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Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, along with local television listings and movie showtimes for areas of the United States and Canada. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services (TMS), part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company. Zap2it affiliates include Cox, Dish Network, Disney, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.

History[link]

TMS first began to offer online listings services as a content provider to the online services Prodigy in the late 1980s and America Online in the early 1990s. TMS launched its first branded online television listings service, TV Quest, in 1993 on the AppleLink online service. TV Quest later migrated to Apple’s eWorld services and to the internet in the mid-1990s.

Version 1.0 of Zap2it debuted on the web in May 2000. In its earliest iteration, the site was a combination of TMS-owned listings sites TVQuest and MovieQuest plus the then-recently-purchased content site UltimateTV.

UltimateTV offered viewers and industry-insider breaking news, Nielsen ratings, live celebrity chats and more. The site provided video clips, interviews and promos in its Promo Lounge area.

The earliest Zap2it focused on films, television and original web-based content. The site offered original editorial along with listings information for films, television and online. It also listed online content such as short films, interactive games and webisodes offered by Atom Films, Shockwave.com and iFilm.

Zap2it’s television listings and film showtimes were generated by TMS data, its web listings by Yack data.

The site's editorial pages, including the front page, were redesigned in 2001. In early 2003, the editorial focus of Zap2it was narrowed down to television and films and the site was again redesigned. An agreement with Fandango in 2005 allowed for the introduction of online movie ticketing for select theaters. Blogs, including It Happened Last Night, which offered show recaps were first launched in 2006 and expanded thereafter. In 2007, the site launched "click-to-record" functionality allowing users with TiVo digital video recorders to remotely schedule recordings directly from within the Zap2it television listings.

Product development[link]

In early 2007, Zap2it released enhanced television listings on its main site. Upgrades to the product included improved performance, better customization capabilities and the introduction of sharing tools and a user rating system. Following a testing period, the television-listings product was made available to affiliates.

In 2008, a revised movie-showtimes product was developed on the main site. It more prominently showcased movie trailers and offered expanded cast and crew lists which linked to celebrity profile pages.

Editorial development[link]

In February 2009, Zap2it began to play an expanded role within the Tribune Company.^[1] The site became the central aggregator of entertainment content produced by Tribune-owned online properties including latimes.com, The Envelope, chicagotribune.com and others. As part of this development, a major site redesign was planned for midyear 2009.^{[dated info]}

See also[link]

	Film portal
	Internet portal
	Television in the United States portal

• List of assets owned by Tribune Company
• Lists of websites

References[link]

v t e Tribune Company Corporate directors Sam Zell (Chairman and Chief Executive) · Betsy Holden · Randy Michaels · Ed Wilson Tribune Publishing Newspapers The Baltimore Sun · Chicago Tribune · Hartford Courant · Los Angeles Times · South Florida Sun-Sentinel · Orlando Sentinel · The Morning Call · Daily Press · The Virginia Gazette · RedEye · Hoy (Chicago and Los Angeles) · El Sentinel del Sur de la Florida Times community papers Daily Pilot · Huntington Beach Independent · Burbank Leader · Glendale News Press Other Chicago · Hartford · Advocate Weekly Newspapers · Metromix (50%) · ChicagoNow Investments Classified Ventures · CareerBuilder · Topix Tribune Broadcasting Television networks Broadcast network Antenna TV Cable networks CLTV · Food Network (30%) · WGN America ABC network affiliate WGNO CW network affiliates KDAF · KIAH · KPLR-TV · KRCW-TV · KTLA · KWGN-TV · WCCT-TV · WDCW · WGN-TV · WNOL-TV · WPIX · WSFL-TV · WTTV Fox network affiliates KCPQ · KSWB-TV · KTXL · WPMT · WTIC-TV · WXIN · WXMI MyNetworkTV affiliates KZJO · WPHL-TV Radio WGN · Chicago Cubs Radio Network Tribune Media Services Comic strips Animal Crackers · Bottom Liners · Bound and Gagged · Brenda Starr, Reporter · Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! · Broom-Hilda · Dick Tracy · Gasoline Alley · Gil Thorp · Jumble · Little Orphan Annie · Loose Parts · Love Is... · The Middletons · The Pink Panther · Pluggers Editorial cartoons Dan Wasserman · Dana Summers · Dick Locher · Don Wright · Drew Sheneman · Jack Ohman · Matt Davies · Paul Conrad · Scott Stantis · Walt Handelsman Humor columnists Andy Rooney · Dave Barry · Diane Farr · Jen Lancaster · Mark Russell · Michael Showalter · Today's Chuckle Political columnists Arianna Huffington · Bill Press · Cal Thomas · Carl Hiaasen · Clarence Page · Garrison Keillor · Henry Kissinger · Ian Bremmer · Jesse Jackson · Jonah Goldberg · Jules Witcover · Leonard Pitts Jr. · Paul Kennedy · Andrés Oppenheimer · Victor Davis Hanson · William Pfaff Other columnists Amy Dickinson · Billy Graham · Goren Bridge · Liz Smith · Mitch Albom · Omarr's Astrological Forecast · Rick Steves · Robert Pagliarini · Wolfgang Puck · Zap2it Annual revenue: $5.73 billion USD (2% FY 2005) · Employees: 21,500 · Website: tribune.com

Jared Padalecki
Padalecki at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born	Jared Tristan Padalecki (1982-07-19) July 19, 1982 (age 29) San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Spouse	Genevieve Cortese (2010–present)
Children	1

Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He grew up in Texas and came to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the television series Gilmore Girls as well as in several Hollywood films, including New York Minute and House of Wax. Padalecki plays Sam Winchester on the CW television series Supernatural.

Early life[link]

Padalecki was born in San Antonio, Texas.^[1][2] He is of Polish ancestry on his father's side.^[3][4] He has an older brother, Jeff, and a younger sister, Megan. He started taking acting classes at the age of 12.

Education[link]

He attended James Madison High School in San Antonio and was named a candidate for the 2000 Presidential Scholars Program. In 1998, Padalecki and his partner Chris Cardenas won the National Forensic League national championship in Duo Interpretation.^[5] Padalecki won FOX's 1999 "Claim to Fame Contest"; he subsequently appeared at the Teen Choice Awards, where he met his current manager. After graduating from high school in 2000, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career, although he had originally planned to attend the University of Texas.^[1]

Career[link]

Padalecki's first credit was a minor role in the 1999 film A Little Inside. In 2000, he was cast as Dean Forester on the television series Gilmore Girls, a role he played until 2005. Throughout the early 2000s, he also appeared in several made-for-television films, including Silent Witness, Close to Home, and the Disney Channel Original Movie A Ring of Endless Light.

Padalecki had an uncredited part as a high school bully in 2003's comedy Cheaper by the Dozen, which he played after being asked by fellow actor and friend Tom Welling, who played the part of Charlie Baker, and the director of the movie, who wanted someone bigger than Charlie to pick on him. Padalecki originally auditioned for Welling's role, but gave it up in order to film a pilot titled Young MacGyver which was never picked up.^[6] In 2004, he appeared in the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen comedy New York Minute as Trey Lipton a cute boy who the Olson's characters are attracted to. He also landed a short role in the thriller Flight of the Phoenix alongside Dennis Quaid and Hugh Laurie. In 2005, Padalecki starred opposite Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray and Paris Hilton in the horror film House of Wax in which he plays Wade, one of 5 teens who are slashed and killed. In the same year, Padalecki appeared in yet another horror film, Cry Wolf in which he played Tom.^[7]

The same year, Padalecki was cast as Sam Winchester on the WB series, Supernatural. Sam and his brother Dean (Jensen Ackles) drive throughout the United States hunting paranormal predators, sometimes with their father (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). The seventh season began broadcast on September 23, 2011 on the CW. The show is filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Padalecki also served as the host of MTV's horror reality series, Room 401 which was discontinued after only 8 episodes due to poor ratings.^[8]

He had the lead role in 2008's The Christmas Cottage, in which he played Thomas Kinkade.

Padalecki also had the lead role in the horror remake Friday the 13th film alongside Danielle Panabaker, which opened on Friday, February 13, 2009. He plays Clay Miller, a character who heads out to the doomed Camp Crystal Lake in search of his sister who has gone missing.^[9]

Personal life[link]

Padalecki married his former Supernatural co-star Genevieve Cortese on February 27, 2010. He and his wife are currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.^[10][11] On October 10, 2011, he announced they were expecting their first child.^{[12] [13]} The couple's son was born on March 19, 2012.^[14][15]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jared Padalecki

• Jared Padalecki at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview with Jared Padalecki at SuicideGirls.com
• Jared Padalecki on Twitter

Ian Somerhalder
Born	Ian Joseph Somerhalder (1978-12-08) December 8, 1978 (age 33) Covington, Louisiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, model
Years active	1997–present

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor and model, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.

Early life[link]

Somerhalder was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor.^[1] Raised Catholic, he attended St. Paul's, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13,^[2] and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting.

Career[link]

Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, Somerhalder played bisexual character Paul Denton in Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel.

In 2004, Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in the hit TV show Lost. Despite his character's death in the twentieth episode of the first season, Somerhalder returned to the role of Boone for seven more episodes between 2005 and 2010, including the series finale. Somerhalder was the first actor to be cast in a role for the series and the first character to die.

In 2009, Somerhalder appeared in the movie The Tournament where he played the role of an assassin participating in a lethal competition with other assassins. On 10 October 2009, it was announced that he will star in the Gothic movie Cradlewood, which is to be directed by Harry Weinmann.^[3] The movie is set to be released in 2013.^[4] He appears in the coffee table book About Face by celebrity photographer John Russo.^[5][6]

In June 2009 Somerhalder was cast in the role of Vampire Damon Salvatore as a series regular in The CW television drama series The Vampire Diaries. The series premiere attracted The CW's highest premiere ratings of any season premiere since the network began in 2006. The series has continued to be the highest rated series on its channel with both Somerhalder's performance and show receiving a positive response from critics. Somerhalder has received a Teen Choice Award for his participation on the series. The shows third and most recent season premiered on September 15, 2011.^[7]

Personal life[link]

While working on The Vampire Diaries, Somerhalder began dating his co-star Nina Dobrev.^[8]

Philanthropy[link]

Somerhalder was involved in the cleanup after the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling disaster on April 22, 2010. His efforts included cleaning of oiled wildlife and taping public service announcements to let the public know how they could help.^[9] Somerhalder also supports the St. Tammany Humane Society, an organization for animal shelter and welfare. On November 13, 2010, he hosted a Bash on the Bayou charity fundraiser for the Society. During the event, Somerhalder was presented with a donation of $11,100 by The Vampire Diaries fandom for his birthday project.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Together with his The Vampire Diaries co-stars Candice Accola and Michael Trevino, Somerhalder supports the It Gets Better Project, which makes it a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youth^[14] associated with The Trevor Project.^[15]

Somerhalder announced, via Twitter and in various interviews that he was setting up The Ian Somerhalder Foundation (launched on December 8, 2010, Somerhalder's 32nd birthday), which he hopes will educate people on the importance of protecting the environment and animals: "Instead of gifts this year, my birthday wish is that we come together and raise funds to support projects that protect our habitat and nurture our furry friends.^[16][17]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ian Somerhalder

• Ian Somerhalder at the Internet Movie Database
• Ian Somerhalder on Twitter

Aidan Turner
Turner in July, 2009
Born	(1983-06-19) 19 June 1983 (age 29) Clondalkin, South Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present

Aidan Turner (born 19 June, 1983)^[1][2] is an Irish actor. He is best known for playing Dante Gabriel Rossetti on Desperate Romantics,^[3] Ruairí McGowan on The Clinic,^[4] and John Mitchell on the supernatural drama series Being Human.^[5][6] He will be playing Kíli in the upcoming two-part fantasy film The Hobbit.^[7][8]

Early life[link]

Aidan Turner was born in Clondalkin, South Dublin. He graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting in 2004.^[9]

Career[link]

His television career began in 2007 with a guest appearance on The Tudors.^[10] He continued his television career on Desperate Romantics, playing Dante Gabriel Rossetti.^[11][12] From 2008 to 2009, he appeared in a recurring role as Ruairí McGowan on The Clinic.^[13] followed by the character of John Mitchell on the supernatural drama series Being Human (2009–2011).^[14][15][16]

His film career began with two short films The Sound of People (2007) and Matterhorn (2007). He played Mal in the thriller feature film Alarm (2008).^[17][18]

Turner will portray Kíli in the two-part fantasy film The Hobbit ^[19][20] and a character named TT in an upcoming TV-show called Resonance.^[21]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aidan Turner

• Aidan Turner at the Internet Movie Database

Paul Wesley
Paul Wesley in July 2011.
Born	(1982-07-23) July 23, 1982 (age 29) New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Spouse	Torrey DeVitto (2011–present)

Paul Wesley (Paweł Wasilewski, July 23, 1982) is an American actor best known for his roles as Stefan Salvatore in The CW TV series The Vampire Diaries and as Aaron Corbett in the ABC Family miniseries Fallen.

Early life[link]

Wesley was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey to Polish parents Agnieszka and Thomas Wasilewski, and grew up in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. He has one older sister, Monika, and two younger sisters, Julia and Leah.^[1] In addition to English, he also knows Polish, having spent four months every year in Poland until the age of 16.^[2]

Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey and Marlboro High School for a period during his high school years. During his junior year in high school, Wesley was cast in the soap opera Guiding Light as character Max Nickerson. He transferred from Marlboro High School to Lakewood Prep School in Howell, New Jersey because the school was able to accommodate his acting schedule.^[1][3][4] He graduated from there in 2000 and then started college at Rutgers University in New Jersey but left after one semester with his parents' support when more roles were offered to him, and he realized he could make a career out of acting.^[1][5]!

Career[link]

Paul Wesley, Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder.

In 2005, he began to credit himself as Paul Wesley. When asked why he changed his professional name to Paul Wesley, he replied, "My birthname is too hard to pronounce! I asked my family's permission to change it, and it really helped my career."^[6]

He has had a number of roles on shows such as 24, 8 Simple Rules, American Dreams, Army Wives, Cane, Everwood, Guiding Light, Smallville, The O.C. and Wolf Lake. He also starred opposite Amber Tamblyn in CBS' The Russell Girl and had the lead role in Fallen miniseries. He was listed "Sexiest & Hottest Men of 2011" in the Glamour Magazine UK.

He also had a minor role in Roll Bounce starring Bow Wow's. Wesley is currently starring as vampire Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries which premiered September 2009 on The CW. In the series, he plays a younger brother to Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder) as well as the love interest of a mortal 17 year old girl named Elena Gilbert (played by Nina Dobrev). His wife, Torrey Devitto, currently works alongside him in The Vampire Diaries as the Doctor of Mystic Falls. In May 2011, he joined the cast of The Baytown Disco.^[7]

Personal life[link]

Wesley and DeVitto in 2008.

Wesley met and began dating actress Torrey DeVitto in 2007 when they acted together in Killer Movie. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011.^[8]

He enjoys playing ice hockey and snowboarding.^[9][10] Wesley has also expressed an interest in directing and writing.^[11]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Wesley at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Paul Wesley