NEWS: AFI, Fulton, Houston, Mag Prices, JOURNEY

AFI picks top 10 for 2009
Among the TV shows to be honored this year are FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, GLEE, BIG LOVE and TRUE BLOOD.

Some Publishers to Push Up Cover Prices in 2010
Publishers may not have cracked the code on generating paid content from the Web, but several big titles are looking to wring more money from consumers the old-fashioned way: cover prices.

Stephanie Laco, senior vp, retail services at wholesaler giant Source Interlink, said she sees fewer publishers experimenting with price. “I think people are questioning whether the consumers are going to pay,” she said. Publishers selling at Walmart would need the retailer to approve price hikes, she added, a fact that “certainly has to be on the minds of publishers.” Observers predict that newsstand sales declines will narrow in second-half ’09 but still be down, around 5 percent to 7 percent.

ATWT's Eileen Fulton on NPR
"I had little cute lines to say or something, but I thought the worst thoughts — the worst, most obscene things — and it came across," Fulton says.

One of the show's writers realized Fulton could play a villainess, and she became one of the first "mean girls" on TV soaps. She even had bodyguards at one point.

"Of course I did, and that's fun. They love to hate me," Fulton says with a laugh, recalling that a fan once stopped her in the street and slapped her, the fan hated her character so much.

JOURNEY: Clones Run Wild in Pay-Per-View Web Series
Explaining itself as “an immersible science-fiction web-series” in a press release, JOURNEY is attempting some interesting experiments in indie web series production and distribution. First of all, each episode clocks in at a whopping half hour and is only available by purchase for $1.99 on the show’s website. Second, besides a Facebook fan page and a Facebook fan group page, they have done little in terms of traditional PR for the show.

November 2009 Top 10 Webisode Series
FRED is number one. Comedy seems to rule the rankings.

Gavin Houston joining GENERAL HOSPITAL cast
Former GUIDING LIGHT actor Gavin Houston (ex-Remy) will play in the role of a new Port Charles cop, Sly Houston. He begins his duties on January 13, 2010.