Inside Cable News

April 22, 2007

Virginia Tech: Reporters be gone…

WJLA TV reports that Virginia Tech student government wants the media gone from the campus on Monday…

A spokeswoman for the student government says the campus appreciates the reporting on the story, but that students are ready to move forward.

Liz Hart says “The best way to know how to do that is get the campus back to normal.”

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Filling the Imus gap…

I missed this on Friday. Variety’s Michael Learmonth wrote about Michael Smerconsish and filling the “Imus timeslot”…

Sources said other personalities are likely to get a trial on the network as part of the process of developing something new. The network is constrained a bit in that it doesn’t want a show that would compete with NBC’s “Today.”

The idea of a straight newscast in the morning, while also being considered, isn’t an ideal solution either because that type of programming hasn’t been successful on cable.

Instead, NBC News execs prefer an entirely different approach, which could be another radio host or a show hosted by an NBC anchor that contains elements of a live radio show on television.

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Capus on Reliable Sources…

NBC News President Steve Capus appeared on Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz this morning to discuss the Virginia Tech shooting spree story. Transcript follows…

KURTZ: When the package containing the Virginia Tech gunman’s video and rambling manifesto arrived at 30 Rock in New York, the decision on whether to air it fell to one man. NBC News president Steve Capus made the call, and he joins us now by phone.

Steve Capus, thank you for checking in.

As you well know, a lot of people out there have said about the airing of this video — we’ve had a couple of guests on, on this program who were very critical of it.

In hindsight, are you very comfortable with the decision that you made?

STEVE CAPUS, PRESIDENT, NBC NEWS: I am. I think it was journalistically the right thing to do. And I believe we handled it as best we could. It was an extremely difficult decision and difficult process that we put through, but I think that we took extraordinary steps to handle it in the appropriate manner.
(more…)

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WHCA Dinner: Post-parties…

The Caucus Blog’s Ashley Parker blogs about some of the post party activity…

Was that Mike Huckabee? And was that Mike Huckabee getting turned away from the Bloomberg party? Oh my God, that was Mike Huckabee and he did just get turned away from the Bloomberg party! Mike Huckabee just got turned away from the Bloomberg party! (In fact, the former governor of Arkansas did not get turned away, but he did make it in and out in under 10 minutes).

Inside the party, where the lights seemed to shift color periodically and some sort of incandescent streamers dangled from the ceiling, Philippe Reines, the spokesman for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, offered his definitive assessment: “Bloomberg won the party primary this year.”

Added CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry: “I wouldn’t want to go to Vanity Fair. Also, I wasn’t invited to Vanity Fair.”

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WHCA Weekend: Pre-parties…

The Washington Post’s Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts write about some of the pre-Dinner parties…

Yesterday, the crowds jammed a narrow street in the Palisades for the annual power brunch co-hosted by MSNBC producer Tammy Haddad and lobbyist-turned-entrepreneur Hilary Rosen. “Go meet Tiki Barber– he’s adorable,” Haddad said, waving to some place under the vast tent in her back yard, where 300-plus guests gulped mimosas and tenderloin: Morgan Fairchild, in gold lamé and heels, chatting up Chris Matthews, in a baseball hat and jeans; Norah O’Donnell showing off her hugely pregnant tummy to another mom-to-be. “I thought I was being invited to a little backyard party,” Ann Curry of NBC’s “Today” show told us. “I had no idea. I have to say I’m overstimulated and confused.”

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WHCA Dinner: Write-ups…

USA Today’s Ann Oldenburg writes about the WHCA dinner…

Normally a raucous dinner with funny remarks from both the president and a guest comedian, this year’s gala was subdued. Bush took the high road, saying, “In light of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, I decided not to be funny.”

He introduced Rich Little, who said he hadn’t been at the dinner since 1984 — and some of his material seemed to date back further.

He imitated Johnny Carson, Andy Rooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger. He then impersonated six presidents: Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., President George Bush and Richard Nixon, complete with peace signs high in the air.

He didn’t exactly knock ‘em dead.

“Horrible,” said actor Tim Daly right after the dinner.

“Um, let me get back to you on that,” said Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren when asked what she thought of Little’s act.

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