Former CNN'er Costello to MSNBC or FOX?
Quoting DCRTV: "A bunch of TV industry trade pubs are reporting rumors that former Channel 7/WJLA news anchor Carol Costello is being courted by MSNBC and Fox News. A while back, Costello left 7 for a gig at CNN..." 10:44:27 PM

Shales Disses Miller; "CNBC could stand for 'Changing NBC'"
Tom Shales in TVWeek pulls all the punches: "CNBC could stand for "Changing NBC" after all the programming and personnel alterations it's gone through....Miller's is kind of a news program and kind of a comedy program and fails at both. Is CNBC a news channel or a chat channel? The status practically changes hour to hour. Its daytime schedule is solid, of course; nighttime is the hazardous inner city where drive-by cancellations are rampant." He suggests that the channel should play "jolly old records of band music played without interruption," the way HBO used to do. "It was nice. It was pleasant. So why not give up on the thankless task of reinventing CNBC and bring back that band music? It might get a 1 rating, which would be better than Miller does." 10:34:39 PM

Flock Will Be Missed
Jeff Flock said goodbye last night. The Chicago Tribune writes up the farewell party, held at the Sears Tower for about 100 friends and colleagues. "This has been 24 years of my life, and I feel more positive about CNN today than I felt a while ago," Flock said. "I think this network is moving in a wonderful direction." 10:44:58 AM

"Cops and court officials talk familiarly about 'Greta' and 'Geraldo'"
The San Francisco Chronicle remembers "that frenzied year" when the Scott Peterson trial took over the streets around the Stanislaus County Courthouse. "Downtown Modesto was filled with the nation's media stars," the paper says. Sad: "Cops and court officials talk familiarly about "Greta" (Van Susteren of Fox) and "Geraldo" (the famous one-word Fox industry), and for a while there, it was all pretty heady stuff." "But now that Tent City has been dismantled," they write, and reflect... 10:44:47 AM

WashTimes: "Softball at CNN"
The Washington Times accuses Judy Woodruff of ignoring important questions about John Kerry, in an editorial titled "Softball at CNN"... 9:48:50 AM

Is Chris Matthews MSNBC's Best Bet?
In USA Today, Peter Johnson compliments Chris Matthews. "The brightest light on Kaplan's roster is Matthews' Hardball," he writes. A quote from former Clinton spokesman Jake Siewert: Chris's "reservoir of practical knowledge separates him from a lot of the airbags out there in the cable wasteland." 9:46:14 AM

Is This Bias, or Just "Cluelessness and Idiocy?"
Vodkapundit says that "if you ever wonder why CNN is accused of bias, look no further than the words of their own correspondents," and points to a report on the elections in Iran. The comments are especially interesting: "I don't think it's necessarily bias, I think it's just a narrow worldview combined with cluelessness and idiocy." Another: "CNN has more to worry about than bias in this case. Sloppy journalism and a complete vacancy of history and context are for more egregious errors here." Find out what the fuss is about here. (Hat tip: Instapundit) 1:32:10 AM

Hume Compares FOX News to a Pirate Ship
The WashPost Out & About column dishes about the National Press Foundation dinner: "Of course no one in the room could resist a little shop talk (especially about Hume's award, which caused Geneva Overholser to resign from the NPF board in protest over what she called Fox News's "ideologically connected journalism"). "I think this award honors Fox News more than it honors me," Hume said. "We're kind of like a pirate ship and they've finally let us into port." 1:23:33 AM

"Fair and balanced" uttered on MSNBC
Quoting Howie in the Post this morning: "MSNBC anchor Laurie Jennings was conducting a routine interview with Bob Dole last week when she asked about Vice President Cheney and his former company, Halliburton. "He hasn't been in Halliburton for years...I don't think most Americans buy that, despite the liberal media's efforts, like MSNBC, to push it every day," the former Republican senator said. When Jennings protested that MSNBC was trying to be fair, Dole retorted: "Keep trying. You're a long way from it, but keep trying. . . . Don't slant it." Dole then trotted out Fox News's trademark phrase, saying coverage should be "fair and balanced."" 1:22:57 AM