I tried to post this story this morning but for some reason I couldn’t get to the site to get the link. I see now that it’s fixed since TVNewser blogged about it. BrandWeek’s Michael Applebaum uses CNN’s Anderson Cooper as a weapon in his argument against Jim Cramer’s style…

As usual, the press is reluctant to argue with success. Cramer attracts nearly 2 million viewers each week, no small feat in the heavily fragmented cable market. The call-in lines—not to mention the bandwagon—are filling up.

So why be critical of the show? One reason is purely a subjective matter of style. After all, any discussion of ratings ignores the distinct possibility that millions of other TV viewers are annoyed, not intrigued, by Cramer’s shrill antics. If you haven’t seen the hourly show, think nails on blackboard.

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Jossip is positively brutal on Rita Cosby today….

Plenty of evidence that Rita is 10 parts tabloid to one part journalist, after the jump.

Rita Cosby’s MSNBC show promises “the interviews only Rita can get.” So far, that’s turned out to be a gushfest with Matt Damon (who conveniently was pimping his newest movie), Shar Jackson (who conveniently was pimping her new reality show) and the ladies at the Bunny Ranch (who conveniently were, um, pimping). So I wasn’t exactly shocked to hear her latest “get” was Nicole Narain, who’s pimping her breakout role in Colin Farrell’s sex tape.

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Every once in a while MSNBC does something that makes me think, “Why didn’t FNC think of this first? This is right up their alley.” One of the more famous examples of this was the America’s Bravest wall, a portion of which (at least) is still standing in MSNBC’s Secaucus studios. Now here is another example. MSNBC announced today that Scarborough Country is teaming with the USO to bring phone cards to U.S. servicemen stationed abroad. It’s been dubbed “Operation Phone Home”.

Joe Scarborough will announce details of the campaign on tonight’s “Scarborough Country” (10 pm ET) and will speak with USO President Edward A. “Ned” Powell. Scarborough will continue to keep viewers updated with the progress of donations throughout the campaign. The calling cards will be delivered to troops beginning mid-December. “Scarborough Country” telecasts Monday through Friday on MSNBC, from 10 to 11 pm.

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“We are incredibly proud to be able to join with the USO in Operation Phone Home this year,” said Scarborough. “The holidays can be such a lonely time of year for our troops and the cost of phone calls from the Gulf can be prohibitively expensive. Providing support to the troops is something everyone can easily do and even the smallest amount can make a difference.”

Anna Johns on TV Squad has a list of her five least watchable news personalities. (via FTVLive)

(Note: I’ll be monitoring the comments for this one very closely. So play nice…)

The Daily Illini’s Christine Kim has an article about MSNBC President Rick Kaplan visiting the University of Illinois…

President of MSNBC Rick Kaplan is to visit the University to work with journalism students from Monday until Wednesday.

He will specifically work with the Television Journalism II class with their newsbreak projects that will air on UI7. He also will speak at Dean of the College of Communications Ron Yates’ Reporting I lecture, focusing on what’s next for cable and network news and how MSNBC is covering news in Iraq. Kaplan will also hold one-on-one discussions with graduate students and seniors in broadcasting.

“He manages to contact lots of students by guest lecturing or talking with other classes,” Yates said. “He’s one of the most creative people in the broadcast news, and we feel very fortunate to have this kind of relationship with him, and more than anything else, a great opportunity for our students.”

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New York Magazine’s David Blum writes about the anchor wars among the broadcast networks but somehow manages to inject Anderson Cooper into the discussion. If broadcast news is your thing, this article is a total must read…

Life is tough for television news anchors these days, especially the ones who aren’t Anderson Cooper. Even Cooper’s having it rough lately; at last count, he’s down to only three or four fawning media profiles a week.

Much as the news chiefs might not want to admit it, Anderson Cooper is the best hope for the future, with Klein the behind-the-scenes architect of his ascendancy. Other networks have inquired about Cooper’s status, only to be reminded that his ironclad CNN contract lasts two more years. No matter what he might say about the future of television news, Klein knows there will still be anchors five years from now; that’s why he’s banking so heavily on Cooper, while he still has him under contract. Two weeks ago, the 38-year-old CNN star began hosting the two-hour-long Anderson Cooper 360° every weeknight at 10 p.m., combining the passion of Edward R. Murrow and the pacing of MTV into a jazzy, if still low-rated, package. No one can afford to be content anymore with the idea of a gray eminence (CBS chairman Les Moonves’s famous “voice of God”) behind a desk anymore, unless he’s prematurely gray.