Well I guess Barney Frank can’t take the heat…
Archive for June, 2009
Shepard Smith responds to viewer email…
Posted in FNC on June 11, 2009 by icn2I’m a little surprised by all the play this has gotten on the web and it’s spreading to the MSM. Is it because Smith dared speak “the truth”? Or is it because Smith dared speak “the truth” on a network that, rightly or wrongly, is widely viewed as tilting right and has Glenn Beck and his 9/12 Project on it (which one could reasonably argue is tapping into the very discontent that Smith is noting as “frightening”)? Or a bit of both? Or neither? Discuss…
Joe Scarborough Interview…
Posted in MSNBC on June 10, 2009 by icn2The Hartford Courant’s Mary Ellen Fillo interviews Joe Scarborough (with an assist from Mika Brzezinski)…
Q: Given the growing popularity of your show, your reputation, and the new book, it sounds as though you are doing some positioning as a potential GOP presidential candidate in the future. Are you?
A: Mika and my wife say it will never happen, but down the road, who knows? I really am not trying to be coy. I may get back into politics.
Mika: I want him to stay on TV!
Q: How is the show?
A: Our show is growing, and we are having a great time. As we go to book-signings, what is nice is that we can go out and talk issues with the people, and they are not skeptical. They trust us more because we are not politicians running for office. I’m not asking them for anything except to buy my book! I’m amazed at how many people are attending. In Princeton last night, 500 people turned out and I was expecting maybe 200.
Joy Behar to HLN 9pm slot…
Posted in HLN on June 10, 2009 by icn2Brian Stelter tweets the news…
You heard it here first: Joy Behar, a longtime co-host of “The View,” is joining HLN to host a 9pm talk show. She’ll remain w/ “View” too.
Expect a story in the Times shortly…
Update: Here it is…
Ms. Behar will work a TV double shift, as she will continue to co-host “The View” on ABC in the mornings. In a brief telephone interview, Ms. Behar said the new 9 p.m. show, tentatively titled “The Joy Behar Show,” will begin in the fall, most likely in September. She called it a “topical and fun” talk show.
“It’s not going to be dry, I hope, because I’m crazy,” she said. On “The View,” Ms. Behar is known for her sharply expressed liberal viewpoints. Ms. Behar’s show will replace a repeat of “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”
HLN, formerly Headline News, has had strong ratings gains in recent years with a lineup of opinionated hosts in the evenings. The network’s signature show at 8 p.m., “Nancy Grace,” drew almost 900,000 viewers on an average day last month.
Retirement Living TV to air Meet the Press…
Posted in MSNBC on June 10, 2009 by icn2Broadcasting & Cable’s Alex Weprin writes about Retirement Living TV airing NBC’s Meet the Press…
Retirement Living TV has secured rebroadcast rights to NBC’s Meet The Press, allowing the cable network to televise the public affairs program after it airs on NBC. RLTV will televise Meet the Press Monday evenings at 7 and 10 p.m. starting July 13.
The licensing deal expands on the relationship RLTV and NBC struck last year to bring The Daily Café to the cable network. The Daily Café, featuring content from NBC News. NBC News and RLTV, has also collaborated on other projects in the past.
Press Releases: 06/10/09
Posted in Press Releases on June 10, 2009 by icn2CNN (1)
CNN Launches Fellowship Program with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism
CNN has launched a fellowship program with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism that will provide a promising graduate student real-world newsroom experience, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN Worldwide. This is the first fellowship of its kind at CNN’s New York Bureau and will support one student for a six month period each year.
CNN’s first fellow will be Hannah Yi, who is from Ridgewood, NJ, and is interested in the impact of education in impoverished areas around the world, and is pursuing long-form story-telling.
The fellowship will be awarded by the university to a student who demonstrates outstanding academic and professional promise as well as financial need. The student will work with a Columbia advisor and the CNN New York Bureau Chief and will research a topic pertinent to the practice of journalism today through the lens of their work experience at CNN.
Read more »
Megyn Kelly Interview…
Posted in FNC on June 10, 2009 by icn2Haute Living’s Seth Semilof profiles, in pretty gushing terms, FNC’s Megyn Kelly…
Taking into account viewer interest and the competition for the No. 1 slot against other super networks like CNN and MSNBC, the fast-paced nature of television news, especially cable news, comes with its share of pressures. But, from the research required to ask the right questions to the confidence needed to deliver the report convincingly, Megyn Kelly doesn’t buckle. After all, this roadrunner-esque type energy is what she dropped all those law books for. “The news changes everyday,” she says. “So it’s not like being involved in any litigation that goes on for four years and the trial lasts three months.”
And then there’s this nice kicker from Semilof…
With a bio that already has shades of Diane Sawyer, Megyn Kelly is knee-deep into establishing herself in an enduring career in broadcasting.
Diane Sawyer would never ever allow herself to get caught up in mixing it up with guests she disagreed with the way Kelly repeatedly has or allow herself to lose it on the air the way Kelly repetedly has.
Bad comparison Semilof. Bad comparison.
The Hazards of Live TV: #25,003
Posted in Hazards of Live TV on June 10, 2009 by icn2This could have just as easily been filed under Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime. Why did Ziegler get booked? I saw the blurb that Ziegler was upcoming and I thought a) Well that’s something to avoid, and b) How bad will the damage be? Pretty bad it turned out.
Who the heck is in charge of booking over at MS? What possible motive could they have had to book a proven bomb thrower like Ziegler over there (hint: it’s not journalism)? You’re not going to get any sort of pertinent information out of Ziegler. So why bother? Is this how bad the state of Dayside has sunk to, they have to book people they already know aren’t going to provide information but just freakshow like fireworks?
I give Brewer a lot of credit for how she handled this interview. She tried playing it straight, well past the point that one could tell this would be just another Ziegler moment (that occurred around the 30 second mark), which is a lot longer than a lot of her easy to lose it compatriots would have (David Shuster, Tamron Hall) though I probably could have done without the “commentary” about Ziegler’s M.O. Still, on the whole, she did good.
Note to MS: Keep Ziegler off dayside. If you want shouting matches, book him in primetime. Oh, wait…Olbermann doesn’t book people of opposing viewpoints. Maddow is better at it but not perfect. There’s always Hardball I suppose. No wonder people like Ziegler wind up on Dayside.
Update:
Ziegler comments on the John Gibson radio show (via J$)
Note to Gibson: I wouldn’t make too much about the “cut your mic” remark given the propensity for talent at your former cable news network to cut people’s mics off.
Shannon Bream Profile…
Posted in FNC on June 10, 2009 by icn2The Tampa Tribune’s Walt Belcher profiles FNC’s Shannon Bream…
Shannon Bream recalls the day that a news director at a Tampa TV station told her that she would never succeed as a television reporter.
She says she went into an editing room and cried for two hours.
It was nearly nine years ago when Bream, who now covers the Supreme Court for Fox News Channel, gave up a promising law career for an entry-level job at WFTS, Channel 28.
“I didn’t have any journalism training but I wanted to learn so I made coffee; I clipped newspapers; I did filing and all the other beginner tasks just to be in the newsroom,” she said in a recent telephone interview.
Just as she was given a chance to do some on-air reporting, the station had a shake-up in management.
“I hadn’t even been there a year when there was a new news director who told me I was terrible,” she says. “He said my voice was too high. And I should have never given up being an attorney.”
But Bream, 38, who lived in Tampa for five years, didn’t give up; and this summer she’s moved into the spotlight on Fox News Channel.
Lou Dobbs’ Ratings…
Posted in CNN on June 10, 2009 by icn2The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette writes about the decline of Lou Dobbs’ Ratings…
But at CNN—and also at HLN (né Headline News), where Lou Dobbs Tonight repeats each weeknight—the nightly slicing and dicing of the 44th president’s economic policies has done little to beef up Mr. Dobbs’ ratings. Instead, Mr. Dobbs’ audience seems to be in decay.
During the month of May, according to The Observer’s analysis of Nielsen data, Mr. Dobbs’ 7 p.m. program on CNN averaged 657,000 total viewers and 181,000 in the key 25-to-54 demographic—numbers that were down a whopping 29 percent and 27 percent, respectively, versus May of 2008. Along the way, Mr. Dobbs sank into third place in his time slot, trailing Fox News’ Shepard Smith by a bundle and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews by a sliver. During three out of the first six weeknights in June, Mr. Dobbs’ place in the standings sank even lower; he finished fourth in the demo, falling behind HLN’s Jane Velez-Mitchell.
On HLN, Lou Dobbs Tonight hasn’t fared much better. During a month in which CNN’s sister network has seen its weekday prime-time ratings grow an impressive 40 percent year-over-year in the 25-to-54 demo, the 9 p.m. repeat of Mr. Dobbs’ show was down 8 percent (129,000 versus 140,000) in the demo compared with the same time period last year.
Presto Chango…
Posted in MSNBC on June 9, 2009 by icn2Gawker catches a change in Newsweek’s Joe Scarborough profile…and draws conclusions…
Scarborough himself claims that he had no idea that a member of his “team” was putting pressure on Meacham, a frequent Morning Joe guest, to soften the magazine’s coverage of him. “I’ve never talked to Jon about the article,” he says via e-mail, “and never saw the version of the intro you’re talking about.” Did he ask someone to harass Meacham on his behalf? “No. Below my radar. Again, I didn’t know it was even up for a few days. Had a big family get together and didn’t spend my weekend inside online.”
Free for All: 06/09/09
Posted in Free For All on June 9, 2009 by icn2Sorry for the late start today. I had to depart before I could blog and then come back and play catchup. So, what’s on your mind?
CNBC and Qatar Airways renew Worldwide Exchange deal…
Posted in CNBC on June 9, 2009 by icn2World Business News has the details…
CNBC finds replacement for Jeremy Pink in Asia…
Posted in CNBC on June 9, 2009 by icn2World Business News notes that CFO Satpal Brainch will succeed Pink who moved to New Jersey to take over for the departed Jonathan Wald…
Chuck Todd to pen Obama book…
Posted in MSNBC on June 9, 2009 by icn2The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette scoops that NBC’s Chuck Todd will be writing a book on the Obama administration…
The Observer has learned that Chuck Todd—the defiantly goateed newsman who serves as the chief White House correspondent and political director for NBC News—has sold a book proposal to editor Geoff Shandler of Little, Brown about the first few years of Mr. Obama’s presidency.
In January, Vintage published Mr. Todd’s first book—which he wrote along with NBC director of elections Sheldon Gawaiser—called How Barack Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election.
According to Mr. Todd’s agent, Matthew Carnicelli of the Trident Media Group, Mr. Todd’s new book will be a “nuanced analytical narrative” focusing on the political relationship between President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Tim Russert: One year later…
Posted in MSNBC on June 9, 2009 by icn2The New York Daily News’ Richard Huff writes about the fallout from Tim Russert’s death, which occurred a year ago this week…
Tim Russert has proved to be difficult to replace.
Tim Russert died a year ago this weekend.
Now, six months into his run as the moderator of “Meet the Press,” David Gregory hasn’t quite reached Russert’s status – he may never – but he’s clearly doing an okay job steering the famed series.
Under Gregory, who does the show with Russert’s producing team, the show is very similar in look and feel. That also means Gregory hasn’t made the show his own. Not a terrible move, but one that leaves “Meet the Press” as just another Sunday-morning issues show.
“I think he slid into that ship pretty effortlessly,” Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson says of Gregory. “And I think he’s certainly keeping the ship afloat.”
The Hazards of Live TV: #25,002
Posted in Hazards of Live TV on June 8, 2009 by icn2Well this didn’t look good. My first thought was that I was watching a Monty Python parody or something.
Jay Wallace Profile…
Posted in In Depth on June 8, 2009 by icn2Broadcasting & Cable profiles FNC’s VP of News Editorial Jay Wallace as part of its “Next Wave of Leaders” special…
Jay Wallace, Fox News Channel’s VP of news editorial, has spent the last year and half living the 2008 presidential campaign. The long, contentious and often surreal race, and its historically significant conclusion, will be a defining chapter in many news careers.
After eight years of the Bush administration, Fox News—which is largely circumscribed by conservative firebrands such as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck—has gained viewers during the Democratic administration of Barack Obama.
For Wallace, that is proof that he’s doing his job. “I’ve personally seen this happen with every major event in our 13-year history,” he says, noting the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the contested 2000 presidential election, Sept. 11, the start of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and the current economic meltdown. “Time after time, when we get a ratings spike with a huge story, a chunk of those first-time viewers never leave the tent.”
Bret Baier Profile
Posted in In Depth on June 8, 2009 by icn2The Fresno Bee’s Rick Bentley profiles FNC’s Bret Baier…
His approach is simple: Even though he’s working in the crowded world of cable news, Baier says he only competes with himself to be better each day.
Fox anchor Bret Baier grows with network
FOX“I have a lot of people tell me they establish a relationship with an anchor. It is about believability and trust. It is about inviting that person into your home, into your living room, every night,” Baier says in a telephone interview. “It is about the product that goes on the air. It is about being true to our motto which is ‘being fair and balanced.’
Candy Crowley Interview…
Posted in CNN on June 8, 2009 by icn2All Things CNN posts a viewer Q&A with Candy Crowley…(via J$)
ACAnderFan: Candy, what is it like to be on the road all year during an election season? What do you miss the most about home?
The road can be really fun (sometimes we laugh so hard at the absurdity of the life style). I’m privileged to be able to watch ground level democracy and get to know the people who might become president. But, it is physically brutal (sometimes I am very cranky). You take planes, trains and automobiles; fly from one end of the country to another or drive across Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, etc. You are carrying 40-50 lbs worth of equipment, a 25 pound purse and dragging a suitcase. I am totally covered in bruises during election years. There were more times than I’d like to remember when we got to the hotel after midnight and had leave by 4:30 or 5 the next morning. Oh, and we cover things and file stories. Every once in a while my producers and I would look at each other and say, “I wanna be a normal person.”
Miles O’Brien Interview…
Posted in CNN on June 8, 2009 by icn2The Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz interviews Miles O’Brien as part of a story on True/Slant, a news blog O’Brien has been writing for (and done a very good job on the Airbus story, in case you haven’t been following…which I have).
Hours after an Air France jet disappeared over the Atlantic last Monday, Miles O’Brien, dismissing “the often inaccurate reporting on aviation that is so prevalent in the mainstream media,” offered some informed analysis.
“It was a dark and stormy night — in a place that is home to the world’s worst thunderstorms,” he said. O’Brien noted that the Airbus A330 had a good record and “the crew had ‘Sully-esque’ seasoning.”
But O’Brien wasn’t reporting for CNN, which dumped him in December. He was posting on True/Slant, a Web site that is mapping a new relationship between journalists, readers and advertisers. In fact, O’Brien has already contacted such aerospace companies as Boeing and Lockheed Martin to sponsor his work at another site, and plans to do so for True/Slant.
If he had done that at CNN, says O’Brien, “I’d be fired, are you kidding?”
What’s Hot/What’s Not: 06/07/09
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on June 7, 2009 by icn2What’s Hot:
Tiller/O’Reilly/Olbermann – It dominated the first half of the week. O’Reilly pontificated. Olbermann “retired” O’Reilly’s name, picture, and “voice”. And the MSM took sides.
GE and Nielsen Business Media – This story is just heating up. So far no official comment from GE or NBCU that I’ve seen. But it’s probably all the talk of elements at FNC. And if it isn’t, it will be starting tomorrow.
MSNBC stays in 2nd in Primetime Demo – May saw the 3rd consecutive month of MSNBC beating CNN in the primetime Demo. The clock may not yet be ticking on Jon Klein but it certainly is being wound.
Starbucks and Morning Joe – It got a lot of press, which is I guess the whole point.
What’s Not:
No Bias, No Bull – No more. Opinion is now not in vogue apparently at 8pm on CNN. At least not blatently pushing it.
Ed Schultz – The long knives came out for Schultz via the Observer’s Felix Gillette, who wrote a piece question the talker’s long term situation at MSNBC.
Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime – Et tu, Tamron? Taking one for the team, eh?
Sanchez vs. O’Reilly – Why CNN? Why?
What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on June 6, 2009 by icn2Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…
GE Blacklisting Nielsen Business Media over Hollywood Reporter story?
Posted in CNBC, MSNBC on June 5, 2009 by icn2Deadline Hollywood’s Nikki Finke scoops about rumors that GE ordered ban of Nielsen Business Media after its subsidiary The Hollywood Reporter because ran a story reporting a GE stockholders meeting where questions were raised about coverage of Barack Obama and his policies among other things pertaining to MSNBC and CNBC…(via J$)
Because of that story, sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media tell me, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt personally issued a GE ban on all of the Nielsen company. “Jeff Immelt severed relations between all of GE with all of Nielsen over that story. Immelt called Zucker, and Zucker took it from there. Then, after a few days, GE backtracked, and then it became NBC Universal severing relations with The Hollywood Reporter.”
According to my sources, Zucker ordered NBC Universal employees “not to talk” to THR. “They took away passes and tickets,” says one insider. Another told me advertising was affected: it appears all or almost all advertising was stopped by NBC Universal at what was and continues to be a very important revenue time for the trade — just before the Emmy nominations. Still another told me that NBC Universal employees stopped returning THR reporters’ calls. One NBC Universal employee actually said to a THR reporter: “I’m not allowed to talk to The Hollywood Reporter.”
Only a handful of people within the publication knew about the GE/NBC Universal ban. “It was all very mysterious,” one reporter whose calls stopped being returned by NBC Universal told me. “No one told me specifically why. But I think some story really pissed them off.”.
Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime: Chapter 5…
Posted in Talking Head Primetime Invades Daytime on June 5, 2009 by icn2Well this appears to becoming more and more frequent (much to my chagrin). So much so, that I’ve had to create a Category field to hold posts like these. Today CNN’s Rick Sanchez spent considerable time rebutting Bill O’Reilly. I know this is a Sanchez trademark, to stick his opinion into a story. But the thing is, this is dayside news, when news is supposed to happen. It’s not primetime when opinion takes over (though apparently that concept is being downplayed at CNN these days).
In the end is it really necessary to rebut O’Reilly? Sanchez is a big Tweeter. Why not put it there? Is it so important for CNN to devote a whole segment to fact checking O’Reilly? Why give him the publicity? I’m just askin’…
Update: O’Reilly comments. “A rare correction”…cute. What about the ones that should’ve come but didn’t? (via J$)
Eric Bolling Profile…
Posted in FBN on June 5, 2009 by icn2The Reformed Broker”s Joshua M Brown profiles FBN’s Eric Bolling…
Bolling starts his day at around 8 am and digs into the news coming out of Asia immediately. He appears on Fox Business throughout the day on Strategy Room and does a fair amount of writing, so essentially, the whole day can be considered prep time.
When I ask him what he reads in the morning, surprisingly, he says it’s not necessarily the Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg. Rather, Bolling prefers the blogs and loves the stuff he gets off of Twitter, especially the bloggers who hit him with the China stuff that he wouldn’t ordinarily hear about.
In the context of Red Ink Week on Fox Biz, I asked Eric about his biggest concerns over the amount of debt we’ve taken on as a nation in the heat of the crisis. After laying out a few potential scenarios, he explained that the most likely one is a massive wave of tax increases on the very people whom we need to continue to invest if this country has a chance to grow it’s way out of this crisis.
He envisions an unfortunate situation where capital gains and dividend taxation work their way into the 20% plus range.
CNNI wins Amnesty International Media Award…
Posted in CNN on June 5, 2009 by icn2CNN Observations has the details…
