The previously taped episode of Larry King Live where Katie Couric interviewed Larry King airs tomorrow night at 9pm ET. Highlights from the show follow…

Surprise question from Stephen Colbert:

COURIC: We have some celebrity questions tonight. One is from Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report.”

KING: I was on his show.

COURIC: And as you might expect, it is a question of sweeping scope. Let’s listen.

(VIDEO CLIP)

Stephen asks: “Larry, you have conducted thousands of interviews over the years, tell us about them?”
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I don’t know what MSNBC is going to do with the Imus timeslot but whatever it is it better do it soon. Stephanie Miller scratched in the Demo yesterday. MSNBC came in behind HLN in the Total Day Demo. Anderson Cooper 360 beat On The Record in the Demo. 360 in fact had the highest Demo number in primetime.

Cable News Ratings for April 30, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 810,000 viewers
CNN – 472,000 viewers
MSNBC – 246,000 viewers
CNBC – 180,000 viewers
HLN – 222,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,457,000 viewers
CNN – 750,000 viewers
MSNBC – 454,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch with 109,000 viewers
HLN – 400,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 220,000 viewers
CNN – 184,000 viewers
MSNBC –94,000 viewers
CNBC – 65,000 viewers
HLN – 104,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 262,000 viewers
CNN – 235,000 viewers
MSNBC – 172,000 viewers
CNBC – a scratch with 46,000 viewers
HLN – 146,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 898,000 viewers (383,000)
American Morning – 365,000 viewers (163,000)
MSNBC Live- 125,000 viewers (a scratch with 39,000)
Robin & Co. – 192,000 viewers (114,000)
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Jack Welch appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto to talk about the News Corp. bid to buy Dow Jones.

Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I think if anybody gets it, he’ll get it.

He’s done this before. He’s made big strategic moves that have worked out. I’d put my money on it.….10 years ago, I was fooling around with this one. I was talking to the family and nibbling, and over. I think things have changed. I think that there’s a new leadership at the paper, trustees have changed. I think there’s a lot of things that changed now… and I think… I heard somebody this morning on TV mention that with the capital gains where they are now, this is a great bid for this. If this doesn’t go through, if they don’t take something, this family is going to have a real problem. There’s huge money out there now.

I think you’ve got to have cash flows to take care of it… I think Rupert sees the synergies of his global network. I think his business channel that you’re fooling around with that’s a nuisance to our CNBC, there’s going to be cash flow from that. The other guys don’t have this. A private equity buyer gets a newspaper with an online piece– now their online piece is very good. They’re getting more, as I understand it, more than half their revenues from their online piece. So they’ve done a real good job with that. It isn’t enough for a financial buyer. He doesn’t have cable distribution, he doesn’t have satellite distribution, he doesn’t have global reach, so it’s a tough go to buy a little piece.

This is a one-off deal. This is beachfront property, truly beachfront property, one of a kind. And this property fits his strategy. Now for a guy, KKR, Blackstone, to own a one-off property without a lot of synergy isn’t a great deal. For him, it’s a homerun.

CNN’s Political Ticker notes here and here that Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama have agreed to appear at the New Hampshire debate on June 3rd.

Times Online’s Rhys Blakely writes about Tuner’s agreement with Joost…

Joost, the internet-TV service set up by the technology gurus behind Skype and Kazaa, today unveiled content agreements with Turner Broadcasting and Sony as it heads towards a full-blown launch later in the spring.

The deals mean that users of the free internet service will be able to watch content from Turner including CNN’s Larry King Live.

UPDATE: Paidcontent.org has more…

The deal with Turner Broadcasting, which has to tread very carefully lest it freak out the bread-and-butter cable ops, includes episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Robot Chicken from Adult Swim; Anderson Cooper 360, Larry King Live and documentaries from CNN Productions; Turner South programs Home Plate, Off the Menu and Southern Home By Design. The CNN RSS feed will be added to the Joost news ticker. (Is there an RSS feed of the CNN crawl?) Time Warner sibling SI adds swimsuit video.

NBC announced this afternoon that Mark Whittaker has joined the network’s news division as Senior Vice President…

Mark Whitaker, former Editor of Newsweek and veteran journalist of nearly three decades, will join NBC News as Senior Vice President. The announcement was made today by NBC News President Steve Capus. Whitaker will join NBC News on May 21, and will report to Capus.

“This is yet another terrific announcement for NBC News and our front office team,” said Capus. “Mark’s talents as a journalist are unparalleled virtually anywhere in the business. He brings not only a keen sensibility for the news, but also a real expertise in digital and online ventures. He’s exactly the type of person I’ve been looking for to bolster our executive ranks.”

Whitaker will serve as the second-in-command within NBC News and have oversight of NBC News’ daily editorial and newsgathering efforts worldwide. He will provide continuity between newsgathering operations and individual broadcasts and new media. He will also be responsible for NBC News division-wide editorial specials and will help develop online content for MSNBC.com.
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MSNBC put out a release noting its April ratings results…

MSNBC’s month end ratings for April, 2007 show the network on a steady upward climb. According to Nielsen Media Research Data, the network showed the strongest total viewer growth of any other cable news network over a year ago, up +33% in total day (333,000 v. 250,000). In addition, the network’s primetime lineup (M-F, 8:00 to 11:00 pm ET) continued to shine, up +52% in total viewers (584,000 v. 383,000) and up +60% in the adult 25-54 demographic (232,000 v. 145,000).

MSNBC’s daytime programming block (M-F, 9:00 to 6:00 pm ET) also grew at a steady pace, up +58% in total viewers over a year ago (331,000 v. 209,000), and up +59% in the demo (121,000 v. 76,000). This includes “Tucker” at 4:00 pm, which was up a significant +60% in total viewers (369,000 v. 230,000) and even more in the demo, with +73% (130,000 v. 75,000), and “Hardball with Chris Matthews” at 5:00 pm, which was up +47% in total viewers (470,000 v. 319,000) and up +47% in the demo (154,000 v. 105,000).

The 6:00 pm ET edition of “Tucker” also grew +11% in total viewers (315,000 v. 284,000) and +9% in the demo (118,000 v. 108,000) and the 7:00 pm ET “Hardball with Chris Matthews” increased +31% in total viewers (572,000 v. 436,000) and +33% (204,000 v. 153,000) in the demo.
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CNBC’s Scott Faber broke the news this morning that News Corp. had tendered an offer to buy Dow Jones…

UPDATE: Rupert Murdoch will be on Your World today at 4pm to talk about Dow Jones…

The Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones with ownership of roughly 62% of voting stock, has hired advisors to help weigh the offer. It remains unclear what the family will choose to do, Faber said, but the offer has not been rejected.

The all-cash bid represents a huge premium for Dow Jones, or about 50% above its 52-week high.

“It is only that kind of premium that would have given the family a reason to even consider selling,” Faber said, citing people familiar with News Corp.’s thinking.

News Corp., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, proposed the acquisition in a letter sent to Dow Jones board two weeks ago.

Why is this ICN newsworthy? Because Dow Jones has a deal with CNBC. But Fox Business Channel is launching this year. And though the CNBC/Dow Jones deal doesn’t expire until 2012, the idea that a News Corp. owned Dow Jones would extend the deal, at the expense of FBC, seems ludicrous. But five years is a long time to wait just for FBC so the far more likely reason to make the deal with Dow Jones is to get the Wall Street Journal. And that too could have positive ramifications for Fox Business Channel.

Senator Richard Durbin appeared on America’s Newsroom this morning to discuss the President’s intent to veto the Iraq War Spending Bill…

Well, the president still threatens to veto this bill — which would fully fund the troops and, equally important, change the mission in Iraq. If he does veto the bill, he’s said he wants to meet with us tomorrow, the leadership in Congress.

It’s the president’s move. We believe that we need to change direction in this war that his policy has failed, that sending more troops into the midst of a civil war is just going to invite more deaths.

We’ve lost 3,351 Americans as I sit here today. That’s just unacceptable. We have to bring this war to an end.

The Washington Post’s Mike Musgrove writes about celebrities’ ringtones.

Fox News personality Greta Van Susteren’s phone rings to “Hello Dolly” when her sister calls, the “Twilight Zone” theme song when her brother does, and the William Tell Overture when her producer rings. When her husband calls, her phone belts out the “American Bandstand” theme.

There’s a thought process behind some of these selections. Her producer gets William Tell when she calls because it’s a ring that sounds appropriately important, and “Hello Dolly” was a song she heard around the house as a kid. As for “American Bandstand,” there’s no real explanation. “It just makes everybody who hears it laugh,” she said.

CNBC announced special programming for May today…

How rich is rich? How do we keep America great? Will hedge funds take a hit? How did “Star Wars,” which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, affect the movie industry overall? Beginning today and continuing throughout May, CNBC, America’s Business Channel, explores the topics on the minds of corporate executives, policymakers and investors.

All month long, CNBC features special programming including:
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CNN came in 3rd in the primetime Demo on Saturday…

Cable News Ratings for April 28, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC –562,000 viewers
CNN – 340,000 viewers
MSNBC – 287,000 viewers
CNBC – 192,000 viewers
HLN – 224,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 755,000 viewers
CNN – 395,000 viewers
MSNBC – 322,000 viewers
CNBC – 245,000 viewers
HLN – 190,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 175,000 viewers
CNN – 142,000 viewers
MSNBC –129,000 viewers
CNBC – 67,000 viewers
HLN – 106,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 146,000 viewers
CNN – 131,000 viewers
MSNBC – 143,000 viewers
CNBC – 87,000 viewers
HLN – 57,000 viewers

Cable News Ratings for April 29, 2007
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Jeff Jarvis tees off on MSNBC/NBC News for its restrictions regarding what can and can’t be used on the internet from the Presidential Debates. (via Arts Technica via FishbowlDC)

A properly pissed off birdie forwarded me NBC News’ restrictions on tonight’s presidential debates, which are many and lead off with this: “internet use is not permitted.”

I think that’s ridiculous and so I sought to find out why they would do this. I called Joe Alicastro, producer of the debate for MSNBC, who was on site. I asked him why they were restricting use of the material on the internet. He twice didn’t answer and said “that’s our policy.” I said I know that’s their policy. I asked why. He would not answer.

I asked whether he thought the Amerian people had a right to this debate since it is our election. He said that “the American people have ample opportunity to view the debate on MCNBC and two North Carolina stations.”

Shameful. What makes NBC think it has the right to own the democratic discussion in this country?

I looked the restrictions over and aside from the end of life restriction of May 26th I don’t see anything really draconian there. The branding restrictions are basic common sense and fair play, albeit spelled out.

Jarvis can argue about the no internet broadcasting rule but the fact remains that that has been NBC Universal’s position for some time now regarding all of its over the air content. The last big gold rush is who gets to own online video content distribution; the companies who broadcast the footage or some third party?
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The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gail Shister has an interview with Steve Capus…

News executives are meant to be heard, not seen, but Capus, NBC president since ‘05, resolutely defended his judgments on NBC, MSNBC, CNN and even, last Tuesday, with Oprah Winfrey Herself.

“Go figure,” he says. “. . . I’m a guy from Warminster who landed in a good job. I never thought it would propel me into the guest seat of Oprah.”

Technically, Capus was in the studio audience. Anchor Brian Williams, mind-melded with his boss since they worked together at Philadelphia’s WCAU in the late ’80s, sat with Winfrey.

To Williams, Oprah meant reaching a different audience.

“It was bothering us that some people didn’t seem to understand what we do for a living,” he says. “We can’t always use public opinion as a barometer of whether to do a story.”

The New York Sun’s Josh Gerstein writes about controversy that’s erupted around Lou Dobbs over comments he made on the air…

In a broadcast last week, Mr. Dobbs denounced immigrant-rights groups for portraying a crackdown on illegal immigration as a threat to foreigners who live in America legally.

“They might as well work for Herman Göring,” Mr. Dobbs said. “I mean, they’re running so much propaganda, trying to confuse the debate, the national dialogue, by talking about immigrants rather than illegal aliens and legal immigrants. It’s mindless beyond belief.”

A spokeswoman for CNN, Christa Robinson, did not respond directly to the call for Mr. Dobbs’s ouster. However, she said his rhetoric was directed at those promoting sanctuary for illegal immigrants, such as Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco.

” Lou Dobbs’s expression of outrage was not directed toward anyone except the officials of San Francisco. Any offense taken by any other group was certainly not intended,” Ms. Robinson said in a statement last night.

UPDATE: Extreme Mortman weighs in here…

Mindless beyond belief is right. Oh, I thought we were talking about Dobbs.

The Cornell Daily Sun’s Jonathan Lieberman has an interview with Soledad O’Brien…

The Sun: What inspired you to pursue a career in journalism?

Soledad O’Brien: I was actually pre-med in college, and I got my first job in journalism working for a medical reporter because I was pre-med. I decided not to go to medical school, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I started working for a TV station in Boston. After that, I kept working and working. My pre-med background was really helpful in getting a job.

Sun: What do you think of the current state of media?

O’Brien: In some ways, I’ve been really encouraged by the state of media. I think that it’s very easy to criticize, but what I’ve found is that with “news” outlets like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, since they’re satire, audiences really need to know a lot more about what is going on in the news. I have found that students that I go talk to — and I talk to a lot to students — are really well-informed and really have positions on important things that are happening in their world that maybe I didn’t see when I was a student.