Bloomberg TV is launching a new series, “Women to Watch,” that profiles the women that are closing the gender gap in the tech industry.

The first report is slated for tomorrow night. Willow Bay, who is a Bloomberg special correspondent and the wife of Disney CEO Bob Iger, profiles several high-powered women in tech — including Carolyn Everson of Facebook and Theresia Gouw Ranzetta of Accel Partners — and then hosts a roundtable discussion on the industry’s gender gap.

“I want to shine a spotlight on a new generation of women, who are creating, funding and managing some of the hottest companies in tech today,” Bay told Glamour. “But I wanted to do more than share their professional stories. I wanted to share their personal journeys, too.”

Watch a preview of the series here:

• Katie Couric is taking her daytime talk show out of the studio Monday. Couric will host the Oct  1 edition of her show from her house, with guests Jimmy Fallon, Donald Trump, Andy Cohen and Sunny Anderson stopping by for segments and interviews. “Katie shares sleeping tips from her bedroom, skincare tips from her bathroom and learns all about how to make healthier meatloaf in her own kitchen”

• CNN contributor John Avlon is launching a series on “OutFront” called “The Final Four Factors.” The night before each opf the four debates, Avlon will report from a swing state: Colorado, Ohio, Nevada and Florida are on the list. In each location Avlon will talk to voters, and figure out the issues that are important to that state, and what Mitt Romney and president Obama will need to do to win them over.

• CNN is also launching some interactive elements for the debates. Viewers will be able to stream the debates live on their computers, or on their iPhones and iPads, with clip and share video editing features. In other words, if one of the candidates says something controversial, users can clip it and share the video with friends instantly, right from the app. More information after the jump.

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The Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented NBC News president Steve Capus with the Board of Governors Award in Philadelphia last week. Capus began his journalism career in Philadelphia.

“We often hear how the business of news is on the decline,” Capus said in his acceptance speech. “Sure, these are challenging times for any news organization, but they are also times of great opportunity to move the needle on important issues.

We are just weeks from the 2012 presidential election, and as journalists, it is our job to make sure the electorate is informed about the issues, the policies, the perspectives and the candidates,” he added. “Every day, I press my producers on the need to drive at the heart these issues, and to hold these candidates accountable—not just to 8-second sound bites, but to thoughtful discussions about their plans to shape this country.”

Tomorrow on “Reliable Sources” Howard Kurtz tackles this week’s coverage of the NFL officiating story. Gregg Doyel of CBS Sports is his guest. On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, husband of former Fox News anchor Jane Skinner, sent a note to the millions of NFL fans apologizing for the now-resolved labor strife.

I believe in accountability, not excuses. And I regret we were not able to secure an agreement sooner in the process and avoid the unfortunate distractions to the game. You deserve better.

As a lifelong fan, this wasn’t an easy process for anyone involved. I particularly want to commend the replacement officials for taking on an unenviable task and doing it with focus and dedication in the most adverse of circumstances.

See Goodell’s full note after the jump. In the meantime, here’s how “Saturday Night Live’s” Thursday edition took on the issue:

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New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait takes on the claim that most political polls are skewed to favor President Obama, a claim that has been making the rounds on the conservative political blogs, and more recently on Fox News Channel:

Chait notes that no, the polls are not a vast media conspiracy to help President Obama, but he also makes  persuasive argument that the type of political coverage that dominated TV news–horse race coverage–can have an impact on the election.

The annual “New York’s Funniest Reporter” stand-up comedy contest (to benefit the Humane Society) was held Thursday night, and the victor’s trophy returned to Fox News.

“Fox & Friends” weekend anchor and FNC tech guru Clayton Morris was the winner, as he noted on his Twitter account:

Really can’t believe I won. (at @comicstriplive) [pic] — path.com/p/3453k1

— Clayton Morris (@ClaytonMorris) September 28, 2012

Morris is the second FNCer to take home the title in the last three years. Lauren Sivan won the title in 2010, while last year’s champ was “Nancy Grace” producer Marlaina Schiavo.

Morris faced some stiff competition last night, with In Touch Weekly’s Marianne Garvey placing second and WNYW’s Greg Kelly placing third. The other participants were Fox News medical correspondent Dr. Manny Alvarez, RT America’s Lauren Lyster and ESPN anchor and correspondent Michele Steele.

Fox News Channel has released a statement explaining what happened when it inadvertently aired a man apparently shooting himself in the head following a car chase this afternoon.

“We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five second delay. Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologize for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen.”

-Michael Clemente, executive VP, news editorial.

A Fox News source tells me that a producer on “Studio B” failed to hit the dump button in time, and the result was that the shooting made it to air. The suspect in question died from his self-inflicted injury, according to KPHO Phoenix.

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 358 | MSNBC: 230 | CNN: 115 | HLN: 80

• Primetime: FNC: 469 | MSNBC: 372 | CNN: 123 | HLN: 97

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:	12a:
FNC	TheFive:	Baier:	Shep:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:
	395	443	407	556	488	362	368	367
MSNBC	Matthews:	Sharpton:	Matthews:	EdShow:	Maddow:	O’Donnell:	EdShow:	Maddow:
	269	277	288	302	405	410	243	256
CNN	Blitzer:	Blitzer:	Burnett:	Cooper:	Morgan:	Cooper:	Burnett:	Morgan:
	109	150	160	116	128	124	88	95
HLN	Express:	Express:	VelezMitchell:	Grace:	DrDrew:	Grace:	Showbiz:	DrDrew:
	50	65	80	131	82	77	70	39

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A man committed suicide live on Fox News a few minutes ago. FNC had been carrying a car chase in the Phoenix area and when the suspect pulled over, he ran down a dirt road, then stopped, put a gun to his head, and fell to the ground. No other national networks were carrying the chase.

When the man first exited the car, anchor Shepard Smith said presciently  ”You wait for the end of these things and you worry how they may end.” Viewers could hear Studio B crew members, who were watching a live feed of what was happening, gasp and Smith say, “Get off, get off, get off,” asking the control room to cut away. But they didn’t in time.

Fox then went to a commercial break. Upon returning, Smith said, “Well I’ve got some explaining to do.”

• Related: KSAZ Stops Covering Car Chase Minutes Before Suspect Shoots Himself

Smith explained that after the suspect exited the car, the network went into a five second delay, but that they failed to cut away.

“We really messed up, and we are all really sorry. That didn’t belong on TV. I personally apologize to you that that happened,” Smith added “That will not happen again on my watch, and I am sorry.”

Smith’s full comments on what happened, along with video:  Read more

Covering the Presidential debates is tough for the cable news channels. Unlike on an election night, every channel is showing the same thing. The only real differences are in the content that goes into the pre and post-debate programming.

CNN is planning to differentiate its programming by making fact-checking a big part of its debate coverage. John Berman and Tom Foreman will comprise the “reality check” team, and will be looking to call out President Obama and Mitt Romney for the inevitable stretches of truth that will occur.

The pre-debate and post-debate programming will be anchored by Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, John King, Erin Burnett and Candy Crowley. For the first debate next week in Denver, Crowley and Burnett will be in the Mile High City. Jessica Yellin and Jim Acosta will be reporting from the debate floor, and from the “spin room” afterwards.

More information, after the jump.
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