"We Have Eliminated" Far-Left Liars, O'Reilly Says
Bill O'Reilly responded to David Cole during his Talking Points last night: "The Factor has the most diverse guest list in TV news, but we have eliminated some of the liberal pundits. There are two rules here: you can't lie and you cannot filibuster — that is give a speech. We have conversations. So, recently, we've had some far left guests who have absolutely lied about their experiences on The Factor. We've exposed some of those lies; others we've ignored. But we have eliminated those people as guests in the future." Hmmm -- the most diverse guest list in TV news. Anybody want to research that?... 10:29:43 PM

McEnroe Press Tour: "A Chance To...Spread My Wings"
"Enough about tennis," the Star-Telegram says. "John McEnroe has some other things he'd like to sound off about for a while." Quoting the new CNBC host: "I'm very excited about being able to talk about other sports. And I'm a big fan of music and comedy. I love politics from a distance. So the chance to be topical and spread my wings is very exciting." He says he is feeling 'nervous excitement:' "I'd rather go out and try to do something and fail at it than not try it at all." He'll start trying on Wednesday... 10:27:36 PM

McEnroe Press Tour: "We Are Just Trying To Be Different"
Variety's headline: "CNBC pins hopes on loudmouth legend." Highlights, via the Hotline:
> The show is part of "campaign to take the dollar sign out of [its] evening lineup and replace it with more entertaining fare."
> McEnroe: "It's a great opportunity, because the expectations are lower than if I were appearing on network television." He "didn't want to host a typical news and interview talker, meaning 'McEnroe' looks and feels like a late night show."
> CNBC VP Bob Meyers: "We are just trying to be different...Having the same old thing in terms of news and information isn't something that appealed to me." 10:25:32 PM

McEnroe Press Tour: David Bauder's Version
John McEnroe's new show gets the David Bauder treatment today. "In test runs, the program's eclectic mix of guests feels like an expanded version of the second half of Jon Stewart's 'The Daily Show,'" Bauder writes. "For those keeping score at home: CNBC's prime-time features a comedian who wants to be a right-wing politician and an ex-jock who wants to be a comedian." CNBC exec Pamela Thomas-Graham says she thinks "people will see that we're in the process of building a lineup and we're not done yet"... 5:44:52 PM

McEnroe Press Tour: A Story Of Two John's
Verne Gay has a must-read about CNBC's John's in Newsday. He talks about John Layfield, the analyst who was recently fired, then segues into John McEnroe. Quoting: "OK, so the big question: Why Mac? It's a good question, and the answer - sorry, reader - is a little fuzzy." 4:45:08 PM

Zucker: 'Miller' In "Good Shape;" 8pm Talk Show Planned For CNBC
Verne Gay's Newsday piece about CNBC includes several interesting passages. Highlights:
> "Network executives want to hold on to some of those exceedingly well-paid, mostly young male viewers who compose the bulk of CNBC's audience by day but who usually evaporate by prime time."
> Zucker compares the challenge to "the one that faced Viacom when it created Nickelodeon's evening counterpart, 'Nick at Nite.'"
> "Zucker says 'Miller' is 'in good shape [and] meeting all our expectations,' and that there are plans to launch a new 8 p.m. talk show that will be 'very much' in the spirit of 'Miller' and 'McEnroe.'" 4:38:57 PM

CNN Technical Woes: What Was Wrong With The Microphones?
An e-mailer describes CNN technical woes this afternoon:
> "Watching CNN at 1:05 p.m. and Fredricka Whitfield's mic was dead...They've had numerous technical mistakes in the past few weeks on the afternoon show."
> "CNN's Holly Firfer's mic was also dead when she came on camera to tease something. 1:14 p.m. Do they have a summer intern at the controls? It looks (sounds) horrible."
> "Weather girl Orelon Sidney just concluded weather and they kept the camera in cue, she was seen walking away from the chromakey and she was not looking happy."
> Around 1:45pm: "Fredrica Whitfield's audio went dead during a Brando interview w/ People magazine and all that could be heard was loud voices from the CNN Center newsroom. After about 30 seconds Kyra Phillips broke in from right beside her." 4:25:13 PM

Media Notes: Marlon Brando Coverage Edition
> Larry King Live will be dedicated to Brando tonight. "In his appearance [on the show] in 1995, he actually kissed Larry King on the lips," Betty Nguyen said this morning. "A lot of talk about that at the time. Marlon Brando quite a character."
> MSNBC.com is posting messages from Brando's fans
> "CBS's KPHO in Phoenix broke the news of Brando's death," an e-mailer says. "This happened LATE LAST NIGHT. The Early Show did not have it."
> Lucianne.com posted the story at 4:01am from the Phoenix station, "waaaaay ahead of Drudge, CNN, the wires....the world," an e-mailer notes.
> Editor & Publisher says the New York Post was the first newspaper to report the news. 4:25:09 PM

Talent Shake-Up At MSNBC? Bianca Solorzano Let Go
MSNBC has decided not to renew the contract of news anchor Bianca Solorzano, NewsBlues reports. Is this a talent shake-up of sorts? Christy Musumeci's contract is also being allowed to expire. At the same time, folks like Willow Bay and Natalie Allen are seeing more air time... 12:50:21 PM

Bush Or Brando? Cabler Coverage Varies
From an e-mailer: "I was watching President Bush speak on CNN when CNN dropped the speech for the news of Marlon Brando's death followed by a lengthy tribute. Nice - but I was watching the President speak. I went to MSNBC - Brando. I went to FOX - the President's speech. Thank goodness one cable network stayed with President Bush's speech and used the lower 1/3 to announce Brando's death instead of instantly dropping real news to become Access Hollywood."
> UPDATE: From an e-mailer: "CNN dumped out of Bush after losing the video signal twice. Stuff happens. All the cable networks had obits ready to go, so his death was not totally unexpected. The cable nets and all responsible news organizations waited until they could CONFIRM the story... Remember when the AP reported Bob Hope dead, about two years before it happened?" 12:06:08 PM

Brando: FOX, MSNBC Offer Online Retrospectives; Where is CNN's?
After an hour of Internet jabber ("Drudge has it -- why doesn't anyone else?"), the news of Marlon Brando's passing has been reported by the cable nets. FOX took the lead on posting web site items, as of 11:50am. Roger Friedman confirmed the news on FOXNews.com. The site has a filmography, list of quotations and a photo essay. MSNBC.com has a retrospective from film critic John Harti, plus a live vote about Brando's films and a filmography. CNN.com only has the AP story... 11:56:47 AM

How The Pentagon Was Controlling Saddam Hearing Coverage (Sort Of)
Pamela McClintock's Variety story about the "bizarre series of events" surrounding media coverage of Saddam's hearing was picked up by Reuters today. The video was censored, and some of the sound was cut. An excerpt: "It's also possible that some of the footage was supplied by Dept. of Defense cameras, which were allowed to record sound. Throughout the day, several news nets said it wasn't always clear which footage was from what source, and that it could have been DOD footage, meaning the Pentagon was directly controlling what was being heard." 11:40:04 AM

"Saddam TV Made Its Debut Yesterday"
...That's how Howard Kurtz puts it in his online column this morning: "The legal commentators are back. The Arab analysts are back. The translators are back. The reporters chasing reaction, from Baghdad to the Beltway, are back...The proceeding lacked the fireworks of the trial of Scott Peterson, who was described by a former mistress as obsessed with sex. But cable television, which kept rerunning it, obviously thinks the case is a winner (not to mention its importance in geopolitical terms, for the future of the Middle East, and all that jazz)." 9:47:17 AM

Media Notes: Saddam Trial Pool; The 7:47 Blonde
> Christiane Amanpour and Peter Jennings got in Saddam's courtroom yesterday by asking Iraqi Special Tribunal director Salem Chalabi for permission, the NYT says.
> "So far this campaign season CNN.com has been a major player in Campaign Desk's ongoing count of vacuous stories pointlessly predicting unpredictable events, from the veepstakes all the way up through the winner in November"...
> Aaron Brown talked to the director of the new documentary "The Control Room" last night. Transcript...
> FOX's Steve Doocy writes about the 7:47 blonde... 9:37:52 AM

"Candy" For War Correspondents
"Blackouts, drugs, daydreams" are the topics of Steve Harrigan's latest FOXNews.com blog. An excerpt: With the shift in time zones and odd schedules, many journalists rely on pharmaceuticals. Most can be purchased in Jordan with no prescription. On the plane ride in from London I saw one correspondent from another network hold out her hand to her producer — palm flat like a child waiting for candy. They were standing up in the aisle of the plane. The producer took a small pill out of a bag and dropped it in the correspondent's palm. She swallowed it, then went in the back row to sleep. 9:36:19 AM

Saddam Hearing: MSNBC's In-Depth Primetime Special
Kudos to MSNBC's two-hour "Saddam In Court" special report tonight. Chris Jansing and Amy Robach did a marvelous job anchoring. Saddam's court appearance re-aired, with English translations. (But the quality of the translation could have been better.) Rick Francona sat with Chris and Amy (nice set, with the old Iraq maps) and offered analysis. Tom Aspell weighed in from Baghdad a few times, and Dan Abrams had the legal angle. The CNN pool producer was also interviewed live. A great example of what primetime news programming could be... 11:38:48 PM

Cole: O'Reilly "Screamed," "Called Me An SOB Three Times"
David Cole -- the law professor who confronted Bill O'Reilly Washington Post yesterday -- appeared on CNBC's Capital Report tonight. Here is the transcript. Excerpt:

MURRAY: ...Anybody who watches Bill O'Reilly's show for five minutes knows he has a strong point of view and knows what that point of view is. Why should anybody be surprised that he would edit out a soundbite that didn't fit the direction he's going in. COLE: No, nobody should be surprised. But when he says sanctimoniously says, `We can't have spin; it's dividing the country; you know, the spin has got to stop,' and then he starts accusing another media outlet of engaging in that spin--all I was saying was, `Look, Bill, you're doing the exact same thing.' And as soon as I said that, he literally blew up. He screamed at me; he called me an SOB three times. He said, `We will not put this accusation on air when we show the thing, and you're never, ever going to be on this show again'...

11:20:41 PM

CNN 1, Florida 0
"A state court judge in Florida ordered Thursday that the board of elections immediately release a list of nearly 50,000 suspected felons to CNN and other news organizations that last month sued the state for access to copies of the list," CNN.com says... 11:19:14 PM

Saddam's Hearing: Severe Pool Restrictions; 'Today' Admits Mistake
> "NBC's 'Today' show was embarrassed Thursday when it aired Katie Couric batting a badminton shuttlecock while its rivals showed the first footage of Saddam Hussein's court appearance," the AP reports. They quote E.P. Tom Touchet: "We made a mistake...In retrospect, I'd do it completely differently."
"Strict pool arrangements severely limited media access to Saddam Hussein's court appearance today," this story says. "The only Iraqi reporter was ordered out of the courtroom by the judge shortly before the hearing began." The Guardian has more.
> Quoting Paula Zahn's CNN.com tease: "We'll tell you what happened at Saddam Hussein's arraignment in an Iraqi court Thursday." Haven't the cable nets been telling us what happened all day?... 8:53:45 PM

Saddam Hearing: An Example Of MSNBC's Shortcomings?
Eric writes in to vent about MSNBC: "This morning, I was watching Chris Jansing conduct and interview with Kevin Sites. She posed a question about the significance of Saddam Hussein's beard, and Sites didn't seem to have any definitive answers. Fine. Perhaps he didn't know. But Chris Jansing and MSNBC ought to have known, because Christiane Amanpour spoke at length about the Arab tradition to growing beards as a symbolic gesture of mourning or distress on several occassions during CNN's morning programming. The fact that MSNBC does not attempt to thoroughly research its international reporting -- suggestive, to me, of a lack of cultural sensitivity and journalistic maturity which MSNBC ought to have -- is a serious problem for a channel trying to establish its credibility. I hate to think of the other sorts of omissions occurred during MSNBC's morning coverage." 8:19:47 PM

Norville Pre-Empted For "Saddam On Trial"
From Mark: "MSNBC is running an hour special tonite "Saddam on Trial", pre-empting Norville again. Doesn't this show an inherent weakness in Norville's position? When there's a major news story, she can't handle it like King or H&C;, they have to pre-empt her for Amy Robach."
> Update: From an e-mailer: "It's well documented that DN can't do those kind of specials; her Inside Edition contract forbids her from voicing packages, etc. That makes it hard to have her do that type of special." Chris Jansing and Amy Robach are anchoring it... 2:08:44 PM

John Gibson's FOX-y Transformation
FOX's John Gibson is profiled in the Sacramento Bee today. "Gibson seems to fit right in on Fox, as if he's chugged the network Kool-Aid," the paper says. "He's cranky, outspoken and occasionally over the top, going at it with great gusto - and volume - with his guests. He mutters asides about liberals, pokes fun at the French, and has referred to war protesters as 'knuckleheads.'" The story quotes some of John's former colleagues, who never would have "pegged him as a conservative"... 10:28:07 AM

Saddam's Hearing: Covering The Coverage
> As they waited for tape of Saddam's hearing this morning, the cablers were reduced to running archived video of Saddam's appearances on Iraqi TV, and the infamous tongue-suppressor shot. "Awaiting video of Saddam Hussein's court appearance," FOX's graphics said.
> CNN's coverage was strong -- taking advantage of their top asset, Christiane Amanpour -- except for those hideous "breaking news" stripe placed awkwardly on top of their graphics.
> "U.S. officials have decided to release the tape without sound," CNN's graphics said at 8:30. (Gee, you don't think that's because he called Bush a criminal, do you?) The judge was afraid of releasing the sound because "he did not want this to be a show piece for Saddam Hussein," Amanpour reported. Some faces on the video have been blacked out... 8:37:19 AM

Outfoxed: Film Aims To "Expose" FOX; House Parties Set For 7/18
Well, the month of July only started five minutes ago, but here's a prediction: You'll be hearing about the documentary Outfoxed on this blog quite a bit in the next thirty-one days.
The film's full title is "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism." Here's the description: "Outfoxed" examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know. The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person."
The film's web site is Outfoxed.org. MoveOn is hosting house parties on July 18th, featuring a conference call with Al Franken and Robert Greenwald. The FReepers are already talking about it. It was mentioned on this message board two weeks ago... 12:05:39 AM

Ratings: Cable Nets Are Winners In June, Except For CNBC
Media Life Mag calls the news channels one of June's ratings winners. Excerpting: "In a month heavy with tributes to the late Ronald Reagan, all three major news channels saw growth compared with last June. Fox had the biggest audiences – up 6 percent in primetime to rank eighth on basic cable among total viewers and put two Reagan specials in the month’s top programs – but MSNBC had the greatest growth, 45 percent among total viewers in primetime. That’s easier when you’re a distant third behind CNN." But CNBC is a loser, the site says: "...The network was still down 27 percent in total-day viewership. But primetime viewership was off only 5 percent." 12:04:36 AM

Ratings: Cynopsis's Crunching Of The Numbers
Cynopsis summarizes the cable news net June ratings, comparing their #'s to this time last year: "In primetime among Total Viewers: MSNBC -41%, Fox News -34%, CNN -33%, Headline News -13%." And in total day, among total viewers: "MSNBC -43%, CNN -41%, Fox News -37%, HLN -1%." She has a bunch of other stats, too... 12:03:46 AM

Media Notes: MSNBC's Mic Mix-Up; How Are 360's Ad Sales?
> The Daily Yomiuri: "Fox News soon to be history" in Japan
> Greta has behind-the-scenes photos from her Nellis AFB broadcast
> Keith Olbermann's microphone cut out toward the end of Countdown tonight. MSNBC tossed to a commercial. When they came back, Keith remarked that it was "either Anderson Cooper or Shepard Smith cutting off the microphones." (Thanks Andy)
> From the MSN group: "MSNBC just ran an ad promoting their being first with the news of the handover of power early Monday and then after that said: "When history is made, America is watching MSNBC." LOL! That might be the funniest thing all year. Since when is 125,000 viewers America?"
> "Despite AC360's lagging ratings, advertising on the show is completely sold out for the year, so no one is too worried at CNN NY," an anonymous tipster e-mails in. Can anyone confirm this? 12:02:54 AM

Vanden Heuvel: O'Reilly Is A "Cancerous Symptom" Of A Bigger Problem
Frequent cable news pundit Katrina Vanden Heuvel shares her impressions of Bill O'Reilly with L.A. City Beat: "Recently, O’Reilly threatened to shut off your microphone on The O’Reilly Factor," the interviewer points out. Her response: "Mr. O’Reilly, in sync with his good old-fashioned thuggish tactics, did threaten to do that. The worst part about O’Reilly is that he’s a symptom of the larger problem of our culture, which is the lack of a fair marketplace of ideas. Fortunately, we’ve seen a few good signs of fight in these last months. One’s the beginning of a democracy-in-media movement, which has made the FCC and Congress wake up. O’Reilly’s just an ugly, cancerous symptom of the larger problem – whether we’re leftists, progressives, liberals – we need to organize to fight for a level playing field. It’s just American fairness."
> Also: Media Matters: 'When confronted with past remarks that he is unable to defend, FOX News Channel host and radio host Bill O'Reilly appears to have developed a simple strategy: denial." 12:01:06 AM

Playgirl Poll Almost Over: Hannity, Olbermann, Cooper Lead
Tonight on Countdown, Keith showed a "campaign ad" of sorts promoting his entry in Playgirl's anchor poll. And check out Tuesday night's transcript:

"At the insistence of the members of the crack COUNTDOWN staff, I have been persuaded to remind you that Thursday is the last day of voting in the Playgirl.com survey to determine its readers‘ choice for the sexiest, most intelligent newscaster on network or cable news. There are 18 nominees. I, no doubt by dint of clerical error, am one of them. Here are the standings as of balloting this afternoon. Sean Hannity of Fox is running away in first place. Well, we know why that is. Alan Colmes keeps voting for him. Tied for second, why, look, I‘m hanging with Mr. Cooper. Shepard Smith is fourth. Bill Hemmer on CNN is fifth. Remember, ladies, he‘s older than he looks. Rounding out the top 10, Lauer, Andy Rooney, good God, Brian, Tom and Peter. Other notables. Lester Holt is 12th. Geraldo Rivera, having vacated last place and zoomed past Wolf Blitzer and Harry Smith into 16th. A lot of write-ins for Stone Phillips and Forrest Sawyer. First among the write-ins is our own Dan Abrams."

The voting concludes in a matter of hours... 10:24:13 PM

Scarborough's Stunt: Surveying Members Of Congress
Joe Scarborough is polling Congress to see if they agree with "Michael Moore's vision of America." Quoting Tuesday's show: "I challenge politicians of both parties to tell me whether they agree with Michael Moore‘s dark vision of America or whether they have the courage to reject it," Joe said Tuesday night. "I am going to be sending every politician on Capitol Hill, every congressman and every senator on Capitol Hill a questionnaire. And in that questionnaire, I am going to be asking, do you agree with Michael Moore‘s vision of America or not? I am going to send them to you. I am going to await your response. And then I am going to report it to the American people." We'll be awaiting the results, too. Here's the transcript... 10:19:37 PM

FOX Legal Analyst Finds Lawyer Love On Air
Awww: "They met on Fox News Channel 16 months ago while arguing about a case they don't even remember. Mickey Sherman, who repped Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the Martha Moxley murder trial, hit it off immediately with Lis Wiehl , the Harvard Law grad who is a legal analyst for the channel...The litigator called his honey 'bright, terrific and the nicest person in the world.'" Page Six has more... 10:19:13 PM

CNN Presents Final Arguments In Florida Lawsuit
Quoting The Daily Commercial in Florida: "In final arguments in a lawsuit against the state, CNN attorneys claim no meaningful inspection of a list of potential felons can be conducted unless a list is provided to media outlets. 'The media’s historic role as a watchdog over government, including the accuracy of elections, is frustrated by the inability to extract information from or copy that list,' the final argument from CNN reads"... 9:28:39 PM

FOX "Teases" A Revealing "Package"
This screen grab from FOX last night is causing a bit of a stir on the 'net. "They clearly blur the [breast] and apparently miss the big penis and penetration," this site, which originally posted the screen grab, says. Wonkette has a more X-rated reaction. Since the pic popped up on Fark.com earlier today, 48,525 people have clicked the link and 214 have commented about it -- so far. "Please take note that this image was part of a package about the Supreme Court's ruling on pornography and ALL graphic images were blurred or blocked out," a FOX representative tells CableNewser. The package -- no pun intended (well actually, yes, the pun is intended)-- aired on Your World yesterday. But apparently the "tease" for the show wasn't totally blurred...
> From the DCRTV Mailbag: "Fox apparently does not understand what a 'graphic' is in television. Should be interesting to see how the FCC handles this graphic expression..." 7:59:14 PM

Media Notes: Cheney Visits FOX HQ; Pat Buchanan's Next Book
> Vice President Dick Cheney dropped by FOX News's headquarters in NYC yesterday afternoon, a FReeper notices. He spent about 15 minutes touring the studios, the apparent FOX employee says.
> From an e-mailer: "CNN/US went to CNNI with Christiane Amanpour at just after 4:50am to break the transfer of Saddam to legal Iraqi custody... MSNBC, FNC still on primetime repeats."
> Gail Shister notes that Anderson Cooper beat Chris Matthews in June, and offers a 'reality check:' "Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith averaged 1.3 million viewers at 7 p.m. in June."
> Pat Buchanan's publisher is rushing the MSNBC commentator's next book to print, Editor & Publisher reports. It is called "How The Right Went Wrong"...
> Fired CNBC commentator and pro wrestler John Layfield defended himself on the Howard Stern show last week, the Athens Review says. He is engaged to FOX's Meredith Whitney...
3:37:00 PM

Mailbag, Part Two: Is FOX Vicious?
The e-mails reacting to Keith Olbermann's comment keep coming in. I have updated the Mailbag with more messages. Some highlights:
> "I think Mr. Olbermann should direct his energy to more useful tasks, such as trying to get more viewers to his program so the MSNBC publicity dept. can start issuing press releases for his ratings."
> "Fox just proved Keith right by coming back with, instead of facts, just insults and lies. They lied AGAIN about Keith and the Olympics."
> "I think the reason Keith is so crabby about Fox News is simple..he's jealous."
> "Thanks for telling it like it is Keith!"
> Mailbag, Part Two: Reactions to Keith Olbermann's Question 2:02:18 PM

Is Bill O'Reilly Being Fair & Balanced?
Howard Kurtz has a fascinating story about a confrontation between Bill O'Reilly and law professor David Cole. During the taping of the show, Bill played a "balanced sound bite" from the 9/11 commission hearings. Quoting the story: "...An aggravated O'Reilly stopped the taping...and killed the sound bite. And when Cole brought up the incident during his interview, he says, O'Reilly 'exploded,' called him an SOB and declared he would never be invited back." Bill says he was "trying to be fair," and it was a minor staff mistake. More... 2:01:33 PM

McEnroe: Appropriate For CNBC? (And What About The Promos?)
I've received two interesting e-mails recently about John McEnroe's CNBC premiere next week:
> "CNBC is committing suicide if it thinks a long washed up tennis hack will cut it with the evening cable news audience. How pathetic - what...wasn't Burt Reynolds or Joey Heatherton available? CNBC is missing the brutally obvious - given their core daytime business audience, they ought to swing right and play second fiddle to Fox (as MSNBC does to CNN)...If CNBC swung right I bet it could beat MSNBC - NBC probably knows this too and that's why it keeps forcing the gun back into CNBC's mouth."
> "A few days ago during NBC Nightly News' commercial break a promo for John MdEnroe's CNBC show ran. You can hear McEnroe grunting as tennis balls fly across the screen and hit Kudlow and Cramer. Another ball knocks Maria Bartiromo's coffee mug of her anchor desk. In the last scene a technical employee is seen wearing a headset, roll McEnroe grunt, sound of tennis ball being served, and BAM it nails the tech guy in the balls. He lets out a high pitched scream. Was this appropriate for Tom Brokaw's show? This was the last spot of the break and Brokaw came on screen immediately after the screetch." 1:58:08 PM

Is FOX Vicious? Readers Answer And A Staffer Replies
Yesterday Keith Olbermann asked: "Why...is FNC so consistently and relentlessly vicious, arrogant, and, above everything else, personal about their public comments?" This morning, a FOX News staffer writes in to respond: "We find it amusing that our releases disturb a bully who has terrorized PA's, interns, and low level assistants at three different networks, but since it's well known that Keith has the thinnest skin in the business, it's not a surprise. However, we do find it admirable that he felt compelled to defend his company's honor, even after being unceremoniously dumped from their Olympic coverage...we wish Keith well." But that doesn't answer the question. This mixed bag of e-mailers tries to:
> Mailbag: Reactions to Keith Olbermann's Question 10:16:19 AM

! Cable News Needs An Ombudsman
All Your TV's Rick Ellis suggests that the cable news networks need an ombudsman. "How does a news channel say they've made a mistake?," he asks. "One way is to bring in an ombudsman. A person whose job it is to respond to the concerns of the viewers, to correct the mistakes and tally the problems." He says the person should have a regular, on-air role; be supported by the management; not forget what's right about the channel; and have a presence online. "So the big question is....which network jumps on this idea first?," he concludes... 9:32:58 AM

Airing FOX In CNN's Green Room? Not So Fast, Bill...
Bill McCuddy's Foxlight report from earlier this week:

"Funnyman Jon Stewart gave a nice plug to FOX News the other night. And not on his show -- on CNN! D'oh! Yukking it up with Larry King, he mentioned he was watching Neil Cavuto just before he went on Larry's show. Nice to know they have FOX News on in the CNN green room. Hey, they have to get the real news somewhere."

Actually, Paula Zahn aired a snippet from Cavuto's interview that night. And from the looks of Larry's transcript, Stewart took a shot at FOX:

STEWART: You know, it's so interesting, I was watching the show right before yours where Cheney was on Neil Cavuto's show. KING: He was on that show today, yes. STEWART: Yes, he was on that show today. By the way -- have you watched it[?] Very friendly balance. They report and then you are at your leisure to decide. KING: To decide. STEWART: Because it's fair and balanced.

9:26:16 AM

Dems, Repubs Try To Make Conventions "Attractive" To TV Nets
"TV to snub conventions," The Hill reports: "Party angst as networks plan to scale back coverage in Boston and New York." Quoting Peggy Wilhide, the communications director for the Dems convention: “We are gathering information, talking to the networks. The final decisions rest with them as to how much they will cover. We’re trying to make it as attractive as possible." (Via Lost Remote) 9:25:17 AM

Ratings: Olbermann Calls FOX The "Worst Winners TV's Ever Seen"
Only on CableNewser: MSNBC's Keith Olbermann writes in with a question about FOX:
    "Here's a question...about the latest ratings. Why, when there is no debating their numerical predominance, is FNC so consistently and relentlessly vicious, arrogant, and, above everything else, personal about their public comments?"
    "When the 11 PM SportsCenter had something like 75% of the cable sports news audience, we never crowed about it. I mean, I don't even have the exact number written down anywhere, and I have an ego the size of the L.A. Coliseum. We just enjoyed it and our masters charged more money for commercials and that was an end to it. We certainly didn't -- as John LeCarre once wonderfully wrote -- erase the rationale for taking your opponent on by making him look foolish or unworthy."
    "It underscores the fact that the left/right with FNC thing has long since passed into comparative irrelevance in this mini-industry. Fox News is hated because they're elitists -- and the worst winners television's ever seen." 8:19:55 PM

MSNBC Anchor Christy Musumeci's Contract Not Renewed
Christy Musumeci's days anchoring MSNBC's primetime news updates are numbered. Her contract was not renewed, NewsBlues reports. Musumeci anchored news updates on Imus in the Morning before moving over to the evening position in August 2002. "She seems ripe for FOX," one reader commented today, referring to the frequent pattern of MSNBC talent moving to Sixth Ave... 7:42:32 PM

Bob Novak Won't Eat A Shoe
Quoting this afternoon's Crossfire transcript:

PAUL BEGALA: It's been about a year since my pal Tucker Carlson ate his shoe after promising to do so if Hillary Rodham Clinton sold one million copies of her book "Living History." Of course, because Senator Clinton was gracious and generous, Tucker actually got to eat cake instead of shoe leather. Now former President Bill Clinton's book "My Life" is already about to pass the one million mark, even though it's only been a few days, been on sale less than a week. And that puts my pal Bob Novak on the spot. Bob, what will you do? BOB NOVAK: Paul, if he sells a million copies, I promise to give him a signed copy of my memoirs when they come out. (APPLAUSE) NOVAK: I promise that, even though they're half -- even though they're half the size, they're twice as good. (LAUGHTER) BEGALA: I can't wait for yours. I can't wait for that.

7:41:14 PM

Ratings: Q2: Cable Show Averages
The top of the Q2 chart looks identical to the top of the Q1 chart: O'Reilly with a 1.9, H&C; with a 1.4. Shep held at 3rd place during the second quarter, and inched up to a 1.3. In fact, it's all basically identical, as you can see for yourself:
  > Word document: 2nd Quarter 2004 cable show averages (Q1) 3:07:21 PM

Ratings: Q2: # Of Viewers Cut In Half Since War-Boosted 2003
Compared to the 2nd quarter of 2003 -- when the War in Iraq boosted ratings across the board -- all the cable nets are down. But MSNBC appears to have lost more viewers than FOX or CNN. MSNBC and CNBC's total day households have declined 50%, compared to 38% for FOX and CNN. FOX has lost 45% of its total day viewers in the 25-54 demo, while CNN has lost 54% and MSNBC has lost 56%.
  > Word document: Comparing the 2nd quarters of 2003 and 2004 (Q1) 2:58:49 PM

Ratings: CNN Promotes Viewership Increases In Primetime
"CNN Delivers Highest Monthly Primetime Audience Since War," the network's press release headline says. Quoting the P.R.: "In June 2004, CNN delivered 945k total viewers and 262k P25-54 in primetime, its highest delivery in both demographics since April '03. CNN increased its primetime P2+ total audience by 24% versus last year and 30% versus last month. CNN increased its primetime P25-54 audience by 17% versus last year and 28% versus last month. In June, CNN grew its total primetime audience more than FXNC and MSNBC versus a year ago, more than doubling the growth of FXNC (CNN +182k, MSNBC +115k, FXNC +85k)." 2:55:16 PM

Ratings: FOX Highlights 50%+ Audience Share, Criticizes Other Cablers
Quoting FOX’s press release this afternoon: "FNC garnered more than 50% of the cable news audience in primetime and total day during 2Q‘04, according to Nielsen Media Research. In contrast, CNN and MSNBC both attracted less than a third of the same market share." The P.R. takes shots at the competition:
> "During Rick Kaplan’s first full quarter as president, MSNBC’s primetime line-up attracted a paltry 13% of the cable news audience with 321,000 viewers (down 41% in viewership year to year)."
> "Since launching in September 2003, Paula Zahn Now and Anderson Cooper 360 have yet to rank within the top ten cable news programs — Zahn currently ranks at 16th while Cooper is languishing at number 21." 2:48:57 PM

Ratings: Anderson Cooper Beats Chris Matthews In June
Anderson Cooper 360 beat Hardball "out of the park" in June, an industry insider notes. CNN averaged a 0.5 and 434,000 households at 7pm this month, compared to MSNBC's 0.4 and 338,000 HHs that hour. In the 25-54 demo, Anderson Cooper averaged 171,000 viewers, while Chris Matthews had only 91,000. "Maybe it's time Hardball takes their minor ratings victory last month off their webpage," the source says...
> UPDATE: From an anonymous e-mailer: "Interesting that for the quarter, Hardball and Cooper are virtually tied...Also, Chris Matthews was off for 7 days of the 20 day period." 2:47:24 PM

Ratings: June: Cable Show Averages
The June averages for each cable show are now out. O'Reilly is #1, H&C; is #2, and Larry King is #3. (In May, Larry was ranked #5.) Most of the top of the chart has held steady. The most interesting data is towards the bottom. Hardball and Scarborough Country are the top-rated shows on MSNBC, averaging 0.4's. Olbermann, Imus and Norville average 0.3's. Dennis Miller is still stuck with a 0.2 average on CNBC...
  > Word document: June 2004 cable show averages 2:30:34 PM

Mother Invites Media Coverage Of Flag-Draped Casket Arrival
Quoting the Associated Press via CNN.com: "The mother of a soldier killed in Iraq invited news coverage of the arrival of her son's flag-draped casket at Sacramento International Airport. Nearly a dozen reporters, photographers and television crews were present when the coffin of Army Sgt. Patrick McCaffrey, 34, was transferred to a hearse outside a cargo terminal late Sunday. The scene was in stark contrast with Pentagon policy banning photographs of the coffins of dead military personnel while they are on military facilities." 1:47:15 PM

So Who Was Watching At 2:00am?
In the Baltimore Sun, David Folkenflik notes that the cablers were covering the handover "at a time of night when the networks get a modest fraction of their primetime audiences: from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m., for example, Fox News averages nearly 400,000 viewers, while CNN attracts 209,000 and MSNBC 123,000." Ratings for the early morning hours will be available later today... 1:21:19 PM

Media Notes: Dennis Miller's Delay; Rupert Murdoch's 'CYA'?
> Mark notices: "Dennis Miller's show has been on a one-day delay: new shows Tuesday-Friday, rerun from the previous week on Monday (a rather stupid schedule, in my opinion). But Monday night he had a new show, obviously taped today as it discussed the handover."
> The Daily Texan calls the early handover "a move that left the cable news outlets scrambling to finish up their colon-crammed 3-D graphics reading 'Handover: Iraq' and 'Iraq: The Next Chapter.'"
> Greta's blog has photos from her visit to Nellis Air Force Base.
> Richard Goldstein says "Rupert Murdoch is covering his ass in case John Kerry wins" (Via Romenesko) 1:11:44 PM

Every Number Is A Life
Steve Harrigan blogging: "I keep a small note card in my hand in case my mind goes blank during a live shot. Most days part of the report is about attacks and the number of people killed. I use a shorthand of numbers; for example the other day on my notes I wrote 105/3/270 after a series of terrorist attacks in six Iraqi cities left 105 Iraqis dead, three U.S. servicemen killed, and 270 Iraqis wounded. When I gather information I find myself jotting the numbers in three columns: x/x/x. The danger is you start thinking of them as numbers instead of people..." Must-read. 12:58:39 PM

HANDOVER: Cryptic Phone Calls, Confiscated Cell Phones
Howard Kurtz's media-scramble lead: "The phone calls to the journalists were cryptic. Their cell phones were confiscated. And at the moment that they realized they were watching an abruptly scheduled transfer of power from U.S. authorities to the new Iraqi government yesterday, most of America was fast asleep." Anderson Cooper called Monday an "incredibly exciting day from a coverage standpoint"... 9:45:51 AM