New Lower Thirds for The Weather Channel…

An emailer noticed some tweaks to The Weather Channel’s graphics this morning. The lower thirds have been shortened and are now more in line with how the lower thirds look on NBC News and the Today Show. Also full screen text has changed as well. I’m not sure if there’s been changes to the channel’s complicated crawl. Some Weather Channel shows, Wake Up with Al Roker being one (I checked), appear to have not changed. The Weather Channel recently upgraded to the WSI TruVu Max™ Weather Graphics system.

Bloomberg Game Changers Returns with new Season…

The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai writes that Bloomberg TV’s Game Changers is returning with a new season…

The new episodes of the weekly documentary series, described as a Behind the Music about business leaders, comes as the business and financial news network is looking to launch at least two additional original series during the coming months.

Bloomberg Television is looking to program beyond the coverage of the day’s markets and deals action with longer-form looks at companies and individuals impacting business and society. The strategy is championed by Andy Lack — the former NBC News president and now Bloomberg Media Group CEO — with the goal to attract a broader mix of viewers in the evening hours.

Thomas Roberts Interview…

Towerload’s Steve Pep interviews MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts…

SP: You’ve had your own show at MSNBC for a few months now. How did it feel to sign on as a full-time anchor on the cable channel?

TR: It felt great. I signed my contract right before Christmas. It really capped off an incredible year and just meant the next one was going to be even better. I think we are off to a wonderful and strong start.

SP: Has it been a good fit for you?

TR: The fit is fantastic. I love the people, I love the work and I love the brand. I have never been more comfortable in my own skin and I think that comes through on air…at least I hope it does.

Free for All: 05/09/11

What’s on your mind?

Bill O’Reilly to Make Cameo on TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles”

Reuters has a story that Bill O’Reilly will make a cameo as himself on an upcoming episode of TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles”…

O’Reilly, who is friendly with show creator Janet Tamaro, will appear as himself and play a potential murder suspect in an episode set to film in July and air at the end of summer.

According to Tamaro, the political commentator got the gig after touring the show’s autopsy room last year.

“He took one look at the autopsy table and said, ‘Yeah a lot of people would like to see me on that,” Tamaro said. “I said, ‘Well, how about you come back and do a guest spot.”‘

CNBC Europe’s New Business Day Programming…

News on News’ Kevin Coy writes that CNBC Europe is altering its business day programming in conjunction with the debut of its new London Studio (see entry below this one for that story)…

CNBC today unveiled its new look business day programming in Europe alongside a major upgrade of its London studios.

While each of the business programmes remain, each has renewed emphasis on a particular aspect of the business day.

CNBC‟s flagship programme, Squawk Box with its influential guests and analysis, will use all aspects of the new studio and enhanced tools and graphics. All of CNBC‟s business day programmes will use multiple areas of the studio, which includes one of the largest video walls in Europe (click here).

CNBC Europe’s New London Studio

News on News’ Kevin Coy writes about CNBC Europe’s new London studio…

CNBC today starts broadcasting from its brand new studio facilities at its European headquarters in London.

John Casey, CNBC’s Vice President of International News & Programming says, “The new studio is designed to support one ultimate goal – delivering the most essential business news to the most influential and affluent audience. We have created a state-of-the-art environment totally geared to enabling our journalists to tell compelling stories about business and the global economy in real-time.

Savannah Guthrie to Today…Chuck Todd Goes Solo on “Daily Rundown”…

As part of the Meredith Vieira/Ann Curry Today news, Politico’s Keach Hagey writes that Savannah Guthrie is headed to the Today Show which means Chuck Todd will be anchoring solo on “Daily Rundown”.

The long-awaited shakeup of the “Today” show, expected last week but apparently delayed amidst the news of Osama bin Laden’s death, is now official: Meredith Vieira is leaving the show next month, and Ann Curry is replacing her as co-anchor.

Nathalie Morales will step up be news anchor, and Savannah Guthrie is being promoted to be co-anchor of the show’s third hour.

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 05/08/11

What’s Hot:

Bin Laden Killed – It dominated the entire week.

Nik Deogun – With Jeremy Pink leaving CNBC, Deogun is upped to SVP of CNBC

What’s Not:

Donald Who? – Amazing how one little military operation can end the media’s pandering to Trump’s ego…at least for the moment.

FNC South Carolina Debate – Pick a reason: Way too early, lack of star names, allegations and counter allegations over alleged new media restrictions.

Eye poking – As if to underscore how insane this whole debate brinksmanship has gotten, CNN put out a silly release reaffirming its lack of debate restrictions; something it also did last election cycle I believe, clearly to stick it to FNC. Nobody cares. Nobody cares in the long run that there were usage restrictions on the South Carolina debate. Nobody cares in the long run that CNN has no restrictions on its debate. This is kindergarten sand box bickering.

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…

CNBC: Pink Out – Deogun In…

TVNewser’s Chris Ariens reports that CNBC’s Senior Vice President Jeremy Pink is leaving the network and will be replaced by Managing Editor Nik Deogun…

Stick? Meet Eye…

CNN put out a release on its debate restrictions (none) which is a not so subtle elbow at FNC…

CNN to Make Presidential Debate Footage Available without Restrictions

As previously announced, CNN will team up with Hearst-Argyle’s WMUR-TV and the New Hampshire Union Leader to host a GOP primary debate in America’s first primary state. The debate featuring Republican candidates will be held at Saint Anselm College on June 13 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Due to the historical nature of presidential debates and the significance of these forums to the American public, CNN believes strongly that the debates should be accessible to all viewers.

The presidential debates are an integral part of our system of government, in which the American people have the opportunity to make informed choices about who will serve them. Therefore, CNN debate footage will be made available without restrictions upon the conclusion of each live debate.

This decision will apply to all of CNN’s primary presidential debates, beginning with the upcoming New Hampshire debate on June 13. Press credentialing information and debate details for the June 13 debate will follow in the coming weeks.

Free for All: 05/06/11

What’s on your mind?

Carlos Diaz Joins HLN’s Morning Express…

HLN announced Carlos Diaz had joined Morning Express as a Sports Anchor in what appears to be the first press release from a network regarding talent that included relevant Twitter accounts…

Carlos Diaz Joins HLN: Diaz to Serve as Sports Anchor on Popular Morning Show, Morning Express with Robin Meade

Carlos Diaz has joined HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade team as Sports Anchor it was announced today live on Morning Express. Beginning today, Diaz anchors Morning Express (M-F, 6 a.m.–12 noon ET) sports segments, and will also contribute and serve as guest host on multiple shows across HLN.

Diaz (@carlosHLN) joins the Morning Express ensemble (@morn_eXpress) hosted by Robin Meade (@RobinMeade) with correspondent Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithTV), personal finance anchor Jennifer Westhoven and meteorologist Bob Van Dillen. HLN’s popular morning show digs deeper into the day’s top stories, while providing a daily dose of news, weather, sports, entertainment and finance.

“Carlos’s positive energy and gift for storytelling is a natural fit to round out the lively Morning Express cast,” said Bill Galvin, Senior Vice President, HLN. “Carlos has been a friend to HLN for more than a year, guest hosting programs including Showbiz Tonight and Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell, and we couldn’t be happier that he is now in the family.”

C3 Ratings Accreditation Announcement Controversy…

MediaPost’s Joe Mandese writes about Nielsen’s C3 Ratings being accredited nearly a year ago but apparently few have known about it…

Three years after the national TV advertising marketplace shifted to C3 ratings as its de facto currency, the Nielsen TV commercial audience estimates were finally accredited by the media industry’s self-regulatory watchdog. That was nearly a year ago, but nary anyone knew about it, raising questions about the role of media accreditation, and the need and responsibility of making people aware of it. The Media Rating Council, which conducted an extensive audit of Nielsen’s convoluted C3 ratings and accredited them in June 2010 says it was Nielsen’s responsibility to announce it. Nielsen executives say it was the MRC’s responsibility.

Whoever’s responsibility it actually is, the reality is that few people in the industry actually know the C3 ratings have actually been accredited, even though billions of TV advertising dollars are planned, spent, and validated on the basis of those estimates.

FNC’s Huckabee Ultimatum?

Real Clear Politics’ Erin McPike writes that FNC has given Mike Huckabee a deadline to decide whether he’s running or not…(via J$)

Now, he may have to offer his decision by the end of the month. Republican operatives familiar with the deliberations at Fox News say that the network has told Huckabee he has until the end of the month to make up his mind about the race or he’ll be cut off, just as Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum were when the then-contributors were still in the consideration phase.

Update: Politico’s Andy Barr has Huckabee and FNC disputing the alleged ultimatum…

Mike Huckabee is knocking down a report that Fox News has given him a looming deadline to decide whether he’s running for president.

Citing GOP operatives, RealClearPolitics reported Thursday that the network has given Huckabee until the end of May to opt against a run or lose his lucrative contract as a cable pundit.

But Huckabee’s top aide told POLITICO that the network has imposed no such deadline, and Fox also disputed the report.

Related: Politico’s Ben Smith writes that FNC has terminated its deals with Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum because they haven’t made up their minds…

Free for All: 03/05/11

What’s on your mind?

AP/Reuters Unhappy with South Carolina Debate Restrictions…

Politico’s Keach Hagey writes about a dustup between the AP (and Reuters) and the organizers behind tomorrown night’s South Carolina GOP debate…

Reuters confirmed that it would not be covering the event photographically, because it shared concerns about access. However, Reuters did not confirm whether it would be going as far as AP and not filing text either.

“This is about whether visual journalists will be treated with the same respect that text journalists are treated,” said Michael Oreskes, AP’s managing editor for U.S. News. “The public has a right to see presidential candidates as well as to read about them, and we think this debate should get off on the right foot.”

Oreskes said the AP found out Tuesday about restrictions that would bar photographers from taking photos throughout the length of the debate, and informed the South Carolina Republican Party that this was unacceptable.

“At this event four years ago, both Reuters and the Associated Press had wide access for our still photographers during the debate,” he said.

But Joel Sawyer, the executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party, says that’s simply not so.

“This is the same way every debate sponsored by Fox and the South Carolina GOP has operated in the past,” Sawyer said. “This is not about us changing the rules of the game. It’s a matter of the AP changing the rules of the game. The AP has said if they are not able to sit in for the entire debate, they’re not going to cover it period. And frankly, we are not interested in the AP trying to bully us.”

Maddow vs. Pscholka

The Detroit Free Press’ Dawson Bell writes about Michigan lawmaker Al Pscholka demanding time on The Rachel Maddow Show to respond to Maddow’s blasting of a law Pscholka sponsored…

The west Michigan lawmaker who sponsored emergency financial manager legislation that has been repeatedly pilloried by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow — especially for the way it has been applied in Benton Harbor — is asking Maddow to allow him to make a live appearance on her show to discuss the new law.

Rep. Al Pscholka, R-Stevensville, said Maddow’s program has “chosen a highly selected and skewed interpretation” of the Fiscal Accountability Act “as well as the circumstances surrounding Benton Harbor’s financial trouble.”

“Your program has displayed a blatant disregard for the facts,” Pscholka said in the letter.

He said he was insisting on a live appearance because he wanted “to present the whole story.” Pscholka said when he was questioned for an earlier segment of the show his 45-minute interview was reduced to “a nine-second clip.”

Free for All: 05/04/11

What’s on your mind?

Rah-Rah-Rah!

The LA Times’ James Rainey writes about coverage of and reaction to the killing of Bin Laden…

If you watched coverage across television this week, you saw people react to Bin Laden’s death in inverse proportion to how closely 9/11 touched their lives. Those closest to the hijacked jets — victims’ families, surviving New York City firefighters, colleagues of flight attendants who died — greeted Bin Laden’s death with solemnity. Those who came to know the terrorist mastermind mostly as a symbol — the young who grew up under the terrorist threat but didn’t suffer personal losses — tended to holler, preen for cameras and carry on as if they were watching a ballgame.

“I hope I am never again this happy over someone’s death,” said Stephen Colbert, parodying the latter sentiments. “If I saw myself in a mirror I would be appalled by the look on my face.”

As Rivera plunged through the crowd, he got a lot of expected woofing from kids in college sweatshirts. But the reporter’s job in such a tumultuous scene is not just to take it all in, but to cut through the bravado, to assess the emotions underlying the demonstration.

When Rivera found a young man who’d served in the Marines, he seemed on the verge of a meaningful connection. Instead, he frittered away most of the short interview, making sure Fox viewers knew that he had been embedded with a Marine unit in Afghanistan. Rivera, the boxer, ever intent on showing us he’s still in the ring.

Bin Laden Ratings Notes: CNN…

CNN is noting its ratings in the wake of the death of Bin Laden…

CNN’s coverage of President Obama’s speech that Bin Laden was dead and the 11:00 pm hour on Sunday, May 1 were the Number 1 programs in all of basic Cable among total viewers for the week of 4/25/11-05/01/11. Day two (Monday, May 2) primetime and morning highlights are also below.

Fast National data: Monday, May 2 – day two death of bin Laden:

Anderson Cooper 360 tops both FNC and MSNBC in both total viewers and the demo at 10 pm
Piers Morgan and American Morning top MSNBC in total viewers and demo.
In the Arena tops MSNBC in the P25-54 demo.

10:00 pm:

CNN’s Anderson Cooper tops FNC’s Greta Van Susteren and MSNBC’s Ed Show in both total viewers and demo 25-54
CNN has 54 % advantage over FNC and a 149% lead over MSNBC in key demo:

CNN: 2.921 million total viewers/1.282 million P25-54 demo
FNC: 2.707 million total viewers/ 830k P25-54 demo
MSNBC: 1.404 million total viewers/ 514k P25-54 demo

9:00 pm:

Network Poaching: Unlikely…

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin pours some cold water on the Morning Joe to CBS storyline Mediaite ignited this morning…

As we reported back in 2008, Scarborough’s last contract with MSNBC was set to expire in March, 2011. Two months later and he is still on MSNBC.

This implies that Scarborough has signed a new agreement with MSNBC, probably sometime in the last six months or so. If that is the case, it is highly unlikely he will be leaving the network anytime soon, or that his contract would be up “within the year.” A source in the talent agent community said they heard second-hand that Scarborough’s contract with MSNBC has “at least two more years” left on it.

As it happens in March, Starbucks signed a new, long-term agreement to sponsor “Morning Joe.” If there were serious discussions of Scarborough leaving, that might have been a harder sell to the coffee chain. (In the gift bags at the MSNBC White House Correspondents Dinner After-party: Joe & Mika-branded coffee.)

Free for All: 05/03/11

Blogging is not back to 100%. Personal crisis going on. So what’s on your mind?

Network Poaching…

Mediaite’s Colby Hall writes about CBS having its eyes on Morning Joe…

With the morning show landscape in flux, Mediaite has learned that another big move may be in the works, this one at CBS. Chris Licht, the well respected executive producer of MSNBC’s buzzy Morning Joe program is likely to announce that he is leaving the show to take the top spot on CBS’s struggling Early Show. While last we heard the deal was not finalized, our sources indicate it is “very close.”

But we are also told that CBS has a bigger prize in mind with that possible hire, wooing Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to come host that show when their contracts are up within the year. That would be an interesting albeit risky move since despite the incredible buzz that show gets among movers and shakers, its national audience is still puny even compared to CBS’ current programming. But at this point, it seems CBS will try anything to resuscitate that perennially third place and buzzless show.