Saturday, September 17, 2005
WHAT?
Okay I am watching CNN Presents Saturday night and then halfway through the program I realize Paula Zahn is hosting the program and not Aaron Brown. What's up with that?
Additional: The edition of CNN Presents I am referring to is: CNN Presents: Heroes Among Us.
Additional: The edition of CNN Presents I am referring to is: CNN Presents: Heroes Among Us.
# posted by ATN @ 11:30 PM 
CNN Helping to Reunite Children Displaced by Katrina
Above is a screen grab of how CNN is helping unite the missing children with their parents. Several success stories have already been reported.
Pic from TV Heads
# posted by ATN @ 12:12 PM
AC Says He Will Remain in NO
In an article in the LA Times on the different correspondents covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, CNN's Anderson Cooper says he plans on staying in NO for the near future:
"CNN's Anderson Cooper has remained in the region since the hurricane hit, with no immediate plans to leave.
"Those of us who were here and have had the privilege to cover it, and to witness these triumphs and these tragedies, will never forget it and will carry it with us," Cooper said. "That's part of the fear of leaving, that people will forget and coverage will go elsewhere. And there are so many answers we need to get.""
Read the complete article HERE.
"CNN's Anderson Cooper has remained in the region since the hurricane hit, with no immediate plans to leave.
"Those of us who were here and have had the privilege to cover it, and to witness these triumphs and these tragedies, will never forget it and will carry it with us," Cooper said. "That's part of the fear of leaving, that people will forget and coverage will go elsewhere. And there are so many answers we need to get.""
Read the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 11:16 AM
Friday, September 16, 2005
Bush Speech #'s
Source: MultiChannel News Among cable constituents, Fox News Channel was the outlet of choice among those tuning in President Bush’s address from New Orleans Thursday night.
Fox News collected some 3.92 million viewers two-plus on average between 9 p.m.-9:30 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research data. That was more than Cable News Network (2.27 million) and MSNBC (624,000) combined.
Among the 25-54 set, Fox News’ (1.2 million) edge was 110,000 of those watchers: 770,000 for CNN and 319,000 for MSNBC.
Fox News collected some 3.92 million viewers two-plus on average between 9 p.m.-9:30 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research data. That was more than Cable News Network (2.27 million) and MSNBC (624,000) combined.
Among the 25-54 set, Fox News’ (1.2 million) edge was 110,000 of those watchers: 770,000 for CNN and 319,000 for MSNBC.
# posted by ATN @ 11:12 PM
Mouth of the South/CNN Founder Does Letterman Tonight
This from a tipster: "According to "The Late Show" website, Ted Turner is appearing tonight, FRIDAY, at 11:35pm ET. Since they tape 2 shows thursday, might have deceided to switch dates."
# posted by ATN @ 11:10 PM
TW Head and News Corp Head Discuss Global Media at Conference
Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons and News Corporation chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch were a part of a discussion Friday at the Clinton Global Initiative, a conference organized by the former president to tackle issues including poverty and religious strife.
A Newsday article says several topics were discussed including the future of the network news broadcasts. Murdoch commented on that subject: "I believe that at least there will always be a national news service on one or two networks at least," he said. "It will take a long, long time for it to die, if it ever does."
The article continues,"The gathering of media moguls was not without some barbed remarks.
Parsons opened by praising CNN's global efforts, saying he thought CNN was the best-positioned company in the world.
Murdoch didn't quite agree. "I don't think he watches CNN International and I don't think anyone else does because it is so unwatchable and it's so anti-American," he said."
A Newsday article says several topics were discussed including the future of the network news broadcasts. Murdoch commented on that subject: "I believe that at least there will always be a national news service on one or two networks at least," he said. "It will take a long, long time for it to die, if it ever does."
The article continues,"The gathering of media moguls was not without some barbed remarks.
Parsons opened by praising CNN's global efforts, saying he thought CNN was the best-positioned company in the world.
Murdoch didn't quite agree. "I don't think he watches CNN International and I don't think anyone else does because it is so unwatchable and it's so anti-American," he said."
# posted by ATN @ 11:03 PM
Changing of the Guard For The Morning Grind
DAYAHEAD/Signing off ...
From John Mercurio
CNN Political Editor
(john.mercurio@cnn.com)
We're not good at talking about ourselves, or at goodbyes, so we'll make this brief. OK, there's no "we" here. It's just me. This is my final day at CNN. And this is my final Grind.
I've always viewed the Grind as more of a conversation than a monologue. Every morning I dug up a topic, chewed it over, wrote like I was talking to friends, hit the "send" button and hoped for the best. I've been overwhelmed by your response. Your comments, critiques, quips, complaints and praise have humbled me. For that, I'm so grateful. Thanks for giving me a great reason to get out of bed in the morning.
The Grind will continue to thrive, fueled by the able minds in CNN's political unit. Until my successor is named, seasoned vets Robert Yoon and Molly Levinson will run the show. I couldn't be more confident leaving things in their hands.
UPDATE: 10:29pm A tipster left a little tid-bit in the tip box:"One of the people mentioned to carry on with "The Morning Grind", Molly Levinson, was Aaron Browns's first personal assistant when he came to CNN, she then left and went to American Morning to work with Bill Hemmer and Soledad."
From John Mercurio
CNN Political Editor
(john.mercurio@cnn.com)
We're not good at talking about ourselves, or at goodbyes, so we'll make this brief. OK, there's no "we" here. It's just me. This is my final day at CNN. And this is my final Grind.
I've always viewed the Grind as more of a conversation than a monologue. Every morning I dug up a topic, chewed it over, wrote like I was talking to friends, hit the "send" button and hoped for the best. I've been overwhelmed by your response. Your comments, critiques, quips, complaints and praise have humbled me. For that, I'm so grateful. Thanks for giving me a great reason to get out of bed in the morning.
The Grind will continue to thrive, fueled by the able minds in CNN's political unit. Until my successor is named, seasoned vets Robert Yoon and Molly Levinson will run the show. I couldn't be more confident leaving things in their hands.
UPDATE: 10:29pm A tipster left a little tid-bit in the tip box:"One of the people mentioned to carry on with "The Morning Grind", Molly Levinson, was Aaron Browns's first personal assistant when he came to CNN, she then left and went to American Morning to work with Bill Hemmer and Soledad."
# posted by ATN @ 10:13 PM
MORE Details About CNN's Partnership with National Center for Missing & Exploited Children This Weekend
> Feature box on right rail on home page will link to missingkids.com all weekend, starting this afternoon
> Text under lead story or in Special Coverage box will note the CNN television effort this weekend and link to CNN.com/helpcenter page.
> Top of Help Center page will be recast to tie in with CNN effort to reunite families with children and link to missingkids.com 4.
> Programming note in lead Katrina story this weekend will note television effort to reunite children with missing children.
> Text under lead story or in Special Coverage box will note the CNN television effort this weekend and link to CNN.com/helpcenter page.
> Top of Help Center page will be recast to tie in with CNN effort to reunite families with children and link to missingkids.com 4.
> Programming note in lead Katrina story this weekend will note television effort to reunite children with missing children.
# posted by ATN @ 4:33 PM
More Info on CNN's Efforts This Weekend to Reunite Children Displaced by Katrina
As reported yesterday, CNN will be helping reunite children displaced by Hurricane Katrina this weekend. A CNN press release provides more information:
As part of a non-stop, 40-hour initiative to highlight children lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, CNN/U.S., in a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), plans to broadcast this weekend photographs of children who remain missing or are searching for their parents in Katrina’s aftermath.
Starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, and continuing through 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, CNN will continuously display a panel on the left side of the screen, which will include the name and photo of a missing or displaced child along with information about NCMEC’s special national Katrina Missing Persons Hotline, 1-888-544-5475, and Web site, www.missingkids.com.
“Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, too many children still have not been reunited with their families,” said Sue Bunda, senior vice president of news for CNN/U.S. “We determined that one of the most important things we could do as a news network is to broadcast the images of these children to make as many people aware of them as possible.”
“Wide circulation of information about the more than 2,000 children who remain missing or displaced improves our chances of returning them to their families. To date more than 700 children have been reunited with their families,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. “We are grateful to CNN for dedicating an entire weekend to broadcasting their photographs, thus significantly increasing the chances of reuniting even more children with their loved ones.”
Established in 1984 and headquartered in Alexandria, Va., NCMEC provides services for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered, and sexually exploited children. NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 340,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 116,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 94,000 children.
As part of a non-stop, 40-hour initiative to highlight children lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, CNN/U.S., in a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), plans to broadcast this weekend photographs of children who remain missing or are searching for their parents in Katrina’s aftermath.
Starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17, and continuing through 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18, CNN will continuously display a panel on the left side of the screen, which will include the name and photo of a missing or displaced child along with information about NCMEC’s special national Katrina Missing Persons Hotline, 1-888-544-5475, and Web site, www.missingkids.com.
“Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, too many children still have not been reunited with their families,” said Sue Bunda, senior vice president of news for CNN/U.S. “We determined that one of the most important things we could do as a news network is to broadcast the images of these children to make as many people aware of them as possible.”
“Wide circulation of information about the more than 2,000 children who remain missing or displaced improves our chances of returning them to their families. To date more than 700 children have been reunited with their families,” said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC. “We are grateful to CNN for dedicating an entire weekend to broadcasting their photographs, thus significantly increasing the chances of reuniting even more children with their loved ones.”
Established in 1984 and headquartered in Alexandria, Va., NCMEC provides services for families and professionals in the prevention of abducted, endangered, and sexually exploited children. NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 340,000 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement with more than 116,000 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 94,000 children.
# posted by ATN @ 4:12 PM
More Info on CNN's New Orleans Bureau
As reported yesterday CNN is opening a New Orleans bureau. A CNN press release provides more info:
In an effort to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for the long term, CNN plans to open a fully operational bureau in New Orleans, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. The new bureau, which will be called “CNN Gulf Coast,” will give the network a vantage point in covering the entire Gulf Coast.
“After officials and volunteers complete the first wave of relief efforts along the Gulf Coast, many journalists and news organizations will pack their equipment and trucks and go home. We’re not leaving,” Klein said. “The story of the devastating wrath of Hurricane Katrina will unfold for years to come as the coast recovers and rebuilds. CNN will be there to cover that story, and New Orleans will be a critical base of operations for us for a long time.”
CNN recently obtained office space in downtown New Orleans and will soon move equipment, correspondents, photojournalists and a production crew to the new location. The site will house the network’s satellite trucks and a studio outfitted for live reports. In addition, CNN Newsource, the network’s syndicated news service, plans to base one of its correspondents in the bureau.
“CNN affiliates across the country and around the world will be interested in the Katrina recovery story for a long time,” said Jack Womack, senior vice president of domestic news operations and administration for CNN/U.S. “A new bureau helps ensure that Newsource’s more than 1,000 affiliates get the unmatched CNN coverage from the region they have come to expect.”
CNN currently operates 36 bureaus – 10 within in the United States and 26 elsewhere around the world. Although specific details on staff size and an official opening date for the new domestic bureau are pending, CNN will continue to aggressively cover the region as the bureau is put into operation.
In an effort to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for the long term, CNN plans to open a fully operational bureau in New Orleans, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. The new bureau, which will be called “CNN Gulf Coast,” will give the network a vantage point in covering the entire Gulf Coast.
“After officials and volunteers complete the first wave of relief efforts along the Gulf Coast, many journalists and news organizations will pack their equipment and trucks and go home. We’re not leaving,” Klein said. “The story of the devastating wrath of Hurricane Katrina will unfold for years to come as the coast recovers and rebuilds. CNN will be there to cover that story, and New Orleans will be a critical base of operations for us for a long time.”
CNN recently obtained office space in downtown New Orleans and will soon move equipment, correspondents, photojournalists and a production crew to the new location. The site will house the network’s satellite trucks and a studio outfitted for live reports. In addition, CNN Newsource, the network’s syndicated news service, plans to base one of its correspondents in the bureau.
“CNN affiliates across the country and around the world will be interested in the Katrina recovery story for a long time,” said Jack Womack, senior vice president of domestic news operations and administration for CNN/U.S. “A new bureau helps ensure that Newsource’s more than 1,000 affiliates get the unmatched CNN coverage from the region they have come to expect.”
CNN currently operates 36 bureaus – 10 within in the United States and 26 elsewhere around the world. Although specific details on staff size and an official opening date for the new domestic bureau are pending, CNN will continue to aggressively cover the region as the bureau is put into operation.
# posted by ATN @ 4:09 PM
Farmer: Geraldo Nothing But an Embarrassment for FNC
Uh oh, can we expect FNC's Geraldo to file a lawsuit against Don Farmer of the Naples Daily News? In his column today, Farmer calls Geraldo a big embarrassment for FNC. But didn't we already know this? Below is an excerpt from the article:
"Fox News Channel's reign at the top in 24-hour cable news viewership has been enhanced by its coverage of the Katrina Plus catastrophe.
But its otherwise first-rate broadcasts also included the sleazy side of Fox News, its crazy aunt in the attic, the bete noir of broadcasting, the life form who should be reporting from a galaxy far, far away: Geraldo Rivera.
He has, inexplicably, survived and prospered through a TV "news" career in which he's often been a hood ornament when he behaved more like a mud flap on the cheesy journalism juggernaut.
Fox News at its worst can get good ratings, because CNN often is so lame that Fox's on-air people could bite the heads off chickens and still be better than CNN overall.
On any given day, Geraldo's on-air antics may attract viewers the way a fiery highway crash gets gawkers. But if ever there was a news event that needed no grandstanding TV chest-thumpers to get our attention, this was it."
Read the full article HERE. ( free registration required)
"Fox News Channel's reign at the top in 24-hour cable news viewership has been enhanced by its coverage of the Katrina Plus catastrophe.
But its otherwise first-rate broadcasts also included the sleazy side of Fox News, its crazy aunt in the attic, the bete noir of broadcasting, the life form who should be reporting from a galaxy far, far away: Geraldo Rivera.
He has, inexplicably, survived and prospered through a TV "news" career in which he's often been a hood ornament when he behaved more like a mud flap on the cheesy journalism juggernaut.
Fox News at its worst can get good ratings, because CNN often is so lame that Fox's on-air people could bite the heads off chickens and still be better than CNN overall.
On any given day, Geraldo's on-air antics may attract viewers the way a fiery highway crash gets gawkers. But if ever there was a news event that needed no grandstanding TV chest-thumpers to get our attention, this was it."
Read the full article HERE. ( free registration required)
# posted by ATN @ 12:19 AM
Thursday, September 15, 2005
CNN Weekend Schedule
From glancing at the weekend program schedule CNN will be LIVE most of the time. Below are some of the highlights, for the complete program schedule go HERE for Saturday and HERE for Sunday.
> Saturday
>> 6am ET- A special edition of Turnaround: New Orleans' mayor wants to get things back to normal as soon as possible. A look at what business need to do to get up and running.
>> 7am ET CNN Saturday Morning
>> 8:30am ET- House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: When will the EPA give New Orleans the all clear?
>> 9am ET- CNN Saturday Morning
>> 9:30am ET- Open House: What recourse do storm victims have against insurance companies that have left them high and dry?
>> Other Saturday highlights include: In The Money Returns at its normal time; a special CNN Presents: Heros Among Us at 3pm ET; President Clinton's Global Summit at 8pm ET; Larry King LIVE at 9pm ET; 1am ET CNN Saturday Night, Live updates from Katrina disaster areas.
> Sunday
>> A special one hour edition of Reliable Sources will air at 1pm ET Sunday afternoon.
> Saturday
>> 6am ET- A special edition of Turnaround: New Orleans' mayor wants to get things back to normal as soon as possible. A look at what business need to do to get up and running.
>> 7am ET CNN Saturday Morning
>> 8:30am ET- House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta: When will the EPA give New Orleans the all clear?
>> 9am ET- CNN Saturday Morning
>> 9:30am ET- Open House: What recourse do storm victims have against insurance companies that have left them high and dry?
>> Other Saturday highlights include: In The Money Returns at its normal time; a special CNN Presents: Heros Among Us at 3pm ET; President Clinton's Global Summit at 8pm ET; Larry King LIVE at 9pm ET; 1am ET CNN Saturday Night, Live updates from Katrina disaster areas.
> Sunday
>> A special one hour edition of Reliable Sources will air at 1pm ET Sunday afternoon.
# posted by ATN @ 11:45 PM
CNN Hanging on To Post-Katrina Ratings Boost
Numbers from the last couple of days show CNN hanging on to the ratings boost coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has given the network. Of course all we get from Inside Cable News, (no fault of their's of course but FNC's who leaks the numbers to ICN), are prime-time numbers. BUT they show CNN's prime-time #'s well over the million mark which are well over pre-Katrina numbers. If you notice FNC's numbers have fallen back to pre-Katrina #'s:
7PM - FOX Report - 1,853,000 Anderson Cooper - 1,072,000 Hardball - 455,000 Showbiz Tonight -141,000 viewers
8PM - O’Reilly Factor - 3,122,000 Paula Zahn Now - 1,178,000 Nancy Grace - 774,000 Countdown - 612,000
9 PM - Hannity & Colmes - 2,535,000 Larry King Live - 1,761,000 Live and Direct -759,000 Prime News Tonight - 429,000
10 PM - On the Record - 2,450,000 NewsNight - 1,361,000 Scarborough Country - 588,000 Nancy Grace - 438,000
11PM - O’Reilly (r) - 1,471,000 Newsnight - 1,004,000 Showbiz Tonight (r) - 258,000 The Situation - 409,000
7PM - FOX Report - 1,853,000 Anderson Cooper - 1,072,000 Hardball - 455,000 Showbiz Tonight -141,000 viewers
8PM - O’Reilly Factor - 3,122,000 Paula Zahn Now - 1,178,000 Nancy Grace - 774,000 Countdown - 612,000
9 PM - Hannity & Colmes - 2,535,000 Larry King Live - 1,761,000 Live and Direct -759,000 Prime News Tonight - 429,000
10 PM - On the Record - 2,450,000 NewsNight - 1,361,000 Scarborough Country - 588,000 Nancy Grace - 438,000
11PM - O’Reilly (r) - 1,471,000 Newsnight - 1,004,000 Showbiz Tonight (r) - 258,000 The Situation - 409,000
# posted by ATN @ 11:14 PM
CNN Devoting Time This Weekend to Reunite Parents with Missing Children
Source: Associated Press CNN said it was devoting 40 hours of airtime this weekend starting at 7 a.m. Saturday to helping reunite parents and missing children in the Gulf region.
One-third of CNN's screen will continuously air information about these children, including pictures if available, said Sue Bunda, CNN senior vice president. Viewers will be given information on how to contact the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which will coordinate the reunion effort. The center estimates as many as 2,000 children have been separated from parents, she said.
A CNN reporter will be stationed at the center to monitor whether the effort bears fruit.
"There's no more important story that we can devote time to than helping families get back together," she said.
One-third of CNN's screen will continuously air information about these children, including pictures if available, said Sue Bunda, CNN senior vice president. Viewers will be given information on how to contact the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which will coordinate the reunion effort. The center estimates as many as 2,000 children have been separated from parents, she said.
A CNN reporter will be stationed at the center to monitor whether the effort bears fruit.
"There's no more important story that we can devote time to than helping families get back together," she said.
# posted by ATN @ 10:47 PM
CNN, NBC to Open Bureaus in New Orleans
Source: Associated Press Anticipating that the Hurricane Katrina recovery will be a big story for months to come, both NBC and CNN said Thursday they are opening full-time news bureaus in New Orleans.
NBC News said its bureau will operate out of space at WDSU-TV, its local affiliate, and will help the network and MSNBC originate shows in the city. Brian Williams anchored the "NBC Nightly News" from there on Thursday in advance of President Bush's speech.
Frieda Morris, currently chief of NBC's Atlanta bureau who has been living out of a trailer in Biloxi, Miss., since the storm, will be in charge of the New Orleans bureau. NBC had no immediate details on how many people will staff the operation.
"This is not a flash in the pan," acting NBC News President Steve Capus said. "This is going to go into the next year."
CNN said it had obtained office space in downtown New Orleans and is moving equipment, journalists and a production crew there soon. It moved up its announcement by a day after NBC made its news.
"The story of the devastating wrath of Hurricane Katrina will unfold for years to come as the coast recovers and rebuilds," said CNN/US president Jonathan Klein. "CNN will be there to cover that story, and New Orleans will be a critical base of operations for us for a long time."
NBC News said its bureau will operate out of space at WDSU-TV, its local affiliate, and will help the network and MSNBC originate shows in the city. Brian Williams anchored the "NBC Nightly News" from there on Thursday in advance of President Bush's speech.
Frieda Morris, currently chief of NBC's Atlanta bureau who has been living out of a trailer in Biloxi, Miss., since the storm, will be in charge of the New Orleans bureau. NBC had no immediate details on how many people will staff the operation.
"This is not a flash in the pan," acting NBC News President Steve Capus said. "This is going to go into the next year."
CNN said it had obtained office space in downtown New Orleans and is moving equipment, journalists and a production crew there soon. It moved up its announcement by a day after NBC made its news.
"The story of the devastating wrath of Hurricane Katrina will unfold for years to come as the coast recovers and rebuilds," said CNN/US president Jonathan Klein. "CNN will be there to cover that story, and New Orleans will be a critical base of operations for us for a long time."
# posted by ATN @ 10:45 PM
CNN Launches Second Edition Of “Eye On India” With Over 20 Hours Of Dedicated Programming
Source: CNN Press Release CNN International, the world’s leading international news network, today announced the launch of the second edition of ‘Eye on India’, in association with India’s leading hospitality group, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. . The week of September 18-24, 2005 promises to provide the global viewer with a comprehensive view on the new and modern India and the hurdles facing this nation of more than one billion people.This dedicated week-long series of programming includes live nightly prime time programs, a town hall discussion before a live studio audience, a CNN documentary on India’s relationship with its northern neighbour Pakistan and interviews with leading personalities.
With special editions of WORLD NEWS ASIA, TALK ASIA from Mumbai and the live debate, CNN CONNECTS, CNN’s top anchors, including Jim Clancy, Veronica Pedrosa, Andrew Stevens, Satinder Bindra, Richard Quest and Mallika Kapur, will look at India as an economy on the upswing, its growing demands for energy, infrastructure bottlenecks, the burgeoning middle class with ever increasing spending power and its growing role in global politics. CNN also examines India’s people, food, customs and rituals, rapidly growing media and, of course, Bollywood.
Jill Dougherty, Managing Editor, CNN International Asia Pacific, said, “For the week, CNN International will focus on India, a nation of rapidly-growing political and economic influence. Our New Delhi bureau, supported by a number of the Network’s international correspondents and anchors will present a combination of over 20 hours of live and feature programming, as well as a live studio-based debate from Mumbai that connects people offering various perspectives across the world. With Eye on India, CNN aims to provide a broader and deeper view of India to international audiences who wish to understand India’s evolving role in the world.”
As part of this special India theme week, CNN will host a live panel discussion, CNN Connects: Dialogue for Peace – India and Pakistan, which will be telecast LIVE from Mumbai (Sunday, September 18, 20:30 hrs). CNN’s Jim Clancy will host the discussion with government officials, renowned citizens and political experts from both countries, with live studio audience participation. Special guests include noted personalities like Minister of Civil Aviation, India, Praful Patel; Minister of Commerce, Pakistan, Humayoon Akhtar Khan; Indian film personality, Shabana Azmi; former Pakistani cricket captain and currently Pakistani politician, Imran Khan; Chairman, Bombay Dyeing Group, Nusli Wadia; Chairman, Nishat Group, Pakistan, Mian Mansha and General Pervez Musharraf (via taped video), amongst many others.
This live debate will be preceded by a special documentary on the same theme, “India & Pakistan: The Path to Peace” (September 18, 2005 at 19:30 hrs) that will talk to people on both sides of the border on the prospects for turning a half-century of rivalry and conflict into lasting reconciliation. CNN correspondents Satinder Bindra, in India, and Hugh Riminton, in Pakistan, meet citizens of both countries to look at the prospects for rapprochement between the two countries through the eyes of its people.
# posted by ATN @ 4:02 PM
It's Katrina vs. Roberts for TV Airtime
Here's an article about how the news channels are juggling the Katrina and Roberts stories. AP's David Bauder writes: "The Roberts hearings would be likely to receive considerably more attention if it hadn't been for the hurricane, and also if there wasn't a general sense that Bush's nominee for chief justice is likely to be confirmed, said Mark Effron, MSNBC vice president of news.
Then again, news executives would have had a much tougher decision last week if the hearings had been postponed, because there was more news unfolding from Katrina, he said.
CNN believes its new daytime program, Situation Room, is perfect for such conflicts because it often shows Wolf Blitzer standing before a video screen split into six pictures.
That still requires CNN executives to decide which screen has an audio accompaniment. But Jonathan Klein, CNN president, said the wall of screens helps convince viewers that the network is keeping them on top of the stories."
Then again, news executives would have had a much tougher decision last week if the hearings had been postponed, because there was more news unfolding from Katrina, he said.
CNN believes its new daytime program, Situation Room, is perfect for such conflicts because it often shows Wolf Blitzer standing before a video screen split into six pictures.
That still requires CNN executives to decide which screen has an audio accompaniment. But Jonathan Klein, CNN president, said the wall of screens helps convince viewers that the network is keeping them on top of the stories."
# posted by ATN @ 8:31 AM
Will FNC's #'s Wilt Along with Dubya's Poll #'s
DC Post's Tina Brown writes: "Could the post-Katrina mood swing take the heat off the bellicose Fox News brand?
Its media competitors keep scanning its ratings -- in vain at the moment -- for signs that Rupert Murdoch's cable station will wilt along with President Bush's poll numbers. At New York gatherings, one much-masticated indicator of possible zeitgeist shift is that even though Fox still leads the pack, CNN's increases during Katrina were greater in percentage terms than Fox's."
Read the complete article HERE.
Its media competitors keep scanning its ratings -- in vain at the moment -- for signs that Rupert Murdoch's cable station will wilt along with President Bush's poll numbers. At New York gatherings, one much-masticated indicator of possible zeitgeist shift is that even though Fox still leads the pack, CNN's increases during Katrina were greater in percentage terms than Fox's."
Read the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 7:38 AM
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
What's in a Name?
This from an e-mailer: "Last night I noticed that CNN named it's 10-12 program "State of Emergency with Anderson Cooper and Aaron Brown." Tonight I noticed that it changed slightly to "State of Emergency with Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper." Which begs a question that you're probably asking yourself."
UPDATE: 9/15 7:50am ET Got several responses about this post. Here's a response from the tip box: "At 10, it's "...with Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper." But come 11, it's "...with Anderson Cooper and Aaron Brown." I guess Aaron gets more air time the first hour, while Anderson gets more the second."
ALSO: "NewsNight was the HIGHEST rated show on CNN tuesday evening with the 10 -l1pm hour higher than the 11pm-midnight hour. One could conclude AC isn't holding the audience."
UPDATE: 9/15 7:50am ET Got several responses about this post. Here's a response from the tip box: "At 10, it's "...with Aaron Brown and Anderson Cooper." But come 11, it's "...with Anderson Cooper and Aaron Brown." I guess Aaron gets more air time the first hour, while Anderson gets more the second."
ALSO: "NewsNight was the HIGHEST rated show on CNN tuesday evening with the 10 -l1pm hour higher than the 11pm-midnight hour. One could conclude AC isn't holding the audience."
# posted by ATN @ 11:49 PM
CNN Content Available on New AOL Podcasting site
Source: Beta News AOL on Wednesday unveiled a new podcasting section on its AOL.com portal, which highlights the best podcasts and a Podcasting 101 guide on how to get started with the emerging technology. Along with its hosted podcasts, AOL offers a search utility powered by iPodder.
Visitors will also receive access to streamed content from AOL properties including CNN, as well as third parties such as NASA, Grape Radio, Gamespot.com and others. AOL plans to introduce more in-house podcasts in the coming months from its AOL Music, Moviefone and RED services.
Visitors will also receive access to streamed content from AOL properties including CNN, as well as third parties such as NASA, Grape Radio, Gamespot.com and others. AOL plans to introduce more in-house podcasts in the coming months from its AOL Music, Moviefone and RED services.
# posted by ATN @ 4:43 PM
Klein: The Grilling Will Continue
TV Newser conducted an interview with CNN President Jon Klein about the networks recent grilling and 'getting down to the bottom of things' questioning. I just loved this part of the interview in which Klein said: ""This will be a permanent hallmark of our coverage. Our voice is going to be one of aggressively demanding answers on behalf of the audience, which does not have access to a microphone or those officials."The network should ask questions viewers wish they could ask. And that's something Klein stresses: CNN is asking the questions on behalf of the viewers, not voicing their own opinions.
"We are an equal opportunity offender. We have been as tough on Democrats as we have on Republicans," he said. "...If you come to CNN you're going to be asked tough questions -- you're not going to get away with blandishments.""
Finally maybe the viewers will finally start getting their questions answered.
# posted by ATN @ 4:18 PM
Special Constitution Report on CNN Student News
In order to serve educators complying with a new Federal law that reads, "Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution," CNN Student News will develop a special Constitution report paired with appropriate classroom content to assist educators nationwide as they comply with the federal mandate. On Friday, September 16th, both on-air at 3:12 am (ET) on CNN Headline News and, online at www.CNN.com/Education, CNN Student News will offer a special report that highlights how the Constitution is living and breathing through recent events in the nation's capital, a learning activity and a news quiz for educators who plan to teach the Constitution.Donna Krache, CNN Student News' director of curriculum, will post an article about the federal mandate for CNN.com. Look for the article at www.CNN.com/Education.
# posted by ATN @ 4:10 PM
AC to Moderate Comedy Fest
According to an article in the New York Times Anderson Cooper will moderate a portion of the first ever, The Comedy Festival later this year.
Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Bill Maher, Dennis Miller, Larry David, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, and Jerry Seinfeld will all be part of the star-studded inaugural edition of The Comedy Festival, set to take place November 17-19 in Las Vegas.
Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Bill Maher, Dennis Miller, Larry David, Chris Rock, Garry Shandling, and Jerry Seinfeld will all be part of the star-studded inaugural edition of The Comedy Festival, set to take place November 17-19 in Las Vegas.
# posted by ATN @ 4:07 PM
CNN Plans Special Coverage of Prime-time Presidential Address
Source: CNN PressRoom CNN will offer special coverage of the prime-time presidential address on Thursday, Sept. 15, starting at 7 p.m. Leading up to the address, CNN will air special editions of Anderson Cooper 360º at 7 p.m. and Paula Zahn Now at 8 p.m. Wolf Blitzer will anchor coverage of Bush’s speech live from Washington, D.C. Special editions of Larry King Live and NewsNight: State of Emergency will follow at about 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. respectively.
President George W. Bush will address the nation from Louisiana at about 9 p.m.
President George W. Bush will address the nation from Louisiana at about 9 p.m.
# posted by ATN @ 3:59 PM
Anchors Playing the Blame Game
What anchors were playing the blame game following Hurricane Katrina? AP writer has written a good article detailing who did what. Here's an excert from the article:
But for tenacious reporting, David Gregory (and a heartening number of others, including ABC's Ted Koppel, CBS' John Roberts, CNN's Anderson Cooper, Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith, NBC's Brian Williams and more) all receive a special Blamey engraved with the inscription: "News is what those in power don't want you to know."
Have the media been roused from their torpor for good? Or is this just a temporary state of due diligence?
Time will tell. But either way, TV's best humorists can be relied upon, even when the news media can't, to continue the mission they all share: questioning authority.
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," in particular, had never before let up on lampooning leaders, and sure wasn't going to when Katrina struck.
During one of its "reports" on hurricane relief last week, Bush was shown declaring, "We've got to solve problems. Because we're problem solvers."
Irrefutable logic, marveled "Senior Correspondent" Ed Helms, who went on to unlock the administration's formula for how it crafts its talking points: "We've got to A B, because we're B A-ers." As in: "We've got to eat zucchini, because we're zucchini eaters."
For anyone trying to understand politics today, this sort of shrewd analysis is fake news you can really use. It's not only crazy, it also makes sense. And it's richly deserving of a Blamey Award, which should feel right at home at "The Daily Show," a full and zany participant in the Blame Game.
No wonder. As host Jon Stewart archly cautioned his viewers, "When people don't want to play the Blame Game - THEY'RE to blame!"
But for tenacious reporting, David Gregory (and a heartening number of others, including ABC's Ted Koppel, CBS' John Roberts, CNN's Anderson Cooper, Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith, NBC's Brian Williams and more) all receive a special Blamey engraved with the inscription: "News is what those in power don't want you to know."
Have the media been roused from their torpor for good? Or is this just a temporary state of due diligence?
Time will tell. But either way, TV's best humorists can be relied upon, even when the news media can't, to continue the mission they all share: questioning authority.
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," in particular, had never before let up on lampooning leaders, and sure wasn't going to when Katrina struck.
During one of its "reports" on hurricane relief last week, Bush was shown declaring, "We've got to solve problems. Because we're problem solvers."
Irrefutable logic, marveled "Senior Correspondent" Ed Helms, who went on to unlock the administration's formula for how it crafts its talking points: "We've got to A B, because we're B A-ers." As in: "We've got to eat zucchini, because we're zucchini eaters."
For anyone trying to understand politics today, this sort of shrewd analysis is fake news you can really use. It's not only crazy, it also makes sense. And it's richly deserving of a Blamey Award, which should feel right at home at "The Daily Show," a full and zany participant in the Blame Game.
No wonder. As host Jon Stewart archly cautioned his viewers, "When people don't want to play the Blame Game - THEY'RE to blame!"
# posted by ATN @ 3:02 PM
Dugan Goes Digital for CNN
Source: MultiChannel News Joe Dugan has been named to the newly created position of senior vice president of CNN Digital Ad Sales.
Dugan had been VP and sales manager of CNN Ad Sales.
In his new role, he will oversee all of Cable News Network’s domestic digital-ad-sales initiatives, working closely with the ad-sales division and the CNN Integration Group to develop integrated custom marketing opportunities and solutions for clients across the breadth of the CNN brand.
He reports to CNN Ad Sales and Marketing chief operating officer Greg D’Alba.
Dugan had been VP and sales manager of CNN Ad Sales.
In his new role, he will oversee all of Cable News Network’s domestic digital-ad-sales initiatives, working closely with the ad-sales division and the CNN Integration Group to develop integrated custom marketing opportunities and solutions for clients across the breadth of the CNN brand.
He reports to CNN Ad Sales and Marketing chief operating officer Greg D’Alba.
# posted by ATN @ 2:49 PM
Koinange: "It was an America that resembled a large African refugee camp"
CNN correspondent Jeff Koinange describes to The Gaurdian what it is like to cover the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:"Africa has become an acceptable byword for disaster. Even some African journalists such as the CNN correspondent Jeff Koinange, a Kenyan, have been unable to resist the parallel.
It was an America that resembled a large African refugee camp," Koinange wrote recently in Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper. "This was the New Orleans I encountered in the summer of 2005. Not Niger, not Darfur, not Monrovia - New Orleans, Louisiana, the 18th state in the union.""
# posted by ATN @ 8:26 AM
Katrina Coverage Propels News Nets
Source: MultiChannel News Ongoing coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath kept Fox News Channel and Cable News Network in ad-supported cable’s top five in primetime and total programming day last week.
Fox News ranked second with a 2.4 household mark in primetime and held the same place with the longer measure, averaging a 1.6, Sept. 5-11, according to a Disney ABC Cable Networks Group analysis of Nielsen Media Research data.
For its part, CNN finished fifth in primetime with a 1.8, and it secured a slice of fourth with a 1.2 average in total programming day.
Turner Network Television, which has been setting the primetime pace for most of the year, returned to the top spot with a 2.6 average, while Disney Channel was third with a 2.2. ESPN, bolstered by the return of pro and college football, was fourth with a 2.1.
Fox News ranked second with a 2.4 household mark in primetime and held the same place with the longer measure, averaging a 1.6, Sept. 5-11, according to a Disney ABC Cable Networks Group analysis of Nielsen Media Research data.
For its part, CNN finished fifth in primetime with a 1.8, and it secured a slice of fourth with a 1.2 average in total programming day.
Turner Network Television, which has been setting the primetime pace for most of the year, returned to the top spot with a 2.6 average, while Disney Channel was third with a 2.2. ESPN, bolstered by the return of pro and college football, was fourth with a 2.1.
# posted by ATN @ 7:41 AM
Meet 'Grace Nancier'
Source: New York Post NBC's "Passions," best known for integrating a lusty orangutan, ghosts and a talking doll into its storylines, went one better in its Sept. 8 episode, featuring a prosecuting attorney named "Grace Nancier" — based on CNN/ Court TV personality Nancy Grace.Grace Nancier, played by Tonya Walker- Davidson, arrived on "Passions" to prosecute Dr. Eve Russell (Tracey Ross), who's charged with attempted murder. Insiders say Grace herself was approached to play the role — but just didn't have the time.
# posted by ATN @ 7:37 AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Will the Reporters Sustain Their Outrage?
That's the question Sydney H. Schanberg asks in an article in the Village Voice. Schanberg writes: "Indeed, one reason the Katrina coverage stood out was that it was so honest and clear about government's failure. Shocked by the human wreckage, reporters put aside their usual deference and politesse when interviewing the officials responsible. Emotion and even anger at officialdom were heard in their voices as they talked of the victims whose fate had been disregarded.
Will the reporters sustain their outrage? Will they reclaim the aggressive portion of their historical role? (Reminder to critics of bold reporting: "Aggressive" is not synonymous with "hostile" or "insulting.") Will the reporters' nervous corporate bosses pass the word to them to cool it? I hope not. But even if such instructions are given, reporters will know that what they saw and lived through in New Orleans and elsewhere on the coast wasn't a one-time event or an exception to the rule. Our national government has more and more become a Potemkin village, a Hollywood set where the houses look welcoming and the people speak with noble words, but it's mostly a facade to distract us from the hollowness of those we elected.
The people of the Bush administration are also shocked, not by their own fecklessness, but by the knowledge that so many Americans witnessed their failure live on television. This story will not fade quickly. As the long recovery proceeds, the footage will be shown again and again. The reporters will need to keep their memories fresh if they are to continue to speak truth to power. And we will have to back them all the way, and not merely with more of those noble words."
Will the reporters sustain their outrage? Will they reclaim the aggressive portion of their historical role? (Reminder to critics of bold reporting: "Aggressive" is not synonymous with "hostile" or "insulting.") Will the reporters' nervous corporate bosses pass the word to them to cool it? I hope not. But even if such instructions are given, reporters will know that what they saw and lived through in New Orleans and elsewhere on the coast wasn't a one-time event or an exception to the rule. Our national government has more and more become a Potemkin village, a Hollywood set where the houses look welcoming and the people speak with noble words, but it's mostly a facade to distract us from the hollowness of those we elected.
The people of the Bush administration are also shocked, not by their own fecklessness, but by the knowledge that so many Americans witnessed their failure live on television. This story will not fade quickly. As the long recovery proceeds, the footage will be shown again and again. The reporters will need to keep their memories fresh if they are to continue to speak truth to power. And we will have to back them all the way, and not merely with more of those noble words."
# posted by ATN @ 6:58 PM
Reporters Gone Wild
Here's another article about coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Media is a Plural's Rory O'Connor wonders if the tough questioning by news orgs will continue after all is said and done. Below is an excerpt from the article:
Although the on-air breakdown of “anti-anchorperson” Cooper (as CNN/U.S president Jonathan Klein ludicrously dubbed him) may well have been “an honest expression of his complicated personality,” it hardly qualifies as “a breakthrough for the future of television news.” Nor does NBC’s new-kid-on-the-anchor-block Brian Williams deserve the accolades he’s been given for actually being a reporter instead of just playing one on TV. The Associated Press, for example, reported that while “Hundreds of reporters, in all media, did heroic work on the Gulf Coast in the deadly storm’s aftermath. None arguably was as financially and symbolically important to his company as the job turned in by Williams. It could solidify his spot as network news’ top anchor.”
But after all, weren’t Cooper and Anderson – along with Tim Russert, Ted Koppel and Shepard Smith and other “Reporters Gone Wild” famously featured in video clips on Salon’s Web site asking angry questions of Bush administration officials – only doing their jobs?
Echoing the new common wisdom, Williams told the AP that Katrina’s lasting legacy for journalists may signal the end of an unusual (sic) four-year period of deference to people in power, and that the mute button seemingly in place since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been turned off.
“By dint of the fact that our country was hit we’ve offered a preponderance of the benefit of the doubt over the past couple of years,” the “Nightly News” anchorman said. “Perhaps we’ve taken something off our fastball and perhaps this is the story that brings a healthy amount of cynicism back to a news media known for it.”
Read the full article HERE.
Although the on-air breakdown of “anti-anchorperson” Cooper (as CNN/U.S president Jonathan Klein ludicrously dubbed him) may well have been “an honest expression of his complicated personality,” it hardly qualifies as “a breakthrough for the future of television news.” Nor does NBC’s new-kid-on-the-anchor-block Brian Williams deserve the accolades he’s been given for actually being a reporter instead of just playing one on TV. The Associated Press, for example, reported that while “Hundreds of reporters, in all media, did heroic work on the Gulf Coast in the deadly storm’s aftermath. None arguably was as financially and symbolically important to his company as the job turned in by Williams. It could solidify his spot as network news’ top anchor.”
But after all, weren’t Cooper and Anderson – along with Tim Russert, Ted Koppel and Shepard Smith and other “Reporters Gone Wild” famously featured in video clips on Salon’s Web site asking angry questions of Bush administration officials – only doing their jobs?
Echoing the new common wisdom, Williams told the AP that Katrina’s lasting legacy for journalists may signal the end of an unusual (sic) four-year period of deference to people in power, and that the mute button seemingly in place since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been turned off.
“By dint of the fact that our country was hit we’ve offered a preponderance of the benefit of the doubt over the past couple of years,” the “Nightly News” anchorman said. “Perhaps we’ve taken something off our fastball and perhaps this is the story that brings a healthy amount of cynicism back to a news media known for it.”
Read the full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 6:49 PM
What's Fair and Balanced About Fox News?
I shall believe people are starting to open their eyes and see FNC for what it really is. David Gerald opines in the Campus Observer, the student newspaper at Oxnard College:
"People tuning into Fox News Channel who think they are getting fair and balanced information are sadly mistaken. There is no other American news station that presents such a lopsided spin on the news like the Fox News Channel. To put it simply, Fox News is nothing more than a completely biased propaganda machine for right wing Republicans.
A reputable news organization should be dedicated to bringing truth to the masses but Fox News is nothing less than a political farce; a channel dedicated to one point of view that has bamboozled the public into believing they are a genuine journalistic organization. Fair and balanced indeed!"
Read the full column HERE.
"People tuning into Fox News Channel who think they are getting fair and balanced information are sadly mistaken. There is no other American news station that presents such a lopsided spin on the news like the Fox News Channel. To put it simply, Fox News is nothing more than a completely biased propaganda machine for right wing Republicans.
A reputable news organization should be dedicated to bringing truth to the masses but Fox News is nothing less than a political farce; a channel dedicated to one point of view that has bamboozled the public into believing they are a genuine journalistic organization. Fair and balanced indeed!"
Read the full column HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 5:47 PM
AC Perfect For CBS Evening News?
While writing about the Hurricane Katrina coverage TV Week's Tom Shales writes this:
"Probably the most criticized performer of the coverage so far has been Anderson Cooper, the insanely telegenic anchor of his own nightly CNN news hour. In the early stages of the coverage, when the incompetence of government officials and bureaucrats was becoming shamefully obvious, Cooper became openly emotional on the air, berating at least one such official for the lack of preparedness.
Maybe Cooper's involvement in the story became extreme at that point, but I, for one, was not offended. Indeed, if I were Leslie Moonves, I would right now be trying to entice Mr. Cooper over to CBS to anchor the remodeled "CBS Evening News," if such a thing ever does actually appear on the air. Ironically or not, Cooper's status as a newsman-with-a-heart makes him television kin to Dan Rather, whom Mr. Moonves coldly "nudged" out of the anchor chair earlier this year. (Ironically, too, Rather first made his name during coverage of a deadly hurricane, and marched bravely into many a storm long after becoming anchor. He has been greatly missed during coverage of Katrina.)
Beyond that, Cooper has a newness to him, a wry touch of attitude that he very effectively modulates on the air. It is something that, combined with his visual appeal, could help bring young viewers to news-thus bucking or perhaps even reversing a long and dismaying trend in the other direction. Cooper, uh, still, um, has, uh, trouble ad-libbing, but when reading, when talking into the camera and making viewer contact, he is all poise and polish without being slick. He's no Stepford Anchor, and he deserves a bigger and better chance than CNN can give him."
"Probably the most criticized performer of the coverage so far has been Anderson Cooper, the insanely telegenic anchor of his own nightly CNN news hour. In the early stages of the coverage, when the incompetence of government officials and bureaucrats was becoming shamefully obvious, Cooper became openly emotional on the air, berating at least one such official for the lack of preparedness.
Maybe Cooper's involvement in the story became extreme at that point, but I, for one, was not offended. Indeed, if I were Leslie Moonves, I would right now be trying to entice Mr. Cooper over to CBS to anchor the remodeled "CBS Evening News," if such a thing ever does actually appear on the air. Ironically or not, Cooper's status as a newsman-with-a-heart makes him television kin to Dan Rather, whom Mr. Moonves coldly "nudged" out of the anchor chair earlier this year. (Ironically, too, Rather first made his name during coverage of a deadly hurricane, and marched bravely into many a storm long after becoming anchor. He has been greatly missed during coverage of Katrina.)
Beyond that, Cooper has a newness to him, a wry touch of attitude that he very effectively modulates on the air. It is something that, combined with his visual appeal, could help bring young viewers to news-thus bucking or perhaps even reversing a long and dismaying trend in the other direction. Cooper, uh, still, um, has, uh, trouble ad-libbing, but when reading, when talking into the camera and making viewer contact, he is all poise and polish without being slick. He's no Stepford Anchor, and he deserves a bigger and better chance than CNN can give him."
# posted by ATN @ 5:13 PM
Wolff to Head Prime Time for MSNBC
Source: TV Week MSNBC President Rick Kaplan has an executive in charge of prime time for the first time in five months. Mr. Kaplan has named Bill Wolff--whose first foray into news programming has been as executive producer of MSNBC's 2-month-old "The Situation With Tucker Carlson"--VP of prime-time programming for the cable news network.
Mr. Wolff will make the switch immediately, Mr. Kaplan said in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon to the MSNBC staff.
"The Situation," which was moved from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in June, has not helped MSNBC dig itself out of fourth place and back into the third-place competitive position in prime time it held until "Nancy Grace" boosted CNN Headline News into third place this summer. But the show's audience is the youngest (median age 53) in MSNBC's nighttime lineup. "The Situation" averaged 174,000 viewers, 78,000 of them in the 25-54 demographic, from Aug. 8-28, according to data from Nielsen Media research.
Mr. Wolff is an Emmy winner who developed a cult following with ESPN's "Around the Horn" and Fox Sports Networks' "I, Max." His new position was last held by Phil Griffin, who was named executive in charge of NBC's "Today" show in April.
"The Situation" senior producer Brad Como, who joined MSNBC last spring with Mr. Wolff and worked with Mr. Wolff at FSN and ESPN, has been named executive producer of "The Situation."
Mr. Wolff will make the switch immediately, Mr. Kaplan said in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon to the MSNBC staff.
"The Situation," which was moved from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in June, has not helped MSNBC dig itself out of fourth place and back into the third-place competitive position in prime time it held until "Nancy Grace" boosted CNN Headline News into third place this summer. But the show's audience is the youngest (median age 53) in MSNBC's nighttime lineup. "The Situation" averaged 174,000 viewers, 78,000 of them in the 25-54 demographic, from Aug. 8-28, according to data from Nielsen Media research.
Mr. Wolff is an Emmy winner who developed a cult following with ESPN's "Around the Horn" and Fox Sports Networks' "I, Max." His new position was last held by Phil Griffin, who was named executive in charge of NBC's "Today" show in April.
"The Situation" senior producer Brad Como, who joined MSNBC last spring with Mr. Wolff and worked with Mr. Wolff at FSN and ESPN, has been named executive producer of "The Situation."
# posted by ATN @ 5:06 PM
For Documentary Programs, Quest Is for Storm Context
Well in the wake of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, new orgs are putting together documentary after documentary about the devasting storm. In today's New York Times CNN Prez Jon Klein talks about his network's doc that aired of the weekend:
"Each outlet or program will play to its strengths. CNN, with its deep pocket of reporters and producers, is pulling many staff members "off day-to-day news coverage and live shots to put them on the trail of more in-depth, longer-form storytelling," said Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S. Over the weekend CNN broadcast a one-hour special, "Is America Prepared? Lessons of Hurricane Katrina," and more are in the works, including programs on children affected by the storm, a series on heroes to be updated weekly, and a more investigative program that Mr. Klein hopes will be similar to David Ensor's recent report, "Dead Wrong," about intelligence failures leading up to the invasion of Iraq."
Read the full article HERE.
"Each outlet or program will play to its strengths. CNN, with its deep pocket of reporters and producers, is pulling many staff members "off day-to-day news coverage and live shots to put them on the trail of more in-depth, longer-form storytelling," said Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S. Over the weekend CNN broadcast a one-hour special, "Is America Prepared? Lessons of Hurricane Katrina," and more are in the works, including programs on children affected by the storm, a series on heroes to be updated weekly, and a more investigative program that Mr. Klein hopes will be similar to David Ensor's recent report, "Dead Wrong," about intelligence failures leading up to the invasion of Iraq."
Read the full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 5:02 PM
As ‘Germany Votes’ The World Is Watching On CNN International
Source: CNN Press Release As Europe's largest economy, heads to the polls for the federal elections on September 18, CNN International examines the prospective domestic and international impact of these election results in a special week of live coverage and in-depth reports from across Germany.Deploying more than 15 additional staff, including anchors, correspondents and political commentators, CNN is committing more resources to the coverage of this year’s election than ever before. On election day, CNN International will be live in Germany as the results unfold as CNN’s Becky Anderson anchors live from outside the Reichstag where she is be joined by colleague Charles Hodson and Josef Joffe, Political Analyst and Editor of Die Zeit for expert analysis.
As the polls close and results are revealed, Chris Burns, CNN’s Berlin-based correspondent, will report from Schroeder’s SPD headquarters whilst the network’s European Political Editor, Robin Oakley, will be live at Merkel’s CDU event.
Throughout the week leading up to election day, CNN International viewers can join Charles Hodson on a journey around Germany as he traverses the country by train to examine the crucial economic and business issues dividing voters in Europe’s largest economy. Robin Oakley also previews the political landscape for viewers, offering insight into the platform strategy and campaign tactics utilized by the main candidates. Throughout the week, CNN International is also featuring reports on the many facets of the German automobile industry live from the Frankfurt auto show, interviewing the CEOs who influence this key industry.
On Friday, September 16, CNN International launches its live programming from Germany when its daytime and evening European news programmes, ‘World News Europe’, ‘World Business Today’ and ‘Business International’ are co-anchored live from Berlin. The special election coverage culminates on Monday, September 19 with an additional three hours of the European breakfast show, ‘CNN Today’, live from Berlin.
# posted by ATN @ 5:00 PM
Military Attempts to Stop CNN From Filming the Recovery of Bodies AGAIN
National Guard troops tried to shoo CNN crews away to prevent them from filming the recovery of bodies AGAIN. The video is on CNN.com. Here's how an e-mailer describes the video:
"The army tries to shoo Dan Lothian and his photog away, so Lothian calls CNN lawyer and tries to hand the soldier his cell phone, repeating; "Would you like to talk to our lawyer?""
The video is titled "Recovering Bodies"(dated September 13th) and is in the online video archive on CNN.com.
UPDATE 4:53pm ET HERE's the link to the video.
"The army tries to shoo Dan Lothian and his photog away, so Lothian calls CNN lawyer and tries to hand the soldier his cell phone, repeating; "Would you like to talk to our lawyer?""
The video is titled "Recovering Bodies"(dated September 13th) and is in the online video archive on CNN.com.
UPDATE 4:53pm ET HERE's the link to the video.
# posted by ATN @ 2:24 PM
Katrina Impacts Websites
Source: Streaming Media
Surging Streaming
When viewed from the perspective of individual news providers, the impact of Katrina on streaming traffic was enormous, leading many to reach new highs in terms of streams served. MSNBC reported a record surge in traffic, serving more than 9 million streams on the day Katrina came ashore, a number that tops the previous record set by AOL during its Webcast of the Live8 concerts. “Back around the end of March when we had the Pope’s death and the Terri Schiavo happening, we had about 5.6 million on one day. The day after the presidential election we served about 5.3 million streams,” says Ted McConville, video architect for MSNBC. “This was our biggest day ever, close to double anything we’ve previously had.”
CNN’s historical benchmarks don’t provide a lot of insight into the size of Katrina’s effect relative to other recent events, as the news source has switched from paid to free streaming distribution in the last three months, but Katrina’s impact on its streaming traffic was still huge. “Last week’s numbers were five to ten times normal if there has been such a thing in the last three months,” says David Payne, SVP of CNN News Services and general manager of CNN.com.
Despite Katrina’s national scope, local news broadcasters also experienced significant increases in their streaming traffic, although not nearly as large as the national broadcasters. “I don’t know how this compares to other events, but Mirror Image has told us that we experienced 150% increase in traffic,” says Cris Nuernberg, webmaster for Boston’s NBC affiliate WHDH.
Significant But Not Strained
While the impact on individual news providers by Katrina is significant, this and other large-scale singularities in streaming traffic don’t adversely affect CDNs’ ability to serve streams, which is reassuring considering that one primary selling point for most CDNs is their scalability. “Our TV and print media customers are all up, but by differing amounts based on format. Streaming traffic is up two to three times across all media customers and continuing to grow. Across our network, Internet activity is not up much, and it’s not up significantly among the advertising community,” says Richard Buck, vice president of engineering for Mirror Image. “I can’t claim that Katrina’s been a particularly big business event for us. It’s a huge political and personal event for many, but it’s not shaking the Internet the way the tsunami did or even the way a nasty virus does.”
Much of this has to do with the aforementioned fact that CDNs are built with the specific intent of being able to scale to handle events in a way that a content provider managing their own servers likely couldn’t. “Because we service so many news customers, we’ve built our network to handle these surges,” says Bill Wheaton, director of streaming for Akamai. “That’s what Akamai’s all about, giving this scalability to our customers during these unexpected events. Right now we’re not running that hot. We’ve seen the growth patterns and we’ve kept ahead of them.”
But this doesn’t mean that news providers must rely on CDNs to handle these kinds of surges in traffic, especially since covering unexpected events is one of the primary functions of any major news provider. CNN.com, which manages its own servers, has been able to handle its increase in traffic without any trouble; they designed their system specifically for these large-scale singularities in streaming traffic. “We scale our business to accommodate events that are ten times our normal traffic. Thank goodness we did that prior to Katrina,” says Payne.
An Issue of Advertising
In addition to being prepared to handle a surge in streaming traffic from a technical point of view, CNN.com also has built its business to be able to monetize these influxes in streams served. “We carried advertising throughout, and we had a significant number of advertisers through here. We have a pretty strong sales team who are used to this kind of volatility,” says Payne. “We did fine. We did better than fine, we did excellent.”
Surging Streaming
When viewed from the perspective of individual news providers, the impact of Katrina on streaming traffic was enormous, leading many to reach new highs in terms of streams served. MSNBC reported a record surge in traffic, serving more than 9 million streams on the day Katrina came ashore, a number that tops the previous record set by AOL during its Webcast of the Live8 concerts. “Back around the end of March when we had the Pope’s death and the Terri Schiavo happening, we had about 5.6 million on one day. The day after the presidential election we served about 5.3 million streams,” says Ted McConville, video architect for MSNBC. “This was our biggest day ever, close to double anything we’ve previously had.”
CNN’s historical benchmarks don’t provide a lot of insight into the size of Katrina’s effect relative to other recent events, as the news source has switched from paid to free streaming distribution in the last three months, but Katrina’s impact on its streaming traffic was still huge. “Last week’s numbers were five to ten times normal if there has been such a thing in the last three months,” says David Payne, SVP of CNN News Services and general manager of CNN.com.
Despite Katrina’s national scope, local news broadcasters also experienced significant increases in their streaming traffic, although not nearly as large as the national broadcasters. “I don’t know how this compares to other events, but Mirror Image has told us that we experienced 150% increase in traffic,” says Cris Nuernberg, webmaster for Boston’s NBC affiliate WHDH.
Significant But Not Strained
While the impact on individual news providers by Katrina is significant, this and other large-scale singularities in streaming traffic don’t adversely affect CDNs’ ability to serve streams, which is reassuring considering that one primary selling point for most CDNs is their scalability. “Our TV and print media customers are all up, but by differing amounts based on format. Streaming traffic is up two to three times across all media customers and continuing to grow. Across our network, Internet activity is not up much, and it’s not up significantly among the advertising community,” says Richard Buck, vice president of engineering for Mirror Image. “I can’t claim that Katrina’s been a particularly big business event for us. It’s a huge political and personal event for many, but it’s not shaking the Internet the way the tsunami did or even the way a nasty virus does.”
Much of this has to do with the aforementioned fact that CDNs are built with the specific intent of being able to scale to handle events in a way that a content provider managing their own servers likely couldn’t. “Because we service so many news customers, we’ve built our network to handle these surges,” says Bill Wheaton, director of streaming for Akamai. “That’s what Akamai’s all about, giving this scalability to our customers during these unexpected events. Right now we’re not running that hot. We’ve seen the growth patterns and we’ve kept ahead of them.”
But this doesn’t mean that news providers must rely on CDNs to handle these kinds of surges in traffic, especially since covering unexpected events is one of the primary functions of any major news provider. CNN.com, which manages its own servers, has been able to handle its increase in traffic without any trouble; they designed their system specifically for these large-scale singularities in streaming traffic. “We scale our business to accommodate events that are ten times our normal traffic. Thank goodness we did that prior to Katrina,” says Payne.
An Issue of Advertising
In addition to being prepared to handle a surge in streaming traffic from a technical point of view, CNN.com also has built its business to be able to monetize these influxes in streams served. “We carried advertising throughout, and we had a significant number of advertisers through here. We have a pretty strong sales team who are used to this kind of volatility,” says Payne. “We did fine. We did better than fine, we did excellent.”
# posted by ATN @ 1:30 PM
MSNBC Ridding Itself of Former CNN Boss?
Source: New York Post After being passed over for a chance to replace NBC News chief Neal Shapiro, MSNBC boss Rick Kaplan's job is in jeopardy, The Post has learned.Sources say Kaplan is likely to be out as the head of the ratings-challenged cable news network by the end of the year.
These sources say that Kaplan believes he should have been considered to replace Shapiro, despite failing to boost ratings at the network, which is ranked a distant third behind Fox News and CNN.
Shapiro recently ended months of speculation and announced he was resigning as head of NBC News. The network named NBC exec Steve Capus to replace Shapiro on an interim basis as it seeks a permanent successor.
Kaplan, who had reported to Shapiro, now reports to Capus.
An NBC News spokeswoman denied Kaplan was on the ropes, saying "there's absolutely no truth to it." MORE
# posted by ATN @ 7:25 AM
CNN's Brown Heeds Old Mentor Jennings
Philadelphia Inquirer's Gail Shister writes, "What would Peter do?ABC'sPeter Jennings, who lost his battle with lung cancer last month, is very much onAaron Brown's mind as he anchors Hurricane Katrina coverage on CNN.
"I'm thinking a lot about Peter - how much he would have liked covering this story, and the things I learned from him," says Brown, 56, an ABC anchor from '91 until joining CNN in '01.
Lesson one: "Stay measured, stay calm. But balance that with being urgent." Lesson two: "Never get ahead of the story. The story is where it is at any given moment... . Your job as anchor is to keep it in context, in perspective."
When it comes to Katrina, Brown is the ice to Anderson Cooper's fire.
While Cooper has been filing riveting, emotional reports from the flood-ravaged New Orleans area, Brown has been holding down the fort in New York in his deliberate, understated style.
By the way, it's no secret that Cooper's stock is soaring. In addition to anchoring his 360 at 7 p.m., CNN began pairing him Friday with Brown on his nightly two-hour "State of Emergency" specials at 10.
CNN boss Jonathan Klein is big on connecting emotionally with viewers.
Getting angry on camera at politicians and bureaucrats, as Cooper and Fox News Channel's Shepard Smith have done over the past weeks, "is not a bad thing," in Brown's view, "as long as it doesn't become a caricature of what we should be."
"Viewers don't need to be spared that anger or frustration if it's a genuine reaction to an exceptional situation... . If it becomes theater, then it's a terrible thing. There are people who do it. I won't mention names." (Darn.)
Brown gets blasted regularly for his halting, some say plodding, delivery, but he's over it.
"I'm trying hard to find the right phrase. I wish I could do it faster for everyone's satisfaction. This is as fast as I am able to do it. I'm comfortable with the result.
"I'm bored with people who take occasional pops at what I do and why I do it. It doesn't mean anything. It's just part of the job."
On the other hand, Brown concedes that "maybe I am the tortoise in this business. I move pretty slowly sometimes. I want to see each chapter unfold. I don't let anyone - anchor, viewer, correspondent - get ahead of the material."
Brown says the culprit is TV's insistence on keeping the pace snappy.
"There's always pressure in television to make everything a sprint. This story is a marathon. I'm very conservative on how I report these stories."
# posted by ATN @ 7:15 AM
Monday, September 12, 2005
Mystery 'Angry Person' Revealed
With everyone wondering who the mystery angry person is, CBS News' blog, Public Eye, did everyones homework for them. This from the blog:
A quick search of which Los Angeles Times employees have recently appeared on CNN revealed a likely suspect: Jon Healy, the paper’s editorial writer, who showed up on "Paula Zahn Now" on Sept. 2. We called Healy, and he confirmed that he was the mystery colleague. He also fleshed out the story a bit.
Here's what happened, according to Healy: He had earlier penned an unsigned editorial for the Times critical of the response to Katrina. A producer from "Paula Zahn Now" – Healy doesn't remember her name – called and asked if the author would appear on the show; Healy agreed. Roughly an hour before Healy’s appearance, he got another call from the producer. He wasn't sure of her exact words, but he said the gist was "I know this is going to sound tacky, but when you're on the show, could you be angry?"
Healy says he replied that he was willing to reflect the editorial’s content – he characterized it as "a combination of mystification and anger" – but that he wouldn't express more anger than he otherwise would have. "I'm a news guy," says Healy. "I'm not an actor. If they ask me a question, I'll answer it."
CNN disputes Healy's characterization; in a statement e-mailed to PE, a CNN spokesperson said: “When booking opinion writers, we frequently express that their commentary ought to reflect the sentiment in their columns. We have been doing this for 25 years. Regarding this report, we never told anyone to get angry.”
As it turned out, Healy didn't have much of a chance to get angry, or argue, thanks to the show's format – though he said he would have liked to, since "the guy who came on after me said a number of things that were patently not true."
He also said it would be a mistake for media watchers to read too much into his experience, since "you can't extrapolate from one question from a producer to a guest a philosophy that extends not just to CNN but to the entire media."
Still, he suspects his experience was fairly typical, since, he says, it's important for shows like Zahn's to keep viewers entertained. "I can't imagine in the history of these kinds of programs, they haven't always said, 'in this bit of Kabuki theater, here's your role.'"
A quick search of which Los Angeles Times employees have recently appeared on CNN revealed a likely suspect: Jon Healy, the paper’s editorial writer, who showed up on "Paula Zahn Now" on Sept. 2. We called Healy, and he confirmed that he was the mystery colleague. He also fleshed out the story a bit.
Here's what happened, according to Healy: He had earlier penned an unsigned editorial for the Times critical of the response to Katrina. A producer from "Paula Zahn Now" – Healy doesn't remember her name – called and asked if the author would appear on the show; Healy agreed. Roughly an hour before Healy’s appearance, he got another call from the producer. He wasn't sure of her exact words, but he said the gist was "I know this is going to sound tacky, but when you're on the show, could you be angry?"
Healy says he replied that he was willing to reflect the editorial’s content – he characterized it as "a combination of mystification and anger" – but that he wouldn't express more anger than he otherwise would have. "I'm a news guy," says Healy. "I'm not an actor. If they ask me a question, I'll answer it."
CNN disputes Healy's characterization; in a statement e-mailed to PE, a CNN spokesperson said: “When booking opinion writers, we frequently express that their commentary ought to reflect the sentiment in their columns. We have been doing this for 25 years. Regarding this report, we never told anyone to get angry.”
As it turned out, Healy didn't have much of a chance to get angry, or argue, thanks to the show's format – though he said he would have liked to, since "the guy who came on after me said a number of things that were patently not true."
He also said it would be a mistake for media watchers to read too much into his experience, since "you can't extrapolate from one question from a producer to a guest a philosophy that extends not just to CNN but to the entire media."
Still, he suspects his experience was fairly typical, since, he says, it's important for shows like Zahn's to keep viewers entertained. "I can't imagine in the history of these kinds of programs, they haven't always said, 'in this bit of Kabuki theater, here's your role.'"
# posted by ATN @ 11:26 PM
HLN Gets New Anchor
These CNN Fans noticed a new anchor on the air at Headline News today. Apparently Virginia Cha has joined CNN/HLN as a sub-anchor. According to info found on the web, Cha joins CNN from NBC News where she served as correspondent based in New York. Prior to joining NBC, Cha was the news anchor and chief medical correspondent for WBZ-4 in Boston, Mass., where she won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement as a news anchor and a National Edward R. Murrow Award for Team Political Coverage.
# posted by ATN @ 9:32 PM
Former PZN Producer Moves to MSNBC
TV Spy reports: Eric Spinato is named Senior Program Producer on "The Rita Cosby Show" at MSNBC. Eric was previously Editorial Producer on "Paula Zahn Now" at CNN.
# posted by ATN @ 8:53 PM
Weather.com Tops 2005 "Web Site Hot List"
Source: Business Wire Adweek Magazines announced today its "Web Site Hot List," a first-ever list of the hottest online destinations for users and advertisers, based on hard numbers and the ephemeral "it" factor.
This year's hottest sites had to show recent momentum in key audience metrics, and also be a favorite of the online media community. Weather.com, the Web site of The Weather Channel, took the top spot, followed by Forbes.com and MySpace.com. This Special Section appears in the September 12 issues of Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, and online at Adweek.com.
The complete top 10 can be found HERE.
This year's hottest sites had to show recent momentum in key audience metrics, and also be a favorite of the online media community. Weather.com, the Web site of The Weather Channel, took the top spot, followed by Forbes.com and MySpace.com. This Special Section appears in the September 12 issues of Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, and online at Adweek.com.
The complete top 10 can be found HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 7:50 PM
CNN Touts Pew Survey Results
CNN is airing a promo touting the results of a Pew Survey in which respondents said they got news of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from CNN.
I couldn't help but wond while reading the other blogs why they are beating around the bush when reporting the results of this survey. The other blogs just pointed out CNN made the greatest gains in the number of people getting their news from CNN and NOT that more people got their post-hurricane news from the network. I thought I was the only one that saw that.
I couldn't help but wond while reading the other blogs why they are beating around the bush when reporting the results of this survey. The other blogs just pointed out CNN made the greatest gains in the number of people getting their news from CNN and NOT that more people got their post-hurricane news from the network. I thought I was the only one that saw that.
# posted by ATN @ 7:24 PM
Networks Juggle Roberts, Katrina Coverage
Source: Associated Press For the cable news networks, it's a conflict designed for the split screen. The Senate confirmation hearings for John Roberts as the nation's chief justice opened Monday as the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina continued to dominate the news.
Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC each carried the Roberts hearing solidly for an hour after it started, then peeled off to cover President Bush's visit to New Orleans and Michael Brown's resignation as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Among broadcast networks, only NBC carried Roberts' opening statement Monday afternoon. CBS and ABC did not.
The Roberts hearings would be likely to receive considerably more attention if it hadn't been for the hurricane, and also if there wasn't a general sense that Bush's nominee for chief justice is likely to be confirmed, said Mark Effron, MSNBC vice president of news.
Then again, news executives would have had a much tougher decision last week if the hearings had been postponed, because there was more news unfolding from Katrina, he said.
CNN believes its new daytime program, "Situation Room," is perfect for such conflicts because it often shows Wolf Blitzer standing before a video screen split into six pictures.
That still requires CNN executives to decide which screen has an audio accompaniment. But Jonathan Klein, CNN president, said the wall of screens helps convince viewers that the network is keeping them on top of all the stories.
Through opening statements by senators on Monday, the news networks generally played closest attention to those likely to be toughest on Roberts - like Sens. Joseph Biden or Charles Schumer.
Otherwise, even the eyes of Washington insiders glaze over during opening statements, Klein said.
"We don't have interest in posturing," he said. "We're monitoring for substance. As the substance increases, so will the coverage. We're not C-SPAN."
The Roberts hearings offer enough breaks for the networks to get other news in, said Marty Ryan, director of political coverage for Fox News Channel. The bigger days for Roberts will come when he gets substantive questioning, he said.
Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC each carried the Roberts hearing solidly for an hour after it started, then peeled off to cover President Bush's visit to New Orleans and Michael Brown's resignation as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Among broadcast networks, only NBC carried Roberts' opening statement Monday afternoon. CBS and ABC did not.
The Roberts hearings would be likely to receive considerably more attention if it hadn't been for the hurricane, and also if there wasn't a general sense that Bush's nominee for chief justice is likely to be confirmed, said Mark Effron, MSNBC vice president of news.
Then again, news executives would have had a much tougher decision last week if the hearings had been postponed, because there was more news unfolding from Katrina, he said.
CNN believes its new daytime program, "Situation Room," is perfect for such conflicts because it often shows Wolf Blitzer standing before a video screen split into six pictures.
That still requires CNN executives to decide which screen has an audio accompaniment. But Jonathan Klein, CNN president, said the wall of screens helps convince viewers that the network is keeping them on top of all the stories.
Through opening statements by senators on Monday, the news networks generally played closest attention to those likely to be toughest on Roberts - like Sens. Joseph Biden or Charles Schumer.
Otherwise, even the eyes of Washington insiders glaze over during opening statements, Klein said.
"We don't have interest in posturing," he said. "We're monitoring for substance. As the substance increases, so will the coverage. We're not C-SPAN."
The Roberts hearings offer enough breaks for the networks to get other news in, said Marty Ryan, director of political coverage for Fox News Channel. The bigger days for Roberts will come when he gets substantive questioning, he said.
# posted by ATN @ 6:36 PM
LA Blackout
CNN has been all over the LA Blackout story from the get go. CNN first broke it. CNN has been busy getting the facts on the air and key LA officials. I switched over to FNC for a very brief moment( one second is too long for me) and they from what I could gather it was terrorist related and even had a terrorist 'expert' on . I love how FNC loves to speculate versus telling the facts.
CNN's LA offices/studios had power and a LIVE report originated from there shortly after the blackout report came in.
CNN's LA offices/studios had power and a LIVE report originated from there shortly after the blackout report came in.
# posted by ATN @ 4:41 PM
AC Unanchored
Great article in New York magazine about Anderson Cooper and his life. Below is an excerpt from the article about his covering the Hurricane Katrina aftermath:On Saturday, August 27, it became obvious to Anderson Cooper that Katrina was going to be a very big storm and a very big story. So he cut short his vacation in Croatia, got on a plane to New York, and then headed south.
He landed in Baton Rouge on Sunday night and rented an SUV with plans to drive to New Orleans, but he was a few hours too late—the storm had already begun to pummel the city. He decided to wait for the hurricane to come to him, and then weathered it on the air as it slowly exited the Gulf Coast and churned northward.
Over the next day or two, largely cut off from his producers in New York, he struggled to figure out where he should go. By Tuesday night, he was anchoring his show on CNN, Anderson Cooper 360°, from Gulfport, Mississippi, standing in front of a giant floating casino that had washed inland. The next day, he went to some of the hardest-hit towns in that state: Bay St. Louis and Waveland. By the time I finally am able to get through to him on a satellite phone, it is Friday, though he doesn’t seem to know what day it is. At this point, he has been in the field for more than 100 hours, gotten into an on-air tussle with a senator, and been hailed by some as a model of what a television journalist should be. As I talk to him, he is sitting on what used to be someone’s front yard in Waveland, an antique-toy-car collection scattered all over the ground around him. He is a stew of emotion: dejection, regret, sadness, anger. “I was really affected by the bodies,” he says, his voice cracking. “I’ve seen a lot dead bodies before, and I’m not sure why these dead bodies affected me so much, but I sort of haven’t been able to stop thinking about them.”
When I ask what his life has been like for the past few days, he says, “I’m fine.” Long pause. “It’s a horrible story to cover.” Another long pause. “Frankly, I feel privileged to be here. I’m really . . . I don’t want to leave . . . Um . . . ” He starts to cry. “I’m sorry,” he says, “I’m going to have to call you back in a second.”
Read the full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 4:26 PM
Time, CNN Merging Web Units
Source: The Street.com Time Warner's CNN and Time Inc. units said today that they will merge several business-based Internet assets starting next year.The respective sites of CNNMoney.com, Fortune.com, FSB.com and Business2.com will be relaunched in January as a single Web site under the banner of CNNMoney.com.
The move comes on the heels of several online news operation expansions, including Viacom's recent announcement that it is blending its televised and online news and sports operations on its CBS sites.
Time Warner will continue to feature daily business news, markets coverage, commentary and analysis while incorporating content produced by Time Inc. magazines Money, Fortune, Fortune Small Business and Business 2.0, along with CNN's global staff.
"This is an unprecedented combination of world-class brands," said Time Inc. chief Ann Moore. "It reinforces Time Inc.'s commitment to the Internet and our effort to deliver content in multiple ways."
"We are very excited to be expanding our partnership with Time Inc. and are proud of CNN's continuing commitment to being a leader in news and information delivery," added CNN President Jim Walton.
Vivek Shah, the general manager of the Fortune/Money Group, will oversee the new site's business operations. CNNMoney.com's executive editor, Chris Peacock, will continue to oversee site programming and editorial content.
Nielsen/NetRatings for July saw the combined, nonduplicated audience of the sites at 9.2 million unique visitors, according to the company.
# posted by ATN @ 4:12 PM
CNN Makes It Official: Walter Rodgers Gone from CNN
Of course WHAC readers knew about this last week. BUT we now have the message sent to CNN'ers about Walter Rodgers' leaving CNN:
"After more than 12 years with CNN, first as Berlin Correspondent, then as the longest serving Jerusalem Bureau Chief and finally as CNN's first Senior International Correspondent, I will be leaving the company when my contract expires in mid-September. I will return to the United States. To my friends within CNN, I want to thank each of you for your ineffable kindness, your integrity, and most of all your Friendship. Good luck, and Godspeed."
"After more than 12 years with CNN, first as Berlin Correspondent, then as the longest serving Jerusalem Bureau Chief and finally as CNN's first Senior International Correspondent, I will be leaving the company when my contract expires in mid-September. I will return to the United States. To my friends within CNN, I want to thank each of you for your ineffable kindness, your integrity, and most of all your Friendship. Good luck, and Godspeed."
# posted by ATN @ 2:54 PM
CNN Producers Coaching Guests?
Well that's what Drudge reports: After weeks of intense Katrina coverage from the main press, LA TIMES guru and former CNN host Michael Kinsley divulges that CNN was coaching guests to artificially enhance emotions!
Kinsley writes:"The TV news networks, which only a few months ago were piously suppressing emotional fireworks by their pundits, are now piously encouraging their news anchors to break out of the emotional straitjackets and express outrage. A Los Angeles Times colleague of mine, appearing on CNN last week to talk about Katrina, was told by a producer to 'get angry.' "
UPDATE: Below is the op-ed piece from the LA Times:
Everybody is having a fine fit about our politicians, governments at every level and "institutions" (current vogue word) for failing us in this crisis and others. The TV news networks, which only a few months ago were piously suppressing emotional fireworks by their pundits, are now piously encouraging their news anchors to break out of the emotional straitjackets and express outrage. A Los Angeles Times colleague of mine, appearing on CNN last week to talk about Katrina, was told by a producer to "get angry." But just Google a phrase like "commission warns," or "urgent steps" or "our children's future" — or simply "crisis" — and you may develop a bit of sympathy for the people who stand accused today of ignoring the warnings about anything in particular. Far from complacent about potential perils, we suffer from peril gridlock.
UPDATE: 4:11pm ET This from the tip box: "Here are some answers; who is Kinsleys' referring to?
Ron Brownstein, long time paid contributor to cnn...comments weekly on lou dobbs as he did and does every friday, ergo can conclude 'the producers' were from lou dobbs program. He also comments for the poltical unit but can't confirm if he appeared on 'the situation room' last week."
Kinsley writes:"The TV news networks, which only a few months ago were piously suppressing emotional fireworks by their pundits, are now piously encouraging their news anchors to break out of the emotional straitjackets and express outrage. A Los Angeles Times colleague of mine, appearing on CNN last week to talk about Katrina, was told by a producer to 'get angry.' "
UPDATE: Below is the op-ed piece from the LA Times:
Everybody is having a fine fit about our politicians, governments at every level and "institutions" (current vogue word) for failing us in this crisis and others. The TV news networks, which only a few months ago were piously suppressing emotional fireworks by their pundits, are now piously encouraging their news anchors to break out of the emotional straitjackets and express outrage. A Los Angeles Times colleague of mine, appearing on CNN last week to talk about Katrina, was told by a producer to "get angry." But just Google a phrase like "commission warns," or "urgent steps" or "our children's future" — or simply "crisis" — and you may develop a bit of sympathy for the people who stand accused today of ignoring the warnings about anything in particular. Far from complacent about potential perils, we suffer from peril gridlock.
UPDATE: 4:11pm ET This from the tip box: "Here are some answers; who is Kinsleys' referring to?
Ron Brownstein, long time paid contributor to cnn...comments weekly on lou dobbs as he did and does every friday, ergo can conclude 'the producers' were from lou dobbs program. He also comments for the poltical unit but can't confirm if he appeared on 'the situation room' last week."
# posted by ATN @ 2:47 PM
AC:An Anchor Who Reports Disaster News With a Heart on His Sleeve
Pretty good article about Anderson Cooper in today's New York Times. Columnist Elizabeth Jensen writes:
"The CNN anchor Anderson Cooper strikes a pose in the September issue of the men's magazine Maxim, modeling a sharp black suit set off by his prematurely gray hair. A stylized jumble of broken television sets is piled high beside him.
It is a very different Mr. Cooper who has captivated CNN viewers in the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore. The jumble of broken stuff is there, but it is real remnants of homes and lives washed away. Mr. Cooper's heart-on-his-sleeve demeanor has been anything but slick and packaged.
The 38-year-old anchor has dressed down officials in interviews with polite righteous indignation in behalf of hurricane victims. At least twice he choked up on air, once abruptly stopping his commentary about lost homes and waving away the camera as he looked about to burst into tears. CNN's camera occasionally has caught him playing with stray dogs. He says he has no intention of returning to his hip New York existence any time soon."
Read the entire article HERE.
"The CNN anchor Anderson Cooper strikes a pose in the September issue of the men's magazine Maxim, modeling a sharp black suit set off by his prematurely gray hair. A stylized jumble of broken television sets is piled high beside him.
It is a very different Mr. Cooper who has captivated CNN viewers in the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore. The jumble of broken stuff is there, but it is real remnants of homes and lives washed away. Mr. Cooper's heart-on-his-sleeve demeanor has been anything but slick and packaged.
The 38-year-old anchor has dressed down officials in interviews with polite righteous indignation in behalf of hurricane victims. At least twice he choked up on air, once abruptly stopping his commentary about lost homes and waving away the camera as he looked about to burst into tears. CNN's camera occasionally has caught him playing with stray dogs. He says he has no intention of returning to his hip New York existence any time soon."
Read the entire article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 8:35 AM
Former CNN War Correspondent Hired by Yahoo!
Source: Business Newswire Yahoo! Inc.today announced the launch of Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone, a global news initiative that will offer an unprecedented view of armed conflict throughout the world. On September 26, veteran war correspondent Kevin Sites will embark on a year-long journey as a solo journalist to cover every armed conflict in the world. This initiative will bring some of the world's most important, yet under-reported, stories exclusively to Yahoo!'s global audience, and aims to set new standards for gathering, delivering and telling these important stories.Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone will bring together the best elements from traditional news media such as newspapers, television and radio by combining the key components of a multimedia news experience including text, video, photos, audio and user interactivity into one media platform. Depending on the nature of the story, the news will be delivered in the form of articles, packaged broadcast-style video segments, broader feature stories, unedited video footage, photos, and live video and audio feeds to provide a comprehensive view of each area of conflict.
"Yahoo! News is proud to provide Kevin Sites with the platform to tell these very important stories," said Lloyd Braun, head of Yahoo!'s media group. "By marrying video, audio, text stories and photos into a unique and interactive news experience, Yahoo! will allow the user to become personally invested in Kevin's journey."
# posted by ATN @ 8:25 AM
Nobody Owned The Story
MarketWatch's Jon Friedman writes: "In fact, nobody has, in media-speak, "owned" the story. We've seen plenty of solid reporting but little that you would want to put in a time capsule.
I'm surprised. The story, obviously, reeks of drama and melodrama in every possible way. Plus, this time, the media had it to themselves at the outset."
Read full article HERE.
I'm surprised. The story, obviously, reeks of drama and melodrama in every possible way. Plus, this time, the media had it to themselves at the outset."
Read full article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 7:47 AM
Katrina Aftermath Big Story on CNN/I
USA Today's Peter Johnson writes: "CNN's Jeff Koinange, who usually reports from Nigeria, where he is based, was on vacation in North Carolina when the network asked him to cut the trip short and report on Katrina.
The hurricane has received huge play on CNN International and is of tremendous interest internationally, Koinange says. "I get at least 100 e-mails at the end of every day from viewers who say, 'Wow, this is America? Are you sure you're not making it up or reporting from Somalia and not somewhere else?' They simply cannot believe it."
The hurricane has received huge play on CNN International and is of tremendous interest internationally, Koinange says. "I get at least 100 e-mails at the end of every day from viewers who say, 'Wow, this is America? Are you sure you're not making it up or reporting from Somalia and not somewhere else?' They simply cannot believe it."
# posted by ATN @ 7:43 AM
Sunday, September 11, 2005
New Met on the Air at TWC
A new meteorologist made her debut today on The Weather Channel. Betty Davis has joined The Weather Channel staff and was on the air earlier today. She comes to The Weather Channel from WTVD in Durham, North Carolina.# posted by ATN @ 8:40 PM
Mouth of the South, CNN Founder, to do Letterman
This from the tip box: "As of this writing, Ted Turner is scheduled to appear on David Letterman, Thursday, 9/15/05."
# posted by ATN @ 8:01 PM
Kurtz Appears on Late Edition
Reliable Sources Host Howard Kurtz made an appearance on Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer. Reliable Sources has been pre-empted the last couple of weeks for continous coverage of the aftermath of Katrina. Some critics had wondered why Reliable Sources hasn't been on the air and if the program was getting scratched from the program schedule.
# posted by ATN @ 1:32 PM
No 9/11 Anniversary Coverage for CNN
An e-mailer made this observation this morning: "CNN is THE ONLY cabler NOT COVERING the 9/11 Anniversary coverage.
BOTH MSNBC AND FNC has devoted their morning to THE COMPLETE CEREMONIES DONE AT GROUND ZERO while Miles and Soledad are carrying on with coverage, mostly repeat of stories shown Saturday and all week, on the aftermath.
ALL NETWORKS, CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX are covering 9/11 ceremonies till 12 noonET.
It's appalling!"
Update: 12:25pm ET Highlights of the ceremony from Ground Zero is currently being aired during Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.
Additional 2:05pm ET This from another e-mailer: "There was nothing new for cnn to show w/ the 9/11 coverage. You could've watched those ceremonies on C-span. This is the new CNN, they don't follow what others are doing."
BOTH MSNBC AND FNC has devoted their morning to THE COMPLETE CEREMONIES DONE AT GROUND ZERO while Miles and Soledad are carrying on with coverage, mostly repeat of stories shown Saturday and all week, on the aftermath.
ALL NETWORKS, CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX are covering 9/11 ceremonies till 12 noonET.
It's appalling!"
Update: 12:25pm ET Highlights of the ceremony from Ground Zero is currently being aired during Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer.
Additional 2:05pm ET This from another e-mailer: "There was nothing new for cnn to show w/ the 9/11 coverage. You could've watched those ceremonies on C-span. This is the new CNN, they don't follow what others are doing."
# posted by ATN @ 11:48 AM
