'60 Minutes' political segment from High Point

A segment on Sunday's "60 Minutes" will originate from High Point as GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan give their first joint interview to Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News.

Schieffer will be back in North Carolina in September to anchor his weekly "Face the Nation" Sunday broadcast from Charlotte in advance of the Democratic National Convention.

"60 Minutes" airs at 7 p.m., CBS, WBTV (Channel 3).

'Huffington Post' plans DNC spa

Huffington Post, a website featuring political opinions, says it will set up a rest stop at the Democratic National Convention.

Called the "Oasis," the center  will offer yoga, massages, meditation space and sleep advice from experts from Harvard Medical School during the September convention for accredited delegates, journalists and bloggers at Flex and Fit Gym on the ground floor of the Duke Energy Center at South Tryon and Stonewall streets each day from 7 a.m. to midnight.

There will also be a lounge area where convention-goers can relax and watch coverage of the event while getting a foot massage.

Huffington Post is partnering with Off the Mat, Into the World, a yoga group, and LYFE Kitchen, a healthy food firm, for the center.

Ratings update: Big surge at 'Lake' radio

In the latest Arbitron rankings released this week for Charlotte radio stations, WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9) has widened its lead over competitor WSOC-FM (103.7), but the big splash is over at the new WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9).

"Lake" switched formats on July 2, abandoning its longtime WLYT-FM ("Lite") contemporary adult franchise and now plays variety hits. It jumped from about 3 percent of the radio audience to 5 percent, and part of the ratings period was still under the old format. It leaped from No. 15 in the area to No. 7.

"Kat" had a good month, pulling ahead of WSOC-FM. "Kat" again landed in second place behind perennial market leader WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9) and WSOC-FM came in fourth behind powerhouse WPEG-FM ("Power 98" 97.9).

The rankings and percentage of local audience:

1. WBAV-FM ("V" 101.9): 8.3%
2. WKKT-FM ("Kat" 96.9): 7.9%
3. WPEG-FM ("Power 98" 97.9): 6.8%
4. WSOC-FM (Country 103.7): 6.2%.
5. WRFX-FM ("Fox" 99.7) 5.4%
6. WHQC-FM ("Channel" 96.1): 5.2%
7. WLKO-FM ("Lake" 102.9): 5.0%
8. WNKS-FM ("Kiss" 95.1): 4.6%
8. WLNK-FM ("Link" 107.9): 4.6%
10. WEND-FM ("End" 106.5): 4.5%
11. WKQC-FM ("K" 104.7): 4.2%
12. WBT-AM (News-talk 1110): 3.7%
12. WFAE-FM (NPR, 90.7): 3.7%
14. WPZS-FM ("Praise" 100.9): 3.3%
15. WQNC-FM ("Q" 92.7): 2.9%
16. WRCM-FM ("New Life" 91.9): 2.5%
17. WMIT-FM ("The Light" 106.9): 2.1%
18. WDAV-FM (Classical, 89.9): 1.3%
19. WFNZ-AM ("Fan" 610): 0.9%
20. WSGE-FM (Gaston College, 91.7): 0.4%
21. WBCN-AM (Talk, 1660): 0.3%
22. WNSC-FM (NPR, 88.9): 0.2%
23. WZGV-FM ("ESPN" 730): 0.1%

Rankings do not include WXRC-FM ("Ride" 95.7), which does not subscribe to Arbitron.

PBS to tape 'Washington Week' at UNCC

PBS's "Washington Week with Gwen Ifill” will tape its weekly roundtable broadcast on Aug. 31 focusing on the Democratic National Convention at the Anne R. Belk Theatre at UNC Charlotte. 

Ifill, political correspondent for NBC News and White House correspondent for The New York Times before joining PBS in 1999, hosts the weekly show. She will also be co-anchoring PBS's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention beginning Sept. 4 with Judy Woodruff.

Free tickets for the taping are available at www.unccboxoffice.com.

Taping begins about 3 p.m. and the show will be followed by a half-hour program with Ifill and  panelists taking questions from the audience. “Washington Week Extra-North Carolina Edition” will be available on the “Washington Week” website (pbs.org/washingtonweek). 

"Washington Week" airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on UNC-TV and SC ETV.

EpiCentre draws DNC media

Charlotte's EpiCentre will be a hot spot for media during the Democratic National Convention in September.

"Morning Joe," the MSNBC talk show, will originate during the convention from BlackFinn American Saloon at EpiCenter, which is across the street from Time Warner Cable Arena. And MSNBC will broadcast from the Commons area at the EpiCenter.

Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina will be taken over for the week by the CNN Grill, which is set up at conventions every four years. It is a somewhat exclusive destination for CNN staffers, guests and well-connected convention-goers.

C-SPAN announces DNC plans

C-SPAN announced its plans Thursday for covering the Democratic National Convention in September, and -- as usual -- the cable network intends to provide political junkies with wall-to-wall coverage.

In addition to television coverage, C-SPAN will stream the convention on C-SPAN.org and every speech will be catalogued in its video library.

C-SPAN will cover official party and delegate events, and provide a "delegates'-eye view" of Charlotte from cameras positioned around uptown. It will also broadcast the full Democratic platform committee meeting Aug. 10-12 from Detroit.

C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully will lead the network's coverage. He has attended every political convention since 1980.

It will also carry the daily Politico Playbook Breakfasts with chief White House correspondent Mike Allen each day at 8 a.m., Politico's 30-minute convention wrap-up each night at midnight and the Politico's hour-long pre-convention show on Monday of convention week. C-SPAN also plans to carry National Journal's "Daily Morning Briefings" each day and the magazine's "Path to Power" event focusing on how candidates could be expected to govern.

C-SPAN has covered every minute of every political convention since 1984. They have traditionally ranked among the network's highest-rated programming.

Pre-DNC series looks at 'good' Charlotte

Fox Charlotte (WCCB, Channel 18) launched a new series on its 10 p.m. newscast this week, "What's Good About Charlotte."
As a run-up to the Democratic National Convention, the station is focusing on how the city excels in some categories. One chapter was on business diversity and featured former Bank of America leader Hugh McColl.
"We wanted to showcase all the great things about Charlotte before the convention," says Angie Robbins, the station's assistant news director and a Charlotte native. "What's great about Charlotte is its people."
Among the topics planned are sports and recreation, houses of worship, the city's health care industry and its arts community.
 Fox Charlotte is owned by Bahakel, a communications firm that is locally based. "What's Good About Charlotte" is a spin-off of the station's thoughtful "Reboot Charlotte" franchise, which has been examining core issues facing the city as it recovers from the recession.