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Archive for January, 2010
Press Releases: 01/07/10
Posted in Press Releases on January 7, 2010 by icn2MSNBC (1)
MSNBC PREMIERES “OBAMA’S AMERICA: 2010 AND BEYOND,” A TWO-HOUR SPECIAL EVENT ON RACE RELATIONS IN AMERICA, ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY, JAN. 18, 10PM-12AM
NEW YORK – Jan. 7, 2010 – One year after the inauguration of the first African-American President, MSNBC will present “Obama’s America: 2010 and Beyond,” Jan. 18, 10 p.m.-12 a.m. ET, an extended discussion surrounding race and post-racial identity in America. Moderated by “Hardball’s” Chris Matthews and featuring radio host Tom Joyner, live from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas, this two-hour special event on Martin Luther King Day will explore some of the most pressing and provocative issues connected to race and race relations in the U.S.
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Free for All: 01/07/10
Posted in Free For All on January 7, 2010 by icn2What’s on your mind? Mine is on being sick…
CNN Ups Ali Velshi to Daytime Anchor…Heidi Collins leaving CNN…
Posted in CNN on January 7, 2010 by icn2In a move that several saw coming, CNN has promoted Ali Velshi to dayside anchor. Somewhere Steve Krakauer is taking a victory lap. Yup, this means Heidi Collins is out. Here’s CNN’s release…
CNN’s Ali Velshi to Anchor Weekday Program
New Network Daytime Lineup: Phillips, Harris, Velshi and Sanchez
Building upon the success of CNN’s dayside programming, Ali Velshi will join the weekday lineup with anchors Kyra Phillips, Tony Harris and Rick Sanchez beginning January 18, it was announced today by CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein. From Atlanta, Velshi will anchor a two-hour general newscast from 1-3 p.m. as well as continue his role as CNN’s chief business correspondent and co-anchor of Your $$$$$.
Phillips will anchor the 9-11 a.m. hours of CNN Newsroom, Harris continues from 11-1 p.m., followed by Velshi. From 3-5 p.m., Sanchez anchors his new program Rick’s List also debuting on January 18.
“Ali has enormous range as a broadcaster, whether he’s reporting breaking news about an attempted terror threat, traveling across the U.S. interviewing Americans about how the economy has affected them, or breaking down business issues as complex as the mortgage crisis or the stimulus plan. He’s passionate and smart, and brings a level of expertise that viewers expect from CNN,” said Klein.
Since joining the network in 2001, Velshi has covered every major business news story including the reopening of the markets after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the fall of Enron, Arthur Anderson and WorldCom. Velshi traveled to cover the economic impact of natural disasters including Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike. In December 2007 he traveled to Pakistan to report on the assassination of politician Benazir Bhutto for the network. During the coverage of the 2008 presidential election Velshi was a part of the best political team on television and traveled extensively around the country on the CNN Election Express reporting on real issues facing voters. Last year, he covered the meltdown of the world financial markets and the following recession.
Said Velshi, “I’m excited to have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our viewers by making the tough issues of our time clear and accessible to them. The feedback I get from our viewers as I travel around the country reinforces that they appreciate our commitment to breaking down the day’s news.”
With Velshi starting the same week as “Rick’s List” launching, this raises the question of how close CNN is to launching that rumored new HD studio in Atlanta. This would seem to me to be the time to do it.
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Ed Schultz Not Running…
Posted in MSNBC on January 7, 2010 by icn2Well, that was faster than I expected. Politico’s Michael Calderone writes about Ed Schultz talking on Morning Joe this morning about his Senate prospects…or lack thereof…
MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz said Thursday that he is “not running” for the seat of retiring Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), despite urging from state Democrats to run.
“I won’t say no to anything. Am I running for Senate? No. I’m not. I’m not running for Senate,” Schultz said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Blogus Interruptus…
Posted in Blog Announcements on January 6, 2010 by icn2Blogging resumes sometime Thursday…
Senator Ed Schultz? Not likely…
Posted in MSNBC on January 6, 2010 by icn2Politico’s Andy Barr and Michael Calderone write about Ed Schultz being asked to run for the North Dakota Senate seat Byron Dorgan is vacating…
North Dakota Democrats are actively pursuing liberal MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz as a candidate to replace Sen. Byron Dorgan, who announced Tuesday he would not seek reelection.
State House Minority Leader Merle Boucher told POLITICO he made an official overture to Schultz late Tuesday night about launching a campaign and said he believes the TV commentator is “intrigued by the idea.”
“We have to find someone that has a high profile and a national fundraising base, and I can’t think of anyone better than Ed Schultz in that regard,” said Boucher. “He certainly didn’t say no to me by any means,” he added.
Schultz won’t run and Schultz won’t run because he knows he can’t win. This isn’t Minnesota where Norm Coleman’s numbers were soft to say the least and Al Franken was able to take advantage of the situation. This is an open seat and Schultz will have to compete against someone who doesn’t have the baked in problems Coleman had. Schultz’s past bomb throwing rhetoric – “the Republicans want to see you dead” for example – might play well with the base but will hurt him with everyone else.
ICN predicts a few months of Chris Matthews like cat and mouse from Schultz before he decides not to run…
Press Releases: 01/06/10
Posted in Press Releases on January 6, 2010 by icn2MSNBC (1)
MSNBC EXCLUSIVE: SEN. DORGAN LIVE ON ‘THE ED SHOW’
NEW YORK – January 6, 2009 – Ed Schultz will talk exclusively with Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota live today on “The Ed Show.” Sen. Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced yesterday that he is retiring and will not run for another six-year term in office. “The Ed Show” broadcast live on MSNBC at 6 p.m. ET.
The Hazards of Live TV: #25,035
Posted in Hazards of Live TV on January 5, 2010 by icn2(via Mediaite)
In Depth: Creative Advertising…
Posted in CNN, In Depth, MSNBC, Ratings Related on January 5, 2010 by icn2
Yesterday the back page of the A section of The New York Times featured an ad by MSNBC that bore closer examination. On its face the headline blares “MSNBC beats CNN in 2009″. Well that’s for sure. But what comes under that is a picture of Chris Matthews and Hardball.
First of all, Hardball isn’t a primetime show. Primetime is 8-11pm. Hardball airs at 7pm. Even MSNBC’s tiny fine print at the bottom of the ad says “Source: The Nielsen Company Galaxy Explorer (12/25/2008 – 12/25/2009) M-F 8:00-11:00pm”. So what’s Hardball doing here?
This is a familiar MSNBC trick we’ve seen before. For years they’ve been periodically lumping Hardball in with what counts for MSNBC primetime proper for some of their advertising. It’s completely inaccurate but that’s what they’ve done from time to time. The apparent goal is to try to get some ratings juice for Hardball I guess by associating it with where the majority of MSNBC’s ratings buzz comes from.
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Revenge?
Posted in FNC on January 5, 2010 by icn2Valleywag’s Ryan Tate got ahold of an email former FNC contributor and Red Eye panelist Rachel Marsden sent out where Marsden takes a pretty big swing at her former association with the network as part of a book she’s writing…
No, Marsden doesn’t like to lose anything, or anyone, and that might shed some light into her Fox News flip. She once pled guilty in a Canadian court to harassing her ex boyfriend, and sent some nude pictues of a purported ex lover to the National Post newspaper. Then there was Marsden’s messy public breakup with Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales, with whom she had a scandalous affair; Marsden now maintains a Google knol dissing Wales and his online encyclopedia.
Count Ailes and Fox News, then, as the latest in a series of spurned former partners and associates. It’s fair to say Marsden feels used, yet again:
Press Releases: 01/05/10
Posted in Press Releases on January 5, 2010 by icn2MSNBC (1)
MSNBC PREMIERES ‘WHY PLANES CRASH: BREAKING POINT,’ REPORTED BY LESTER HOLT, SUNDAY, JAN. 17, 10 P.M. ET
NEW YORK, NY—January 5, 2010—MSNBC premieres the second episode in its “Why Planes Crash” franchise, with “Why Planes Crash: Breaking Point,” reported by NBC News’ Lester Holt, Sunday, January 17th,, 10-11 p.m. ET. The one-hour special will explore the terrifying consequences of plane crashes resulting from structural failure. Featuring dramatic animations, “Breaking Point” puts viewers right next to passengers facing life or death situations. From an engine loss that caused the deadliest single airplane crash on U.S. soil to a cargo door opening in flight to a decompression powerful enough to suck a flight attendant out of a plane, the second installment of MSNBC’s “Why Planes Crash” shows how structural failure can push a plane to the breaking point.
“Why Planes Crash: Breaking Point” is an MSNBC original documentary and was produced for MSNBC by Peacock Productions. Judith Greenberg is the Senior Producer of “Why Planes Crash” for MSNBC. Michael Rubin is Vice President, Long Form Programming for MSNBC. Scott Hooker is Senior Executive Producer, Documentary Production and Development for MSNBC. Keith McKay is Senior Producer and Caroline Sommers is Producer, Peacock Productions.
Kathy Griffin dropped from CNN New Years Eve? Maybe not…
Posted in CNN on January 5, 2010 by icn2Pop Eater’s Rob Shuter says that he hears that Katy Griffin has been dropped from future New Years Eve shows because of her F-bomb on the last New Years Eve show…
Following her very controversial F-bomb-dropping New Year’s Eve hosting gig, CNN executives have decided Kathy Griffin will NOT be getting a 2011 invite. “She was a total embarrassment to the network that calls themselves ‘The Most Trusted Name in News.’ Even Anderson (Cooper, her co-host) thinks it’s time to say goodbye to Kathy,” a CNN insider tells me.
Update: Mediaite’s Steve Krakauer writes that the news of Griffin’s demise has been greatly overstated…
But a CNN spokesperson tells Mediaite, “Stories about Kathy Griffin being banned from CNN are incorrect; no decisions have been made regarding next year’s show.”
MSNBC.com Announces Breaking News Deal…
Posted in MSNBC on January 5, 2010 by icn2This is old news to ICN readers as I wrote about this back in late November but MSNBC announced its deal for Breaking News.com today…
THE MSNBC DIGITAL NETWORK ACQUIRES WWW.BREAKINGNEWS.COM
Overlooked breaking news consumers have a place to turn
NEW YORK – January 5, 2010 – The msnbc Digital Network today announced its acquisition of the URL www.breakingnews.com. Breakingnews.com aims to be the fastest, most accurate site for live breaking news from around the globe. The site currently features up-to-the-second headlines from multiple news sources and will continually advance to meet hard news consumers’ expectations.
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Down and Out…
Posted in Blog Announcements on January 4, 2010 by icn2Transformer blew yesterday afternoon. So far PG&E has been out three times and they still have no firm time on when I’ll have power again. I’m typing this from a Library. Ugh…
In Depth: BS Landslide…
Posted in In Depth, MSNBC on January 3, 2010 by icn2Page Six has a (typically) snarky piece on MSNBC and Dylan Ratigan…
The new year is starting off badly for Dylan Ratigan, whose face time on MSNBC has been cut in half. The cantankerous pundit has gone from having the 9-11 a.m. slot to just one hour at 4 p.m., when ratings are lower. “He’s pissed but has no other options,” said a source. “He came in and thought he would take over the network. He treated everyone in the office like his assistants.” But an MSNBC spokesman characterized Ratigan’s move as a promotion: “The show is being moved to 4 p.m. because we anticipate it will be a strong lead-in to ‘Hardball.’ “
How much BS is in this story? Let me count the ways…
1) Page Six characterizing the move from 9-11 to 4pm as a “lower ratings” move (ratings lower in the afternoon). What freaking networks is Page Six paying attention to exactly? No news network has lower numbers in the afternoon than in the morning, particularly MSNBC these days. They’re higher across the board.
2) The MSNBC Insider snark. The “get Dylan” angle runs counter to what I was hearing that was going on at MSNBC with him. But this wouldn’t be the first time Page Six got suckered into posting something regarding Ratigan and MSNBC that wasn’t true.
3) Page Six characterizing MSNBC’s spokesman characterizing the Ratigan move as a promotion. Where does the spokesman say it? Or even hint it? I don’t see it. Come on Page Six. If you’re going to assert something like that you have give evidence. Your say so in the matter ain’t good enough, especially considering your track record.
4) MSNBC spokesman saying the move was made because they expect it to be a strong lead-in to Hardball. While it may be true, and I think likely, that Ratigan’s show will generate higher numbers by default the moment it starts airing at 4pm, this move never would have happened if Morning Meeting’s ratings weren’t so bad from 9-11.
Mika Brzezinski Profile…
Posted in MSNBC on January 3, 2010 by icn2LoHud.com’s Heather Salerno profiles MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski…
It’s not quite noon on a Thursday, but Mika Brzezinski has already put in almost a full day’s work. After rising at 3:30 a.m., she’s already logged three hours as co-host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” followed by two on WABC Radio’s “The Joe Scarborough Show.”
And there’s more to be done. Her Blackberry continues to buzz with news updates as she sits in her tiny office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. (She says the only time she’s not checking it is when she’s asleep.) She’s expected at a 2 p.m. lunch meeting downtown. She must pick out dresses for a few formal events she’ll soon attend. Plus, she’s got to help book guests for the show’s coming stop in Washington, D.C.
So if she’s lucky, she’ll get home to Bronxville early enough to spend some time with her husband, WABC-TV’s investigative reporter Jim Hoffer, and their two daughters, Emilie, 13, and Carlie, 11.
That would be a fantastic day for Brzezinski, since, as she freely confesses in a new memoir, “All Things at Once,” (Weinstein Books, $24.95), her schedule can sometimes be so frantic she can go for weeks without seeing her kids.
