Breaking News: CNN Airs Bloody Images Of Rantisi's Body
The Rantisi news broke between 1:45 and 2pm; the cablers covered it extensively during the 2pm hour. CNN aired graphic bloody images of Rantisi's body being rushed into a hospital. Rantisi's bloody left shoulder was clearly shown, and his face was clearly visible for a second. The video repeated at least five times. Another snippet of video showed the face, arms, and chest of the dead man. The video also showed rescue workers shoving a news photographer away from the stretcher. When FOX aired the video at 2:48pm, they edited out the part with the body... 3:05:49 PM

Breaking News: Rantisi or Sjodin? And Media Notes...
Let's watch and see what story gets more attention: Will it be the discovery of Dru Sjodin's body, or the assassination of Aziz Rantisi? CNN appears to be spending the most time on Rantisi; FOX has spent a bit more time on Dru. Carol McKinley was on FOX after speaking to Dru's boyfriend. Other notes: At 3pm, FOXNews.com and MSNBC.com led with the Hamas story, and put Dru below; CNN.com still didn't have a story on the N.D. student // When the FOX anchor was tossing back to Mike Tobin for analysis about Aziz Rantisi, he called Tobin "Mike Rantisi" // Saeb Erakat was on the phone with CNN by 2:45pm... 3:05:37 PM

Breaking News: Should MSNBC Tell Viewers To Watch CNN/FOX?
One IM says that "MSNBC has its news priorities straight today: "Everyone else is running with the Dru Shodin news flash...but MSNBC is staying with the assassination in Gaza, it even has the NBC Tel Aviv Reporter on the phone." But people at TVHeads are not impressed: The channel started airing a H&L; repeat about Sylvester Stallone. Robert suggests that Witt should have said "for more info on this breaking story, tune in to Fox or CNN, since we don't have the resources to continue coverage." 3:04:15 PM

Media Safety in Iraq: "A time when journalists are really tested"
From the Financial Times: NBC News prez Neal Shapiro says that the current Fallujah pool arrangment exists to "minimise the danger [and] maximise your ability to get the news out." He adds: "This is a time when journalists are really tested. And at a time like this, I'm proud that we're not letting our competitive pressures get in the way of covering the story." 10:57:42 AM

Media Safety in Iraq: "Minimize exposure, minimize risk"
CNN's Eason Jordan is quoted in an FT story: "Under normal circumstances, the television networks are tenacious competitors...[but]...so many journalists are being targeted there, we thought it was essential among the networks to minimise exposure, minimise risk and try to do everything we could to keep our people alive." More... 10:56:19 AM

Sunday on MSNBC: Special Analysis of 9/11 Hearings
Genius: "MSNBC will present special analysis of the 9/11 commission hearings, Sunday, April 18, 12-4 p.m. (ET). MSNBC anchor Chris Jansing hosts this special afternoon, with an expert panel that will listen to key testimony given over the past several weeks and provide in-depth analysis on how this testimony could affect the findings of the commission." Here's the press release with names of guests and the testimony they will talk about... 12:59:15 PM

"The Wives:" Howie Gets Around To It
Howard Kurtz finally writes about "the wives:" "By speaking out against the Bush administration, several of these women -- dubbed the 9/11 Widows -- are being denounced on talk radio and some Web sites as partisan hacks." 12:57:03 PM

FOX Producer Joins 'Star' Tabloid
"Hard-charging" FOX producer Eric Spinato is changing platforms. Star Magazine has hired him to improve their "reporting." "I'm not a yeller and a screamer, but I am aggressive and I want people to think out of the box and be assertive," he told the NYPost... 12:50:07 PM

"Young, white, female, attractive:" Guidelines For Missing Persons Stories
David Folkenflik wonders why missing persons stories only focus on those who are "young, white, female and attractive." "It's not as if there's a cabal of cable news guys sitting around and anointing them," MSNBC's Mark Effron, vice president for live news programming at MSNBC says. More in the Sun... 9:17:26 AM

MSNBC.com Didn't Trump The Trump Finale
LostRemote says MSNBC.com did a good job covering the Apprentice finale: "Instead of spoiling the winner on the home page, MSNBC producers included a picture of Donald Trump and a link with the words, 'And the winner is...' A fair warning for those of us on the left coast." 9:09:40 AM

Bin Laden, Fad Diets, & Cable News
Rantingprofs notices something strange: "Ever since November of 2002 I have been tracking with a colleague an odd and incontrovertible fact: if there is an al Queda threat, then cable news will either announce a new diet, or present an in-depth analysis of an old one." Debbie offered an "in-depth examination of the South Beach" diet tonight... 12:39:55 AM

"Paula Zahn Then" and "Larry King Taped"
"At 2am Thursday CNN International came on with a Breaking News alert about a purpoted bin Laden tape," a tipster writes in. "CNN in the US took the feed of the lovely Euro anchor. MSNBC ran their regurgitated Deborah Norville and the same with FNC running Hannity & Colmes. The Breaking News update lasted 5 minutes. CNN j-i-p a Paula Zahn rerun at 2:05 am." He says he doesn't understand the program names: "Paula Zahn NOW is really THEN when it reruns twice. Larry King LIVE should be LKL TAPED when it airs the second and third times each overnight. And if Anderson Cooper is trying to get a young audience, then CNN should program his replay show against Conan, The Late Show, and Jimmy Kimmel." 6:43:56 AM

"The Wives:" More Reactions
> Oliver Willis e-mails Chris Matthews and CC's me: "Please continue to showcase the 9/11 widows and their strong story of determination and perseverance. After months of Peggy Noonan's fawning idolatry of Bush, it's refreshing to have someone with more than talking points to share."
> Brace: "After Chris Matthews' formal adoption of the widows...I have stopped watching the Show. Matthews is a Sock Puppet for Kerry."
> Robert Cox's CNBC appearance was delayed/postponed/...
> A NationalDebate commenter: "Matthews is treating these people very differently than almost every other guest"
> "I find it hard to believe that MSNBC cannot find at least 4 'widows' who think Bush is doing a good job," Jerry says... 1:16:15 AM

Why Aaron Brown Invites The "Competition" Onto Newsnight
Aaron Brown commented on coverage of Iraq in his newsletter Wednesday. "Reporting [the Fallujah] part of the story has been very hard because it is simply not safe to send our folks out there," he writes. "It has left us at themercy of others, which is never especially comfortable." Newsweek's Rod Nordland was on the show tonight. "I am asked, from time to time, sometimes by our own reporters, why I like having reporters from other agencies on as guests. I like the perspective. No one reporter can see it all and talk to everyone. The more voices we offer, even if some disagree, the better off you are. Iraq is an extremely complicated story, and that is especially true now, so we will continue to offer you a variety of voices and hope it is more helpful than confusing." 1:10:48 AM

EXCLUSIVE: Or Not...
Mark has an exclusive report: "Watching Chris Matthews tonight, I saw an interview with Congressman James Sensunbrenner. Across the top of the screen was superimposed "EXCLUSIVE." But just an hour earlier I saw the Congressman being interviewed by Brit Hume on Fox. So what made the Matthews interview "EXCLUSIVE"? I guess you could say it was the only interview of that Congressman conducted by Chris Matthews, but by that definition every interview of anyone by anyone would be EXCLUSIVE." 1:01:12 AM

The AP Reviews Kathie Lee's F&F; Fun
The AP has a brief write-up of Kathie Lee Gifford's stint in the FOX & Friends anchor chair. It really doesn't say anything exciting... 12:23:18 AM

FOX Triples CNN Ratings During Bush News Conf.
FOX ratings spiked last night, when the channel recorded over 5 million viewers and tripled CNN's ratings, a FOX P.R. rep said this afternoon. FOX averaged 5,156,000, compared to CNN's 1,740,000 and MSNBC's 867,000. The rep also noted that FOX's 25-54 demo beat CNN's total viewership: FOX averaged 1,938,000 in the age range, while CNN had 489,000 and MSNBC had 289,000. 4:47:59 PM

Media Safety in Iraq: "Every day we're beefing" up security, Engel says
USA Today quotes NBC Baghdad correspondent Richard Engel on security precautions in Iraq: "Every day we're beefing" up security, he says. "Every day we meet to think about ways to improve it.'' When he travels: ''I'm more organized about where I'm going, how long I'll be out, what route.'' Engel says he misses eating kabobs in Fallujah. More... 2:28:21 PM

Harrigan Blogs About Creating Packages
Steve Harrigan did a brief hit from Islamabad on FOX today, talking about madrasas. He has a package about it slated to air on Special Report tonight. In this must-read blog entry, he describes packages vs. live shots: "There is less writing and more talking." The video shot by cameraman Mal James is fascinating; I bet the fact that the camera seems unobtrusive is one reason why he was allowed to film something that is typically off-limits... 2:27:37 PM

Where Do Chunks Of Newspaper Text Go To Die?
Early this morning I linked to a WP story that described the seating chart Bush uses at news conferences. But then a funny (disturbing?) thing happened: Campaign Desk noticed that the Post description no longer existed. "...Unless you were reading the early edition of today's Washington Post online soon after midnight, are a Cablenewser reader, or live in one of a handful of cities that picked up the early version of the Milbank-Allen piece (like Seattle or Palm Beach), you missed an illuminating nugget," CJR concludes... 2:04:00 PM

"The Wives:" More Feedback
> David e-mails Hardball with a request for Chris and CCs me: "In the future, please show some intellectual honesty by calling 'the wives' what they really are -- "9/11 Widows for Kerry."
> Robert Cox is becoming a media star! He is appearing on Capitol Report tonight to talk about the widows.
> Anonymous comment: "I'd like to register a dissenting opinion on the 9/11 widows...I believe that the people who have written to you protesting their appearance on Hardball are upset exactly because they did such a good case of presenting their case." 2:01:00 PM

Spodek Named MSNBC CFO
Quoting the press release: "Robert Spodek has been named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, MSNBC, it was announced today by Rick Kaplan, President, MSNBC. Spodek joined MSNBC Cable as Director of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A;) in June 2002. He has served as acting CFO since December, 2003." 1:15:59 PM

FOX's Baghdad Hotel Hit -- For The Sixth Time
"Sheraton hotel in Baghdad hit by incoming round," the FOX News Alert said this morning. As you should know by now, FOX is housed in the hotel. David Piper reported live from the camera position on the roof. "We've now had six attacks on this Sheraton over the last four months," he said. Some of the FOX folks apparently saw the missile coming in... 12:43:13 PM

Last Week's News Viewer Index
Cynopsis has the news viewer index for April 5 through 11. In total day, "Fox News had 50% of the viewing, CNN 26%, MSNBC 13%; and Headline News 11%." In primetime, "Fox News had 51%, CNN 29%, MSNBC 11% and Headline News 9%. 11:18:02 AM

Joel Cheatwood: Known For "Tabloid Style" and "Ratings Stunts"
Google "Joel Cheatwood," and you get some fun results. Quoting an On the Media transcript: "In Miami, Cheatwood made his name by using flashy crime coverage to build WSVN into the town's dominant station....In Chicago he made Jerry Springer a commentator." This story calls him the "undisputed king of trashy local news." AJC says Joel is "known for his tabloid style." B&C; calls him "controversial." He told CJR that he has "studied MTV and VH1 for ideas." Newsblues once wrote about Joel's "devotion to sensationalism and ratings stunts"... 12:18:57 AM

Joel Cheatwood: Named Program Development E.P. For Headline News
Joel Cheatwood has been named senior executive producer in charge of program development for the struggling CNN Headline News channel. GM Rolando Santos said in a memo that "I appreciate and respect Joel's unique ability to create innovative programming that has a wide range of audience appeal. I am delighted that we can add Joel's skills, energy and experience to our efforts to take HLN to its next level." More at TVWeek and TVSpy... 12:15:32 AM

Hardball Beats 360 By Over 200,000 Viewers Monday
An anonymous tipster says he thinks that Anderson Cooper's smileys are a "cute idea," but points to 360's plummeting ratings. On Monday night, Hardball beat 360 by more than 200,000 viewers (593,000 to 371,000, according to the source.) "I am not sure cute smiley faces are going to help CNN as it desperately fights for, and loses, second place to MSNBC," he says... 12:14:15 AM

Softball For The 9/11 Widows: "Same four ideological activists"
Mark writes in with reaction to today's 9/11 widow segments. Before the interview: "Chris Matthews just stated 'we're going to have the wives on tonight!' You don't have to be Miss Cleo to know they will be the same four ideological activists he has been serving up over and over again." And after: "I don't know why I keep watching. Wait a minute, yes I do...it's so I can annoy you with emails and vent my frustrations!" If anyone else feels the same way, they can e-mail feedback to [email protected]. CC me and I'll post your note... 12:10:55 AM

Softball For The 9/11 Widows: "Stop treating them like a Greek chorus"
"Out of the thousands and thousands of family members who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attack...I would be interested to hear Chris Matthews explain why he continues to book these four like-minded women who have put themselves forth as self-appointed advocates for the 9/11 families and presents them as if their views were representative of the 9/11 families," Robert Cox writes. "If Chris Matthews is going to continue to book these four women he is going to stop treating them like a Greek chorus - and more like every other guest on Hardball." 12:10:34 AM

Bush "has the seating chart before him"
At the end of the Post's A1 news conference sum-up, Dana and Mike talk about who got called on and why: "Bush has acknowledged that he calls on reporters from a list that has been prepared in advance, and McClellan was asked whether the news conference would be 'a free-for-all' or whether the president would 'handpick reporters.' 'He has the seating chart before him,' McClellan said. 'There are some that he wants to make sure to get to, and then others he can call on from the seating chart.' Asked whether there are some 'that he doesn't want to get to,' McClellan said with a smile, 'Of course not.'" It's notable that those grafs were included in the main story... 12:09:16 AM

Cable Web Sites Are On The Ball Tonight
By 8:43pm, the three cable web sites had screen grabs of Bush's intro, and a quick summary. "Bush discusses latest violence, reaffirms commitment to democracy," FOX said. "Tough Weeks," the headline on MSNBC.com said at 8:43. Two minutes later, it changed to "Must not waver." CNN.com quoted a couple of lines from the statement. The latter two sites streamed the speech live... 8:54:03 PM

It's A Presidential News Conference
Damn, we can't watch Deborah Norville tonight! The President is dominating cable tonight -- no big surprise there. CNN's coverage with Wolf Blitzer started a few minutes before 8:30. Brit Hume did the same on FOX. Chris Matthews has been going since 7pm. Kudos to CNN's graphics department for the nice lower-thirds. More like lower-fifths tonight; we're all getting a break from the ticker for an hour! 8:48:47 PM

Two Callers Beat The Bleep On F&F;
...It was a call-in segment on FOX & Friends, and the topic was Howard Stern. One caller said something about "Bush fucking Howard," and another referenced "[bleep] on Kirin's face" [think 'DNA sample']," according to posts on Free Republic and TVHeads. Don't you love live TV?... 2:09:13 PM

Greta: "Monday night was the show from hell!"
Greta's blog entry today is a must-read: "Monday night was "the show from hell!" In the end, all went well, but for us it was a juggling act." She describes challenges her team faced in stacking the show, getting guests on the air, and responding to ever-changing situations. Plus, she is giving away bumper stickers! More... 1:16:44 PM

Matthews And His Hardball Dominates MSNBC
Chris Matthews is omnipresent on MSNBC today. "We were joking this morning that we're gonna have to get Chris a port-a-potty on set," Dominic says in the newsletter. Chris was on MSNBC during the break in 9/11 hearing coverage today, and is hosting more of it this afternoon; he is hosting a 90-minute version of Hardball until 8:30 previewing the press conference; he is back at 9:30 with post-game analysis; and he is live again at 11pm with the last word today. "It's a very fluid day as you might imagine," Dominic says... 1:16:16 PM

Cablers Covering 9/11 Hearings
The cablers are airing the 9/11 Investigation hearings this morning. FOX has finally stopped calling these events "Alerts" -- now it's "9/11 On The Record." Will live coverage of the hearings continue all day?... 10:48:02 AM

Media Safety in Iraq: CNN Assignment Editor Wounded In Fallujah
CNN assignment editor Tomas Etzler was slightly wounded in Iraq today. He was part of the media pool in Fallujah covering rebellion in the city. Eason Jordan said he was wounded in the head and back, the AP reports... 11:18:28 PM

Media Safety in Iraq: Fallujah Pool Details
"ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Fox News Channel have agreed to share the reports of a single camera crew embedded with the U.S. military in Fallujah...The pool in Fallujah is currently made up of personnel from different organizations." Oliver North reported from the city exclusively for FOX this weekend, but his future reports will now be available to all the networks. The Associated Press has more... 11:17:12 PM

Introducing A New Feature: Mailbag
I want to start a new feature on the site. It needs your help! It's called Mailbag. I get a lot of e-mail messages, but don't always have a place to put them. That's what the Mailbag is for. Some days, it will focus on a single topic. (Today, it ponders FOX News war coverage.) Other days, it will be a free-for-all. Use the form above or this this contact page to share input.
> 04/12/04 Mailbag: "Does FOX "strengthen the pro-war preconceptions of its viewers"? 11:14:31 PM

Cooper Complains About Cable Graphics: Suggests Replacing ? With :-)
Tonight on 360, Anderson Cooper complained about question marks on cable lower-thirds: "We've been noticing more and more punctuation on TV. ...[It is] nearly always a question mark. Yeah, have you noticed? See, with a question mark you can say anything in a banner? Is the world ending? Probably not, but it sure did get your attention. We'd like to see a pause on the use of cable news question marks. Yes, in its place, we suggest a smile. Or a frown. It may not make any sense, but it sure would put a whole new face on the news." It sounded less strange on-air. Transcript... 11:11:34 PM

Mark Shields: "Women Talk Too Much!"
Mark Shields, scolding Kate O'Beirne on the Capital Gang this weekend: "Kate! Time out, Kate! You've had three times now. That's enough for you. Women talk too much!" Here's the transcript. (Thanks Henry!) 11:09:51 PM

EchoStar Threatens To Pull CNN Off The Dish
EchoStar Communications is threatening to drop CNN and other Turner channels because of a contract dispute. EchoStar says Turner is seeking "unreasonable rate increases;" the two sides temporarily extended their contract, but now the pull-the-plug threat has been renewed. Here's more from the AP wire... 11:01:12 PM

O'Reilly Asks Collins: Why Is FOX Beating CNN?
O'Reilly stroked his ego quite a bit during his interview with "Crazy Like A Fox" author Scott Collins tonight. Collins said it was "absolutely true" that FOX catered to a "nation that was disenchanted with CNN." Other highlights:

O'Reilly: "So why are we beating these guys [CNN]?"
Collins: "I think a lot of it has to do...that CNN didn't have a plan"

O'R: "Look at Larry King. We kick his butt every single night, and I'm saying well, why?"
C: "Because Larry's show hasn't changed."

O'R: "Why can't they get people who are just as provocative as we are?"

O'R: "News-stuff is not going to work in primetime."
C: "The people in Atlanta at CNN Center have a problem with that"
O'R: "So they still won't acknowledge it? They are almost in denial--"
C: "Yes, they have a problem with it." 8:59:45 PM

Note to Wonkette: Start Reading The 'Newser!
Wonkette obviously isn't reading CableNewser frequently: "Which uninterruptible cranky cable news host recently befuddled power players around town by asking them to tape congratulations for his show's not-ending-in-a-zero-or-five anniversary?," she asks. As this site said weeks ago, the answer is Chris Matthews... 8:45:52 PM

Media Safety in Iraq: Correspondents Stay Inside Hotels As Precaution
This Wall Street Journal piece says that many Baghdad correspondents are staying inside their hotels as a security precaution. Quoting FOXs John Stack: "We've told them to stay in their resident hotels and not to venture out for even midlevel stories." NBC's staff "stayed inside Friday of their own volition," and CNN reporters were asked not to leave the building that day... 4:25:49 PM

"Crazy Like A Fox:" Links and Notes
> Another author interview at I Want Media
> The Atlanta Journal Constitution has a brief write-up
> A review in the Detroit Free Press
> Henry writes in with a brief review: "Great book...well-written and well-researched...but it lacked freshness and detail."
> Author Scott Collins will appear on the O'Reilly Factor tonight. The e-mail tease calls the book "controversial" and says that the "tell-all ticked off Ted Turner!" (Thanks Mark.) 2:53:01 PM

Kathie Lee Gifford Co-Hosting Fox & Friends Wednesday
Quoting a press release from FOX this afternoon: Kathie Lee Gifford will return to morning talk television on Wednesday, April 14th (7-9 AM ET) to co-host FOX News Channel's (FNC) FOX & Friends with Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade. Gifford will revisit the morning talk show format, which made her a household name, to substitute for E.D. Hill, who is on maternity leave." (Not) incidentally, she's promoting a new CD... 2:51:40 PM

Media Safety in Iraq: Networks Pool Resources & Share Info
TV Week describes the precautions news media in Iraq are taking: "The city of Fallujah in particular has become so unsafe that network news divisions have set aside their usual competitiveness to create a pool arrangement for sharing TV images...The news organizations agreed to share information and recommendations from the private security forces that each employs." (Hat tip: Romenesko) 10:41:30 AM

"Crazy Like A Fox" Comes Out Today
"Crazy Like A Fox," a behind-the-scenes account of the cable news wars, officially hits bookstores today. CableNewser interviewed author Scott Collins last month, and excerpts from the Q&A; are online now:

"The rise of Fox News is, to me, one of the biggest stories to hit the TV business in the past decade. In just a few years, FNC has not only overtaken CNN, but also changed the very dynamics of the news business. For instance, FNC's hosted shows are now the prime time model for cable news outlets. CNN's longtime "news is the star" mantra has been deemphasized, at least in prime. Witness that network's intense focus on Paula Zahn and Anderson Cooper. You certainly wouldn't have seen that even five years ago. One could even argue that cable news nets are helping turn politics into entertainment and polarizing popular debate."

> Click here for a CableNewser Interview: "Crazy Like A Fox" 12:45:52 AM

Reliable Sources: I Watch So You Don't Have To
Taking a page from Wonkette's reader crutch, here's all the great quotes from Reliable Sources in a handy list:

Coverage of Condi:
> Steve Friedman: "I think you're going to see more and more of the breaking news relegated, if that's the word, to cable"
> Frank Sesno: "The issues and the wound are so deep, so profound, that it warranted a few hours of the country taking a break from its fake soap operas to look at this one."

Audrey Tricks The News Media:
> Liz Marlantes: "There is this new genre in cable television now of the missing girl"
> Sesno: "This is life in the live lane. OK? This is what happens." 12:10:33 AM

Does FOX "strengthen the pro-war preconceptions of its viewers"?
Business Week says that "sources of information" about the war in Iraq are one reason why the nation is split on the issue: "People who rely on Fox News as their primary source are far more pro-war than non-Fox watchers. It's no surprise: The top-rated cable news channel is relentlessly hawkish on Iraq, and its mix of information and commentary strengthens the pro-war preconceptions of its viewers." Do you agree? 12:09:37 AM

Quote of the day
Howie Kurtz (does he check his e-mail, BTW?) talks about the Veepstakes in his column this morning. Hes got a cute quote from Charlie Cook: "When you see people on television pontificating about this, it should say across the screen: 'This is for entertainment value only.'" 12:08:08 AM

Doesn't National Geographic Have Its Own Channel?
It's the weekend, so it's time to complain about MSNBC's taped programming. Quoting a TVHeader: "I love National Geographic. But they have their own channel, right? Why does MSNBC have to repeat their programs over and over on the weekends? Do they not think that news happens on the weekends? I don't get it!" 4:57:57 PM

Seeking Feedback: Coverage of the Uprising in Iraq
"One can't help but notice that you have been virtually ignoring (artfully?) the biggest ongoing story of the week..that is the violence or "uprising" in Iraq. What about cabler's coverage of this story? Isn't that important? Well it certainly looks like what is rumored is true..that you have a political agenda." Well I am flattered that there are rumors about me, but my lack of discussion about the uprising is less sinister. It's difficult to equate coverage of the story. I'd love to hear from viewers about their impressions of coverage, so send an email or use the form above... 4:57:06 PM

"It would be nice to have a real news network again"
This commenter at Political Animal begrudgingly appreciates FOX News: "Speaking of bad new[s], a confession: I get all my TV News from Fox. This is not because I like their lies, distortions and relentless propaganda, or even (only?) because I'm stupid. It's just the only news I can find. The PDB comes out and NOBODY but Fox covers it. CNN is interviewing Mel Gibson and the so called major networks sleep through it. Same deal last Sunday when Iraq was imploding. It would be nice to have a real news network again - something along the lines of the old CNN would be fine." (Rick, are you listening?) 2:41:44 PM