No news is bad news

Anchor man Randy Price tried stalling for time, but ultimately Channel 7 was forced to scrap its 11 p.m. newscast Wednesday. As Mike Carson, GM of the NBC affiliate, explained it to us, a ``switcher" in the station's computer froze, making it impossible to transition between cameras in the studio, graphics, videotape , and other visual elements. So Price and his confounded co-anchor Christa Delcamp punted, and Channel 7 simulcast MSNBC, where Dan Abrams was breathlessly running down the latest developments in the JonBenet Ramsey case. ``Literally, we could not do a newscast. Nothing like this ever happened before," Carson said. ``We considered our options . . . . The biggest story of the day was [the arrest], and we knew that MSNBC had a great package lined up." Although Carson claims ``our coverage won the time period," the ratings show that the overall broadcast actually finished third , with WCVB-TV (Channel 5) nudging out CBS4 for the No. 1 spot, and Channel 7 trailing by about 35,000 households. Jim Thistle, who once ran the news operations at all three stations, said Channel 7 faced a tough situation. ``The technology is very complicated these days. . . . When it crashes, it's bad," said Thistle, who now heads Boston University's broadcast journalism department. ``When the switcher hangs up, your back's to the wall." So did Channel 7 have any options, other than Randy reading from a piece of paper? Thistle laughed: ``Beyond the peach crate and the boss's desk, there isn't much else you could show."

Celebrity firm gets a lock on Lockhart

Those billboards baring Keith Lockhart's gap-toothed smile are just the beginning. You can expect a lot more propaganda for the Pops conductor now that he's signed a two-year deal with Paid Inc. The celebrity services company issued a press release yesterday announcing it has been retained by the baton twirler to design and manage his website, manage merchandise sales, create VIP ticket packages, and authenticate memorabilia. ``Keith is one of the nation's, if not the world's, most beloved and prolific conductors," proclaimed Paid Inc.'s VP Kristen Kuliga. Some of the company's other clients include Aerosmith, Snoop Dogg, Darryl ``DMC" McDaniels, and Pats players Deion Branch and Troy Brown.

Papelbon bobbleheads close the deal

Le Lacheur Park in Lowell was the place to be yesterday, as the first 1,500 Lowell Spinners fans through the gates got a bobblehead of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. So popular is the rookie right-hander that fans started showing up at 10 a.m. ``The only thing that came close to this was when we did the Jack Kerouac bobbleheads," said Spinners spokesman Jon Goode.

Dorchester 's Dennis Lehane was in the Big Apple the other night reading from his new book ``Coronado" at Barnes & Noble's ``Upstairs at the Square" series. Singer Duncan Sheik was also there, and played a few tunes from his disc ``White Limousine."

Eight premieres, including the East Coast unveiling of ``The Last Kiss" with Casey Affleck, Zach Braff, and Jacinda Barrett, are among the 50 films screening at next month's Boston Film Festival. ``The Last Kiss" is directed by Tony Goldwyn with a screenplay by Paul Haggis, winner of back-to-back Oscars for ``Million Dollar Baby" and ``Crash." Also part of the eight-day fest opening Sept. 8 is the world premiere of ``The House of Usher," a locally filmed adapt at ion of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, starring Izabella Miko, Austin Nichols, and Beth Grant. In addition to the feature films, festival director Robin Dawson said there'll be a few documentaries, including the world premiere of Rick Wilkinson's ``Journey Into the Sunset," in which Don Cheadle and his family travel to Northern Uganda. . . . ``China Beach" actress Dana Delany returns from the wilderness tonight with ``Vietnam Nurses With Dana Delany," which features a few Florence Nightingales from the Bay State. Airing at 10 p.m. on the WE cable network, the program pays tribute to nurses who tended to troops in South Vietnam, including Susan O'Neill of Andover and Maureen Adduci of Dover. ``I was against the war on an intellectual level, and everything I saw there reconfirmed what I felt," said O'Neill.

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