Ari Melber Interview…

Mediaite’s Noah Rothman interviews Ari Melber…

“I think politics is always about dialogue,” Melber told Mediaite. “I think journalism ranges from dialogue to monologue, and there are times when different poles are necessary. But if you’re serious about engaging a wide range of views from people who agree with you on most things to people who disagree with you on most things, then you want to be respectful and approachable as possible without giving up your core beliefs.”

But does Melber’s intentional withholding of the red meat that other cable news hosts regularly serve up frustrate his audience? Melber said that he almost never gets criticized for being too deferential to those who do not share his political philosophy. “When I get serious criticism – if I get serious criticism – it’s about how I’m thinking and engaging in a topic,” he noted. “I can’t think of an example of someone saying ‘you’re too nice.’”

“I think the challenge for anyone in a visible industry, whether it’s media, government, or political organizing, is to take serious criticism seriously, and not to live in the shadows of the noise and the concern trolls,” added Melber.

Ali Velshi Joining Al Jazeera America…

From the “I never could have foreseen that” file, TVNewser’s Alex Weprin scoops that Ali Velshi is joining Al Jazeera America…

When he announced his departure, Velshi told TVNewser that he was leaving on great terms with CNN and wanted “to stretch some new muscles and grow something, and it appeals to my entrepreneurial side.” Al Jazeera is pouring millions of dollars into its new Al Jazeera America cable channel, essentially taking the bare bones structure and channel placement of Current TV and creating something new. Velshi is going to be a big part of that plan.

>Update: Velshi will develop and host a half-hour “magazine-style” show that will launch as a weekly program, with plans to expand to five days a week by the end of the year.

Press Releases: 04/04/13

HLN (1), CNBC (1)

HLN

HLN TO PRESENT 40TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARDS LIVE FROM LOS ANGELES ON SUNDAY, JUNE 16

2013 Telecast To Celebrate America’s Favorite Daytime Programming including Talk, Food, Children’s, Courtroom, Game Shows and Daytime Dramas

HLN returns as the host network of the annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Awards show, now in its 40th year, presented live from The Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 16, 8-10 p.m., ET/PT, it was announced by Scot Safon, Executive Vice President & General Manager, HLN, and Malachy Wienges, Chairman, National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

“Last year, HLN’s first-ever presentation of the Daytime Emmy® Awards was the #1 most-watched, regularly-scheduled non-news broadcast in the network’s history, and received terrific viewer feedback both on-air and online. Our audiences thanked us for tapping into that vital part of American pop culture,” said Safon. “HLN is the news channel that focuses on stories at the forefront of the American conversation, and daytime programming often tackles those same themes and stories. We are so happy to again present the program that honors the best work in daytime.”

“The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is very excited to partner again this year with HLN and LocoDistro on our 40th anniversary of the Daytime Emmy Awards,” said Wienges. “The outcome of this partnership will be a creative show honoring all the genres that make Daytime Television part of our daily lives.”

Wienges also noted that Game Show Icon Monty Hall and Legendary Producer Bob Stewart will be honored with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Viewer integration will be part of the presentation with featured segments on air and online at HLNtv.com. Presenters and additional program information will be announced within a few weeks. The 40th annual daytime Emmy Awards is produced by LocoDistro; Gabriel Gornell is founder and the show’s executive producer.
“Daytime TV doesn’t have fans—it has personal relationships between hosts and viewers five days a week. And because of this five days-a-week relationship, there is no stronger connection with audiences in all of entertainment—And we’re going to celebrate 40 years of it from Talk Shows to Soaps,” said Gornell.

CNBC

CNBC PRIME TO PREMIERE NEW REALITY COMPETITION SERIES

Free for All: 04/04/13

What’s on your mind?

Ali Velshi To Depart CNN…

TVNewser’s Alex Weprin writes that Ali Velshi will be leaving CNN’s networks…

“It’s been an amazing almost 12 years at CNN. Love it more today than I ever have, and CNN is going to be great under Jeff,” Velshi says. “I basically grew up here, so it’s sad to leave, but I’ve got a great opportunity to stretch some new muscles and grow something, and it appeals to my entrepreneurial side.”

Ari Melber Takes Over For Steve Kornacki on The Cycle

MSNBC’s announcement that Ari Melber will be joining The Cycle…

ARI MELBER HAS BEEN NAMED CO-HOST OF THE CYCLE ON MSNBC

April 3, 2013- Ari Melber has been named the new co-host of “The Cycle” on MSNBC. He will join co-hosts conservative commentator S.E. Cupp, former Virginia Congressional candidate Krystal Ball and the cultural commentator Toure Monday through Friday 3-4 p.m. ET. Melber also writes “The Law of Politics” for MSNBC.com, a reported blog on politics, law and constitutional rights.

Melber joined MSNBC as a contributor in 2011, he has guest hosted for Alex Wagner and Martin Bashir, and he has appeared as a guest on many other MSNBC programs. He is a correspondent for The Nation and has written for Reuters, Politico, The Atlantic, and MSNBC.com, among other publications. Melber also wrote “The Permanent Field Campaign in a Digital Age,” and has contributed chapters to the books “America Now” and “At Issue: Affirmative Action.”

Melber received a J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he was an editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, and he is a member of the New York Bar.

Steve Friedman is the executive producer of “The Cycle” (MSNBC 3-4 p.m. ET)

The Point Fallout

This week CNN has not only altered its lineup with The Point but it has altered what it chooses to repeat. I refer specifically to OutFront which lost both its 11pm and 2am repeats in favor of 360 repeats. Technically this change does give CNN primetime consistency since the 5-8 ET block is 360/Piers Morgan/The Point and that’s what gets repeated in that order from 11pm-5am. Additionally, my long range TV schedule shows OutFront getting its repeats back next week. Still, the fact that CNN couldn’t give OutFront at least one repeat this week is going to make the kibitzers talk about OutFront’s long term future.

Karen Finney to MSNBC Weekend Evenings…

MSNBC announced that Karen Finney will be hosting an hour on MSNBC from 4-5pm on weekends. Pedants will note that means a reduction in live news by one hour as Craig Melvin had been anchoring that hour.

KAREN FINNEY NAMED MSNBC WEEKEND HOST

Finney to Host Weekends 4p-5p ET

NEW YORK –April 2, 2013 – Karen Finney has been named host of a new MSNBC program to air on weekends from 4-5 p.m. ET. More details about the program, including the launch date, will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Karen’s rich background in both education policy and politics will add a unique point of view to our expanding live weekend programming,” said Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.

Finney has been an MSNBC political analyst and guest host on the network since 2009.

Finney has more than 20 years of experience in national politics working on four presidential campaigns, the Clinton White House, and Hillary Clinton’s first New York Senate race. She was the first African American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. Finney has also worked to improve public education in the public and private sectors.

It was her interest in improving public education that first got her involved in politics, having worked as a teaching assistant in a minimum-security facility for pregnant teenagers in Los Angeles after graduating from UCLA. In the private sector, she worked for Scholastic Inc., one of America’s leading children’s media and education companies, on projects including strategic development for literacy programs, afterschool education, and reading intervention. Finney also served as the chief spokesperson and Communications Director for New York City Schools, managing crisis communications for the system of more than 1.1 million children in the aftermath of 9/11.

Q1 2013 Numbers: HLN

HLN is noting it’s Jodi Arias skewed numbers for Q1…

HLN ONLY CABLE NEWS NETWORK UP IN BOTH DEMOS IN TOTAL DAY & PRIME IN 1Q 13

HLN & HLNtv.com Each Score Best March Ever

New 10 p.m. Show “HLN After Dark” Premieres to Double-Digit Gains

Fueled by coverage of the Jodi Arias trial, new program launch and distinctive analysis on long-standing shows, HLN posted double-digit gains in 1Q 13 and March and is the only cable news network to experience explosive growth. Adding to the network’s milestone, HLN scored its best ever March in total day total viewers (396k P2+).

1Q 13
Total Day
P2+
+17% (308k vs. 264k)
P25-54
+23% (118k vs. 96k)

April Fools? I Wish…

The Hollywood Reporter’s Erin Carlson writes about this trial balloon show CNN is floating at 10pm this week…

CNN has replaced re-airings of Anderson Cooper 360 in the 10 p.m. timeslot with (Get to) The Point, a week of special programming with a panel of guests including adman-pundit Donny Deutsch.

The Point panel will also feature ESPN columnist Rick Reilly, ESPN NFL analyst Jason Taylor and author Margaret Hoover.

CNN confirms that right now, The Point is a week of special programming with AC360 repeats shifted to 11 p.m.. But sources at the network say that it is part of broader experimentation at the network aimed at revitalizing the lineup – and not just at 10 p.m.

Apparently this experimentation includes recycling old ideas. I’m specifically referring to Deutsch. TVNewser’s Alex Weprin called Deutsch an “NBC regular”. There’s a reason for that. Deutsch was tight with Jeff Zucker and a lot of the NBC News brain trust (many of which are no longer at NBC now). That’s why you saw Deutsch time and again on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, etc. I would bet my last dollar it’s why you will see Deutsch more and more on CNN now. Deutsch is like the TV news equivalent of the Energizer bunny or, if you are more cynical like me, the living TV news embodiment of the wack-a-mole.

Press Releases: 04/01/13

CNN (1)

CNN LATINO CONTINUES TO EXPAND IN KEY MARKETS

New Affiliation Agreement in New York, Orlando, Tampa and Phoenix Expand the Programming Block’s Reach

CNN Latino, the Spanish-language programming block custom-made for the U.S. Hispanic market, is expanding to New York, Orlando, Tampa and Phoenix, it was announced today by Cynthia Hudson, senior vice president and general manager of CNN en Español and Hispanic Strategy for CNN/U.S. With the addition of these four new markets to its existing presence in Los Angeles, CNN Latino programming will now be available in markets that represent about a quarter of U.S. Hispanic Households.

CNN Latino’s broad spectrum of programming covering news, lifestyle, documentary, talk and debate represents an alternative to traditional Hispanic networks, and it will now be available on WBQM Channel 3 in New York, New York; WATV Channel 47 in Orlando, Florida; WTAM Channel 30 in Tampa, Florida; and Channel 44 in Phoenix, Arizona. As part of its expansion plan, CNN Latino has partnered with TMA-TIG, LLC to develop alliances with key Hispanic television stations in east coast markets and CNN Latino has partnered with Lotus Communications to develop its alliance with Channel 44 in Phoenix.

“We are so fortunate to be in a strategic partnership with TMA-TIG and their first group of stations, which will allow for a rapid expansion of the CNN Latino branded programming block across the east coast of the U.S., and to have a relationship with Lotus Communications in their heritage Phoenix station,” said Hudson. “We believe that CNN Latino programming is a great alternative to the current offering of Hispanic broadcast content in the U.S.”

CNN Latino in New York WBQM-LD Channel 3

Free for All: 04/01/13

What’s on your mind?