KSL TV notes that the long talked about Sean Hannity/Rocky Anderson debate was in danger of being cancelled because Anderson was planning on bringing a documentary crew to the debate.

Sean Hannity said Rocky Anderson has invited a documentary crew to their debate. Hannity says he is not going to comply with the mayor’s decision to make a documentary of the debate. “We said, well take it or leave it, we’ve agreed to everything else. Folks in Salt Lake City, if this does not happen, it is not Sean Hannity’s fault. Sean Hannity did everything possible to make this thing happen,” Hannity said.

Bonneville Salt Lake Radio Group Vice President and General Manager Chris Redgrave said, “It was the only thing Sean didn’t sign in the contract, and when Sean got the contract to sign, he noticed this documentary piece that we had not been aware of before, and he said, ‘I’ll do everything but that.’”

Well, that was quick. Following up on this, Presidential candidate. Ron Paul appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight. Transcript follows (and apologies in advance for the bad formatting)

DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: I strongly believe that most of us want to hear
what presidential candidates have to say on the issues and their
specific position. And what we’re doing is offering a special series on
this broadcast. We call it 2008 Time for Answers. And we’re giving all
the presidential candidates two minutes of uninterrupted airtime to
address each critical issue facing this country.

Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Texas joins us tonight. He is
the first candidate to accept my offer. And Congressman Ron Paul joins
us tonight from Capitol Hill. We’re delighted to have you here.
(more…)

Johnny Dollar has the audio from John Gibson’s radio program talking about this TVNewser article. I have to point out that nowhere in the article did TVNewser demand that Gibson be fired. He just noted that a couple of emailers suggested Geraldo Rivera would be a more exciting host and would attract younger viewers. Rivera might be more exciting, depending on how you benchmark “exciting”, but I don’t know about the attracting younger viewers part. I’m not convinced. “Pubescent boys”?…eh.

CNN announced this evening that Lou Dobbs Tonight will be offering “uninterrupted airtime” to Presidential candidates…

CNN’s Lou Dobbs has put forth an unprecedented offer to the presidential candidates—two minutes of uninterrupted airtime to address the substantives issue facing the country.

In a series, “2008: Time for Answers,” Dobbs will invite presidential candidates to appear on Lou Dobbs Tonight to explain specifically how they would tackle the most pressing issues facing American families including healthcare, illegal immigration, public education, the war in Iraq, border and port security, and trade policy. A candidate would be granted two minutes for each topic, followed by discussion with Dobbs on that issue. CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight airs at 6 p.m. (ET).

“People want to know about a candidate’s positions on issues that affect their lives, not just fundraising and horserace politics,” Dobbs said. “I welcome a substantive dialogue in this important election season, and I believe our viewers will too.”

Charles Schumer will be on to talk about gun control. But the lead item looks to be more interesting. O’Reilly is going to name names of people in TV who recycle stuff from George Soros funded “smear sites” like Media Matters. Gee, I wonder what O’Reilly might be referring to? Well, not really. Looks like another round in the O’Reilly vs. MSNBCNBCOlbermannMatthewsCapusZuckeretc, etc War is in the offing…

Anderson Cooper 360 took it on the chin Friday. MSNBC beat 360 in the Demo in both hours and in Total Viewers in the second hour. Hannity & Colmes had the highest Demo of the channels in primetime.

Cable News Ratings for April 20, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 945,000 viewers
CNN – 549,000 viewers
MSNBC – 321,000 viewers
CNBC – 195,000 viewers
HLN – 278,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,771,000 viewers
CNN – 957,000 viewers
MSNBC – 590,000 viewers
CNBC – 150,000 viewers
HLN – 475,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 310,000 viewers
CNN – 211,000 viewers
MSNBC –126,000 viewers
CNBC – 74,000 viewers
HLN – 117,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 442,000 viewers
CNN – 266,000 viewers
MSNBC – 257,000 viewers
CNBC – 71,000 viewers
HLN – 176,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 897,000 viewers (397,000)
American Morning – 433,000 viewers (164,000)
MSNBC Live- 192,000 viewers (63,000)
Robin & Co. – 239,000 viewers (139,000)
(more…)

The Washingtonian’s Garret M. Graff has details on the Bloomberg Party and the John McLaughlin Sunday brunch

Scene: The final event of the three-day long weekend drew a crowd of over a hundred to the rooftop and its glorious and inspiring view. The host himself rolled in about an hour late to mingle with folks ranging from Desperate Housewives’ James Denton to Morgan Fairchild to AOL founder James Kimsey (who did spend a late night out among the parties), columnist Margaret Carlson, Fox’s stylish Chris Wallace, and even MSNBC’s Tammy Haddad, who like the Energizer Bunny still somehow had a reserve of energy at the end of the weekend’s lengthy festivities.

UPDATE: FishbowlDC has photos from the McLaughlin brunch…

UPDATE 2: FishbowlDC has more WCHA Dinner photos here and photos from Tammy Haddad’s afternoon bash here….

MSNBC put out a release for the final details for coverage of the first Democratic and Republican presidential candidate debates…

As previously announced, MSNBC will carry exclusive live national coverage of the first national presidential primary debates including the Democratic Candidates’ Debate on April 26, and the Republican Candidates’ Debate on May 3. NBC Nightly News Anchor and Managing Editor Brian Williams will moderate the South Carolina debate, which will originate from South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (ET). Chris Matthews will moderate the Republican Candidates’ Debate, sponsored by MSNBC, The Reagan Library and Politico.com, originating from the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California from 8:00 to 9:30 pm (ET). Both debates will stream live on MSNBC.com.

As the Democratic candidates gather in South Carolina to debate the key issues facing their party and the nation, MSNBC anchors will be on hand to telecast live from the venue including Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson. MSNBC will preview the debate throughout the day on April 26th with all-day political coverage beginning at 9:00 am (ET). Anchors throughout the day will include NBC’s David Gregory, Chip Reid and Peter Alexander, and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Chris Jansing, Amy Robach and Norah O’Donnell. “Tucker” will telecast live at 4:00 pm (ET) from South Carolina State University. “Hardball with Chris Matthews” 5:00 pm (ET) will present a “Hardball College Tour” with special guests Elizabeth Edwards and the third highest-ranking democrat in the House of Representatives, Congressman Jim Clyburn (D-SC) before a student audience on the campus of South Carolina State University.
(more…)

Mitt Romney and his wife Ann will be interviewed by Greta Van Susteren tonight On The Record at 10pm ET…

CNN announced this afternoon a new initiative called “CNN Heroes”…

CNN has launched a global initiative to showcase “CNN Heroes,” ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary deeds in areas ranging from the environment to civil rights, it was announced today by Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. Culminating in a year-end awards gala, the network will honor the most outstanding of viewer-submitted nominees from around the world. The “CNN Heroes” initiative is the first of its kind for the network.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, along with an array of notable co-hosts to be announced later this year, will present the winners of “The CNN Hero Awards” during a special live global broadcast on CNN/U.S. and CNN International on Thursday, Dec. 6, at 9 p.m. (ET). The gala will include musical performances and documentary tributes to those being honored as well as to their accomplishments and continued work.

“Our journalists come across these individuals every single day on the job, but they do not always get to tell these inspiring stories,” Walton said. “With the help of our global audience, we turn the spotlight on those people who serve as an example of how a single person can make a difference.”
(more…)

D-Mac on the Philadelphia Will Do blog watched all three hours of Michael Smerconish on MSNBC this morning…

Like most radio shows simulcast on television, it’s pretty much boring as all hell to watch. Hell, like most talk shows. The way the old Howard Stern radio show on E! worked was because it wasn’t live, so the producers were able to edit it and select the best clips and turn it into a half-hour. But Smerconish’s morning show was pretty boring to watch even for a radio show. This wasn’t necessarily Smerconish’s fault; the set is approximately the size of a large airplane hangar. Smerconish’s MSNBC producer sits somewhere about a mile away from him, and his local radio show producers is back in Philly (or Conshy, or wherever 1210 AM broadcasts).

So for the first two hours, all the camera does is swoop wildly from left to right to show different angles of Michael Smerconish’s head. Whee! Somewhere around 8:15 or 8:30, a producer must’ve noticed the show, while possibly entertaining to listen to — and Smerconish does know how to run a radio show — was almost as boring as Don Imus, because we got to listen to banter sometime around then.

I assume this is the best day of guests Smerconish’s show has ever had. Jackie Mason came on first. He has a book out with another guy called Schmucks, which Smerconish says is being denounced for its title and how Jackie Mason is being censored due to political correctness. (This seems odd. Isn’t calling someone a “schmuck” one of the benefits of being an old Jewish man?) Turns out it’s odd because, uh, Jackie Mason says no, he doesn’t think much about political correctness “unless you say the word black.”
(more…)

Thte Lowell Sun’s David Perry writes about Chris Wallace and Mike Wallace speaking at the MCC Forum tomorrow…

The elder Wallace, who turns 89 next month, told a Boston Globe interviewer that if he could interview George Bush, he would ask if his re-election shows that the country is “(expletive) up.”

Chris Wallace, 59, joked to Carr his father had “lost it,” and “we’re going to have a competency hearing pretty soon.”

“I’m sure he’ll question me about that Tuesday,” says Chris Wallace by phone from his office in Washington, D.C.

For those who caught it, what did you think of Smerconish on MSNBC this morning? I didn’t see a lot but I have to say it seemed to have a lot more zip than Imus’ show did. Watching Imus was like watching a mausoleum. Smerconish is younger and more energetic and that comes across on TV.

Friday, there was Alison Stewart’s email. Today a look at MSNBC.com’s site reveals no show page for The Most (I’m specifically referring to the show links on the left side of the page). Though Stewart’s bio page has not been updated.

The signs were there last week if one had been cynical/paranoid enough to put them all together. The Most contributor Senior Producer Tony Maciulis suddenly started appearing on segments during MSNBC Live (Maciulis hadn’t been seen regularly on MSNBC Live since just before The Most launched). Friday’s Noon version of the show, which I can’t even recall now was even mentioned as “The Most”, had MSNBC Live’s graphics and not The Most’s graphics.

MSNBC’s Monica Novotony, back from maternity leave, was seen doing news updates during the Michael Smerconish simulcast this morning…

TV Week’s Michele Greppi was impressed with FNC’s Shepard Smith last week with the Virigina Tech shooting spree story…

Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith has now proved that he, so glib and wry in the studio weekday after weekday, is the real thing on the scene of wrenching stories best told with an undercurrent of journalistically sound emotion and the ability to report at length on one’s feet. Even more impressive: He cannot be goaded by pamphleteering studio anchors or the flamboyant Geraldo Rivera, on the other side of a split screen, into jumping to any group conclusion. And that was particularly welcome and impressive during the early news cycles of the Virginia Tech story. Someone please give this man a steady assignment that makes more use of his people skills than of his inflective eyebrows and his admittedly amusing chats with Jane Skinner.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tim Cuprisin interviews CNN’S Kiran Chetry regarding the Virginia Tech shooting spree…

“In cases when there is a collective shock in the nation because of a story - I mean there was nobody on Monday who wasn’t talking about this story - it really is difficult to completely understand and put perspective on it when you’re not there, when you’re sitting in your anchor chair behind a desk in New York.”

She wasn’t behind a desk in Blacksburg, Va., last week. Chetry conducted emotional interviews with relatives of the dead, like Omar Samaha, whose sister Reema Samaha died inside Norris Hall; and with survivors of the rampage, like Virginia Tech senior Zach Petkewicz.

Talking about the Petkewicz interview a few days later, you could sense its impact on Chetry.

The Politico’s Ann Schroeder has more dirt on the post dinner parties…

But the Vanity Fair party “was the best party” we were told. About 150 of the city’s top journalists and bold-faced names turned out for the event, which was described as “clogged with smoke…smoke, smoke, smoke.”

Attendees, including Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Time columnist (and original Wonkette) Ana Marie Cox, NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley, Worldbank’s beleaguered head honcho Paul Wolfowitz, Time’s Jay Carney and his wife, ABC’s Claire Shipman, spent the evening enjoying a delightful spread of booze and pigs in a blanket—which was, ironically, the main munchie at the Bloomberg party.