Paul Bedard’s Washington Whispers notes that Horton’s Kids is having its 2nd annual silent auction. Among the auction items is a set of Power Lunches with journalists. Among this year’s participants are MSNBC’s Tucker Carlson and Norah O’Donnell, FNC’s Bret Baier, and CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux.

MSNBC took it on the chin yesterday coming in last in both the Total Day and Primetime Demos in the Live ratings.

Cable News Daily Ratings for February 27, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 943,000 viewers
CNN – 455,000 viewers
MSNBC – 296,000 viewers
CNBC – 332,000 viewers
HLN – 272,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,880,000 viewers
CNN – 697,000 viewers
MSNBC – 462,000 viewers
CNBC – 443,000 viewers
HLN – 430,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 282,000 viewers
CNN – 143,000 viewers
MSNBC – 113,000 viewers
CNBC – 125,000 viewers
HLN – 129,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 489,000 viewers
CNN – 210,000 viewers
MSNBC – 149,000 viewers
CNBC – 177,000 viewers
HLN – 156,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 795,000 viewers (355,000)
American Morning – 336,000 viewers (127,000)
Imus in the Morning– 356,000 viewers (145,000)
Robin & Co. – 238,000 viewers (133,000)
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This afternoon on the The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer talked with retired U.S. Army Colonel Pat Lang, former chief of Middle East intelligence at the Pentagon, about talk of U.S. government plans for a strike against Iran. Transcript follows….

WOLF BLITZER, HOST: The Bush administration has kept up a steady drumbeat of warnings about Iran’s nuclear programs and lately its malicious meddling, administration officials insist, inside Iraq.

Now, with two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups in the region, is there a growing chance the United States could find itself at war with Iran? Joining us now, retired U.S. Army Colonel Pat Lang, former chief of Middle East intelligence at the Pentagon.

Pat, thanks for coming in.

COL. PATRICK LANG, U.S. ARMY (RET.): My pleasure.

BLITZER: Take us behind the scenes right now, all of the saber rattling. The leaks we’re also seeing — the Seymour Hersh article in “The New Yorker” magazine.

What’s going on, in your assessment, behind the scenes?

LANG: Well, a lot of this, of course, is intended to reach the ears of the Iranians. You know, it’s — it’s quite a good idea, in a lot of ways, to make sure the Iranians know the United States is very serious about the concerns about them and if they aren’t careful, they could end up in big trouble with us.
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Mediaweek’s Anthony Crupi writes about the February Numbers…

Fox News Channel moved into fifth place on the ad-supported cable charts, thanks to a news cycle that was a veritable Janus head of celebrity pathos and farcical misbehavior. Between the death of Anna Nicole Smith and its aftermath, the revolving-door rehab regimen of Britney Spears and the pathological misadventures of a diaper-clad Astronut, FNC had viewers pouring in throughout the month, averaging 1.61 million in prime, an increase of 9 percent year-over–year. FNC also pumped up its take of the crucial A25-54 demo by 20 percent (413,000), while boasting nine of the top 10 cable news shows and 14 of the top 20.

February was kind to all of the cable news nets, which rode the Blondes in Crisis wave––not to mention the ongoing Iraq war crisis and the Clinton/Obama skirmish––to across-the-board ratings increases. Through Feb. 25, CNN grew its total audience by 19 percent to 783,000, while raising its news demo by 29 percent (246,000). Meanwhile, MSNBC was up 33 percent in total viewers (475,000), and raised its standing among adults 25-54 by 25 percent (191,000). Headline News upped its audience by 22 percent, averaging 422,000 prime time viewers, while raising its share of the demo by 39 percent to 170,000, and CNBC soared 66 percent to 272,000, while elevating its A25-54 number by 44 percent (117,000).

CJR Daily’s Edward B. Colby questions CNBC allowing Maria Bartiromo interview former Citigroup Chairman and CEO Sanford Weill on Monday…

Bartiromo did nothing wrong in yesterday’s interview, and Weill no longer represents Citigroup. But the “exclusive” between the star anchor who is the public face of CNBC and the man who was the longtime public face of Citigroup breathes new life into the story, inviting it to linger. While Todd Thomson, one of Citigroup’s top execs, was canned (as the Wall Street Journal reported) after his “spending and friendship” with Bartiromo (”including improper use of the corporate jet — one case involving a trip from Asia with Ms. Bartiromo — and a decision to spend $5 million on a Sundance Channel program in which she would appear”) angered current Citigroup CEO Charles Prince, Bartiromo, who has been staunchly defended by CNBC, got off scot-free. CNBC has not mentioned the Bartiromo-Thomson connection on air, and as the New York Times reported, she continues to cover Citigroup.

This strikes us as a counterproductive strategy. Damage control demands that the accused quickly address the allegations as directly and thoroughly as possible. As it is, each time Bartiromo reports on Citigroup, rightly or wrongly, the knot of questions she has not answered become newly relevant.

Johnny Dollar has the audio from today’s Radio Factor where Bill O’Reilly talks about going out on the road and confronting candidates for the 2008 Presidency if they aren’t forthcoming with access or information…

I don’t know how old this is (it’s new to me anyway) but this is uh…well…I don’t know…

UPDATE: And this…

“FOX is Bringing Sexy Back!
with Martha MacCallum”

Wasn’t there an uproar over a CNN Paula Zahn ad which labeled her as sexy?

Here is the cable news program ranker for February…
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Tonight on Glenn Beck at the end of the program Beck went after Keith Olbermann in a big way in response to his Rolling Stone interview and the comments Keith made about Glenn eventually self-destructing by going too far…

If I’m going to be shut down for that, well it’ll likely be because of an intolerant ideologue like Keith Olbermann. The very idea smacks of the same McCarthyism Murrow fought so valiantly against. Hey Keith! You’re not saving the world’s democracy, you’re killing it my friend by trying to limit the marketplace of ideas to only those that reflect your own. Me personally? I surround myself with varying points of view. My staff?….blood shooting out of their eyes liberals….conseravtives, men, women, minorities…and…you know, it’s wierd…I don’t need a mailbox outside of my office to communicate with them.

oops…

Did I say that?

When you make pronouncements as bold as “the man who sees absolutes where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning as either a prophet or a quack”…you better be a prophet man. Y’know…

And frankly Keith…nah…you’re not really a prophet. I’m just saying.

UPDATE: Olbermann Watch has the video…

The Anna Nicole Smith saga was a ratings winner for On The Record with Greta Van Susteren. The program had a big month - up 48% over last year in the Demo – the largest increase at 10 pm and the largest increase among all the primetime cable news programs. On The Record wound up at #2 in the Demo for all of cable news, behind only Bill O’Reilly. The show ranked #3 in cable news in Total Viewers….

FNC was up across the board in February 2007 vs. February 2006. Last month marked the 62nd month than FNC was the top cable news channel. FNC beat CNN & MSNBC combined in Total day and Primetime. FNC also had nine out of the top 10 programs in both Total Viewers and the Demo. FNC posted a strong month in primetime with 1,602,000 viewers and 408,000 in the Demo. In Total Day FNC attracted nearly 900,000 viewers in for the month and nearly 274,000 in the Demo.

Here’s a spreadsheet showing February 2007 vs. February 2006 ratings for the cable channels
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CNN is noting its February ratings data…

CNN, HLN Post Highest Total Day and Prime Gains in the Demo, Growing Faster Than MSNBC and FNC in February

For the Third Time in Six Months, HLN Beats FNC in P25-54 Cume and Consistently Tops MSNBC in P2+ Cume

CNN and HLN outpace the cable news competition with the most growth in the advertiser demo this month. All CNN programs post double digit growth in the demo. CNN’s total day gain of 47% doubles the growth of FNC and MSNBC in P25-54. In M-Su Prime, CNN and HLN again post greater growth than FNC and MSNBC with HLN topping the competition with a 39% increase over prior year—the highest gain of any network.

CNN shows The Situation Room and Lou Dobbs Tonight benefited from exclusive interviews and hard-hitting news. The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer posted double digit gains in the P25-54 demo, more than double the growth of FNC or MSNBC at 5p or 7p. Lou Dobbs Tonight posted a 54% gain in the demo and 27% in total viewers, while MSNBC and FNC were down or unable to grow their audiences as much during that hour in the demo.

Several Headline News programs scored their best deliveries to date including Showbiz Tonight, which posted triple digit gains (128% in P2+ and 132% in P25-54), the most of any cable news show. At 6p, Prime News with Erica Hill also had a record-breaking month with triple digit gains in both demos (120% in P2+ and 110% in P25-54). Up against MSNBC’s 10-12M Doc Block, Headline News was on top among both total viewers and the demo (406k vs. 344K) and (198k vs. 163k), making the month of February a complete success story for the network.
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NBC put out a release on the four Gracie Awards it got…

The networks of NBC News received a total of four Gracie Allen Awards®. The 2007 winners of the Gracie Awards were announced today by the American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT). The national winners will be presented at a black-tie Gala in the Broadway Ballroom of the New York Marriot Marquis on Monday, June 18, 2007.

The following is a complete list of the award winners:

Crisis in Darfur – A Conversation with Ann Curry, NBC News/NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams
Outstanding Podcast
Correspondent: Ann Curry
Producers: Marisa Buchanan, Antoine Sanfuentes, Rebecca Haggerty
Director: Brett Holey
Editors: Robert Kaplan, Beverly Chase, Margaret Kassner
Senior Producers: ML Flynn, Andy Franklin
Cameraman: Mike Simon

What Happened to Julie? NBC News/Dateline
Outstanding Feature – Hard News
Correspondent: Lea Thompson
Producer: Jack Cloherty
Editor: Tressa Verna
Senior Producer: Ellen Mason
Assistant Producer: Yolanda McCutchen
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O’Reilly was big for FNC with 2.7 million viewers. But CNN, MSNBC, and HLN were strong for their networks as well with Countdown eeking out a neck and neck battle for 2nd between the three. Olbermann did another Special Comment last night and I know that some blogs got the word out because I saw at least one entry on it before the show aired.

Cable News Daily Ratings for February 26, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 930,000 viewers
CNN – 493,000 viewers
MSNBC – 377,000 viewers
CNBC – 227,000 viewers
HLN – 251,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 2,005,000 viewers
CNN – 925,000 viewers
MSNBC – 618,000 viewers
CNBC – 214,000 viewers
HLN – 509,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 259,000 viewers
CNN – 175,000 viewers
MSNBC – 154,000 viewers
CNBC – 112,000 viewers
HLN – 121,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 475,000 viewers
CNN – 288,000 viewers
MSNBC – 197,000 viewers
CNBC – 92,000 viewers
HLN – 196,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 767,000 viewers (306,000)
American Morning – 337,000 viewers (164,000)
Imus in the Morning– 352,000 viewers (160,000)
Robin & Co. – 150,000 viewers (99,000)
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MSNBC notes how well Countdown did in February…

“Countdown” continues its strong growth trend, up +59% in the demo over a year ago (260,000 v. 164,000) and up +77% in total viewers (709,000 v. 400,000). The program was once again #2 for the month and enjoyed more growth than any other cable news net in both measures. Countdown enjoyed a +37% advantage over CNN in the demo and +22% in total viewers.

MSNBC also sent out some numbers comparing Feb 2007 vs. 2006…

(8pm) Countdown

P25-54: 260,000 (+59% vs. 2006)
P2+: 709,000 (+77% vs. 2006)

Total Day (M-Fr)

P25-54: 142,000 (+22% vs. 2006)
P2+: 341,000 (+25% vs. 2006)
*Strongest total viewers growth of any cable news network

Primetime (M-Fr)

P25-54: 197,000 (+32% vs. 2006)
P2+: 510,000 (+40% vs. 2006)
*Strongest total viewer growth of any cable news network
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Multichannel News writes about the Gracie Awards and notes that Suze Orman’s show won Best Talk Show. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien and Hardball EP/NBC DC VP Tammy Haddad both won individual awards.

The Post-Chronicle’s Michael J. Gaynor notes Laura Ingraham’s attack on Bill O’Reilly; managing to throw a sharp elbow at Keith Olbermann in the process…though it’s not clear exactly what Gaynor is referring to. Perhaps this?

“The Czarina” did what MSNBC competitor Keith Olbermann has tried so hard to do for years, without success: expose Mr. O’Reilly as part of the problem and reduce him to silence.

Since “the Czarina” has not been back on “The Factor” since, there are questions as to how big a man Mr. O’Reilly really is and how long it will take for him to acknowledge, privately and publicly, that “the Czarina” made use of “the no spin zone” to tell him an important truth to which he apparently had been oblivious and thank her for doing it!

The San Antonio Express’ Maria Anglin writes about Bill O’Reilly appearing on Oprah last week…

What if talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and right-wing monarch Bill O’Reilly decided to get in cahoots and tackle one of America’s ugliest social problems?

This pair speaks to different audiences. One screams bright red; the other skews funky blue. One puts out a no-nonsense macho vibe; the other looks to the ladies for her audience. Both are putting child predators in the cross hairs.

Could these star-crossed stars bring the country’s fractured family together, if only on one heart-wrenching front?

Cable News Ratings for February 24, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC –730,000 viewers
CNN – 489,000 viewers
MSNBC – 346,000 viewers
CNBC – 332,000 viewers
HLN – 291,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,036,000 viewers
CNN – 617,000 viewers
MSNBC – 388,000 viewers
CNBC – 448,000 viewers
HLN – 241,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 242,000 viewers
CNN – 196,000 viewers
MSNBC –155,000 viewers
CNBC – 135,000 viewers
HLN – 127,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 375,000 viewers
CNN – 199,000 viewers
MSNBC – 164,000 viewers
CNBC – 165,000 viewers
HLN – 106,000 viewers

Cable News Ratings for February 25, 2007
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The Chicago Sun-Times Robert Feder notes the news…(via FishbowlDC)

Rich Johnson, a former writer and producer at Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32, has been named White House correspondent for Fox News Radio.

He joined the network as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent in 2005 after working as a news anchor at KIRO-AM and KNWX-AM in Seattle.

The St. Petersberg Times’ Eric Deggans defends Anna Nicole and Britney as news to some degree…

Jonathan Klein, CNN U.S. president, defended his channel’s coverage - criticized even by CNN personality Jack Cafferty - saying the outlet focused intensely on Smith’s death when it was breaking news, and eased up in the days afterward.

Viewers saw this approach Thursday afternoon, when the disposition of Smith’s body was announced and CNN moved on to stories about politics and world events while MSNBC and Fox offered Smith-centered interviews and speculation.

“Tabloid is a matter of tone, not a matter of subject,” he said. “My watchword here is to not waste the audience’s time . . . When there’s big breaking news, you jump on top of it . . . But we don’t have to live for the immediate ratings bump.”

Eat The Press’ Sklar reviews “It’s Out There!”…

Ideology aside, the show’s got potential. Both Power and Malkin are really appealing onscreen - Malkin in particular is a surprise, because she actually smiles and isn’t angry (of the three, Powers is by far the most natural, with the same demeanor that she brings to her other TV appearances). As soon as they get comfortable, lose the after-school special line-reciting feel and dig into the issues, it may even be legitimately interesting. But the flipside is that it has to also be useful, and its just too quick and surface right now for anything but the most web-un-savvy audience (right now, it hardly qualifies as “blowing the lid off the blogosphere”). And they’ve got a good niche here: The blogosphere evolves differently in the news cycle, and they could really tap into a void here, plus capitalize on the interactivity potential. A little more depth and a little more conflict (which means a lot more from the left), and this show might stick. In any case, good on Fox for trying - it’s a smart space to move into, and smart, too, to capitalize on Malkin and Powers. We also give Fox credit for offering a timeslot to two female anchors — you don’t see that on cable all that much.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Molly Ball writes about the effort afoot to get the Nevada Democratic Party to give FNC the boot on covering a Presidential candidate debate there…

State party Chairman Tom Collins sent a lengthy e-mail to members Friday evening seeking to assuage their concerns.

“Believe me, I am all too aware of the challenges associated with Fox,” Collins wrote. “And this is not an endorsement of Fox.”

The party “got, in writing, a number of concessions” from the channel to ensure the debate broadcast was fair, Collins said. “You may not agree with us, but trust that this is not a sell-out or a cave-in to the lures of Fox. This is how we will win over new voters.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, once the darling of the lefty blogosphere, wasn’t taking its side on the issue either. He told the San Francisco Chronicle, “While the Fox News Channel rarely has coverage that is fair and balanced, we believe that Fox viewers, who are potential voters, should have the opportunity to see a debate between our candidates. These forums provide an important unfiltered opportunity for potential voters to see Democrats without the bias of the network.”

Today on CNBC during Closing Bell, Maria Bartiromo and Dylan Ratigan interviewed former Citigroup Chairman and CEO Sanford Weill about Citigroup personel moves and the company’s philanthropy. Part one can be viewed here. Part 2 here. Some people are going to point to the recent Citigroup scandal involving Bartiromo and wonder why on earth she’s anywhere near this interview. Others will point out that the interview wasn’t with anyone who currently works at CNBC as Weill is no longer Chairman and CEO and therefore there’s nothing wrong with it. What do you think?

The Hollywood Reporter’s Andrew Wallenstein sarcastically writes about FNC going the comedy route in an illogical extreme. I’m on record about not being a fan of cable news doing straight comedy but this is just plain silly…

Expect a smooth transition from news to entertainment at FNC. Viewers love it when cable channels abandon their core programming format, like that time MTV dropped all those pesky music videos. Not one complaint.

Comedy on a news channel — it’s about time. How much longer were we expected to endure a news channel consisting strictly of news, anyway? It’s not like there’s much to cover out there, except for the Iraq War, the 2008 presidential campaign, yada yada. It’s the perfect evolution for a channel that has always put entertainment values ahead of anything else.

Cable News Daily Ratings for February 23, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 868,000 viewers
CNN – 494,000 viewers
MSNBC – 320,000 viewers
CNBC – 167,000 viewers
HLN – 282,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,634,000 viewers
CNN – 824,000 viewers
MSNBC – 346,000 viewers
CNBC – 127,000 viewers
HLN – 473,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 257,000 viewers
CNN – 171,000 viewers
MSNBC – 138,000 viewers
CNBC – 65,000 viewers
HLN – 134,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 362,000 viewers
CNN – 244,000 viewers
MSNBC – 132,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch with 45,000 viewers
HLN – 200,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 791,000 viewers (351,000)
American Morning – 435,000 viewers (179,000)
Imus in the Morning– 420,000 viewers (191,000)
Robin & Co. – 218,000 viewers (149,000)
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MSNBC.com announced this morning the launch of a new tool (which in fact was launched earlier in the month) to allow viewers to submit photos, videos, and stories…

MSNBC.com has launched FirstPerson, a tool for readers to upload their photos, videos and stories. Editors screen and publish user submissions in a unique gallery format, and users can vote for their favorites and view pictures and video by the most popular and editors’ choices.

“Our readers’ voices and experiences add depth and context to the stories we tell every day,” said Jennifer Sizemore, editor in chief of MSNBC.com. “With FirstPerson, we have a one-of-a-kind way for our users to participate in the news and features that are most interesting to them.”

The response to FirstPerson, which launched this month, has been overwhelming. During the “NBC Nightly News” series “Trading Places: Caring for Your Parents,” MSNBC.com users submitted more than 6,000 stories, photos and videos of their experiences caring for their aging parents. See those submissions at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17049721/.
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CNN’s Heidi Collins interviewed that son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani this morning on CNN Newsroom. Transcript follows…

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to get back to the story we’ve been telling you about this morning, the condition of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. A little bit of confusion here coming from Amman, Jordan, where he was taken, and is now. We are hearing from some physicians that apparently he has been transferred to the intensive care unit and that the doctors are telling us a catheter has been inserted into his heart. You may have heard our correspondent on the ground there in Amman, Jordan, Jennifer Eccleston, saying the same thing.

However, we are learning from — according to the Associated Press anyway, that the private doctor and the spokesman of Jalal Talabani are denying those reports that he’s been moved to intensive care in that Jordanian hospital. It’s the King Hussein Medical Center.

So what we want to do bring on Jalal Talabani’s son. This is Qubad Talabani. He is joining us now by telephone from Washington D.C. Mr. Talabani, can you clear this up for us?
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CNN announced that CNN Radio will be doing a one hour special hosted by Erica Hill on the Adult Entertainment Industry…

CNN Radio puts a spotlight on America’s public fascination with pornography in a special one-hour program hosted by Headline News anchor Erica Hill. “For Adults Only?” will examine the adult entertainment industry as a whole, its future, the companies that profit from it and the effects pornography has on people, their relationships and the local community.

“For Adults Only?” airs Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (ET) CNN Radio supervising producer John Lisk produced the program.

For the special, Hill will interview several guests including husband and wife acting team, Tera Patrick and Evan Seinfeld aka “Spyder Jonez”; Paul Fishbein, publisher of Adult Video News; Steven Hirsch, co-founder of Vivid Entertainment, the largest maker of adult films in the world; and sex therapist Dr. Marty Klein.
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Mutlichannel News’ Linda Haugsted writes about Fox and Friends holding a sweepstakes to have a viewer appear on the show.

When the network first executed a similar promotion last year, it attracted nearly 400,000 entries, 200,000 of which were unique views of the channel’s Web site, according to senior vice president of affiliate sales Tim Carry.

Operators in 145 local systems serving 22 million households signed up to support the effort last year, he said.

This year, affiliates serving 24.5 million subscribers have agreed to locally promote the sweepstakes.

To participate, cable systems must agree to schedule a minimum of 350 promotional spots during a three-week period. Those spots are placed in the networks that rate highest in the 25- to 55-year-old demographic, including CNN, ESPN, TBS, TNT, USA Network, Lifetime, Court TV, TLC and A&E Network.

WHAC has an interview with new CNN weekend anchor TJ Holmes…

Some tend to think that since you’re an anchor, that’s all you do … sit there and read the teleprompter for hours. What does the job of a CNN anchor entail?

I know people think of anchors as “reading the prompter”, but at CNN, a lot of our time on the news set is spent not reading, but ad-libbing. A lot of a CNN newscast is unscripted because breaking news happens or interviews are added, etc. Every CNN anchor also reports. We go out in the field. Of course, it’s not on a daily basis, like the field correspondents, but anchors do plenty of reporting.

Also, there are so many challenges and demands on CNN anchors that take you outside of the newsroom. We have responsibilities to the community.

Community groups and organizations often call on us to lend a hand in some way. We often serve as guest speakers, panelist or emcee events.

Many anchors serve on community boards as well.

CNN’s Jeff Koinange was robbed at gunpoint according to CNN Wire…(via CNN Observations)

Jeff Koinange, CNN’s Africa correspondent, and his wife were robbed at gunpoint on Saturday outside CNN’s office in the South African metropolis of Johannesburg.

Koinange said he had a gun pointed to his head while four armed young men stole everything he was carrying.

But he and his wife did not suffer injuries in what he called a “brazen” assault that occurred in broad daylight with people walking by and cars driving past.

TVWeek’s Marianne Paskowski writes about last week’s courtroom melodrama…

But perhaps more strange, given the big news of the day that Prime Minister Tony Blair would withdraw British troops from Iraq, was the decision by Fox News Channel and CNN Headline News to run the courtroom antics uninterrupted by commercials, with only a running crawl about what was happening on the rest of the planet.

CNN, by contrast, chose to cover all of the news, and I honestly forgot to check out what MSNBC was up to because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on at the Smith hearing while simultaneously squinting to read the Fox News ticker at the bottom of the screen.

After all, the really bad stuff appears first on the ticker. On Fox it flew by so fast that I kept watching it over and over, seeing a reference about “terror alert elevated.” I watched the crawl repeat three times, but never learned where or why or if it ever happened.

The Street.com announced today that Jim Cramer has donated trading profits to the Imus Ranch…

TheStreet.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSCM), a leading provider of financial commentary, analysis, research, news and ratings, today announced that James J. Cramer, co-founder, director and largest shareholder of TheStreet.com, made the final distribution of his trading profits of 2006 from his charitable trust on February 9, 2007.

Mr. Cramer manages his Action Alerts PLUS portfolio as a charitable trust with the intention of distributing all realized gains to worthy charities. The Action Alerts PLUS service, which tracks Mr. Cramer’s actual investments in individual stocks, is intended to act as an educational tool with a focus on making money that the charitable trust can distribute.

The distribution for 2006 trading profits is $93,000, with the entire sum going to the Imus Ranch, a working cattle ranch, which benefits children who suffer from cancer and serious blood disorders or who have lost a sibling to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
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