Tonight, Greta Van Susteren interviews Kevin Finnerty, father of former lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, who was cleared of rape charges at Duke University. Finnerty will discuss the current trial against Durham District Attorney Michael Nifong, who is being tried by a North Carolina Bar Association grievance commission on charges that he committed ethical violations in his prosecution of the case.

Cable News Ratings for June 14, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 898,000 viewers
CNN – 437,000 viewers
MSNBC – 221,000 viewers
CNBC – 208,000 viewers
HLN – 227,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,784,000 viewers
CNN – 759,000 viewers
MSNBC – 429,000 viewers
CNBC – 286,000 viewers
HLN – 575,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 258,000 viewers
CNN – 146,000 viewers
MSNBC – 85,000 viewers
CNBC – 68,000 viewers
HLN – 91,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 429,000 viewers
CNN – 258,000 viewers
MSNBC – 145,000 viewers
CNBC – 107,000 viewers
HLN – 182,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 854,000 viewers (273,500)
American Morning – 394,000 viewers (99,000)
MSNBC Live (7-9 AM) – 157,000 viewers ( a scratch with 45,000)
Robin & Co. –176,000 viewers (96,000)
(more…)

Tim Russert was on Hannity & Colmes Wednesday night and one of the things discussed was the CBC Institute/FNC Debate. YouTube has the video. Transcript highlight:

COLMES: I notice Sean trying to pull you over way over there to the
right.

RUSSERT: He’s on my right; you’re on my left. I’m right here in the
center.

COLMES: I could try to pull you away — you used to work for
Moynihan.
(more…)

Keith Olbermann is on the cover of this week’s Sporting News. Inside the mag seeks predictions about the upcoming football season including this issue…

“Will the people love or hate Keith Olbermann on Sunday Night Football?

Us: 65% Say Hate. You: 59% say the “H” word too.

Keith Olbermann’s Prediction: I have no clue. It’s always been one or the other, though. Generally speaking, it’s been more love than hate. I think people will be more surprised because I’m not going to go out there as some sort of henchman, or as the Jack Tatum of sportscasters.”

Variety’s Michael Learmonth writes about possible changes coming to CNN’s evening and primetime schedule…

CNN is weighing a shakeup to primetime that would see the low-rated “Paula Zahn Now” replaced by “Lou Dobbs Tonight” at 8 p.m. EST.

CNN is also said to be considering NBC’s Campbell Brown for the 8 p.m. slot, the most competitive in cable news, with Fox’s Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann both outrating CNN during the hour. Brown’s contract with NBC expires in August, but the “Weekend Today” anchor has drawn strong interest from CNN to anchor a primetime show.

Lost Remote’s Don Day (who’s directly responsible for me running this blog so you can blame him) blogs about MSNBC programs Hardball and Countdown having their own ringtones and games…has it really come to this?!?!?!

Drudge is saying a deal to take Campbell Brown to CNN is “imminent”…

NBC NEWS star Campbell Brown expected to join CNN, media sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT…Announcement imminent as final deal points are being completed… Developing…

MSNBC announced this afternoon the launch of a new every other Tuesday special topic day. Although the first one on June 21st will be all politics, the release suggests that won’t always be the case.

MSNBC steps up its Decision 2008 coverage with the launch of “Super Tuesday” next Tuesday, June 19 at 8:00 a.m. Building on the success of the “All Politics Days” launched in the fall of 2006, MSNBC will delve into a single news topic for daytime news coverage. Every other Tuesday, NBC News and MSNBC anchors will dig into the hottest political news of the week, the biggest news story of the day, or a major news event on everyone’s mind. With big interviews, hard debate and the best analysis, MSNBC will bring viewers a better understanding and appreciation for the news events that will affect their lives.

The “Super Tuesday” launch on June 19 will cover the presidential elections from the backdrop of the Democratic Presidential Forum held by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). MSNBC’s Election Anchor and host of “Hardball,” Chris Matthews, will moderate the Presidential Forum, which begins at 8:00 a.m. and will be carried live on MSNBC. As the leading Democratic candidates gather at the Presidential Forum in Washington, DC to discuss issues relevant to the election, MSNBC will be there to speak with the candidates, their advisers, key analysts and political journalists. Mr. Matthews will interview all the candidates. Those confirmed to participate in the event include Senator Joseph Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, Representative Dennis Kucinich, Senator Barack Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
(more…)

Marketwatch’s Jon Friedman writes that Ray Hennessey will be joining FBC for the channel’s Internet presence… (via TVNewser)

The pieces are falling into place. I’ve been hearing that Ray Hennessey, the well-regarded editor of SmartMoney’s Web site, will oversee the Internet effort for Fox’s new project and help build the network. He’ll work closely with Alexis Glick, the director of business news for the Fox News Channel, a division of News Corp.

Johnny Dollar has the video of Geraldo Rivera, from this morning’s Fox and Friends, talking about Angelina Jolie, Lou Dobbs, and FNC…

The Columbus Dispatch’s Tim Feran writes about a YouTube video about remembering the troops created by a teenager that was aired on Fox News Sunday and the impact it had…

The video wasn’t motivated by any political philosophy, said Lizzie, who intends to join the Army when she graduates. But the number of negative, often-heated comments she has received on YouTube about the video has prompted her to disable the comment section.

A week ago, Fox anchor Chris Wallace became aware of the video while chatting with radio talk-show host Michael Gallagher.

“He said, ‘You’ve got to go to my Web site and see this amazing video.’ So I did — and I was completely moved by it,” Wallace said.

“Frankly, I got tears in my eyes about it. I immediately thought it was something people needed to see. … I thought if I was moved, viewers would be, too.”

Lizzie was featured last week as Fox News Sunday’s “Power Player,” which highlights individuals who make a difference behind the scenes in Washington.

Wallace said the craftsmanship in the video impressed him and his staff.

NBC/MSNBC’s release on its Campaign 2008 announcement this morning…

NBC News/MSNBC/MSNBC.com and National Journal Group announced today an expansion of their existing partnership by launching a group of political reporters who will cover the 2008 Presidential election full-time from the campaign trail. Beginning this summer and reaching full strength as the campaigns swing into high gear, these campaign reporters will blog and file video, audio and text dispatches from the trail for NBC News, National Journal, The Hotline, CongressDaily, MSNBC, MSNBC.com, NBC Mobile, NBC Radio and Telemundo. The announcement was made today by NBC News President Steve Capus and John Fox Sullivan, National Journal’s Group Publisher and Chief Executive.

Said Capus, “There is nothing like being there, up close and personal, when it comes to covering a presidential election, and this allows us to be there in a very big way. Our team of reporters on the road with the candidates will be in a unique position to report all aspects of this dynamic story for every single one of our platforms.”

Based on the success of NBC News’ campaign embeds from the last presidential election, this cycle of reporters will also be dedicated video-journalists, each of whom will serve as their own mobile campaign bureaus (reporter, producer, cameraperson and blogger), armed with the latest technology for both video and text. The “Decision 2008″ campaign reporters will also provide viewers and readers with behind-the-scenes coverage and unprecedented insider access to news and information about the candidates and their top advisors.
(more…)

The Houston Chronicle’s Mike McDaniel profiles On The Record’s Greta Van Susteren…

She makes no apologies for the life she leads.

“Look,” she said, “some people go on vacations to South America. I got to travel with the president to South America. I get to do those things, but in a different way.”

With a life this busy, it would seem she could let go of something, like the blogosphere. That would give her more time with that husband.

“You want the secret? Yes, I’d rather spend time with my husband than doing the blog. In terms of whether I’d rather do the television show than the blog, I’d probably rather do the blog. On television I’m usually sitting there looking into a camera. I’m talking at people. The blog is interactive. I get to read e-mails. It’s actually more personal and more fun.”

Wednesday I noted the introduction of Live +3 ratings into the NBCU world. Yesterday power players from the world of NBCU converged to have a presser for financial analysts in Manhattan. A lot of noteworthy things came out of that meeting but for the purposes of this blog only two are worth mentioning.

Variety’s Michael Learmonth notes that the cost cutting initiative, “NBCU 2.0″, is far from over…in fact it has grown past its original range…

Zucker touted the NBC 2.0 cost-cutting initiative, which saved the company $600 million-$700 million last year, and said further cuts of $300 million-$400 million are planned for the coming year as the company seeks to transform what he called its “analog cost structure.”

Did anyone pin Zucker down on what those cuts would entail? Well, TVWeek’s Michele Greppi has a bit more on that…

Mr. Zucker identified several other major “headwinds” affecting NBCU: Its DVD library is not as valuable as it once was and, until NBCU operations are completely digitized, outdated analog structural costs are a drag on the bottom line.

Mr. Zucker said new targets for cost-cutting will raise to $1.5 billion the total efficiencies achieved since beginning the transition to digital and other synergies.

“We’re going to continue to make necessary changes,” he said of cost-cutting and more upbeat strategies. “We are really clicking.”

Ok, which is it? Learmonth pegs the total cuts at 1 billion if you add the worst case numbers together. Greppi quotes a number that’s half a billion more than that…not chump change. Or was Zucker giving out two sets of numbers which didn’t reconcile with each other?

Meanwhile The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul J. Gough includes some quotes from CNBC President Mark Hoffman regarding his network’s performance with the launch of FBC on the horizon…
(more…)

Amy Robach was at the news desk for Morning Joe this morning and Scarborough needled her incessantly about the rumor that she’s going to Today. At the end of the show Contessa Brewer stopped by to talk about the Tommy Chong interview. Nothing particularly newsworthy came out of that segment so…no video.

Reese blogs again about the weekly ratings…

Cable news audiences continue to age. Given the demographic information I receive it is impossible to be exact in the percentages of gross audience, but I can approximate with reasonable accuracy. Here goes:

35% of the FoxNews audience is under 55. In the same category, CNN gets 46 %, MSNBC has 50% and Headline News 53%. The larger the audience the lower the percentages of viewers under 55. On that basis, FoxNews is the least efficient news network but in terms of total audience, it’s far and away the winner. The more viewers you get, the older they are and what does that say about the future of cable news?