Banfield Buzz: Reaction From Around The 'Net
Ashleigh and NBC part ways, and the reaction online has been mixed:
> Hartford Courant: "NBC news executives have stopped making passes at the anchorwoman in big glasses"
> MSNBC MSN group: "My best guess is she'll end up on a show like "Inside Edition"
> "The Unofficial Ashleigh Banfield Site:" "NBC made a huge mistake..."
> Medialine: "Courageous in an odd way. She will find work somewhere else"
> TVSpy: "I am sure there is a lesson to be learned from her story" 5:33:45 PM

Shep Smith "is all about speed"
Shep Smith does not like verbs. "Whenever he finds one, he crinkles his brow in disgust like a man who has discovered a dribble of food on his tie," the NY Times writes. Why? "We don't communicate in full sentences anyway," Shep says. "We don't need all those words. And it allows us to go faster." "Mr. Smith is all about speed," the paper says, in a must-read... 10:47:31 AM

"Fake and scathing 1, fair and balanced 0"
Business 2.0's Hits & Misses disses the cable nets: "Fake and scathing 1, fair and balanced 0," they write: "CNN and MSNBC have gotten used to losing to Fox News. But during the Democratic primaries, an unexpected foe stole the ratings crown from all three. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart...attracted more viewers at 11 p.m. than any of the cable news channels in the last two weeks of January, outdoing Fox by 20 percent even as the news network was running live campaign coverage." Cory Bergman's suggestion that MSNBC hire Stewart should have been noted before Comedy Central renewed his contract... 10:40:36 AM

You Can't Really Be A 'Campaign Embed,' Becky Diamond Admits
Finally, someone -- an "embed," no less! -- admits that the whole "campaign embed" title was an exaggeration (albeit a clever, catchy one). "Campaigns are not organizations that will allow a journalist to be truly embedded and report on day of news," Becky Diamond says in a CJR interview. She was embedded in the Persian Gulf before she met up with Kerry, but she says the "campaign is more protective of its information than any military unit." Great interview... 12:44:13 AM

Cable News Channels Are "Entertainment Channels," MTV Exec Says
Brian Graden, the prez of entertainment for MTV and VH1, referring to cable news coverage of the gay marriage issue: "What worries me, having flipped obsessively through those channels during the last 10 days and seeing gay marriage everywhere, is that they're entertainment channels -- they are trying to get ratings. This 'gay issue' will make better television for them than a long-winded piece about education, so I can see this remaining front and center." (From the Hollywood Reporter) 12:42:39 AM

Editing the Dallas Morning News; Ashleigh Preps For Jeopardy
The Dallas Morning News apparently hasn't heard that Ashleigh has parted ways with NBC: "MSNBC reporter and former Dallasite Ashleigh Banfield should be a multiple threat when she tapes an episode of Jeopardy! on April 3," Alan Peppard writes. She talks about her preparation for the game show: "I'm terrible at U.S. presidents," she says. "I'm brushing up on them now. I'm pretty good with anything overseas. And I kick [expletive] at metric." Ass really qualifies for the [expletive] treatment? 12:41:28 AM

Crossing That News/Entertainment Line, Again
On the AP wire, David Bauder reports that NBC News is pushing 'The Apprentice' on Dateline. DCRTV Dave notes: "Shep Smith had a talking head on to talk about whether it's wrong for NBC's news programs to be hyping the network's 'The Apprentice' reality show. So, how many times have I seen Fox News Channel doing morning "news reports" on Fox's 'American Idol' entertainment show? Many!" 9:42:24 PM

Less Than Half a Million Viewers For Cooper & Zahn
Is the loss of two senior CNN producers having an impact? It's been a busy news week, but last night Anderson Cooper managed only a 0.4 (349,000 households/430,000 viewers) and Paula Zahn scored only a 0.5 (448,000 households/515,000 viewers), a source tells CableNewser Those numbers are down from last month's averages. (By contrast, Shep had 1.3, and O'Reilly had 2.2.) "Olbermann beat Paula Zahn last night," an anonymous e-mailer adds. "It's becoming a fairly frequent event." 5:07:10 PM

"TV Interviews Haunt Petersons' Lawyer"
...That's the way one headline puts it. This AP story points out that Mark Geragos made some interesting statements in interviews with Larry King and Greta Van Susteren: "...Before he took over as Peterson's lead counsel, Geragos described the evidence as overwhelming, and figured Peterson was all but convicted in the deaths of his wife and their unborn son." Heh... 4:32:50 PM

Come To Think Of It, MSNBC And The Apprentice Have Similarities...
Michelle writes in to ask "what's the deal?:" "It's 1:40pm, I'm watching John Kerry outline economic policies on FNC, then I flip to MSNBC and they're talking about The Apprentice???" Solid news judgment over there, eh? CNN aired Kerry's speech live too... 4:26:32 PM

CNN's Preppie Party Preppers
Wonkette has a scoop from the CNN party: "We hear that the ratings-desperate net flew up a passel of anchor-babes-in-training from Atlanta for the specific purpose of decorating their post-dinner disco inferno and finally beating out rival Fox for the best party prize." They didn't have tickets to the dinner, so they "stood outside in the smoking lounge [until the party started]," a source tells Ana Marie... 3:44:06 PM

The End: Ashleigh Banfield & NBC Split Up
A spokeswoman makes it official: "Regrettably, we were unable to agree on a new assignment for her." Ashleigh Banfield is no longer an employee of NBC News. Lloyd Grove has the scoop. Love her or hate her, Ashleigh was a lot of fun to watch. Alfred Geller, her manager, says she is exploring syndication, network, and cable possibilities. They tried to work it out with NBC: "It didn't work. Life marches on." 11:50:28 AM

"Bloodbath:" Second Senior CNN Producer Quits
Senior broadcast producer Michael Rosen has left Cable News Network (CNN) for a job at the College Sports Network (CSN). The news, from the NY Post, comes two days after Rosen's deputy, Jim Miller, "resigned amid allegations of inappropriateness." Cathleen Friery is taking over as the senior producer; no word of a Miller replacement yet. "...Others inside CNN are furious at the news network, saying that what's really going on is a war between the old guard and the young turks," Page Six says. The paper says it a "bloodbath..." 11:50:20 AM

Media Sues For More Michael Jackson Coverage
Because we need as much Michael Jackson news as we can get!: "An attorney representing news organizations...called on Superior Court Judge Clifford R. Anderson III to vacate or modify his order banning journalists from photographing or speaking to prospective grand jurors." The media is calling the order "unconstitutional." Here's the AP story... 11:49:17 AM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Newsmax Cries Bias; NYPost Sounds Off
I promised no more, but these three are interesting:
> An editorial in the fellow Murdoch outlet NYPost: "Fox News Channel...performed a public service and helped inject a much-needed dose of reality to the proceedings." (Thanks Dave)
> Newsmax says the media is biased: "...From March 24 through March 26, there were 872 news reports mentioning the name Richard Clarke...A Nexis search of "Richard Clarke/Fox" and "Richard Clarke/Fox News" turned up only 130 stories, however."
> O'Reilly's Talking Points Thursday, after airing Bob Kerrey's FOX-bash: "All right, well that's just nonsense, all right. Just B.S. Fox News is completely in the right here." 11:48:28 AM

Keith Olbermann on 'Today,' Weekly
Quoting Newsblues: "MSNBC's Keith Olbermann will begin regular appearances on NBC's The Today Show with a weekly Friday segment called 'Countdown on Today.'" Good idea -- better than Keith's flagrant promotion of 'Today' during Matt Lauer's jet-setting... 11:45:28 AM

Security Concerns Cancel Larry King's Trip To Israel
According to this Israeli news site, (who attributes the news to Army Radio), CNN officials instructed Larry King to cancel his planned trip to the country in April, "due to the current security situation." He was supposed to arrive in Israeli at the end of the month "as a guest of Beilinson Hospital." 11:30:19 AM

Another "scandal of the moment?"
Robert writes in with a question: "Why has there been no flack regarding the tour Judy Woodruff took with Terry McAuliffe yesterday afternoon of the new DNC Headquarters? Before entering his office the camera panned down to get a closeup of his doormat which has a picture of President Bush. McAuliffe made a point of wiping his shoes across the picture of Bush and laughed like it was very funny and not a bit disrespectful. It was stunning. Ms. Woodruff caught her breath and walked around the mat so as not to step on the president's face." Hmm...is it enough to be a "scandal of the moment?" 11:10:38 AM

'FOX News Sunday' Ratings Showing "Steady Improvement"
Quoting Variety: "Fox Television's 'Fox News Sunday,' with host Chris Wallace, raced ahead last week in the key news demo, tying with ABC News' 'This Week With George Stephanopoulos'...'News Sunday" has shown steady improvement since Wallace took over as host last fall. 11:05:28 AM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Media Notes
With a bit of luck, this will be the last post titled Fox & The Flip Flop:
> Rush Limbaugh: "These hearings yesterday actually turned into 'the Fox News Hearings'"
> CBS News: "The decision to reveal Clarke as the source in the August 2002 illustrated the White House's determination to blunt Clarke's attacks on Mr. Bush in an election year."
> Friday's WashPost A1: "Perhaps most surprising, aides who routinely spar over such distinctions as 'White House official' and 'senior administration official' granted Fox News permission to unmask Clarke as the anonymous briefing." 10:59:49 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: WH Release "Virtually Unheard Of"
USA Today sizes up the controversy, and gets the other reporters in the room that day on the record. Andrea Mitchell says that Jim Angle was "right to pursue the story. Whether he played into the White House's agenda is another story." "...It's rare for it to release an entire background briefing, and virtually unheard of to do it 18 months after the fact and after the briefer has left the administration," Peter Johnson notes... 10:46:12 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: CJR Calls It "Irresponsible"
The Campaign Desk calls FOX's decision to publish the Clark briefing "irresponsible." "By violating its confidentiality agreement with Clarke, Fox News sent a message to potential whistleblowers that they should be wary of coming to the press. And the only people that serves are those who want secrets kept." 10:26:19 PM

Bush WMD Jokes: New "Media-Generated Scandal Of The Moment"
Michael Graham on The Corner: "I just got a call from CNBC asking me to come on tonight and defend President Bush's comedy routine at the Radio and TV Correspondent's Dinner last night. CNN just took a shot at the president on this as well, and Nancy Pelosi is piling on, too. It's clearly going to be the media-generated Scandal Of The Moment." 6:12:36 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Reader Feedback
"Why aren't the other networks reporting the story?," I asked. I had a couple of answers in my head, and the e-mails that poured in reaffirmed my guess. A sample:

> "It has to make you wonder," Spud says. "Think about all the briefings that reporters get on a daily basis. And Jim Angle just happened to remember this one that Clarke gave several years ago? It doesn't pass the smell test." > John: "Perhaps the others are hoping if they don't do like FOX, they'll be seen as sticking to a bargain and protecting a source. Perhaps they're hoping that because of this, there's a lot of people in D.C. who are suddenly going to stop speaking to FOX on background but that will speak to those who didn't break 'the rules.'" > Daily Pundit has a more political prediction > It's the topic of a long Lucianne thread 6:08:54 PM

Larry King Can't Keep Isikoff, Weiskopf Straight
Last night on CNN, Larry King confused his guest Michael Isikoff with recently-wounded Time correspondent Michael Weiskopf. Here's the transcript: (Thanks Lucianne!)

KING: Before we get to our discussion, a quick discussion for Michael Isikoff. How are you doing physically? MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK": I'm doing fine. (LAUGHTER) KING: Well, you lost what... ISIKOFF: Why do you ask? KING: Because you were injured. ISIKOFF: No, no, no. I'm sorry. You're thinking of my -- of Michael Weiskopf "Time" magazine. KING: Oh. OK. (CROSSTALK) KING: ... mixed up... ISIKOFF: We've been confused for years. KING: ... but you're well. ISIKOFF: But I'm fine, yes. 3:17:29 PM

R&TCA;: MSNBC's "famous chocolate fountain"
Dominic defends the MSNBC post-party (Wonkette said it "sucked") in the newsletter today: "MSNBC was the only one with the famous chocolate fountain...Who really needs a dance floor & vodka bar anyway? It's actually funny watching stiff Washingtonians dance in their formal wear. We're not really into that kind of thing. Nonetheless, Washington's media/political establishment were doing their best to get their groove on." 3:16:13 PM

The R&TCA; After-Parties: Wonkette Recaps
Wonkette sums up the R&TCA; dinner after-parties:
MSNBC's party: "Sucked."
CNN's party: "Red-velvet disco-themed with lots of sweets and even hors d'oeuvres." CNN shot glasses. (If one pops up on eBay, I'll be the first to bid.)
FOX's party: "Fantastic production values. Studio 54-themed, everything white disco-themed." Five bars. 3:15:01 PM

R&TCA; Dinner: Newsies Descended on D.C.
Greta didn't go to the dinner last night, but has photos of her colleagues who did. "As all my colleagues dressed for the party at the D.C. bureau after doing their work yesterday, I began to feel like the presidential cabinet member during the State of the Union who is told not to attend in case of a national catastrophe," she says on GretaWire. Linda Vester showed photos from last night's dinner at the end of Dayside, and MSNBC replayed Bush's controversial WMD jokes... 3:13:59 PM

EXCLUSIVE: Mitchell, Plante, Moran Were At 2002 Clarke Briefing
A source at FOX News tells CableNewser that NBC's Andrea Mitchell, CBS's Bill Plante, ABC's Terry Moran, and an (unnamed) CNN correspondent were also in attendance at the 2002 Dick Clarke briefing that Jim Angle reported on yesterday afternoon. "The White House lifted the ban for all the media that were in that Aug 2002 briefing, not just Fox News," the source says. So I'm left wondering: Why aren't the other networks reporting the story?
> Update: DCRTV Dave notes that Rush Limbaugh repeated this info around 1pm
> Update: (3:20pm) The correspondents have ignored my e-mails so far... 12:31:10 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Froomkin Calls WH Decision "Extraordinary"
The Post's Dan Froomkin calls the White House decision to identity Clarke as the briefing's source "extraordinary." "Okay, students of the White House, what did we learn yesterday?," he writes. "1) Senior administration officials can make remarks on a not-for-attribution basis to the press -- but the White House can later decide to make the attribution public if it can help discredit said senior administration official-turned-whistle-blower." 12:20:06 PM

What CNNers Were Whispering At Their Party Last Night
An excerpt from ABC's Note: "Seen at the RTCA dinner: ...That CNN party...and the whispers of many CNNers...wondering whether, if their company spent a quarter of that money on, say, keeping excellent correspondents, Mike Boettcher would still be breaking stories. 12:07:55 PM

Onion Spoof Fools MSNBC: Deborah Norville Reports Fake Study
MSNBC reported a federal study commissioned by ... The Onion. That's what the Tallahassee Democrat reports today. "MSNBC got gigged last week when Deborah Norville reported a federal study that supposedly said 58 percent of all exercise done in the United States occurs in those TV infomercials for body-sculpting workout machines. But the story was a spoof from The Onion, a satirical newspaper and online publication. The network said it inadvertently dropped the attribution in picking up the story, but c'mon - most of the exercise done in America is on TV? Shouldn't somebody in the control room have said, "Hey, wait just a minute..." Yes, somebody should have.
(Update: 'CNwatcher' writes in to note that FOX News Watch reported on this last weekend...) 11:11:20 AM

Keith Olbermann: "I'm a Jeopardy geek"
This "Power Players" week of Jeopardy is going to be a lot of fun. "The contestants are already trash-talking their rivals and planning their strategies," the NY Post reports, quoting Keith Olbermann: "It's all about buzzer control." He calls himself a Jeopardy geek." Adam Buckman writes that "CNN's Cooper says he's already 'panic-stricken' since his show, 'Anderson Cooper 360,' goes up against 'Jeopardy!' at 7 p.m. weeknights - making it nearly impossible for Cooper to practice playing." Anderson, you're a pop culture whiz -- don't you have Tivo? 11:11:18 AM

Quote of the day
The Foreign Policy Association interviews former NYT UN bureau chief Barbara Crossette, and asks: When you go to Europe and watch CNN, for example, you get the international edition, and the quality seems much higher…So why don't we get that here?" She says: "I asked Ted Turner himself, and I've asked people at CNN here as well. Turner said that you can see some of it here and there. I've been told, and Turner didn't say this, but I've been told that it is just a lack of commercial interest in this country. CNN reporters have told me that whenever the subject is raised, the CNN business side simply says that they can't sell that here to American cable, people just aren't interested." 11:03:11 AM

R&TCA; Dinner Wrap-up
The Post goes star-gazing at last night's Radio & Television Correspondents' Association dinner. Unfortunately, the story seems a bit preoccupied with Donald Trump and Dick Clarke. But go ahead, read it anyway... 11:03:02 AM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Jim Angle Defends Report
David Folkenflik asks Jim Angle for comment about the Clarke flip flop report: "Yesterday, Angle got permission from the Bush administration to broadcast the remarks and to use Clarke's name. 'We asked them to lift the rules, and for obvious reasons, they did,' Angle said." Jim adds that "I can't think of any reason why we wouldn't have used this when his criticism in his book received so much other attention." 11:02:37 AM

FOX & The Flip Flop: WH "violated its long-standing rules"
Dana Milbank gives the FOX bombshell heavy play on the front page of the Washington Post Thursday morning. He says the transcript was "released by the White House yesterday through Fox News," then notes Kerrey's objections. "Shortly before the hearing, the White House violated its long-standing rules by authorizing Fox News to air remarks favorable to Bush that Clarke had made anonymously at an administration briefing in 2002." What is Dana suggesting? That's the only story I've heard that points out the WH's "long-standing rules..." 12:12:26 AM

CNN E.P. Out: Rumor: "He likes blonde and blue eyed..."
This post at TVSpy is just one person's opinion, but it makes you wonder...: "Good thing CNN chose to do something about Miller's constant hitting on pretty young things. Complaints were rampant at GMA that he did the same but HR at ABC means nothing...Miller even hit on one of [Shelly] Ross's many ex-assistants and this became a part of her decision to leave. He likes blonde and blue eyed and preferably smack out of college. Family man of three girls he ain't!" True? False? It's out there... 11:07:40 PM

FOX, MSNBC Air Bush's Funny Side
FOX and MSNBC dipped into President Bush's funny speech at the Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner tonight. It came at the end of Debbie (Dan) Tonight and H&C.; MSNBC.com was wise enough to air his speech online, too. CNN was too busy letting Dick Clarke explain himself to Larry King... 11:04:38 PM

Media Notes: Let's Play Jeopardy!
> Bill Press has finished his anti-Bush book
> "I lapsed into rude," Dennis Miller admits
> Banfield, Brown, Carlson, Cooper, and Olbermann will play Jeopardy 10:18:04 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Transcript of Bob Kerrey's Remarks
Here are Bob Kerrey's remarks about FOX today, in their entirety:

"Let me also say this document that FOX News earlier -- this transcript that they have -- this is a background briefing, and all of us that have provided background briefings for the press before should beware. Uh, FOX should say occasionally fair and balanced after putting something like this out, because they violated a serious trust. [Loud applause.] All of us, all of us that come into this kind of an environment and provide background briefings for the press, I think we'll always have this as a reminder that sometimes it isn't gonna happen -- that it's background. Sometimes, if it suits their interest, they're gonna go back, pull the tape, convert it into transcript, and set it out in the public arena and try to embarrass us or discredit us. So I, uh uh, I object to what they've done, and I think it's an unfortunate thing they did." 9:46:00 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Newsroom "Broke out into gasps [and] chuckles"
An employee at FOX writes in with reaction from the channel's headquarters: "When Bob Kerrey made remarks about Fox News, the newsroom at FNC's New York HQ broke out into gasps, chuckles and a few ooooohhhhs," the source says... 7:37:03 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Angle Was Justified, Blogger Says
The Corner dissects the FOX flap. "In Kerrey's angry diatribe against Fox News he made it sound as if Fox was betraying an agreement with Richard Clarke. If that's the case, then Fox has made a mistake...However that doesn't seem to be the case," Jonah Goldberg writes. A veteran journalist replies to him, saying that "Clarke's background comments were on background at the request of the administration, not Clarke personally. The White House has every right to waive the claim, FOX has every right to ask them to waive the claim, and FOX has every moral and ethical justification to run with the story once the claim is waived. Case closed." 7:30:36 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Jim Angle Clarifies WH Permission
MK has a note from Brit's 'Special Report' tonight: "Just heard Angle with Brit defending the use of the backgrounder. He said the original conversation was background only at the insistence of the NSC, not Clarke. And it was the NSC who lifted the restrictions today, so they got permission from the same agency that had denied permission originally. Of course that doesn't address the question of whether it's a good thing for the government to do that, but it does seem to me that Kerrey is off base dissing FNC--is he saying that it's wrong for the press to want to put information out to the public and they shouldn't even ask to do so?" 6:46:32 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Off The Record, Then On
"Clark Contradictions Leave Many Questions," FOXNews.com says. Snippet: "Clarke gave the briefing on background, a normal procedure where reporters agree to identify him as a senior administration official. On Wednesday, the White House approved attributing the comments to Clarke by name." It leads one TVSpyer asking a lot of questions: "Did Fox violate a confidence by reporting the remarks, or are the remarks "owned" by the White House? Will government sources be as willing to speak off the record if they know that later, someone else can put their comments ON the record?"... 5:28:05 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: Scott McClellan's Comments
Scott McClellan addressed the Clarke Flip Flop controversy during his afternoon press briefing:

Q: So why did you decide to out him, as the background briefer? MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think that's a correct -- I disagree with the premise of your question, because it was Fox News who yesterday came to us and said they had a tape of this conversation with Mr. Clarke. Q: Wait, wait, wait, wait -- but it was on background. I've got tapes with plenty of people speaking on background. Can I go and tell the world who they are? MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, and I think that we always listen to your request when you come to us and ask if something can be put on the record. And there are times when we are able to fulfill those requests. You are very well aware of some of those times. In fact, after Fox News was able to air this, we reached out to other members of the media, including yourself, I believe, to let you know that you could go back and use this information on the record. 5:26:28 PM

FOX & The Flip Flop: "Occasionally fair and balanced," Kerrey Says
During the 9/11 hearings today, Senator Bob Kerrey objected to FOX's decision to air statements made on background. Some people in the audience applauded the senators' comments. "[We] came in for some criticism from Bob Kerrey, who chastised us for coming out with these comments," David Asman said around 5:15pm. The network's decision to release the transcript of a background briefing is the topic of a hot debate on TVSpy... 5:02:49 PM

9/11 Hearings: "The main event"
FOX's Alert banner has been up for hours today: The 9/11 hearings are in day two, and the nearly wall-to-wall coverage is continuing. Cable's hype about the Clarke testimony convinced me to sit in front of the tube this afternoon. Miles O'Brien called it "the main event;" Linda Vester promised that "sparks will fly." FOX interrupted at 2pm for a Wendell Goler hit from pebble beach. He reported on "Clarke's flip flop," and played the audio tip again. 2:07:34 PM

Reese Schonfeld's Last Advice For CNN
Reese Schonfeld is giving up. "This is the last bit I intend to write about CNN," the former CNN exec writes on his blog. "I find it both painful and futile." He offers two final pieces of advice: "CNN should immediately turn Headline News into twenty-minute wheel," and "CNN must revert to news flow." Thank you for your insightful comments, Reese; they will be missed... 1:49:19 PM

Last Week's News Viewer Index
Cynopsis has the news viewer index for March 15 to 21. In total day, "Fox News had 51% of the viewing, CNN 26%, MSNBC 13%; and Headline News 10%." In primetime, "Fox News had 55%, CNN 29%, MSNBC 10% and Headline News 6%." 1:48:48 PM

Clarke Contradicts Himself? "Only on FOX"
"Only on FOX," the graphic said. "Tape shows Richard Clarke earlier praised Bush [administration]." Jim Angle reported from D.C. on an audio tape of Clarke speaking to reporters in August of 2002. David Asman called it a "real bombshell."
The transcript is on FOXNews.com, and that's where it gets interesting. This audio tape was "cleared by the White House on Wednesday for distribution," the site says. At the time, it was a background briefing, so Clarke was just a "senior administration official." But now when it benefits the White House, it's okay to name names.
Also: MK writes in to note that lots of other journalists were at the session, yet "none of them chooses to remember Clarke's statements except Jim Angle of FOX." 12:22:04 PM

Rick Kaplan: "News ought to be the ultimate reality show, but it's not"
MSNBC prez Rick Kaplan spoke at Duke University last night. He said that when news is treated as entertainment, important issues are overlooked. "News ought to be the ultimate reality show, but it's not," he said a group of 50 people. "When news tries to do something it's not... they get themselves into trouble." Quoting the school paper: "He cited as an example his decision to ban MSNBC from airing car chases in progress." Keep this quote in mind when watching MSNBC in the next few years: "The idea of delivering the news is a time-honored profession--important for the country--and we're not going to let it slip away." 12:17:36 PM

Laci Peterson Case "has gotten more press than O.J."
Is the judge in the Laci Peterson case predicting the future? "This case has gotten more press than O.J. Simpson or Charles Manson," he said in court yesterday. Already? You ain't seen nothin yet, pal. Yesterday, he denied a media request to release juror information, saying that they "would be in the newspapers or on the Internet or on Greta Van Susteren by tonight." The NY Post sums it up... 12:12:54 PM

MSNBC.com Finds New Partner For Sponsored Links
Paid search listings provider Kanoodle.com will be supplying news site MSNBC.com with content-targeted sponsored links, the companies are expected to announce Wednesday," Clickz reports. Here is the press release. (Hat tip: LostRemote) 12:11:27 PM

R&TCA; Dinner: Greenspan at CNBC Table, Trump with FOX
Leiby's WP column today has a couple interesting tidbits about tonight's Radio & Television Correspondents' Association: Alan Greenspan will be seated with Alan Murray and John McEnroe at the CNBC table ("Maybe Greenspan will teach McEnroe what CNBC is all about," Murray remarks); and Donald Trump will be the "hot guest" at the FOX News table. 12:11:02 PM

CNN E.P. Out: Suspended for "Inexperience and inappropriate comments"
The NY Post's Page Six picks up on the Jim Miller resignation. The CNN E.P. was suspended yesterday: "...Sources said his inexperience and inappropriate comments to colleagues were enough for him to be put on probation," Richard Johnson writes. Here's more... 11:53:35 AM

Quote of the day: What is "fair and balanced?"
Greta explains "fair and balanced" in a fascinating blog post today. "Fair and balanced is not a mathematical formula. It is also not whether you agree with the guest, or whether you agree with the line of questioning. It is whether the news gets presented in such a way that a fair minded person can get all the facts and draw the appropriate conclusion based on the facts." She says she gets lots of e-mails about the subject, and that "for a given guest, or a given topic, I will get e-mails criticizing me simultaneously for being too conservative and too liberal." "How can that be?," she asks... 9:51:27 PM

CJR's Critique of Cavuto's Questioning
Neil Cavuto interviewed Wesley Clark yesterday, and referenced the peculiar release date of Dick Clarke's book five times. "Cavuto has every right to ask tough questions about Clarke's motivations; he'd be remiss as an interviewer if he failed to do so. But it might be more useful if he asked those questions of Clarke, not Clark. And if he also, along the way, paused to inform his viewers as to the precise nature of Clarke's critique of the administration's anti-terrorism efforts...Then he could claim to be engaged in journalism." Ouch... 9:50:45 PM

"It's All Relative:" MSNBC Spreads Abercrombie Shirt Scandal
MSNBC picked up the Drudge/Wonkette item about A&F;'s "It's All Relative" t-shirt. It was the topic of a segment this afternoon, and popped up again on Deborah Norville Tonight (Abrams substituting). WV Gov. Bob Wise appeared, and called it "almost character assassination." He urged Abercrombie to "simply admit you're wrong." "Maybe we can work together to design a funny t-shirt that will have a positive image of [my state]," he said optimistically. Ha ha. The shirt is on backorder -- is that due to sales, or WV's pressure?...
9:44:13 PM

"Thunderously loud" explosion at Sheraton; FOX crew "shaken up"
A rocket-propelled grenade hit the Sheraton Hotel in Baghdad around 8:10pm ET. At 8:34pm, Steve Centanni reported live on FOX from their camera position at the targeted hotel. "[This] is where our FOX News crew is living and working," he said. The rocket hit the sixth floor -- two floors above the FOX team. "Nobody was injured, damage appears to be minor," he said, but "all of us are a little bit shaken up." He noted that this is the fourth time the Sheraton has been hit. On CNN, Walter Rodgers called the explosions "thunderously loud." (CNN has headquarters is across the street.) 8:39:30 PM

Explosions in Baghdad; Hotel Occupied by FOX Hit
CNN is reporting that several loud explosions have been heard in Baghdad. At 8:26pm, Paula Zahn said that two missiles may have hit the Sheraton Hotel. According to reports last winter, FOX News occupies the fourth floor of the Sheraton... 8:28:14 PM

CNN E.P. Out: Leaving Behind Disappointing Ratings
Did CNN's pathetic primetime ratings contribute to Jim Miller's exit? Anderson and Paula hardly ever get close to a 1.0. Anderson's attempts to woo young viewers have not succeeded. His FOX competitor Shep earned a 1.7 last night (4x 360's usual ratings), and Paula's challenger Bill O'Reilly scored a huge 2.7... 8:01:53 PM

CNN E.P. Out: Princell's Memo to Staff
FTVLive now has the memo Princell put out today. "Until a replacement has been named, current show staff will continue to work on both Anderson Cooper 360 and Paula Zahn Now with close guidance from myself and Sue Bunda," he writes. Get the rest at FTV. 7:49:26 PM

Resignation: '360,' 'Zahn Now' Executive Producer Is Gone
Jim Miller, the senior executive producer of Anderson Cooper 360 and Paula Zahn Now, has resigned, "effective immediately." FTVLive reports that he informed his New York staff today. A poster on TVSpy suggested that he "got the ax," but the details aren't clear yet. Miller was brought in last year to renovate CNN's 7 to 9pm schedule. He's 46, a Harvard Business School grad, and a television vet who most recently served as a consultant to GMA. His shows premiered only six (and a half) months ago... 7:47:50 PM

9/11 Hearings: The Reason CNN Covered It Constantly A statement from CNN, following a request from CableNewser: "The testimony we saw today from current and former senior US officials regarding September 11th and events leading up to it was, in many ways, unprecedented and of great concern to many Americans. While we certainly covered other news as it developed these hearings were, without a doubt, the top story of the day." (Emphasis added.) 5:34:56 PM 9/11 Hearings: "A lot of coulda, woulda, shoulda" "A lot of coulda, woulda, shoulda today," Lester Holt said // Wolf Blitzer called the developments "dramatic" // CNN and MSNBC both noted that Condi Rice still won't agree to testify in public // "The dividing line seems to be, the Clinton administration...did not believe Iraq was at the bottom of things, and the Bush administration did," John Gibson said on FOX... 5:33:10 PM 9/11 Hearings: Careful With Your Big-Screen TVs MK writes in with a warning: "Back during the Clinton impeachment, I got a shadow of the Fox News logo burned into my big-screen TV. But I did write FNC and suggest that they do something about this problem. They did: you'll notice the Fox logo constantly turns, and the live bug changes every second or two, so all the pixels are 'rested' regularly. Comparing today I see that CNN and A-Mess-NBC still have [stationary] station logos and live bugs...You'd think they'd be savvy enough to know better!" Uh-oh, should I turn off those two sets for a few minutes?... 5:32:34 PM 9/11 Hearings: Not Wall-to-Wall On FOX The cries of bias erupted on the message boards this morning when FOX "hardly broadcast Albright's testimony," but let Colin Powell speak without interruption. "How's that playing it straight?," 'Spud' asks in an e-mail. But without a doubt, FOX will win the ratings today, since they didn't go wall-to-wall with the hearings. "...When the ratings and revenue numbers come in, FOX will have their cake and eat it too due to stupid business decisions of its competitors," Cableguy says at TVHeads... 5:01:42 PM 9/11 Hearings: A History Lesson A post on TVSpy, under the title "Something you'd never see today:" "In 1966, Fred Friendly abruptly resigned as President of CBS News when the network chose to air I Love Lucy reruns instead of the Senate Hearings on Vietnam. What executive would act on his principles today?" 5:00:21 PM 9/11 Hearings: "Shame on FOX," Dauber Says "Shame on FOX," Cori Dauber writes. "...At least as of now, MS and CNN are airing the 9/11 hearings live. I think the "hype" in this case, for once, lives up to the the event...Unless there's one hell of a breaking story it's hard to know what's more important than this." She wrote that at 2:35pm... 5:00:11 PM 9/11 Hearings: MSNBC's Production Values RC notes that CNBC World has been dipping in and out of the hearings today, too. "If I want hearings i can tune into C-SPAN," he says. Or CNN or MSNBC. The latter seems to be taking the hearings most seriously: they have bio-boxes for many of the participants. and are putting those on-air frequently. They are also offering 'Right Now' headlines several times an hour by squeezing back the screen. "This is something they should bring to prime," one viewer writes in. 5:00:01 PM 9/11 Hearings: We Need Context An anonymous e-mailer takes aim at my comments. "You complain if the cablers don't give a topic extensive coverage... you gripe if they do," they say. No, I'd just prefer that they offer more than bland prepared comments. Give us the raw meat, then add some spices to make it worth eating (bad metaphor, but it gets the point across). It's great that the cablers are covering this, but we desperately need someone to make sense of the hours of talking. 4:59:12 PM

Former CNNer Martin Savidge Joins NBC News
Former CNN correspondent Martin Savidge is now a reporter for NBC News. He will be based in Atlanta, and begins reporting for all of NBC's outlets "immediately." Neal Shapiro called him a "great asset to our reporting corps" in a press release today. "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work for a world class news organization like NBC News, and excited to be part of such a strong, dynamic and enterprising team of reporters and producers," Savidge says... 2:57:47 PM

Media Notes: Ignoring NASA; Judy Woodruff Is Bored
A break in the hearings gave the cablers a chance to report some more important news. Before long, FOX was pulling out the Laci Peterson graphics, and MSNBC was updating viewers on the weather // CNN had a nice scoop at 1:52pm. Miles O'Brien got NASA scientist Jim Garvin on the phone to reveal that "there may have been a salty sea on Mars." All the cablers ignored the 2pm news conference // Poor Judy Woodruff. She couldn't go 'Inside Politics' on Wednesday or Thursday last week because of breaking news, and now: "CNN's continuing coverage of today's 9/11 hearings on Capitol Hill is expected to preempt our program today," her newsletter says... 2:21:28 PM

Tugging at the Heartstrings: Burning WTC As Wallpaper
CNN.com and FOXNews.com play the hearings straight: Their front-page photo is of Powell testifying on the hill. But what does MSNBC.com choose as wallpaper? The Manhattan skyline, around 10am on September 11, 2001. More (inappropriate?) tugging at the heartstrings... (Update: By 1:30pm, a new graphic is up.) 12:47:11 PM

Is CNN's Costello Jumping Ship?
Responding to the TVSpy rumor posted last night (scroll down): "There's no interest in Carol Costello at Fox News Channel," an FNC insider tells CableNewser. "Maybe a local Fox affiliate, but not FNC." An MSNBC rep wouldn't comment (more on that later), but wouldn't that be a step down from CNN?... 11:53:48 AM

C-SPAN 4, 5, and 6: Cablers Obsesss Over 9/11 Commission
11:10am: I turn to FOX. Colin Powell. CNN. Colin Powell. MSNBC. Colin Powell. At least MS's graphics are bearable -- are the chyron creators in Atlanta blind? Is it really necessary for all three of the cablers to fake C-SPAN this morning?
11:17am: If they were really clever, they would Tivo this -- air a few minutes, bring in some experts, analyze it, then press play again. Or come on at noon and offer me an instant highlight reel. Have a dozen interns at a desk fact-checking every statement. But no, I'm just sitting here letting Colin take over my TVs.
11:28am: Is Spongebob on?
11:31am: MSNBC saw it as an excuse to replay video of the twin towers on fire...
11:39am: FOX has brought on pundits to rehash what Colin just said. Goody! 11:36:06 AM

Hamas Killing: Execs Try to Defend Lack of Coverage
In the Daily News, Richard Huff recaps (lack of) coverage of the Hamas killing Sunday night. "It was a story that would have warranted hours of coverage at, say, noon on a Tuesday," he points out. Quoting CNNI GM Chris Cramer: "The thinking is, we've delivered to the audience that which they need to know. It's a major story, but we didn't need to wipe the slate clean." And FOX EP Bill Shine: "We were on guard for any huge development in the overnights. There weren't any huge developments." Huff gets one bit wrong, though -- FOX's first alert was around 10:37, not 10:47. (They did a second alert at 10:47, repeating the same information.) 11:22:40 AM

Sam Shane is Sam Schoen
MSNBC anchor Sam Shane's last name is actually Schoen. That's the "bombshell" in this Star-Tribune piece. He has teamed up with artist Dan Marso to produce "Rocky the Mudhen," a children's book with a baseball theme. (Sam used to play for the University of Minnesota baseball team.) 11:21:02 AM

"Dennis Miller is still in search of his magic formula"
David Bianculli checks in with Dennis Miller's show: "There's an audience now, and the chimp usually is confined to cavorting silently in the control room, rather than interrupting Miller's flow, and jokes, by sitting at his side. Miller still has a long way to go when it comes to interviewing guests." He remarks that "in the very small world of comedy public-affairs talk shows, Dennis Miller is still in search of his magic formula." 11:20:43 AM

FAIR Dissects the FOX/CNN Ratings Rivalry
"Reporting on the ratings rivalry between the Fox News Channel (FNC) and CNN is often misleading--and almost always over-hyped," FAIR says in their April edition. "Journalists who publish Nielsen numbers ought to explain that the data are not simply measures of popularity, and they are not produced as a service to journalists or the public." And it goes on to read like a CNN-isn't-dead-yet rant... 11:20:22 AM

"The Smart Brother" Is Post-Worthy
Post-ie Richard Leiby tries really hard to make something out of nothing, to no avail: So Bush made a joke that Chris Matthews' brother Jim is the "smart brother." Last week. Bush was kidding. And Chris thought it was funny. Am I missing the point here? Was that really worth 305 words on page 3?... 11:19:36 AM

Dan Bartlett Goes Crazy: Cable Blanketed With Bush Spinsters
(Does that headline seem partisan enough?)
I bet you're sitting there wondering: Just how many times did I see a White House rep interviewed on cable news today? You probably lost count. After all, most days you're lucky to get more than a sound bite from Scott. But today wasn't most days. The answer to your question is fifteen. "...By 11 a.m. the White House had booked more than 15 interviews on cable news channels," Dana and Mike note in the Post Tuesday editions. And that doesn't include Condi's morning show blitz, bits of which were reaired all day... 11:44:52 PM

Some Conflicts of Interest Are Bad!
Lou Dobbs questioned the Dick Clarke conflict of interest on his CNN show tonight. "'60 Minutes' did not disclose that the parent company, Viacom, has a financial interest in the book's success," Lou said. "The book is published by Free Press, a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, which is in turn owned by Viacom." (Is Drudge happy now?) Of course, this morning on CNN Live Today, Daryn Kagan interviewed an actor in HBO's new series Deadwood, without ever pointing out that CNN and HBO are both part of the big happy Time Warner family... 11:26:22 PM

Thirteen Hours of Live Shots -- Yawn...
Over on FOX, Mike Tobin's broad shoulders have been live from a rooftop in Gaza City almost every hour since 9am. Does he get a break anytime soon? A nap perhaps? Isn't being chained to a live camera for 13 hours a bit harsh? This is what they mean by "feeding the beast..." (Update: Chuck writes in: "13 hours? Wow, that's ALMOST as much as Chris Matthews anchors on any given election night!") 11:06:06 PM

CNN/VNR: Insider Calls Finger-Pointing "Absolutely Laughable"
An anonymous message responds to CJR's VNR story: "First, a disclaimer: I am a former major market news director who is now in corporate communications. Yes, for some of my clients, I do produce VNRs. But it is absolutely laughable to hear these current news managers place the "blame" (if there is any) on the Bush administration or CNN for providing this material. When I was running newsrooms (which hasn't been that long ago, incidentially) the responsibility for determining the viability of a piece rested squarely on the news staff--no one else! Perhaps if these news managers would spend a little more time educating their staffs about how to make editorial decisions and less time looking for someone else to blame---the profession would be better off. And, by the way, VNRs and the like will always have their place. Even my clients expect the newsrooms to exercise at least a little discretion over what/how much of any of this material to use." 10:56:10 PM

Rumors, Rumors, Rumors
Some anonymous poster (agent?) is stirring up trouble at TVSpy. He/she floats rumors that Carol Costello is being courted by MSNBC and FOX; Daryn Kagan is being wooed by E!; Rudi Bakhtiar is talking to ESPN; and Wolf Blitzer "might make a move to another network after his contract expires." Any flies-on-the-wall want to refute these rumors? That's what the form at the top of the page is for... 10:55:26 PM

Exploiting Current Events, and Free Advertising
DCRTV Dave has another reason to complain about FOX: "I just heard Fox Nooz's John Gibson ask if Dick Clarke...is 'exploiting' current events to sell his new book. Oh, and FOX doesn't exploit current events to get ratings? Duh!" My beef tends to lie with the way all the cable news channels offer free airtime to anyone hawking a book. Lately, Jayson Blair and Hans Blix have been the best (worst) examples... 10:55:01 PM

General Manager Switch at MSNBC.com
MSNBC.com GM Scott Moore is moving to MSN. The news site's VP for sales and business development, Charles Tillinghast, has been named acting GM. "MSNBC.com expects a final decision on the general manager position within three months," the site says... 10:54:07 PM

Why Isn't Anyone Watching CNBC?
Pamela Thomas Graham is focusing on "improving CNBC's primetime" -- but she's apparently not trying hard enough. On Friday night, Bullseye found only 81,000 viewers, and Capital Report attracted only 102,000. "Looks like [she] has a LOT of work to do," a cable insider writes to CableNewser. A 10pm 'Apprentice' rerun found 254,000 viewers. "Wonder if Donald Trump knows that his prize possession is tanking this bad on CNBC," the source says... 5:21:45 PM

FOX's Rumsfeld Was More Popular Than CNN's Rumsfeld
Viewers preferred FOX's Rumsfeld interview to CNN's Rumsfeld interview. On Friday night, Larry King's 9pm sit-down averaged 790,000 viewers (considerably lower than a typical night for King), while Bret Baier's 10pm day-in-the-life averaged 1,407,000 -- a nice spike compared to last month's On the Record average. 4:38:20 PM

Hardball Concocts Some Political Ads
Hardball sounds like a must-see tonight: "David Shuster, Howard Mortman and producer Christina Jamison take you inside the world of political ad making by actually producing several ads themselves and bringing you the process from soup to nuts, idea brainstorming to finished product. And I'm not just plugging this because I make a cameo in Shuster's package," Dominic says in his great newsletter write-up. The Hardball ads will air toward the end of the show... 4:36:08 PM

CNN/VNR: News Directors Just Passing the Buck?
'MG' writes in to say that CNN isn't at fault for the VNR craziness. "These people can't tell the difference between stories coming from CNN and those from the Bush administration? They need help, seriously," MG says. "I think they just got caught being lazy dumbasses and are trying to pass the buck." Hmmm. Why didn't CNN respond to CJR's multiple requests for comment?... 3:39:09 PM

Fake News Reports: Blame CNN?
Several news directors contacted by the CJR Campaign Desk blame CNN for the illegit VNR's that created controversy earlier this month. CNN "distributes pre-packaged stories to local stations around the country through its CNN Newsource service, acting as a sort of wire service for TV." Sometimes the VNR's are not properly labeled, some directors say. CJR suggests "a clear conflict of interest for CNN." It's a must-read piece... 2:04:13 PM

If I Want To Know The Weather, I'll Look Out The Window
These weather reports have gone too far. Why is MSNBC offering a "Weather Update" at 1:03pm? Isn't there slightly more important news to share at the top of the hour? CNN is live in Islamabad, FOX is live in Gaza City... 1:04:12 PM

CNBC CEO's Tough Task
USA Today profiles "low-key, no-nonsense" CNBC CEO Pamela Thomas-Graham. It touches on her roles as mystery writer, mom, and business channel fixer. "Thomas-Graham's job is to make CNBC must-see TV," Adam Shell writes. "...Most of her energy now revolves around improving CNBC's prime-time schedule." Good luck... 11:28:40 AM

Who Is Hamid Mir?
...And why does he keep popping up on my TVs? He has been nearly omnipresent on FOX since last week, when the Zawahiri news broke. Now MSNBC has him live via videophone from Islamabad, talking about suitcase nuclear bombs allegedly obtained by terrorists. According to Google, he is a Pakistani newspaper editor and bin Laden biographer. That's good, but it's no substitute for actual correspondents on the ground... 11:09:29 AM

Changes At CNN DC: "Live Reporting Desk" Created
CNN DC bureau chief David Bohrman is beginning to make changes on First Street. He "plans to rearrange the correspondents in the bureau to free them from 'feeding the beast of live shots,'" Harry Jaffe writes in the Washingtonian. "He'll set up a 'live reporting' desk in DC manned by two correspondents responsible for covering the day's news." This will give correspondents more time to work and break stories. "I want to read 'CNN reported' in the newspaper all the time," he says. 9:53:46 AM

FOX On Satellite Radio Worldwide
FOX News will be accessible via digital satellite radio in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa under an agreement with Worldspace. IndianTelevision.com has details. I wonder how international viewers/listeners react to all the "we's" and "them's?" 9:47:18 AM

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Hamas Killing: CNN Back To An International Simulcast
It was music to my ears at 1am ET. "This is CNN breaking news," the announcer said. "Live from London, good morning to you," the CNN International anchors said. The U.S. channel started simulcasting the International feed again at the top of the hour. (So why in the world did they cut away for half an hour at 12:30am?) CNN's Chris Burns was live on the phone as he headed to Gaza. The live shots showed a smoky skyline as "angry mourners burn tires," the graphic said. FOX placed "Alert" graphics on top of a taped Geraldo special; MSNBC apparently didn't bother updating the news... 1:03:49 AM

Hamas Killing: CNNI Simulcast Replaced By Martha's Daughter
Kudos to CNN -- sort of: At midnight ET, the channel started simulcasting CNN International's live coverage of the Hamas killing. The anchor read statements of reaction from across the middle east, and offered coverage and context of the developments. CNN cut out of it at 12:30am, to air a rehashed interview with Martha Stewart's daughter. I turned it off immediately -- and switched over to FOX, where Jennifer Griffin offered a live update for about 60 seconds. I would pay at least $10 a month for an online feed of CNN International... 12:33:11 AM

Hamas Killing: "Anti-Israel" CNN Compared to FOX
Israel National News has a post on the "CNN and FOX perspectives" on the Hamas killing. "CNN in its usual anti-Israel fashion describes Yassin as the Hamas leader, adding “Israel reports�? he posed a threat and was behind suicide bombing attacks. Fox News on the other hand is reporting that Yassin was the terror organization’s leader and stood behind many attacks, quoting his statements vowing to continue striking out against Israeli targets." Events in the middle east always trigger allegations of bias from both sides... 12:32:09 AM

Lefties Say FOX Is Biased; Righties Say CNN Is Biased
In Monday's Washington Post, Howie Kurtz describes "striking numbers" in a survey of cable news viewers. "By varying pluralities, Democrats give positive grades to CNN (53 percent), network newscasts (49 percent), MSNBC (35 percent) and Jim Lehrer's PBS newscast (31 percent). But by a margin of 47 percent to 31 percent, they say Fox News is biased. Republicans, however, say Fox is fair by a margin of 50 percent to 32 percent. A plurality see as biased the network newscasts (67 percent), CNN (55 percent), MSNBC (41 percent) and Lehrer (27 percent to 24 percent)." 12:01:15 AM

Hamas Killing: MSNBC Fails; CNN First On-The-Scene
At 10:51pm, Contessa Brewer finally broke the Flash News on MSNBC. She did a terrible job reading the AP copy, and the channel went back to programming after 90 seconds. At the same moment, FOX got Jennifer Griffin on the phone from Jerusalem. She called it an "escalation" and a "potentially huge development." The raw video on FOX was pretty bloody. CNN producer Talal Aburahmm was on the phone at 10:55pm. He offered the first reports from the scene, but I could barely understand what he was saying. CNN turned to their taped shows at 11:02pm, and MSNBC started re-airing the Tech Summit at the top of the hour, while FOX kept talking... (Update: Uma wrapped it up at 11:09pm.) 11:04:42 PM

Hamas Killing: FOX First; CNN Confirms Twelve Minutes Later
FOX was the first with the Hamas killing tonight. It was an Alert around 10:37pm. "Witnesses: Hamas leader killed by Israelis," the graphics said. Witnesses? They should have said Reuters. I never heard Uma source the wire service, though -- why does FOX avoid offering detailed source information during their reports? Almost ten minutes later, CNN responded with video from the scene and a breaking news chyron: "Hamas founder's car hit in Israeli airstrike." CNN didn't confirm his death until 10:49pm: "CNN has confirmed that [he]...has been killed in an Israeli airstrike," Carol Lin said, calling it "very big news." 10:43:11 PM

Tech Summit: Great Glimpse of the Future
Some segments were better than others, but overall MSNBC's Tech Summit was an entertaining, informative show. Cool music -- they managed to include Duran Duran along with Outkast and Ludacris. Holt had a lot of fun with the toys on-stage. The audience was barely involved, though. Viewers barely even saw them. My favorite moment was a conversation with Joe Trippi. A great quote: "I think we're at the black and white television stage of the Internet." 10:28:57 PM

Tech Summit: Let's See Ling and Louderback More Often
Jim Louderback's segments were top-notch: MSNBC should hold onto him. And I wish Lisa Ling would pop up more often on the weekdays. She had a couple interesting comments. Talking about HDTV sets: "I like those 70 and 80 inches -- thinking about it gets me excited." And then, after the commercial break: "When it comes to TVs, lets face it -- size does matter." Lester couldn't hide a smile... 10:28:46 PM

It's Tech Summit Time
MSNBC's "Tech Summit 2004" begins at 8pm at Pace U. in NY. I attended one of MSNBC's "Silicon Summit" events way back when. I'm curious to see how this new iteration compares. The letter to invited guests calls it a "unique look at some of the most cutting-edge technology developed. Some of the products we will show haven't even reached the market yet." Here's the web site... 7:21:41 PM

CNN's MacKinnon Blogging About North Korea
Recognize the name Rebecca MacKinnon? She's been a CNN correspondent for over a decade, focusing on North Korea. She's on leave at the moment, serving as a media fellow at Harvard, and she has a blog. It's called the 'North Korea zone:' The site "comes from my frustration as an American journalist who has attempted to cover North Korea for years, with very limited success," she says. "...American mainstream media reporting on North Korea is very limited. It tends to focus largely on the agendas, leaks, and spin coming out of Washington. In my opinion, this lack of texture, complexity, and personal insight in our reporting about North Korea has real policy consequences. Which is why I want to do something about it." Very interesting... (Hat tip: BuzzMachine) 4:41:40 PM

"False Start:" MSNBC Refutes Zawahiri Report
The FOX alert originated from the Times of London newspaper, but I can't find it on their web site. At 11:42am, NBC News investigative producer Bob Windrem came on MSNBC to refute the reports. (MSNBC hadn't mentioned it on-air.) "A senior U.S. official familiar with the counterterrorism operation in Pakistan says there is no truth in that," he reported. "...When [the report was] first brought forward to him, he laughed in response. This has been one of a number of false starts." The sourcing was excellent -- look at the detail... 11:42:07 AM

FOX 'Alert's, Then Seems to Retract It
FOX offered a big News Alert at 11am: "Report: Ayman Al Zawahiri May Be Dead." The report said that DNA tests are underway, the FOX chyron said. The channel repeated this Alert several times, bringing in Mansoor Ijaz and other analysts to talk about it. They went live to Kabul to ask the reporter there about it. Then at the bottom of the hour, a new alert: "U.S. Intel Officials Tell FOX News The Zawahiri Story Is Not True." CNN and MSNBC never mentioned it. Please source your stories! 11:37:34 AM

Deborah Norville Beats Larry King! (In NYC)
Michael Starr reports that Deborah Norville beat Larry King among New York City viewers on Thursday night -- 71,000 households tuned in to MSNBC, compared to 48,000 for CNN. (Larry had Tammy Faye Messner on; Debbie offered segments on the National Guard and Cancun.) 10:24:44 AM