Burnett in, King’s “USA” out?

I was literally headed out the door for the airport when I saw this Page Six item…

Fans of money honey Erin Burnett will be able to catch the former CNBC anchor on CNN a few hours after the 4 p.m. closing bell. We hear that CNN development execs are creating a daily news show for her to air from New York at 7 p.m., a switch from business to breaking news. Burnett’s show launches in June and will replace “John King USA.” Burnett will also get the job of handing over to Eliot Spitzer at 8 p.m. CNN didn’t get back to us. Burnett spoke fondly of her beloved former CNBC colleague Mark Haines, who died on Monday, saying, “He made me feel important.”

Very Late Update: This statement from CNN arrived in my In Box after I had departed and I wasn’t in a position to make the update until today. Sorta moot now but I’m still including it because I tend to believe CNN’s reasoning behind why the story as Page Six laid out is false…they’re just starting to put together Burnett’s team…no way it could launch effectively in less than a month. Quick launches are not CNN’s M.O.

“We have no plans to make changes to John King, USA—the audience is up 68 percent this year vs. a year ago and we look forward to its continued progress as the program takes on an important role in our 2012 campaign coverage.”

“We do not have a time slot selected for Erin Burnett’s program and the show will begin development in a few weeks. We look forward to having a lineup that includes both John King and Erin Burnett as well as our many other talented CNN anchors come the fall.”

Blogus Interruptus…

Off to an undisclosed tropical location with Dick Cheney. No snorkels will be waterboarded during this trip. Blogging resumes Wednesday morning.

Ed Schultz Suspended by MSNBC for calling Laura Ingraham a “Slut” on Radio Show

Politico’s Keach Hagey writes about Ed Schultz getting suspended by MSNBC for comments he made on his radio show yesterday…

MSNBC has suspended Ed Schultz for one week without pay for calling Laura Ingraham a ‘right-wing slut’ on his radio program Tuesday.

“Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” MSNBC said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Schultz will address the remarks on his television show Wednesday night, and begin his leave immediately afterward, MSNBC said.

“MSNBC management met with Ed Schultz this afternoon and accepted his offer to take one week of unpaid leave for the remarks he made yesterday on his radio program,” MSNBC said.

How many more Ed Schultz gaffes is MSNBC going to allow before it finally realizes what some of us have known for some time; there are bomb throwers and then there are bomb throwers. The former deliberately stirs the pot by saying provocative things but you can tell they’re in control of their environment. The latter deliberately stirs the pot and by saying provocative things but you can tell something’s not quite right and eventually they’re going to self-destruct in a blaze of glory. Ed Schultz falls into the latter category. He’s lucky this happened on his radio show. Had this incident happened on MSNBC’s air I think the punishment would have been even more severe, especially given his newsroom meltdown last year.

Update: There’s a three day weekend that occurs during this one week suspension so instead of missing five days on the air apparently Schultz will only be missing four.

Update 2: I forgot that Ed’s show doesn’t air on Fridays. So his one week suspension consists of only three days off the air. Three days doesn’t sound as impressive as “one week”.

Update 3: On his show tonight, Schultz termed the suspension “indefinite”. Was Schultz embellishing or has it really changed from one week (three air days) to indefinite? We shall see…

Still More on Haines

The New York Times’ Michael J. De La Merced and Brian Stelter write about the death of Mark Haines…

Joe Kernen, who co-hosted “Squawk Box” with Mr. Haines, said that his colleague’s influence on CNBC stretched well beyond the morning, given his presence at the network from its inception.

“His fingerprints were on everything,” Mr. Kernen said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Kernen pointed to Sept. 11, 2001 as Mr. Haines’s single most important day as an anchor, when he calmly reported on developments about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

In a telephone interview, Ms. Burnett repeated what Mr. Haines’ wife said on the air on CNBC earlier in the day: “He seemed invincible.”

Ms. Burnett said she was thankful to have had “the blessing to be able to tell him how I feel and what I think of him because we just had that goodbye,” referring to their emotional conversation on “Squawk on the Street” three weeks ago, on her last day at CNBC.

More on Mark Haines…

News on News’ Kevin Coy reflects on the passing of Mark Haines…

When I first started watching CNBC back in the late nineties, Mark had already been on our screens for a decade. His finesse was his attraction. No-nonsense, no-arguing, he wanted to know, and by word, he found out.

Many have commented that he’ll have been giving the guards on the stairway to heaven a good grilling on his way, and then still got the answers he was after.

Never again will watching CNBC in the mornings be the same, Mark was part of the furniture at the network. His style, his memory, will live on in those that he nurtured, took under his wing, and made part of the family. Joe Kernen, David Faber, they are the living legacy of what was a great man, a great broadcaster, and for those tough times, a great friend to viewers around the world.

Glenn Beck to Launch own Web TV Channel…

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin scoops that Glenn Beck will be launching his own web TV channel.

Outgoing Fox News host Glenn Beck and his company, Mercury Radio Arts, are developing a new service called “GBTV,” which will be a web-based TV channel, according to sources familiar with the matter as well as trademark applications filed by the company.

GBTV will be based at GBTV.com, which Mercury acquired in January.

Press Releases: 05/25/11

MSNBC (1)

PROGRAM NOTE: “MORNING JOE” PRESENTS “KNOWING YOUR VALUE – WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE” – MAY 26

NEW YORK – May 25, 2011 – Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough, and Willie Geist will take an in-depth look at the value of women in the workplace with a special edition of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday, May 26 from 6:00-9:00 a.m.

The program is inspired by Brzezinski’s “New York Times” bestselling book “Knowing Your Value,” which explores the unconventional route Brzezinski took to get her worth. In “Knowing Your Value,” Brzezinski interviewed prominent men and women from all lines of work and discovered that she was not alone with the career and money mistakes she had made along the way. The special “Morning Joe” will continue the conversations about gender inequalities in the workplace and discuss practical tactics for negotiating from a place of power and communicating your value to get deserved compensation.

Guests for “Knowing Your Value: Women in the Workplace” on “Morning Joe” will include Chairman of the FDIC Shelia Bair, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Editor-in-Chief of “The Daily Beast” and “Newsweek” Tina Brown, EVP of Original Programming and Development at Bravo Media Andy Cohen, Chairman of Deutsch Inc. Donny Deutsch, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Carole King, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MI), MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell, “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl, U.S. Managing Editor of the “Financial Times” Gillian Tett, and Editor-in-Chief of “Cosmopolitan” Kate White.

Free for All: 05/25/11

What’s on your mind? Mine’s on tropical breezes.

Yes…that was a hint…

Mark Haines Passes Away

CNBC announced that Mark Haines has died. Details are still sketchy as to what happened. Haines was last seen on the air on Friday. Haines’ passing is going to leave a big void at CNBC. Jonathan Wald put out this tweet just a short time ago…

Mark Haines was the franchise. Nicest gruff guy you will ever meet. Epitomized the brand, loved the news, cared deeply.

Update: During the 10am hour of Squawk on the Street, Mark is the main focus as co-workers and friends share memories of Haines.

Update 2: Jeff Cox’s story on CNBC.com regarding Haines’ passing…

CNBC President Mark Hoffman called Haines a “building block” of the financial networks’ programming. Hoffman said Haines died at his home.

“With his searing wit, profound insight and piercing interview style, he was a constant and trusted presence in business news for more than 20 years,” Hoffman said in a statement to CNBC employees. “From the dotcom bubble to the tragic events of 9/11 to the depths of the financial crisis, Mark was always the unflappable pro.

“Mark loved CNBC and we loved him back. He will be deeply missed.”

Update 3: Time’s James Poniewozik writes about Haines…

CNBC just issued the sudden and sad news that Mark Haines, founding anchor of the channel’s signature program Squawk Box, died last night. The channel has launched a lot of business-news stars in its time, but Haines was as close as anyone to being its defining face and voice. Like a lot of financial laymen, I’m sure, I watch business-news TV only occasionally—when there’s a big move in the markets, when a bank collapses, &c.—but when I envision CNBC, Haines’ presence is probably what first comes to mind.

Update 4: CNBC will air a tribute to Haines tonight at 7pm ET…

Press Releases: 05/24/11

CNN (1)

CNN INTERNATIONAL WINS AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA AWARD AT PRESTIGIOUS LONDON CEREMONY

London, 24th May 2011: CNN International has won the Amnesty International Media award in the ‘International Television and Radio’ category for its documentary, ‘World’s Untold Stories: Locked Up and Forgotten’, it was announced at the awards ceremony in London tonight.

The winning half-hour documentary, fronted by CNN’s Nairobi-based correspondent David McKenzie, highlights the negligence and social taboos suffered by Kenya’s mentally disabled community, who live a life hidden away in slums and remote villages across the country. Devoid of medical care and therapy an estimated three million mentally disabled individuals are ostracized by society, concealed and locked away inside their own communities, often by their own families.

FNC vs. Rendell (vs. FNC)

Politico’s Maggie Haberman writes about a minor fracas between Ed Rendell and FNC…

Fox News is pushing back hard on criticism from former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell for shots he took at the cable net on rival MSNBC on Monday night about the network’s “thin veneer of impartiality.”

Fox News exec Bill Shine, who’s in charge of programming, shot back, “Governor Rendell didn’t seem to have an issue with our ‘credibility’ or ‘impartiality’ when he was trying to shake us down for more money before signing with MSNBC.”

Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher thiinks Shine sounds bitter because they didn’t get Rendell. I don’t agree. FNC may indeed be bitter that it didn’t get Rendell, though I doubt it, but Shine’s response has no relationship with that. This is just the typical “in your face” style FNC response that we usually get in situations like this. They always respond with the verbal equivalent of a nuclear warhead, when they choose to respond, after being attacked. Sure it’s over the top but that’s what they’re known for.

Update: Christopher saw this post and tweets he was being facetious…

Free for All: 05/24/11

What’s on your mind?

Press Releases: 05/23/11

Bloomberg (1)

BLOOMBERG GAME CHANGERS: REED HASTINGS

Airing Tuesday, May 24th at 9:00pm ET/9:00pm PT on Bloomberg Television

Tomorrow night at 9:00pm, “Bloomberg Game Changers” profiles Reed Hastings, cofounder and CEO of Netflix.

Reed Hastings transformed the way we see movies and television – twice. In 1997, the California entrepreneur combined DVDs and the U.S. postal service to create Netflix, the first online DVD movie rental business. Eight years later, he reinvented his own company with a new service: streaming movies and television shows directly through the Internet.

“Bloomberg Game Changers” chronicles Reed Hastings from the launch of his first company – a software tools startup – through the battles and triumphs of Netflix. Bloomberg TV also captures the brutal war of attrition that pitted Blockbuster against the upstart Netflix and maps out the lines in the looming battle for streaming against behemoths like Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook.

Inside CNBC’s New London Studio…

News on News’ Kevin Coy talkes to CNBC EMEA’s Ross Westgate about the newly launched CNBC London studio…

Lara Setrakian Interview…

News on News’ Kevin Coy interviews one of Bloomberg’s Dubai based reporters, Lara Setrakian…

3) In Dubai, you’re effectively on the fringes of the mainstream business media. Do you feel that Bloomberg Television gives you the same exposure to tell your story that you’d expect in London or New York?

It doesn’t feel like the fringe! It feels like the beating heart of the emerging markets – a multi-lateral view of so many economies rising. It is up to me, and my team, to highlight the importance of that to a global audience. They may not already be invested in India or Africa, but they want to know what’s going on and coming up.

One thing I love about Bloomberg Television viewers is that they value insight and ideas, in part because that’s where they might find the next big deal. It pays to be well informed. But what it feels like we’re building at Bloomberg Television is more than a tip sheet, it’s distilled intelligence made for television. We’re just serving it up from a different geography.

Blowback 101…

The blowback to Gabriel Sherman’s Roger Ailes/FNC opus from over the weekend has commenced. It seems to be immediately centered around what Roger Ailes does or doesn’t think of Sarah Palin. Politico’s Keach Hagey has John Coale rebutting the “Palin is an idiot” bit…

John Coale, an advisor to Palin who, as Greta van Susteren’s husband, also knows the Fox News leadership, writes to rebut the claims of the unnamed Republican operative:

“I know both Roger and Sarah quite well, and nothing could be further from the truth than the unnamed ‘Republican’ who said Roger thinks Palin is an idiot,” Coale says.

Meanwhile the New York Times’ Jim Rutenberg has FNC’s Vice President of Programming Bill Shine weighing in…

In a statement to The New York Times, the Fox News Channel executive vice president of programming, Bill Shine, said:

“I know for a fact that Roger Ailes admires and respects Sarah Palin and thinks she is smart. He also believes many members of the left-wing media are extremely terrified and threatened by her. Despite a massive effort to destroy Sarah Palin, she is still on her feet and making a difference in the political world. As for the ‘Republican close to Ailes’ for which the incorrect Palin quote is attributed, when Roger figures out who that is, I guarantee you he or she will no longer be ‘close to Ailes.’ ”

Of all the incendiary stuff in Sherman’s article this is what FNC is focusing in on? That’s like putting out a candle because it’s too warm inside while ignoring the roaring fire in the fireplace. Hell that quote wasn’t something I thought was worthy of highlighting when I covered the story yesterday. There’s a lot more damaging stuff in Sherman’s article than whether Roger Ailes thinks Sarah Palin is or is not an idiot.

Michael Steele Joins MSNBC as a Contributor…

Politico’s Jennifer Epstein writes that Michael Steele has signed on with MSNBC as a contributor…

Michael Steele, the outspoken and unguarded former Republican National Committee chairman, has inked a deal for the job he was born for: talking head on cable news.

MSNBC announced Monday morning in POLITICO’s Playbook that Steele will join the network as a political analyst, contributing regularly to its programming.

“It’s an honor to contribute and engage in the dialogue on MSNBC,” Steele said in a statement.

Update: MSNBC’s release…

Former RNC Chair Michael Steele Named MSNBC Political Analyst

New York – May 23, 2011 – Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele has been named MSNBC political analyst. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC, and is effective immediately.

Free for All: 05/23/11

What’s on your mind?

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 05/22/11

What’s Hot:

San Feist – Feist has been named CNN’s Washington Bureau Chief.

Chris Licht – The former Morning Joe EP has left MSNBC for a position at CBS News.

Alex Korson – Korson is the new Morning Joe EP…

What’s Not:

Eliot Spitzer – This Schwarzenegger affair saga showed why CNN hiring Eliot Spitzer is a wee bit problematic. When CNN ran a package on recent political sex scandals, Spitzer’s name was noticeably absent.

Riding the Whirlwind…

In a must read, Gabriel Sherman writes in New York Magazine about Roger Ailes and FNC. As with the last opus on cable news Sherman wrote, there’s no way I can pick one section to highlight. There are just too damn many. Like this one…

Beck had been hired to solve a problem that had vexed Ailes for years: The five-o’clock hour continually failed to attract an audience, which delivered a weak lead-in to the shows that followed. Fox executives dubbed the slot the “black hole.” Ailes had unsuccessfully cycled through a slew of anchors, from John Gibson to Laura ­Ingraham. Ingraham’s turn was especially rocky. She would scream so loudly at her staff off-camera that producers in the newsroom would turn on the monitors for fun and watch the unfolding drama.

And this…

But as Fox was helping to inflate the tea party’s balloon, some of the network’s journalistic ballast was disappearing. Starting in July 2008, a series of high-level departures began when Brit Hume, Ailes’s longtime Washington anchor, announced his retirement inside Fox. Then, three weeks after the election, David Rhodes, Fox’s vice-­president for news, quit to work for Bloomberg. Rhodes had started at Fox as a 22-year-old production assistant and risen through the ranks to become No. 2 in charge of news. His brother was a senior foreign-policy aide to Obama, and Rhodes told staffers that Ailes had expressed concern about this closeness to the White House. Rhodes privately told people he was uncomfortable with where Fox was going in the Obama era.

And this…

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…

Michael Steele to MSNBC?

The Hill’s Emily Goodin writes about Michael Steele being in talks to join MSNBC as a contributor…

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele is in negotiations with MSNBC to be a political analyst, according to sources.

Steele would be a prominent Republican voice on a network known for its liberal television hosts. If the deal goes through, he would join the cable network in time to offer commentary on the 2012 elections.

Prominent Republican? Yeah…uh-huh. That’s why he lost his job as head of the RNC…because he was so “prominent” (ok, technically he didn’t lose his job but bowed out of running again but only because he couldn’t win). Steele’s career is on the wane. Saying that Michael Steele is a “prominent republican” is like saying Pat Caddell, Susan Estrich, or Bob Beckel are “prominent Democrats” at FNC or Ed Rollins is a “prominent Republican” at CNN. You want a “prominent Republican” or “prominent Democrat” contributor? Try Karl Rove, Michael Moore, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Ann Coulter, or Markos Moulitsas. You know…pundits and politicians with actual coat tails whose every word people cling to…

Free for All: 05/20/11

What’s on your mind?

Press Releases: 05/19/11

CNN (1)

CNN, SRLC to Host Republican Presidential Town Hall Debate

CNN and the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) will host a Republican presidential town hall debate in Charleston, South Carolina on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, as part of the SRLC’s biennial conference. South Carolina has been chosen by the Republican National Committee (RNC) as one of the first states to vote in the Republican presidential primary process in 2012.

“On behalf of the Southern Republican Conference Board of Directors, we are very excited to be working with CNN on this important presidential town hall debate,” said Ed McMullen, chairman of the SRLC board of directors. “We look forward to hosting our 2012 presidential candidates, and showcasing their conservative ideas.”

“We welcome Republican candidates to our great state for what will be an important policy discussion about the future of our nation.” said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, chairman of the SRLC.

“Because of South Carolina’s role as the first-in-the-South, as well as the many southern states that vote on Super Tuesday, this debate provides 2012 GOP hopefuls an occasion to reach their key constituency in South Carolina and throughout the southern region,” said Sam Feist, Washington bureau chief and SVP of CNN. “Not only will the candidates have the chance to address top southern Republicans in person, the primary voters attending the conference also will have an opportunity to directly question their candidates for president.”

Morning Joe EP Chris Licht Leaves for CBS News…

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter writes about Chris Licht jumping from MSNBC to CBS…

Chris Licht, the behind-the-scenes member of the “Morning Joe” band, is leaving MSNBC and becoming the vice president of programming at CBS News.

Mr. Licht’s hiring was announced by CBS News on Thursday morning. At CBS, he will try to inject new energy into the network’s long-troubled morning show, “The Early Show,” and develop other programs and projects. Though the morning show will be his “first focus,” Mr. Licht said in an interview, “I will be doing whatever I can to help.”

And then there’s this little unrelated nugget Stelter tosses in regarding all those Joe and Mika are shopping themselves rumors…

The end date of the contracts is unknown. Mr. Scarborough and Ms. Brzezinski recently started working with the Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, of William Morris Endeavor, according to two people with knowledge of the relationship. Asked to confirm the relationship last week, Mr. Emanuel wrote in an e-mail message, “No commitment,” and declined to elaborate.

You don’t bulk up with a super agent like Ari Emanuel if you don’t have big designs of some kind.

Stelter also reports that MSNBC has named Alex Korson the new EP of Morning Joe with Ann Edelberg named as Senior Producer…

Free for All: 05/19/11

What’s on your mind?

FoxNews.com’s Digital Advertising Strategy…

AdExchanger.com has an interview with Jeremy Steinberg, FNC’s VP Digital Sales & Business Development… (via J$)

AdExchanger.com: Is innovation in the data-driven, digital advertising world affecting your strategy at FOX News?

JS: It’s definitely affecting our strategy and in a positive way. I think it’s good for our business and I can see two marketplaces developing. You have the premium-branded budgets that advertisers have, and then you have the more commoditized exchange‑based, real time bidding DSP world. Our strategy is to play in both in a big way. I think data plays in both. We’re actively working with AdMeld and with Google Ad Exchange. Specifically with AdMeld we’re very proactive with how we manage data, and how we price data, and who can access data.

On the national side, we have a product that we launched called FOX News Plus, which basically is a host of new data and technology services which will really maximize advertiser effectiveness across FOX News.

Lou Dobbs Profile…

The Miami Herald’s Glenn Garvin profiles FBN’s Lou Dobbs…

If Obama’s decision to make the birth certificate public has removed one of Dobbs’ main talking points, his Fox Business show that debuted March 15 otherwise sounds much the same as the CNN program he left behind: a populist roast of spendthrift policies in Washington and globalist trends on Wall Street.

There is Dobbs, scoffing at the White House’s blithe reaction when the U.S. credit rating was downgraded. (“It sounded like a Candy Rock Mountain, the sun was shining down.”) There is Dobbs, applauding the Supreme Court for a ruling that banks must disclose how much taxpayer money they collected during the 2008 financial bailouts. There is Dobbs, noting a proposal for a national toilet-paper tax. (No comment, just mammothly arched eyebrows.)

“I don’t think there’s an enormous difference in what I’m doing now from what I was doing at CNN,” says Dobbs. “Obviously, in this economy, we’re focusing far more on the state of American business and the state of the financial markets than what I had been doing in recent years on CNN. But the same time, the nexus of politics and business and economics is what has always attracted me. That remains the bulwark of the show.”

Free for All: 05/18/11

What’s on your mind?

Joe Kernen Interview

The New York Daily News’ Phyllis Furman interviews CNBC’s Joe Kernen…

Q: Give us some examples of how you see business people portrayed in the media.

A: There was a study done of TV which looked at hundreds of hours of prime time. You were four times more likely to commit a crime if you were a CEO than if you were a drug dealer or a gang leader.

How about “WALL-E”? The company that ruined the world was called Buy n Large (a fictional version of Walmart). So the entire planet was ruined by, as far as I can tell, Walmart.

Think about the guys who have created wealth in this country. Walmart not only held down the consumer price index, but I think there are a million employees at Walmart.

Q: How much have your views been shaped by your years of grilling business leaders on “Squawk Box?”

A: A lot of it, obviously. I was also a stockbroker before that. I guess I have always been pro-capitalism. A sportscaster doesn’t have to like the teams, but at least you have to like the sport.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2011/05/17/2011-05-17_joe_kernen_of_cnbcs_squawk_box_writes_your_teacher_said_what_in_support_of_capit.html#ixzz1MiMHOLra