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Archive for June, 2009
Howard Kurtz non-disclosure flap…
Posted in CNN on June 18, 2009 by icn2The Washington Post’s Ombudsman Andrew Alexander addresses a Howard Kurtz online chat and how that ruffled the feathers of one Eric Alterman…
Eric Alterman, a well-known New York-based journalism professor, columnist and author, was struck by what Kurtz didn’t say and e-mailed me with a complaint.
“Howard Kurtz, who draws a regular paycheck from CNN, but is described in this chat exclusively as a ‘Washington Post staff writer and columnist,’ offers the lamest possible defense of CNN,” he wrote. “(B)ut nowhere in the chat does he bother to inform readers that he is in the pay of the network whose dereliction of duty he sees fit to defend.”
“This is not ‘the appearance of a conflict of interest,’” he continued. “This is an actual conflict of interest.”
He is correct that Kurtz should have disclosed his CNN connection. When I queried Kurtz, he readily agreed.
“When I took a couple of questions about CNN’s Iran coverage in this week’s chat, I didn’t mention it in my haste to answer the questions,” he said. “That was an oversight and won’t be repeated.”
What Alexander didn’t say (and probably should have): Anyone who has followed Alterman over the years, as I did for a while when he was blogging for MSNBC.com before he got too shrill for me, knows Kurtz holds a special place in Alterman’s ire. I think he and Mickey Kaus share the honor of being Kurtz’s biggest detractors; both have frequently complained in the past about Kurtz’s dual roles at CNN and The Post, occasionally referring to him as Howie “conflict of interest” Kurtz.
Get Don Broderick…
Posted in FNC on June 17, 2009 by icn2Gawker continues digging into the world of Don Broderick with lots of innuendo and stories from anonymous FNC people…
“He’s a creep and a bully,” says one of three former Fox Newsers who spoke to Gawker. “He really is crazy. People are frightened to turn their backs to him. The fact that he still works there is mind-boggling.”
Neither Broderick nor Fox News returned calls for comment.
In the 2002 incident, according to two of our sources, Broderick screamed at a young female production assistant and threatened to “tear [her] fucking head off” after she briefly couldn’t find a piece of tape he wanted. The incident began when the PA told Broderick, using Fox’s internal text-messaging system, that she couldn’t locate some video that he needed for a piece he was writing. She quickly found it, and messaged him to let him know. His response: “Don’t ever lie to me again. Next time I’ll tear your fucking head off.”
Freaked out, the PA printed out the bizarre, threatening message and showed it to a supervisor. Not long after, according to a former Fox Newser who witnessed part of the confrontation, Broderick approached the PA in the crowded newsroom, clutching a print-out of the offending text message, and “cornered her.”
Update: FTVLive is reporting that Broderick was arrested for allegedly leaving the scene of an accident on Jun 12th…
Dylan “Take No Prisoners” Ratigan…
Posted in MSNBC on June 17, 2009 by icn2NewBusters Mike Sargent likes what he saw from Dylan Ratigan this morning on “Morning Joe”…
Journalists, take note: Dylan Ratigan should be your model.
Despite working for MSNBC, Ratigan has shown a hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners interview style that is quickly gaining him the reputation for being the toughest interview on television. It isn’t often that an MSNBC host can claim to be tough on both sides of the political aisle, but the former CNBC correspondent could probably do it with a straight face and a clear conscience.
This morning, for example, Ratigan was brought in as a hired gun of sorts, to speak with Obama’s Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), Dr. Christina Romer. Typically, in interviews with White House economic wonks, TV personalities can easily be blown away by the technical rhetoric of economists. Typically, these wonks sound very much like they know what they’re talking about, even when they are in fact dodging the question. This was not a typical interview in either regard.
Goldfarb vs. Shuster: Shuster responds (indirectly)
Posted in MSNBC on June 17, 2009 by icn2This afternoon David Shuster addressed the issues The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb raised earlier this week when he called Shuster a “liar”.
On Monday we did a Hypocrisy Watch segment on Senator Joe Lieberman. His office points out that on some of the issues we mentioned Monday there are no longer major differences between the Senator’s current position and that of President Obama. We pointed out the statements the Senator made as recently as last summer, but his office notes that his stance for instance on dialogue with Iran is now similar to that of President Obama. There’s no question that Senator Lieberman’s positions have evolved since last year when he campaigned for John McCain. However to suggest that Senator Lieberman is a hypocrite was harsh. A fair approach would have been to simply point out the evolution of his policies and not attempt to characterize the Senator’s motives. The Senator can speak for himself. In any case we appreciate Senator Lieberman’s office reaching out and we renew the invitation made on Monday; Senator Lieberman you are always welcome to come on this show and discuss your views on the issues of the day.
I don’t know but this response reads to me like it was dictated from above.
In Depth: Obama vs. FNC – FNC strikes back…
Posted in FNC, In Depth on June 17, 2009 by icn2All day long FNC has been beating the “Obama is avoiding us” drum. It started on Fox and Friends and continued throughout the day. I watched Your World and Neil Cavuto devoted a long segment at the top of his show to the subject (which featured stills or video of Cavuto talking to just about everyone in politics). Update: Video here.
You’d think from the way FNC was talking today that it’s all just partisan Obama politics and there’s no real reason why Obama would not want to appear on the cable news leader…
Well there is this. And this. And this. And this. And this. And those are just the ones I could find quickly.
FNC has made it easy for Obama to blow them off. David Shuster got thrown under the bus at NBC for one little comment regarding Chelsea Clinton when it became apparent that it could lose access to the Clinton campaign. It removed Olbermann and Matthews from political event coverage after things went off the rails at the Republican National Convention and there was a lot of blowback coming from Republicans aimed at the network (though it really should have happened much much sooner). Was anyone at FNC reprimanded in such a manner for any of the above transgressions? I don’t think so.
It would be one thing if all of the above never happened and Obama tried to play politics with FNC (which he is most definitely doing here). But with a back story like the above, FNC has given Obama the ammunition he needs to paint the network in the light he paints it. Without it he’s just firing blanks. With it, he scores real hits. He did something similar during the campaign. Like I said, FNC has made it easy for him. Just like Olbermann, Schultz, and Maddow have made it easy for MSNBC to be painted as the liberal network by conservatives.
Would I go on FNC if I was him? Sure. I wouldn’t do Fox and Friends (too many loose canons there), Beck (what’s the point?), or Hannity (ditto), but O’Reilly, surprisingly, has shown to be pretty even handed when put under the big spotlights that a major interview brings. I would definitely do Fox News Sunday.
But let’s look at it from Obama’s perspective. He’s got 65% (now) 53% 56% approval ratings. He’s a smooth media operator. Given the past rhetoric coming out of that network, he doesn’t need to deal with FNC at this point. If his numbers drop more, that will change.
Shepard Smith Profile…
Posted in FNC on June 17, 2009 by icn2The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Mackenzie Carpenter profiles FNC’s Shepard Smith…
Smith won’t say if he’s a Republican or a Democrat. He doesn’t like politics much at all, in fact, and he claims no friction with Beck or Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reilly.
“There are all kinds of people in families. Mine, at least, we all get along great. There are some ideologues around here. People have different political backgrounds and all of that, but I don’t play on that field. I just do the news.”
Indeed, by showcasing Smith as its lead news anchor at a cable channel known mostly for its fiery conservative commentators, Fox News is trying to show that its brand is more diverse than it gets credit for — and to grow its already sizable audience, which, in the age of Obama, has been flocking to the cable channel in droves.
It’s not completely clear if those exploding ratings are being fanned by the O’Reillys of the world or because Smith, as Fox’s face of news, is, perhaps, perceived as more energetic or less of a bloviator than his counterparts at CNN or MSNBC.
Double Talk?
Posted in CNN on June 17, 2009 by icn2Gawker has Rick Sanchez in what appears to be a somewhat contradictory position, though Sanchez would maintain that it isn’t…
The social-media obsessive defended his network’s coverage in no uncertain terms when in front of the camears. “The story was reported every hour on CNN in some form or fashion,” he said during a forceful on-air monologue (see attached clip).
But Sanchez was reportedly more revealing yesterday when speaking to fellow Twitter fans at a conference on the microblogging service, disclosing he’d written an email memo to superiors, prodding them to significantly expand their Iran coverage. Wrote one conference participant:
After his comments on the panel, Sanchez described to me and others how his email about #CNNFail on Twitter went up to the highest levels of the network. And, after the network’s business, PR and marketing staff was pulled in, coverage the next day shifted…During the panel, Sanchez that “at no time did CNN drop the ball” – based upon his remarks following, however, I have to wonder whether there was an appreciation in the C-suite at CNN that the online backlash on Twitter was a hint that Amanpour reporting live from Tehran wasn’t capturing the whole scene, and that US citizens were hungry for more information about what was happening on the streets and rooftaps of Iran.
Blogus Interruptus…
Posted in Blog Announcements on June 17, 2009 by icn2I should have put this up last night. I’m in court this morning. Blogging resumes in the afternoon sometime…
Today’s Physics Lesson…
Posted in FNC on June 16, 2009 by icn2Cody Willard vs. Newshounds…
Posted in FBN on June 16, 2009 by icn2During FBN’s Happy Hour today Cody Willard took a big ole shot at Newshounds and Media Matters…
Ok, #1 Media Matters and Newshounds.us or whatever…These guys are truly clueless. I mean they continually try and make me look like some kind of a right wing nutjob. I think you guys know I might be a nutjob but I ain’t no right wing nutjob and I sure as heck ain’t no left wing nutjob. Matter of fact one of those news sites even tried to basically imply that I’m a racist with my viewpoints and fighting the powers that are. One website said “well he wouldn’t say that if we didn’t have a black President in this country.” No! It ain’t about race man. It is about rights. It is about property. It is about freedom. It is about contract law…
…Look I’ve worked really hard 80 hours a week for 12-13 years since I move to this city and I’ve got a little bit of savings. I just want to save it. I don’t want that money to disapear. I’m not trying to get 5% or 10% or level myself up. I just want that money saved. But the Federal Reserve has destroyed the ability to just save money by cutting rates to 0%. I can’t even pace inflation.
Glenn Beck Interview…
Posted in FNC on June 16, 2009 by icn2GQ’s Jason Horowitz interviews Glenn Beck…
So then it’s just a routine for ratings? Isn’t that totally cynical? Where’s the line between manufactured conflict and news?
What do you mean, “Where’s the line?” I’m not a journalist. If I wanted to be a journalist, I would be Charlie Rose and bore the snot out of people and have fourteen people watching me. I am a guy that firmly believes what I believe. I’ve done my homework. I am a student of history. Now, I can either present that to you in a Charlie Rose sort of way, or I can be entertaining.
But doesn’t that act mean people don’t take you seriously? You’ve called yourself a “rodeo clown.”
I have a hard time understanding that line of thinking. I grew up in an alcoholic family, and I was the one who always made the family laugh. So “This is uncomfortable-laugh!” is what I grew up with. You know, my mom committed suicide. That became a really dark comedic shtick for me for a long time. I couldn’t deal with it any other way, so I would make jokes about it. There is no “act” per se. It’s me.
Press Releases: 06/16/09
Posted in Press Releases on June 16, 2009 by icn2MSNBC (1), CNBC (1)
CNBC
CNBC’S JIM CRAMER HOSTS A FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL “MAD MONEY: IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR” ON FRIDAY, JUNE 19TH AT 6PM & 11PM ET
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., June 16, 2009-In Cramerica, we believe the family that invests together stays together. The gap between parents and their children seems to be widening as they find less to talk about…but an unlikley type of family programming is helping different generations find common ground and be smart about their finances – CNBC’s “Mad Money”.
On Friday, June 19th at 6PM & 11PM ET, CNBC’s Jim Cramer hosts a special Father’s Day edition, “Mad Money: It’s A Family Affair,” in front of a live studio audience of Cramericans and their families who have travelled from across the country. Whether answering their questions in his “Family Therapy” segment, or hearing from a Marine who used “Mad Money” to relate to his father while stationed in Iraq, Jim Cramer will show that you are never too old, or too young to invest and pass down the lessons of financial wisdom to future generations.
“There has never been a more important time for Americans to be smart about thier finances and for families to openly discuss financial matters,” said Jim Cramer. “We’ve been inspired by the countless emails from parents who are dedicated to helping their children be smart about investing, and who are using ‘Mad Money’ as a catalsyt and tool for this education. We hope this special educates viewers and brings families closer together.”
“Jim always says that he has learned the most important business lessons from his own father, who will be a special guest in the audience,” said Regina Gilgan, executive producer. “We want our viewers to know that the days of not discussing money at the dinner table are gone.”
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MSNBC
Msnbc.com named America’s #1 news site for 1 year
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Michael Goldfarb vs. David Shuster…
Posted in MSNBC on June 16, 2009 by icn2The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb calls MSNBC’s David Shuster a liar. Pretty strong stuff. What will Shuster’s reply be?
MSNBC’s journalistic standards are, shall we say, somewhat flexible. Even by its weak standards, however, David Shuster today issued a report that was breathtaking for its mendacity. Simply put, Shuster lied–brazenly, knowingly, on the air.
The subject of Shuster’s piece was the left’s all-purpose villain Joe Lieberman. He charged that Lieberman is a “hypocrite” because, in Shuster’s words, he’s “been praising President Obama and his administration these days even as Lieberman fights most of the most crucial Obama policies.”
And what, pray tell, is Shuster’s evidence? He says of Lieberman: “You’ve publicly declared it’s a mistake to engage in dialogue with Iran. You’ve taken issue with President Obama offering a time table for withdrawal of troops from Iraq.”
Frankly, we here at TWS would be delighted if these were Joe Lieberman’s views. Alas for us-–and more importantly, for whatever pretense of integrity David Shuster tries to maintain, they’re not. Shuster made these things up, apparently out of whole cloth.
Another FNC show goes HD. Is CNN paying attention?
Posted in CNN, FNC, MSNBC on June 15, 2009 by icn2Special Report with Bret Baier broadcast in HD today. I will assume this means that Special Report’s control room is now capable of broadcasting in HD (as opposed to having the DC studio being controlled out of HD ready New York) As an emailer noted, “…only “Your World” and “Red Eye” are not broadcast in HD”. Well that’s not quite true. Significant portions of new weekend programming (Cost of Freedom, certain hours of America’s News HQ, etc…) still broadcast in SD since their control rooms haven’t been upgraded to HD yet. But the emailer’s point is a good one. FNC has moved to the head of the line in terms of the sheer amount of HD programming it offers during the day.
Contrast this to CNN, which launched HD first but still airs a huge portion of its programming in SD (just about anything airing out of Atlanta). CNN started out as the leader but has quickly fallen off the pace. Depending on what happens Jun 29th, CNN may fall behind even MSNBC in terms of new programming that airs in HD.
Dagen McDowell Interview…
Posted in FBN on June 15, 2009 by icn2Smart Women’s Nancy Menefee Jackson interviews FBN’s Dagen McDowell…
Q: Has the rapid demise of newspapers affected your work or how you see your role?
McDowell: No one loves newspapers more than I do. I read a stack of them each and every morning and love my ink-stained hands at the end of it all. While times are tough, the best will survive and flourish.
The rise of the Internet is how I look at the changing world of journalism. I worked as a writer for one of the first Internet-only financial publications,TheStreet.com. Then I started there, a few firms, like the mutual fund company Janus, wouldn’t even talk to me because they didn’t see the site as a “real” publication.
That’s laughable today. But the Internet has changed how we not only get our news but how people communicate and interact with one another. I think Fox does an incredible job of figuring out how all media &mdash TV, the Internet, newspapers and radio &mdash can complement each other and work together as one giant form of communication.
In the news business speed is still critical along with accuracy. I still approach my job the same way: “Tell me something I don’t know.”
Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime: Chapter 6
Posted in Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime on June 15, 2009 by icn2Well Carlos Watson got his solo anchoring hour on MSNBC and it’s at 11. As I watched it, I couldn’t help but think about the identity crisis that’s slowly infecting the news division at NBC. It’s more like a virus and MSNBC is the host.
Where do I start? Well first let’s look at the elephant in the room. I’ve been avoiding looking at it for a while now but it can’t be ignored any longer. Watson is not a journalist. He has no journalism background. And yet, he is anchoring news on MSNBC. Not talking head stuff. News. He’s tossing to reporters in the field. He’s reporting stories on the air. The question is why is NBC News allowing a non-journalist in such a key position on its air? Watson, as anchor, serves as a brand identifier for NBC News. And yet he has no formal training in the very brand he is supposed to be serving. Why? I’ll get to that in a moment.
Second, and even more troubling from a journalistic standpoint, is the fact that Watson is injecting his opinions into his newscast. A news anchor is not supposed to spout off their opinion on the topics of the day. They’re supposed to tell stories and ask questions. I do not tune in to a newscast to hear news anchors tell me where they think a story is going or what the future may hold. I’m educated enough to figure that out on my own thank you very much. I do not need or want an echo chamber for a news cast. Unfortunately this is a problem that is happening more and more these days in cable news whether it’s a Rick Sanchez or a Mike Galanos or a Julie Banderas or a Megyn Kelly. Or a Carlos Watson. Watson is a liberal and his opinions are such, which of course flies in the face of “what happens in primetime has no bearing on dayside” which we kept hearing over and over when NBC got defensive about Olbermann, Maddow, Matthews, and Schultz being a “stain” on the news division. Not anymore. Liberal opinion is now welcome on Dayside too.
What we are seeing now is the “New MSNBC”. It’s not about news anymore. Forget about that reputed “firewall” between the news division and the pundits which we’ve heard so much about. It’s gone. They tried to get rid of it last year with Olbermann and Matthews anchoring political events and it spectacularly blew up in their face. This is round 2. It’s going to have Dylan Ratigan talking about whatever he wants. It’s got David Shuster mixing it up with his interviewees. It’s got interview guests like John Ziegler, who have no business being on the air in the first place except for the gratuitous factor. It’s going to have Watson, a non-journalist, anchoring news and giving his opinions. Keith Olbermann would be right at home anchoring an hour during the day now because there’s nothing to distinguish what he does at night and what MSNBC is setting up to do during the day. Andrea Mitchell and her non-opinion show, by comparison, now reminds me of one of those segments you’d see on Sesame Street; “One of these things doesn’t look like the others…”
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What’s Hot/What’s Not: 06/14/09
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on June 14, 2009 by icn2What’s Hot:
Contessa Brewer – Brewer’s interview with John Ziegler took off like wildfire across the internet as various factions weighed in. And the commentary is still going on…
Shepard Smith – Smith’s reaction to viewer email also took off like wildfire across the internet as various factions weighed in.
Joy Behar to HLN – It was the shock move of the year so far. Whether it really will work or not is anybody’s guess…
Letterman/Palin – It was all the talk of cable news. And I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it yet…
What’s Not:
Undercovering Iran – I didn’t get to see it so I’m not in a position to comment. But according to some commenters some of the cable news networks didn’t cover the Iran mess as much as they (the commenters) think they should have.
Chris Wallace Interview…
Posted in FNC on June 14, 2009 by icn2The Boston Globe’s Doug Most interviews FNC’s Chris Wallace…
Who is harder to argue with, your Fox cohorts or your father? The interesting thing about growing up with my father is arguing with politicians has always been easy. I trained at the major league level from childhood.
That video of you challenging your Fox colleagues took on a life of its own. Do you still hear about it today? Occasionally somebody will ask about it. It’s what Fox news is all about — don’t follow the party line. I suspect had I done the same thing at MSNBC and challenged [Rachel] Maddow or [Keith] Olbermann, I’d have gotten my walking papers.
Really? I don’t think they’re open to alternative viewpoints.
Blogus Interruptus…
Posted in Blog Announcements on June 12, 2009 by icn2Going away for a couple of days. No, I’m not diving. Blogging resumes Sunday night…
What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on June 12, 2009 by icn2Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…
FBN to air Claman Silicon Valley interview special…
Posted in FBN on June 12, 2009 by icn2FBN will be airing a special on Liz Claman’s whirlwind Silicon Valley interviews that she conducted this week this Saturday night at 6 pm ET and a re-air Sunday night at 10 pm ET.
Target: Shepard Smith?
Posted in FNC on June 11, 2009 by icn2Gawker looks at some blowback from some Conservative corners coming Shepard Smith’s way over his comments yesterday regarding frightening email…
Well you just knew that Shepard Smith’s off the reservation intellectual honesty at Fox News would backfire—Conservatives are going after him, some demanding Fox fire him, for the heresy he committed by making comments critical of right-wingers yesterday.
Reporting yesterday after the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, Smith credited the accuracy of a recent Homeland Security warning about violent, right-wing hate groups on the rise. He also mentioned an influx of nutty emails being sent into Fox. For this, he has drawn scorn.
AC 360 to look at the “American Radical”…
Posted in CNN on June 11, 2009 by icn2CNN will air an AC 360 special tomorrow night on “radicals” in America…
American Radical: The Lone Wolf, an Anderson Cooper 360 special, will air tomorrow night, Friday, June 12th, on CNN. The Office of Homeland Security recently warned the public to expect a rise in domestic extremist activity. We saw it yesterday in Washington with the attack at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. One man, not a group, was responsible, and that is what experts’ real worry is, the man who acts alone, the radical who takes matters into his own hands. The government can’t track them or listen in on them. There is no warning because we don’t even know who they are, until they strike. James von Brunn, Tim Mcveigh, Eric Rudolf we know who they are now. That’s why the lone wolf is the true danger.
Prejean and Hannity…
Posted in FNC on June 11, 2009 by icn2TVNewser notes that Carrie Prejean will be first appearing on Sean Hannity’s show. I knew it would be Hannity even before I got past the TVN jump. It was a total “Duh!” moment…
Sean Hannity. Here’s the preview from FoxNews.com: “Miss California Canned! After all the controversy, why has Trump turned on her now? Carrie Prejean speaks out to Sean in an exclusive interview!”
Someone forgot to add the word “softball” before “interview”. It’ll be like watching Robert Greenwald on Countdown…
