Twitter and BuzzFeed join for ‘breezy’ online morning show

NEW YORK, Nov 16, (Agencies): Twitter and BuzzFeed initially planned to start their new morning show, “AM to DM,” each weekday at 8 am. Then they considered their likely audience, and scheduled it for 10.

Now there’s time to wake up leisurely, have coffee and fire up your smartphone. Hosts Isaac Fitzgerald and Saeed Jones, who like fourfifths of the show’s audience are under age 35, don’t have to rise at an ungodly hour. It’s all so civilized.

Launched quietly in late September from a studio in BuzzFeed’s Manhattan office, “AM to DM” is a breezy mix of news and pop culture. Viewers can click on Twitter and watch the stream live, or catch highlights later in the day.

“It’s been kind of fun,” said Shani Hilton, head of US news at BuzzFeed. “It feels like the early days of BuzzFeed where we were experimenting all the time and making things out of bubble gum and glue.”

“AM to DM” (DM standing for ‘direct message’) neatly fits the ambitions of two young media companies. Twitter has moved aggressively into video during the past year, streaming more than 800 events during the summer months. BuzzFeed wants to make money with its news operation and be top of mind with social media companies experimenting with video.

After working with BuzzFeed on an election night special, Twitter suggested the morning show. Rather than search for potential hosts with a television background, they found their team in BuzzFeed’s newsroom. Fitzgerald, 34, is a former firefighter who is BuzzFeed’s books editor, and had made several appearances on the “Today” show to talk about the literary scene. Jones, 31, is a published poet who was executive editor of culture at the web site. They make up with energy what they lack in polish.

“I never in my life thought there would be a place for a gay black man to be fully involved in a morning show,” Jones said.

“AM to DM” talks about the news more than it reports it; Hilton said producers work under the assumption viewers have already checked out news headlines. The show relies heavily on the collaborating companies.

Opening Tuesday’s show with the story about Alabama US Senate candidate Roy Moore and molestation accusations, the hosts review what has been written about him on Twitter. They conducted Skype interviews with BuzzFeed White House correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo to preview what President Donald Trump will face now that he’s returned from Asia, and national security correspondent Thomas Frank about the investigation into Russian actions during last year’s presidential campaign.

“Will there ever be a point where there will be a smoking gun, or will it be an incremental creep?” Jones asked Frank.

Frank replied: “The answer is, nobody knows.” As Jones conducts one interview Fitzgerald stands beside him, typing on his smartphone. The show’s regular “fire tweets” segment simply involves the hosts kibitzing over random remarks made on Twitter. They laughed at one person who wrote, “no one actually tells you that an adult job is deleting 80 percent of your emails and ignoring the rest.”

Melissa Joan Hart stopped by for a celebrity interview. She answered questions about the differences between acting and directing, was given a few minutes to address a social cause she’s promoting and played along with a quiz that, among other things, revealed she was an “I Love Lucy” fan. The show has had a mix of politicians and celebrities during its first two months, including Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, Ohio Gov John Kasich, singer Audra McDonald and actress Nicole Richie.

“Page Six TV” was to make its streaming debut Thursday, Nov 16 on Hulu. Each episode of the syndicated daily pop culture program, which launched in September, will be made available to stream on Hulu the day after it airs. Modeled after the New York Post gossip column Page Six, the program delivers news and gossip from entertainment, culture, media, finance, real estate, and politics. Since its debut, “Page Six TV” has hosted guests to its New York studio, including Craig Robinson, Dr Oz, Joy Behar, and Terry Crews. “Page Six TV” is hosted by John Fugelsang, and the show’s insiders include Variety’s TV reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister, New York Post Page Six senior reporter Carlos Greer, and Bevy Smith. Kay O’Connell and Michael Bachmann serve as executive producers, along with New York Post publisher and CEO Jesse Angelo, and Endemol Shine North America’s Michael Weinberg and Rob Smith. Kathleen Rajsp serves as coexecutive producer.

Jenna Elfman has joined the cast of the AMC “Fear The Walking Dead.” She will appear as a series regular on the show’s upcoming fourth season. Garret Dillahunt has also joined “Fear The Walking Dead” as series regular.

“Nobodies,” the comedy series produced by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, will shift to Paramount Network next year for its second season. The single-camera comedy bowed on TV Land earlier this year. Viacom has overhauled its programming strategy to focus most of its scripted original series on Paramount Network, which debuts in January as a rebranding of the Spike TV channel.

The WorkShop will begin production later in November on “Shame: The Story of Sexual Harassment in Hollywood.” Each episode of the eight-part series will examine industry’s sex scandals, including issues with the “casting couch mentality” and allegations following Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and Kevin Spacey. The show will feature interviews with journalists, celebrities, victims, mental health experts, and industry insiders to address direct and peripheral issues surrounding the scandal.

Stephen “tWitch” Boss and Allison Holker will host Freeform’s upcoming series, “Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings,” as well as the hour-long special, “Disney’s Fair Tale Weddings: Holiday Magic.” From executive producers Ann Lewis Roberts, Simon Lythgoe, and Jenny Daly, the winter special will premiere on Dec 11 at 8 p.m. during Freeform’s annual “25 Days of Christmas” event. The series will launch summer 2018.