AdWeek’s Mike Shields writes about the ramifications and benefits/pitfalls of making the Wall Street Journal website free…

Many predict Murdoch also has plans for Dow Jones’ MarketWatch. Kramer believes it’s the perfect property to kick start FoxBusiness.com, which has surprised many rivals by exceeding 2.1 million unique users in its first month (versus the 821,000 uniques at CNBC.com, relaunched a year ago). Expectations were low for the site due to Fox News’ lackluster foray into the Web. Observers have also slammed its design. But the site’s managing editor, Ray Hennessey, said FoxBusiness.com has an advantage FoxNews.com did not: It was built in conjunction with the channel. “Where things have gone wrong is there is an absolute disconnect between Web and TV presence,” he said. “We did it [right]. We’re not an afterthought.”

Post your reactions to the CNN/YouTube debate here…

ICN has learned that tonight at a Jim Cramer book party it was announced that Cramer has signed a new multi-year deal with CNBC. Expect a release soon…

Update: The release…

CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced that Jim Cramer, host of “Mad Money w/Jim Cramer” (6PM & 11PM ET), has signed a multi-year deal to remain with the network.

“Jim has played an integral part in CNBC’s rebirth. He is not only one of the most respected and successful Wall Street minds but also happens to be a great entertainer,” said Mark Hoffman, CNBC President. “I’m thrilled Jim will remain part of the CNBC family. When Jim Cramer speaks, people listen, and so does the market.”

In addition to hosting “Mad Money,” Cramer will continue his “Stop Trading” segment with CNBC’s Erin Burnett during “Street Signs” (2PM-3PM ET). Cramer will also begin contributing original content to the “Mad Money” homepage (madmoney.cnbc.com) on CNBC.com, the network’s official website.

“With my program, CNBC has given me the opportunity to break down the traditionally complicated stock market to engage and educate the next generation of Wall Street investors,” says Jim Cramer. “Doing ‘Mad Money’ everyday is my passion and I’m excited to be a part of this incredible network. This is the only team I want to play for.”
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Multichannel News’ Steve Donohue writes about the November numbers…

Fox News Channel dominated the all-news network ratings battle in November, while rival CNN saw the biggest ratings decrease in the all-news category.

FNC averaged a 0.7 total-day rating in November, according to Nielsen Media Research numbers, flat with the same period in 2006. CNN averaged a 0.4 rating, down 20%.

Update: The Hollywood Reporter’s Paul J. Gough…

MSNBC was the only network to show increases in primetime among adults 25-54, up 7%, while both CNN and Fox were down 15%.

Update 2: Broadcasting & Cable’s Marisa Guthrie…
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Cable News Daily Live Ratings for November 27, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 908,000 viewers
CNN – 511,000 viewers
MSNBC – 252,000 viewers
CNBC – 270,000 viewers
HLN – 273,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,848,000 viewers
CNN – 873,000 viewers
MSNBC- 561,000 viewers
CNBC –274,000 viewers
HLN – 490,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 263,000 viewers
CNN – 175,000 viewers
MSNBC – 99,000 viewers
CNBC – 75,000 viewers
HLN- 126,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 456,000 viewers
CNN – 220,000 viewers
MSNBC – 231,000 viewers
CNBC – 82,000 viewers
HLN – 173,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 798,000 viewers (285,000)
American Morning- 382,000 viewers (141,000)
Morning Joe – 235,000 viewers (68,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade- 259,000 viewers (142,000)
(more…)

Big Head D.C. is reporting that FNC will be unveiling two new vehicles to be used to cover political events.

Update: More info…

Just when the political season is heating, FOX News is unveiling ElectionLink trucks this weekend, which will be dispatched to New Hampshire and Iowa. These vehicles will feature state of the art technology that will allow FNC’s political team to cover various political events around the country. The ElectionLinks are completely tapeless and have the ability for live streaming through an IP based transmission. They are also equipped with Raysat antennas that will stream 725-750 kb/sec, more than twice the signal strength of most standard remote antennas, enabling a more stable and robust signal even when the ElectionLinks are moving.

E.D. Hill reported this yesterday.

If you want to spread some holiday cheer on your own; think about this to your Christmas or Hanukkah card list. Send the card to A Recovering American Soldier and here’s how you do it. And thank you to a number of viewers who brought this to my attention because I just thought it was wonderful and wanted to share this. You title it A Recovering American Soldier [address]. Leave that up there a little bit and I want to let you know that over the next couple of weeks I’m going to continue putting up that information and other ways you can help our military families.

Unfortunately this is a known email hoax. I myself was given such an email noting this about a month ago. I smelled a chain letter (anything that says send this to everyone on your email list is automatically suspect in my book) and looked up on the internet and quickly found that a) The U.S. Post Office is not processing any letters addressed to A Recovering American Soldier, and b) Walter Reed isn’t accepting letters addressed as such for “security reasons”. Evidently, this was relayed to FNC because Hill issued an apology today…

ALSO, OUR APOLOGIES FOR PASSING ON SOME INACCURATE INFORMATION YESTERDAY. WALTER REED ARMY MEDICAL CENTER CITING SECURITY CONCERNS AND SAYS IT CANNOT ACCEPT ANY HOLIDAY CARDS ADDRESSED TO “A RECOVERING SOLDIER”. THE CARDS MUST HAVE A SPECIFIC NAME. THE ARMY IS SUGGESTING YOU SEND A MONEY TO A CHARITY THAT HELPS SOLIDERS BUT I KNOW THAT A LOT OF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING A BIT MORE PERSONAL. AND SO WE ARE WORKING WITH A NUMBER OF PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN SEND HOLIDAY CHEER, HOLIDAY CARDS TO THOSE WHO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR ALL OF US.

Inustrial?

Ok, with that I’m going to put my foot down on this spellcheck stuff. It happens. It’s like the Hazards of Live TV. But if I start spending my time looking for typos, or being tipped to typos, that’s a little too nitpicky. Every once in a while, sure. Ok. But I don’t want this turning into a daily thing…or even a weekly thing. At least with the Hazards of Live TV the type of Hazard that happens on a given day is constantly different, which keeps things fresh. But typos are typos and will always be typos.

This morning on FOX & Friends Alisyn Camerota interviewed Jon Bon Jovi about his Project Home organization, which provides new and refurbished homes in the Philadelphia area to those in need. Earlier this week, Camerota and Bon Jovi visited one of the families who received a new home from the organization.

Comedian/Actor/Wild and Crazy Guy Steve Matin will be on Tim Russert’s MSNBC program this Saturday at Noon…

Steve Martin, writer, actor, and performer, will appear on this week’s edition of “Tim Russert.” Martin will discuss his new book, “Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life” about his career, and those who influenced him over the years.

CNBC announced this morning a new series examining the real estate industry…

CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, is expanding its already unparalleled coverage of the critical real estate industry by establishing a daily series of reports under the umbrella title “The Home Front,” effective immediately.

CNBC Washington-based real estate correspondent Diana Olick, among others, will provide news and analysis affecting home buyers, sellers, owners, builders, lenders and investors. With housing prices falling in virtually all regions, and foreclosures rising sharply, real estate is a growing concern for millions of Americans. At the same time, falling prices have created incredible buying opportunities across the country in some of the most coveted zip codes.
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Here are the Total Day and Primetime channel rankers for November. FNC came in 6th in Primetime and 10th in Total Day. CNN came in 26th in prime time and 27th in Total Day. MSNBC came in 30th in Primetime but didn’t crack the top 30 in Total Day.
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Town Hall.com’s Mary Katherine Ham has an interview with Anderson Cooper and CNN D.C. Bureau Chief David Boorman in the run up to tonight’s CNN/YouTube debate…

Q: Things are heating up on both primary sides right about now. How does it feel to know you’re walking into a slugfest?

AC: “You know, you never know what it’s gonna end up being like. It’ll certainly be interesting…rhetoric’s been heating up.”

Q: Why do it? Why does a YouTube debate matter, and what does it mean for politics in ’08—this democratization of politics?

AC: “I’m not sure where it’s going. It’s definitely changing things, I think. I’ve watched basically all the debates since the first YouTube debate—all had some kind of user-generated content, I think…”

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s the way it goes.

“But once you’ve seen the possibilities, it’s pretty interesting, and technology’s only going to improve.”

Cable News Daily Live Ratings for November 26, 2007

P2+ Total Day
FNC – 965,000 viewers
CNN – 486,000 viewers
MSNBC – 256,000 viewers
CNBC – 243,000 viewers
HLN – 265,000 viewers

P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 1,928,000 viewers
CNN – 803,000 viewers
MSNBC- 487,000 viewers
CNBC –143,000 viewers
HLN – 468,000 viewers

25-54 Total Day
FNC – 243,000 viewers
CNN – 159,000 viewers
MSNBC – 92,000 viewers
CNBC – 79,000 viewers
HLN- 114,000 viewers

25-54 Prime Time
FNC – 402,000 viewers
CNN – 216,000 viewers
MSNBC – 162,000 viewers
CNBC – 74,000 viewers
HLN – 139,000 viewers

Morning programs P2+ (25-54)
FOX & Friends – 908,000 viewers (263,000)
American Morning- 345,000 viewers (146,000)
Morning Joe – 228,000 viewers (55,000)
Morning Express w/ Meade- 233,000 viewers (128,000)
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The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette profiles FNC’s Bill Hemmer…

“People ask me all the time what the difference is between CNN and Fox,” said Mr. Hemmer. “It’s day and night. We’re a business. Viewers count. Ratings count. The store has got to stay open. We need customers.”

Jay Wallace, FNC’s executive producer of news, described Mr. Hemmer as a multifaceted correspondent who isn’t tied to a prompter and who ad-libs well. According to Mr. Wallace, as the political campaign season progresses, Fox will probably further test Mr. Hemmer’s range by sending America’s Newsroom out into the field to places like Iowa and New Hampshire. “He can easily juggle world events into that coverage,” said Mr. Wallace. “He’s well-read and versatile.”

Mr. Hemmer took another sip of his coffee and launched into a story about flying to Louisiana with a lean four-person team to cover Hurricane Katrina on his first assignment for Fox. There, on the sweltering streets of Baton Rouge, he came face to face with a 15-member CNN crew, who were busy eating pizza.

Mr. Hemmer shook his head. A pizza party in a disaster zone? He said the story was telling of an organization that had grown plump and was no longer hungry. “At Fox we do more with less,” he said. CNN declined to comment, but it’s worth noting that the network is comprised of multiple channels, including Headline News, CNN International and CNN en Español, which could account for the larger team.

CNBC announced that it will premiere “Warren Buffet: The Billionaire Next Door Going Global” on Friday, November 30th at 9pm ET…

Ever wanted to travel with the third richest man in the world? Join CNBC’s Becky Quick as she goes to China and South Korea with billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

In a one-hour CNBC special, “Warren Buffett: The Billionaire Next Door Going Global,” premiering on Friday, November 30th at 9PM & 12AM ET and hosted by Becky Quick, CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, takes you behind the scenes to see what it’s like to travel with the “Oracle of Omaha” first-hand.

Quick, co-anchor of “Squawk Box” (6AM-9AM ET), gives an exclusive look at Warren Buffett’s life, inside his private plane, his social network and even a tour of his…wallet.
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In a must read, Media Daily News’ Joe Mandese writes about the latest battlefield in the Olbermann/O’Reilly feud: FBN’s ratings…

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and MSNBC’s Keith Olberman has taken a surprising turn in recent weeks, moving from trash talk to trashing Nielsen’s TV ratings for the fledgling Fox Business News Channel. What makes the development so surprising is that Nielsen has yet to release any ratings for the new business network, and the on-air rants are likely not-so-veiled references to highly preliminary ratings data that Fox and NBC have purchased from Nielsen. The spectacle has even blossomed a viral component, including a YouTube video outtake of one of Olberbman’s MSNBC diatribes labeled “”Olberman Trashing FNC Research” that has led some industry observers to question whether Nielsen has a role in sanctioning the use of its data in such a highly public forum.

Big Head NYC notes a bit of a to do on Morning Joe this morning…

Reuters’ Fabian Cambero writes about a gaffe that happened on CNN’s air which has annoyed Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. That might not be such a bad thing actually…(via FTVLive)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday CNN may have been instigating his murder when the U.S. TV network showed a photograph of him with a label underneath that read “Who killed him?”

The caption appeared to be a production mistake — confusing a Chavez news item with one on the death of a football star. The anchor said “take the image down” when he realized.

But Chavez called for a probe in an interview on state television, where he repeatedly reviewed a tape of the broadcast, questioning why the unconnected photograph and wording were left on screen for several seconds.

TVTechnology.com’s James E. O’Neal writes about the new news digs at 30 Rock in a must read article for tech geeks and NBC News infrastructure buffs. Vice President of Technology Operations, Nick Tzanis, is interviewed for this piece…

Conventional dedicated graphics workstations have given way to 35 Mac G5 platforms running Adobe Creative Suite software. An additional 10 PCs loaded with Studio Max or Maya are also employed for graphics production. Upwards of 100 graphic artists are needed to keep up with the demands of the combined news operations.

Sony MVS-8000s are used for switching live newscasts and Sony flat screen monitors, driven by Evertz MVP muxing, are used for control room monitoring.

Audio mixing is handled with Calrec Alpha consoles equipped with Bluefin processing, while high-end audio sweetening is handled by Digidesign consoles and offline chores are accommodated by internal Avid mixing tools.
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KATV has a wrap up of Lou Dobbs Tonight airing from Arkansas yesterday…

Lou Dobbs enters to applause Tuesday night, speaking to a crowd of more than six hundred people at the Statehouse Convention Center.

Earlier in the evening, he broadcast his prime-time political program live from the Peabody Hotel.

A main topic: Immigration in Arkansas.

(Lou Dobbs, CNN)”Arkansas is hardly different from any other state that is having to come to terms with the issue of the impact of illegal immigration, because the federal government has refused to do its job.”

For the month of November, CNN’s American Morning dropped from second to 3rd in the Demo, falling behind HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade. This is the first time since December 2004 that American Morning has found itself in 3rd place. The program had a drop off of 40% in the 25-54 Demo (Live+SD) in November 2007 vs. November 2006.

Below is a chart showing, in Live ratings, that since American Morning launched with the team of Kiran Chetry and John Roberts, the program has declined 25% in Total Viewers.
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