Scarborough vs. Sammon…

NewsBusters’ Brad Wilmouth writes about Joe Scarborough commenting on Bill Sammon’s Fox News Sunday comments about the MSM. You have to wonder if Sammon knew full well that this would cause a kerfuffle and said it just to be provocative. That’s classic FNC style…

On Tuesday’s Morning Joe, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough took exception with FNC analyst Bill Sammon for using the word “hate” to describe mainstream media sentiment toward Sarah Palin, contending that “you can’t just say that people ‘hate’ Sarah Palin.” But, while he spent more than two minutes complaining about Sammon’s use of the word “hate,” Scarborough seemed to contradict himself at one point as he ended up using the word “hated” to describe media reaction to the former Alaska governor after she was first chosen as John McCain’s running mate.

The MSNBC host went on to suggest that the media got over their initial feeling of “hate” and “tried” to “start reporting on her down the middle.” Scarborough: “And, by the way, we called out the media when they attacked her without even knowing who she was. And we said they hated her in the press early on without knowing her because she was a pro-life woman. Now, did they get past that and start reporting on her down the middle? They tried. But again, they don’t hate her. I don’t think they under-, a lot of people don’t understand somebody from Wasilla who hunts, who is pro-life. There is a cultural gap. But to just say that they hate…”

FNC eyeing Rubio/Crist debate…

The Swamp’s Mark Silva scoops that FNC is looking to televise the upcoming Rubio/Crist debate in Florida…

One of the hottest Senate races on the horizon – the Florida Republican primary fight between Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami — could be heading for spring training in March with a televised debate.

Rubio, a Miami Republican and conservative giving a long-popular governor and political moderate an unexpectedly tough contest, has agreed to take part in a debate sponsored by FOX News, The Swamp has learned.

Crist, the governor, former state attorney general and state lawmaker long popular in Florida but suddenly facing heated competition within conservative ranks of his party, has not accepted the challenge yet, The Swamp understands.

Margaret Brennan’s Career…

News on Women invited Bloomberg TV’s Margaret Brennan to write about how she got her start in news…

“I’ve been a news junkie for most of my life. From the time I was a little girl, I loved reading the paper and watching the news. I just didn’t know that I would end up with a career on television, telling the stories of how the financial world is shaping the global power balance.

MSNBC Olympics Plans…

MSNBC announced its Vancouver Olympic plans…

“WAY TOO EARLY WITH WILLIE GEIST” LIVE FROM VANCOUVER

Geist To Broadcast Live From the Olympic Winter Games Starting February 10

MSNBC To Provide 100 Hours of Olympic Coverage and Live Updates During The Games

NEW YORK – February 9, 2010 – “Way Too Early with Willie Geist” (MSNBC weekdays 5:30-6:00 a.m ET) goes international starting Wednesday, February 10, broadcasting live from Vancouver, Canada for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. MSNBC’s early morning show will have a late night feel as Geist hosts live at 2:30 a.m. local time, offering viewers all the latest news, politics, sports, and pop culture they need to start their day — or to end it in Vancouver. “Way Too Early” will originate from the International Broadcast Center (IBC) in Vancouver’s downtown waterfront area through February 26. Geist will also report for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and contribute to NBC News programs from Vancouver.

In addition to daily updates from the IBC, MSNBC will present three live shows hosted by Willie Geist and NBC News’ Lester Holt and Chris Jansing. The 90-minute Olympic update shows will air February 19 at 5:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. PT, February 25 at 4:30 p.m. ET/ 1:30 p.m. PT, and February 26 at 5:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. PT. MSNBC will also air special live coverage on February 20 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30-4:30 p.m. PT and February 21 from 3:00-7:00 p.m. ET/ 1:00-4:00 p.m. PT.

Free for All: 02/09/10

What’s on your mind?

CNN.com stops using AP wire stories for a week…

The Washington Examiner’s Nikki Schwab and Tara Palmeri write about CNN.com stopping the use of AP wire stories for a week… (via J$)

Sure, broadcast networks “break” news, but they often get a little help from their friends — or, reports from wire services that have reporters stationed on location as events happen.

But for the next week, CNN wants to prove its newsgathering grit by saying no to the Associated Press wire service and relying on its own wires to deliver breaking news.

O’Reilly vs. VandeHei vs. Sammon

Politico’s Michael Calderone writes about Politico’s Jim VandeHei coming on the Factor to criticize Bill Sammon’s comments yesterday on Fox News Sunday…

O’Reilly brought up his research repeatedly during the “The Factor’s” lead story, and said that Sammon “was absolutely right” in his critique. (O’Reilly also mentioned research during his Talking Points Memo before debate).

VandeHei disagreed, telling O’Reilly that “Bill Sammon should not have made that comment.”

“He’s running your news division,” VandeHei told the Fox News host.

“So what?” countered O’Reilly. “That means he can’t be an honest purveyor of information?”

“He thinks all reporters—he thinks Chuck Todd, he thinks other White House reporters, other political reporters hate the tea party movement, hate Sarah Palin?” Vandehei asked. “He has no clue. You wouldn’t even be able to prove that charge to begin with.”

T.J. Holmes Interview…

TheLoop21.com’s Kelli Goff interviews CNN’s T.J. Holmes…(via J$)

11. What was your most important/difficult career decision?
Might sound crazy, but that might have been my decision to come to CNN three years ago. I’ve always kind of viewed myself as a small town boy who wanted to just settle in somewhere and just have an impact on a small community like the little communities I grew up in, so in deciding where I was going to go when I was leaving California where I was working at NBC in the Bay Area when I was looking at my next move and I really was debating about going to a couple of smaller places. I had options in smaller towns to be a local news anchor where you can get out and touch people every day.

At CNN, you have a wider reach but sometimes you feel like there’s a disconnect between you and your audience because you can’t just run into them at the grocery store or at Blockbuster. It may seem silly to some people or crazy like “How in the world could you consider giving up the opportunity at CNN for some smaller place,” but it’s something I did a lot of soul searching on. Glad I made the move I made but it was a a tough call. Much tougher than many people realize.

Fisking FNC’s Bill Sammon…

Politico’s Michael Calderone writes about what Bill Sammon, FNC’s Washington Bureau’s Managing Editor said yesterday on Fox News Sunday regarding the Tea Party Movement and Sarah Palin and the subsequent reaction…

It’s insulting for a top news executive to say that mainstream media reporters on the ground in Nashville — most likely just trying to cover the speeches, listen to what attendees are thinking, and look at where the movement may be headed — are motivated by hatred. (And despite Sammon’s claim, there are some on the left who argue the opposite — that the MSM’s tea party coverage hasn’t been tough enough).

Sammon’s slam prompted a response from NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd this morning on Twitter: “Come on Bill Sammon, an absurd attack and you know it: that ‘MSM’ hates tea party movement? Please. Didn’t expect a shot like that from u.”

Michele Steele Interview…

Sports Crackle Pop interviews Bloomberg TV’s Michele Steele about yesterday’s Super Bowl…

SCP: Who had the best day yesterday from a business standpoint? Was it a player, a company, a network?

MS: A lot of people would say Drew Brees – and this win is going to translate into larger and more national endorsements for him. A lot of other people might say the Saints, because now they can charge more for luxury boxes and get bigger deals from sponsors. But I say the NFL – ratings for yesterday’s game are expected to be HUGE, the league is coming off its best-rated regular season in 20 years – and let’s not forget, from a merchandising point of view, the win for the Saints is going to result in much larger sales than the Colts for two reasons – one, the Colts don’t have a lot of appeal outside of Indianapolis, two, everyone that wanted Colts-related Super Bowl gear got it the last time. (As a Bears fan, I’m still a little sore about that loss.) And all that merchandising revenue is shared.

Press Releases: 02/08/10

CNN (1)

Anderson Cooper will anchor Anderson Cooper 360° live from Haiti this week. Almost a month since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake rattled the country, Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta return to Haiti and will report on how Haitians are finding relief, how aid is trickling in and what the government is doing to help its people.

Watch AC360° at 10pm ET on CNN

Free for All: 02/08/10

What’s on your mind?

Feb 4th Numbers…

NewsBusters’ Tom Blumer got his hands on some ratings info showing February 4th 2010 vs. February 4th 2009…

CNN and MSNBC both declined over 50% in the 25-54 demographic, while both networks also suffered seriously in total audience.

Much more detail is in this graphic. Some highlights/lowlights from that graphic:

* MSNBC’s first two hours of prime time, with Chris Matthews and David Shuster, each had fewer than 100,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo last Thursday .

* Every single one of CNN’s prime time shows came in with fewer than 200,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo on Thursday. Last year, every one was above 200,000. Anderson Cooper’s 10 p.m. show cratered, dropping from 528,000 to 178,000.

* HLN significantly outdrew both CNN and MSNBC in the 25-54 demo during both prime time and the entire day; it was a distant third in each category a year ago.

* The results were not entirely peachy at Fox News. Sean Hannity’s and Greta Van Susteren’s audiences were both down by single digits from a year ago in the 25-54 demographic and total viewers.

Correction: Ok, I blew it. I thought these were Jan 2010 vs. Jan 2009 numbers. They’re not. They’re only for one day. I have since corrected the posting to reflect that. Not sure why NewsBusters’ is wasting its time doing one day year to year comparisons. Did someone tip them off?

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 02/07/10

What’s Hot

FNC’s January – FNC’s numbers for January were astounding…

Robin Meade – Meade’s show did well in January. It came in 2nd in the Demo, continuing a streak going back to September…

Stewart on The Factor – The media tends to drool over anything Stewart touches and when he touched The O’Reilly Factor for two nights it was written up to death…

You’re in trouble little mister – Seemed like this was “get in trouble” week on cable news. NBC’s Cafeteria got in trouble for a menu celebrating Black History Month. Chris Wallace got in trouble with some conservatives for playing Don Imus’ foil on a Sarah Palin joke. Countdown got in trouble for a graphic which misspelled the word “Republican”.

What’s Not

Piling on Olbermann – To paraphrase a famous quote, “The news of Countdown’s death are greatly exaggerated”. That didn’t stop a handful of media types and the red spectrum of the blogosphere from writing off Countdown based on its January numbers. Here’s the thing, even if it is slumping Countdown still turns in numbers MSNBC could have only dreamed about three years ago. It’s not going anywhere. If it starts getting beat by Campbell Brown, then that’s a different matter…

CNN readies “up front” presentation…

Mediaweek’s Anthony Crupi writes about CNN’s new up front presentation…

Greg D’Alba, evp and COO of CNN ad sales, is taking an unprecedented first step, telling buyers he’ll guarantee away-from-home deliveries in this year’s upfront. If CNN gets any takers, it will mark the first time a network will write business based on its viewership in bars, restaurants, hotels and third-party residences.

A glance at CNN’s fourth-quarter deliveries suggests that there’s a good chunk of money to be made in nontraditional venues. According to Arbitron’s ARB-TV service, away-from-home viewing gave CNN a 40 percent lift in the core news demo (adults 25-54), while boosting the network’s delivery of viewers 18-49 by 47 percent. The lift for the younger demo was predictably amplified, as CNN’s overall draw among adults 18-34 grew by 59 percent.

Certainly it’s to CNN’s benefit to steer the conversation away from prime. The network’s struggles in the daypart are well documented, but even in the midst of a particularly robust news cycle, CNN’s linear deliveries have raised a few eyebrows. In a month that witnessed the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, the special election in Massachusetts and President Obama’s first State of the Union Address, CNN fell 34 percent in prime, with an average draw of 843,000 viewers. The news demo was down 37 percent to 259,000, just half that of Fox News Channel.

More “R word” shenanigans…

In what seems to me to have become an overblown game of gotcha, the latest entrant into the “R word” derby is Ed Schultz…

You can add MSNBC and radio talker Ed Schultz for using the dreaded “R” word. The word got Rush Limbaugh and Rahm Emanual in trouble. Olbermann even did a segment the other night asking if Sarah Palin would go after Rush-and if she didn’t-she would be a hypocrite.

What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…

I should have started this last night given that I was going to be out until late today. Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…

Chris Wallace in hot water over Palin joke?

Politico’s Ben Smith writes about FNC’s Chris Wallace making a joke on FBN’s Don Imus show and the resultant fallout…

Jeri Thompson blasted Fox News host Chris Wallace on the Fred Thompson show today, calling his joke that he hoped Sarah Palin would sit on his lap during an interview with him “inappropriate” and “insipid,” and demanding “action from Fox.

Thompson, the wife of the former senator and presidential candidate, told POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin that the remark, to Fox Business’s Don Imus, amounted to misogyny, and that she was tired of seeing it from “these dirty old men” on Fox, a network that she said ought to be respectful of conservative women.

“Sarah Palin is now part of the Fox family,” Thompson said on the show. “She deserves you all watching her back — and I do not mean it literally.”

Update: Video. The joke occurs near the end…

Press Releases: 02/05/10

MSNBC (2), CNN (1)

MSNBC

PROGRAMMING NOTE: MSNBC TO AIR SARAH PALIN’S SPEECH TO THE NATIONAL TEA PARTY CONVENTION

NEW YORK-Feb.5,2010-On Saturday, February 6, MSNBC will provide special coverage of Sarah Palin’s speech to the first National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. MSNBC’s Ed Schultz, host of “The Ed Show,” will anchor the live coverage from 9:00-10:30 pm ET.

_____________________

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT: Sarah Palin e-mails reveal her spouse was active in state business

REDMOND, Wash. – February 5, 2010 – Msnbc.com’s Investigative Reporter Bill Dedman reviewed nearly 3,000 pages of recently released emails from the Sarah Palin administration. The e-mails were released to msnbc.com and NBC News by the state of Alaska under its public records law. The e-mails show the governor’s husband got involved in a judicial appointment, monitored contract negotiations with public employee unions, received background checks on a corporate CEO, added his approval or disapproval to state board appointments, and passed financial information marked “confidential” from his oil company employer to a state attorney.

For the complete story: Palin e-mails reveal a powerful ‘first dude’ (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35238034/ns/politics/).

_____________________

CNN

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS AIRS AT 10 a.m. ON CNN U.S. BEGINNING THIS SUNDAY

The Hazards of Live TV: #25,042…

This is going to give MSNBC some headaches. But was it really a typo? Or was it deliberate?

Update: Unlike the conspiracy theory anti-Olbermann types like Olbermannwatch, I think this was a typo. Keith didn’t enter the text on the graphic. It was done by a grunt. MSNBC’s Editorial would never condone such crude behavior. This was a gaffe.

Free for All: 02/05/10

What’s on your mind?

The Hazards of Live TV: #25,041

This is really a Hazards two-fer. First we have bad choreography/lighting. This is immediately followed by bad spelling…

So much for diversity…

This isn’t going to play out well. I first thought this had to be someone’s idea of a joke but it’s too crass to be a joke. Will FNC be all over this? Will O’Reilly ignore it? I sense a poll question…

Update: The sign has been removed and NBC has apologized for it…

Update 2: The Chef behind the menu reacts…(via TVNewser)

Press Releases: 02/04/10

Bloomberg (1)

BLOOMBERG TELEVISION PRESENTS ‘IN THE LOOP’ LIVE FROM THE LABOR DEPARTMENT

This Friday, February 5th, 2010, BLOOMBERG TELEVISION® anchor Betty Liu will present a special two-hour edition of ‘In the Loop with Betty Liu’ (8AM – 10AM ET) live from the Labor Department in Washington D.C. Washington anchor Peter Cook and correspondent Lizzie O’Leary will add to Bloomberg’s team coverage of the January non-farm employment numbers and the impact on the nation’s economy and markets.

Guests include U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis as well as leading economists and business analysts including:

* Ethan Harris, chief economist, Bank of America
* James Glassman, senior economist, senior economist, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
* Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist, BTIG
* Anthony Crescenzi, market strategist, PIMCO

Free for All: 02//04/10

What’s on your mind?

Jon Stewart on The Factor…

The LA Times’ Matea Gold writes about Jon Stewart’s appearnce on The O’Reilly Factor…

The “Daily Show” host delivered his message in an somber tone, occasionally fading into a look of exasperation as the two men wrangled. O’Reilly challenged his arguments, but with equanimity. The result was a forceful but amiable exchange.

“All I hear on your network is tyranny and socialism,” Stewart said, adding: “How is Barack Obama a socialist? As far as I can see, the majority of the billions of dollars he’s given, he’s given to banks. So if he’s a socialist, he’s dyslexic.”

“He does believe in redistribution of income, and that is a socialist tenet,” O’Reilly countered.

In an interview afterward, O’Reilly said he was struck by Stewart’s mood.

“It was more serious than I expected him to be,” the commentator said. “He wanted to make some points about Fox News, and he made them. I let him make them. And I told him, I’m not offended that he believes that or sees it that way. I’m not. But I think if he would sit down and watch Bret Baier, Shepard Smith, the way our hard news guys cover the White House and Congress and the Supreme Court, he would not see a rooting interest in the GOP.”

Free for All: 02/03/10

What’s on your mind?

CNBC Ratings Leak…

It seems like nary a month goes by without someone posting leaked CNBC ratings. This time it’s Wall St. Cheat Sheet…

Once again, CNBC has continued to lose viewers after failing to help anyone save money during the Great Crash of 2008. The newest Nielsen Media Research numbers show Business Day (5am-7pm) down 24% P2+ (total households) and down 37% in the A25-54 demographic. Primetime, CNBC is down 34% P2+ and down 25% in the A25-54 demo (Monday through Friday).

That’s a significant drop. Is it those pesky video games? Maybe it’s iPhone apps. Nah. It’s definitely correlated to the value CNBC offers to our investment accounts.

Olbermann vs. Bercovici…

Daily Finance’s Jeff Bercovici responds to Keith Olbermann’s response to an article Bercovici wrote last week about Countdown’s “declining numbers”…

When I wrote about signs that the tide is turning against MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, I suspected it might land me a place on his “Worst Person in the World” list, the segment he uses for most of his score-settling. What I didn’t anticipate was that he’d tell an outright lie about me and the organization I work for.

On Tuesday night’s Countdown, Olbermann, claiming he wanted to “clear up” misperceptions about his show’s ratings, called DailyFinance a “right-wing site” and lumped us in with Glenn Beck and the National Review.

Now, I’m something of an old-school journalist in that I don’t believe in broadcasting my politics in public. I guess I’m doing a decent job of keeping them under wraps if Olbermann can call me a right-winger while actual right-wingers like Michelle Malkin and Ed Driscoll seem to believe I’m a flaming liberal.

Defending Jeff Zucker…

Marketwatch’s Jon Friedman interviews NBC News President Steve Capus who goes on a tear about the way Jeff Zucker has been portrayed in the media recently…

NBC invited me to come in to talk with Capus and purportedly review research showing what Capus easily could have explained in a sentence or two: We’re No. 1, and here’s why.

Write me off as a hopeless conspiracy theorist — and I’ve been called worse — but I suspect Capus’ hidden agenda was defending Zucker — only it became less hidden throughout our lively conversation.

Capus is smart, personable and extremely thoughtful. I discourage any reporter from trying to snare him with a “gotcha” question. You’d be wasting your time.

Making NBC News’ triumphs even sweeter, Capus noted that it has remained a pacesetter while retooling on the fly. Katie Couric, Tom Brokaw and the late, beloved Tim Russert have been replaced by Meredith Vieira, Brian Williams and David Gregory, respectively. For once, the overused term “dynasty” applies.

Plus, Capus is pleased with MSNBC, “Dateline” and, yes, the Weather Channel. Capus said that while he doesn’t directly oversee CNBC, he is happy with its progress.