Joe Defends Mika…

NewsBusters’ Mark Finkelstein notes that Joe Scarborough came out and defended Mika Brzezinski over the White House talking point kerfuffle that erupted yesterday…

But here was the suddenly chivalrous Scarborough of this morning.

SCARBOROUGH: Mika yesterday, she gets pounded by—you know, I won’t even call them names—because then they’ll say [imitating] “Scarborough called [inaudible]” eating Cheetos. But bloggers said oh, Mika is just reading White House talking points. Well, it’s actually called reporting. We asked. Because Rudy came on here and said [Obama] hasn’t talked to any industry people, and so I said, let’s call the White House and get a list of all the meetings. And that’s exactly what we did. And we got the list. And it said that actually he had been reaching out to industry types from the beginning. And so, we read the list. Now, we read the list differently. Mika interpreted it one way and I another, but that’s another

I resent Joe’s remarks, personally observing a strict no-Cheetos-before-noon rule. At 6 AM, my repast of choice is a box of Hostess Twinkies, washed down with whatever dregs I can drain from the crumpled cans of last night’s Keystone Light six-pack.

In any case, bloggers are hereby put on notice: when Joe chides Mika for toeing the White House line, he’s just joshing. Report his words at your Cheeto-spewing peril!

Not that I’m trying to defend Finkelstein here since I said yesterday that I thought Mika misspoke but this mess isn’t the bloggers’ fault…it’s Mika’s fault. She didn’t phrase things properly and put just enough ambiguity out there in explaining what was she had been doing that the blogs could jump to the wrong conclusion.

In Your Face MSNBC….

Check out what’s been running on FNC’s crawl tonight…

State Media? MSNBC anchor Mika Brzeznski says she’s “been working with the White House” on a “file” containing talking points for the Gulf oil spill crisis…Brzeznski, co-anchor of “Morning Joe, says the collaboration is in response to former NYC Mayor Rudy Giulliani appearing on the show and “spewing out a whole bunch of nothing” about the Obama Admin’s response…Brzeznski was angered by Giulliani’s assertion that Pres Obama has not made an effort to meet with oil industry officials

Well we at least know that FNC is paying attention to the blogs. Anyone care to wager whether this shows up on Fox and Friends tomorrow?

Francis vs. Drury?

Not sure what to make of this…(via TVNewser)

Press Releases: 06/21/10

CNN (1)

CNN PREMIERES GARY AND TONY HAVE A BABY ON JUNE 24th AT 8 PM

Soledad O’Brien Tells the Story of a Gay Couple’s Journey to Have a Baby

Documentary Kicks off Gay in America Series with a Lens on Surrogacy

Building upon the success of Black in America and Latino in America, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien will cover another underreported story, one of two gay men who want nothing more than what they each had growing up – a traditional family – and a child of their own. O’Brien reports a revealing one-hour CNN documentary that follows Gary Spino and Tony Brown on their struggle to have a baby that has a biological and legal connection to both of them via an egg donor and a surrogate. Gary and Tony Have a Baby premieres on CNN on Thursday, June 24 at 8pm ET & PT and on CNN International on Saturday, June 26 at 8am ET.

Bloomberg.com Relaunches…

Steve Smith writes on Minonline.com about Bloomberg.com’s new look…with a live TV page…

The financial news service and owner of Bloomberg Businessweek re-launched its main business news and information site this morning and claimed to be making a stand for free, ad-supported content models. In a statement the company says, “In the ongoing debate of free versus paid content, Bloomberg.com is today launching a newly designed site for senior business executives and content can be accessed free of charge.” The new site has a clean blog-like feel and leads with a long column of news stories. A “Market Data” section lists current market prices for stocks, commodities, bonds, interest rates, etc. worldwide.

Bloomberg says it is also the only major news provider to make accessible online a live feed of its TV broadcasts. A “TV” tab from the home page lands the users on a large media player running the current programming from Bloomberg Television as well as a library of recent clips and interviews. Detailed programming schedules are also available here so visitors can see the topics and stories coming up over the next few hours on the feeds. The user can even switch among U.S., Europe and Asian TV feeds. The site also serves Bloomberg’s radio channel live online.

And Still Another Eric Bolling Interview…

Mediaite’s Steve Krakauer interviews…oh what is his name again?

Bolling says he and FBN Chairman Roger Ailes sat down and “hashed out” the show in a few weeks. “There’s nothing like it on TV right now,” he said. “It’s a celebration of how America is the land of opportunity. How people with no financial background, no professional training, in different walks of life still become superstars.”

Bolling also described it as “a little Happy Hour, a little Red Eye, a little Cavuto and Beck.”

And speaking of Bolling’s former show, Happy Hour, he says the show “was great,” and “had we gone on at 8 or 9, 10, 11, that would have been the right time. At five people still want a wrap of the day’s business news.”

Another Eric Bolling Interview…

Benzinga interviews Eric Bolling…who says a lot…

Q: Prior to Fast Money, were you doing any TV work on CNBC?

A: Just for them. CNBC would come down to the trading floor and say what’s going on in oil? I’d do an oil hit here or there, drilling policy, White House policy. What’s going on in gold?

So I’m doing that and they say we’re thinking about putting together a brand new TV show about traders, about Wall Street, would you be interested? I said sure, let’s do it. I go in, I interview, they say “you’re in, let’s figure out what the rest of this show is gonna look like.”

We bring in 300 different traders to try out for the three remaining trader seats. We ended up picking Adami, Tim Strazzini, and Jeff Macke, and myself, we were the four original panelists. Then we went through the host. Melissa Francis was the first one who tried out, they weren’t thrilled. Then it was Erin Burnett, they loved her, but she couldn’t deal with the time commitment. And then Dylan [Ratigan] came along, and it was boom, this is it. This is the right show. We got an aggressive, kind of arrogant, four guys from the trading floor, it was like a locker room.

Q: And it was very successful, people loved it, and were addicted.

CNN Drops the AP…

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin writes that CNN has gone ahead and dropped using the AP and will rely on its own news gathering operation going forward…

Smoking Gun or Misspeaking?

NewsBusters’ Mark Finkelstein writes about something that happened on Morning Joe this morning…(emphasis NewsBusters)

Mika could be seen reading from her notes during exchanges with former GE CEO Jack Welch, who was critical of the PBO’s handling of the spill. After repeated ribbing from Welch and Joe Scarborough over her use of White House talking points, Mika came clean…

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Do you want to know why I have a file that I’ve been working on with the White House—and I’ll be very transparent about that? Because of your friend Rudy Giuliani who came here last week spewing out a whole bunch of nothing.

If Brzezinski believes Giuliani had his facts wrong, have her book a White House official to straighten things out. But for Mika to be collaborating directly with the Obama admin in mounting a defense is unseemly at best. Then again, credit Mika for saying out loud what surely happens with many others behind the scenes.

This is starting to spread over the internet, particularly on the red blog side of the sphere.

Call me naive or cynical but I think Mika flubbed her explanation. The idea that the White House would actually send Mika talking points and she’d work with the White House on them, strikes me as BS. If you’re going to work on talking points with someone on cable news it’s not going to be Mika, it’s going to be Olbermann or Maddow; both of whom have the larger reach. Not that I think the White House would work with anyone in the media regarding talking points because of reasons that now seem all too obvious. Besides MSNBC wouldn’t stand for that sort of co-operation even with a talking head show host like Mika.

But I could be wrong. Let’s see what explanation comes out of this because you just know there’s going to be some sort of explanation…

Update: Mediaite has another part of the show which puts Mika’s comments and what she did, in better context. Short answer: it’s not collaborating…at least not in the way NewsBusters framed it. Longer answer: Mika asked questions and the White House provided answers.

Update: Forgot to put up the poll…

Free for All: 06/21/10

What’s on your mind?

Eric Bolling Profile

The Tampa Tribune’s Walt Belcher profiles FBN’s Eric Bolling…

Eric Bolling says playing baseball for the Bradenton Pirates in the 1980s helped prepare him for a career in finance and television.

The 47-year-old former Wall Street commodities trader is anchor of “Money Rocks,” a freewheeling, hourlong weeknight report that begins at 8 p.m. today on Fox Business Network.

“You don’t have to be a business wonk to watch my show,” said Bolling, a Chicago native who played baseball for Rollins College in Winter Park.

“It’s going to be an upbeat and irreverent look at the money side of stories from the worlds of entertainment, sports, celebrity, music, politics and business,” he said in a telephone interview.

Mike Huckabee Profile…

The New Yorker’s Ariel Levy profiles FNC’s Mike Huckabee…(via J$)

Huckabee’s tone as a commentator is markedly less combative than that of some of his colleagues on Fox. (“I’m a conservative, but I’m not mad at anybody” was one of his memorable lines in the most recent Presidential campaign.) He described the initial concept for his program, which first aired in September, 2008, as “adult-level civil conversations with people with whom I disagree,” and his favorite compliment is that the show has a calming effect: “It’s like a cha-ching in my head when I hear that.” But his differences with Beck, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly are primarily stylistic; “I’m certainly on the same ideological spectrum,” he said.

CNN’s Larry King Succession Plan?

The New York Times’ David Carr joins the chorus of those who think Kings time may be nearing an end…and throws dirt on John King, USA to boot. By my score, Carr is the first MSM writer to proclaim King’s show a failure…and in record time too.

No one will replace Mr. King. As Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University points out, Mr. King is part old-school broadcaster and part vaudeville act, more Ed Sullivan than Edward R. Murrow. But a segue, some kind of plan, seems merited.

“When you tune in and watch Larry King interviewing Lady Gaga and he seems to be the more Dada performance artist, that speaks volumes,” Mr. Thompson said. “Larry King has always been a bit of a punch line, but you don’t want him to become a joke.”

The struggles at “Larry King Live” have less do to with the host’s age — 76 — than the chronic, relentless needs of a daily, one-man show that tries to encompass the whole civic and cultural waterfront. Charlie Rose is 68, but he doesn’t have to fight for ratings and he is not compelled to spend quality time with a former Miss USA contestant, Carrie Prejean, if she is found to have taken her shirt off.

The bigger problem is that CNN has more than one problem. Its 7 p.m. slot with John King has failed to connect, and Campbell Brown is taking it upon herself to step away from the 8 p.m. slot because the ratings aren’t there. While Anderson Cooper has not moved the needle much, he is a core asset, on-brand and on-message, who might do better if he had a better show leading in to his.

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 06/20/10

What’s Hot:

Potential CNN hosts – Both Eliot Spitzer and Piers Morgan kept getting tied, with increasing details, to CNN.

Tea Party Movement vs. MSNBC – Hardball’s New Right doc is still reverberating through the Tea Party and they’re calling for action…

Olbermann checks out on Kos – Keith Olbermann announced he was leaving Daily Kos after getting flak, deserved or undeserved depending on your point of view, for his reaction to Obama’s Oval Office address…

Greta Van Susteren re-signs with FNC – Thus ending off and on again speculation that either Glenn Beck or Megyn Kelly will take that slot…

Lawrence O’Donnell – MSNBC has finally expanded its primetime schedule to three hours and O’Donnell is the man…

What’s Not:

Lawrence O’Donnell – But they could have gone with a more Maddow like selection. O’Donnell is the conservative choice…

Must…worship…Beck… – 100 parts to an Overton Window review? That’s 99 parts too many. But hey, it’s a free country. If you want the rest of the media writers chortling behind your backs and your credibility being destroyed while your site turns into a laughing stock, go for it…

What’s Hot/What’s Not: Submissions…

Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…

A Less Predictable MSNBC?

Politico’s Keach Hagey writes about Lawrence O’Donnell’s hiring…

Unlike Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, this liberal weighing in on the Obama administration has actually worked in the innards of government – the Senate committees that painstakingly grind out legislation through the kind of messy compromises that political purists such as his two fellow MSNBC hosts seem to disdain.

“It’s the difference between sitting in box seats in Fenway Park watching the game and having played the game,” said Mike Barnicle, like O’Donnell a regular on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and a native of Massachusetts who comes by his Red Sox metaphors honestly.

O’Donnell’s first-hand participation in the failed effort at health care reform during the Clinton administration made him a singularly useful guest on “Morning Joe” this spring, Barnicle said. “Lawrence could bring you there, in the room, how the bill was marked up, what would make it, what wouldn’t make it, and what particular resentments, or prejudices, or favor-seeking solutions were being employed.

Obama Bashing in a Post Gulf Disaster World…

James Rainey pens an article in the LA Times about all the media criticism of the Obama Administration’s response to the Gulf disaster…

Modern history’s supposed Most Favored President now has flak coming from all sides. On the right, Fox News and friends caricature a leader they are certain must be bent on using a man-made disaster as another fulcrum to create a super-controlling socialist state. On the left, MSNBC and fellow clamorers disdain mere competence. They want a snarling, corporate-bashing bad man, who will lead a massive government intervention to, to … well, it’s not clear exactly what they want. But they want. Something. Done.

Considering the alternatives among these media opinion leaders, one might find inspiration in the president’s six-month moratorium on new offshore drilling. Why not impose a moratorium of your own? No more cable television. No more talk radio. No more editorial pages. Until their leaky logic is plugged.

Voter surveys repeatedly signal that Americans want a president who’s not doctrinaire, one who leads from the middle. But 24-hour cable and the vast void that is the World Wide Web must be filled. And bigger audiences go to those who can co-opt a niche.

So after Tuesday night’s nationally televised speech by Obama from the Oval Office, off went the aggrieved left, exploding with indignation was the hallucinatory right. The resulting sights and sounds had all the subtlety of a soccer stadium filled with plastic vuvuzela horns.

William Hurt Syndrome…

I’m in a mischievious mood so I’m going to throw out a poll. Which news anchor bears the closest resemblance to William Hurt’s character in the 1980s movie “Broadcast News”? To muddy the waters I put up every major male straight news non-business anchor operating on the national level.

Bonus question: Which anchor would be the one I’d pick? And I do have a clear cut winner here…

Larry King’s Gulf Telethon: What’s Happening…

CNN put out a release noting what’s happening with Monday’s Larry King Gulf Disaster Telethon…

CNN’s Larry King Hosts Special Two Hour Larry King Live Telethon Monday June 21 “Disaster In The Gulf: How You Can Help” from 8 to 10pm Eastern

Star-Studded Fundraiser Benefits United Way, National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy Providing Immediate, Direct Support for Families, Residents and Wildlife Affected by Gulf Oil Spill

Guests Include Justin Bieber, Ted Danson, Cameron Diaz, Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler, Randy Jackson, Kerry Kennedy, Lenny Kravitz, Jenny McCarthy, Tim McGraw, Alyssa Milano, Edward James Olmos, Victoria Principal, Robert Redford, Ian Somerhalder, Sting, Melania and Ivanka Trump, Pete Wentz with Ryan Seacrest Hosting Special Online Social Suite and More

CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Soledad O’Brien, Kyra Phillips and Rob Marciano Report Latest Updates From the Gulf During Live Special

(LOS ANGELES) June 18, 2010—CNN original Larry King hosts a special two-hour Larry King Live telethon this Monday, June 21, “DISASTER IN THE GULF: How You Can Help,” from 8 to 10pm Eastern, a star-studded effort to raise funds for United Way, The National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy, organizations working directly with the families, individuals and Wildlife affected by the Gulf oil spill.

Press Releases: 06/18/10

CNBC (2)

“THE PIXAR STORY” WILL AIR ON CNBC ON JUNE 21ST AT 9PM ET

“THE PIXAR STORY” will air on CNBC on Monday, June 21st at 9pm ET. The two hour film will repeat that evening at 12am ET.

“The Pixar Story” – A behind the scenes look at the groundbreaking company that pioneered a new generation of animation, forever changing the face of filmmaking.

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CNBC’S “MEETING OF THE MINDS: THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY” PREMIERES ON TUESDAY, JUNE 22ND AT 8PM ET

Technology is the new power source for the 21st century and it’s having a profound impact on the way we think, live, and do business around the world. But with advances in technology come challenges as well: who is writing the rules for tech? Can tech bring us prosperity without peril? And how do we control tech without letting it control us? In a CNBC Special, “Meeting Of The Minds: The Future of Technology,” hosted by Maria Bartiromo, the biggest and most relevant names in industry gather to answer those questions and chart a path forward.

Free for All: 06/18/10

What’s on your mind? Mine’s on the USA facing off against Slovenia in the World Cup…

Spitzer has a CNN Partner?

The New York Post reporting on CNN and Eliot Spitzer is either starting to look like The National Enquirer on the John Edwards affair story…or like The National Enquirer on the Matt Lauer affair story. Can’t tell yet. Here’s the latest from Michael Shain…

Eliot Spitzer has found a new woman.

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker is the “leading candidate” to share a new 8 p.m. show on CNN with the former governor, according to sources close to the talks.

Parker, 58, is probably best known for a column she wrote in September, 2008 calling Sarah Palin “out of her league” and urging her to get off the Republican ticket.

The show — which will air opposite Bill O’Reilly’s ratings juggernaut show on Fox News Channel — will be an updated version of CNN’s old “Crossfire” program.

It reportedly will feature a liberal — that would be Spitzer — and a conservative — Parker — butting heads on political issues.

CNN declined to comment yesterday.

“I’ve been talking to [CNN], but there’s nothing to report,” Parker told The Post.

Vocal Journalists in a Sea of Oil…

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about journalists challenging BP the Obama administration over the Gulf disaster. The main focus of Stelter’s article is Anderson Cooper whom Stelter draws parallels between his Gulf coverage and his Katrina coverage…with just a hint of an allusion to that event which basically put him front and center as the face of CNN…

Mr. Cooper has spent more time in Louisiana — about 20 days — than any other national television anchor since the leak began. Evincing his frustration and his perseverance, he keeps a daily on-air tally of the number of days BP has ignored his interview requests. “I think there’s a basic lack of transparency in their dealings,” he of BP, in an interview.

Mr. Cooper’s 10 p.m. program, “AC360,” and others like it have gained notice for trying to hold BP and the government accountable for the oil leak and the cleanup effort. As the crisis nears the two-month mark, there are signs that the news media are taking on a more adversarial role, just as they did after Hurricane Katrina and the widespread flooding of New Orleans.

But Stelter expands his coverage to include others…

Other journalists share Mr. Cooper’s adversarial style. Moments after President Obama’s Oval Office address on Tuesday night, a Bloomberg Television reporter in Louisiana, Lizzie O’Leary, challenged the president’s claim that the federal government has been in charge of the cleanup. In her four weeks on the ground, “that’s just not what I’ve seen,” Ms. O’Leary said on Bloomberg, asserting instead that BP was taking the lead in some areas and that there was confusion over who is in charge. “The facts contradict the president,” she said.

The next morning, an NBC reporter, Tom Costello, concluded on MSNBC that “both the government and BP have a huge credibility problem here.”

Rachel Maddow: Maverick?

Bill Mann writes admiringly about Rachel Maddow’s BP analysis…

MSNBC’S Rachel Maddow is doing some of the most important enterprise reporting she’s ever done lately — in an era in which investigative reporting is all but dead. Maddow often reminds me of Edward R. Murrow — fearless, going wherever the facts lead her. “The Rachel Maddow Show” is one I try not to miss.

Maddow’s program is the only cable news show just nominated for a Television Critics’ Association Award, for Outstanding Achievement in News and Information.

Maddow recently has pointed out the media’s obsession with covering the attempts at capping the Gulf oil leak — constantly showing live pictures of the underwater gusher — and how it’s missed a bigger story onshore.

FCC Denies Bloomberg Comment Deadline Extension Request on NBCU/Comcast Merger…

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin writes that the FCC has denied Bloomberg’s request for the FCC to extend the comment period on the NBCU/Comcast merger…

Press Releases: 06/17/10

HLN (1), CNBC (1)

HLN

In his first interview, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton will discuss with Joy Behar the controversy surrounding his posting of a picture of singer Miley Cyrus and the potential fallout from his actions. Video and images of this interview will be posted at http://joybehar.blogs.cnn.com/ after the interview. The Joy Behar Show airs weeknights at 9p ET on HLN.

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CNBC

CNBC PRESENTS “MEETING OF THE MINDS: THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY” ON TUESDAY, JUNE 22ND AT 8PM ET

What’s at Stake for America When it Comes to the Two Faces of Technology?

CNBC Assembles Some of the Biggest Names in Technology and Government to Explore the Provocative and Timely Conversation on the Future of Technology

Maria Bartiromo to Lead Unprecedented One-Hour CNBC Special Event

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. – June 17, 2010 – Technology is the new power source for the 21st century and it’s having a profound impact on the way we think, live and do business around the world. But with advances in technology come challenges . . . Who is writing the rules for tech? Can tech bring us prosperity without peril? And how do we control tech without letting it control us?

BP vs. Congress: Your reactions…

Post your reactions to today’s BP congressional testimony and all the coverage thereof here…

Free for All: 06/17/10

What’s on your mind?

Page Six Doubles Down on Piers Morgan to 9pm on CNN…

After all the CNN denials (though I showed how those denials have a ton of wiggle room), the idea that Page Six would continue down the “Piers Morgan is replacing Larry King” story is a bit shocking. That they name a start date of October is the kind of thing one doesn’t do on “discredited stories” unless there’s really something to it…

British journo Piers Morgan will start his takeover of Larry King’s CNN show in October, sources tell Page Six. The former newspaper editor has a deal to host an hourlong interview program which will start in the fall four days a week as CNN phases King out. He’s also negotiated with NBC to stay on the “America’s Got Talent” judging panel, but is quitting the UK’s “Britain’s Got Talent.” One source said, “Morgan’s UK interview shows, including one where former Prime Minister Gordon Brown broke down in tears, impressed CNN bosses. Morgan’s show will be prerecorded in New York so he can work ’round his other TV commitments.” CNN said in a statement: “We don’t comment on speculation. Rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue . . . Larry is a beloved member of the team, and he will continue to be part of the CNN family into the future.”

Bloomberg TV vs. FNC…

Yahoo News’ Michael Calderone writes that Bloomberg TV also wants Helen Thomas’ seat…

It didn’t take long after Helen Thomas retired for White House reporters to start guessing who would get the veteran reporter’s coveted front-row-center seat in the briefing room. Quickly, two news organizations emerged as favorites: Bloomberg News and Fox News.

Now, each news organization is making its case to the White House Correspondents Association as to why it deserves the seat.

In a pair of dueling letters obtained by Yahoo! News, Bloomberg Executive Editor Al Hunt and Fox News Washington Managing Editor Bill Sammon are arguing for why their organization, and not the other, should move into the front row.

I would be stunned if the seat doesn’t go to FNC but find it noteworthy that Bloomberg is pushing so hard for it.