the job, and we got a tip that Sherwood was seen last week having drinks with CBS Evening News producer Rick Kaplan, who is running the Early Show on an interim basis. The tipster said the two were seen "far, far away from the office." (Photo via BenSherwood.com.)

Ben Sherwood In CBS Early Show Talks?

Ryan Tate — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:20:56 EST

Is there any truth to the rumor that former Good Morning America Executive Producer Ben Sherwood is the leading candidate to replace Shelley Ross, who was just fired from the top spot at CBS' "Early Show?" Sherwood, who is married to Imagine Films executive Karen Kehela, is said to be represented in the talks by Alan Berger. Email us: tips@gawker.com

New Media Firm Name Apparently Composed Via Txt Msg

Hamilton Nolan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:04:06 EST

Steve Friedman, a director who recently departed the Shelley Ross-terrorized CBS Early Show, is teaming up with another ex-CBSer to show needy clients how "the crazy quilt world of new media and old media work together." And you know that you're dealing with experts, because they have a wacky, new media name for their firm: Vir2L Media. That's the way these internet types spell things these days, seriously! They should have great success as consultants telling clueless corporate types what to do, as long as nobody uses The Google and gets them confused with Vir2L Studios, which already existed before they picked their name. Such a wild, wild media world. [TVNewser]

Mean Lady Leaves, Famous People Are Heroes

Richard Lawson — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:34:47 EST

Shelley Ross, the crazed, "hard charging", possibly tequlia guzzling CBS producer may be leaving the network. Employees of The Early Show, some sort of morning talk show that Ross worked on, are saying that she hasn't been to work since Monday and that some boxes were hauled out of her office. A meeting had taken place where timid, probably bandaged and scarred workers were asked to air their grievances aloud and in public, under promise of protection from any bloody, horrific attack. A few brave, stupid sons of bitches spoke up, but of course it took the "famous" people to affect a lasting change. Reportedly Julie "Chenbot" Chen and some dude named Harry Smith, who anchor this probably mythical morning show, said it was either Ross's ass or they were out. It looks like the famous people won. As they always do. [NYP]

Crazy Woman Terrorizes Show No One Watches

Richard Lawson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:21:17 EST

Evidently there is some kind of television network called CBS that airs a program called The Early Show. This Early Show apparently has some mean producer boss lady who runs around making people say they're sorry for things and then makes them cry. Shelley Ross, who, according to the Post, is both "hard-charging", and "hard-driving" (and, oh look!, we've called "tequila swilling") has seen 21 staffers leave the show since she began in September. Those who have stayed on often grumble (or worse) about her demand for 18 hour work days, especially during sweeps. She even demanded that someone reschedule a colonoscopy. This, no doubt, offers grim foreshadowing of what a Hillary presidency will be like. Because, you know. [P6]

The Network TV Producer (Allegedly!) Who Swills Tequila Before Noon

Maggie — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:11:17 EST

Today's Page Six asks "WHICH slave-driving producer of a morning TV show was ordered by the network's legal department to cease and desist offering staffers tequila shots on Friday afternoons?" We haven't had a good poll here in awhile, but this one's pretty obvious. Over at the CBS 'Early Show,' producer Shelley Ross has been breaking balls since she arrived in September, prompting a number of staffers to walk. Ross herself was fired a couple of years ago from her ABC News gig in the wake of staff complaints about her um, rather intense management style. One CBS staffer, who sent a protest manifesto to network executives, complained that despite "tequila Fridays" being nixed, "there is much evidence that drinking tequila or alcohol but especially tequila with Shelley is considered the way 'in' with her and her group." Oh my God, the same thing happened to me in the ninth grade! After the jump, more bitchery and unrest at the consistently third-ranked network morning talk show.

Senior producer Michael Rosen "is a tyrant to the staff...and that's being kind," the staffer said.

Laurye Blackford, another senior producer who worked with Ross at ABC's 'Good Morning America,' is set to leave the 'Early Show' in March, and nobody likes her much either.

Blackford and Ross are the pseudo-mean girls of the 'Early Show,' and there have been complaints that the both "prefer dealing with men...female producers are noticing this." Catty corporate women are so much fun!

One producer found out he was being replaced earlier this month when he discovered the new guy had already moved into his office. Lovely!

Media Bubble: Bad Hair Day

abalk2 — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 10:10:38 EST

Big shakeup at Yahoo includes resignation of former ABC head Lloyd Braun. [NYT]

Mother of tabloid TV news disavows her offspring. [NYO]

In the course of calling Spy a "total failure," Donald Trump refers to Vanity Fair ed Graydon Carter's "bad hair." Considering the source, that's got to sting. [NYP]

Slate wonders why the previously leak-proof White House is now turning into a gusher? We'd guess it has something to do with the fact that certain officals might find it advantageous to distance themselves from a lame duck whose incompetence has cost his party control of both houses of Congress, but, heck, we're not experts or anything. [Slate]

Media magnate Bono wants the parenting part of the Time For titles. [NYP]

France gets its own 24-hour news channel. [Guardian]

The search for missing CNET editor James Kim continues. [CNET]

R.W. "Johnny" Apple remembered at the Kennedy Center. Also, the reporter who made a deathbed request for Apple's favorite waffle shacks? Jill Santopietro. [NYT]

Nice tribute to George W.S. Trow. [NYO]