“Besieged” Carlton isn’t going anywhere. As the Daily Telegraph cries crocodile tears and monsters 2UE breakfast announcer Mike Carlton over comments he made about the late Stan Zemanek, consideration should be given to Carlton’s position at 2UE. The Tele story today is a load of self-serving tosh, orchestrated by editor David Penberthy, who hates Carlton more than he disliked Zemanek:

Besieged 2UE radio jock Mike Carlton is “on borrowed time” as management yesterday publicly outed him as “despicable” and “disgraceful”. The breakfast host was hung out to dry by a furious Southern Cross Broadcasting management yesterday after telling listeners he “loathed” and “hated” his former colleague Stan Zemanek.

2UE would find it tough to sack Carlton. He hasn’t brought the station into disrepute — since when is giving your opinion a problem in talkback radio? It never troubled Zemanek. And you have to doubt whether Southern Cross really knows how to handle Carlton after it stuffed up an attempt to replace him with co-host Peter Fitzsimmons last year. This year’s ratings are better, ad revenues are up, all of which you can’t really be sacked for, especially with the sort of contract Carlton still has. So what are the chances of him being terminated? 2UE is being bought by Fairfax along with Southern Cross’s other metro radio stations. Carlton is a long time Fairfax columnist and for all his arrogance, the cross platform promotional possibilities of having Carlton as both SMH columnist and 2UE breakfast host is a powerful attraction to management who are besotted with the idea.  — Glenn Dyer

New appointment to Nine’s light entertainment hot seat. The Nine Network has surprised by signing producer/director Asif Zubairy, a 46-year-old Pom, as the network’s new head of Light Entertainment. He replaces Cos Cardone, who left several weeks ago. Zubairy has worked at Fremantlemedia where he was the executive on the successful Australia’s Got Talent earlier this year. He also worked on the failed Ten Network quiz show The Con Test and Nine’s Dancing On Ice , a program that started well but didn’t return this year after sagging in the ratings as the series went on. He has also worked at SBS where he’s been involved with the Nerds series of programs. He’s obviously been hired with a mind to the Singing Bee program which Nine has picked up from the US. Nine has to prove that it can make at least one light entertainment program into a winner. It hasn’t done well in recent years and has struggled against Seven’s Dancing With The Stars , Australia’s Got Talent and It Takes Two , and Ten’s monster, Thank God You’re Here. — Glenn Dyer

When interns attack. Howard in fight to the death with himself, according to The Age website overnight.

When the adults returned after the night shift, the site was duly updated.

Last night’s TV ratings
The Winners: Wednesday night’s is now Ten’s so long as Thank God You’re Here is on. It’s a monster. House was boosted. It was Ten’s best audience of the year (it’s been a long time coming). And Nine finished third, while Seven wasn’t too far away from Ten. 16 programs with a million or more viewers, cold wintry nights  and suddenly TV is interesting, even Pay TV. Thank God averaged 1.845 million last night for a reasonable ep. Thank God is now above the average for both series last year of 1.77 million viewers. House was second with 1.764 million, up again from last week. Seven News was next with 1.537 million and Today Tonight had 1.420 million. Nine News had 1.333 million and A Current Affair got 1.314 million. Seven’s Home And Away averaged 1.259 million and Spicks And Specks averaged 1.255 million people at 8.30 for the ABC. (It featured a great blues band, worth catching the music: Collard Greens). Nine’s Temptation was next with 1.216 million people, Seven’s Police Files Unlocked averaged 1.179 million and The Force, 1.173 million. Nine’s Cold Case averaged 1.167 million, McLeod’s Daughters, 1.122 million (Thank God was up against it), Without a Trace on Nine at 9.30 averaged 1.078 million and 7 pm Big Brother on Ten averaged 1.053 million. The Chaser repeat on the ABC at 9 pm averaged 985,000, Seven’s movie at 8.30 pm, National Treasure, averaged 974,000, Ten’s Medium at 9.30 pm, 941,000. The New Inventors, 870,000.

The Losers:  The Nation on Nine at 10.30pm: 363,000 and sliding, which is a pity. Nothing else really could be termed a loser. it was a strong night of viewing.

News & CA: Seven News again won nationally and in every market but Melbourne, as did Today Tonight for Seven. Ten News At Five averaged 943,000, the Late News/Sports Tonight averaged 444,000. Nine’s Nightline was down to 201,000 at 11.30 pm. The 7.30 Report averaged 912,000 (Not bad against Thank God), Lateline, 295,000, Lateline Business, 168,000. World News Australia, 213,000 at 6.30 pm, 216,000 at 9.30. Dateline, 211,000. 7am Sunrise up to 429,000, 7 am Today up to 248,000. Sunrise easily wins in Melbourne. The 9 am Morning Show on Seven, 195,000, KAK on Nine at 9 am, 117,000, 9AM With David and Kim, 107,000.

The Stats: Ten won with 27.7% (27.8% last week) from Seven with 26.5% (26.0%), Nine with 24.4% (25.4%), the ABC with 16.1% (15.4%) and SBS with 5.3% (5.5%). Ten won Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Seven won Adelaide and Perth. Seven leads the week, 28.0% to 25.7% for Nine. In regional areas a very different result with Nine winning through WIN/NBN with 29.5%, Prime/7Qld next with 25.8%, Ten was third with Southern Cross on 25.5%, the ABC was on 14.1% and SBS on 5.1%.

Glenn Dyer’s comments: If the Nine Network was confident the second half of the year would be better for them and not as good for Seven and Ten, then it should think again after this week. Nine is still exhibiting a lack of any real cut-through programming Monday to Wednesday nights. Sundays its OK, tonight it will be Sea Patrol and Getaway, plus the AFL Footy Show. But that won’t be enough to build a winning run. If Nine can’t beat Seven this week and over the next couple of months, it will have no chance when Dancing With The Stars and City Homicide move into Seven’s schedule later in the year. Will Nine be forced to produce a few early eps of Canal Road, now being shot in Melbourne? The word is that this is indeed being considered. And word is that Seven’s Bevan Lee is now paying much closer attention to storyline, scripts etc on Home and Away after Seven detected a slip in its ratings recently. So, After Ten’s big night last night, it will be back to Number 3 possie tonight. Sea Patrol looms as the viewing option. No Global Swindle to drain viewers. And certainly The Poo on Age of Love won’t be a threat on Seven.