News Round-up

NEW YORK TIMES: For Hard Times, Softer Sells
Television advertisements are adjusting to the recession more speedily than the programming they bracket.

Ex-B&B actor Mario Lopez gets E! TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY tonight
Lopez reveals he's not exactly what people have made him out to be, dishing on everything from where he and Landry went wrong, to what he really wants out of life. The show airs tonight at 9pm ET/PT.

Excitement still burns in John Lee Sanders' house of music
In his long career, he’s been behind film scores; received an Emmy nomination for penning the theme song for the soap opera THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; became a top West Coast session player and producer on keyboards, saxophone and horn arrangements; and has performed at festivals all over Europe and North America.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES recasts Will
Dylan Michael Patton joins the cast as Will on Friday, February 27th.

CBS Paramount to its stars -- no raise for you
CBS Paramount is asking the on-air talent on the majority of its dramas to forego their annual raises and keep their salaries flat next season. CBS dramas produced by outside studios are not affected.

A rundown of the fall TV pilots
Know your fall TV pilots! Cop, doctor, lawyer, remake or a new idea?

GH extra Heather Hudson speaks about her day on the set
What's it like to be in the midst of a big story like the hospital crisis? "It's pretty quick," she acknowledges. "I don't think I ever saw anything go past two or possibly three takes maybe. There's something about the community there - the GH crew and actors are in great communication. They have a flow. And they're very supportive of each other. That was a long day and a hard day. They had a lot of issues technically - that blood in the OR, and the scene in surgery - that can really drag a set down. People can get tired. There were something like thirty-plus scenes, and they had to break down the technical stuff. A very long day. This crew, this cast, they went with it without blinking.

It may be a doomed love affair, but P&G can't quit Kate Gosselin
Despite Internet rumblings to the contrary, Procter & Gamble has said it will retain Kate Gosselin as its spokeswoman for brandSAVER for the balance of its fiscal year, which ends June. "We plan to continue to use and leverage her there. We'll discuss around that time if or in what nature we'll continue the relationship," says P&G rep Glenn Williams.