Former FNC anchor and Fox and Friends Weekend host Page Hopkins was sighted today doing afternoon updates on MSNBC. No word yet on whether she was just freelancing or this is the start of something. Recently, WNBC’s Lynn Berry has been seen filling in several times on MSNBC dayside as well…
Archive for December, 2009
What’s Hot/What’s Not: 12/20/09
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on December 20, 2009 by icn2Start thinking about the 2009 What’s Hot/What’s Not stories because I’m going to put out a request for submissions next weekend. But for last week…
What’s Hot:
Ratigan to 4pm, Todd and Guthrie to debut at 9am – MSNBC announced that Dylan Ratigan’s program would be cut by an hour and move to 4pm. Regardless of the motivation, I think this is a good move and, honestly, Ratigan’s program should have debuted in the afternoons in the first place. At 9am a new politics show for Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie well debut. Increasingly, NBC Washington is playing a bigger role in MSNBC dayside’s programming. But what about those of us who aren’t glued to the TV looking for political stories?
MSNBC beats out CNN in 2009 Primetime demo – This was a milestone event for the network.
Tiger Woods Mania – This story just won’t go away…
Beck and Gold – This one hasn’t gone away either, despite FNC’s attempts to put this one to bed…
Health Care Reform – This story probably won’t go away but will probably throttle back once the bill passes…
What’s Not:
CNN winds up in 3rd in the 2009 primetime Demo – Despite having higher ratings than in 2007 (2008 was an election year and therefore an outlier), CNN prime wound up in 3rd behind MSNBC in the Demo for the first time ever. MSNBC gets to crow while CNN continues to stress its “more news” in prime mantra, which in a way is related to…
MSNBC’s dayside woes – The numbers for 2009 are in for MSNBC dayside and the picture is grim. The network came in 4th behind HLN in the Demo from 9am-5pm. Worse, during several hours of the day the network came in 5th behind CNBC for 2009. Which leads a lot of kibitzers to think that MSNBC’s moving of Dylan Ratigan’s 9am show to 4pm was ratings related, the network’s assurances to the contrary non-withstanding. This storyline, and ICN’s leading edge coverage thereof leads to…
The sleeping giant stirs, but isn’t awake just yet – Last week I singled out the vast majority of the MSM media beat writers and bloggers for being asleep at the switch while ICN owned the coverage of MSNBC’s dayside problems. Well this week, with the news of Ratigan’s show moving to 4pm, elements of this group started paying attention. TVNewser noted ICN’s MSNBC numbers (finally) and the New York Times’ Bill Carter put out some numbers for certain MSNBC dayside programs that were even worse, which leads me to believe that Carter was fed those numbers by a network because they were so bad they were substantially lower than their program’s 2009 Demo averages. But the rest of the media writers are still not paying attention to this story. What are you being paid for?
Go Team! – The Ed Show having Kos on to take pot shots at Chris Matthews for Matthews’ comments about the blue blogosphere was the wrong way to address the matter. Matthews created this controversy. Hardball should have been the place to deal with it. As it was, this looked like one MSNBC program going rogue to take on another MSNBC program. That’s a programming no-no.
CNN 4th in primetime Demo last week – To further rub salt in a gaping wound, the Huffington Post reported that for the first time ever CNN wound up in 4th place in the primetime Demo Total Viewers last week.
Rivera vs. Dobbs…
Posted in FBN, FNC on December 20, 2009 by icn2Lou Dobbs may not be coming to FNC (or FBN) but that hasn’t prevented Geraldo Rivera from voicing his opinion on the matter. The New York Daily News’ Rush and Molloy write about Rivera’s beef with Dobbs… (via J$)
Geraldo Rivera has told Fox News honcho Roger Ailes he’ll quit if Ailes hires Lou Dobbs, according to a well-placed source. Rivera, who has blasted the nativist Dobbs for his “slander” against Latinos, tells us, “I never threatened to quit.” But he did let Ailes know he wouldn’t welcome working with the man who has called him a “cowardly liar.” Says Geraldo: “The last time I checked, no one here was talking to the a-—.” Still, Ailes is said to be considering Dobbs for the Fox Business Channel. “The trouble is Dobbs wants too much money – like $8 million a year,” says an insider. “But Dobbs doesn’t have much leverage. Since he quit CNN, he can’t go to CNBC.” Hiring him at Fox Business is bound to irk that channel’s Dobbs-phobes, John Stossel and Stuart Varney. But a rep for Ailes insists he isn’t eyeing Dobbs for anything.
What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submsissions…
Posted in What's Hot/What's Not on December 19, 2009 by icn2Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists Sunday night…
The Ed Show: Kos vs. Matthews…
Posted in MSNBC on December 18, 2009 by icn2DailyKos has the video of Kos trashing Chris Matthews on The Ed Show for trashing the Democrat “net-roots”.
What makes this truly bizarre isn’t that Kos is fighting back – that’s to be expected – what’s truly bizarre is that MSNBC signed off on setting up Matthews to be trashed on one of its own shows, knowing full well he would get trashed. Rule #1 of a cable news network: You support the home team. You don’t necessarily have to turn a blind eye to what Matthews did and try and sweep it under the rug. But there’s a better way of handling this than having a different MSNBC program set up Matthews for target practice, with Schultz helping to aim for Kos. For example, a Hardball showdown. It’s where the original incident occurred, it only makes sense for that to be the place for the response.
Fireworks on Morning Meeting…
Posted in MSNBC on December 18, 2009 by icn2Bret Baier Profile…
Posted in In Depth on December 18, 2009 by icn2Politico’s Erika Lovley profiles FNC’s Bret Baier…
When Fox News executives went looking to replace Brit Hume last year, they had to find someone to take over for their franchise newsman, the staid and steady Washington hand whose arrival in 1996 had conferred instant legitimacy on the upstart network.
But the network turned not to another Hume, not a traditional anchor-desk presence or deep-voiced TV vet, but to Bret Baier — sunny, serious, self-deprecating and approachable. Eight years ago, he was holding down the network’s bureau in Atlanta. Today, he steps before the camera every weekday to anchor Fox News’s “Special Report” one-hour news program.
Count Hume a fan. “My attitude is: I’d like to be Bret Baier,” Hume told POLITICO. “He’s an incredibly attractive, exceedingly able, totally honorable guy.”
Ingraham vs. O’Reilly?
Posted in FNC on December 18, 2009 by icn2NewsBusters’ Noel Shepard writes about things getting a little testy last night on The Factor between Laura Ingraham and Bill O’Reilly…
Bill O’Reilly and Laura Ingraham got into a bit of a tiff on Thursday night’s “O’Reilly Factor” that resulted in him calling her a “blind ideologue” as well as a “Kool-aid drinker” after she asked him if he had eaten an “ACORN cookie” at the White House Christmas party earlier in the week.
The spat began when O’Reilly jokingly asked Ingraham if she’s going on a dinner date with Howard Dean now that he’s bashing the Senate’s version of ObamaCare.
Ratigan move not ratings related? I don’t think so…
Posted in MSNBC on December 17, 2009 by icn2TVNewser has MSNBC commentary regarding the moving of Dylan Ratigan’s move to afternoons…
As Inside Cable News points out, MSNBC has fallen to fourth place during the day. From 9am-5pmET MSNBC is behind FNC and CNN in Total Viewers and behind FNC, CNN, and HLN in the demo.
MSNBC says the Ratigan move is not related to the ratings. A spokesperson tells TVNewser the decision was centered around the flow of programming. “The lineup changes are being made because we’re launching Chuck and Savannah’s program at 9am and we think that Dylan’s show will be a great companion to Hardball at 4pm.”
This answer is sort of six of one, half a dozen of the other. Late afternoons, when Hardball airs, traditionally rates higher for MSNBC. Anyone who spends any amount of time looking at MSNBC’s ratings can tell this. So even if we take the above answer at face value that there’s no linkage between Ratigan’s move and ratings, which I don’t, it’s still a ratings based move because Ratigan will have more eyeballs by default when he moves to 4pm and a bigger audience to start off with.
BTW, the reason I don’t believe MSNBC’s story that moving Ratigan to afternoons wasn’t a ratings move has to do with the original press release when Ratigan joined MSNBC. Key graph…
“MSNBC is on a terrific roll, and adding Dylan really bolsters our lineup of strong personalities,” said Griffin. “Dylan will be the perfect complement to ‘Morning Joe’ and he rounds out a great team in the morning.”
If he was “the perfect compliment to Morning Joe”, why move him? Now all of a sudden he’s “a great companion to Hardball at 4pm”? I actually agree with that and I think Ratigan will do better in afternoons and probably should have started off there. But don’t try to finesse this as a non-ratings move. Because that’s a bit too much to swallow…
Detroit vs. Shepard Smith?
Posted in FNC on December 17, 2009 by icn2MLive.com’s Aaron Foley writes about Shepard Smith getting in trouble with Detroit residents after making some comments about Detroit students getting low test scores…
Detroiters have spoken, and Shepard Smith hears them all loud and clear.
After commenting that “if my kid were in Detroit, I’d try to burn the place down,” yesterday, and subsequently getting chewed out by Detroit Public Schools emergency financial manager Robert Bobb, Smith took to the airwaves again to clarify his words.
Shepard Smith made the comments during a discussion of record-low test scores placed by Detroit students. He now says that his original commentary was taken out of context.
Scarborough to moderate S.C. Gov debate…
Posted in MSNBC on December 17, 2009 by icn2The Palmetto Scoop’s Adam Vogel writes about Joe Scarborough moderating a Republican South Carolina Governor’s debate…
The South Carolina Republican Party has recruited the host of of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” talk show to serve as the moderator for an upcoming Republican gubernatorial debate.
SCGOP Chairman Karen Floyd announced on Thursday that Joe Scarborough would moderate the debate to be held on Jan. 28th in Charleston.
Press Releases: 12/17/09
Posted in In Depth on December 17, 2009 by icn2CNN (1)
Anderson Cooper Hosts New Year’s Eve Coverage Live from Times Square
Kathy Griffin Teams with Cooper as Co-host
Anderson Cooper will host CNN’s live coverage of the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday, Dec. 31, from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (ET). For “New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin,” which will air in HD, CNN anchors and correspondents will provide reports from celebrations across the country and around the world.
Entertainer Lance Bass will also be part of the show this year, joining Cooper and Griffin from Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. CNN anchor Don Lemon will report from the crowd in Times Square along with CNNMoney.com’s Poppy Harlow. Correspondent Gary Tuchman will report live from New York City’s Central Park for the annual Midnight Run. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry will report from Honolulu and correspondent John Zarrella from Key West, Florida. The show will simulcast on CNN International.
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November Numbers: Online…
Posted in CNN on December 17, 2009 by icn2CNN is noting its online numbers for November…
CNN Tops Online News & Info Category Since Launching Breakthrough Design
CNN Attracts Larger Audience than All Cable and Network News Sites on the Internet
In November, roughly one month following the unveiling of the new CNN.com, the CNN Digital Network continues to hold the No. 1 position among ALL News and Information sites in several key metrics, including total video streams and time spent watching video. Additionally, compared to last year, CNN Digital has increased video streams by 6%, paying off CNN.com’s video-driven redesign, while No. 2 MSNBC Digital has dropped by 3%.
* No. 1 in Video Streams: 89.1 million streams, beating No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 2.6 million streams and No. 3 Yahoo! News by 36.9 million streams
* No. 1 in Time Spent Watching Video: 215.5 million minutes, beating No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 21.2 million minutes and No. 3 Fox News Digital by 80.8 million minutes. CNN Digital is also the No. 1 news video property year-to-date averaging more than 318 million minutes per month.
Jim Walton on CNN Worldwide’s 2009…
Posted in CNN on December 17, 2009 by icn2Jim Walton’s memo to CNN employees on the 2009 year…
To: CNN Staff
From: Jim WaltonBecause as professionals and as an organization we are wired to look forward rather than back; because time passes quickly and it’s easy to forget all of the moments that make a year; and because it’s just as important to savor accomplishments as it is to collect them, I want to close 2009 with a reminder of what you did that set CNN apart and helped us win.
First, some breaking news: Despite the worst economic climate in 75 years, CNN will finish 2009 with double-digit profit growth for the sixth consecutive year. Our collective commitment to cost management has helped us achieve our most profitable year ever. You did that. And it was hard. But you understood the importance to our future of weathering this storm and you did your part, and more, to see us through it.
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John Stossel Interview…
Posted in FBN on December 17, 2009 by icn2National Review’s Robert Costa interviews FBN’s John Stossel…
“I’m used to telling stories by writing scripts and re-editing footage six or seven times,” says Stossel. “The wildness of live and uncontrolled interviews is very new to me.” The fresh format, however, was not the reason why Stossel left ABC for Fox. “It’s about having the time to focus on the content,” he says. “Part of the reason I wanted to do an hour-long show is because, after speaking on campuses, I wanted to capture the energy of lively, angry students and the spirit of their provocative questions.”
Critiquing the growth of the state will be the theme running though each episode. Tonight’s program (airing at 8 p.m. EST) will focus on the health-care debate. Investigating government gone bad and exploring the power of free markets makes for good TV, says Stossel. Beyond blending a little Milton Friedman in with the news of the week, Stossel believes he’s filling a void. “Libertarian ideas aren’t explained well anywhere on television,” he sighs. His idea: Why not inject Milton’s ideas with a little Oprah oomph? (Nobody won a car at his first taping, though the crowd did walk away with free copies of Freakonomics.)
So what distinguishes this show from every other conservative talk show on Fox in the age of Obama? “I wanted to do a show like this when George W. Bush was president, too,” he says. “Fox is open to a bunch of different points of view. I often like what Glenn Beck is saying. I enjoy going on O’Reilly. They each have different talents. Beck does radio for hours every day and is a master at riffs. O’Reilly is great at the live interview and knows how to argue. He moves quickly. I like a little more control. I’m a perfectionist after many years in a world where we left so much on the cutting-room floor. At the same time, I’m very aware that live and spontaneous is also a key part of what makes Fox successful.”
2009 Numbers: MSNBC Dayside…
Posted in In Depth, Ratings Related on December 16, 2009 by icn2Below is a table on how the various networks ranked during M-Fr dayside (9am – 5pm) in 2009.
Here’s an hour by hour breakout for how MSNBC did in the dayside Demo. The following numbers are based on their respective shows’ launch date though Dec 11th. Which means for Morning Meeting and Dr. Nancy the numbers start in July. Everything else dates to January, though I’m not 100% sure about 11 am since it didn’t have a format change but an anchor change when Carlos Watson was suddenly dropped (has anyone seen him on MSNBC since then?).
9am (Morning Meeting) – 117,000 (MSNBC in 4th behind FNC, CNN, HLN)
10am (Morning Meeting) – 109,000 (MSNBC in 4th behind FNC, CNN, HLN)
11am (MSNBC Live) – 96,000 (MSNBC in 5th behind FNC, CNN, HLN, CNBC)
12pm (Dr. Nancy) – 92,000 (MSNBC in 5th behind FNC, CNN, HLN, CNBC)
1pm (Andrea Mitchell Reports) – 89,000 (MSNBC in 5th behind FNC, CNN, HLN, CNBC)
2pm (MSNBC Live, It’s the Economy, MSNBC Live, It’s The Economy, New York Times Edition) – 93,000 (MSNBC in 5th behind FNC, CNN, HLN, CNBC)
3pm (MSNBC Live) – 96,000 (MSNBC in 4th behind FNC, CNN, HLN)
4pm (MSNBC Live) – 104,000 (MSNBC in 3rd behind FNC, CNN)
Note that MSNBC’s numbers go up in the latter half of the day. This may be why Ratigan’s show will be moved to 4pm.
Press Releases: 12/16/09
Posted in Press Releases on December 16, 2009 by icn2CNN (1)
Anderson Cooper 360°Exclusive Kidnapped in Iraq; Rescue Caught on Tape –
Tomorrow night on Anderson Cooper 360°, Michael Ware brings you never before seen footage of the rescue of Roy Hallums, an American contractor in Iraq, kidnapped by insurgents and held captive for 311 days. Hallums spent much of that time sealed in an underground prison thinking every day was his last. He was buried alive at the time of his rescue and AC360 has the exclusive footage of his rescue.
Michael Ware brings you Hallums’ story and his own of being kidnapped in Iraq and narrowly escaping death at the hands of al Qaeda. Ware was kidnapped more than once while reporting in Iraq. On one instance his Al Qaeda kidnapers were preparing to behead him when he was released at the last moment.
CNN’s 4th place primetime Total Viewer finish…
Posted in CNN on December 16, 2009 by icn2The Huffington Post’s Danny Shea writes about CNN coming in 4th last week in primetime Total Viewers…a first for the network. Gee, I wonder who leaked that out? MSNBC or FNC? Given past history I think I know which…
For the first time ever, CNN placed fourth among cable news networks in primetime total viewers last week.
CNN averaged just 576,000 total viewers, behind Fox News (2,015,000 total viewers), MSNBC (664,000 total viewers) and HLN (593,000 total viewers).
Press Releases: 12/15/09
Posted in Press Releases on December 15, 2009 by icn2MSNBC (1), CNN (1)
CNN
CNN Special “In God We Trust: Faith & Money in America” Examines Link Between Religion and Money in American Life
In a country that has one of the most diverse religious cultures in the world, CNN will examine Americans’ close ties between money and faith. Anchored by CNN business correspondent and host of Your $$$$$ Christine Romans, “In God We Trust: Faith & Money in America,” airing on Saturday, December 19th at 8pm ET (re-airing 11pm and 2am ET), will explore the intersection of how our religious values govern the way we spend our money. The special will feature one-on-one interviews with senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, TX Joel Osteen and best-selling authors Deepak Chopra and Mitch Albom.
In addition, the one-hour report will look at the nation’s religious affiliations, the mega-church boom and the separation (and some say the lack thereof) of church and state when it comes to money from religious lobbying firms. The special will also profile three families – one Christian, one Jewish, one Muslim – to see how they are adjusting to this economic climate while staying true to their religious beliefs.
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MSNBC
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Tweet of the Day…
Posted in MSNBC on December 15, 2009 by icn2I’m sitting at Pat Buchanan’s desk today… feeling more conservative by the moment.
Santelli vs. Liesman…
Posted in CNBC on December 15, 2009 by icn2Zero Hedge notes the latest exchange between CNBC’s Rick Santelli and CNBC’s Steve Liesman…
Another masterpiece in the blistering Santelli-Liesman clash. The Rickster continues questioning the economic comprehension of Comcast’s brand new chief economics reporter. That, and of course highlighting the propaganda reporting of said economist who enjoys highlighting good news, and “sweeping any bad news under the rug.” When asked “do the bulls want to cry when the numbers don’t go their way” Liesman responds appropriately, and hilarity ensues as usual. Some pearls of wisdom from Steve: “Rick, what you need to do is understand Emergency Claims Benefits” to which the retort is: “You don’t say anything I find interesting to hear.”
