There’s a comment in this thread from someone who was flying in the news chopper that broadcast the video of the “Ostrich incident” which aired on MSNBC yesterday who says the bird was in fact not an Ostrich but an Emu. Nobody at MSNBC apparently knows about this because they were still referring to the incident this afternoon as an Ostrich on the loose. Well I for one am glad that’s settled. Now I can sleep tonight…

I’ve received emails and seen discussion on the internet regarding FNC’s coverage of CITGO today. CITGO is an oil company owned by Venezuela with franchises (stations) all over America. I’ve been told that at least one of the lower thirds used during the day said “Should Americans boycott Chavez’s Citgo Gas?”. The TVSpyers are arguing, as TVSpyers tend to do, over how much of CITGO’s profits actually go back to Venezuela. I was not able to see the coverage today so I don’t have enough factual information to form an opinion. But I’d be interested in hearing what those who saw it thought about it.

Tonight on Countdown, Keith Olbermann questioned the accuracy of Bill O’Reilly’s claim that he’s on an Al-Queda death list…

It sounded, simultaneously both too unlikely and too befuddling to be true. Bill O’Reilly insisting to Barbara Walters that he was on an Al Qaeda death list. I mean who in the hell do you root for in that fight?

Our number one story on the Countdown: fortunately after some quick sleuthing by the magazine Radar, it appears it is just another day at the Office of the Imagination for Bill-o.

The big giant head getting big giant pub for his new book; you know the one that’s 101st on the Amazon sales list compared to our little tome at 62nd? Interviewed by Babs, and claiming that while he gets a death threat a day, one of them was really really impressive!

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Bill Clinton will be appearing on Countdown tomorrow night.

Here are highlights of yesterday’s James McGreevy interview on Hannity & Colmes…

On Stepping Down as Governor of New Jersey:

“The reason why I stepped down was the reason I stepped down, namely the fact that I had very inappropriately and immorally put someone I was involved with on the payroll and was subject to an extortion scheme… I confronted my own reality.”

“If it was simply a matter of being gay, I would not have had to step down as Governor. I think the problem was – and I think people who were responsible and properly demanded it – the fact that I put on my payroll somebody with whom I was involved with. And I think that necessitated. And on top of that, you had the prospect of litigation going on. And that was untenable.”
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According to the MSNBC group, last night Keith Olbermann played the segment before tossing to Joe Scarborough. Joe asked Keith something along the lines of “Was that our network?” and Keith said something along the lines of “Yes it was”. You know it’s bad when your own talent is scratching its head on the air over something you put on the air…(image blatantly and shamelessly stolen and altered from Olbermann Watch)

Here are some higlights from tonights Bill Clinton interview on On The Record with Greta Van Susteren…

ON HOW HIS MOST RECENT PROJECT, THE GLOBAL INITIATIVE WILL WORK:

“We’re going to have to have more systematic dialogue and more systematic outreach to people on the street. I’ll give you different example that shows today we announced a commitment, again, not a very large dollar commitment, but a serious commitment, by serious people over a three-year period to have dialogue among all communities in Rwanda. And so to see how far they’ve come since the genocide, what they still have to do, how they can teach children to have non-violent responses to ethnic fears, or tribal or religious differences.”

“You know there is not simple, quick silver bullet here. But you have to create a kind of national and personal psychology that says, your faith is important and what’s unique about you is important. But when it comes to public affairs, to our living together, our common humanity is more important.”

ON VENEZUELA PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ’S RECENT COMMENTS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES:
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CNN’s Kyra Phillips got picked to be the last journalist to fly the F-14 Tomcat before the Navy grounds the plane this week. Partial transcript follows…

CAROL LIN, ANCHOR: From the skies over Vietnam to the caves of Tora Bora to “shock and awe” in Baghdad, the F-14 has served the United States for more than 30 years. This week, the supersonic war bird is ready to retire.

And CNN’s Kyra Phillips shows and knows these awesome jets. The Navy picked her as the last journalist to fly in the Tomcat before it’s grounded for good. She’s at Oceania Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Kyra, I always see you on a landing strip. Why is that?

PHILLIPS: Maybe because I’m addicted to it, and I just can’t get enough of it. I feel like this is my life in another lifetime, Carol.

But it’s been — I tell you what, it’s a piece of history, happening right here before our eyes. I mean, naval aviation goes back decades. It’s participated in all the major wars.
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Cable News Ratings for September 20, 2006

P2+ Total Day
FNC - 895,000 viewers
CNN - 557,000 viewers
MSNBC - 304,000 viewers
CNBC - 168,000 viewers
HLN - 277,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC - 1,595,000 viewers
CNN -1,061,000 viewers
MSNBC - 453,000 viewers
CNBC - 130,000 viewers
HLN - 464,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC - 304,000 viewers
CNN - 195,000 viewers
MSNBC - 141,000 viewers
CNBC - 57,000 viewers
HLN - 136,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC - 488,000 viewers
CNN - 367,000 viewers
MSNBC - 187,000 viewers
CNBC - a scratch with 38,000 viewers
HLN - 213,000 viewers
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Here is FNC’s press release…

FOX News Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief Kim Hume will leave her position after the midterm elections in November, announced John Moody, Senior Vice President, News Editorial. Bruce Becker will serve as an interim bureau chief overseeing all Washington based newsgathering efforts.

In making the announcement, Moody said, “I’d like to thank Kim for her dedication and commitment to raising the standard of Fox News throughout her ten years here. Her experience and instincts have been a driving force behind the success of the Washington bureau. She has made an indelible mark on the way we produce political news and her contributions will continue to benefit the network for years to come.”

Hume added, “It’s rare to have the opportunity to go out at the top of one’s game. This was a wrenching decision to make. I’ve always wanted to finish well and that’s what I’m doing.”
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TV Week’s Michele Greppi writes about FNC Washington Bureau Chief Kim Hume’s decision to leave the network…

John Moody, Fox News senior VP for news and editorial, told the D.C. bureau staff Thursday morning that Ms. Hume had raised the prospect a couple of months ago. “I want to be direct and clear. This is Kim’s decision,” he said.

A Fox News spokeswoman said deputy bureau chief Bruce Becker will serve as interim bureau chief.

Johnny Dollar has the audio of Bill O’Reilly talking about punching bags and what he does to them. I sense a Countdown segment in the near future…

The Cable Game notes this Buffalo News article by Thomas J. Dolan regarding an Amherst agency which paid a Florida production company $19,000 to be featured on CNN Headline News.

The problem I have with The Cable Game’s analysis is the implication that Headline News is on the payola gravytrain. I don’t see anything in the article that says that any of the money that the IDA paid to this company went to Headline News. So why is HLN being put under a microscope? It would help if the article made clear that HLN is not a financial benificiary from this arrangement, which it does not.

Yeah, I know I’m late getting to this. Bill O’Reilly will be interviewed by Barbara Walters Friday on “20/20″ at 10pm ET…

Here are highlights from Laura Bush’s appearance on On The Record with Greta Van Susteren. Van Susteren interviews former President Bill Clinton tonight…

ON HAVING PRIVACY:

“We have a very private life. We have a normal life on the second floor of the White House and most people can’t imagine that it’s normal in such beautiful surroundings…We have normal dinners. We have our friends for dinner. We have our family for dinner. We watch television just like everyone else. We watch baseball games at night on TV or football games on weekends. And so there is certainly privacy there, unlike the movies show it. The Secret Service is not standing around in our rooms while we’re there. So, we do have a private and normal life.”
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