Political Grandstanding of the Worst Order

Politico’s Dylan Byers writes about Scott Brown’s asinine position that he’ll only debate Elizabeth Warren if MSNBC drops out of the debate. Translation: I don’t want to debate her so I’m going to gin up some flimsy excuse which plays well to my base but makes me look like a doofus to everyone else.

Fascinating sign of the times: Sen. Scott Brown announced today that he will accept an invitation to debate Elizabeth Warren at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston, but only on two conditions — one of which is that MSNBC, which is scheduled to host the debate, must drop out as a sponsor.

In a letter to the Kennedy Institute, campaign manager Jim Barnett wrote that while it was OK with the moderator, NBC’s Tom Brokaw, it could not accept a network “with a reputation for political advocacy.”

So if FNC agreed to sponsor the debate Brown would be okay with that? You betcha. Like I said…doofus.

CNN Adjustments

I’m not sure what to make of today’s CNN Noon programming change. While more international news is always a good thing for a too US focused cable news industry, the question still remains: Why Malveaux’s Noon hour and more importantly why do it?

Were the numbers soft for CNN at Noon? I have no idea but it would be interesting to find out if there was any possibility this was a ratings related move. But I’m still very curious as to why this adjustment when all the noise about CNN’s “issues” is coming loudest from Early Prime/Primetime. John King, USA got cancelled last week, so we know CNN is definitely focusing on where the fire is. But then why focus on this Noon hour which isn’t where the fire is? CNN has been dabbling off an on with using CNNI talent on CNN Domestic in certain special breaking news cases but never consistently. Until now.

Meanwhile as we wait to see how this Noon experiment pans out, there were some new graphics unveiled today in the form of a new “Breaking News” open with a female voice over…

Free for All: 06/18/12

What’s on your mind?

Nielsen Can Now Measure Tablet Data…

MediaPost’s David Goetzl writes that Nielsen now has a system to measure tablet data…

Nielsen CFO Brian West just reported the company has a measurement system to capture iPad and other tablet usage that is being tested by large media companies. The move is a natural extension of Nielsen’s efforts in its extended screen work, where it would add tablet data into a system with TV and PC measurement.

“This is one where technically we can do it,” West said at an investor event.

Yet there are still significant steps that must be taken before the tablet measurement functionality becomes widely deployed in the market, partly because the marketplace often breeds disagreement.

“Nothing moves fast enough in the space,” West said, referring to client adoption and revenue potential for Nielsen. “You’ve always got to facilitate constituents that have different viewpoints, but you’ve got to be the referee sometime — and that’s the role we play, and we’re perfectly happy to do that.”