News Round-up: George, TCA, Sony Visits Y&R, 65+

GREY'S ANATOMY: The George story you'll never see
"I wanted to see his last day [alive] really badly," says GREY's boss Shonda Rhimes. "What I thought was interesting was the idea of, we now know it's the last day of someone's life, [so we’re] looking at it differently than [we] would any other time."

Viewers would have also seen firsthand how George's split-second decision to save that girl's life cost him his own. "I wanted to see the moment he leapt in front of the bus," Rhimes confirms. "I wanted to bookend the episode [so that] the first time you see him leap in front of the bus, it's really scary. But the second time you see it, he's a hero.

"I thought it would have been a beautiful episode," she continues, adding that, had we seen those missing hours, "We might have learned something new about George."

TV critics flocking to LA on annual sojourn
The nation's TV critics are gathering for their annual summer meeting in Los Angeles, to get information about the new fall shows. Some things have changed as the first full normal TV season after the 2008 writers' strike unfolds. The tour itself, organized by the Television Critics Association, is a slimmed-down affair, and it's taking place several weeks later than usual. But one thing remains the same: Fall premieres are still the highlight of the TV season.

Shaved to less than two weeks (from an all-time high in the '90s of 23 days), the press tour still attracts every major broadcast network and most of the cable ones. And while it also has attracted the same number of critics as last year, the makeup of the press corps has changed. The ranks of print journalists in the critics association have shrunk 12 percent in the last year, while the number of reporters working exclusively online has jumped 10 percent. The total registered remains the same as last year, 148.

Sony Television President convenes a Y&R ‘Town Meeting’
Sara Bibel reports: "Last Friday Sony Pictures Television President Steve Mosko visited THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS' studio for a Town Meeting with the show’s cast, crew, and production office staff. Mosko runs Sony’s entire television division including primetime, cable and syndication. Sources say he wanted to speak frankly with employees about the show’s recent two year renewal by CBS. The new contract cuts the license fee, which means even more budget cuts. Some production office staff and crew have already had their salaries slashed. Mosko discussed the current state of the show and praised the leadership of Maria and Billy Bell before opening up the floor to questions. The meeting was described by an attendee as a pep talk to let the staff know that their hard work was appreciated. Of course, Mosko may hope that future contract negotiations will go more smoothly than Melody Thomas Scott’s now that the cast knows that the show has no money to spare. CBS daytime president Barbara Bloom did not attend the meeting. Nor did Eric Braeden, even though he was reportedly on set Friday."

Marketing to Today's 65-plus Consumers
Stick around for seven or more decades and you're apt to become the focal point of some stereotypes before you're done. In the case of today's 65-and-older consumers, though, the problem is that the stereotypes of frail-and-lonely ancients are more creaky than the people to whom they're applied. And it doesn't help matters that baby boomers talk loudly about being poised to transform the nature of old age, as if it has heretofore been unchanged dating back to the Stone Age. Looking at some survey data on 65-plusers, and hearing from people professionally engaged in understanding and marketing to this cohort, we get a clearer picture of how older Americans see themselves and the advertising that's aimed (or, often, misaimed) at them.

AS THE WORLD TURNS's Star Turns: A Look At Oakdale's Standout Soap Hoppers
ATWT has a long history of finding talented newcomers. However, the show has snatched talented soap vets, too. Here are 10 recent standouts from Soap Opera Digest.