Zucker Angling for Ashleigh to Stay?
Newsblues picks up on the talk today that the Banfield hesitation has a Jeff Zucker connection. "NBC insiders tell us that newly crowned NBC News / Entertainment czar Jeff Zucker is a Banfield fan and has been pushing her in meetings with CNBC, Dateline and other NBC departments." But news prez Shapiro wants her out, and the phrase "power struggle" is being overheard. 11:00:42 PM

The Election Express: "Continuing Coverage"
These posts about CNN's bus are becoming a daily event. Tonight: Bob Franken says it is "so remarkable...how cooperative everyone in Iowa is in letting us park." One Crossfire guest wasn't thrilled, though: "I must say the setting with cold wind blowing, the sun setting, students and traffic, the CNN van generators was a hostile environment to think clearly," Prof. Steffen Schmidt said in a WP online chat. 10:49:48 PM

Media Asked to Delay Caucus Projections
The Iowa Democratic Party is asking that caucus projections be delayed Monday night. "Your plan to release the results of your entrance polls at 7 p.m. CST (8 p.m. EST) places the results at the most critical point in the precinct caucuses -- the point where participants enter the first phase of alignment," the party's executive director said in a letter. "We fear the premature release of your findings may jeopardize or handicap the outcome in the first-in-the-nation caucuses." She says that waiting 30 minutes could make a big difference. It's all explained in this AP story... 7:52:41 PM

Hardball -- Hip?
Copy and paste from today's Hardball email newsletter: "Totally crazy day folks...Because this primary is getting tighter than "the gag order in the Michael Jackson case" (Mortman line)...This is gonna be a fast paced action packed front half! Dig it y'all!... FYI...Chris is kickin' it out to Iowa tomorrow and will do the show there through Caucus day....You won't want to miss it. His bags are all packed and he's heading out right out after tonight's show." Producer Dominic Bellone writes the briefing. 7:50:53 PM

"John Glenn is BOOKED"
That's a quote from the Countdown newsletter today, and it wasn't kidding. The first American to orbit Earth appeared on FOX with Cavuto at 4, and will be interviewed by Paula Zahn on CNN and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC tonight. And he'll say the same thing each time... 5:13:39 PM

On the Record, Behind the Scenes
Greta Van Susteren takes readers behind the scenes of On the Record in her GretaWire letter today. She describes the chaotic nature of live TV. "Seconds before the show started -- and I mean seconds -- my New York producer said in my earpiece: 'we can't get Ceci on camera.'" Here's the rest... 5:13:19 PM

Quote of the day
Frazier Moore on the AP wire: "Fox News Channel...leverages the public's distrust of the media as a marketing tool....While marshaling public scorn for the media as biased, elitist, liberal, whatever, Fox News Channel exempts itself with its "fair and balanced" sales pitch. This way, it positions itself as TV's anti-media news media outlet." 5:13:18 PM

CNN Offering the 'Campus Vibe'
Have you seen CNN.com's new Campus Vibe feature? The network sent a press release today explaining it. It offers "perspectives on the 2004 presidential election" via "stories filed by student journalists" across the country. "What better way to understand the issues facing our newest generation of voters than by hearing from them directly?," CNN.com executive producer Mitch Gelman says. 5:11:22 PM

MSNBC Reads the FOX Playbook: Car Chase!
MSNBC live at 4:30 with a Dallas car chase; FOX sticks with business, surprisingly...Anchor Randy Meier reminds viewers the live shot is on a slight delay, then the car crashes into a guardrail minutes later. A loud "ooohh" was audible from the newsroom. They transition to caucus polling data 60 seconds later. 4:38:51 PM

! John McEnroe to Host CNBC Talk Show
Yesterday, I mentioned a new talk show coming to CNBC in the 10pm slot. Today, it was made official. Tennis legend John McEnroe will host "serve as lead host of an ensemble team which together will provide an unpredictable and spontaneous look at the stories making headlines." It will premiere in the spring; date and name TBA. McEnroe says that "we've designed it to be both serious and fun, to be able to jump on news or cover on-going topics, and still have many surprises and create havoc when necessary." Here's the press release and an AP story. 3:44:33 PM

NBC Pretends Its Convergence Is Newsworthy
"NBC News Announces 'Decision 2004' Coverage Plans," the press release today says. No big news is made in it; they just brag about "using the powerful resources of NBC News, MSNBC on cable, CNBC, MSNBC.com, NBC News Radio and Telemundo" and discuss NBC shows airing live from Des Moines. In my opinion, the convergence is dissapointing -- you won't see Tom Brokaw on MSNBC, or the embeds on the Nightly News, or 'First Read' editors on radio. Now THAT would be worth a press release... 3:43:16 PM

By the #'s: Total Viewer Data
Cynopsis has cable news networks' total viewer data for January 5 through 11. "Fox News had 49% of the viewing, CNN 25%, MSNBC 14%; and Headline News 12%;" last week FOX had 46 and CNN had 28. In primetime, FOX had 51%, up from 45%; MSNBC slipped from 16% to 13%. 12:09:21 PM

Larry King's Crutch: Scott Peterson
"Scott Peterson in Court," today's Larry King Live email preview says. "Attorneys Johnnie Cochran and Chris Pixley, Court TV's Nancy Grace and our legal panel discuss the latest developments in the case." Hmm, why does that sound so familiar? Oh, yes. January 8th email preview, titled "Scott Peterson in Court:" "Get the latest with Court TV's Nancy Grace, Chris Pixley and more." They can just re-air last week's show... 12:06:06 PM

Truck Crash Less Newsworthy Than Car Chase?
DCRTV refers to limited coverage of the I-95 truck explosion: "I don't get it. Fox News Channel will interrupt things if a drunk Mexican drives around LA in a stolen pickup truck. But not if a fiery tanker truck explosion closes the USA's most major east coast traffic artery. Go figure..." 12:05:33 PM

Ashleigh Banfield -- Staying? Going? Maybe?
Ashleigh Banfield's contract with NBC News runs out on January 15 (that's tomorrow), and the assumption -- supported by Ms. Banfield -- was that her bags were packed. But that's not necessarily true, the NY Post Starr Report says this mornng. "It's not certain that she's leaving and it's not certain that she's staying. She is not out at NBC and where she goes and what she does remains to be seen...It's not over." She'll be on the Today show in a few hours... 3:13:38 AM

Election Express: Big News on Campus
CNN's live broadcast from Iowa State University yesterday was big news on campus. Here's the Iowa State Daily's story about the event... 3:12:02 AM

Is Michael Jackson Worth a $250 Parking Spot?
Gawker has a Michael Jackson trial snippet: Members of the media will be charged $250 to park in the Santa Barbara county courthouse. "Now we can only hope that Michael Jackson's trial will be as outlandish as the parking arrangements," they write. Check out the official announcement... 3:11:33 AM