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
(more…)

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.
(more…)

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
(more…)

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)
(more…)

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
(more…)

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
(more…)

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.