And FBN has him. He’s being interviewed in front of the Space Shuttle countdown clock in Florida during “Bulls and Bears”…
Archive for July, 2009
Sotomayor: Day 3…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on July 15, 2009 by icn2Post your comments to today’s Sotomayor hearings and the coverage thereof here…
Dylan Ratigan Profile…
Posted in MSNBC on July 15, 2009 by icn2Mediate’s Steve Krakauer profiles MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan…
M: Do you pay attention to what your competitors are doing? Do you play against anything that’s happening at the other cable news networks?
DR: I’m playing against myself. I feel like to look at what other people doing at the time slot has little creative value for me and the people working with. How compelling, accessible and how complete our conversation is, that will be how we measure success. The truth is, I’m not even watching those things.
M: Is it the same with the Today show?
DR: It’s a broader product that ultimately we may compete with in time slot, but I don’t know we compete with in content. I don’t see them as a competitor. You may have a better perspective than I do because you watch everything, what do you think?
M: Well, I don’t think you compete with the Today show, but obviously there’s a choice when it comes to cable news. But it seems like you’re doing something different than what was previously done at MSNBC at 9am. Instead of what CNN and Fox have, which is billed as “news,” you’re not doing the same thing.
DR: It definitely is not. I have the belief, and Phil Griffin has the belief, that there is value added in the analysis of information and to connect the dots through accessible conversation. That’s currently what you’re watching us attempt, and hopefully it will succeed.
I will say this – I couldn’t ask for a more graceful launch. I’m so appreciative of Phil and MSNBC and NBC News for helping achieve that.
Blackboard Inc. and NBC News Partner for Education Resources…
Posted in MSNBC on July 15, 2009 by icn2Blackboard Inc. and NBC News put out a joint press release announcing a partnership for education resources…
WASHINGTON, July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), a global leader in education technology, announced today that it has partnered with NBC Learn, the educational arm of NBC News to offer colleges, universities and K-12 schools and districts the ability to enhance instruction with a vast repository of digital news and supplemental content developed for educational use.
Under the agreement, Blackboard and NBC News will work together to support the use of news content by K-12 and postsecondary institutions in the United States. The partnership will enable instructors and students to access audio, video and other news content within their e-learning platform to strengthen the learning experience.
With the partnership, NBC News becomes a Principal Partner in the new Blackboard Content Network((TM)), which offers expanded opportunities for content providers to work with Blackboard and support its user community.
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Willie Geist’s Show to Debut July 27th…
Posted in MSNBC on July 15, 2009 by icn2Last week I said this was coming and here it is…
“WAY TOO EARLY WITH WILLIE GEIST” TO DEBUT JULY 27 ON MSNBC
NEW YORK – July 15, 2009 – “Way Too Early with Willie Geist” launches Monday, July 27 on MSNBC. The fast-paced show, anchored by Willie Geist, will air live weekdays from 5:30 – 6:00 a.m., leading into “Morning Joe”. Geist, who will continue to co-host “Morning Joe”, brings his signature style and sense of humor to the thirty-minute broadcast, offering viewers everything they need to know to start the morning – from news and politics to sports and pop culture. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.
“Given the success of ‘Morning Joe,’ a pre-game show is the perfect way to extend and add value to the brand,” said Griffin. “Willie is a unique talent who has been a proven hit both on-air and online. And who better to host a show at 5:30 in the morning named ‘Way Too Early’ than Willie Geist. This is a quick show for smart people who enjoy Willie’s wit.”
“In 30 fast minutes, we’ll set the agenda and tee up the debates for the day,” said Geist. “Whether you’re waking up on the East Coast, passing out in the West, or suffering from an untreatable sleep disorder somewhere in between, ‘Way Too Early’ will be a one-stop, A-to-Z crash course for your day.”
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Get Rick Sanchez?
Posted in CNN on July 14, 2009 by icn2The Daily’s Rachel Solomon blasts Rick Sanchez for a comment he made regarding Sarah Palin’s resignation…
But CNN anchor Rick Sanchez spouted off the most contentious remark this side of Bristol Palin’s abstinence campaign: “Hey, could she be pregnant again?”
My own rather unfavorable view of the Alaskan politician aside, this ludicrous speculation oozed sexism. Sanchez, unsatisfied with suggestions of legal issues or ethics complaints casting Palin as somewhat of a lame duck — this last possibility confirmed by Palin herself — turned to biology to resolve the situation that so baffled him.
I imagine his thought process carved the following path of logic: Sarah Palin is a woman. Women get pregnant and take time off from work. Therefore, since Sarah Palin took time off from work, she must have another bun in the oven.
While I must commend your excellent deductive skills, Rick Sanchez, your opinion of women is clearly lower than your IQ. You seem to imply that a pregnant woman is incapable of adequately doing her job, forgetting that, as with men, there are numerous reasons a woman might resign.
A Factor De-Res?
Posted in FNC on July 14, 2009 by icn2
So what exactly is the story of The O’Reilly Factor in HD? When The Factor went HD in February, I noted that it seemed “off”. The next day TVNewser reported that The Factor would be full HD in “three months”. Well it’s well past that point and controversy still surrounds the HD status of The Factor. The latest chapter started last night when I received an email from J$…
When you watch The Factor in HD do you notice something? When Bill is talking with another guest in the studio, is there a difference in the sharpness of the picture when it’s a one-shot on Bill vs when it’s a one- (or even two-) shot on the guest(s)?
I watched the repeat and $ is spot on in his assessment. The discrepancy in HD quality is definitely noticeable. I called in a favor from a friend to get me some full HD screen grabs in max resolution so that I could illustrate it since if I shrunk these down to a nice manageable size, or put up my own grabs (SD grabs of HD pictures) it would be harder to spot. Both the above image and the below image will explode to full size when you click on them.
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Press Releases: 07/14/09
Posted in Press Releases on July 14, 2009 by icn2MSNBC (1)
NEW YORK-July 14, 2009-On Wednesday, July 15, Dr. Nancy Snyderman will interview President Barack Obama at the White House. The interview will focus on health care policy. Portions of the interview will air during “Nightly News With Brian Williams,” tomorrow, Wednesday, July 15, and during “Today,” on Thursday, July 16. The interview will air on “Dr. Nancy” (MSNBC, from noon to 1p.m. ET). The entire interview will be available on MSNBC.com.
Sotomayor: Day 2…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on July 14, 2009 by icn2Post your comments on today’s hearings and the coverage thereof here…
MSNBC.com pushes Talent Tweeting…
Posted in MSNBC on July 14, 2009 by icn2Glam Media put out a “joint” press release with MSNBC.com for its Tinker service and how its partnership with MSNBC.com on covering the Sotomayor hearings…(via J$)
“Tinker.com is honored to help msnbc.com’s worldwide audience participate in social media conversations on the Sotomayor confirmation,” said Jennifer Salant, Vice President of Business Development for Tinker.com. “Glam Media Lab’s Tinker Application empowers people to discover, filter and share conversations around real-time news events tailored to their interests, and we look forward to continued collaborations with msnbc.com.”
“Msnbc.com, already one of the most popular destinations for live political events, believes that events themselves are only half the story. Increasingly, the conversations that occur around and during these events are equally informative and fascinating,” said Mike Davidson, President of Newsvine, msnbc.com’s social networking site. “With Twitter becoming a de facto vehicle to collect distributed thoughts on news events, msnbc.com is happy to experiment with ways it best fits into our coverage. With short-form conversation occurring via Twitter, powered and curated by Tinker.com, and long-form conversation blooming on our own property, Newsvine, msnbc.com gives you more than just the event itself. We give you a place to be part of it.”
Macroblocking and FNC HD…
Posted in FNC on July 13, 2009 by icn2For several weeks now I’ve been hearing reports about alleged macroblocking issues regarding the FNC HD feed on various providers. I know it’s happening on Verizon FiOS because someone emailed me about it. I saw it myself on DirecTV yesterday during America’s News HQ with Colby and Shawn. But J$ tells me he’s not seeing it on his Comcast HD feed. So the question is: Is it real macroblocking originating inside FNC or a retransmission issue involving the digital providers? Or something else entirely?
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The Hazards of Live TV: #25,007
Posted in Hazards of Live TV on July 13, 2009 by icn2Somewhere, Shepard Smith is nodding his head…
New Hardball Open, Music, and Graphics…
Posted in MSNBC on July 13, 2009 by icn2Hardball debuted with new graphics, open, and music today. One emailer was bummed out since Hardball had been using that theme for seven years…
Update: The use of the patented (well, ok not patented but should be definitely trademarked) Matthews’ “HA!” at the end of the Hardball Sideshow graphics open was a nice touch…
Update 2: Newscast Studio has screen grabs…
All (almost) Quiet on the Cable News Front…
Posted in FNC, MSNBC on July 13, 2009 by icn2Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve noticed quite a drawdown in crossfire between MSNBC and FNC the past few months. Ok, it’s not just me because I’ve asked around and others have noticed it too. Not a complete cessation but a real throttling back in the cross network rhetoric between elements at MSNBC and elements at FNC. Maybe it’s just a lull in the action. But it’s been quite a protracted lull, going back to early June.
Neil Cavuto’s Whereabouts…
Posted in FBN, FNC on July 13, 2009 by icn2Anybody noticed Neil Cavuto has been off FNC/FBN for quite a while now. Weeks it seems. Could be an extended vacation. Or maybe something else?
Ali Velshi Profile…
Posted in CNN on July 13, 2009 by icn2The Globe and Mail’s Sarah Hampson profiles CNN’s Ali Velshi. (via TVNewser)
His ascendancy at the network began at the end of 2007, when economic deterioration started and the American electorate focused on its importance in the run-up to the presidential election. “What we realized is that we so effectively deployed resources to cover politics – such that ‘CNN equals politics’ became an accepted idea. So we wanted ‘CNN equals money,’ and we had the resources to do it.”
The decision lengthened his working day into as much as 20 hours at the height of the financial crisis. With his multi-platform presence – which also includes podcasts, a blog, radio, his own website and Twitter updates – he says he rarely works less than 12 hours a day. In his office in the New York CNN bureau, where he is based, he has a small IKEA bed. In October, he will marry Lori Wachs, a portfolio manager from Philadelphia, whom he met when she was a guest on his show.
The only drawback to his celebrity, he says, is that people see him as an expert who will dispense advice. “I still cringe when anyone at CNN or otherwise refers to me as an expert on anything.” He prefers to think of himself as a journalist.
Velshi is definitely getting a profile raise these days. He started sub-anchoring on CNN Newsroom recently. I wonder if this was just the first step in a larger career path trajectory at CNN?
Sotomayor: Your reactions…
Posted in Miscellaneous Subjects on July 13, 2009 by icn2Post your comments about the Sotomayor hearings and the coverage thereof here…
Just Askin’…
Posted in FNC on July 12, 2009 by icn2Did CNN, FNC, or MSNBC do pre-confimation hearing specials on John Roberts or Samuel Alito? If not, why does Sotomayor merit a special by FNC?
What’s Hot/What’s Not: 07/12/09
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on July 12, 2009 by icn2It was a pretty thin week except for one thing…
What’s Hot:
Michael Jackson – Jackson’s funeral was, to coin a phrase that some might find in bad taste but I’m going to use it anyways, covered to death.
What’s Not:
Michael Jackson – No mas, No mas!
What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on July 10, 2009 by icn2Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday…
CNN Falls for Hoax?: Update…
Posted in CNN on July 10, 2009 by icn2TVNewser has official CNN reaction to the story written up on Le-gal In-sur-rec-tion…
CNN had two teams on the ground. We were present throughout the march. CNN staff saw and heard the shooting. The blogger says he was not present at the time the shooting took place. We interviewed a bystander who said he had held a child who was dying. At no point in our interview did the witness allege he saw more than one victim. At the time there was confusion about the age of the victim, who was passed through the crowd, bleeding profusely from his fatal head wound. Many bystanders and journalists initially believed from the size and appearance of the body that the victim was quite young, consistent with the witness’s story.
CNN regrets that our report did not point out that we could not independently verify the man’s account. Note that CNN carefully reported the official Red Cross death tally of one, but included the assertions from protestors that the death toll may have been higher, as did the blogger.
CNBC Europe Holds Entrepreneur Competition…
Posted in CNBC on July 10, 2009 by icn2World Business News writes about a new competition show launching on CNBC Europe…
The search has begun for Europe’s green entrepreneurs for a new series to be screened on CNBC across Europe later this year. Named “The Good Entrepreneur”, the competition is backed by CNBC and financial services giant, Allianz. It aims to find the entrepreneur with ‘the best eco-business concept which is sustainable, responsible and innovative’. The winner of “The Good Entrepreneur” will recieve a package worth more than E250,000 (approx £220,000) which includes financial support, advertising on CNBC and business support from Allianz. The competition closes on 31st July with three finalists named in August, with the winner announced in November. Read more for details on how to enter and more information.
Timothy Geithner does GPS…
Posted in CNN on July 10, 2009 by icn2Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be interviewed by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria this weekend on Fareed Zakaria GPS. Transcript highlights follow…
On Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke:
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: So you need a good fed chairman. Do you have any ideas?
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We have an excellent fed chairman right now he is doing a terrific job and I think that this is important to underscore I think that what the Fed did in this crisis, which was without precedent, subject to enormous controversy, and important for people to look back over time and evaluate those judgments, was what the Fed did during this period was absolutely essential and helped stave off a much more catastrophic outcome.
I think what the fed did was not just essential but extraordinarily helpful in helping contain the risk, help slow, reduce the risk of a more catastrophic outcome.
ZAKARIA: That sounds like a vote for the reappointment of Ben Bernanke?
GEITHNER: Well again I said that the chairman has done an exceptional job and I think he deserves a lot of confidence.
On the strength of the Dollar:
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Advertising Jitters?
Posted in CNBC on July 10, 2009 by icn2Mediate’s Steve Krakauer reports that CNBC’s upcoming Porn documentary has apparently spooked one of its sponsors…
According to multiple sources, Charles Schwab, a regular sponsor of the 5pmET Fast Money program (as well as others) pulled its sponsorship from the program after a preview segment made it seem like Schwab was associated with the sex doc. Melissa Lee, anchor of Fast Money, also hosts the “Porn” special.
One source tells Mediaite that Schwab did not pull its sponsorships from CNBC as a whole, just chose to move its sponsored segments to other programs.
When asked directly about Schwab’s decision to drop its Fast Money sponsorships, a CNBC spokesperson told Mediaite, “No comment,” but added, “‘The Business of Porn’ is a fantastic documentary which will give CNBC viewers insight into a 15 billion dollar industry.”
Tweets of the Day…
Posted in FNC on July 10, 2009 by icn2GETTING READY FOR HAPPENING NOW ON FNC. AND YES, MY DRESS WILL BE THE ONE I WORE ON OREILLY MONDAY. SPILLED COFFEE JUST NOW.
SPILLED COFFEE ON MYSELF JUST NOW.
THANK YOU LAURA INGLE FOR THE LOANER DRESS
John Zarella: Pet Detective?…
Posted in CNN on July 9, 2009 by icn2The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette profiles CNN’s John Zarella and his recent animal related stories…
Mr. Zarrella was still in Lakeland the next day, working on the story, when he got a phone call from the producers for CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. They had a hot lead. Michael Jackson’s former pet chimp Bubbles, they told him, was living in seclusion at an animal sanctuary in the town of Wauchula. Could he back-burner the gators and go get Bubbles?
Mr. Zarrella hopped in his car. Wauchula is a rural hamlet located 40 miles due south of Lakeland that is best known for an infamous hospital mix-up in the late ’70s—an incident that eventually spawned the made-for-TV movie Switched at Birth. For the next hour, Mr. Zarrella drove through a torrential thunderstorm.
He eventually arrived at a wooded compound, surrounded by orange groves, called the Center for Great Apes. About a decade earlier, some kind-hearted souls had set the place up as a sanctuary for orangutans and chimpanzees who had retired from show business or been abandoned by pet owners—or, in Bubbles’ case, both.
