And today we have a toughie…
HLN’s Chuck Roberts and FNC’s Jon Scott…
Final Tally: Scott…
Archive for February, 2009
Revisionist History: Update…
Posted in MSNBC on February 11, 2009 by icn2According to TVNewser, Olbermann will correct his error regarding the fat/facts gaffe…
Note to TVNewser: You might inform your readers that Friday wasn’t the only day this happened. Just a thought…
Update: I guess this script from tonight’s show will have to be changed now…(J$ sent in the tip)
(scroll to bottom)
Here is Keith’s script from tonight’s show, where Brian Deer will receive (at least) the bronze Worst Person in the World honors… it will air tonight, barring breaking news:
The bronze to Brian Deer.
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Press Releases: 02/11/09
Posted in Press Releases on February 11, 2009 by icn2CNN (1)
Jaconi Joins State of the Union with John King as Executive Producer
Michelle Jaconi, a 12-year veteran of NBC’s Meet the Press, will join CNN Worldwide as executive producer of State of the Union with John King, the network’s bold new Sunday block of programming that blends newsmaker interviews, political analysis, national and world affairs, cultural segments, media analysis and commentary.
“From the moment we conceived of State of the Union, we knew we had to find an executive producer who appreciated the special role of Sunday talk shows,” said Sam Feist, CNN’s political director and vice president of Washington-based programming. “Michelle, with her experience in landing and producing brilliant interviews, will help us leverage the resources of CNN’s political team and newsgathering operation to create a program unlike any other.”
“Michelle is a perfect fit for our team and our mission,” John King said. “Her deep experience in smart and aggressive Sunday morning television speaks for itself. And her passion for making things relevant to the people who matter most – the families and communities outside Washington – is what we’re looking for in this key leadership role.”
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Revisionist History…
Posted in MSNBC on February 11, 2009 by icn2OlbermannWatch blasts Keith Olbermann for repeating an incorrect quote attributed to Rupert Murdoch…
You would think that having been caught yet again smearing people with false information, a responsible journalist would correct his error. Instead, on Tuesday night’s show, Herr Olbermann doubled down. That’s right, he ignored the truth and repeated the false Murdoch quote again!…
As Rupert Murdoch says of his own shop, ‘We have never been a company that tolerates facts”.
This is ridiculous. The correct quote was “We have never been a company that tolerates fat”. You can even listen to the audio here. Olbermann knows the original quote was wrong because the Countdown staff regularly monitors OlbermannWatch. We all know this. And yet Olbermann repeated the incorrect quote last night. I saw it live and thought, “Oh boy, here we go again.” I have to therefore infer that Olbermann doesn’t care if the quote is wrong and just wants to make hay to make Murdoch look bad. Problem is, too many people in the industry know now that the quote is wrong so only Olbermann ends up looking bad.
Smoking Gun: Update…
Posted in FNC on February 11, 2009 by icn2(video via J$)
This morning Jon Scott addressed the Republican Press release that wound up as a segment on FNC flap. However you really have to parse this. The only thing that Scott directly addressed was the typo. If you hadn’t seen the segment yesterday, you wouldn’t have known that the fact this was based on a Republican press release was not mentioned originally. Here’s the transcript for yesterday’s segment from Media Matters…
SCOTT: So in that series of votes, the Senate is expected to pass the $838 billion stimulus plan — its version of it, anyway. We thought we’d take a look back at the bill, how it was born, and how it grew, and grew, and grew.
War Criminal Hunting?
Posted in MSNBC on February 11, 2009 by icn2The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about NBC News investigating War Crimes…
For more than a year, NBC has been investigating the possible perpetrators of human rights abuses in several countries, but the case of Leopold Munyakazi, a visiting professor of French at Goucher College in Towson, Md., is the only one that has become public.
In December, an NBC crew and a Rwandan prosecutor confronted Mr. Munyakazi with charges that he had participated in that country’s genocide in 1994.
Reached by telephone on Tuesday evening, Mr. Munyakazi vigorously denied the allegations.
“I have never participated in genocide. I saved a number of people,” said Mr. Munyakazi.
The Department of Homeland Security said it had significant concerns “that a program of this kind could negatively impact law enforcement’s ability to investigate and bring cases against the perpetrators of these horrible crimes.” The Justice Department had no comment about the professor’s case.
Long Knives…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on February 11, 2009 by icn2And what are we to make of this from FTVLive? I know what I make of it…it has a familiar ring to it.
Seems the fierce internal competition plaguing the media section of the New York Times these days is apparently forcing their reporters to be extra sensitive about getting beat. Not surprising then that media reporters there are now taking credit for breaking news more than an hour after a network press release was sent out.
After My Network TV announced Monday at 4 pm that they were moving from a broadcast network model to that of a hybrid programming service, Bill Carter slapped it up on the Times’ TV Decoder website at 5:12pm proclaiming that “News Corp” was “expected” to make a major announcement about My Network TV. Huh? Seems as though a rogue News Corp internal source led Carter astray and he took the bait without bothering to do any actual reporting or even a basic Google search which would have turned up at least two stories within the hour on the programming change. Carter was forced to update the post later to clarify that an announcement had been made (http://tvdecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/mynetworktv-once-a-network-now-a-hybrid/)
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Lynne Russell Interview…
Posted in HLN on February 11, 2009 by icn2Soupcans interviews HLN legend Lynne Russell…
What are the biggest differences between anchoring a news desk in the US and anchoring one in Canada?
Good question. First, let me say that I wouldn’t trade anything for the people I’ve worked with in the broadcasting industry in Canada. I have made some very dear friends. It’s interesting that there is a flow both ways across the border. As you know, there are many Canadians on the air in the States… although I might be the first American, and probably the last, to anchor the CBC (more on that in a minute). After nearly two decades with CNN – and then 5 years traveling and writing – I went back to TV news here in Canada, because it’s a hard habit to break. I did not expect it to be the same, and it wasn’t.
It’s actually difficult to compare the networks I know first-hand, since CNN is an American commercial network that’s all about immediacy, and CBC is Canadian government-run, without a breaking news approach. It is the BBC in a hockey sweater. Here are a couple of differences:American networks do not promote themselves as lending a particular nationalistic viewpoint to the news (whatever one might think actually happens!). Yet CBC “Newsworld” promotes itself as providing “news with a Canadian perspective.” To me this is an astonishing admission, a disservice to the viewing public and exactly the opposite of what it should be. A journalist’s job – privilege and responsibility – is to tell the story, explain why it’s important, and then shut up and allow the public to draw their own conclusions. I have faith that they are very capable of this.
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Anchor Wars: 02/11/09
Posted in Anchor Wars 2009 on February 10, 2009 by icn2Morning Joe Profile
Posted in MSNBC on February 10, 2009 by icn2The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette profiles Morning Joe…
The radio show is the latest element of the Joe and Mika franchise, bringing this Burns-and-Allen-Goes-to-Dartmouth routine to the unlikely masses who like to get their political news from radio screamers.
While numerous media stars from Sean Hannity to Glenn Beck have managed to successfully transition from talk radio to cable television, the reverse pollination process is much less common.
Although it still trails in the ratings behind CNN’s American Morning and Fox News’ Fox & Friends, since its inception in the spring of 2007, Morning Joe has grown into a buzzy phenomenon, particularly beloved among policy wonks in New York and Washington.
To paraphrase George Burns, the most important thing in morning television is sincere camaraderie. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.
Whether it’s real or fake, Morning Joe seems to go down pretty smoothly with its ensemble cast: second-generation TV wisecracker Willie Geist, veteran newspaper columnist Mike Barnicle and curmudgeonly political legend Pat Buchanan. But at the heart of the collective bonhomie is the intimate, complex, tantalizing, combative, flirtatious, heated, intellectually driven relationship between Mr. Scarborough and Ms. Brzezinski.
Examing Business News Sources…
Posted in CNBC, FBN, FNC on February 10, 2009 by icn2Behavior Research Center did a survey for the Donald. W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. Table 4 of the PDF is interesting…(via J$)
FNC is viewed more for Business News than FBN. This may be due in part to the fact that FNC is more widely available than FBN. Table 6 is even more interesting…
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Fisking CNBC?
Posted in CNBC on February 10, 2009 by icn2CJR Daily’s Ryan Chittum looks at a CNBC segment yesterday. Pay attention to the comments which has rebuttal from Roben Farzad, who participated in that segment…
CNBC paired noted bears Nouriel Roubini and Nassim Nicholas Taleb yesterday in what could have been a very good arrangement. But rather than fully explore their arguments on why the financial system is fundamentally screwed, the segment devolved into bear-bashing and nearsightedness.
Here’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, not able to contain her disdain for the bearish Roubini and Taleb.
“When I hear that Bill Gates and Michael Dell are lining up to listen to these guys in Davos, to me that screams of ‘market bottom’—like, peak of the hysteria.”
It’s interesting to see Caruso-Cabrera try to delegitimize these guys early on in the interview. The touts regularly featured on the network don’t seem to come in for such tough treatment very often.
Smoking Gun?
Posted in FNC on February 10, 2009 by icn2Oh boy. This will embolden those who claim FNC spurts out Republican talking points. I guarantee a WPiTW nomination on Countdown…
Summary: In purporting to “take a look back” at how the economic recovery plan “grew, and grew, and grew,” Fox News’ Jon Scott referenced seven dates, as on-screen graphics cited various news sources from those time periods — all of which came directly from a Senate Republican Communications Center press release. A Fox News on-screen graphic even reproduced a typo contained in the Republican press release.
Below is the “typo” from Media Matters…
Someone at FNC has some explaining to do. I’ve always given the network the benefit of the doubt but this time…it sure looks bad…
Press Releases: 02/10/09
Posted in Press Releases on February 10, 2009 by icn2CNN (1)
Soledad O’Brien Leads CNN’s Network-Wide From Lincoln to Obama
Special Coverage Examines Bridge Between 16th and 44th Presidents on Feb. 12, Beginning at 9 a.m. (ET)
Anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien leads a CNN special live event, From Lincoln to Obama, on Thursday, Feb. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (ET). Along with Newsroom anchors Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips, O’Brien and CNN will take a network-wide look at the bridge between the times of Presidents
Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama on the bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth.
CNN will broadcast live from Lincoln bicentennial events in Washington, D.C., and Springfield, Ill., as the network builds upon the original and innovative coverage of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and the Obama inauguration. With live reports on the new administration, the economy and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, CNN explores the state of affairs – both now and in the 1860s – that tie these two presidents together.
The day’s coverage includes live reports about Obama’s visit to Lincoln’s home in Springfield. Campbell Brown: No Bias. No Bull will air the president’s speech from that location at about 8:45 p.m. (ET). Anderson Cooper 360° will include analysis and reporting about Obama’s day in Springfield at 10 p.m. (ET)
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CNBC’s Tough Coverage?
Posted in CNBC, FBN on February 10, 2009 by icn2The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik unilaterally removes his name from the FBN Christmas Card list for this year by penning this CNBC piece on today’s Geithner coverage while ignoring FBN’s skeptical coverage of the whole stimulus package, which has been going on for a while now…
CNBC, the cable channel devoted to business, was the place to be today in the wake of Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner rolling out the administration’s new bank bailout plan today.
Within 30 minutes of Geithner finishing his presentation, the NBC-owned channel had sweeping reaction from Wall Street (almost all of it thumbs-down), as well as the start of an exclusive interview with Geithner conducted by NBC anchorman Brian Williams and Steve Liesman, senior economics reporter for CNBC.
I tuned in the noontime show, Power Lunch, primarily to see how Williams, who has been Mr. Softball lately in big-time interviews, handled his first shot at Geithner. For the record, the NBC newsman did okay. He was focused, forceful and asked most of the right questions, including one about whether or not Geither thought his own tax problems would undermine his efforts to get Americans to trust the banking system again.
But Williams wasn’t what mattered today on CNBC. He was there mainly as big-foot window dressing.
The real show involved the everyday producers, reporters and Power Lunch anchors who were all over the story — even if they were a little too quick to jump to wide-ranging conclusions that later had to be scaled back.
Shepard Smith Profile…
Posted in FNC on February 10, 2009 by icn2Esquire’s Tom Junod profiles Shepard Smith. This should have been posted hours ago but I hit Save instead of Publish. Oops…
The Shepard Smith Creation Myths are important because they are Fox News’s Creation Myths as well. Like Shep, Roger Ailes and John Moody and Sharri Berg, the senior VP of news, have all been at Fox News since even before the Launch, and like Shep, they all have managed to preserve the original conception of Fox as a besieged but sprightly upstart, even through nearly ten years of success and dominance. “Shepard is in Fox News’s DNA,” Berg says, and though it might sound clichéd, it’s actually quite precise, for the story told by Shep Smith — Mississippi cotton merchant’s son who wanted to work in TV ever since he saw the cosmopolitan horde of correspondents descend on nearby Memphis for Elvis’s funeral; who grew up very conscious that he lived in flyover country and that the three New York — based networks weren’t likely to tell the story of people like him; who saw the ups and downs of a cotton merchant’s life and as a result says, “Working for the Man seemed really good to me”; who quit the University of Mississippi to work for local news stations in Florida, and then quit local news to work with Berg at Fox’s tabloid news show, A Current Affair; who, when A Current Affair went off the air, came to work for Fox in New York; and who now lives in a loft in Greenwich Village, summers in the Hamptons, and flies most weekends in the fall to his house in Oxford, Mississippi, so that he can take his father to Ole Miss home games — is the Fox story, writ small. Fox News really is different from its competitors, not just for the way it treats ideology but for the way it treats television. Its DNA — like Shep Smith’s DNA — is rooted in local news, in tabloid news, in rebels who like working for the Man, in anchors and executives who have been number one year after year and are still so aware of where they came from that they can keep a straight face when they, like Sharri Berg, claim, “We are the underdog.”
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The Caylee Anthony Channel…
Posted in HLN on February 10, 2009 by icn2Just when you thought the Caylee Anthony saga couldn’t get any more over the top in its nauseating overcoverage, HLN is dedicating the Noon hour today to a Nancy Grace special covering the Caylee Anthony memorial service live.
Fire away…
Anderson Cooper Goes Back to School…
Posted in CNN on February 10, 2009 by icn2The Brooklyn Daily Eagle’s Tom Kane writes about Anderson Cooper’s appearance at Poly Prep…
Friday, Feb. 6, will go down as a very special day for a lot of Poly Prep students and faculty members. The guest speaker at their traditional Friday morning chapel/assembly was none other than CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and he was a hit!
The program started with William (Bud) Cox, the Upper School head, introducing Poly senior John Plotz, who played a moving Chopin piece to begin the proceedings. That was followed by John Rearick’s introduction of Cooper. Rearick, the director of writing at Poly, taught a young Anderson Cooper 25 years ago in one of his writing classes.
Anchor Wars: 02/10/09
Posted in Anchor Wars 2009 on February 9, 2009 by icn2And today…
MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell and HLN’s Susan Hendricks…
BTW, just as a reminder, if you want to vote but can’t enter a comment, you need to register with WordPress.com.
Final Tally: O’Donnell and 22 Penalty Minutes…
Presidential News Conference: Your reactions…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on February 9, 2009 by icn2Post your reactions to President Obama’s news conference, and the coverage thereof, here…
Bad PR?
Posted in CNBC on February 9, 2009 by icn2Henry Blodget over at Silicon Alley Insider argues that CNBC PR needs a new strategy dealing with fisk Cramer articles…
This is the same position CNBC (and Jim Cramer) have taken all along: Those who put forth data showing that Jim Cramer’s stock picks do worse than the market are just jealous competitors. And the attacks don’t stop at words:
[T]he last time Barron’s inquired about Cramer’s stock-picking, CNBC responded with cherry-picked success stories; lawyers; calls to Dow Jones executives; and an end to Barron’s regular presence on CNBC. Cramer shouted to his viewers that we were know-nothings and assured them that his Mad Money picks had “killed” the Standard & Poor’s 500 index…
In other words: shoot the messenger.
It’s time for CNBC to move past this. Jim Cramer is a major cash cow now, but the network will outlive him. And it’s shortsighted for CNBC to rush to defend Cramer’s stockpicking–especially when it can keep its Mad Money ratings and advertising revenue without doing so. CNBC’s viewers, many of whom don’t understand how hard it is to beat the market through active trading and stock-picking, deserve better.
Here’s what CNBC should say every time someone says that Jim Cramer’s stock picks underperform the market:
“Jim Cramer is the most-watched market commentator in the history of the world. Viewers love his energy, insight, and experience, and we’re thrilled to have him on CNBC.”
What would that response do? It would make articles like Barrons’ irrelevant. It would move the Cramer dialogue to where it belongs: To the observation that, regardless of how Cramer’s stock picks perform*, people like to watch him.
CNNI Launches “International Desk”
Posted in CNN on February 9, 2009 by icn2CNN Observations has the details…
Inside the HD Inauguration…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on February 9, 2009 by icn2TV Technology’s Ian McSpadden writes about the HD technology used for the Inauguration. This is pure geek stuff for those who just like to understand how screwed up complicated things get in scenarios like this…(via J$)
The originator of the phrase “herding cats” probably never envisioned such an arduous task as trying to coordinate multiple local, national, and international news agencies all wanting to capture the essence of such an important moment in history. To tackle the shared usage of so many disparate broadcast production elements, project responsibilities were divided into two units. The video and audio production for the event was a pooled effort, managed by CNN. Each of the traditional broadcast networks oversaw coverage of a specific location. NBC took charge of the ceremonies on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, CBS covered the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue, and ABC managed coverage at the White House.
The second unit consisted of frequency coordination of all wireless audio, video, and communications equipment transported into town. The challenge of overseeing this important and critical task was shared by the regional frequency coordinator and an experienced local contractor, who both worked around the clock, ensuring that broadcasters and government agencies were able to squeeze their signals into every free notch available in the radio spectrum. The goal was to minimize adjacent channel interference from so many tightly spaced signals.
Press Releases: 02/09/09
Posted in Press Releases on February 9, 2009 by icn2CNBC (1)
BEYOND THE HUXTABLES: MEET THE NEWBOS
A CNBC ORIGINAL, “NEWBOS: THE RISE OF AMERICA’S NEW BLACK OVERCLASS,” ANCHORED BY LEE HAWKINS, EXAMINES A GENERATION OF SELF-MADE YOUNG BLACK MULTI-MILLIONAIRES PREMIERING TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Lebron James, Torii Hunter, Terrell “T.O.” Owens, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Wyclef Jean, Lil’ Wayne and the Williams Brothers of Cash Money Records, Kirk Franklin, And Bob Johnson Are Featured
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., February 9, 2009 – In the 1980s, the fictional Huxtable family offered a window into the lives of upper middle class professional African American families. But today, there’s a new class of young blacks who are now at the highest tier of the financial strata, and their first generation wealth sparks unprecedented challenges and opportunities in their lives. Their profiles are featured in CNBC’s “NEWBOS: The Rise of America’s New Black Overclass,” anchored by Wall Street Journal reporter/CNBC correspondent Lee Hawkins, premiering Tuesday, February 24 at 9 PM/1 AM ET.
In this original one-hour documentary, CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, provides a close-up look at the experiences of these self-made black multimillionaires, many of whom grew up poor, are mostly under age 40, and have primarily made their vast fortunes in the sports, entertainment and media industries, usually by taking more ownership and control over their brands. Collectively, black athletes in the NFL, NBA, and in Major League Baseball earned more than $4 billion last year and the nation’s 20 highest-paid hip-hop entrepreneurs brought in more than $500 million. Their newfound wealth has profound implications on their lives and their families. NEWBOs exposes and chronicles their experiences and insights as they move from relative poverty to fantastic wealth at a very young age.
Based on Hawkins’ forthcoming book of the same title, the program features personal stories and interviews with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment, including: NBA star LeBron James, NFL star Terrell Owens, Major League All-Star Torii Hunter, The Williams Brothers of Cash Money Records and their artist Lil’ Wayne, and Multi-platinum gospel artist Kirk Franklin.
Among the many insights, the Williams brothers discuss the entrepreneurial skill that helped them land a $30 million distribution deal with Universal Records while still in their 20s.Hunter discusses his efforts to use his celebrity as a way to expose more black youth to baseball in an era in which the number of blacks in the league has declined to 7.6%. LeBron James discusses his decision to fire his agent and form his own African-American controlled marketing company, which now oversees his $90 million endorsement contract with Nike and numerous other projects. Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson discusses the need for more intergenerational mentorship and economic collaboration between NEWBOs and the economic empowerment that could result if they begin to pool their financial resources and launch joint ventures.
Senator Scarborough?
Posted in MSNBC on February 9, 2009 by icn2The St. Petersberg Times’ Adam Smith blogs about Joe Scarborough not completely ruling out a Senate run…
A month ago, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough told Buzz he was “not at all” interested in running for Mel Martinez’s Senate seat. Now, he’s cracking that door back open. From the Herald-Tribune:
But the former congressman from Pensacola said he may run for office again, maybe even the U.S. Senate in 2010.
“I haven’t closed it off,” said Scarborough, a Republican who is scheduled to address the Manatee County Republican Party at its annual Lincoln Day Dinner on Feb. 20. “I’ve been getting some calls from some fundraisers in Florida.”
I’ll believe this when it’s announced. Until then, I won’t…
CNN.com Follows Two Freshman Congressmen…
Posted in CNN on February 9, 2009 by icn2The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about CNN.com shadowing two freshman congressmen as they get acclimated to life on Capitol Hill. Sounds like an interesting premise. Why limit this to CNN.com though. It sounds to me like it’d make interesting TV…
Mike Toppo, the senior supervising producer for news production at CNN.com, said his team looked for “articulate and personable freshmen” with interesting biographies and contrasting backgrounds. They found two from neighboring states: Jared Polis, Democrat of Colorado, and Jason Chaffetz, Republican of Utah.
“They’ve asked us to give insight into what it’s like to be a freshman and what it’s like to be a congressman,” Mr. Chaffetz said in a telephone interview.
In a statement, Mr. Polis added, “So much goes on behind the scenes in Washington that doesn’t make it onto C-Span and most people don’t get to see.”
The congressmen are using high-definition Flip cameras to document their days. Mr. Chaffetz is sleeping on a cot in his office to save money, and an aide filmed him as he unpacked his bed one evening.
“The camera makes it doable,” Mr. Chaffetz said of the project. “I can literally put it in my shirt pocket.” The men do most of the filming themselves, adding an appealing amateur quality to the segments, which will last 5 to 10 minutes each on CNN.com.
The Hazards of Live TV: #24,994
Posted in Hazards of Live TV on February 9, 2009 by icn2Chickaboomer notes that Joe Scarborough apparently stuck his foot in it again. Did he get a talking to in his earpiece and that’s why he reversed course fast?
