Alternet turns in what I can only consider to be a hit piece on FNC…

Fox presents itself as an organization devoted to professional journalism (”Fair and Balanced,” “the most powerful name in news,” etc.), and it enjoys the highest ratings share of the three major cable news networks. But how can a news network be taken seriously when it constantly airs footage of nearly naked women and then complains about TV becoming too raunchy? How can a news network be taken seriously when its female employees are treated in an unprofessional manner and objectified on the air?

This is patently absurd. Some people may not like the way they present the news and some people may not like it for ideological reasons or the opinions of some of their prime time hosts. But at the end of the day it’s still a news network. It presents the news in a professional manner.

TMZ.com is reporting that discussions are underway to replace MSNBC daytime programming with tape only to have MSNBC contact them and shoot down their story… (via Jossip)

TMZ has learned that active discussions are underway at MSNBC to kill all live, daytime programming and replace it with taped shows.

High-level sources connected with the cable network also tell TMZ that MSNBC President Rick Kaplan will be booted from the network when his contract is up — within a year.

The TVSpy Watercooler is having a “spirited debate” about O’Reilly vs. Olbermann…

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown appeared on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve. Highlighted transcript follows…

On who is to blame for FEMA’s failure

BLITZER: I had been screaming internally that the budget cuts, the personnel cuts, what they were doing within Homeland Security, was in effect marginalizing FEMA. And I predicted that at some point — in a very specific memo to both Tom Ridge and to Chertoff — that at some point FEMA would fail. I just doesn’t expect to be in the middle of that failure.

BLITZER: So who deserves the blame for that failure?

BROWN: I think it really belongs with the Department of Homeland Security. I really think that Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, because they had ample opportunity. If you go back and you read the 2003 letter to Ridge from me, and you read the 2004 and 2005 memos about our budget, in every single one of those, I keep repeating FEMA is going to fail because of these actions.
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MSNBC announced today that Chris Matthews and Hardball will be covering the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis, Tennessee Friday March 10. The coverage will continue on the web throughout the weekend and on in to Monday…

Direct from the lobby of the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis, “Hardball” and MSNBC.com bring the country its first size-up of the Republican slate of presidential hopefuls. Chris Matthews will be there to interview them all including Senator John McCain, Senator George Allen, Governor Mitt Romney, Senator Bill Frist and many others.

“Hardball” will kick off coverage Friday with three live shows at 5, 7 and 11 pm (ET) featuring the contenders and the important GOP players, including the Chairman of the GOP Ken Mehlman. Newsweek managing editor and a native Tennessean Jon Meacham will join Matthews to provide analysis and commentary, as well as “Newsweek’s” Howard Fineman and “The Hotline’s” Editor-in-Chief, Chuck Todd. Matthews and the “Hardball” team including correspondent David Shuster will provide live coverage all weekend for MSNBC and provide updates for Weekend Nightly News and The Today Show. On Saturday night, “Hardball” unveils the results of “The Hotline’s” straw poll of presidential candidates exclusively on MSNBC.com. (In 1998, George W. Bush won the poll and went on to win the presidency).
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NBC News announced today that President Steve Capus has promoted Mark Lukasiewicz to the newly created position of Vice President, Digital Media for NBC News. Taking over in Lukasiewicz’s old position will be Phil Alongi as Executive Producer of NBC News Specials.

“These are important announcements for a couple of reasons,” said Capus. “Mark is a news innovator — highly qualified to capitalize on the momentum that we’ve already created in digital media, and to strengthen our leadership position at a critical time in a critical area of the business. Phil has had a key role in all of our specials coverage for almost two decades, and is highly deserving of this promotion - he is unparalleled in his expertise and we are fortunate to have him in this position.”

…came courtesy of the AP’s just launched yesterday Online Video Network. Paidcontent.org has more…

Nine hours after AP’s Online Video Network (APOVN) launched, the network set off a firestorm by posting video of President Bush, Michael Chertoff and others being warned the day before Katrina struck that catastrophe would follow. AP likely would have had the same scoop with or without APOVN but this footage is available only through customers of the new service.

TVGuide Online’s Stephen Battaglio has an interview with Hardball’s Chris Matthews…

TVGuide.com: Do you have any special plans for covering the ‘06 races?
Matthews: We’re going to do town meetings. My dream idea is to have [Penn State football coach] Joe Paterno welcome us to Penn State, and have Sen. Rick Santorum debate Bobby Casey in front of 10,000 kids.

TVGuide.com: So there will be debates with candidates in some of the key races.
Matthews: Clearly Pennsylvania is the hottest one. Schwarzenegger in California. Katherine Harris in Florida is kind of fun. Hillary Clinton even though she’s going to win — because at 11:15 on election night the biggest story will be that the presidential campaign begins.

The Alabama Mobile Register’s Renee Busby has a profile of FNC’s Brian Wilson…

Good sources also helped him get a scoop on Sept. 11, 2001, after terrorists crashed a plane into the Pentagon.

He was sitting in his office on Capitol Hill when a mandatory evacuation was ordered after the Pentagon was hit.

Standing on the lawn in front of the Capitol, Wilson was reporting the events live on Fox. As soon as he finished his report, a police officer approached Wilson and told him he had to leave the area.

“He said, ‘Brian, there’s another plane coming and we know it’s about 20 minutes away. You’ve got to get your camera out of here and you have to leave,’” recalled Wilson, who frantically tried to phone editors in the Fox New York office.
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The Mail Tribune’s Chris Conrad writes about Aaron Brown’s address at SOU…

He suggested his eventual demise at CNN resulted from criticizing the network’s obsession with lurid celebrity gossip while short-changing meaningful news.

He compared such “breaking news” to heroin — it’s good for a while, but will eventually make you feel used and dirty.

“The news in this country is a business,” he added. “You might not like to think of it that way, but it is.”

He admitted that cable news reporters and editors have failed viewers by not telling stories that are important, that truly matter.

UPDATE: Brown emailed TVNewser to clarify the story to a great extent…