MSNBC will be doing Super Tuesday coverage tomorrow to tie in to the Green is Universal program. For those keeping score that means that for three weeks in a row MSNBC will be doing Super Tuesday coverage. It did it last week for the Democratic debate and it will do it next Tuesday for the Houston Presidential Summit moderated by Tim Russert…
WallStreetFighter finds today’s Bill Carter’s Maria Bartiromo piece wanting.
Update: Note to the WallStreetFighter, Carter works for the Times, not the Post.
Update 2: The WallStreetFighter corrected its mistake…
Bill wrote a piece today in the NY Post entitled “As Citigroup Chief Totters, CNBC Reporter Is Having a Great Year” that was light on fact but heavy on lust.
Why does Bill Carter describe 2007 as a “turnaround year” for CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo? Carter claims that “she continues to score among the best ratings for CNBC,” but Closing Bell is one of the lowest rated daytime programs among the core demo. And, The Wall Street Journal Report delivers a far smaller audience – 66% lower –than the average Sunday morning broadcast news program.
Cable News Daily Live Ratings for November 2, 2007
P2+ Total Day
FNC – 822,000 viewers
CNN – 441,000 viewers
MSNBC – 286,000 viewers
CNBC – 236,000 viewers
HLN – 228,000 viewers
P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,454,000 viewers
CNN – 590,000 viewers
MSNBC- 549,000 viewers
CNBC –193,000 viewers
HLN – 386,000 viewers
25-54 Total Day
FNC – 232,000 viewers
CNN – 135,000 viewers
MSNBC – 113,000 viewers
CNBC – 68,000 viewers
HLN- 87,000 viewers
25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 250,000 viewers
CNN – 173,000 viewers
MSNBC – 195,000 viewers
CNBC – 73,000 viewers
HLN – 136,000 viewers
Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 996,000 viewers (360,000)
American Morning- 376,000 viewers (129,000)
Morning Joe – 219,000 viewers (83,000)
Robin & Co. – 184,000 viewers (91,000)
(more…)
The New York Times’ Jacques Steinberg and Bill Carter scoop about Rosie O’Donnell being in serious discussions to come to MSNBC prime time…
Rosie O’Donnell, who abruptly left “The View” on ABC last spring after drawing attention and ratings for her opinions on everything from the Iraq war to her co-hosts, is in serious discussions to return to television atop a new soapbox: a prime-time show on the cable news channel MSNBC, according to executives on both sides of the negotiations who have been briefed directly.
Under one scenario, Ms. O’Donnell would be given the 9 p.m. slot each weeknight on MSNBC, where she would go head-to-head with two heavyweights of cable talk: “Larry King Live” on CNN and “Hannity & Colmes” on Fox News. Her show would replace “Live with Dan Abrams,” a relatively low-rated program that only recently replaced “Scarborough Country,” which was also little-watched.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Setting aside my own natural horror at the thought of Rosie O’Donnell getting a prime time cable news gig, there are some things that don’t add up here. Is Rosie really willing to work that many hours a day to put in the effort to have a quality show four days a week? And if they tie that in to NBC, that’s even more hours per week.
Second, and even more importantly, salary. Would NBC really offer Rosie more than Olbermann gets currently? Because you know 4 million a year, what Olbermann is rumored to be getting, just ain’t going to be enough. And this is the network that has been in NBCU 2.0 budget cutting mode for over a year and a 4 million plus budget busting contract is not something I see them taking on.
So for those two reasons alone, I’m not convinced that this story is anywhere near as realistic as it’s being made out to be.
Update: Another thing just hit me. All of Rosie’s previous TV show appearances have had a studio audience component. She has never been seriously tested in a non-studio audience environment. So NBC faces another tough choice, put her on in an environment that may not be her strong suit or bring in a studio audience four nights a week. And that would be another huge cost to incur on top of all the other costs of bringing in Rosie.
Update 2: This part should have some tongues at MSNBC wagging…
Her show would replace “Live with Dan Abrams,” a relatively low-rated program that only recently replaced “Scarborough Country,”
Who pulled out the long knives for Abrams? This sentence runs 180 degrees counter to everything that has been said about Abrams’ program publicly by MSNBC. When the switchover from GM to show host was announced, we read about how Abrams had improved the numbers at 9pm. But to read this sentence you’d think that Abrams’ show was found under a rock. Which makes me question someone’s motives…
Last Week, Variety’s Brian Lowry looked at coverage of the California Wildfires. And Glenn Beck’s name came up…
Despite this vast region’s unparalleled variety, the prevailing image of Southern California from a distance is best summed up in a joke by the comic Gallagher, in which he compared Los Angeles with a bowl of granola — a mixture of fruits, nuts and flakes.
This perception neatly dovetails with the Eastern establishment’s condescending attitude, from the D.C. politicians who come here strictly to tap into big local money to news organizations that capitalize on celebrity foibles as a growing component of their tabloid-style content (even MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann incorporates a regular “Keeping Tabs” segment chronicling star shenanigans) — a paper-thin perspective buttressed, fairly or not, by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s current starring role as California’s governor.
The myopia crested in the idiocy of radio and CNN host Glenn Beck, who drew appropriate rebuke for saying while the fires raged, “There is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.” Never mind that most of the homes were lost in San Diego, a typically conservative bastion, as Beck simple-mindedly lumped together everyone west of Nevada under the Democratic tent.
Even more traditional anchors, however, couldn’t resist the La-la-land stereotypes, with CNN’s Don Lemon delivering a little quip about Yoga being offered in Qualcomm Stadium, the spot where fire evacuees assembled.
This morning Fox and Friends kicked off its “After the Show, Show” FoxNews.com post Fox and Friends segment. The segment will feature extended interviews with the day’s guests, candid time with on-air hosts and a closer look at the inner-workings of F&F. Alisyn Camerota blogged about it this morning…
This morning we start a new feature that will reveal what really goes on behind-the-scenes here when the show ends. Our cameras will keep rolling live for the next five minutes and capture all the things we do once we let our hair down. Gretchen, Brian, Steve and I have no idea what we’ll say or do, though if it’s a typical day, you can bet they’ll be some loud music playing and possibly some dancing. We don’t really have a “plan” or “vision” yet for the after-show. Some days we’ll stay on the couch to continue chatting with a guest, some days we’ll eat our breakfast. So, you’ll be watching a concept-in-progress.
Tonight On The Record with Greta Van Susteren begins something similar only starting at the opposite end of the program. On the Record will begin live streaming video of “Greta’s Live Wire” on foxnews.com offering viewers a live look at the pre-show lead up to air. Greta blogged about that this morning…
TONIGHT, (and if all goes as planned) at 9:45pm, if you return to GretaWire, there will be a link that you can go to where you can see our show webcam. You will get to watch what goes on in the studio on your computer. Yes, you will be able to watch on your computer our pre show lead up…BUT here is the catch: you have to be ready to jump to your TV right at 10pm eastern when our show hits air or you will miss the top of the show! This is an experiment….either this will be really fun or it will be a giant flop…nothing in between…
The New York Post’s Michael Starr writes that Nancy Grace has given birth to twins…
CNN Headline News star Nancy Grace made her own headline yesterday - giving birth to twins a little earlier than expected.
Grace, 48, was due to deliver near the end of the year. But she developed fluid in her lungs and her doctor determined “it would be best for Nancy, and for the twins” to deliver them ASAP, said her spokeswoman, Janine Iamunno.
Ron Steinman pans CNN’s The Situation Room…(via Newslab). However, I think a lot of Steinman’s criticisms can be extended beyond The Situation Room to cable news in general…
As a substitute for insight, CNN uses a variety of TV tricks that I assume it believes will give us greater understanding of a subject. A news show should present to its audience with clear information. A news show should not deceive its audience. For example, that huge wall behind the anchor on “The Situation Room” set is a serious distraction. My attention wanders when I watch the wall. Where do I look? Where should I look? Oh, there is another angle during the interview. Oh, there is more of what in news we call “wallpaper,” shots of something that relates to the story, perhaps from another similar story, but is not of the story itself. I think I am watching a sporting event on TV instead of a purportedly hard newscast. The wall is clever. But with its four sections containing moving pictures, and Wolf Blitzer usually covering part of the frame, it is difficult to know where to look or what to watch. These devices do not work for me.
Worse is the use of video during an interview without identifying it as file or at least the date when it was shot. The video plays behind the interviewer and interviewee, often in profile for the wide shot. Sometimes it is in a box next to the interviewee who is also in a box. Either way, the unidentified footage dominates the scene. It is a major distraction. CNN also insists on using the same footage repeatedly throughout the interview. That is very disconcerting. Other cable networks also engage in this seemingly harmless trickery. It means that the free-flying footage on the screen overwhelms the meaning of the interview. CNN is only one of many doing this in TV news, but CNN is the worst offender of anyone in the TV news business.
The New York Times’ Brian Stelter profiles Glenn Beck…
“I guess I’m too stupid to self-edit, so I tell people exactly the way I feel,” Mr. Beck said in an interview. “I truly believe radio is the most powerful medium there is. It’s really treated so many times as a bastard child of other mediums. It is the most effective medium, when it’s done right, because it reaches right into the listeners and connects with them on a one-on-one level.”
Broadcasting & Cable’s Marisa Guthrie interviews Lou Dobbs…
Q: I know you don’t like any of the candidates. But do you think voters learn anything useful about the candidates through the debates?
A: I think they’re instructive as to what [the candidates] don’t know and as to what they want to project themselves as. Do I think it’s worthwhile for anyone to sit there and listen to all of these candidates in both political parties give one-dimensional answers to highly predictable and packaged questions? No, I don’t.
Q: So you don’t think the debates bring much to bear on the political process?
A: It’s part of the process. But that process has brought us in the last presidential election two people who were from families of privilege, both graduates of Yale and members of Skull and Bones, as the best contenders for the presidency from among a population of 300 million people. That’s utter, utter madness.
The New York Times’ Bill Carter profiles CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo, who comments on the Citgigroup “scandal” for the first time…
“I really feel like I have had the year of my career,” Ms. Bartiromo, who is 40, said, “the best year of my career.”
That might not have been expected in January, when the heat from the Citigroup incident was turned up, though her bosses at CNBC defended her vigorously. Ms. Bartiromo has not commented on the Citigroup episode until now.
“I didn’t think I had to defend what I was doing,” she said.
Ten months later, she has some pointed words for members of the media who accused her of unethical behavior, and for Citigroup, including, by name, Mr. Prince. She suggested that professional rivalry might have been a motivation for the speculation and innuendo about her.
“Some reporters were upset because I kept scooping them and they felt, oh, this is perfect. This is a window. Let me, you know, bring her down,” she said.
And she said she had been unfairly caught up in a management upheaval at Citigroup. She suggested that her relationship with Mr. Thomson — which she conceded was friendly but said was a source-reporter association — was used as a diversionary tactic by Mr. Prince to cover whatever his underlying reasons were for ousting Mr. Thomson.
In a case of breaking the cardinal rule of not rebroadcasting a special when the talent has departed for another rival network, CNBC rebroadcast Liz Claman’s Warren Buffett interview “The Billionaire Next Door” over the weekend. Claman, you’ll recall, had a Buffett exclusive for an hour on the day she first appeared on FBN’s air.
Broadcasting & Cable’s Marisa Guthrie has an interview with FBN’s Kevin Magee…
Q: What’s your reaction to Zucker’s recent comments that Fox Business is not for viewers who actually want information about investing?
A: Jeff really hasn’t had any success since the Today show, so I’m not sure he’s the best barometer for what’s good for TV. Our people look like they’re very happy to be on TV. And over at CNBC, they look miserable. If I were working under Jeff, who sort of failed upward, I’d be miserable, too. The fact is, he’s liable to get more shrill as we go along because he’s got all of the resources of NBC behind this. When they went into NBC 2.0 [cost-saving restructuring], the only exemption was CNBC because they knew we were coming. Anything that they wanted, any project they wanted to do, got funded. And if we get any kind of foothold or make any inroads after all of that, I think it’s going to reflect very badly on Jeff.
Q: Liz Claman was the most visible CNBC defector at Fox Business. Is there anyone else you would like to poach?
A: They’re all good at CNBC, and they all deserve a place at the table. But I didn’t want this place to look like that place. Liz and I worked together a few years back. She’s smart as a whip, she fills the screen and she brings great energy to every project she does.
Q: What about former Fast Money contributor Eric Bolling? Smart money says he’s headed to Fox Business after he resolves his legal issues with NBCU.
A: Eric Bolling is sitting out a noncompete. I wouldn’t want to say anything that would make all the lawyers jump up and down.
What’s hot:
Tucker Carlson - For all the wrong reasons. Carlson signed off from his program on Friday by thanking all eight people who watched him. This apparently caused a commotion at 30 Rock.
MSNBC’s Democratic Debate - It may not have been as rowdy as the last Republican debate but it generated enough headlines to keep the news cycle going most of the week, particularly on MSNBC.
What’s not:
Poor prep work at Countdown - Last week nobody at Countdown caught on to the fact that what Giuliani said in his speech didn’t match what the AP wrote, even though that clip was used on the air during Countdown. This blunder resulted in Keith Olbermann having to issue a correction and an apology at the end of Friday night’s program.
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