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American Idol's Antonella Barba Naked 
Whether reporting on the latest Jack Bauer bind or Simon Cowell barb, the news teams at Fox affiliates are aces at pushing network synerge specially during sweeps. But Fox's New York City flagship, WNYW, dropped the ball last week on its American Idol tie-in. During Idol's Wednesday broadcast, a series of Fox 5 News promos breathlessly urged viewers to tune in at 10 p.m. for a report promising revealing photos of New Jersey Idol hopeful Antonella Barba. But as the newscast got under way, there was scant mention of Barba or the racy photos. It wasn't until 10:45 that anchor Rosanna Scotto said technical difficulties had scuttled the segment.Turns out Fox 5 spiked the Barba story in the name of democracy. According to a WNYW spokesperson, the station did not want to influence viewers who were still dialing and texting in their votes. (And this didn't occur to anyone before the station began plugging the story?) As for the photo which include a shot of Barba and friends topless at the beach, albeit with strategically placed hand they could be found online last week. Alas, none were available on Barba's MySpace page. With yet another News Corp. property in the mix, WNYW might've run the story and scored a cross-promotional trifecta.
American Idol's Antonella Barba Naked 
Whether reporting on the latest Jack Bauer bind or Simon Cowell barb, the news teams at Fox affiliates are aces at pushing network synerge specially during sweeps. But Fox's New York City flagship, WNYW, dropped the ball last week on its American Idol tie-in. During Idol's Wednesday broadcast, a series of Fox 5 News promos breathlessly urged viewers to tune in at 10 p.m. for a report promising revealing photos of New Jersey Idol hopeful Antonella Barba. But as the newscast got under way, there was scant mention of Barba or the racy photos. It wasn't until 10:45 that anchor Rosanna Scotto said technical difficulties had scuttled the segment.Turns out Fox 5 spiked the Barba story in the name of democracy. According to a WNYW spokesperson, the station did not want to influence viewers who were still dialing and texting in their votes. (And this didn't occur to anyone before the station began plugging the story?) As for the photo which include a shot of Barba and friends topless at the beach, albeit with strategically placed hand they could be found online last week. Alas, none were available on Barba's MySpace page. With yet another News Corp. property in the mix, WNYW might've run the story and scored a cross-promotional trifecta.
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James Edstrom www.TimesSquareGossip.Com