It’s 10 pm ET and all three nets are live awaiting word for the death of Saddam Hussein. Milissa Rehberger is anchoring MSNBC’s coverage. Greta Van Susteren is live on FNC. Anderson Cooper is anchoring for CNN. All three are reporting that Al Arabia and Al Hurrah are saying that Hussein has been executed but they can’t confirm yet.

UPDATE: Times for initial reports of Hussein’s execution on the nets…

CNN - 10:06pm (YouTube video)
FNC -10:08pm
MSNBC -10:09pm ET

10:15 - MSNBC is noting a Reuters report that Hussein has been executed.

10:17 - Van Susteren is interviewing one of Hussein’s attorneys.

10:24 - Even though it doesn’t have confirmation yet, CNN is carring a banner in the lower right corner that says “Saddam Executed/Death of a Dictator”

10:26 - FNC’s reporter David MacDougal is saying that the Arab networks are reporting that there was a still camera and a video camera at the time of the as yet unconfirmed execution

10:27 - MSNBC is reporting that Iraqi state television is reporting that Hussein has been executed. I haven’t seen FNC or CNN jump on this yet.

10:29 - On MSNBC Jim Maceda is reporting that there were two other executions as well.

10:30 - MSNBC’s lower third now says Saddam Hussein has been executed. CNN and FNC have not made similar adjustments to their lower thirds yet.

10:32 - CNN’s lower third now says that one of Saddam Hussein’s attorneys says Hussein has been executed. Why is CNN hedging (the same question can be asked of FNC)? MSNBC has already declared it. Is MSNBC’s intel that much better?

10:35 - MSNBC is reporting via NBC News that there’s celebratory gunfire in Baghdad.

10:35 - CNN has a lower third that says Hussein has been executed based on word from a “Senior Military Official”.

10:37 - FNC is now carrying a lower third with the Iraqi TV report that Hussein has been hanged.

The New York Times’ Bill Carter cranks out a last minute update on the networks grappling over what to televise regarding the exection of Saddam Hussein…

Though it was not known whether images of the execution would be released, the news divisions at ABC and CBS said that, should video become available, they will show some visual documentation of Saddam’s death but will not use overly graphic images or show complete execution.

NBC News, however, indicated it might go further. Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, said that network may show “a wide shot of Saddam hanging.” He said NBC would make its decision based on questions both of taste and of history.

“I think it might be appropriate at some point to see an image of Saddam after he is hanged,” Mr. Capus said, citing previous historic images of dictators who had been killed. “I think about that iconic image of Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania, lying literally in the gutter,” Mr. Capus said. “I want to do this with a measure of taste, but I don’t want to stand in the way of history.”

The cable news networks CNN and the Fox News Channel were less definitive about what limits they might not impose on any images of Mr. Hussein in death, saying they would decide after they saw what was available. (MSNBC, the cable channel owned by NBC, will follow the policies of NBC News.)

Johnny Dollar emailed in FNC’s programming schedule tonight in lieu of the imminent execution of Saddam Hussein…

O’Reilly live show only 30 minutes
H&C 8:30 to 10:00
Greta 10:00 to midnight

Since the top of the 7pm hour both CNN and FNC have been locked in a steel cage death match to see who can get the latest details in the execution of Saddam Hussein out first. Meanwhile over on MSNBC, Chris Matthews is interviewing John Edwards in a taped interview. In MSNBC’s defence, Saddam ain’t dead yet so to break tape at this point isn’t going to break a lot of pertinent news. But this sword cuts two ways because if you don’t break tape to cover the little details you set yourself up to be the network perceived to be not covering the story and therefore when the big news does break the viewers are going to be watching elsewhere because they’ll think you’re still in tape. But the Edwards interview is something of a get for Matthews so delaying it could be problematic for MSNBC.

UPDATE: A very odd sight just now near the end of Hardball. Chris Matthews was doing a segment on Gerald Ford but the lower thirds blared “Saddam awaiting execution”…

UPDATE 2: The MSN MSNBC board is in an uproar over MSNBC running tape with few updates.

Looks like FNC’s Page Hopkins now has company in the form of MSNBC/CNBC’s JJ Ramberg…

So how many times today did the cable nets announce that Saddam Hussein had been transferred to Iraqi custody? I know FNC did it once around 2:47 pm with Page Hopkins all but swearing up and down that it had definately happened after an earlier false rumor this morning…only to have Shepard Smith announce about half an hour later that the U.S. State Department had shot down that story as false. So who else jumped the gun today?

Cable News Ratings for December 28, 2006

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 758,000 viewers
CNN – 487,000 viewers
MSNBC – 357,000 viewers
CNBC – 187,000 viewers
HLN – 213,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC –1,419,000 viewers
CNN – 872,000 viewers
MSNBC – 492,000 viewers
CNBC – 182,000 viewers
HLN – 376,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 254,000 viewers
CNN – 171,000 viewers
MSNBC –119,000 viewers
CNBC – 77,000 viewers
HLN – 85,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 395,000 viewers
CNN – 216,000 viewers
MSNBC – 197,000 viewers
CNBC – 77,000 viewers
HLN –136,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 709,000 viewers (319,000)
American Morning – 372,000 viewers (200,000)
Imus in The Morning- 337,000 viewers (124,000)
Robin & Co. – 200,000 viewers (92,000)
(more…)

Recent Presidential candidate announcee John Edwards will be on Hardball tonight talking with Chris Matthews. MSNBC put a transcript out of the interview today…

MATTHEWS: Senator Edwards, you want to be the next president of the United States. Do you think we need to send more troops into Iraq?

EDWARDS: No. I think that’s the last thing we should do. I think it’s a mistake to escalate this war. I think it’s a mistake to have this McCain doctrine adopted as a policy by the United States.

I think what it does is it sends a signal that we’re going to be there forever, or for a long time. It takes responsibility away from the Iraqis.

There is no military solution to what’s happening in Iraq. The only solution’s a political solution.

MATTHEWS: Do you think the hawkish position of Senator McCain is going to be an issue in the general election in 2008?

EDWARDS: Assuming that the situation in Iraq is still going on and has not improved, yes, I think it’ll be an issue.

CNBC announced this morning that on Tuesday Jan 2 it will have seven hours of live programming as it looks ahead to business in 2007…

With many financial markets in the United States closed Tuesday, January 2nd, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, will air “7 For ‘07,” an unprecedented seven hours of live special programming taking a look ahead at business in 2007.

Beginning at 9 AM ET, each hour of “7 For ‘07″ will focus on what the New Year will hold for investors across every imaginable sector and industry.

Following the regular three-hour live edition of “Squawk Box” (6-9 AM), each CNBC program–”Squawk on the Street” (9-10 AM), “Morning Call” (10 AM-Noon), “Power Lunch” (Noon-2 PM), “Street Signs” (2-3 PM) and a special one-hour edition of “Closing Bell” (3-4 PM)–will originate from CNBC Global Headquarters. This will be followed by a special two-hour live edition of “Kudlow & Company” (4-6 PM) with Larry Kudlow.
(more…)

CNN broke into the 3 am airing of Larry King Live this morning to simulcast CNN International’s “Breaking News” report that Saddam Hussein’s lawyer had been told by the U.S. military that he should arrange to pick up Hussein’s personal belongings.

Broadcasting from CNN’s London studios, anchor Max Foster in London interviewed correspondent Ryan Chilcote who reported from Baghdad.

CNN/U.S. continued to simulcast CNN International regularly through the next three hours, bringing regular live updates from Baghdad and a phone interview on the implications with Mark Ellis of the International Bar Association in Boston in the 4am hour.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul J. Gough writes about how the nets will handle covering the execution of Saddam Hussein…

CNN and Fox News Channel still were discussing what they would do if the footage were made available. It also wasn’t clear what the newly launched network Al-Jazeera International would do. An e-mail and phone call to the channel’s Qatar headquarters weren’t returned Thursday. Despite popular assumptions to the contrary, Al-Jazeera’s pan-Arab channel has never shown an execution.

CNN’s Umm Zainab writes about CNN covering The Hajj…(via Newslab)

Christmas came today: but not for everyone on the team. The unlucky, grounded crew members were left in a pique as Adil, grinning like a Cheshire cat, left the hotel with our driver in the early hours this morning.

The destination: an airfield in the Mina Valley, some twenty minutes drive out of Makkah. The story: an exclusive ride over the holy sites in one of the Saudi Air Force’s choppers.

Though there are hundreds of journalists in the kingdom to cover The Hajj, the aerial view of the pilgrims on the move was a complete CNN exclusive.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul J. Gough writes about the cable nets’ coverage plans for the services for President Gerald Ford…

CNN Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said Thursday that there will be occasional live video on CNN of mourners filing past the former president’s coffin, but it’s not something that is going to be planned or any special programming around that Sunday or Monday.

Eric Kuhn’s interviewed HLN’s Carrie Lee. The interview can be heard here…