Cable News “Protectionism”…

The Daily Beast’s Howard Kurtz writes about CBS’ new morning show. But this tidbit is what got my attention and a notation on this blog…

In a bid to move upscale, CBS came extremely close to signing Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of MSNBC’s political chatfest Morning Joe—so close that they were promised complete creative control and the deal was set to be announced. But as the duo was having second thoughts about the switch, NBC chief executive Steve Burke killed the idea, saying he wouldn’t let them abandon one of his favorite shows.

The potential ramifications when their contracts next come up for renewall of Burke blocking a potential move away from MSNBC for the Morning Joe duo are interesting to contemplate.

What’s Hot/What’s Not: 11/13/11

What’s Hot:

MSNBC’s Conrad Murray Doc – MSNBC caught all kinds of heat this week over its Conrad Murray doc. The Jackson Estate appealed to NBC to kill it. Information came out regarding how the money flowed or didn’t flow in NBC getting the doc and the exclusive interview NBC got of Murray.

Penn State coverage – It was pretty much non-stop all week…

Cheslsea Clinton to NBC News – No word on whether she’ll appear on MSNBC. Makes no difference. The Red blogs will tie her to it nontheless…

What’s Hot:

MSNBC/NBC Universal sued by Murray Creditor – Good luck with that…you’ll need a miracle to get any money out of MSNBC or NBC Universal.

Conrad Murray verdict overkill – If you were looking for a news channel that wasn’t covering the Conrad Murray verdict…good luck. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNNI, HLN, FNC, and MSNBC all covered it. No idea if the biz channels did (I’m looking in your direction FBN with your history of breaking business news coverage for non-business breaking news coverage). I flipped over the the NHL channel and hid until it was all over.

Layoffs at CNN – And just in time for the holidays too…

MSNBC = Must Not Break Crime – CNN and FNC both covered President Obama’s newsy news conference Sunday night. Alas, MSNBC couldn’t find its way to break crime tape…

DSL Modems – Specifially my old one…

Star Alliance’s Micronesia AirPass – If you live in Asia, it’s great. If you live in the US and want to risk losing your snorkel in warm tropical waters, be prepared to pay through the nose to fly to Guam via Honolulu before you can even use your AirPass.

Chelsea Clinton to NBC…

The New York Times’ Bill Carter writes that Chelsea Clinton has been hired by NBC as a correspondent…

NBC is to announce on Monday morning that it has hired Chelsea Clinton to become a full-time special correspondent for NBC News.

The appointment is immediate. Ms. Clinton will show up at the news division offices oon Monday morning, said Steve Capus, president of NBC News, and will begin work on stories that NBC expects to use as part of its “Making a Difference” series, which runs on “NBC Nightly News.”

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 for the last two weeks (last week’s didn’t go up on account of a DSL issue) on Sunday night.

Layoffs at CNN…

TVNewser’s Chris Ariens writes about some cutbacks that were announced at CNN today…

CNN Senior VP Jack Womack writes in a note to staff that the cuts come after a 3-year analysis of the company’s work processes.

The CNN Library, which houses CNN’s archives, is centralizing in Atlanta. The library in CNN New York is closing, while there will be cuts in staff at the library in Washington, DC. New positions will be added to the CNN Library in Atlanta.

“As a result of these technology and workflow changes, CNN is reducing the number of media editors in our work force in Atlanta,” Womack writes, adding, “Some photojournalists will be departing the company.”

MSNBC Sued by Murray Creditor…

OC Weekly’s Matt Coker writes about various media entitites, including MSNBC and NBC Universal, being sued by a creditor of Conrad Murray…

The complaint against Murray, MSNBC and other media companies demands Digirad Imaging Solutions be paid more than $147,000 the physician owes before he is paid anything for his exclusive interview in the documentary Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship airing tonight.

Filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Timothy Aires of the Aires Law Firm on Newport Center Drive, the suit also seeks court costs, attorney fees and interest of $40.48 compounding daily on the original $147,085.

MSNBC Cable LLC, NBCUniversal Media LLC, October Films LLC, October Films, What’s It All About? Productions, Zodiak Media Group Ltd. and Zodiak Media Group PLC are being used as “mere subterfuges employed by defendant Conrad Robert Murray to escape liability for his debts and obligations, including the judgment,” reads the Digirad complaint.

“Now with Alex Wagner” Debuts Monday…

MSNBC put out a release about the Monday debut of Alex Wagner’s show…

“NOW WITH ALEX WAGNER” DEBUTS MONDAY, NOV. 14 ON MSNBC

“NOW with Alex Wagner” Debuts Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC

NEW YORK – Nov. 11, 2011 – MSNBC’s newest daytime show, “NOW with Alex Wagner,” will debut on Monday, November 14 at noon ET. The show is hosted by Alex Wagner and will feature regular contributors and panelists to provide insight and perspective, giving viewers a broad understanding of what’s shaping the political and cultural landscape. “NOW with Alex Wagner” will go beyond the headlines to examine the forces driving the day’s stories in politics, news and culture.

Guests and panelists for Monday, Nov. 14 include Dan Rather of HDNet’s “Dan Rather Reports,” Maggie Haberman of Politico, John Heilemann of New York Magazine, and MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton.

Free for All: 11/11/11

What’s on your mind?

Checkbook Journalism Returns?

The Hollywood Reporter’s Marisa Guthrie writes about allegations that NBC paid big to get that Conrad Murray doc…

On the issue of payment, a spokesperson for October Films said: “No fee or payment was made to Dr. Murray by October Films, save for a contractual notional $1.” But the licensing fee for the film was in the low- to mid- six figure range, say sources. The Los Angeles Times reported that filmmakers began shopping the film in October and were asking “close to $500,000″ for U.S. rights. Part of that package was an interview with Murray prior to the verdict.

“NBCUniversal licensed the documentary from Zodiak Rights,” the network said in a statement. “In connection with the documentary, NBCUniversal had the opportunity to conduct a promotional interview with Dr. Murray. Neither Dr. Murray nor his legal defense were compensated in any way.”

But the absence of money flowing from NBC to Murray has clearly not insulated the news division from criticism. Sources say that MSNBC executives have been inundated with angry e-mails from the public.

CNN.com’s Plans for World Domination…

Marketwatch’s Jon Friedman interviews CNN.com’s Vice President and Managing Editor Meredith Artley…

“We’re definitely shooting for much bigger fish than MSNBC and Fox,” Artley told me recently. (Fox, like MarketWatch, is owned by News Corp.) MSNBC is owned by Comcast.

I asked Artley what news site she was targeting, as she was already looking beyond the competitive threat of her traditional foes.

“It’s Yahoo — they’re the only ones who get more [traffic] than we do on a regular basis,” Artley said, referring to news sites.

Artley’s strategy for putting a scare into Yahoo centers on bolstering CNN.com’s appeal to users, based partly on creating timely new products. For instance, CNN.com is currently putting the finishing touches on rolling out blogs that Artley thinks will create a buzz.

The blogs’ subjects are: education, race and identity in America, the cultural and social aspects of technology, and technology in terms of innovation. “The common thread is that these are topics that people are passionate about,” she explained.

Related: CNN announcement on the blogs…

CNN Expands Beat Coverage Strategy

CNN Digital adds Photography, Education, Identity, Innovation and Tech to Network of More than 50 Blogs

CNN Digital is once again amplifying its beat reporting and storytelling around topics that inspire passion and conversation with the launch of five blogs focusing on photography, identity, education, innovation and technology.

Erin Burnett on Italy…

Erin Burnett did a piece last night on the possibility of an Italy default. What makes Burnett’s take on the possibility of an Italy default different from others I’ve seen, and which kept it in my head all day long until I finally had to take to the blog to write about it, isn’t the numbers Burnett churned out; numbers I’ve seen elsewhere. Nor was it the ham handed defense of Silvio Berlusconi which scored a technical point on Italy’s currently in the black budget but came at the expense of ignoring the reasons Berlusconi is so loathed having a heck of a lot more to do with allegations of his slimy weasel like ways and his utter dominance of Italian media to a degree which not even Rupert Murdoch can currently attain in any country in the world.

No, the reason Burnett’s oratory caught my eye was her warning shot across the bow concerning the possibility of talking ourselves into an Italy default…

It’s very easy to create fear about a borrower and to go on about say how Italians love the good life. By one survey they get about 42 paid days off a year. Yeah that’s more than 8 weeks. So if you spend your time talking about that, people start to get afraid. They stop lending and the country will fail. And everybody will get hurt. But you know what? It doesn’t have to happen that way if we have confidence. That’s cuz that’s all lending and borrowing is about. If we stop letting fear rip through the markets and, yes, the media, and start building up confidence, things could be different. When the global economy was booming it was for one incredibly simple reason; people were confident that tomorrow would be better than today. And here’s the truth. Italy’s situation is manageable, thanks to that man; the demonized Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi Italy’s actually in a position of budget surplus after paying the interest on its debt. And Italy’s unemployment rate is 8.3% – better than the United States’, half of Greece’s and better than France.

(listing of Italy positives snipped)

So let’s think about the strengths of Italy and stop bringing down country after country. Because it may feel far away now but this domino game of attacking countries will come back to roost in all of our pockets.

For a while now I’ve had this fear that we’re on the brink of talking ourselves into a global default scenario where the mere fear of a default will precipitate an actual default under the weight of wave after wave of negative stories regardless of whether the country was actually on the verge of default. There needs to be a middle ground where actual problems are highlighted in the media but not to the point of reaching hysterical levels. And too often lately I’ve been seeing too much hysteria…

Stephanie Ruhle Profile…

Business Insider’s Joe Weisenthal profiles Bloomberg TV’s Stephanie Ruhle…

I was just going to say, the first time I noticed you on TV it was the day that Morgan Stanley CDSs were blowing out. And it stuck out to me because you actually had something to say, about how you have to be careful, volume, pure numbers—the pure CDS price is misleading. I turned my head and said, oh, a non-cliched comment.

And I’m not saying that credit derivatives are the answer to anything, I’m not even defending them as a product. But I want to be part of a conversation where I believe I can say, here’s what they really look like.

That was my impression—someone is talking who actually has something to say, knows something about the product rather than just quoting a price.

And I think quoting a price, specifically in derivatives, is really misleading. Because when things are higher, that’s actually worse. Whenever I read a headline and they say “CDS spreads have plunged”—it makes me cringe. But that’s a positive! I think it’s great to be part of a conversation and give a different perspective. And the perspective doesn’t even have to be pro-Wall Street. There’s tons of criticisms I can make from being in it. There’s tons of things the business does wrong, especially from the banks side. Hedge funds for example move much more swiftly than banks do, and banks move much slower in making the right business decisions merely because there’s so many people who work there.

So I really enjoy—in many instances I’m still working with so many of the people I’ve always worked with. Almost every day I have a guest on who’s either a colleague or a client of mine. So it’s not like I’m having different conversations—I’m having more of them. This is an exciting place to sit. People now more than ever, in large part because they’re so mad at Wall Street, they want to understand it. Again, I’m not saying I have the answer, but I think I have an insider’s perspective, I do.

Free for All: 11/10/11

What’s on your mind?

Michael Jackson’s Estate Wants Murray Doc Yanked From MSNBC…

The LA Times’ James Rainey and Harriet Ryan write that executors of Michael Jackson’s estate wants MSNBC to not air it’s planned Conrad Murray doc…

MSNBC representatives had said earlier that the cable channel did not pay for access to Murray or contribute to his legal defense.

The producer of the documentary, October Films, said it paid only $1 for two years of access to Murray and a behind-the-scenes look at his legal defense.

Representatives of MSNBC and October Films said they did not know what arrangements might have been made by the film’s distributor, Zodiak Rights. Zodiak representatives could not be reached.

Blogus Disruptus…

If you haven’t seen my Twitter feed tonight, my DSL modem went south and I’m now waiting on a replacement from Verizon. It won’t get here before Tuesday night at the earliest. No way am I using my tablet to post blog stuff…it’s just too painful. So the blog will be hibernating until I’m back up again.

Update: The blog may not be back up until Friday…

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…

FBN Schedules 9pm Greece Special..

FBN will be airing a David Asman anchored special on Greece tonight at 9pm ET…(via J$)

Press Releases: 11/04/11

CNN (1)

Tune in to CNN: John King to interview Gingrich, Santorum and Gov. Branstad in Iowa

CNN chief national correspondent John King is in Des Moines, Iowa to cover the latest in the Republican primary race and to speak directly with first caucus state voters.

King today will talk with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum prior to tonight’s Iowa GOP Ronald Reagan dinner. Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will also be a guest on John King, USA to talk about Iowa’s importance in the presidential election process.

Tune in to John King, USA on CNN at 6 pm ET to watch these interviews.

Free for All: 11/04/11

What’s on your mind?

The Name is Cain…Mr. Herman Cain…

This has been bugging Johnny Dollar and me for a while though we only compared notes tonight. At some point Gretawire started referring to Herman Cain as “Mr. Herman Cain”. Ok the use of “Mr.” adds some stature to the name and that in itself isn’t noteworthy. What is noteworthy is Cain gets this treatment all the time now while other personalities do not. Here are two Gretawire entries from today concerning Brad Paisley and Donald Trump – both sans “Mr.” Note that in the Trump post Herman Cain’s name shows up with the ubiquitous “Mr.”

Check out this search on GretaWire for the term “Herman Cain”…

It didn’t use to be this way apparently. If you go back in time far enough you find “Herman Cain” utterly Mr.-less. I went 10 search pages deep, which unfortunately, are not in chronological order. It seems as if sometime between late August and early September the “Mr.” became inexorably linked to Herman Cain. Here’s one from July 18 where “Mr. Herman Cain” is referred to as “Candidate Herman Cain”.

What’s it all mean? Who knows. It’s just…well…strange; one of those things that makes you stop and try to think of a reason why it’s happening. Other than that, it’s not very significant. It’s more of the itch you can’t scratch enough variety. There’s gotta be a reason for it…

Press Releases: 11/03/11

CNN (1)

FIXING EDUCATION is Focus of New “Restoring the American Dream” FAREED ZAKARIA GPS Primetime Special

Restoring the American Dream – FIXING EDUCATION Debuts Sunday at 8:00pm ET and PT

TIME Magazine Companion Story “When Will We Learn?” Hits Newsstands Friday

American primary and secondary education were once envied by much of the world, but over the last few decades U.S. students have fallen behind – while students in other countries have benefitted from improvements to their educational systems. CNN and TIME magazine’s Fareed Zakaria interviews innovative and creative leaders working on solutions to fix what ails American education in his November primetime special, Restoring the American Dream – FIXING EDUCATION, on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 8:00pm & 11:00pm ET & PT, and for a companion TIME magazine cover article, “When Will We Learn?” that hits newsstands Friday.

FBN to Dump Imus Friday for Greece Coverage…

An emailer writes in that FBN will drop Imus tomorrow morning so that it can air a special on Greece with Ashley Webster…

Smack!

It’s been a very quiet year in the FNC public smackdown department. I find myself yearning for the latter half of the last decade when we could count on seven or eight juicy FNC smackdowns a year. But we get one today and it comes courtesy of Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva…

“I know all the attitudes people have about him, and I’ll tell you, I’m loyal as hell to this guy because he brought me in,” Matthews was quoting as saying, adding that he has turned down two offers to follow Ailes to Fox. I have confirmed that the job offers are indeed real though they are more than 10 years-old. “Those offers were made before we became #1,” a Fox News executive said. “Where would we put him now? Maybe as a lead in to Red Eye.” This is a reference to the fact that in October, Fox News’ 3 AM show Red Eye beat MSNBC’s Hardball With Chris Matthews in adults 25-54 with 177,000 viewers vs. 163,000.

Yeah…Matthews deserved the shot. Citing a ten year old attempt to poach him from CNBC? Come on. That said, the shot rings a bit hollow. Nobody in the industry cares that Red Eye beat a show hours removed from its timeslot. It’s like saying The O’Reilly Factor beat Fox and Friends. Well, duh…but they aren’t competing with one another. This is one of those PR headlines that some get sucked into but the savvy know better…kind of like citing an internal metric like Sales Prime or CUME in a ratings release.

CNN Moves Ali Velshi to Global Platform…

As expected, CNN announced that Ali Velshi would be anchoring at CNNI as well as reporting for CNN Domestic…

Ali Velshi Takes New Roles Across CNN Worldwide

Velshi to Launch Signature Segments on CNN/U.S. and Anchor CNN International’s ‘World Business Today’

CNN Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi is adding new roles across CNN Worldwide. Beginning next month, Velshi will provide business reporting and analysis for CNN’s domestic channel, launching signature segments that will interpret and explain a top story of the day. In addition, in 2012, he becomes an anchor of CNN International’s World Business Today, a daily global business news program. Velshi also continues as host of Your Money on weekends on CNN/U.S.

In Velshi’s new role for CNN/U.S., he will take a look at one of the top economic, global or political stories of the day and deconstruct and translate it for viewers. Drawing upon Ali’s global business news experience, this segment is geared towards breaking down for audiences some of the most complex issues of our time.

Velshi is anchoring one-hour of CNN International’s World Business Today, which is broadcast live to over 200 countries across the world.

CNN Officially Kills American Morning – Replaces it with O’Brien and Banfield/Sambolin…

CNN announced what everyone was expecting. Somewhere at Blackrock Chris Licht is visibly blanching at one part of this release…

Soledad O’Brien Returns to Mornings with New Show, New Direction

Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin Co-Anchor 5-7am; Soledad O’Brien Anchors 7-9am

CNN will launch a new format of news and conversation in the morning, including a 7-9am ET show anchored by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien in 2012.

O’Brien will anchor a new conversational ensemble program that explores top issues of the day while opening the conversation to people from all walks of life. O’Brien will continue to be a special correspondent for long-form documentaries at CNN.

“I couldn’t be more eager to return to daily news, to bring conversation and context to CNN viewers in the morning. I welcome the opportunity to give voice to people who aren’t often heard, and stories that are sometimes overlooked,” says O’Brien. “I love telling people’s stories, and I’m looking forward to bringing the perspective, heart and storytelling that have worked well in our documentaries to a morning audience”

Free for All: 11/03/11

What’s on your mind?

Network Jumping…

TVNewser’s Chris Ariens scoops that Shannon High is bolting NBC for CNN…

TVNewser has learned Shannon High is leaving NBC’s Peacock Productions to join CNN where she will oversee the new four-hour morning show. An announcement on the hire, and the new show, could come as early as tomorrow.

Cable Business News Anonymice…

AdWeek’s D.M. Levine writes about FBN’s numbers for September…

It was an abysmal month for Fox News’ young sibling channel. Fox Business Network saw an average daily viewership of around 65,000 for October, according to Nielsen, which also happened to be the month of the network’s four-year anniversary. In its target 25-54 demo, though, Fox Business only drew an average of 10,000 viewers per day. This, compared to the network’s chief competitor, CNBC, which saw around 201,000 viewers on average and 59,000 in the 25-54 age group. A source familiar with the network says that four years in, they expected Fox Business to be performing “a lot better than 10,000 in the target demo.”

Adding to the network’s woes is the fact that Don Imus’ program, Imus in the Morning, which Fox Business debuted in 2009 as the network’s daily morning kickoff program, is performing miserably—with an average of just 5,000 daily viewers in the target demographic for the month and 90,000 total viewers. By comparison, Squawk Box, which airs on FBN’s chief competitor CNBC at the same time as Imus’ show, received 179,000 total viewers on average for the month and outdelivered Imus in the target demographic by more than 12 percent, with 65,000 viewers.

There is one relatively bright spot for Fox Business—its early prime-time 4 p.m.-8 p.m. slate, which includes shows like Cavuto and Lou Dobbs Tonight. The network pulled around 85,000 average daily viewers for the month, including 12,000 viewers in its target demographic, during those hours. But even that figure is still well behind the 212,000 total viewers CNBC received for that same time slot.

CNN Launches CNNEspanol.com

CNN announed the launch of CNNEspanol.com…

CNN en Español Connects with Audiences Through a New Internet Experience: CNNEspanol.com

Starting today, CNN en Español reinforces its multi-platform content strategy with the launch of CNNEspanol.com, where users can find the latest breaking news, the network’s best videos, exclusive interviews and news stories from around the globe, all with the high standards that CNN and its team of journalists deliver.

Cynthia Hudson, Senior Vice President and General Manager for CNN en Español and Hispanic Strategy for CNN/U.S. said: “This is a new platform available to our audience to get all the breaking news they have come to expect from us and at the same time an invitation to establish an enhanced level of engagement with CNN en Español. Now our massive social media following has a space to interact directly with our network and gain privileged access to our content.”

Free for All: 11/02/11

What’s on your mind?