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Wednesday, February 11, 2004 Where's Dr. Bob?: Viewers Express Disappointment
A thread on TVHeads says that Dr. Bob Arnot was 'Banfielded.' "Bob Arnot and David Bloom were the only reasons I watched MSNBC during the war," one person says. An FR poster calls it a shame: "A good reporter doing an excellent job, and the biased a*h*les at HQ get him fired." Other FReepers want FOX to hire him. "Welcome to Fox, Doc," one person says... 8:27:53 PM Recycling Cable News "Theme Music"
A post on TVHeads: "What is with that goofy music leading into coverage of the Peterson story?? Straight out of "The Bold and the Beautiful." Sorry, I generally like MSNBC, but the person calling for the allegedly dramatic music is dropping the ball. Two people were killed. This isn't a Luke and Laura update." A reply points out that the same music was used for the Columbia disaster story. I can't stand when they recycle that -- can you imagine CNN reusing this or this? Those themes still give me chills... 8:12:37 PM Kyra Phillips Laughs At Vaginas
Today on Live From, Kyra Phillips interviewed the Eve Ensler, creator of the "Vagina Monologues" play. She had trouble holding back laughter in the beginning: Phillips: Let's talk about what inspired "Vagina Monologues." (CROSSTALK / LAUGHTER) Phillips: You know what? It's something about that word. It's just, we've got to laugh. Ensler: It's a good word. Phillips: It's a good word. Ensler: And we're glad we have them. (LAUGHTER) Phillips: We're very happy to have them. Jane Fonda was also interviewed; she appears again tonight with Paula. (Transcript) 8:06:45 PM ! Tuesday Night Cable Ratings
David Bauder summarizes primary night cable ratings. Last night, "Fox had 1.42 million viewers compared to CNN's 1.03 million viewers, Nielsen said." MSNBC dropped to 312,000 viewers. Perhaps the numbers reflect the fact that none of the channels offered dedicated primary coverage. Bauder describes how CNN has nearly caught up to FOX on primary nights, and offers a quote from a spokeswoman: "We're extremely pleased with the quality of our coverage. People are relying on CNN for political news." 7:51:21 PM FOX News Profits Up 23%
Dow Jones reports that the Fox News Channel was a money-maker for Murdoch's News Corp in the fiscal second quarter. The channel had an operating income growth of 23%. FOX had a good full year, too. From the press release: "Increased ad sales led to double-digit revenue growth at Fox News Channel, but higher costs for covering the war in Iraq partially offset this gain." 4:43:25 PM "10 minutes on Hardball:" Tough stop on way to WH?
A heads-up for Hardball tonight: "Chris goes one-on-one with frontrunner John Kerry and shows you why 10 minutes on Hardball may be the toughest stop [on] the way to the White House." Clever tease... 4:42:47 PM War: American Media Too Soft, World Media Too Hard?
An interesting piece on the Christian Science Monitor's web site: "While some experts say the US media was far too sycophantic in their coverage of the Bush administration's positions on Iraq, and issues like WMD, others say foreign media sometimes went too far in the other direction, and created an us versus them relationship in their coverage." The article summarizes a bunch of sources... 4:41:08 PM CNN/LATimes Debate Scheduled for Feb 26
CNN and the LA Times have announced a February 26 Democratic primary debate to be moderated by Larry King. The 90-minute event will be held on USC's campus, just in tim eto preview March 2nd's Super Tuesday. It's about time CNN hosted a debate. Interesting choice of moderator... 4:19:08 PM Washington Journal Live From FOX Studios Today
This morning on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, FOX News reporters and anchors took calls for three hours. Bret Baier, Major Garrett, Kim Hume, Jim Angle, Chris Wallace, and Brit Hume were each on for half an hour. C-SPAN is one floor above FOX in a building across the street from Union Station in DC. Click here to watch the show (RealPlayer required). 4:14:32 PM Colorful Language: Unstoppable, Inevitable, Virtual Nominee
"Bush vs. Kerry Inevitable?," NBC's First Read title asked today. Well yes, of course, if you keep writing that. Quoting the Countdown newsletter: "And then there were five. But of course there is really only one, John Kerry. The frontrunner is now the virtual nominee, having won primaries in all the country's quadrants. Clark dropped out, leaving some Democrats to wonder why John Edwards (and Dean, Kucinich and Sharpton) won't take the early opportunity to rally around the man whose nomination appears unstoppable." Inevitable... 4:10:36 PM Quotes of the Day
Media Research Center pulls out some great quotes from yesterday's White House press briefing. Excerpt: "CBS’s John Roberts snapped at one point: “I asked a simple question. How about a simple answer?” And when McClellan pointed out how he’d already answered a question, NBC’s David Gregory shot back: “I'll ask it until we maybe get something.”" Of course, MRC calls the questioning "petty pickiness" and "puerile whining," instead of "quality journalism." True to form, Press Gaggle picked up on it, too... 4:00:32 PM CNN Denies Intentional Product Placement
Oh boy. Quoting the New York Times: "The appearance on camera of a sponsor's product in a recent segment of the "American Morning" news show on CNN was accidental and unintentional, CNN says. But the glimpse of a package of Total cereal opened the network to complaints about the blurring of the lines between advertising and editorial content." More... 10:37:23 AM Why Does NBC Ignore Their Best Talent? Shapiro Doesn't Like Dr. Bob
I miss Dr. Bob: "Bob Arnot, the medical doctor turned foreign correspondent for MSNBC and NBC News...has been conspicuously absent from TV lately. Dr. Arnot’s contract was up at NBC in December 2003 and, according to the network, won’t be renewed in the foreseeable future." People inside NBC apparently see Arnot as a "cheerleader for the military." My favorite quote, from a CPA official: "There are over 120,000 troops on the ground and there’s no real NBC presence." This is a must-must-read. 10:31:30 AM Behind the Scenes of CNN's New NYC HQ
The New York Times previews the new CNN studios at Columbus Circle. Highlights: All shows currently based in NY except A.M. will air from the new digs. There are three "black box" studios and three "flash studios," along with four control rooms and two newsrooms. The new CNNfn newsroom is 400 feet long, and may be the largest on the East Coast. Almost 600 people will eventually be based at the broadcast facilities. More... 12:02:58 AM CNBC Shuffles Primetime Shows -- Again
CNBC has updated its 10pm timeslot, again. Here's how it works now. Monday: Cover to Cover; Tuesday: Suze Orman Show repeats; Wednesday: The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch; Thursday: Topic A with Tina Brown repeats; Friday: The Apprentice repeats. This will all change again when John McEnroe's show premieres... 12:02:30 AM A More Colorful Version of the O'Reilly Apology Story
The UK Telegraph's version of the O'Reilly apology story is so much more colorful than Reuters. "A cheerleader for the invasion of Iraq apologised to Americans yesterday for supporting pre-war claims that Saddam Hussein harboured weapons of mass destruction," David Rennie writes. Also: "Mr. O'Reilly is the star of the Fox News Channel, a station so patriotic it carries a fluttering American flag in the corner of the screen at all times." Heh. 12:01:09 AM |
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