Media Notes

NBC To Air Olbermann's MSNBC Show Leading Up To "SNF" Telecast

NBC will air an episode of MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann” prior to next Sunday's telecast of an Eagles-Steelers preseason contest.  In N. Y., Steven McElroy writes the broadcast “will give a wider audience a look at what [Olbermann] has been up [to] for the last four years” before he begins his role of co-host for “Football Night in America” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/20)....Ten of Time Inc.’s magazines are running articles about New Orleans this month. In addition, SI.com has posted video clips of a high school junior “whose hopes of playing college football are tested by [Hurricane Katrina]” (N.Y. TIMES, 8/20)....USA TODAY’s Michael McCarthy reports the NFL has installed Sideline Communications Centers from league sponsor Motorola to replace its Ringdown phone system. Each NFL team has received two of the portable units, each with ten phones on one side for the offense, defense and special teams, and six on the other side for the owner’s box and public and community relations. NFL Exec VP/ Football Operations Ray Anderson declined to comment on cost but said, “We had wires going everywhere. It was potentially a safety issue. This cleans it up and creates a more efficient, safer, aesthetically pleasing setup.” McCarthy writes, “Eventually, NFL sidelines will go wireless.” Anderson: “We’re not there yet” (USA TODAY, 8/20).