News Round-up

2009 Oscar winners list
Slumdog Millionair took home eight trophies at last night's Academy Awards.

Red carpet no-shows irk photogs
There was much grumbling among photographers over the Academy's new policy of having some stars (Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Stewart, Katherine Heigl and Jessica Alba) enter through an off-camera back entrance.

"Magazines want photos from the red carpet -- the stars have spent hours getting ready and they're prepared to pose," said one. "We sell these photos all year. This is a disaster both for us and for the designers who want their dresses seen at the Oscars."

NAB 2009: Shrinking Broadcast Presence At 2009 Show
With a wave of slashed budgets washing across the television industry due to the current economic downturn, many broadcast network and station engineers are expected to skip their annual pilgrimage to the National Association of Broadcasters' annual convention this April. Those broadcasters that are attending are closely monitoring their costs.

Heath Ledger's family accepts Oscar on his behalf
"First of all, I have to say this is ever so humbling," explained Ledger's dad, Kim Ledger, as he took the podium with the actor's mother, Sally Bell, and his sister, Kate Ledger. "This award tonight would've humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here, his peers, within an industry he so loved. Thank you."

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHT parents drive the action
Slate's Hanna Rosin writes: "In most American shows about teenagers, the parents are not really relevant. They might leave a ham sandwich on the table or some milk in the fridge, but basically, their role is to let the kids wallow in their own histrionics. But in FNL, the parents drive all the action. When they are absent, they are really absent, as in gone off to war, or deadbeat, turning their kids into old souls who have to endure alone."

Ofcom clears EASTENDERS pedophile plot
Communications regulator Ofcom has ruled that EASTENDERS' controversial pedophile plot was handled "appropriately and sensitively" and therefore was not in breach of the broadcasting code.

Katherine Kelly set for big things on CORONATION STREET
CORRIE bosses have hailed Katherine Kelly as their new "golden girl" - and signed her up until 2011 at least. They handed her the bumper new deal to ensure she stays on as man-mad waitress Becky Grainger.

A source said: "Quite simply, Kathy is the golden girl around the place. The bosses drool over her character because the response from the viewers has been absolutely amazing."

INTERVIEW: GENERATIONS' (Africa) Connie Ferguson
On GENERATIONS' ability to match the life-span of, say, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, which has been running for more than 20 years, Ferguson muses: "Okay, that's the next five years. Why not? We have already made history as the first African soap to enjoy such longevity that I can definitely see many more generations of GENERATIONS."

The Real Deal about Motherhood: A True Story of one Woman's Struggle to Keep From Losing Herself, her Career, and her Sanity
"Where Did I Go: The Personal Chronicle of a SAHM (Stay at Home Mom), as She Shares her Fulfilling, Frustrating and Often Comical Journey from Womanhood to Motherhood," by B. Erin Wylde, is a warmhearted and funny memoir that captures the experiences of a woman who leaves her profitable career to care for her two year old child suffering from GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), and her four year old son. Wylde, in her down to earth, chatting with a pal style, has written about what it’s really like when a woman has to turn away from her career to care for her family, even if it is only for a few years.

"Where Did I Go?" is not a how- to book, or a compilation of tips and tricks on arts and crafts or disciplinary techniques, as are many books on motherhood, but is more of a myth buster about SAHMs and motherhood in general; however, Wylde, having always been a career woman, sets the tone at the beginning of the book by formally apologizing to all SAHMs. The introduction, aptly titled, Not Too Big to Admit When I'm Wrong, debunks the myth of the Bon Bon eating, soap opera watching, women that so many still buy into.

Long-serving FAIR CITY stars axed as actors fear more cuts may follow
FAIR CITY stars Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O'Brien have been axed from the soap as bosses revamp the Carrigstown cast. The two actors, who play Bob Charles and Renee Phelan, are being written out of the popular RTE show.