Saturday, June 18, 2005

 

AB: "I'm not comfortable with celebrity. I don't need it."


A blog reader sent us this link to an article profiling the life of Aaron Brown in this month's Westchester Magazine. Below is an excerpt from the article:
Aaron Brown loves to talk; he loves to tell stories. We are sitting in his moderate-sized office on the fourth floor of the new Time Warner building at Columbus Circle, and Brown, wearing a blue work shirt with sleeves rolled up, is talking. About himself: "I'm not comfortable with celebrity. I don't need it. It's not the oxygen that keeps me going." About his work: "I'm lucky that I get to do what I love to do. May it last for a while longer."

Read the entire article HERE.

# posted by ATN @ 11:31 PM
 

Rosie Misses the Old NewsNight

Rosie O'donnell blogs, "what happened to newsnightwith aaron brown. no more whip? i loved the whip around the WORLD. reminding us all we are part of something bigger as a nation.

seems like aaron has been hi jacked. now he throws to some pretty blonde thing who reads the“news” in a studio down the hall. she throws back to him.

aaron brown what the hell happened. he had such a strong voice. a presence there was a standard on his show him."

# posted by ATN @ 10:06 PM
 

Natalee Holloway Coverage: Like Groundhog Day


Source Lynchburg Ledger Robert Paul Reyes writes: According to a CBS article, Natalee Holloway's aunt says each day seems like "Groundhog Day," the Bill Murray movie in which each day was the same as the next.

I couldn't agree more with Natalee Holloway's aunt, indeed I feel like I'm eternally condemned to repeat the same day, over and over again. Every morning I wake up, tune in to FOX News or CNN and there's Natalee Holloway's smiling face. Natalee beaming at her graduation, Natalee frolicking with her friends, Natalee with her mom -- it's Natalee 24/7.

But wait, how long have I been stuck reliving Groundhog Day? Wasn't it just yesterday that Jennifer Wilbanks was on FOX News 24/7? Jennifer Wilbanks at her wedding shower, Jennifer goofing around with her pals, Jennifer with her dimwitted fiance...

And before that it was Laci Peterson and before that Elizabeth Smart and before that...

The missing woman's name changes, but she's always white; she's always attractive and she's always affluent.

Maybe I've died and gone to hell and this is my punishment for resenting all the white, rich high school girls who looked down on everyone else. Maybe this is God's cruel idea of a joke.

How I wished I lived in an parallel universe where a missing African American or Hispanic girl would generate as much coverage from the media as a missing white girl.

I hope Natalee's aunt Groundhog Day nightmare is soon over and I hope that the Media stops its obsessive Groundhog Day type coverage of missing white girls.

# posted by ATN @ 6:22 PM
 

The FNC Detectives


It never surprises me how far FNC will go in any situation. Now it seems FNC wants to be detectives and help find that missing young lady in Aruba. FNC's Greta Van Susteren blogs: "I will work some leads from D.C., but FOX has about 20 people 'on the ground' in Aruba all weekend long. To say we have the story covered is to state the obvious. We would certainly like to be part of finding Natalee especially finding her alive and well."

IMO, Greta and FNC are not out for the glory of finding the young lady BUT doing this so they will be able to boast about how "they" helped find her. Heck, you know FNC has to hopping mad Aruba officials stay very mum on developments in this case. So this is probably just a way to"get on the inside".

# posted by ATN @ 2:31 PM
 

CNN.com Gets Face-lift



As promised CNN.com has a new look. The most dramatic change is to the lower half of the homepage.

UPDATE: 1:55PM EDT It's strange, now when I try to log on to CNN.com it crashes my web browser, both IE and Firefox....hmmmmmmm
Posted by Hello

# posted by ATN @ 1:36 PM
 

Free Video NOW AVAILABLE


Looks as though CNN is not waiting til Monday to roll out it's free video. Just click on over to the video page NOW and enjoy FREE VIDEO today!

# posted by ATN @ 12:52 PM
 

CNN News Group, Trust, with a sense of humor


Source: Broadcasing and Cable In an on-demand world, it isn't hard to imagine having your own private news anchor. That at least was the premise of a lighthearted campaign to promote CNN.com that began airing last November. The spots featured CNN anchors in.
situations interacting with average viewers who wanted simpler but precise info that a news Web site can provide.

In one spot, for example, Wolf Blitzer starts to explain current economic news to a woman, who really just wants the price of her stock.

The humor highlights the way many people use the Internet, notes Scot Safon, senior VP of marketing and promotions for the CNN News Group. But the tagline, “CNN.com: The Power of CNN Under Your Command,” reinforces the branding message that “CNN.com offers users the newsgathering resources of the most trusted name in news on demand,” he says.

This campaign is one of the reasons that Promax is giving Brand Builder Awards to Safon and Andy Mitchell, director of interactive marketing at CNN News Group. Safon also credits Brendan Gibbons of Hungry Man Productions, who wrote and directed the promos.

Such efforts to promote CNN's brand outside of its television networks are increasingly crucial to CNN's future. As CNN has discovered in its 25th year, there are plenty of news sources, and it also trails Fox News in ratings. That competition has “created both enormous opportunities and challenges for our branding efforts,” Safon says.

CNN's overall cross-branding efforts position the networks as the “Most Trusted Name in News,” a slogan that fits when news, like the tsunami or the Pope's death occur. “We aren't just showing pictures,” he says. CNN is selling experience.

Safon acknowledges Fox's success with its personality-driven approach, “but we believe that, no matter how crowded the marketplace is, there is a real need for an objective, trusted news source.”


# posted by ATN @ 12:51 PM
 

Grace to Face Geragos

This from the CNN Fan fourm: "This Tuesday June 21st, 2005. America's most notorious prosecutor, Nancy Grace will face Mark Geragos, the high profile defense attorney on Larry King Live, Geragos and Grace together @ 9:00 PM ET."

# posted by ATN @ 12:15 PM

Friday, June 17, 2005

 

Caution: Wet Paint


Man CNN didn't waste anytime changing the American Morning homepage at CNN.com. The site already has been redesigned to include Miles O'brien as the new co-anchor.

Bill Hemmer signed off Friday morning after 10 years at the network. We'll all be watching to see where Hemmer pops up at next.
UPDATE: An e-mailer contributes this: "Bill hadn't had time to leave skid marks and the page was changed. I checked around 10 10 this morning {Fri} and saw that Miles had already been added."

# posted by ATN @ 8:19 PM
 

Thursday #'s;Grace #'s Still Beating CNN/US #'s


Source: TV Newser

Total viewers:

Total day: FNC: 1,076,000 / CNN: 409,000 / MSNBC: 178,000 / HLN: 276,000 / CNBC: 132,000

Primetime: FNC: 2,359,000 / CNN: 856,000 / MSNBC: 254,000 / HLN: 473,000 / CNBC: 161,000
_________________________________________________

5pm: Gibson: 1,247,000 / Blitzer: 611,000 / Connected: 209,000 / HLN: 195,000 / Kudlow: 139,000

6pm: Hume: 1,417,000 / Dobbs: 476,000 / Abrams: 366,000 / HLN: 239,000 / Mad Money: 159,000

7pm: Shep: 1,663,000 / Cooper: 606,000 / Hardball: 391,000 / Showbiz: 176,000 / Conan: 100,000

8pm: O'Reilly: 2,544,000 / Zahn: 787,000 / Countdown: 284,000 / Grace: 804,000 / Contender: 247,000

9pm: H&C: 2,107,000 / King: 1,153,000 / Situation: 202,000 / Prime News: 263,000 / Mad Money repeat: 119,000

10pm: Greta: 2,427,000 / NewsNight: 628,000 / Scarborough: 275,000 / Grace repeat: 351,000 / Deutsch: 118,000

# posted by ATN @ 5:43 PM
 

AC Power Lunch

An e-mailer sent CNN Blog this link for folks to sign up for a "Power Lunch with Anderson Cooper". Apparently only certain folks are elgible to sign up as I got the message I did not live in a valid zip code. Maybe the folks in NYC will have better luck.







# posted by ATN @ 5:03 PM
 

Top Mexican Journalist Teams with CNN en Español to Launch Talk Show


Source: CNN Pressroom Carmen Aristegui, one of Mexico’s most respected journalists, and CNN en Español, the leading news network in Latin America, have joined forces to launch Aristegui, a prime-time weeknight talk show featuring the country’s most influential and interesting newsmakers and personalities.

The program launch was announced jointly at a Mexico City press conference on Wednesday, June 15, by Aristegui and Christopher Crommett, senior vice president of CNN en Español.

“We are delighted to have a journalist of Carmen’s caliber join CNN en Español,” Crommett said. “This is the first regularly scheduled program of its kind to air on the network, and since 67 percent of U.S. Hispanics are of Mexican birth or descent, Aristegui promises to be ‘must see’ viewing for well-informed viewers in the United States.

“With Mexico’s presidential elections just one year away, we view the launch of this show as particularly timely,” he added.

“Launching Aristegui on the single most important news network in the world not only represents a personal and a professional challenge but also allows me to join in this new perspective of CNN, to closely examine relevant events for Mexicans on both sides of the border,” Aristegui said. “We want to respond to the pressing need for information, discussion and debate of imperative issues that Mexicans are increasingly looking for.”

Aristegui will launch Monday, July 4, and air Monday through Friday at 11:00 p.m. with a replay at 12:30 a.m. The week’s highlight edition of the program will also air through the weekend. All times Eastern.

# posted by ATN @ 2:37 PM
 

Ailes Gets Panties In a Wad


Source: New York Daily News From Lloyd Grove's column: I hear that Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes - whose awkward lunchtime encounter with former Fox anchor Paula Zahn was detailed in yesterday's column - sat himself at the corner table at Michael's, within a few feet of Zahn's, even though the restaurant had reserved it for Ralph Lauren. When a staffer chided Ailes for ruining the seating chart, Ailes shot back: "I don't care if it's Ralph Lauren's table. That's not his real name, anyway." For the record, it wasn't Lauren, but his artist-father who changed the surname from Lifshitz when Ralph was a teenager.

# posted by ATN @ 11:18 AM
 

It's Hemmer's Time


Well there will be one less CNN'er on the payroll later today when Bill Hemmer leaves the network after a 10 year stay.

With CNN since 1995, Hemmer has anchored several news programs and reported on numerous events. He has anchored CNN Tonight, CNN Early Edition, CNN Live Today as well as CNN Morning News. In 2002 Hemmer became co-anchor of American Morning, based in New Yok City.

In 2004, Hemmer covered both the Democratic and Republican national conventions from the floor of the convention centers. He also served as one of CNN's prime-time anchors on the CNN Decision Desk on election night. Earlier that year, he was dispatched to Florida on two separate occasions to cover hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne and to both Simi Valley, Calif., and Washington, D.C., to cover the funeral and tributes for former President Ronald Reagan.
In 2003, Hemmer traveled to Kuwait City, Kuwait, to report live the ongoing and escalating tensions with Iraq. When the war began, Hemmer stayed on, anchoring and providing daily updates on the war.

Soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Hemmer began reporting from Ground Zero in New York City, providing constant updates and detailed descriptions of the devastation. In December 2001, Hemmer traveled to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to report about the war in that country from the frontlines. He has also reported live from Jerusalem on the tension in the Middle East, specifically the West Bank.

In May 2001, Hemmer played an instrumental role in the network's coverage of the Timothy McVeigh execution, reporting from Terre Haute, Ind., where McVeigh was put to death for his part in the Oklahoma City bombing. Additionally, Hemmer also played an integral role in CNN's Election 2000 coverage, conducting interviews with the presidential candidates and reporting live from the floor of the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Following election night, he reported live from Tallahassee on the ongoing dispute over Florida's votes for president, gaining exclusive interviews with Democratic and Republican leaders, while breaking some of the biggest developments in the protracted saga.

He received an Emmy Award for his work on CNN's coverage of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. He also covered Hurricane Floyd from various locations across the Eastern Seaboard and reported from Fort Worth, Texas, on the aftermath of church shootings there. He also spent more than a month covering the crisis in Kosovo, where he reported on the aerial bombing missions from Aviano Air Base in Italy, the refugee crisis from Skopje, Macedonia, and on the latest NATO developments from Brussels.

Good luck Bill!

UPDATE: 3:00PM EDT CNN Fan has the transcript of Bill's goodbye and a pic of the group hug this morning on AM.

6:02pm EDT ALSO should have mentiond the above Hemmer info came from Hemmer's bio on CNN.com. An e-mailer makes the observation that the bio does not mention Hemmer's part in covering the Pope's funeral earlier this year.

# posted by ATN @ 12:19 AM

Thursday, June 16, 2005

 

Wednesday Numbers

Source: TV Newser

Total viewers:

Total day: FNC: 1,045,000 / CNN: 444,000 / MSNBC: 207,000 / HLN: 239,000 / CNBC: 131,000

Primetime: FNC: 2,246,000 / CNN: 731,000 / MSNBC: 307,000 / HLN: 472,000 / CNBC: 120,000

5pm: Gibson: 1,137,000 / Blitzer: 509,000 / Connected: 143,000 / Kudlow: 189,000

6pm: Hume: 1,316,000 / Dobbs: 386,000 / Abrams: 315,000 / Mad Money: 240,000

7pm: Shep: 1,390,000 / Cooper: 533,000 / Hardball: 368,000 / Showbiz: 149,000 / Conan: 126,000

8pm: O'Reilly: 2,496,000 / Zahn: 397,000 / Countdown: 387,000 / Grace: 647,000 / Contender: 116,000

9pm: H&C: 2,168,000 / King: 1,060,000 / Situation: 198,000 / Prime News: 379,000 / Mad Money repeat: 106,000

10pm: Greta: 2,074,000 / NewsNight: 737,000 / Scarborough: 335,000 / Grace repeat: 391,000 / Deutsch: 137,000

# posted by ATN @ 5:46 PM
 

Mystery IP Anchor

I have received several e-mail from readers asking who that was hosting Inside Politics today. Tom Foreman hosted the program Thursday afternoon.

Foreman's CNN bio does not specify what he does at CNN's DC bureau, only that he "joined CNN in 2004 and is based in the Washington, D.C., bureau."

UPDATE: Several e-mailers have stated Foreman files reports during Wolf Blitzer Reports. ALSO all the e-mailers have said they were impressed with the job Foreman did anchoring IP Thursday.

# posted by ATN @ 5:01 PM
 

Turner Still Holds Out for Market-Beating Increases


Source: Cynthia Turner While most cable networks are settling for rate increases in the lower single-digits at best, Turner Broadcasting is continuing to demand more in its upfront talks with advertisers and some observers are wondering if media buyers will eventually just throw up their hands and move on. Turner, which has not commented on its position, is looking for CPM increases in the 4%-6% range (on par with most of the broadcast networks), according to media buying sources. "It's counter-intuitive to a lot of the marketplace," said one agency executive. "My sense is a lot of agencies are going to look at [Turner] and say, ‘We're going to negotiate with your competition." Still others close to the talks say that while agencies are sounding ominous in their "deep background" statements to the media, it's unlikely the stalemate will last indefinitely.

Turner could elect to hold back more of its inventory for the scatter market, especially in the wake of the strong ratings TNT gathered for its Into the West miniseries and The Closer police drama in the past week.

Cable is struggling because "they allowed the broadcast networks to keep the vast majority of their share," said one buyer. "The cable networks went in too aggressively and thus didn't want to write early business and steal share." When ABC and CBS wrote early business, there was little left for cable. How much cable will steal from broadcast is still unclear. "I'm sure in the planning process some money shifted to cable. The question is did it happen in the negotiating process," another buyer said.

# posted by ATN @ 12:32 PM
 

CNN, ESPN To Show PD International Triathlon Worldwide


Source: Bernama The Port Dickson International Triathlon 2005 next month will be shown on CNN and ESPN television, Deputy Tourism Malaysia Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Thursday.

He said the ministry would collaborate with the two international television stations to expose PD International Triathlon to a global audience.

More than 600 triathletes from 23 countries would compete in the two-day event starting July 16 and hosted by the Negeri Sembilan government, he told a media conference.

# posted by ATN @ 11:30 AM
 

Don't Forget, Free Video Coming to CNN.com Monday


It won't be long now everybody can enjoy FREE Video at CNN.com. According to the press release from last month, "CNN.com will make the free video available starting June 20, while it will unveil its complete premium product this fall with more options and features than any other online news and information site."

"With the free video, online users each day can view various distinct on-demand videos across several topic areas, including politics, world news, business, sports, entertainment, science and technology and more. A specially designed video player enables users to search and organize videos so they can quickly focus on the content they wish to see. As part of the free offering, CNN.com staff will also produce two-minute newscasts every hour called “Now in the News,” delivering the latest updates and breaking news."

But additional changes are coming this fall,"In the fall, CNN.com will offer an innovative subscription-based service delivering multiple live video streams, access to CNN’s video archives and user-customized options. This new premium product will enable CNN.com users to get the full impact of watching the news with as much choice and control as watching television or using a Web site."

# posted by ATN @ 11:04 AM
 

Zahn Has Close Encounter


Source: NY Daily News CNN anchor Paula Zahn had a close encounter with Pale Male at Michael's restaurant yesterday. Make that Pale Stout Male.

I'm not talking about the famous hawk that was briefly evicted from his ledge at Zahn's Fifth Ave. apartment building, courtesy of Zahn's husband, the co-op board president.
I
'm talking about Roger Ailes - the pugnacious Fox News chairman who's been waging a private war against Zahn ever since she bolted from Fox four years ago.

"How are you?" Ailes asked, looming over her table and pushing his hand toward the woman who scorned him.

"Oh, hi-eeeee!" the blond Zahn exclaimed as she looked up at her nemesis and quickly grasped his mitt.

Ailes - who angrily fired Zahn, comparing her unfavorably to "a dead raccoon," and sued her agent when she accepted CNN's job offer in September 2001 - had a lunch appointment with Court TV Chairman Henry Schleiff.

Zahn, who anchors the prime-time CNN show "Paula Zahn Now," was lunching with media consultant Joe Armstrong.
Initially, Ailes didn't notice Zahn when he arrived at the restaurant and schmoozed with me.

When I alerted Ailes that Zahn was sitting right next to us at Table 3, four feet from Ailes' usual corner berth at Table 4 - he flashed a look of alarm and headed into the midst of the dining room to confer with Michael's general manager Steve Millington.

I'm told that Millington, thinking that Ailes and Zahn wouldn't want to look at each other while they ate, directed Ailes to Table 18, a safe distance away.

Ailes sat there for a minute but then thought better of it and claimed his usual table right next to Zahn.

"You can pretend we're not here," Ailes suggested.

Zahn gave him an icy smile.

"Oh," she purred, "we don't have to pretend anything."

# posted by ATN @ 10:34 AM
 

Critics:Media Coverage of Missing People Not Proportional


Source: Associated Press Most of the missing adults tracked by the FBI are men. More than one-in-five of those abducted or kidnapped are black.

But you might not get that impression from the news media, and some journalism watchdogs are now taking the industry to task for what they see as a disproportionate emphasis on cases in which white girls and women — overwhelmingly upper-middle class and attractive — disappear.

Television executives, who receive much of the criticism, defend their coverage. They stress that cases such as the recent disappearance in Aruba of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Alabama are extraordinary, and would be newsworthy no matter her background.

"To be blunt, blond white chicks who go missing get covered and poor, black, Hispanic or other people of color who go missing do not get covered," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Washington-based Project for Excellence in Journalism. "You're more likely to get coverage if you're attractive than if you're not."

"Quoting those [FBI] statistics — it's like saying '99 percent of the nations in the world are not at war, so why are you focusing on the war?' But Iraq is an extraordinary event involving Americans," said Mark Effron, vice president of news at MSNBC. "What makes news is the unexpected."

He said Holloway's disappearance during a chaperoned trip is unusual, and would be heavily covered by MSNBC regardless of her gender or ethnicity.

Christa Robinson, a spokeswoman for CNN, said that a wide range of editorial considerations — including competition from other news events — impact the attention given to each potential story. The race or ethnicity of a possible victim, she said, is not a factor.

But Rosenstiel said that analyses of cable news in recent years shows an upward "trajectory of the salacious crime story" including those of missing white females such as Chandra Levy, Laci Peterson, JonBenet Ramsey and Elizabeth Smart.

Read the complete article HERE.

# posted by ATN @ 1:23 AM

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

 

Miles O'brien Says Goodbye to Live From....


Miles O'brien signed off as co-anchor of Live From...... on Wednesday. O'brien thanked the ones who works on the program. Below is the transcript of his goodbye:

O'BRIEN:And that does lead me to a quick personal note before I go today. This was my last day on LIVE FROM. Clearly, I was getting way too much sleep. And as of Monday I will be arising long before you do to report from my new assignment on "AMERICAN MORNING."

And while I look forward to that new challenge, I will also savor all the challenges we rose to here on LIVE FROM these past few years. This is a program with a small staff, a big heart, and a great sense of humor. We never ducked the serious stories, but we also never took ourselves too seriously, either.

And my thanks go to Mike Topo (ph) for setting that tone, and to all the LIVE FROM-ers who made this job such a treat -- just a few of them there. There's Mike in the purple on the right there. They made me look good.

And it is, after all, all about me. If it isn't fun, it isn't worth doing.

And by that measure -- there's Sonia Houston (ph), thank you. By that measure, it was well worth being here. I will miss working with you all. And see you bright and early Monday morning.

# posted by ATN @ 6:10 PM
 

Tuesday Prime Time Numbers


From Drudge

FOXNEWS O'REILLY 2,722,000
FOXNEWS HANNITY/COLMES 2,016,000
FOXNEWS GRETA 1,864,000
FOXNEWS SHEP SMITH 1,563,000
CNN LARRY KING 1,277,000
CNN AARON BROWN 751,000
CNN ZAHN 718,000
CNN COOPER 618,000
CNNHN NANCY GRACE 583,000
MSNBC OLBERMANN 459,000
MSNBC HARDBALL 330,000
MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 325,000
MSNBC TUCKER CARLSON 231,000

# posted by ATN @ 4:59 PM
 

Hemmer Keeping Secret?


This from an e-mailer: "During Bill Hemmer's interview with Tom Snedden, the Michael Jackson interview, this morning, Snedden said: "Bill, you've been a prosecutor..." Has he? Or was Snedden confusing him with someone else?"

Here's the transcript from AM this morning:

HEMMER: Some have suggested -- and listening to Mr. Zonen's answer, too, about the accuser's mother -- that this was the right charge, the right crime, but the wrong family. Mr. Sneddon, would you agree with that?

SNEDDON: Bill, you've been a prosecutor. I mean, you know that we don't take our victims -- we don't go out and say, OK, why don't you come on and be a victim this week. We take people that we get when they walk through door. And you have to do what you have to do with what's given to you.

NOTE: I am aware Bill Hemmer has never been in the legal field. Thought is was just funny that the Jackson Prosecutor made that kind of mistake.

# posted by ATN @ 1:56 PM
 

Clark Defects to FNC


Source: Associated Press Retired Army General Wesley Clark, who sought the Democratic nomination for president last year, has signed with the Fox News Channel to provide military and foreign affairs analysis. The network says Clark's military experience will help him in the position. Before his run for president, Clark acted in a similar capacity for C-N-N. Clark lives in Little Rock.

UPDATE: 4:18:pm EDT TV Week finally picked up on the story.



# posted by ATN @ 1:47 PM
 

Al Capone Treasure Seeker Gets Lucky at FNC

Not CNN related BUT interesting.
Source: TW Week Fox News Channel's Geraldo Rivera is feeling good this week. He's taking bows for having been right on the Michael Jackson verdict -- Mr. Rivera had confidently promised he would shave his signature mustache if Mr. Jackson were convicted by the jury hearing the child molestation charges against him -- and will talk about the case Wednesday on ABC's "The View."

Mr. Rivera also is telling people he and Fox News have signed a new four-year contract, said to pay him some $3 million per year. Mr. Rivera joined Fox News in 2001 as a war correspondent and hosts "At Large With Geraldo Rivera" on weekends.

# posted by ATN @ 11:36 AM
 

Jackson Verdict Boosts Cable News Web Sites


Source: TV Week Michael Jackson's acquittal Monday on child molestation charges spurred record traffic and requests for streaming video on news Web sites.

Foxnews.com had its biggest day ever, said a spokesman, adding that the site had a record 15,005,497 page views for the day. More than 3 million of those fell between 4 and 5 p.m., when people were waiting for the verdict to be read. Foxnews.com also reported 423,000 requests for video, some 250,000 of them for Jackson coverage.More than 630,000 streams of the Jackson verdict were watched on MSNBC.com, making it the most-watched verdict video in the Web site's history, according to a spokeswoman. In comparison, the conviction of Scott Peterson in the murder of his wife and unborn child produced 245,317 requests for video and the coverage of Pope John Paul II's funeral generated nearly 2 million requests, MSNBC.com's biggest streaming day ever.

Courttv.com logged more than 4.7 million page views Monday, a 148 percent increase over the previous Monday.

What about CNN.com? Anybody have the #'s for it?

# posted by ATN @ 10:59 AM
 

Former CNN'er: Why I'm Joining Al Jazeera


Source: Wall Street Journal Former CNN/International anchor Riz Khan recently took a job with Al Jazzera International. Here's an excerpt from an article in the WSJ in which Khan explains why he joined the network:

Consistently, I listened to Middle Easterners complain about how they felt Western networks had sold out on the way they covered the news, particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. They felt that Al Jazeera was filling the gap.

Personally, I just love the idea of starting up a channel from scratch like I did at BBC World. The managing director of Al Jazeera International, my friend, Nigel Parsons, was a senior producer working there at the time with me. We both realize that a significant opportunity like this one comes very rarely in one's lifetime. Plus, Al Jazeera International provides the ideal vehicle to bridge gaps between communities in the East and West. It'll be the first English-language news channel with an international perspective that is broadcasting from within the Middle East.

I'm fully aware of the negative image of the Al Jazeera brand in the U.S., especially at the government level, but I think part of that comes from a misunderstanding of the strong cultural position the Arabic-language channel has among the average people of the Middle East. It is extremely popular for being outspoken not only about the West but also about Arab governments.

# posted by ATN @ 10:57 AM
 

Stephen King Blasts Jacko Coverage


Source: Entertainment Weekly It's finally over. Can I be any clearer about my amazed disgust at the amount of ink and TV time this show-trial consumed? At the amount of intellectual house-room it took up? Thank God it's over, how's that? On the night of the verdict, the network news programs devoted a significant percentage of their paltry 30-minute spans first to the verdicts, then to analysis of the verdicts — as though not guilty needs analysis. The cable-news buzzards (Nancy Grace, Larry King, Mercedes Colwin, and Pat Lalama of Celebrity Justice to name just a few of the plumper ones) were all over it. Not-guilty roadkill isn't quite as tasty — or as bloody — as guilty roadkill, but it'll do. It hurts more to see a smart guy like CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin keeping his eye on the black umbrella. Here's a man in the prime of his creative life and in command of what are clearly prodigious talents, and what he spent over a year doing with them was analyzing the legal struggles of an aging pop star accused of fondling little boys in front of the TV set. MORE

# posted by ATN @ 10:41 AM
 

It's All in the Family


Source: New York Post Time Warner Cable may have a companion when it goes public sometime next year — America Online.

Media giant Time Warner has considered combining its cable unit and AOL into one separate publicly-traded company, according to two sources close to the company.

The option is one of many the company is considering for the future of AOL, which still generates plenty of cash even as it bleeds subscribers, and Time Warner is not likely to make a move until it sees if AOL's new plan to offer much of its content for free on the Web can be succesful. MORE

Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.

# posted by ATN @ 10:37 AM
 

Poll Results: Why Can't CNN Seem to Get on the Right Track?


What's CNN's problem? Ya'll had a week to vote and now the results are in. 146 OR 55.5% of ya'll say Management is CNN's Problem; 72 OR 27.49% say it's a combination of managment, format and CNN's anchors/reporter's fault; 30 OR 11.49% say format is the problem AND 15 OR 5.79% say CNN's anchors/reporters are the problem.

# posted by ATN @ 3:56 AM

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

 

Jackson Circus Good For Cable News #'s


Source: TV Newser

In total day, FNC was up 55%, CNN was up 99%, MSNBC was up 80% and HLN was up 40% over May 2005 averages.

Total viewers: Total day: FNC: 1,169,000 / CNN: 733,000 / MSNBC: 338,000 / HLN: 293,000 / CNBC: 131,000

Primetime: FNC: 1,990,000 / CNN: 1,283,000 / MSNBC: 445,000 / HLN: 540,000 / CNBC: 158,000

TVN makes this note: The premiere of The Situation with Tucker Carlson averaged 177,000 viewers in the 25-54 demo that MSNBC covets. The show averaged 452,000 total viewers, compared to 1.7 million for CNN and FNC. But the show's ratings were up significantly from May 2005's 9pm averages for the network

# posted by ATN @ 9:12 PM
 

Wacko Jacko Verdict Ratings #'s


While I've been foolin' with my blogs while Drudge had posted the ratings for yesterday's Michael Jackson Circus coverage:

>Jackson verdict 5:15-30pm EDT/ FNC 4,804,000 /CNN 3,479,000 /MSNBC 1,457,000

> From TV Newser: > Larry King averaged 1,736,000 viewers, barely beating H&C's 1,734,000. And from 6 to 6:15pm ET, CNN beat FNC by 19% in P2+ (2,008,000 vs. 1,685,000 viewers) and 50% in the 25-54 demo (871,000 vs. 582,000 viewers). FNC beat CNN for the rest of the day.

> From B and C: Between 4:43 and 6 p.m. Monday, the roadblocked coverage of the Michael Jackson verdict drew a total of 24.6 million households on 11 English language networks and two Spanish-language.

> From the AP: Nancy Grace on HLN at 8pm EDT had 713,000 viewers.

> From Multichannel News: Court TV earned a 3.4 Nielsen Media Research household rating Monday from 5 p.m.-5:15 p.m. (EST), when the Michael Jackson verdict was announced, the network said Tuesday.The network added that it marked the largest audience ever delivered by Court TV.Court TV said it posted a 2.8 household rating, a 1.2 among adults 18-49 and a 1.6 among adults 25-54 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. Monday.

From TV Newser: AND Excuses from FNC:" I think it's only fair to note that FNC refused to pre-empt Brit Hume's show for that hour (which ignored the verdict entirely), despite the Jackson mania," an e-mailer says. "So they paid a bit of a price in ratings. But the 6-7 hour FNC numbers were not really Jackson Verdict numbers for that reason."
(from 6 to 6:15pm ET, CNN beat FNC by 19% in P2+ (2,008,000 vs. 1,685,000 viewers) and 50% in the 25-54 demo (871,000 vs. 582,000 viewers)

Why is it FNC always wants to make EXCUSES for low ratings? I rephrase that. Why do they always have an excuse for getting BEAT!!

# posted by ATN @ 7:09 PM
 

UR Input is Needed


I have put this off and put this off BUT I think it's time to do some remodeling of the blog. I have looked at SEVERAL other blog templates and I am leaning very strongly toward THIS ONE. I find it easier to read and is somewhat more user friendly. BLOG READERS let me know what you think. cnnblog@yahoo.com OR TIP BOX.

UPDATE: There will be no MOVE. Thanks for your input!

# posted by ATN @ 4:37 PM
 

How CNN Changed Israel's World


Source: The Jerusalem Post Here' s a pretty good article about CNN's Jerusalam Bureau and how it has covered the Middle East. Here's an excerpt from the lengthy article:

Nachman Shai, who is today senior vice president and director-general of the UJC in Israel, was the IDF spokesperson at the time. "I remember them arriving here with their equipment, which allowed them to broadcast live from just about anywhere at any moment, without going through an Israeli satellite station and Israeli censorship," he recalled.

Shai suddenly found himself having to contend with what he called "a new world order."

"They dictated our operations," he said. "Suppose I wanted to call a briefing for journalists at 8. I would call CNN, and they would say 'Well, we're busy at eight. If you want a live broadcast, you're going to have to wait till 8:30.'"

In the long run, Shai said, CNN did not damage Israel's image in the world. "You have to look at the big picture, not at one day or hour," he said. "They always were willing to listen to us. CNN executives came here and were very attentive to what we said. In the end, they revolutionized international news coverage and they get a lot of credit for that."

# posted by ATN @ 2:56 PM
 

Who's a Journalist? It Depends


Source: DC Post Ask members of the press whether Rush Limbaugh and Bob Woodward are journalists and the answers are somewhat predictable.

But the public has a different view. About the same percentage considers the radio talk show host and the author and Washington Post editor to be journalists, says a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center released yesterday.

The numbers: 27 percent say Limbaugh is a journalist, 55 percent say he's not and 18 percent don't know. Woodward may lag in the name-ID department: 30 percent say he's a journalist, 17 percent say he's not and 53 percent don't know. The survey of 1,500 adults was completed before the recent revelation of Deep Throat's identity.

A separate survey of 673 journalists produced very different results. For Woodward, 72 percent say he's "very close" to a journalist and 21 percent "somewhat close." For Limbaugh, 1 percent say he's "very close" to a journalist, 2 percent "somewhat close" and 82 percent "not close at all."

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, the center's director, said the findings provide "disturbing evidence that the public defines the word very differently from the way that most journalists do, a conclusion buttressed by the fact that 40 percent said Bill O'Reilly . . . was a journalist and only 19 percent said that George Will, the columnist and commentator, was one.

"Television stars tended to score the highest, suggesting that name recognition may be a factor in the results. Peter Jennings is deemed a journalist by 79 percent of the respondents, followed by Mike Wallace (64 percent), Katie Couric (48 percent), Brian Williams (42 percent), O'Reilly, Larry King (37 percent), Chris Matthews (33 percent), Woodward, Limbaugh and Will.

The Annenberg poll also found a split on the perceived goals of big media corporations. While 48 percent of the public said their first priority is to generate high profits for the owners, 46 percent said it is to deliver high-quality news coverage. Among journalists, only 12 percent said the top priority of corporate owners is to provide factual and timely coverage. Forty-nine percent say that the owners do try to provide quality coverage but that business realities sometimes prevent this from happening.

# posted by ATN @ 11:08 AM
 

Many Americans Call O'Reilly a Journalist


Source:Associated Press About 40 percent of Americans say they consider talk show host Bill O'Reilly a journalist — more than would define famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward the same way, according to a poll conducted this spring.

O'Reilly is on the Fox News Channel, offering his often tart conservative opinions, while Woodward has spent a career writing news stories and books.

Only 30 percent of those polled said Woodward was a journalist, while 53 percent said they didn't know, despite the fact that Woodward and Carl Bernstein broke the Watergate story that ultimately led to President Nixon's resignation in 1974.

More than a quarter said talk show host Rush Limbaugh was one, while one in five said they considered newspaper columnist George Will to be a journalist.Poll respondents were asked about 10 writers, TV news anchors and broadcast personalities. They were simply asked, "Please tell me if you think (the individual named) is a journalist or not?" The question made no specific reference to differences between reporters and commentators.

Limbaugh said Monday he was "not really surprised" by the results showing 27 percent of Americans would describe him as a journalist.

"I am America's anchorman, doing news play-by-play 15 hours a week for nearly 17 years now, and this is just more evidence that the old media's monopoly-like dominance is finished," the conservative talk show host said.Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said the poll results suggest the public defines the word "journalist" far differently than those in the press define it.

Annenberg also polled journalists from all sectors of the industry. Only 3 percent of journalists said Limbaugh was "somewhat close" to being a journalist and 11 percent said that about O'Reilly, while 93 percent said Woodward was "somewhat close or very close" to being a journalist.

Someone PLEASE start educating people on the difference between a JOURNALIST and a BLOWHARD! Don't they teach anything in the schools these days?

# posted by ATN @ 8:25 AM
 

The Latest Upfront News Is, Well, News


Source: Media Post The cable news part of the upfront ad marketplace has started to slowly creak to life--but that creaking could continue, as it is mired in an overall cable ad marketplace that is growing weaker.

"It's softer than a couple of weeks ago," said one senior media buying executive, who predicted flat to small increases in the 1% to 2% range for CNN, Fox News, CNBC, and MSNBC.

A CNN spokesman said: "We will not discuss specifics, but we have closed initial deals. Discussions are ongoing, and we are progressing along nicely." Neither Fox News or NBC executives returned phone calls by press time.

Fox News is expected to close the gap between it and CNN, grabbing the top end of the expected range. Many of Fox's long-time deals are still set at discount to CNN, as these agreements were inked long before Fox News became the dominant ratings player among cable news networks.

In 2003, according to TNS Media Intelligence, CNN led the way in advertising sales at $424 million; MSNBC was next at $162 million. Fox News was in third place at $112 million. Analysts say Fox has closed in significantly to CNN since then--but has a ways to go to be the top advertising news network.

# posted by ATN @ 8:14 AM
 

MJ: Coverage of the Coverage


Look for this post to be added to through-out the day


# posted by ATN @ 12:42 AM

Monday, June 13, 2005

 

AC 360 LIVE at 11pm EDT


Aaron Brown has just said there's a special edition of Anderson Cooper 360 coming up after NewsNight. The overnight program line-up has also changed.

UPDATE: 11:02pm EDT It appears this special edition of Anderson Cooper 360 is being simulcasted on CNN/International. ALSO there seems to be a special LIVE edition of Showbiz Tonight airing on CNN/Headline News.

11:16pm EDT: Let the record show FNC is running taped programming now while CNN/US/I/HLN are LIVE.

11:39pm EDT This from an e-mailer: "The Abrams Report on MSNBC is also live. Guess Faux ran out of steam or didn't want to spend the extra $$$ for live programming at 11 p.m."

# posted by ATN @ 10:43 PM
 

I Just Had To Post This...


According to the MSN MSNBC Group members, Rita Cosby made her debut tonight. Apparently she was on Countdown with an exclusive interview with Jermaine Jackson..hmmm...Larry King spoke to Jermaine too...Anyway getting back to the subject of this post, one member of the group responded this way about Cosby's debut on MSNBC:
Did you notice she's not as bimboed-up as she was on Fox? MSNBC must have not have the same budget for makeup and hair.

# posted by ATN @ 9:15 PM
 

PZN and LK Guests Rip Grace and Others for MJ Coverage


Paula Zahn's last guest Monday evening RIPPED Nancy Grace and other "tv lawyers" for how they covered the Michael Jackson case.

The guest, who apparently is a friend of MJ thanked Paula Zahn for handling the MJ case in a professional manner. I am paraphrasing but will post the transcript when it is posted.

UPDATE: 10:55 PM EDT Here's the transcript as promised:

MAJESTIC THE MAGICIAN, FRIEND OF MICHAEL JACKSON:Michael could never let his fan's down. You have to understand Michael's fans -- that's impossible, that's totally impossible. He could -- there's nothing Michael could do to let his fans down, nothing. They are like, from all over the world. ZAHN: And he didn't let you down at all with...

MAJESTIC: Absolutely not. I've been knowing the man 22 years. I know his character. I'll tell you who let me down: Nancy Grace, Lisa Bloom, Diane Dimond -- convicted a man in the press. That's what I mean, all of them should be fired for doing what they did. It's horrible. You're reputable journalist, and you do good work. I respect you. That's why I agreed to do your show. But the rest of them, I'm telling you, they're no good.

ZAHN: Well, thank you for your generous compliment. I appreciate it, and we appreciate your joining us tonight to talk about your good friend, Michael.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson was on Larry King Live tonight and didn't have many kind words either:

JESSE JACKSON, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: Well, I had a queasy feeling. Really, I felt the pain, the stress. I hoped for the best, I really expected the worst. In the sense that the jury was never sequestered. And there were really two trials. There was the public media trial, and there was the courtroom trial. And then in the media trial, you had the talk show hosts, whether it was Nancy Grace or O'Reilly and a thousand others saying Michael was guilty over and over again, Court TV, Michael is guilty. And yet in the courtroom, they discern opinions and impressions from fact in evidence. And they were able to make the distinction. And I was delighted that they did, but I was not sure that they could.

# posted by ATN @ 9:06 PM
 

LK Gets Exclusive Mesereau Interview


A forum poster at CNNfan.com says, "Larry King got the exclusive interview with Tom Mesereau, Micheal Jackson's lead defense attorney. Mesereau will be live on tomorrow's show. Tuesday June 14. at 9 PM ET." The poster said promos ran during Anderson Cooper 360.

8:50 PM EDT Larry just confirmed the interview tomorrow night as well.

# posted by ATN @ 8:42 PM
 

What if CNN Hadn't Happened?


Source: Detroit Free Press Mitch Albom writes: CNN was born 25 years ago this month. It was a simple yet awesome invention, the brainchild of Ted Turner, who saw a world of satellites and cable and got the idea for a 24-hour news channel. Turner is a man who often asks "Why not?" rather than "Why?"

Therein lies our difference.

Twenty-five years later, I find myself asking "Why?" all the time about CNN. Not just CNN, of course, but all it has spawned. You could argue that without CNN there is no Fox News, no MSNBC, no Court TV, no E! Entertainment, no Bill O'Reilly, no "Hardball," no Hannity or Colmes, no updates every five minutes on Michael Jackson in his pajamas.

Imagine a world without all that.

Would our lives really be lessened?

Read the complete article HERE.

# posted by ATN @ 8:22 PM
 

Cyberspace Races to Offer Jackson Verdict


Source: CNET While all the major news sites had posted word that a verdict was coming, there was a scramble to find the fastest way to deliver the news that a jury had found the "King of Pop" not guilty of all 10 charges in the closely watched child molestation case.

News sites used the event as a chance to experiment with methods of getting news out quickly. CNN.com, for example, put a scorecardlike page up ahead of the verdict, with a color-coded system in place to mark "guilty" or "not guilty," as each juror's specific decision was read.

But rival MSNBC.com appeared to get the news out first with a breaking news alert at the top of its screen that said simply: "Jury finds Jackson find not guilty of lewd act on child."

However, in a sign that automated news sites may have some work to do to catch up with their human-powered counterparts, the Jackson verdict was not prominently featured on the Google News site several minutes after the decision was read.

The Web was already in high gear just on word that a verdict had been reached. An animated siren graphic rotated atop the Drudge Report, later upgraded to two sirens as the decision neared. "Jacko Jury Reaches Verdict" screamed a banner on Fox News' Web site. CNN's Web site featured a photo of a fan covering her eyes while waiting for the verdict with the headline "Tense times for Jackson's fans outside court."

# posted by ATN @ 7:35 PM
 

ALL MJ Tonight on CNN


> AC 360- Not guilty! Dissecting the Michael Jackson verdict.

>PZN- Jackson acquitted! How did the jury make its decision?

>LKL- Courtroom insiders and legal experts weigh in on the verdict and tell us where things go from here.

>NN- Jackson cleared! What's next for the king of pop?

Geez, looks like the pervert of the day is king tonight.

# posted by ATN @ 6:15 PM
 

FNC Viewers Must Be Blind


Click on pic to get the real feel.


Posted by Hello

# posted by ATN @ 6:04 PM
 

Media Roadblock Jackson 'Not Guilty'


Source: Broadcasting and Cable Pop star Michael Jackson was found not guilty in a California courtroom Monday afternoon on all counts of child molestation, conspiracy and serving alcohol to a minor.

At least fourteen broadcast and cable channels covered the Michael Jackson verdict live Monday afternoon, including the Big Four broadcast networks.

ABC, NBC and CBS cut into afternoon syndicated programming and Fox picked up the Fox News Channel feed.

On cable, MTV, Court TV and E! Entertainment Television jumped on the news, as did news channels Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. CNBC stayed with its regular business news, but offered updates.

For Spanish-language viewers, Univision and Telemundo also interrupted afternoon programming for live coverage of the verdict. No cameras have been allowed in the courtroom, but the networks were able to air live audio of the reading of the verdicts.

Interview rooms were being set up in the courtroom, though it would be up to the attorneys, jurors, defendents and plaintiffs involved whether they talk to the media.

Court TV and E! have been particularly addicted to the Jackson story.

As planned, Court TV had star Nancy Grace on hand to lead the coverage and commentary. A news crawl across the bottom of the screen provided continuous updates. Court TV even created a system for text message alerts and more than 45,000 users signed up to receive the messages.

E! has taken a more dramatic approach, producing daily reenactments of the trial using actors.

The Jackson media circus will extend into prime time. NBC plans to air a special Dateline Monday night, hosted by Stone Phillips, with, NBC says, an "in-depth look at the implications of the verdict on Jackson's life and career." The network's legal ace Dan Abrams and Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Thomas will also appear on the show.

Court TV planned to blow out prime time for special coverage.

# posted by ATN @ 5:42 PM
 

MJ Verdict Reached


CNN Capitol Hill Correspondent Ed Henry was in the middle of a report at 3:34pm EDT when Inside Politics anchor Candy Crowley interrupted his report to go to Ted Rowlands outside the courthouse in California. CNN has CNN Legal Analyst Jeffery Toobin on the phone and a former US Attorney, I believe his name was Kendall Coffey.

Markus at CNN Fan.com says CNN/US's coverage is being simulcasted on CNN/International.

03:52pm EDT Brooke Anderson is at the gate of Neverland Ranch with no sign of Michael Jackson.

4:00pm EDT The news rolls on, on Headline News,with Holly Firfer and Thomas Roberts anchoring. The MJ news was at the top of the hour's headlines.

4:07PM EDT Apparently Candy Crowley got kicked out of the anchor seat on CNN/US. Wolf Blitzer is now anchoring the coverage. 2 hours of Wolf? Not me, I'm switching to HLN. Holly is much better on the eyes and ears.

4:17PM EDT It seems CNN/HLN has it's own crew out there covering the Michael Jackson fiasco. Correspondent Chris Wolfe is outside the courthouse reporting for HLN while CNN/US has Ted Rowlands live on the air. Wonder where Nancy Grace is? Anyway her program ought to be a good one tonight.

4:28PM EDT CNN/US has former O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro on to provide commentary. ALSO want to make note CNN/US's coverage is being carried all over the world via CNN/I and Markus at CNNfan.com tells CNN Blog n-tv in Germany is also carrying the pictures and translating the coverage for it's German viewers. BTW, CNN owns a stake in n-tv.

5:17PM EDT Verdicts were read and MJ is not guilty. CNN let the court clerk read the verdicts UNINTERRUPTED while FNC 's Shepard Smith from time to time would interject his commententary in the mix. Geez, can the FNC anchor's/hosts not keep their mouth's shut and let the decision be read.

5:30PM EDT CNN Correspondent Rusty Dornin is on the air telling what went on in the courtroom as the verdict was read. Dornin said she was sitting right behind the Jackson family.

5:44PM EDT CNN has Jackson friend Jesse Jackson on the phone.

# posted by ATN @ 3:40 PM
 

CNN Picks Up a Murrow Award



Source: Broadcasting and Cable CNN's Candy Crowley has picked up an Edward R. Murrow award for in the Writing category for coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election.

NBC News led the national news outlets, with four awards, but CBS News won for overall excellence, one of its two wins. ABC News’ World News Tonight was also a winner and ABC News Radio took three awards, including overall excellence in radio news.

Among cable networks, MTV News won in the news documentary spaces, while ESPN was recognized for feature reporting.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association handed out its top prizes for excellence in electronic journalism Monday.

The awards will be presented at the RTNDA Awards Dinner on October 17, 2005, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. RTNDA has been awarding Murrows, named after the former CBS reporter and news executive, since 1971.

# posted by ATN @ 2:46 PM
 

Miller: FNC a "right-wing freak show"


Source: Washington Post Howard Kurtz writes: Stephanie Miller is watching Fox News, as she does every night, looking for laughs.

"It's like Comedy Central for liberals," says the Los Angeles radio host. "They don't know they're funny -- they just are. It's a right-wing freak show.

"Miller's presence here at a weekend radio conference sponsored by Talkers magazine -- which gave Air America's Al Franken its Freedom of Speech award -- suggests that left-wing hosts are gaining a foothold in a conservative-dominated field. Eight months after launching a show in a handful of towns such as Columbus, Ohio, and Anchorage, the former stand-up comic is on in 30 cities, including such major markets as Boston, Washington (on WRC-AM), and Los Angeles, where she manages to be funny at 6 a.m.

Miller isn't delicate when it comes to language. She told listeners last week that the argument by Hannity and Bill O'Reilly that "we're the only ones who support the troops" is "making me projectile-vomit." She gloats that "the Republicans have their panties in a twist" over this or that issue. She challenges the veracity of some conservatives with a jingle called "Lying Sack of Crap." MORE

# posted by ATN @ 12:25 PM
 

Grace Goes Home for Book Signing


Source: Macon Telegraph The parking lot was full, the aisles were jammed, and more than 300 people gripped slips of paper telling them how long they'd wait to meet a hometown girl made good.

Some Middle Georgians picked up their numbers seven hours beforehand to assure a place at the front of the line to meet Nancy Grace, Court TV and CNN celebrity, as she signed copies of her new book "Objection!" at Books-A-Million in Macon.

Grace spoke briefly to enthusiastic cheers. "It's just so good to be home," said the Macon native. "People say I have this great view at my little apartment in New York. I can see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building ... but what I want to see is a pine tree or a soybean field."

Grace earned her law degree at Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law and her parents still live in Macon. A regular on Court TV and "Larry King Live," she now has a legal analysis show named after her on CNN Headline News. (Grace told fans Sunday, "My mama always says, 'You shouldn't interrupt Larry King.' ")

Her new book details the now-famous history of how she became a highly successful Atlanta prosecutor, fueled by frustration with the legal system after the murder of her fiancee, Keith Griffin. MORE

# posted by ATN @ 10:58 AM
 

DAMN!!


Source: TV Newser On Thursday, Grace's 8pm Headline News show averaged 877,000 total viewers, and 334,000 in the 25-54 demographic.
It was her highest P2+ and P25-54 number to date, and it came near the end of a great ratings week for the attorney-turned-TV-star: For the week, Monday through Thursday, Grace has averaged 761,000 total viewers, a 53% increase over her May 2005 average of 498,000 viewers, according to CNN. In the 25-54 demo, Grace averaged 277,000 viewers Mon-Thur, up 80% over her May average of 154,000.

Grace beat Lou Dobbs, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Aaron Brown, and she wasn't too far away from Larry King.

For the record, here are her daily numbers for last week: Monday: 642,000 / Tuesday: 745,000 / Wednesday: 779,000 / Thursday: 877,000

How long until HLN is the second place cable news channel?

# posted by ATN @ 10:02 AM
 

"90 Second Pop" is History


Source: Variety CNN is planning to cancel its AM pop culture and entertainment report, "90 Second Pop," as part of its revamp of "American Morning."

Daily segment features CNN pop culture correspondent Toure, humorist Andy Borowitz and a rotating cast of magazine editors dissecting entertainment topics such as the big opening weekend for the latest "Star Wars" pic, Tom CruiseTom Cruise in love and the "Desperate Housewives" season finale.

Move is part of a broader repositioning of "American Morning" as a newsier alternative to softer shows on network TV.

A CNN spokeswoman declined to comment.

# posted by ATN @ 1:44 AM
 

HLN Frozen in Time


Did anyone else catch Headline News 'frozen in time' around 1:05am EDT Monday morning? One minute Veronica De la Cruz was going full force reading the news then BAM frozen. It was like that for nearly a minute before I guess the automation system kicked in the commercial break.

# posted by ATN @ 1:13 AM
 

Carlson Against Crossfire Like Programs?



In an article in USA Today Tucker Carlson commented on the cancellation of Crossfire. The article in the most part is about Carlson's new MSNBC program which debuts tonight. Anyway here's the part of the article where Crossfire is mentioned:
During the presidential campaign, Carlson had a widely publicized run-in on Crossfire with comedian Jon Stewart, who said partisan debates on such shows were "hurting America." In January, CNN chief Jon Klein canceled Crossfire, saying that he was tired of loud political talkfests and that noise had overtaken substance.

There's some truth to that, generally, in cable news, Carlson says. "There's nothing wrong with expressing passion, but at some point it can become like watching your parents argue. It's uncomfortable."

Carlson also says, "The tone of The Situation will be more along the conversational lines of his PBS talk show, Unfiltered, which ends its year-long run this month, and less along the shoutfest lines on Crossfire."

# posted by ATN @ 12:19 AM

Sunday, June 12, 2005

 

Former CNN'er Pops On CNN



Former CNN Sports anchor Nick Charles popped up on CNN Sunday Night. Charles was on talking about the Mike Tyson fight Saturday night. Charles worked at CNN for 22 years. He now covers the 'blow by blow' of boxing matches for Showtime.

# posted by ATN @ 10:55 PM
 

Maybe...Maybe Not...Maybe...Maybe Not


Seems Fox 'News' couldn't make up it's mind if Natalee Holloway was dead or alive Saturday. This from TV Newser:
FNC erroneously reported that Natalee Holloway was dead on Saturday afternoon, according to several e-mailers. Geraldo Rivera and Rick Leventhal said it was confirmed, but 15 minutes later they said they weren't so sure. Here's how one e-mailer described the coverage on Saturday: "It seems as though FNC wants to be able to call her dead, MSNBC wants to say they can't be sure, and CNN just wants to wait."

Sounds like FNC better hire them some better fact checkers. Oh that's right, they don't care about facts, they love speculation.

# posted by ATN @ 9:50 PM
 

Larry King LIVE


Wow Larry King LIVE is actually LIVE tonight, yes on a Sunday night. I wonder if this will be the norm, letting Bob Costas do a program LIVE every Sunday night. The topic is bipolar disease with former NBC'er Jane Pauley on the panel.

# posted by ATN @ 9:14 PM
 

Sex Abuse Suspect Caught Thanks to Grace


Source: KATU Shortly before 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday June 8, 2005, a fugitive wanted in Washington County was arrested in Pierce County, Washington. The tip that led to the fugitive's arrest came from a citizen.

A warrant for the arrest of then 60-year-old Donald Earl Crawford was issued in November of 2002, charging him with three counts of Child Sex Abuse. Detective Dawn Vandehey with the Washington County Sheriff's Office sought the warrant.

On Wednesday night June 8, 2005 CNN Headline News ran Crawford's picture during the Nancy Grace Show. A citizen recognized Crawford and the FBI was notified. A short time, later an FBI agent and a detective with the Pierce County Sheriff's Office arrested Crawford at a care facility in the Tacoma area. He was taken into custody without incident.

# posted by ATN @ 9:09 PM
 

Democrats VS FOX 'News'


Dang you'd think the fight would be between Democrats and Republicans NOT Democrats and Fox 'News'. New Democratic Party Chair Howard Dean doesn't think too highly of FNC. Here's what Dean had to say about FNC while speaking at the Rainbow-PUSH coalition's annual conference:
"My view is FOX News is a propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and I don't comment on FOX News," Dean said. That was in response to vice president Dick Cheney calling Howard Dean "over the top" on Fox News on Sunday. "

I don't consider myself a Democrat or Republican as I never vote down any party line. BUT I have to agree with Dean, FNC is nothing more than a 24/7 campaign outlet for the republicans!!

# posted by ATN @ 7:59 PM
 

Capital Gang Meets Death at End of Month


Source TV Barn On last night's "Capital Gang," Al Hunt announced that the show was ending its 17-year-run in two weeks. Developing....OMG I'm sounding like Drudge now....

Confirmed: Here's the transcript from the show Saturday night:

HUNT: Welcome back to the second half of THE CAPITAL GANG. As we near the termination of this program on June 25th, we remember our guest on the first CAPITAL GANG broadcast on October 15th, 1998. It was Tom Foley, who actually then was majority leader of the House. A year later, he became speaker.

# posted by ATN @ 1:39 PM

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