TVNewser has a preview of the Keith Olbermann Rolling Stone interview and some of the things he has to say about some other cable news hosts/anchors. The Anderson Cooper shot isn’t a new one though. It was used a few weeks ago on Countdown…

CNN’s State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee had an exclusive interview with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. Transcript follows…

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We have a CNN exclusive for you. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying the U.S. will be happy to talk to Iran, but under one major condition. It’s a critical condition. Our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, got some details in an exclusive interview she did with the secretary earlier today in Berlin. Zain joining us now live from Berlin — Zane, update our viewers on what she said.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a message to Iran from the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice — come out of the cold.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

VERJEE (voice-over): Softening on another member of the so-called axis of evil — Iran. Condoleezza Rice offered Iran an olive branch — take us up on talks, any time, any place. But stop enriching uranium first.
(more…)

MSNBC and HLN beat CNN in the Demo at 11pm and MSNBC beat CNN in Total Viewers. I’m sure there will be people out there who will make something out of the fact that new CNN hire Kiran Chetry was filling in for Anderson Cooper during that time period.

Cable News Daily Ratings for February 19, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 966,000 viewers
CNN – 518,000 viewers
MSNBC – 339,000 viewers
CNBC – 129,000 viewers
HLN – 258,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,989,000 viewers
CNN – 765,000 viewers
MSNBC – 465,000 viewers
CNBC – 137,000 viewers
HLN – 453,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 290,000 viewers
CNN – 195,000 viewers
MSNBC – 126,000 viewers
CNBC – 70,000 viewers
HLN – 115,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 465,000 viewers
CNN – 243,000 viewers
MSNBC – 140,000 viewers
CNBC – 78,000 viewers
HLN – 192,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 758,000 viewers (288,000)
American Morning –326,000 viewers (146,000)
Imus in the Morning– 317,000 viewers (129,000)
Robin & Co. – 206,000 viewers (115,000)
(more…)

Multichannel News’ Steve Donahue writes about the premiere episode’s ratings.

Fox News said The ½ Hour News Hour — which is produced by Joel Surnow, co-creator of Fox Broadcasting’s popular 24 series — gave the network a 69% increase in viewership and a 94% increase in the 25-54 demo compared with what ran in its time slot previously.

Note Donahue’s (accidental?) inference regarding Hannity’s America.

Broadcasting & Cable’s John Eggerton writes about last week’s PEJ weekly content analysis and notes that Anna Nicole Smith dominated cable news coverage. Hell, I didn’t need to read the PEJ analysis to know that…

The San Antonio Express-News’ David Hendricks writes about Maria Bartiromo’s appearance at Trinity University’s Policy Maker Breakfast. Do note the quid pro quo charge between CNBC and Citigroup Hendricks insinuates… (via TVNewser)

Known for asking the tough questions on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, she avoided taking any herself at Trinity University’s sold-out Policy Maker Breakfast. She hasn’t answered media questions since the Citigroup ethical issue came to light.

Perhaps that’s why Bartiromo skipped the breakfast series’ traditional post-speech news conference. When it came to taking questions from the San Antonio business community that flocks to Trinity’s popular speaker series, she selected questions written on cards instead of answering queries directly from the floor.

Curiously, it was difficult to know from her speech Tuesday who employs Bartiromo: I don’t remember her mentioning CNBC even once. She was busy instead dropping the names of the people she has interviewed, from President Bush to Bill and Melinda Gates and the heads of high-powered private equity firms.

CNBC makes it difficult for Bartiromo to talk about the network. Citigroup is a large advertiser on the business news channel. In an effort to keep an advertiser happy, CNBC sent Bartiromo to numerous Citigroup-sponsored events over the past year or so.

Johnny Dollar has the video from Red Eye where Greg Gutfeld’s mom talks about Anna Nicole Smith and Fat Tuesday.

As part of CNN’s day long “Uncovering America” programming Paula Zahn Now will be doing a show on the cultural value of Hip Hop

CNN’s Paula Zahn Now will devote a full hour to the discussion of hip-hop music and its impact on the African-American society on Wednesday, Feb. 21. For “Hip-Hop: Art or Poison,” anchor Paula Zahn talks about this issue with hip-hop producer Russell Simmons, rappers Chuck D and Eve and a special panel of guests. Paula Zahn Now airs at 8 p.m. (ET).

For nearly four months, the “Out in the Open” series on Paula Zahn Now has explored the realities of the racial divide that Americans often discuss privately but rarely acknowledge publicly. With “Hip Hop: Art or Poison,” the program examines whether the music’s lyrics and videos go too far into sex, crime and hate. The special comes amid an unprecedented full day of “Uncovering America” programming across CNN/U.S. built around the theme of “Out in the Open.”
(more…)

MSNBC announced that it will be airing the Iowa State University Republican Presidential Candidate debate in October 2007…

MSNBC will telecast a Republican presidential candidates debate live from Iowa State University Nov. 6, 2007, university and network officials announced today. The debate will also be streamed live on MSNBC.com.

“We’re pleased to partner with Iowa State University to provide this important forum for the candidates prior to the first-in-the-nation Iowa presidential nominating caucuses,” said Dan Abrams, general manager of MSNBC.

The evening debate will be held at Stephens Auditorium, a 2,700-seat performing arts theater that has hosted a number of nationally broadcast political and news programs. Details of the debate, including start time and the moderator, have not been finalized.
(more…)

The 1/2 Hour News Hour was big for FNC. The show averaged 1,398,000 viewers and 442,000 in The Demo. For those interested, that translates into a 91% increase in Total Viewers and a 102% increase in Demo viewers over the same day last year. Further breaking it down, 1/2 Hour was up 69% in Total Viewres and 94% in Demo Viewers over the (as yet incomplete) Q1 2007 average.

Those numbers are all Live numbers, which is what FNC sells by. But if you look at the DVR numbers from Live+ SD ratings, 1/2 Hour averaged 1,478,000 Total Viewers and 499,000 in Demo Viewers indicating a not insigificant “Tivo bump” for the show’s premiere.

Cable News Ratings for February 17, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC –729,000 viewers
CNN – 491,000 viewers
MSNBC – 299,000 viewers
CNBC – 335,000 viewers
HLN – 301,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 858,000 viewers
CNN – 606,000 viewers
MSNBC – 356,000 viewers
CNBC – 437,000 viewers
HLN – 343,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 215,000 viewers
CNN – 180,000 viewers
MSNBC –129,000 viewers
CNBC – 149,000 viewers
HLN – 135,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 219,000 viewers
CNN – 206,000 viewers
MSNBC – 154,000 viewers
CNBC – 203,000 viewers
HLN – 119,000 viewers

Cable News Ratings for February 18, 2007
(more…)

CNN has put up a new page for Robin & Company. (via CNN Observations)

The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Scott Leith writes about CNN Spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg departing the network…

The top spokesperson for CNN is stepping down after nearly two years on the job. Laurie Goldberg, senior vice president of public relations for CNN Worldwide, announced her resignation Tuesday.

“Working at CNN has made me better, stronger and smarter about a lot of things, including what I want out of work and life now,” Goldberg said in an e-mail to staffers. She will take time off before seeking a new post.

The Orion’s Mike Murphy criticizes all the cable channels for not focusing in on real news. Murphy brings up the Fairness Doctrine as a solution. I give Murphy major props for squeezing in the gratuitous Dead Kennedys reference though…

More than two decades ago, The Dead Kennedys recorded the punk-rock classic, “M.T.V. - Get Off The Air,” a song that lambasted the trendy TV network for feeding its viewers “endless doses of sugar-coated mindless garbage.”

Today, I think it’s time for MSNBC, CNN and Fox News to get off the air.

Robert Kennedy Jr. criticized the U.S. media when the networks were taken hook, line and sinker by the Bush administration’s assertions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. However, it wasn’t just the gullibility or laziness of the networks that caused Kennedy to speak out.

In his book “Crimes Against Nature,” Kennedy condemns the media for “focusing on expanding viewership by hawking irrelevant stories that appeal to our prurient interest in sex and celebrity gossip.”

Or, in punk-rock speak: “sugar-coated mindless garbage.”

Last night on Scarborough Country, Joe decided to (again) tackle the issue of Bill O’Reilly’s NBC obsession. Joe’s been hammering on O’Reilly recently for focusing on NBC instead of focusing on Iraq. So last night he compared the number of times O’Reilly has mentioned NBC and the number of times he mentioned Iraq.
(more…)

MSNBC has started using its new robotic cameras on Imus in the Morning. However, that has not yet carried over to the daytime news broadcasts. Probably technical glitches that need to be overcome due to the “busier” camera demands required for the daily newscast. The above picture is the control center.