Vicious Cycle
Eason Jordan's controversial op-ed last spring was the third most-blogged NYTimes article in 03. It's the subject of a long line of fresh messages at TV Spy, with some interesting comments, including: "[There is no scandal.] It's the Faux News PR Department with a lot of attack and destroy time on their hands." Read it. 5:40:40 PM

CNBC SOTU Schedule
CNBC announces State of the Union coverage: The News from 7 to 9, then the speech, with Capital Report at 10. FOX and MSNBC have started their "stay with us in January" political promos. 5:40:15 PM

"We gazed at the two incinerated Humvees"
Have we become immune to the attacks in Iraq? Does television sanitize it? An ElectronicIraq.net diary entry titled "First-hand news vs. CNN" makes an interesting point. "On CNN, according to Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey...'An explosion near a U.S. military convoy in a crowded area of Baghdad wounded five U.S. soldiers and three Iraqi civil defense personnel.' The soldiers on the scene had gloomily told me, first hand, quite a different story while we gazed at the two incinerated Humvees in front of a nearby building with the side of it blasted into tatters." Just food for thought. 2:14:39 PM

FOX, Flights, and Fear
FOX is the most attached to this British Airways cancellation. (Call it fair war on terror reporting, or an attempt to keep viewers scared/watching.) They've been borrowing WTTG's Dulles live shot every few minutes. And they are the only cabler still screaming "HIGH" in orange on the side of the screen... 11:45:20 AM

The Cable (Business) News Wars
Jon Friedman profiles PBS's Nightly Business Report, and in doing so quotes several criticisms of CNBC and FOX. Lou Dobbs "reveals all the charm of a stern headmaster," he writes. And Dylan Ratigan's new 6pm 'Bullseye:' "It'll be interesting to see if Ratigan's in-your-face style works at the dinner hour over the long haul." (Thanks, Henry.)
11:30:24 AM

2003: Cable Net Ratings All Up
Another look at Variety's stats: In '03, FNC enjoyed a 53% increase in total-day viewing. Look at the target demo, adults 25 to 54: FNC with 609,000, CNN with 373,000, and MSNBC with 202,000. #'s increased across the board (war). Except for Headline News, that is -- down 4% with the younger viewers they crave. Then again, you'll hear soon enough why I believe these ratings are a joke... 11:03:15 AM