Because it wouldn't be a TV season without a Pittsburgher in a reality show, a Swisshelm Park mother will take her turn starring in the Fox reality show "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" at 9 p.m. Friday on WPGH.

	Tim, Barb and Vincenzo Girone of Swisshelm Park will appear Friday night on Fox's "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy." Click photo for larger image.

Barb Girone, who skates as Sugar Plum Scary with local roller derby league the Steel City Derby Demons, was alerted to the need for families to appear on the show by a teammate. She applied, not thinking her family would get picked.

"To be honest with you, I don't watch the show," Girone said Monday. "I thought it would be an interesting experience."

The Girones are agnostic, and Barb traded places with Alyce Hammond of Mather, Calif., who is Christian.

"I figured I'd be with somebody religious," Girone said of her September trip to join the Hammond household. "But it wasn't her family so much that was Christian, it was more her. I really liked her husband a lot and her three daughters. They're great girls."

Girone said her husband, Tim, who owns Hot Rod Body Piercing in Oakland and on the South Side, and son, Vincenzo, 9, had a more difficult experience with Alyce.

"She had a hard time with my son," Girone said. "My husband is very, very strong-willed, and he doesn't hold back on his opinions. I think it was harder on their end than it was on me."

The Girones will watch the episode, including the portions filmed at their Swisshelm Park home in September, with friends and family Friday night. Next week's episode will reveal how the moms doled out $50,000 to each of their temporary families, the amount each family gets for participating in "Trading Spouses."

"Of course you're really nervous about how the editing will make you look," Girone said. "I was just who I am, and I hope that comes through."

(Rob Owen, Post-Gazette TV editor)

WPXI slates 'Carol Sing'

Channel 11's 18th annual "Carol Sing" will air live at 8 p.m. Friday, this year from Wildwood Highlands. Anyone interested in joining the festivities is encouraged to attend. Directions can be found at www.wildwoodpa.com.

Performers will include B.E. Taylor, The Children's Festival Chorus and Gospel ensemble Heavenly Sounds. The show will repeat on WPXI at 1 p.m. Dec. 10 and at 2 p.m. Dec. 23 and on PCNC at 8 p.m. Dec. 15, 11:30 p.m. Dec. 24 and 8 p.m. Dec. 25.

(R.O.)

'Nightly News' gets single sponsor

John Cameron Swayze, meet Brian Williams.

In a move reminiscent of NBC's first TV newscast, Swayze's 1949 "Camel News Caravan," Williams' "Nightly News" will have just one national sponsor Monday -- Philips Electronics North America Corp.

Looks like a win-win.

In the one-shot deal, top-rated "Nightly" will run just three ads, totaling one minute and 15 seconds -- down dramatically from its typical seven minutes and 14 national spots.

"This is a huge opportunity for us and our viewers," says "Nightly" boss John Reiss. "If there's a downside, I don't see it. Fewer ads, more news. That's a good thing."

Nightly won't necessarily run more stories, Reiss says, but it will go into more depth with at least two pieces. "The difference between having 21 minutes of news and 27 to 28 is a huge plus for us," he says.

"Nightly's" arrangement is part of Philips' weeklong $2 million agreement with NBC Universal, under Philips' advertising theme of "sense and simplicity." It sponsored an episode of CBS's "60 Minutes" in October 2005.

(Gail Shister, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

NBC declares civil war

NBC News on Monday began referring to the Iraq conflict as a civil war, adopting a phrase that President Bush and many other news organizations have avoided.

Matt Lauer said on the "Today" show that "after careful consideration, NBC News has decided that a change in terminology is warranted, that the situation in Iraq with armed militarized factions fighting for their own political agendas can now be characterized as civil war."

The network's cable news outlet, MSNBC, drummed the point home repeatedly by using the phrase "Iraq: The Civil War" on the screen.

There are different criteria for defining a civil war. Webster's New World College Dictionary defines it simply as "war between geographical sections or political factions of the same nation." Some political scientists use a threshold of 1,000 dead, which the current conflict has long since passed.

There are more conservative definitions. The Web site GlobalSecurity.org, which provides information on defense issues, said five criteria must be met: The contestants must control territory, have a functioning government, enjoy some foreign recognition, have identifiable regular armed forces and engage in major military operations.

The Bush administration said Monday that it does not believe Iraq is in a civil war, and that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki does not, either.

Matthew Felling, spokesman for the Washington-based Center for Media and Public Affairs, said that "not since Fox News Channel decided to stop saying 'suicide bombers' and start saying 'homicide bombers' has there been a starker linguistic stance taken by a news organization." The network began using that terminology in April 2002, shortly after the White House did.

Use of the phrase "civil war" could be seen in some circles as an escalation that could call into question the Bush administration's policy on the war.

The Los Angeles Times moved toward using the phrase this summer, carefully couching it in descriptions, but since October has been calling it a civil war, said Marjorie Miller, the newspaper's foreign editor.

Editors at The Associated Press have discussed the issue and haven't reached a definitive stance, said John Daniszewski, international editor.

Officials at both ABC News and CBS News said that they discuss the situation all the time, but that there's no network policy to use the term civil war.

(David Bauder, Associated Press)

Channel surfing

Bravo has renewed "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" for a third season to air next summer. ... Sci Fi Channel and RHI Entertainment ("Legend of Earthsea") will coproduce a sci-fi "Wizard of Oz." Tentative title: "Tin Man." Production on the six-hour mini-series begins early next year for broadcast in December 2007. Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr. will executive produce. No cast yet. ... MSNBC has slated 16 documentaries for next month's "Doc Block," 10 p.m. to midnight weekdays, including episodes of Dick Wolf's former NBC series, "Crime and Punishment," and Morgan Spurlock's "Super Size Me" ... Lifetime will air reruns of "Grey's Anatomy" Sundays at 11 p.m. beginning Jan. 7.

(G.S.)