This is a copy of the Broadcasting & Cable magazine for December 2, 1996.

1. Broadcasters reach deal with computer firms on DTV standards and seek FCC approval of Grand Alliance system

2. Digital agreement results in diminished opposition to broadcasters in spectrum auction

3. FCC commissioner Susan Ness says FCC will quickly authorize digital TV

4. NBC, to no one's surprise, wins their 8th consecutive sweeps period in November

5. Over 650 stations sign a request asking the FCC to allow the industry to retain spectrum during the analog-to-digital transition

6. Daytime talk - despite over 2 dozen failed new shows and the downfall earlier in 1996 of the once-mighty "Donahue" - is still the most successful genre on daytime (with much of the credit owing to "Oprah" and newcomer Rosie O'Donnell)

7. Late-night battle between "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and "Late Show" host David Letterman continues over 5 years after Leno beat out Letterman to become Johnny Carson's heir apparent

8. MCA buys up the former Multimedia shows including "Sally"; "Jerry Springer" and Pat Bullard's show alongside syndicated rights to TNN's "Crook & Chase" and the archives of "Donahue"

9. ABC dumps "The City" (the lowest-rated soap on TV) in favor of a half-hour "General Hospital" spinoff (eventually named "Port Charles")

10. Children Now founder Jim Steyer launching JP Kids to produce educational shows (among the advisors; former FCC chairman Newton Minow of "vast wasteland" speech notoriety)

11. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb criticizes FTC plan (on 1st Amendment grounds) to force some Time Warner Cable systems to add a second cable news network (most likely referring to MSNBC or the newly-launched FOX News Channel) alongside CNN

12. Southern New England Telecommunications wiring plans (related to power cable utility poles) challenged by Cablevision

13. Patterns noted on Monday Night Football website where those watching the game were simultaneously on the site

14. AOL reaches $15-$20 million deal with search engine Excite

15. Special Report: New facilities as broadcasters and cable networks look to develop new, multichannel digital facilities

16. Interview with Chancellor Broadcasting CEO Steven Dinetz

Other pieces of interest include: Computer industry seeking their piece of the TV pie, News Corporation requesting the FTC block the planned Turner-Time Warner merger; Eyemark and Partner Stations Network form a joint venture to develop shows for the 1997-98 season; MCA - in addition to buying up much of what had been Multimedia's talk lineup - also launching a "Knight Rider" revival titled "Team Knight Rider"; the House Commerce Committee to see 10 new members for the upcoming Congress (among them second-term Rep. {and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer} Steve Largent {R-OK} and freshmen James Rogan {R-CA; succeeded retiring Republican Carlos Moorhead}, Diana DeGette {D-CO; succeeded retiring Democrat Pat Schroeder} and Ted Strickland {D-OH; Strickland defeated Republican incumbent Frank Creamans - who had unseated Strickland during the 1994 Republican Revolution - in the 1996 rematch}); a look at newcomers in the talk scene such as Oprah's BFF Gayle King; the duo of Arthel Neville and Fred Roggin and Naomi Judd - all expected to launch shows for fall '97; Parents Television Council praises ABC and WB for having the most family-friendly shows of the major networks; "Real Stories of the Highway Patrol" reaches 500 episodes; MGM casting for new "Fame L.A." series; the WWF prepping a syndicated new series tentatively titled "Shotgun Saturday Night" (the show, which was touted as being edgier than the WWF's normal fare as the wrestling empire entered the "Attitude" era, had one distinction in female wrestlers being featured prominently); Turner Classic Movies set to pass 12 million subscribers by end of 1996; San Diego UPN station KUSI-TV 51 buys $700,000 worth of new digital equipment from Philips; E! reporter Jerry Penacoli moves to "Hard Copy"; Kansas City NBC affiliate KSHB-TV 41 says goodbye to chief meteorologist Mike Roberts as Roberts moves east to the Gateway to the West and a job at St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK-TV 5; Sacramento ABC affiliate KXTV-TV 10 hires Dana Jacobson (late of Traverse City, MI NBC affiliate WPBN-TV 7) as a reporter, producer and substitute sports anchor; ABC World News Now film critic Jeffrey Lyons moves to WNBC-TV 4; an obituary for longtime ABC Sports producer Chuck Howard (who died from a brain tumor on November 21 at 63); TCI names president John Malone as chairman following the November 15 lymphoma death of founder Bob Magness; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, looking to break into talk industry (no dice for Fergie); New York NBC flagship WNBC-TV 4 shuffles midday lineup to make room for new NBC soap "Sunset Beach" (scheduled for noon; resulting in WNBC moving their midday newscast to 11:30 and "Court TV: Inside America's Courts" to 11:00); SportsChannel New York inks deal with the NHL's New York Islanders extending their rights to 2030; USA promoting an aggressive rebrand highlighting shows such as "Duckman" and CBS castoff "Silk Stalkings" and more changes at Chicago CBS O&O WBBM-TV 2 as Bill Kurtis steps aside as anchor, resulting in Lester Holt and Linda MacLennan taking over at 6:00 and 10:00 alongside weatherman Steve Baskerville (replacing Paul Douglas) and sports anchor Tim Wiegel (Kurtis would remain with the station as a contributing editor).