Caucus Coverage: Media Helps Cement Kerry's Lead
The cablers reported on the caucuses to varying degrees tonight. Wolf Blitzer presented short updates between 5 and 8pm, and anchored an hour-long special. Judy Woodruff said that the caucus wins tonight "add to the air of inevitably that is around Kerry's candidacy." FOX inserted the details into previously-scheduled shows. "Looks like it's clearing out the field," John Kasich remarked on 'Heartland.' "It's gonna start heating up, and its gonna be a hot summer and a hot fall." Chris Matthews played Hardball for two hours on MSNBC. From the MSNBC MSN group: "Coverage is very good. The entire panel is there, which is very good on any night, especially a Saturday night." 9:37:20 PM

Slate Calls Dennis Miller "Blinded by the right"
Slate doesn't offer the most positive assessment of Dennis Miller's move to the right-wing. "For a comedian who used to unleash mighty comic riffs like a jazz soloist, Miller is now just another member of the pundit's chorus," they write... 9:32:26 PM

CNN's "Cable Access Technical Glitches"
A poster on TVHeads says that "CNN is too easy to criticize these days." Quoting: "Heck, I was merely flipping through the channels last night admiring Paula Zahn's beauty and they totally lost the feed with David Gergen. They didn't get him back for the last few minutes of the show. Earlier on Friday, Hemmer went to Mrs. Candiotti while the Carlie news was breaking, and Candiotti's audio went completely dead for about 45 seconds." 8:04:10 PM

Geraldo Gets His Get: Jackson Phone Interview
"FOX News Exclusive: Geraldo talks to Michael Jackson on the phone," the banner read at 7:45pm. Rivera said that Jackson sounded "tired and deeply depressed." His new spokesperson participated in the phone interview too; "she hooked me up" with Jackson, Rivera said. "Jackson made clear that his current situation is taking a toll on him" mentally and physically, Rivera reported. I guess all that cheering for Jackson on "At Large" paid off... 7:49:42 PM

Cablers Vary In Caucus Coverage Today
It's a caucus day. On CNN, a "special edition" of the Capital Gang will air at 7pm, then Wolf Blitzer will anchor a "special report" from 8 to 9. On MSNBC, Chris Matthews will host live Hardball from 7 to 9. FOX is sticking with its usual weekend slate... 3:24:03 PM

Free Slice of Pie for Scott Peterson Trial Reporters
Another Peterson trial story from the San Mateo County Times: Local businesses welcome the media: "In one of the more unique offers, Baker's Square in Redwood City is offering anyone with a media pass a free piece of pie. The restaurant has a big red sign with balloons attached outside its business advertising the deal. So far, only CNN officials, who have been there three times, have taken them up on their offer, said manager Tim World. "Some people just can't turn down our French Silk pie," he said." Dan, you hungry?... 3:23:29 PM

FOX Is Not Modest
Another example of what makes FOX different from CNN and MSNBC: Tony Snow read some viewer e-mails at the end of Weekend Live today. "You are looking hot today!," one viewer wrote, noting that they were saying that with their palms face up -- I didn't get the exact quote. "Whoa," Snow replied. Imagine a CNN anchor reading that e-mail?... 3:22:46 PM

An Average Moron "Out Here In Average USA" Writes In
Bill writes in to respond to Geneva Evenholser's resignation: "Her remarks that Fox & Brit Hume are "Not Fair and Balanced" is pure rubbish. If Fox and Brit Hume were so far off base, they would not enjoy the popularity that the public has afforded them. We "average" morons out here in "average" USA are not as susceptible to her way of thinking as she would like us to be." 3:22:30 PM

! Quote of the day
An amazing piece in the WashPost this morning: "For those of a certain age, a few words of reference trigger each picture, ever enduring in impact and detail...But more contemporary video doesn't seem to have the same shelf life, no matter how momentous or tragic the underlying events. For this we can mainly thank the 24-hour news cycle and the coldblooded voraciousness of cable news broadcasting. These channels are ostensibly designed to keep us all informed, but the engine doesn't run on information; it runs on lurid images of sex, violence, celebrity and crime. These channels are titillation machines, and we know the nature of titillation. It wears out." Read it all, twice... 11:26:16 AM

Why Does CNN Need 27 Credentials for the Scott Peterson Trial?
The Scott Peterson media blitz, by the # of credentials:
CNN: 27 credentials
NBC: 24 credentials
FOX: 8 credentials
CNN has "brought a satellite truck to the County Government Center that wouldn't look out of place on the streets of Baghdad." The San Mateo County Times has more... 11:22:36 AM

Fickle Media Dooms Campaigns?
Saturday's NYTimes examines how "Dean's campaign is latest to learn about fickle press." Quoting Mandy Grunwald: "It's devastating," she said. "Once they pull your reporters and your cameras, you're done, it becomes self-fulfilling. They're saying you're not a choice." 2:15:21 AM

"Why are you such a loser, Wolf?"
Eric Burns criticizes Wolf Blitzer on FOXNews.com. He "may or may not be a hard-hitting newsman by temperament, but he played one the other day on television," Burns writes. "The performance was a success. It was also a disgrace." He concludes: "Why are you such a loser, Wolf?"... 8:22:40 PM

Whoops: FOX Reporter Says Reagan Is Dead
From Dave at DCRTV: "In a 4:52pm Friday report, Fox News reporter Adam Housley referred to President Reagan as the oldest "former living president." Obviously, Housley's tongue got a bit tied. He probably meant to say that Reagan's the oldest "living former president." Ronald Reagan is 93 today..." 5:15:28 PM

CNNI Cuts: "About 30 Jobs"
AJC picks up on the CNNI cuts: "CNN International is cutting about 30 jobs and reconfiguring the way it produces news. CNN International has production centers in London, Hong Kong and Atlanta. Positions will be cut in Atlanta and Hong Kong. The structural changes are designed to take better advantage of new technologies, according to the company." 4:53:59 PM

Scarborough "overkills in battle for ratings"
The Illinois Leader, "Illinois's Conservative News Source," writes about MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. "To say Scarborough crossed the line of journalistic integrity would be a gross understatement." Read what he did to make them so angry... 4:30:42 PM

Your 17 Hour News Channels
Rantingprofs rants about the lack of true 24 hour news. "When I realized through my blurry half asleep eyes that I was watching British anchors, I slowly figured out something was up," she said. It was the Moscow bombing. "As their anchor concluded the interview he was conducting he said, 'Viewers in the United States: you will return with your own programming on CNN.' And there was Aaron Brown's inspid 'Segment 7' from that night's News Night." Losers... 4:29:57 PM

Hey, Maybe Leno's On To Something
From the Tonight Show with Jay Leno: "The cable news channel MSNBC has hired Howard Dean's former campaign manager ... to be a political analyst. Is that a good idea? ... Wait two weeks you can hire Howard Dean." Now Howard is one analyst I would tune in to watch... 9:23:50 AM

CNNI Hong Kong Cuts: Nine People Axed, Sources Say
Update on the CNNI job cuts: "Sources said at least nine of the TV news company's 50 staff in Hong Kong had been laid off on Thursday...A spokeswoman said jobs had been lost, adding that they were mostly from the production side and not editorial." The rest of the story... 9:23:15 AM

CNN First with E-mail News Alerts
CNN was online first with the Carlie Brucia discovery this morning. The alert woke me up at 6:45, and it wasn't on msnbc.com or foxnews.com yet. MSNBC sent an e-mail alert at 7:11... 9:22:57 AM

FOX: "Fairer and closer to American center," not "Right-Wing Kooksville"
Brent Bozell responds to "FOX-hating" in a column at Town Hall. "From [the "mainstream" media's] vantage point, which is nowhere within boom-microphone distance of the center, Fox News Channel must look like Right-Wing Kooksville...Anyone with his feet grounded in reality realizes that in fact Fox is fairer and closer to the American center than any of the liberal outlets." A fun read... 1:11:19 AM

10,000 Visitors View FOX's Baghdad Cam
I'm surprised Reuters found this worth picking up from the Hollywood Reporter: "Fox Site Focuses Camera on Iraq," the story's headline says, described the Baghdad webcam on foxnews.com. The site GM says 6,000 to 10,000 site visitors have accessed it each day. The full story... 1:10:22 AM

Cuts at CNN International?
"Today, a lot of talented people lost their jobs at CNNI," a TVSpy post says. CNNI's senior VP Rena Golden doesn't have many fans on that message board... Update: "CNN International said it will lay off production staff in Hong Kong as part of its reorganization," Dow Jones says... 12:36:55 AM

Live Hardball Covering Democratic Caucuses Saturday
MSNBC will cover the Washington and Michigan caucuses in a live two-hour live edition of Hardball Saturday night. Joe Trippi will be back, along with Noonan, Scarborough, DeGraff, Fineman, and Reagan. In typical Hardball style, today's newsletter called the coverage "exclusive." Here's the presser. 12:11:48 AM

Ashleigh Watch: Banfield Anchors "The News"
NBC's Ashleigh Banfield anchored "The News" on CNBC tonight. She's certainly a contrast to John Seigenthaler. What exactly does Zucker have in mind for her? (Hat tip: TVHeads) 12:11:22 AM

Ventura to teach "how awful that media can be"
Bill McCuddy can't resist a jab at third-place MSNBC: 'Jesse The Body' Ventura says he'll teach Harvard students about third-party politics and 'how awful the media can be.' Wait, didn't the media help him get elected a few years back? I guess the awful part is the lousy ratings for his MSNBC show"... 12:07:07 AM

"MSNBC and Headline News not even in the race" --Schonfeld
Reese Schonfeld with thoughts on the cable news ratings race: "It will take a major change by CNN to make them a contender again. From my point of view it’s Fox by fifteen lengths, CNN an also ran and MSNBC and Headline News not even in the race." This is his soapbox... 11:44:32 PM

Quote of the day
Howard Dean certainly isn't a cable news fan: As he sat in a studio waiting for a FOX interview, "Dean waved at his earpiece as if it were a bee," the Billings Gazette mentions. "Jesus, now I know why I don't have cable," he said. "It's all blather. I don't mind being at the end, but I just can't stand listening to all this stuff." 11:39:04 PM

Countdown Presents Advice for Michael Jackson
From MSNBC's Primetime Newsletter: "Keith counts down what Martha Stewart's trial advice might be to Michael Jackson: 4-Be on time. 3-Stay off the car. 2-Limit your entourage to under 500 people. 1-Wild after court parties--probably a bad idea." Gotta love the Countdown... 10:29:15 PM

Elaine Quijano to CNN DC; Glenn Beck Becomes MSNBC Contributor
Two job placements to report, from ShopTalk: "Elaine Quijano is promoted to correspondent at CNN's Washington Bureau from correspondent at CNN NEWSOURCE" and "Glenn Beck joins MSNBC as a contributor for "Hardball with Chris Matthews." 10:28:53 PM

! CNN Primary Ratings "Hardly A Victory"
CNN's brief lead over FOX for an hour last night is "hardly a victory," a source writes to CableNewser. FOX earned 1,563,000 viewers from 8 to 10, compared to CNN's 1,417,000. Among 25-54, the spread was more notable: 497,000 for FOX, 370,000 for CNN. The source also notes that FOX's full primetime lineup also beat the other cablers... 4:09:28 PM

Primary Ratings: FOX Wins Viewer Vote, But CNN & MSNBC Surge
The Hollywood Reporter's take on the cable net ratings Tuesday night notes that "the primaries were a boon for CNN and MSNBC, whose audiences surged 70% and 74%," but that FOX "won the viewer vote." 606,000 viewers turned to MSNBC... 4:08:32 PM

CNN Primary Coverage Squeaks Past FOX --Drudge
A Flash on the Drudge Report: "For a few brief quarter-hours, the nation's original all-news channel CNN matched and passed audience ratings of America's #1 FOXNEWS...Coverage of Tuesday evening's South Carolina, Missouri and other Dem primary races gave CNN 1,829,000 viewers during the 9 PM hour on the East Coast, squeaking past FOXNEWS's 1,714,000. Both nets pulled a 1.6 rating, NIELSEN reports." 10:44:02 AM

Video Cell Phones: Who Will Take the Lead?
The BBC has introduced cell phones capable of recording and sending video to fourty of its reporters and producers. Why aren't the American channels following this lead? A FOX spokesperson says it is "current implementing this technology," but the others don't seem interested. Morons... 9:05:48 AM

Window Washer's Few Minutes of Fame
A window washer creeped into the backdrop while FOX interviewed a Congressman yesterday afternoon. FTVLive with the story: "It made no difference what the Congressman said, because if you were watching it you were watching the guy clean the windows. Looks like the window guy figured out how to get his 15 minutes of fame"... 8:40:27 AM

CableNewser Among Greta Van Susteren's Bookmarks
I'm a big fan of Greta, but I didn't realize she logs onto this little bit of cyberspace. "I also read the Drudge Report, various links from AssignmentEditor.com and the new Cablenewser.com," she writes in a great online column describing a 'typical' day On The Record. It's a fascinating column... 12:47:25 AM

Dean's Media Entourage Dwindles
From Thursday's Washington Post: "Dean is losing much of his media entourage: The Associated Press, Bloomberg, Fox News, CNN and others have reassigned their top Dean reporters to cover Kerry, Edwards or Clark." 12:44:34 AM

Dennis Miller: "The act is my belief. I just change the format"
Dennis Miller, in an interview with NewsMax.com: "I have no urge to be a journalist. (Laugh) I don’t. That’s nothing that interests me. I’m going to be a comedian in a different format. That’s the way I look at it. It’s the same act that I’ve been doing for years. The act is my belief. I just change the format. I go from a football booth, to cable, to a 24-hour news network." Football, cable news -- same difference, right?... 12:14:46 AM

Is John Kerry A Hero? CNN Anchors Disagree
John Kerry "is a real hero, and no one disputes that, as far as I know," Aaron Brown said tonight. Aaron may want to check out the rest of his channel's primetime slate -- DU posters are complaining about a comment made during the 8pm hour: "The woman filling in for Paula Zahn tonight made a comment she should not have made," the thread says. "She said that 'the president' may have to run against 'what some would call a war hero,' and she was talking about John Kerry." A poster linked to CNN's feedback form... 12:13:00 AM

Kudos to Cooper for Haiti Prez Interview
A great segment by Anderson Cooper on 360 tonight. He had an exclusive interview with Haitian president Aristide, filmed just this morning. "You will not see this interview anywhere else," Cooper promised. In the intro, he played clips from ten years ago, when he covered Operation Uphold Democracy on the island. His questions were to-the-point: "I haven't been back in eight years -- why has nothing changed?" and "will Haiti get out of this crisis?" among them. Shep devoted 21 seconds to Haiti during his "Around the World in 80 Seconds" segment tonight... 10:37:16 PM

Gay Marriage Rulings Raise Debate on Cable
The recent gay marriage rulings have made for frequent fodder on cable. "What is so frightening about love?," Barney Frank asked on CNBC. The topic was debated on the first ten minutes of "The News" at 8pm. At the same time, CNN tackled the issue with lower-thirds reading "Same Sex Marriage: Culture War." We welcome the opportunity for a public debate," gay rights activist David Tseng said. Well, you're getting it. The issue was the lead story on Newsnight with Aaron Brown... 10:17:36 PM

Rumor: "CNN fired an entire group of veeps"
DCRTV posts a letter in the mailbag referring to the CNN Radio G.M. removal: "Garcia was blown out last week, along with a number of other CNN vice presidents. It's part of the 'reorganization' nationwide, and CNN fired an entire group of veeps." Any insiders with details? E-mail... 10:14:23 PM

And the Award for Best E-Mail Newsletter Goes to...
MSNBC's Countdown. Whoever writes this is really on the ball: "Finally, you may remember the summertime attempt by Cubans to get to the shores of Florida via a Chevy pickup truck -- it was kept afloat with 55-gallon drums serving as pontoons and had a propeller attached to the drive shaft. ...They're at it again, two of them 'sailing' a green 1950s Cadillac convertible, along with nine other people. ...Once ashore, they plan to take in a flick at the local Drive-in Theatre, then grab a few burgers at the Shoney's Big Boy. Only then will they ask President Eisenhower for refugee status. (Actually, they were again intercepted by the Coast Guard. Seriously folks, anyone who converts not one, but two, old cars into seafaring vehicles should be allowed to stay on the basis of ingenuity alone.)" 8:39:49 PM

Welcome to Scarborough Country! Joe Will Protect Us...
Joe is listening to us! From tonight's MSNBC newsletter: "Millions were outraged by Sunday's half time stunt. You spoke out, and your message was heard in Scarborough Country. Now, Joe asks: 'Who's protecting America's children -- from the media?' Dr. Laura Schlessinger joins Joe on a special Scarborough Country." Joe will protect us! 7:49:04 PM

Carlie Brucia Suspect in Custody: Contrasting CNN/FOX Coverage
The Carlie Brucia Amber Alert may have paid off. "A suspect is now in custody," Shep Smith said halfway through his 7pm show. On CNN, Susan Candiotti discussed the story from outside the sheriff's office for at least seven minutes. Orlando Salinas reported from Miami for FOX. Anderson Cooper had reported about the missing girl 15 minutes earlier. They reported the newsflash just before 7:30, and seemed to know more details than FOX. Shep promised "breaking news in two minutes," but aired a tape report before flashing the News Alert graphics. I know it's just two minutes, but it just seems inappropriate somehow... 7:48:18 PM

MSNBC Fans Impressed by New Prime Promos
MSNBC has unveiled new primetime promos, and the network's MSN fans are impressed: They "have energy and spice -- very rock and roll," one poster says. "New voices, new graphics. Very cool." Another comment: "I'd call them high impact promos." More... 7:28:43 PM

Quote of the day
...and possibly of the week, Rantingprofs: "How it is that there have been more mentions of Janet Jackson's breast than of North Korea's gas chambers? Which is the real outrage? The press can't keep spending their credibility chips down to a deficit then look to cash a check when something happens and they need to say to the public, but we're the defenders of (pick one) the public's right to know, the public interest, the marketplace of ideas. If they want to be treated special when the chips are down then they need to act special on a day to day basis to build up those credibilty chips in the bank." 5:01:19 PM

CNN Introduces New Equipment; Names Three "International Video Correspondents"
CNN has issued new digital newsgathering equipment "to combine cameras, editing tools and advanced satellite and Internet communications technology into a laptop-based system" to all 28 of its international bureaus, a press release today says. The network has named Ryan Chilcote, Karl Penhaul and Alphonso Van Marsh "international video correspondents." CNN developed the system in-house. LostRemote has more... 3:42:43 PM

Primary Coverage: Next-Day Notes & Corrections
First, a correction: Yesterday I said that Larry King's show would be a repeat at midnight. In fact, it was live last night -- CNN's online schedule was wrong, so I repeated their error. Second, a note: While noting that Aaron Brown was live at 1am, I ignored the fact that Chris Matthews was live until two, too. FOX was the only cable net to wrap it up at 1... 3:41:52 PM

Bob Novak Hits The WP Gossip Page
Did Bob Novak get into a dust-up with a viewer in New Hampshire? Rich Leiby has the story in today's WP. The headline: "Taunt! Push! Shove! Quote! Counterquote!" 3:41:14 PM

Hey, This Could Be A Ratings Boost for MSNBC
On February 26, MSNBC will air live coverage "of the destruction of the foul ball deflected by hapless fan Steve Bartman during the sixth game of the Cubs' playoff series with Florida," the Sun-Times reports. Broadcasting & Cable first "broke the story" earlier this week. 10:16:40 AM

Edwards Great Media Move: He "timed his entrance perfectly"
David Folkenflik points out Edwards' "political cunning" last night: "[He] timed his entrance perfectly last night to make the local and network evening newscasts in the West" -- not to mention the start of cable primetime! "And, not by coincidence, the honey-tongued orator drowned out the announcement of Kerry's dominant win in delegate-rich Missouri, relegating the development for many minutes to the crawl at the bottom of the cable channels' screens." Here's the full Baltimore Sun story. 10:13:57 AM

Personnel Moves at CNN International
"CNN International has announced three new appointments designed to strengthen coverage in the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions," Digital Spy reports. Chris Cramer says it "underlines CNN's commitment to the Middle East." 10:12:51 AM

A Contrast of Deb's Ratings: 'Inside Edition' vs. 'Norville Tonight'
I like Michael Starr's contrast in the NYPost today: "'Inside Edition' notched its best weighted metered- market rating in four years Monday (5.5). It's anchored by Deborah Norville, whose new MSNBC show, "Deborah Norville Tonight," is averaging 276,000 viewers thus far." Heh heh. 10:12:32 AM

Sign of the Times?: Kerry Q/A's on Cable Before Addressing Supporters
"Talking to cable anchors, apparently, is more important than giving a victory speech these days," Howard Kurtz writes this morning. "John Kerry made the rounds on CNN, Fox and MSNBC before addressing his own supporters last night. I guess we now know who runs the country." Kurtz just keeps churning out content... 9:45:52 AM

Last Week's News Viewer Index
Cynopsis has the news viewer index for January 26 through February 2. In total day, "Fox News had 47% of the viewing, CNN 27%, MSNBC 15%; and Headline News 11%." In primetime, "Fox News had 46%, CNN 28%, MSNBC 13% and Headline News 6%." 9:44:27 AM

CNN Radio VP / GM Parts Ways
Newsblues reports: "Robert Garcia, former chairman of RTNDA, has reportedly left his post as vice president and general manager of CNN Radio Network." No comment from CNN... 9:44:03 AM

Is Five Hours of Chris Matthews Too Much?
An interesting thread about Chris Matthews turns into an analysis of why MSNBC doesn't rotate anchors on primary nights. "I like Matthews and Hardball, but I don't understand why they have the same people on for 5 hours straight," one post said. "Fox knows how to put on an entertaining show. That is why they don't do 5 hours of same programming," another said. Here's the rest. 9:39:40 AM

Union Members to Protest CNN Tonight
The NYDN reportrs that "a crowd of furious union members" will protest against CNN as Time Warner's new building opens in Columbus Circle. "The union represents studio technicians and camera operators who were let go late last year after CNN ended a longtime agreement with a contractor called Team Video Services," Phyllis Furman reports. Their thumbnail photo of CNN is at least five years old... 9:35:33 AM

Aaron Brown Hosts Live NewsNight At 1AM
Hooray for Aaron Brown -- he hosted a live edition of NewsNight at 1:00am. Good stuff! Great recap of the results. 1:09:44 AM

Primary Time: Attention Turns to the Next Round of Primaries
It's an alphabet soup of states now as as cable pundits predict the next primaries. Oklahoma is still up in the air -- "we'll have to wait the old-fashioned way," Wolf Blitzer remarked -- but the night appears to be a firm Kerry win. Chris Wallace said "we'll be up for much of the night seeing who wins" in Oklahoma. We? I'm taking a break, Chris... 11:10:59 PM

Primary Time: One Final Round of Primary Media Notes
Judy Woodruff: "Tonight is a night with more than one winner" // Where was Campbell Brown? She traded her Hardball roundtable seat for a live shot inside Dean's noisy rally // Wolf Blitzer called tonight "the biggest day yet" in the presidental campaign // Bill Press with a cool quote: "John Edwards had a good night tonight. Wesley Clark had a good night tonight. John Kerry had a great night tonight!" He said the only question is "Clark, Edwards -- how long do they stay alive?" // Bill Kristol on FOX: "It's hard to believe this whole process has been going two weeks...and it could be over in two weeks"... 11:09:25 PM

Primary Night: Oklahoma Still Too Close to Call
"We expect that when all the votes are now in, Clark will probably win...but we're not ready to call it," Blitzer said at 11pm. He said that CNN's policy is to not call a winner when there is less than a 1% difference between the candidates. On CNBC, John Seigenthaler said that the state will go to Clark "in a squeaker." 11:04:28 PM

Primary Time: FOX First to Project N.M. Caucus Winner
At 10:40pm, the lower-third on FOX said that the network "projects John Kerry wins New Mexico caucus." CNN and MSNBC holding off at this point. "Looks like a pretty serious race unfolding" in New Mexico, Wolf Blitzer said at 10:43pm. Analyst Carlos Watson pointed out that a high number of absentee ballots were submitted in the state... 10:44:31 PM

Primary Time: Notes, Notes, Notes from the Primary Coverage
At 10:40pm, CNN projected delegates in Delaware, Missouri, and South Carolina // The MoveOn.org ad aired on CNN at 10:34pm // "[Dean] has done miserably tonight," Blitzer stated // "This is the business of being a candidate for president, and it's not for amateurs," Bob Novak said, pointing out that the two "new boys" -- Clark and Dean -- didn't do very well // The Oklahoma hype continues: Wolf calls it "incredibly close" and "the biggest drama;" Chris Wallace calls it "the one big nailbiter tonight"... 10:41:57 PM

Primary Time: Media wants "the race to go on"
"One must never underestimate the power of the national news media when it seeks a desired outcome," John Ellis writes (by way of Instapundit). "What Matthews and his colleagues in the heavily populated Democratic cheering section of the national news media want, above all, is for the race to go on. Part of this is self interest and part of this is belief." An interesting post... 10:37:03 PM

Primary Time: The Primary Media Notes Just Keep Coming
"The voting has ended in all seven states," Blitzer said at 10pm // The CNN screen with six reporters spread out across the country looked very cool // Chris Wallace presented his "greatest hits" polling data // On FOX, Zell Miller commented on Kerry's team: "I think they better wait a few weeks before they kill the fatted calf and start celebrating and being merry." Bill Bennett talking to Sean and Alan: "Dean is done, but he doesn't know it"... 10:20:54 PM

Primary Time: Hume Hands FOX Coverage Over to Hannity
A sign of an early night?: FOX turned coverage over to Hannity & Colmes just after 9:40pm, twenty minutes earlier than scheduled... 9:51:42 PM

Primary Time: Critique of CNN Election Coverage
Some thoughts from TVHeads: "CNN really has been terrible so far [with election season coverage]. Wolf Blitzer needs to go. Sorry Wolf fans. He's been around forever, it's time for him to go. Judy Woodruff, Jeff Greenfield, and Larry King aren't exactly young either." Another comment: "FNC deserves the accolades and ratings, in my opinion." 9:46:54 PM

Primary Time: Even More Primary Media Notes
Oklahoma continues to make for fun quotes: Shep Smith calls it "the tightest race of the night," and Wolf Blitzer describes it as a "fierce battle" // Susan Estrich called Kerry's night 'phenonenal:' "It's a great night for John Kerry...a month ago, most people said [he] had no chance for the nomination" // "Kerry is already beginning to find silver linings in Edwards' victory in SC," Carl Cameron reported // The phrase "two-person race" keeps ringing in my head... 9:46:10 PM

Primary Time: Media Notes: ND Projections; Voters "Still Shopping"
9:24pm: FOX projects that John Kerry will win the North Dakota primary. CNN followed at 9:27 // Bob Woodward: "People are still shopping" for a candidate // Wolf Blitzer called Lieberman "someone all of us know, somebody all of us like" // Edwards in a Brit Hume interview: "I dont want to be VP. I'm running for president" // Reuters offers this story about Joe Trippi's move to MSNBC as a political analyst. No word if he'll be around after tonight... 9:28:42 PM

Primary Time: Kerry Is Up; Will Media Drag Him Down?
"Kerry supporters brace yourself, here it comes," a DU post says. "In the last few minutes the media has started the new pumping game. They are now slowly attacking Kerry." Do you agree? E-mail your comments. 9:19:03 PM

Primary Time: Dennis Miller Fails; What The Hell Is CNBC Thinking?
Dennis Miller's show is a joke. Let's just admit it. On a big night -- seven primaries -- the show was taped in advance. Dennis admitted it in the first five minutes of the show. He told Tim Russert that "you're fast becoming the new Cronkite," then proceeded to ask him questions that were no longer relevant. Miller hosted from Burbank, where it's only 6pm right now... 9:12:29 PM

Primary Time: Arizona Called at the Stroke of Nine, & Other Notes
Brit Hume on FOX at exactly 9:00pm and one second: "John Kerry, winner in the state of Arizona." Eight seconds later, Wolf Blitzer on CNN: "John Kerry will win in the state of Arizona" // Larry King talked to Howard Dean at the top of the hour // Ed Lavandera interviewed a cross-section of voters in an interesting segment... 9:09:02 PM

Primary Time: Goodbye Joe, Part Two
The cablers repeated an AP alert that Joe Lieberman will drop out of the race around 8:55pm. All three channels had the news by 8:58. Mort Kondracke on FOX called Lieberman "the only real centrist candidate," but said that the center "just doesn't exist in America." Dee Dee told Chris that "if he doesn't" drop out tonight, "he should...There's no point for him to go on." At 9:01pm, Blitzer said that John King confirmed the information... 9:05:29 PM

Primary Time: Scarborough's "Two Big Media Stories"
Joe Scarborough identifies the "two big media stories today." One: "Edwards using the South Carolina win to project across the country." Two: Front page USA Today story saying that John Kerry would beat GW Bush in head-to-head poll matchup. "That's huge for democrats going to the polls across the country." 8:37:19 PM

Primary Time: Another Round of Primary Media Notes
On MSNBC, Dee Dee Myers said she was impressed by Edwards' television presence. "This is powerful stuff coming in over the airwaves" // "CNN is using a countdown clock to the 9pm poll closings // "I think there's a lot of energy in the party right now," Joe Trippi understated on MSNBC. "It's been there for a year, its been building and building"... 8:36:16 PM

Primary Time: Oklahoma Provides Suspense Tonight
The anchors are going to have fun with Oklahoma tonight. A sampling of their language thus far: Wolf Blitzer: "very very close race...up in the air;" Dan Lothian: "a very tight race;" Brit Hume: "we are nowhere near in a position to call that race;" John Seigenthaler: "up for grabs..." 8:36:07 PM

Primary Time: More Notes from the Primary Coverage
CNN's Kelly Wallace repeated news from a producer on Kerry's plane, thus offering the first reaction from the front-runner // FOX seemed to copy CNN, implementing lower-thirds with state-by-state results // Tim Russert called March 2 (the real Super Tuesday) "the big shootout" // Seigenthaler at 8:26pm: "It's a long night to go..." 8:30:32 PM

Primary Time: Dean: "Imploding;" "0 for 9;" "Thrashed"
Dean is receiving the full pundit assault. NBC's Ron Allen called Dean "essentially 0 for 9 in the primaries." Major Garrett tried to report despite the Dean audience's clapping: "There's no spin whatsoever on the inside of the dean campaign," he reported. "They know they're going to get thrashed across the country tonight." Susan Estrich called it a tough night for Dean: "You can talk about being the energizer bunny...but where do you go to?" She used the word imploding. 8:27:46 PM

Primary Time: Goodbye, Joe
Perhaps a scoop for CNN: At 8:21pm, Wolf Blitzer tossed to Bruce Morton at Lieberman headquarters: "This really was the end of the road for Joe Lieberman...what we're told here [is that the candidate] will be having a meeting at their Virginia headquarters starting about ten minutes from now...Which means, I suppose, that we could get some I'm-wrapping-it-up speech tonight, or they could wait and save it for tomorrow." 8:25:49 PM

Primary Time: Greenfield On Edwards' Media Manipulation
Wolf Blitzer asked if Jeff Greenfield was surprised by the short length of Edwards' speech: "No, because it's what you do when you have command of the TV cameras, and you want your message out -- knowing that at eight o'clock, the networks would project big John Kerry wins." 8:16:17 PM

Primary Time: Media Notes -- Projections, Quotes
CNN and FOX called the races in Missouri and Delaware at 8pm. Wolf Blitzer called Oklahoma "a three way virtual tie" // FOX calls the event "Super Tuesday I" // "I have never seen the democratic activist base so energized," Tim Russert said on CNBC. "They have become united with a mission of defeating George Bush" // FOX's studio is incredible... 8:10:30 PM

Primary Time: First Projections: Edwards for SC At Exactly 7pm
At the top of the 7pm hour, FOX and CNN both called the SC race for Edwards, the minute polls closed. CNN.com sent a news alert within five minutes. FOX and CNBC went live to Edwards at 8pm; CNN followed one minute later. The audio was bad, though. 8:04:40 PM

Cablers Plan Extensive Primary Coverage Tonight
The cablers seem to be sticking to their trusted strategies with primary coverage tonight. On FOX, Brit Hume will report from 8 to 10, then hand it over to H&C; and finish with Greta until 1. CNN coverage starts at 7, with Wolf and company from Atlanta. Larry interrupts at 9, then the team is back until midnight. Larry repeats (!) at midnight, and Newsnight follows at 1am. Beginning at 7 on MSNBC, Chris Matthews will host a Hardball panel including Howard, Dee Dee, Jacques, Joe, Ron – the usual. A new addition: former Dean manager Joe Trippi! Campbell Brown not listed though…At midnight, Keith will do a live recap. CableNewser moment-by-moment analysis will begin at 8:00pm ET… 5:20:18 PM

Primary Ratings Increase From 2000; Another NEP Test Tonight
In the Hollywood Reporter today, Andrew Grossman (who kicks ass, BTW) points out that cable news net ratings of NH Primary coverage were up 25% from 2000. Quoting CNN poli-dir Hannon: Tonight is "going to test our system more than the single states. But we’ve been pleased with how the National Election Pool has operated." 3:57:00 PM

Whoever's Typing the FOX Chyron Needs Spellcheck
Dave writes in to point out "not one – not two – but THREE errors on FNC’s text-box" during the Ricin press conference last hour. "First, FNC identified Senate Majority Leader Frist as the Senate MINORITY Leader. This was corrected after three viewings." He also notes that FNC wrote "along" when they meant to write “a long,” and wrote that the "principle focus is on safety," rather than principal. Does someone at 1211 Avenue of the Americas need a spelling lesson? 3:55:06 PM

Greta Van Susteren, Jet-Setting
Greta is going to have a long week: "Hours after we shut off the lights at 1 a.m. on 'On the Record' [tonight], several of us will jump a plane for California. We will be in Los Angeles for two nights, Wednesday and Thursday. And, to test our strength when sleep deprived, we will jump the 'red eye' and head back East. Friday night's show will be out of our regular studio in D.C." What a tough life, being a TV anchor... 3:54:28 PM

MSNBC Premieres Reagan Documentary Sunday Night
MSNBC has announced they will air “The Great Communicator: Ronald Reagan in his Own Words,” a one-hour special hosted by Brian Williams on Sunday, Feb. 8th (10 to 11pm). It’s the weekend of Reagan’s birthday. I’ll post the press release link when it comes online. First an H&L; profile of Rush Limbaugh, now a documentary on Reagan; what exactly is MSNBC’s next move?... 3:52:13 PM

Natalie Morales Sits Down At "Early Today" Anchor Desk
NBC has put out a press release announcing Natalie Morales’s ‘Early Today’ anchoring. It says she will continue to “contribute to MSNBC.” Monday was her first day waking up in time for the 4:30am show; Amy Robach had anchored in January... 3:31:26 PM

Kurtz Previews the Primary Punditry
Howard Kurtz presents a handy viewers guide to how the media will react to tonight's primary results. Highlights: "If Howard Dean wins any state: MSNBC will give smelling salts to its embedded Dean reporter, who was near death from boredom, and start putting him on the air again." "No matter what happens: The pundits will start chanting that it's not too late for Hillary." Read it all. 1:28:12 PM

Anderson Cooper is an "Infohunk." So What's That?
Anderson Cooper is called "a perfect example" of an "infohunk" in today's Indianapolis Star. Apparently infohunk is a new genre of celebrity; here's a web site devoted to them. 1:20:33 PM

Deborah Norville Explains Her MSNBC Motivation
Verne Gay profiles Deborah Norville today's Newsday. "Underwatched MSNBC may seem like an unusual place to re-enter the mainstream, but Norville explains, "Ever since my professional life took an unexpected turn, I have taken the blinders off." She'd never done a live interview show, and here was the chance." More... 1:08:02 PM

Whoops! "Fox News Channel's Chris Matthews..."
A big mistake in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story this morning. Quoting an article about how TV turns elections into horse race: "Fox News Channel's Chris Matthews is another who worries about TV's tendency to cover the competition over the issues of a campaign." Now I don't know about you, but I can't imagine Chris at FOX... 9:07:49 AM

Quote of the day
From The Phoenix: 'Web sites and new[s] services, like CNN and MSNBC, have jumped on the events of Sunday's half time show, splashing giant photographs of celebrities on their home pages. This in not 'news.' The word 'news' has, as a synonym, the word intelligence. This implies that we, as a society, have respect for the news media, news reporters and editors. They are, by default, trusting them to decide what is important. Sufficed to say, that respect has been shaken of late. Maybe rightly so." 9:07:23 AM

ABC's Alina Cho to CNN
Starr also reports that Alina Cho, formerly an overnight anchor for ABC, is joining CNN as a general assignment weekend reporter... 8:58:24 AM

Ashleigh Banfield Keeps Negotiating...
Michael Starr keeps on top of the Ashleigh Banfield story in this morning's NYPost. Quoting her agent: "She's still there and she's been working right along - we're not closing anything yet and we're looking at her options. I honestly don't know what's going to happen. There's nothing new. She has three opportunities she's considering and she's taking her time figuring out what she wants to do." 8:57:07 AM

M.J. in "Overkill Hall of Fame:" Is Celebrity Coverage Dangerous?
American Journalism Review's Jill Rosen asks if, "in era with so many sources of news, is celebrity overkill a major threat to the republic?" "If anyone is taking the brunt of the blame for exacerbating the media's inability to know when to say when, it's the 24-hour news operations," Rosen writes. And Anderson Cooper is quoted discussing the Michael Jackson case: "We try to keep it in perspective as much as you can. But this will probably be in the overkill hall of fame." A must-read... 12:37:10 AM

Cable Pundits Like "former football players...on halftime shows"
"Talk is cheap," Neal Justin writes in Tuesday's Star Tribune. "CNN, Fox News and MSNBC turn over much of their programming to journalists and pundits who bicker around coffee tables, much as former football players break down the action on halftime shows. 'Talking heads come cheap and real reporting costs money,' [Matt] Felling said. 'The decision was made in the boardroom, not the newsroom.'" 12:35:56 AM

When You're Reporting About Deadly Poison, Don't Lie to the Viewers
Well, the cabler's didn't exactly disappoint, but FOX's anchor needs to get it together. CNN used local FOX affil WTTG's live feed. FOX also took the news conference live, but went back to O'Reilly after a few minutes. Newsreader Carol Iovanna made an embarassing mistake in her wrap-up: she said the test results "has been confirmed positive" -- a bold lie, since the most extensive test results have not yet come back. Aaron Brown got it right: "There are indications it's ricin, but not an absolute test at this point, and we'll just have to wait for more information." C'mon, Carol -- let's be a bit more careful when it comes to a deadly poison... 11:28:06 PM

Will "24 Hour" Cable Nets Air Late-Night News Conference?
Okay, here's my big question this hour. At 10:58pm, CNN reported there would be a press conference on the Ricin scare "in about 15 minutes." Typically, all three "24 hour news networks" air reruns starting at 11:00pm. So will the channels go live with what could be a very important story -- or could be nothing more than an inaccurate test. "We'll hang around here until they say what they're going to say," Aaron Brown said on NewsNight... 11:04:47 PM

Aaron Brown Comments on the "Costume Malfunction"
Tonight on Aaron Brown's opening monologue: "We have taken great care [to ensure that] whatever else happens, there will not be a costume malfunction tonight. If you are just waiting for me to rip off part of my shirt as some cheap rating stunt...you are out of luck." The control room folks pixelated the right side of Aaron's chest during the intro. He said that some nights, he does the show without shoes, but that's as far as he'd go... 10:56:00 PM

Dennis Miller's "Encore Presentation" -- Pathetic
Only one week ago, Dennis Miller premiered on CNBC. But tonight, he's airing a repeat -- oh, excuse me, CNBC calls it an encore presentation. "He hasn't been cancelled YET?," one poster asked, and I can't tell if he was joking. Another round of posts calls it a "bloody train wreck." Also: NBC P.R. put out some quotes from last week's show. Note to CNBC suits Get the kinks worked out first -- make it worth an encore. Then again, we'll just flip over to H&C; regardless... 9:38:12 PM

Senate Ricin Scare: CNN.com Leads; Still No Mention on MSNBC.com
CNN appears to the first cabler to report on the Senate ricin scare, at least online. The news alert hit my cell phone at 8:50pm, and at 9:00pm there were no details at MSNBC.com or FOXNews.com. ABC's web site has the most detailed story so far. By 9:15, FOXNews.com had a one-sentence banner online, while CNN.com had a short story online. 9:16:59 PM

Hume Award Protest: Reactions From Around the 'Net
"Anyone who has to claim to be 'fair and balanced' undoubtedly isn't," a DU post says. Free Republic posters had a field day today (here, too). ChronWatch says the liberal media is pouting: "The success of Fox News continues to annoy the liberal media, which includes nearly everybody except Fox." Here is UPI's take on the story... 8:34:57 PM

Hume Award Protest: Support for Brit & FOX
I asked for comments from people who supported Brit, and the e-mails poured in. Leigh congratulates him: “Brit Hume was in journalism long before Fox News was even thought of…I guess the others don't like him because he and Fox News show the true bias of the other networks.” Karen sides with FOX: “I think that they present the news in a fair and balanced way…I think they do a wonderful job.” And an unnamed reader with a good point: “What are people complaining about, specifically, related to Brit Hume?…It would be helpful if the complainers backed their statements with something other than adjectives…and "I hate Bill O'Reilly" shouldn't really count.” 7:04:14 PM

An Alternative to Saying "Don't you get it? Journalism is dead"
PressThink picks up on the embarassing interview Wolf Blitzer conducted with Dennis Kucinich last week (referenced in this space on Tuesday): "'Why are you such a loser, Dennis?' is asked not for the benefit of the viewing audience. It is not for voters' ears, either. Blitzer asks it for reasons wholly internal to his profession, and the only interest served, I think, is the journalist's." A great column... (Hat tip: Romenesko) 3:19:41 PM

Hume Award Protest: "Another hysterical overreaction"
An excellent post at Rantingprofs: "Another hysterical overreaction to Fox News...Take a peek at the list of prior award winners and get a laugh. Brit Hume is every bit as good as every one of those other recepients -- he's outstanding -- and no less ideological." Cori Dauber has a fascinating examination of why FOX's style frightens the mainstream: "By taking a different spin then the other outlets quite regularly, whether you think that's conservative or whether you think that's a corrective to the other outlets' liberalism, Fox is truly threatening because it makes clear that alternative [narrative] frames are possible at all..." 12:41:47 PM

Hume Award Protest: Readers Chime In
A sampling of e-mails today: Dee says she agrees with Overholser: "...To me, one of the most disturbing trends in Fox's meteoric rise to ratings dominance is that they aren't truly reporting the news -- they are reporting news peppered with their opinions and presenting it as a straight news cast. It isn't. And they shouldn't be rewarded for skewing the news." Jo says to Geneva: "Good for you! Glad to know there is someone elso who thinks Fox (Faux) News is unfair and unbalanced." Walt is less sympathetic: "Goodbye, and don't let the door hit your butt as you leave..." Any readers out there who side with Fox? E-mail your comments... 12:09:30 PM

Statements Regarding Hume Award Protest
In e-mails to CableNewser: FOX News declined additional comment on today's USA Today report. Geneva Overholser declined comment, but said she expected to write about the issue in her weblog. Bob Meyers, the National Press Foundation president, released this statement today: "The Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism was made to Brit Hume after a unanimous vote of the selection committee and overwhelming support from the board of the National Press Foundation. The Taishoff Award has always gone to an individual for a lifetime body of work. It is never made made to the individual's current employer or to an individual because of his employer. As a journalism organization we encourage full and frank debate regarding the merits of all our activities, whether our awards for accomplishment or our free educational programs for journalists." 12:01:46 PM

Is ABC's Ross Talking to NBC About Replacing MSNBC's Sorenson?
A rumor at FTVLive: Sources say that "Good Morning America Executive Producer Shelly Ross is involved in talks with NBC to join the network." Why is that important? "The Peacock [may be] looking at Ross to take over struggling MSNBC." Goodbye, Erik? 11:51:47 AM

Quote of the day
Clarence Page in the Chicago Tribune: "If weather forecasters predicted the weather like media commentators, political consultants, Washington wheeler-dealers and other political prognosticators forecast elections, they'd be fired." 11:50:56 AM

! NPF Board Member Resigns Ahead of Dinner Honoring Brit Hume
Calls FOX "ideologically connected;" asks if its style is "good for journalism"

Geneva Overholser (a former WashPost ombudsman) has "resigned from the board of the National Press Foundation because it plans to honor Fox News anchor Brit Hume," Peter Johnson reports in Monday's USA Today. Wow. "Fox wants to do news from a certain viewpoint, but it wants to claim that it is 'fair and balanced,'" she says. "That is inaccurate and unfair to other media who engage in a quest, perhaps an imperfect quest, for objectivity." Overholser says she welcomes a discussion on the issues. Share your thoughts on her resignation via e-mail. 12:19:56 AM

Dean: "There was no [scream] conspiracy except for Fox News"
Joel Connelly in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Monday editions: "Unlike some followers, Dean disclaims any media plot to undermine his candidacy. He does make one qualification. "There was no conspiracy except for Fox News and people like that," he said. "Fox has a clear ideological agenda."" 12:09:40 AM

Reliable Sources Transcript: Questioning Scream Coverage
Katrina Vanden Heuvel on Dean scream coverage: "There's no question that it was overplayed. It is the nature of our media system right now, that it's so fixed on the horse race, on the personality. But it's so interesting." Covering the coverage of the yell was a focus of Reliable Sources this morning... 6:28:47 PM

Chris Wallace: TV News People "Envy" Cable News
Chris Wallace talks about his move to FOX News in an AP story today. Interesting quote: "People in our business get it," Wallace says. "We sit around all day with Fox or another cable network on. We spend between 9 in the morning and 6 at night not on the air. So I think a lot of people in television news look at the cable networks with great envy." 6:24:12 PM

The Third Exclusive Trippi Interview
A visitor writes in with note of another 'exclusive:' "On today's edition of Inside Politics, Judy Woodruff advertised her conversation with Joe Trippi as 'an exclusive interview'...gee, first Deborah Norville, then Chris Matthews and now Judy Woodruff...all 'exclusives.'" I hope 'casual' viewers don't believe these lies... 1:07:03 PM

Ken Auletta on BookTV
Ken Auletta (our quote(d) of the day) is on C-SPAN2's BookTV program right now, discussing his impressive collection of media stories in his new book "Backstory." Jon Friedman called Auletta "the premier chronicler of the media business" in his Friday column... (Thanks Barnaby) 1:03:06 PM

Quote of the day
Ken Auletta, quoted in Variety, on the "gotcha" questions posed to candidates: "You start playing God. You start looking for questions that you think will reveal their character. The process becomes so intrusive. We're not supposed to get between the candidates and the voters." 10:48:20 AM

Two Big Stories This Morning, and MSNBC Talks About...the Super Bowl
Is MSNBC's Flash News banner not working this morning, or are they just asleep at the wheel? "So MSNBC.com is indicating two major news stories are breaking this morning," this poster at TV Barn writes. (244 killed in a stampede at the Haj, and dozens dead in Iraq attacks.) "And what has MSNBC the television station said about these things in the last hour? Absolutely nothing. In fact, as I type this (8:57 a.m.), they are going through the top stories, and they're not even mentioning these two stories; instead, we're hearing them talk about "America's Heroes" (a corrections officer who was beaten at work) and the Super Bowl." Read more... 10:48:01 AM

Dennis Miller's Roller Coaster Ratings Week
The NYPost looks at Dennis Miller's week one ratings. Monday, 746,000; Tuesday, 290,000; Wednesday, 682,000; Thursday, 441,000. Pity the fool who has to make sense of thse ups and downs... 10:47:08 AM

One Month In...
A quick thank you to...you. Watching thousands of visitors check out CableNewser in its first month was great -- in excess of 25,000 page views in fact, with the vast majority of those coming in the last ten days. I certainly didn't expect it to become a popular site so quickly. (Nice seeing turner.com and nbc.com among the top IP's, too.) Spread the word! And stay tuned. 1:36:44 AM

"The Definitive Guide to Fixing MSNBC"
The MSNBC Group on MSN is the source for an excellent critique of "We’ve ranted about it, proposed schedules for it, done just about everything to suggest improvements for MSNBC live, which seems to have hit the pits of also-ran news. It’s deathly boring to watch, and almost mindless in the content it delivers. It’s mismanaged, understaffed, and just plain poorly produced. ...I think that before we talk about fixing MSNBC, we must talk about what’s wrong. And there’s a lot that belies the pictures on your TV. So here’s my definitive guide to fixing MSNBC’s news coverage." A must-read. (This has given me an idea. More soon...) 1:30:11 AM