Big nights for some shows. O’Reilly was huge. For MSNBC it was Rita. Paula and Anderson continue to operate well above their pre-Katrina averages. MSNBC came in 3rd in front of HLN across the board. With Newsnight’s second hour continuing to offer strong ratings I see no reason why CNN will go back to the one hour format any time soon. And check out that Situation number…
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With Rita scheduled to make landfall late this week, Fox News Channel will be airing its Saturday Cost of Freedom business block live this weekend….

I had thought this story had run its course barring new news. Well today Lloyd Grove finds some…..

TEAM RIVERA VS. GRAY LADY: Add the National Puerto Rican Coalition to the folks lining up with Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera in his jihad against The New York Times. The group’s president, Manuel Mirabal, has registered his “indignation” over Times critic Alessandra Stanley’s recent claim that Rivera, while covering Hurricane Katrina, “nudged” a rescue worker out of the way so he could be caught on camera helping a victim in a wheelchair to safety. “A videotape of the nursing home rescue clearly shows that there was no physical contact,” Mirabal wrote Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., “and your refusal to issue a correction and admit your error is arrogant, injurious to Mr. Rivera, and insulting to the Puerto Rican and Latino community.” So far no response from The Times, but Rivera - who’s vowed to sue - told me: “I had nothing to do with generating this letter, and I was pleasantly surprised.”

Marketwatch’s Jon Friedman writes about CNBC’s status (as he sees it) and the arrival of the long rumored Fox Business Channel….

This is a nervous time at CNBC. Its challenges are legion. The network’s audience has been dwindling in recent years. It has yet to have any kind of an impact in prime time (Does the name “McEnroe” ring any bells?). And most ominous of all, the formidable Fox (FOX: news, chart, profile) news juggernaut lurks in the shadows

WHAC notes Larry King’s announcement that Dan Rather will host the show on Saturday night.