CNN (1), MSNBC (2)
CNN
In a primetime exclusive, Anderson Cooper will interview the four New York Times journalists who were captured by the Ghaddafi regime. Cooper will chat with Stephen Farrell, Anthony Shadid, Tyler Hicks and Lynsey Addario.
The interview airs tonight on Anderson Cooper 360°at 10pm ET on CNN.
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MSNBC
EXCLUSIVE: CAPT. CHELSEY SULLENBERGER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST AMENDMENT TO FAA LEGISLATION
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The Cutline’s Joe Pompeo writes about the last episode of this season’s Game Changers on Bloomberg…
With “Game Changers,” Bloomberg TV has attempted to broaden its reach in the evening, well after the crowd of financial professionals who watch the network’s dayside programming have left their offices and trading-room floors for the day. CNBC, the dominant business news network, made significant inroads in the prime time demographic by developing nighttime documentaries on topics such as porn and pot that appeal to the youthful audience favored by advertisers. Bloomberg TV’s answer was to create a show that would spotlight people like Wintour, Jay-Z, Jon Stewart and Mark Zuckerberg–four of the 12 subjects featured on the first season of “Game Changers.”
So did it work?
Executives for Bloomberg TV declined to comment through a spokeswoman, and viewership numbers are not available since the network is not rated by the Nielsen Company. Nor would the network confirm whether there will be a second season.
But the spokeswoman pointed out that the show has been a boon to web traffic. Last October’s episode on Apple chief Steve Jobs, for instance, is the second most viewed video of all time on Bloomberg.com, she said. The network is expected to unveil further additions to its evening programming this year.
Look I know FBN’s ratings are public now and CNBC apparently doesn’t have too much to worry about at the moment but this may be too laid back a response to the threat posted by FBN. From a tweeter describing something that sounds suspiciously like some sort of Master Control crash…
Uh, yeah, something went wrong on @CNBC. The video portion of the screen on the HD channel went blue for ~46 sec.
Follow that with a five minute break. I’m guessing some massive failure on the video end? We’re back w/ some gfx
The tickers/side panel are fine on the HD channel, but yeah, very odd
Yeah, something really failed here, CNBC seems a bit …. off right now. No transitions, wrong backgrounds, missing elements, ouch.
Yup, they are still in repair, you’d think a graphic on screen would assist Maria through explaining this.
Yeah, whatever failed, it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to fix it today
MSNBC (1)
PROGRAM NOTE: MSNBC PRESENTS “A STRONGER AMERICA: THE BLACK AGENDA,” A PANEL DISCUSSION ON BLACK LEADERSHIP IN AMERICA
SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 12-2 P.M. ET
MSNBC ANCHOR ED SCHULTZ HOSTS
NEW YORK—March 30, 2011—On Sunday, April 10, MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz will host a two-hour panel discussion with the National Action Network’s Rev. Al Sharpton titled, “A Stronger America: The Black Agenda” beginning at noon ET. The panel comes at the end of the National Action Network’s annual summit, and will feature prominent African American leaders from across the U.S. who are committed to furthering critical issues impacting their community. Schultz and the panel will discuss pertinent topics affecting African Americans such as politics, modern civil rights, healthcare, education and how we can help build a stronger African American community. MSNBC will ask the tough questions: What is the Black Agenda? What can the African American community do to help itself? How does the Black agenda help to further the overall American agenda?
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MSNBC and Starbucks announced that the two have expanded their relationship to include supporting innovation in education and community…
STARBUCKS AND MSNBC RENEW RELATIONSHIP WITH A SHARED COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING INNOVATION IN COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION
Formalized Relationship with DonorsChoose.Org to Champion Change Makers in Education
SEATTLE/NEW YORK – March 30, 2011 – MSNBC and Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) have renewed their relationship with an added commitment to education and community revitalization. The announcement was made today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the network’s morning program co-hosted by Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Willie Geist. One of the goals of the relationship is an ongoing commitment to highlight and contribute to communities nationwide with a focus on education.
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CNN announced its Royal Wedding coverage plans…
CNN To Provide Global, Multi-Platform Coverage of the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
Piers Morgan, Anderson Cooper, Richard Quest, Kiran Chetry, joined by Cat Deeley, Will Host CNN Coverage
CNN to send U.S.-based iReporter to Cover Royal Wedding
Live from London, CNN will globally televise the biggest royal wedding event since Charles married Diana – from the ceremonial to the personal, from what is happening at Westminster Abbey to the reactions of those around the world.
On the day of the wedding, Friday, April 29, beginning at 4 a.m. ET, CNN’s special live program will be anchored by Piers Morgan, Richard Quest, Anderson Cooper, Kiran Chetry and special contributor Cat Deeley, noted British broadcaster and fashion expert, across CNN/U.S. and CNN International. CNN will live stream various angles of the day’s events on CNN.com, including views from inside the Abbey as well as the parade, via the CNN Apps for iPhone and iPod touch, iPad and Android tablet.
Leading up to the big day, Piers Morgan and Anderson Cooper will anchor their nightly programs from London. CNN will also broadcast a documentary on Catherine Middleton anchored by Soledad O’Brien, as well as weekly special reports from Richard Quest, among others. Highlights of CNN’s Royal Wedding coverage include:
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Media Matters resumes its war on FNC’s DC Bureau Topper Bill Sammon. The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz managed to get Sammon on the record…
In an interview, Sammon says his reference to “mischevious speculation” was “my probably inartful way of saying, ‘Can you believe how far this thing has come?’” The socialism question indeed “struck me as a far-fetched idea” in 2008. “I considered it kind of a remarkable notion that we would even be having the conversation.” He doesn’t regret repeatedly raising it on the air because, Sammon says, “it was a main point of discussion on all the channels, in all the media”—and by 2009 he was “astonished by how the needle had moved.”
Sammon notes that in the same talk on the cruise, he pointed out that George W. Bush had his own stimulus package and had spent half the TARP bailout money: “I was talking about both sides being big spenders.” (True; he also told the cruise guests that “when it comes to spending money, Obama makes Bush look like a piker.”)
Gotta give credit where it’s due. This topic germinated from a tweet by Piers Morgan EP Jonathan Wald…
Not enough countdown clocks for the Presidential Address.
Just mention the word “coutndown clock” and the cable news hairs on the back of my neck start to raise up. But it got me to thinking about other idiotic gimmicks that have no real value which cable news uses over and over again. So here are my top 5…
Countdown Clocks – As if something is going to happen before the clock reaches zero?!?! Of course not. There was a time in the days of yore when, if there was something that was going to happen at a specific time, a graphic would be put up noting the time and that would be it…the channel would move on to something else. Not anymore. Now we get a countdown clock. We get a countdown clock before speeches, before events, before hurricanes reach landfall, after the hurricane has reached landfall (the reverse countdown clock). The only thing these clocks are there for is to hype the story. They have zero news value in most instances.
Social Media “integration” – This one is conditional (I’ll get to why in a moment). Like those old blue light emitting electrical flying insect killers you used to hang up outside your abode decades ago, Social Media “integration” as cable news currently implements it is a trap designed to ensnare people into thinking cable news really wants to know what they think. But the reality is current Social Media integration is so haphazardly and inconsistently applied and followed through on in most instances it’s less of a journalistic tool and more of a hip gimmick used to make cable news look “cool” and relevant. Very few programs use social media effectively in terms of a true back and forth exchange of ideas and subjects. Most often social media is used by cable news this way: “Here’s today’s subject, tell us what you think and we’ll devote a few seconds of our hour(s) long program to it, provided that breaking news doesn’t get in the way.” It is extremely rare to see a program make extensive and consistent use of social media in a manner that differs from the previously cited approach. Maybe one day cable news will figure out social media and how to properly tap it. That day is not today. And probably not tomorrow either (Piers Morgan’s experimental Social Media experiment show Tuesday notwithstanding)
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CNN (1)
**TUNE IN: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper to anchor coverage of the Presidential address followed by a special edition of Piers Morgan Tonight **
CNN will provide complete coverage of President Obama’s address to the nation on Libya beginning at 7 p.m. ET with a special edition of John King, USA. The president’s remarks—from the National Defense University at Fort McNair in Washington—will begin at 7:30 p.m. After the president’s remarks, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper will anchor special coverage along with John King, Eliot Spitzer, Fareed Zakaria, and members of the Best Political Team on Television to provide reports and analysis on the mission and conflict in Libya. CNN International correspondents Nic Robertson and Arwa Damon also will provide updates live from the region. A special edition of Piers Morgan Tonight will air at 9 p.m. with further analysis and coverage of the president’s address.
NBC Universal announced its Royal Wedding coverage plans…
NBCUNIVERSAL ANNOUNCES ITS BROADCAST PLANS FOR THE ROYAL WEDDING
Comprehensive coverage from London highlights the breadth of NBC News resources and partnerships available to support an international event
Cross-platform programming includes a NBC Primetime Special and coverage from across the NBCUniversal portfolio
“The Royal Wedding by NBC News” App for iPad is now available on the App Store
NEW YORK, NY—March 28, 2011— As the world tunes in to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange vows on Friday, April 29th, 2011, NBC News and its fellow NBCUniversal networks will provide the ultimate in cross-platform coverage of Royal Wedding events from London. NBC News’ comprehensive broadcast plans highlight the breadth of network resources and partnerships available to support an international event— involving close work with its UK broadcast partner, ITN; reports from more than a dozen network anchors and correspondents; and over 20 hours of combined coverage from NBC and MSNBC on the day of the wedding. Highlighting the powerful network television and digital synergies of NBCUniversal, NBC News and MSNBC will join msnbc.com, Access Hollywood, Bravo, E!, iVillage, Telemundo and The Weather Channel to provide a diverse array of programming options for its viewers. Online, today.com will be the source for Royal Wedding news and information, including archived coverage as well as new reports and interviews. NBC News’ coverage can also be found on social media platforms by following @royalwedding on Twitter or by attending the NBC News Royal Wedding event on Facebook. In addition, NBC News is partnering with GetGlue to offer its viewers virtual “stickers” for watching NBC’s Royal Wedding programming.
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In your must read of the day, The Wrap’s Brent Lang and Dylan Stableford write about the costs the cable nets are racking up covering all these big international stories…(via J$)
From Japan to Libya, disasters and political upheavel around the globe are wreaking havoc on the already-skeletal budgets of cable and broadcast news organizations.
“We’ve already had a year’s worth of breaking news coverage, and it’s not even the end of March,” David Verdi, NBC News VP of worldwide newsgathering, told TheWrap.
News organizations may have already spent their annual budgets for covering foreign events and still have nine months to go, one veteran cable news executive told TheWrap.
“If Saudi Arabia goes up in flames, all bets are off,” the executive said.
That’s because each far-flung top story comes with an astronomical price tag.
NBC spent $1.5 million on its first day covering the Japanese tsunami, according to one knowledgeable individual. That’s roughly the total amount it spent reporting on earthquake ravaged Haiti over a period of several months.
What’s Hot:
Libya – UN backed military intervention in Libya took center stage this week.
Japan – Libya overtook Japan’s struggle with the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami, and still ongoing nuclear reactor crisis as the #1 cable news story this week but Japan still received plenty of coverage.
CNN vs. FNC – A very nasty and rude public spat erupted between elements of FNC and CNN over an aborted air attack on Gaddafi’s compound due to reporters being on the scene.
Glenn Beck’s FNC Future – A new round of “what’s Beck up to?” broke out this week as rumors circulated that FNC’s Joel Cheatwood was going to leave the network to go to work full time for Beck’s production company and speculation swirled that Beck may look to leave FNC and either start a new channel from scratch or take over an existing channel.
FBN to be rated by Nielsen – News came out that FBN will finally start being publicly rated Nielsen starting Monday.
CNN – The network continues to dominate in breaking news coverage of major international events. As always, the question isn’t “How can it leverage this going forward?” but “Is it realistic to think it can?”
Thomas Roberts – Consider the following: Roberts worked MSNBC last weekend, did multiple shifts this week, sat in at the news desk on Weekend Today this weekend (which means he’s worked 13 days straight), and hosted NLGJA’s 16th annual Headlines and Headliners dinner on Thursday. Watch out Willie Geist…your position as NBC’s hot “It” talent is under threat…
What’s Not:
I’m going to be nice and say nothing made the cut this week…
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Ben Fernandez profiles Chris Matthews in an article that’s almost as much about MSNBC’s future in a Comcast world…
Matthews said he didn’t know Comcast’s ruling Roberts family. He met cofounder Ralph Roberts once, at a fund-raiser for Hunting Park. “The only guy I know really well is David,” he said.
That would be David Cohen, a political insider in Washington and Pennsylvania. Now executive vice president at Comcast, Cohen was chief of staff for Ed Rendell – whom Matthews referred to as “Eddy” – when he was mayor of Philadelphia.
In person, Matthews looks taller than he does on TV, and youthful for his age – he’s 65. He’s now one of the nation’s longest-serving cable news hosts.
“Larry [King] is the only one who would have beat me. And he’s gone. I don’t think of myself in that way anyway,” he said. “I’m so energized.”
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/118724914.html?page=2&c=y#ixzz1HorreNkW
Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else
Post your nominations for this week’s What’s Hot/What’s Not. I’ll post the finalists on Sunday night…
Variety’s Brian Lowry writes very smartly about CNN’s up and down, up and down…
For CNN, another international crisis means another opportunity — until, of course, it doesn’t.
Turmoil in the Middle East and a devastating earthquake in Japan have once again ratcheted up U.S. interest in what’s happening overseas, triggering a related flurry of stories about how CNN has been the beneficiary. Once again, CNN is talking about how to parlay its temporary ratings surge into renewed vigor and an improved competitive standing.
If that sounds familiar, it should. Top CNN execs probably don’t want to hear that they sound like Jonathan Klein, but in early 2005 their predecessor at the channel was saying a lot of the same things after ratings spiked in response to the Indonesian tsunami. “CNN Demonstrates Global Strength With Tsunami Coverage,” read one press release at the time.
Yet CNN’s strength has also consistently turned out to be its glass jaw — a function not merely of missteps by the channel (though there have certainly been plenty of those), but a short U.S. attention span when it comes to sustaining focus on crises abroad.
CNN (1)
CNN will present the HBO documentary TRIANGLE: REMEMBERING THE FIRE this SATURDAY, MARCH 26 at 11:00 p.m. (ET)/8:00 p.m. (PT), it was announced jointly today by HBO and CNN.
TRIANGLE: REMEMBERING THE FIRE tells an historic story that is still relevant today. On March 25, 1911, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Triangle Waist Company in New York City. Trapped inside the upper floors of a ten-story building, 146 workers – mostly young immigrant women and teenage girls – were burned alive or forced to jump to their deaths to escape an inferno that consumed the factory in just 18 minutes. It was the worst disaster at a workplace in New York State until 9/11. The tragedy changed the course of history, paving the way for government to represent working people, not just business, for the first time, and helped an emerging American middle class to live the American Dream.
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This cold is still kicking my butt and it’s impacting blogging. So what’s on your mind?
Talking Biz News looks at the market share for business cable news…
According to the 2010 Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, which looks at heads of households with more than $100,000 in annual income, CNBC has an audience of just less than 13.1 million viewers. That’s almost twice the number of viewers of Fox Business Network, which has 5.3 million such viewers, and Bloomberg Television, which has 2.6 million such viewers, combined.
From the same Mendelsohn survey, CNBC reaches about one third of all C-level executives and about 30 percent of all affluent consumers. Fox Business reaches more than 10 percent of affluent consumers, and about 14 percent of C-level executives.
Both CNBC and Fox Business reach more C-level executives and affluent consumers than any other business media, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Television and Yahoo Finance, according to the Mendelsohn survey.
Bloomberg (1)
‘BLOOMBERG GAME CHANGERS’ PROFILES FOUNDER OF CRAIGSLIST
Airing Thursday, March 24th at 9pm ET/6pm PT on Bloomberg Television
This week’s “Bloomberg Game Changers” features a revealing interview with Craig Newmark, the multimillionaire founder of Craigslist, who offers insight on the founding of one of the most popular Web sites in the world and the biggest issues he’s faced as its creator. Through commentary from Newmark and leading industry experts, the episode profiles the reserved Internet pioneer who shuns the spotlight and has defied the traditional Silicon Valley road to riches.
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TVNewser’s Chris Ariens writes that starting Monday FBN will be rated by Nielsen. And that means all those media people who have to break down ratings data into custom fields now have more work to do. It also means that all ratings highs and lows that FBN has going forward are real and genuine.
I’d still like to see someone pin FBN down on why it took so long to get to this point. None of the explanations that have surfaced so far fully explain what caused the delay. And as a process junkie I’m very interested in how a path to fully rated status that was reportedly going to take about a year morphed into a path that nearly took four.
