Friday, September 30, 2005
TWC Boosts Closed-Captioning
Source: MultiChannel The Weather Channel said Friday that it will caption 21 hours of regular programming per day beginning Oct. 1.
The network and closed-captioning company VITAC will also provide captioning for breaking weather-emergency broadcasts sent to local affected areas as part of TWC's WeatherStar system.
TWC said it will exceed the number of hours the Federal Communications Commission requires networks to caption.
“We deliver information that helps people prepare for and understand the weather and how it may affect their lives,” TWC Cos. president Debora Wilson said in a prepared statement. “There are millions of Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and we are fully committed to bringing them ready access to the reliable, expert weather information that consumers expect from The Weather Channel.”
The network and closed-captioning company VITAC will also provide captioning for breaking weather-emergency broadcasts sent to local affected areas as part of TWC's WeatherStar system.
TWC said it will exceed the number of hours the Federal Communications Commission requires networks to caption.
“We deliver information that helps people prepare for and understand the weather and how it may affect their lives,” TWC Cos. president Debora Wilson said in a prepared statement. “There are millions of Americans who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and we are fully committed to bringing them ready access to the reliable, expert weather information that consumers expect from The Weather Channel.”
# posted by ATN @ 4:11 PM 
TWC Brings in the Viewers With its Rita Coverage
Source: The Weather Channel PR The Weather Channel was the network watched by the most viewers for advanced warning and preparation as Hurricane Rita moved ominously across the Gulf of Mexico last week. The all-weather network reached over 44.6 million viewers with storm coverage and public safety messages on Friday, September 23. The Weather Channel had the largest unduplicated audience of any cable news and information network. Additionally, Hurricane Katrina led to an increase in traffic to The Weather Channel Web site, weather.com. On Sunday, August 28, according to The Weather Channel Interactive internal measurement, approximately 3.5 million unique users visited weather.com, the third highest weekend day in the history of the site. On Monday, August 29, approximately 7 million unique users visited weather.com, the second highest day in the history of weather.com. In addition, on Monday, weather.com set a record for page views and for unique users of Desktop Weather.
# posted by ATN @ 3:55 PM
What Happened to Rudi? Here's the Answer
Source: Post-Gazette.com Q:Where is Rudi Baktihar? Is she gone from CNN?A:Looks like she is. Here's what the cable news channel had to say: "Rudi is no longer with CNN. She has recently gone through the protracted illness and ultimate loss of her father. She is taking this time to be with her family."
# posted by ATN @ 8:31 AM
Thursday, September 29, 2005
CNN Enshrines Fire-and-Ice Team of Cooper, Brown; The Change MIGHT NOT be Permanent
An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sheds more light on the new AB/AC anchor pairing. Below is an excerpt from the article:"Cooper, who has headlined "Anderson Cooper 360°" at 7 p.m. for the past two years, has been sharing duties on "NewsNight" with regular host Aaron Brown since mid-September, when the 10 p.m. show was expanded to two hours. CNN said Thursday it had decided to keep Cooper as co-host.
The change might not be permanent, but Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., considers Cooper one of the top talents in TV. Klein likes pairing the emotional Cooper with the stolid Brown.
"The combination of Aaron and Anderson gives us fire and ice," Klein said Thursday. "Anderson is about visceral experience. Aaron is kind of about the cerebral analysis."
"Klein joined CNN in December 2004 and is under heavy pressure to improve fortunes at the cable network, which trails Fox in the ratings despite hefty boosts in viewership during Katrina and Rita. Pushing Cooper is one of his big bets.
"We'd love to expose him to as many viewers as possible," Klein said. "He's really kind of in the mold of what television journalism ought to be about today."
Additional 10:21pm ET An e-mailer thinks this:"'May not be permanent'? Could also mean one of them will be leaving cnn after the first of the year."
# posted by ATN @ 9:39 PM
AC the Writer?
Gawker has gotten ahold of a tip that "Anderson Cooper has been shopping a book about his New Orleans experiences, fyi. He’s repped by Janklow/Nesbit. Don’t know if it has sold or who bought it."
# posted by ATN @ 9:25 PM
Happy Birthday CNN/International
CNN/International celebrates its 20th Anniversary tomorrow. Below are some facts about CNN/I:> Launched in September 1985, CNN International is the world's only global 24-hour news network.
> CNN International can be seen in more than 175 million television households in 212 countries and territories through a network of 38 satellites.
> Since September 1997, CNN International has been regionalized into six separate regions: CNN International Europe/Middle East/Africa, CNN International Asia Pacific, CNN International South Asia, CNN International Latin America and CNN International USA and CNN International North America.
# posted by ATN @ 9:03 PM
Former AM Studio Now Occupied by SNY
As reported here when American Morning moved to the Time Warner Center, the former AM streetside studio is now home to the SportsNet New York. A news conference was held today to announce the launch of the new sports network. SYU is partly owned by Time Warner, Comcast and Sterling Entertainment Enterprises. The former American Morning studio will become the site of SNY's morning show and its news shows.
# posted by ATN @ 8:40 PM
AB/AC Pairing Permanant; EP's Playing Musical Chairs
TV Newser reports the Aaron Brown/Anderson Cooper pairing is now a done deal and that we can expect a new name for the ten to midnight program. ALSO some Executive Producers are being shuffled around.
# posted by ATN @ 6:17 PM
TWC and Verizon FiOS TV Team Up
Source: MultiChannel News Verizon Communications Inc. has reached a long-term affiliation agreement with The Weather Channel for its flagship network and Weatherscan by The Weather Channel, the regional Bell operating company announced Thursday.Both services will provide local weather customized specifically for Verizon FiOS TV customers in their geographic areas.
“We know that viewers rely on The Weather Channel and Weatherscan in times of severe weather and in their daily lives," Verizon FiOS TV vice president of programming and marketing Terry Denson said in a prepared statement.
“Our subscribers will have the benefits of The Weather Channel's national forecasts, plus the added convenience of customized local weather reports, in each region we serve,” he added.
# posted by ATN @ 5:02 PM
AC Reveals Why he Probably Went Gray Early
Great article from the Yale Daily News profiling Anderson Cooper. Below is an excerpt from the article dealing with accusations of AC getting too involved in the stories he covers: "Cooper finagled himself a stint with Channel One. From there he served as a correspondent at ABC and then went on to host the network's "The Mole," before he was picked up by CNN's "American Morning." He now hosts his own show on CNN, "Anderson Cooper 360." Having spent the past month reporting on Hurricane Katrina, Cooper has lately been put on the defensive, accused of being too involved in his stories.
Yet, Cooper explained, while he should not make himself part of a story, he cannot act like a "fly on the wall."
Still, some say that Cooper's "Hurricane Katrina theatrics" are more based on ratings than emotions.
The authors of the blog "Power Line" said Cooper unfairly "asserts the 'moral authority' to dish out blame without analysis and without rejoinder. He cannot (or does not wish to) distinguish between his anger and the story."
But Cooper said he will continue to stick to his convictions and report on what he sees.
"In my view, to artificially remove yourself from a story is as big of a mistake as to artificially insert yourself in a story," he said. "I don't believe in doing that. I don't believe in making yourself part of a story, but at the same time, I don't believe in pretending that I'm not there.""
# posted by ATN @ 4:52 PM
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Why Some TV 'News' Morning Shows Are a Joke
Source: Media Channel CBS, NBC and ABC try hard to outdo one another in presenting interesting guests and exclusive segments during their morning television shows.
Lately, however, the networks have succeeded only in competing to claim a decidedly more dubious distinction for the breakfast-hour programs. We can call this contest, "Who's the Biggest Shill?"
The morning shows have always had a schizophrenic nature. Are these genuine news presentations, bringing viewers their first glimpses of war, politics and the plight of the hurricane victims? Heaven forbid. If we want news-news-news, we can turn on CNN which rewards the media junkies with a steady stream of topical, serious stories.
Or, are these content to be light entertainment vehicles - focusing on endless cooking lessons, hygiene and health tips and wacky weathermen -- designed to help people wipe the sleep out of their eyes over the first cup of coffee? Hopefully not.
Perhaps they merely represent a collision of the two very disparate ideas. Either way, I've reached one inescapable conclusion this week:
The morning shows have become a joke. MORE
Lately, however, the networks have succeeded only in competing to claim a decidedly more dubious distinction for the breakfast-hour programs. We can call this contest, "Who's the Biggest Shill?"
The morning shows have always had a schizophrenic nature. Are these genuine news presentations, bringing viewers their first glimpses of war, politics and the plight of the hurricane victims? Heaven forbid. If we want news-news-news, we can turn on CNN which rewards the media junkies with a steady stream of topical, serious stories.
Or, are these content to be light entertainment vehicles - focusing on endless cooking lessons, hygiene and health tips and wacky weathermen -- designed to help people wipe the sleep out of their eyes over the first cup of coffee? Hopefully not.
Perhaps they merely represent a collision of the two very disparate ideas. Either way, I've reached one inescapable conclusion this week:
The morning shows have become a joke. MORE
# posted by ATN @ 5:55 PM
More End of September #'s Analysis
Here's an excerpt from an article from Media Channel: "CNN enjoyed huge hourly increases, as is frequently the case during periods of big news. Net's recently launched "Situation Room" saw a 100% increase in viewership over its three-hour afternoon air time. Lou Dobbs was up 60%, Anderson Cooper 82% and Paula Zahn 85% from last year.
CNN benefits from easy comparisons to last year because its numbers suffered during the September 2004 Republican convention, an event that drew additional viewers to Fox.
Cable turned in boffoboffo numbers during September: 1.8 million for Fox (up 52%), 1.3 million for CNN (up 120%) and 505,000 for CNBC (up 70%).
For cable news, the challenge is to find a way to retain some of those viewers who flock to the tube during big news stories. The O.J. Simpson trial gave CNN a long-term lift in the mid-'90s, and 9/11 helped put Fox on top of CNN for good.
But while Fox retains an enormous lead, several hours became more competitive during September. The second two hours of CNN's "Situation Room" beat Fox's "Your World With Neil Cavuto" and "The Big Story With John Gibson" in the 25-54 demographic, but Fox retained a handy lead in overall viewers.
MSNBC's once-moribund primetime showed some signs of life in the third quarter. Rita Cosby increased ratings in the net's 9 p.m. hour by 67%, and Joe Scarborough, who was one of the first reporters in Biloxi, Miss., saw ratings up 59%.
CNBC's "Mad Money," the freewheeling investor show hosted by Jim Cramer, increased the net's 6 p.m. perfperf by 141% in the third quarter and became the financial net's highest-rated show in primetime."
CNN benefits from easy comparisons to last year because its numbers suffered during the September 2004 Republican convention, an event that drew additional viewers to Fox.
Cable turned in boffoboffo numbers during September: 1.8 million for Fox (up 52%), 1.3 million for CNN (up 120%) and 505,000 for CNBC (up 70%).
For cable news, the challenge is to find a way to retain some of those viewers who flock to the tube during big news stories. The O.J. Simpson trial gave CNN a long-term lift in the mid-'90s, and 9/11 helped put Fox on top of CNN for good.
But while Fox retains an enormous lead, several hours became more competitive during September. The second two hours of CNN's "Situation Room" beat Fox's "Your World With Neil Cavuto" and "The Big Story With John Gibson" in the 25-54 demographic, but Fox retained a handy lead in overall viewers.
MSNBC's once-moribund primetime showed some signs of life in the third quarter. Rita Cosby increased ratings in the net's 9 p.m. hour by 67%, and Joe Scarborough, who was one of the first reporters in Biloxi, Miss., saw ratings up 59%.
CNBC's "Mad Money," the freewheeling investor show hosted by Jim Cramer, increased the net's 6 p.m. perfperf by 141% in the third quarter and became the financial net's highest-rated show in primetime."
# posted by ATN @ 5:51 PM
Cable News Loudmouths Gather This Weekend for Atlanta's 'Meeting of the Mouths'
Atlanta's WSB Radio hosts 'Meeting of the Mouths' this weekend. Here are the details: "This year's Meeting of the Mouths is sure to be explosive, controversial, fun and exciting. We've pulled together Neal Boortz, Clark Howard, Sean Hannity, James Carville, Neil Cavuto and other luminaries to debate current, controversial topics. Get your fix and see these stars live on stage for a great event of informative and compelling entertainment. Hey, there are no prepared speeches here...so anything goes!"
# posted by ATN @ 4:27 PM
TSR's Blog Segment Dissected
The New York Observer has a pretty good article dissecting CNN's blog segment during The Situation Room each weekday afternoon. Below is a portion of the article:"
On a typical afternoon, Abbi Tatton and Jacki Schechner take their place on the set of CNN’s The Situation Room and wait for Wolf Blitzer to kick it over to them for an occasional 90-second report from Blogland.
For this segment, called “The Blog Report,” the two comely gals poke at giant touch screens and read aloud from blogs. Sometimes, they talk to a blogger. Then they go back to reading from blogs, which contain “expert voices that don’t necessarily have a media outlet,” said Ms. Schechner.
In other words, they are the citizen journalists’ professional journalists.
“What we’re trying to do, and what CNN is doing with The Situation Room, is to recognize that there are lots of different places to get opinions, information, perspectives,” said Ms. Tatton. “We’re bringing in diverse elements to help the story along.”
Technically, they are “Internet reporters” for CNN, a designation that makes them the cable network’s first full-time journalists of the World Wide Web. But the world—or the Web, at least—has come up with another handle for Ms. Tatton and Ms. Schechner: the Blog Chicks.
“Rrrreowww,” said The Daily Show’s Rob Corddry during a segment mocking cable news. As in: “Those two blog chicks on CNN are kinda hot-dot-blogspot-dot-rrrrrreowwww!”
In addition to giving the tinglies to CNN viewers and a voice to citizen journalists everywhere, the Blog Chicks are one possible answer to television news’ most loudly lamented conundrum: how to lure younger viewers without alienating older ones. Ms. Tatton and Ms. Schechner are supposed to appeal both to a tech-savvy audience hip to the latest in online communications, and to an older generation of people who actually watch CNN and have no idea what these so-called Web logs are anyway." MORE
# posted by ATN @ 4:14 PM
CNN OrganiZing Online Competition
Source: Indian Television CNN is offering a trip for two to New York City as the prize of a special online competition testing knowledge of iconic news events.The competition is reached through www.25yearsofcnn.com. To enter the competition, participants are asked to describe in no more than 25 words which news event that changed our world from 1980-2005 they believe has been the most significant, and why.
Additional features on the site include CNN Firsts and Facts that looks at some of the network's unique achievements such as being the only channel to report from Baghdad on the night the Gulf war began in 1991, or the first international channel to break the news of the death of Diana and the tsunami that struck South Asia last December.
Another feature,'25 Years of Ground Breaking News', highlights striking and memorable news landmarks such as the discovery of the HIV virus, the fall of the Berlin Wall or the release of Nelson Mandela.
The competition is open to residents of India, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan and is in association with Millennium and Copthorne Hotels.
# posted by ATN @ 4:10 PM
Kurtz Looking for Publisher
Source: New York Daily News The terrifyingly productive Howard Kurtz, "Reliable Sources" host for CNN and media maven at The Washington Post, is shopping a nearly finished satirical novel about the newsbiz, titled "Funny Is Money." Yesterday, Kurtz told me: "This is something I'm fooling around with in my spare time and we'll have to see what comes of it. The fun part is that people may recognize - or think they recognize - some major media figures." He added: "The great advantage of tackling a novel is that you don't have to bother with such annoying procedures as checking your facts."
# posted by ATN @ 8:42 AM
September #'s Followup
Source: New York Daily News Thanks to a couple of bad hurricanes, September has been a good month for the cable news networks, according to Nielsen. On a 24-hour basis for the month, the Fox News Channel averaged 1.77 million viewers, up 52% from a year ago; CNN averaged 1.27 million, up 120%; MSNBC averaged 503,000 viewers, up 59%, and Headline News averaged 322,000, up 41%.
# posted by ATN @ 8:39 AM
Former CNN'er Getting Ready to Go Back to School
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer Gail Shister writes,"She's covered five presidents, but Harvard-bound CNN alum Judy Woodruff is quaking in her Pradas at the prospect of facing her students.
"These young people are smart," says the Washington-based Woodruff. "They're challenging. They're probing. They don't take anything at face value. I don't know what they're going to ask. I'm somebody who likes to be prepared."
Woodruff begins Monday as a visiting fellow at Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. She'll teach a 10-day "study group" about current issues in the media.
Woodruff is the latest in the CNN-Harvard pipeline. Former CNN president Rick Kaplan (now at MSNBC) and ex-anchor Connie Chung did stints at the university.
The Harvard fellowship is just one of a flurry of projects Woodruff has taken on since leaving CNN in June after 12 years as an anchor.
There's a documentary on the environment for a network of PBS stations in New England and a yearlong multimedia study of the attitudes of young Americans (ages 16 to 25) for Pew Charitable Trusts. To name just two.
"I feel unable to say no," muses Woodruff, 58, under contract to CNN as a part-time contributor and consultant through '08." MORE
"These young people are smart," says the Washington-based Woodruff. "They're challenging. They're probing. They don't take anything at face value. I don't know what they're going to ask. I'm somebody who likes to be prepared."
Woodruff begins Monday as a visiting fellow at Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. She'll teach a 10-day "study group" about current issues in the media.
Woodruff is the latest in the CNN-Harvard pipeline. Former CNN president Rick Kaplan (now at MSNBC) and ex-anchor Connie Chung did stints at the university.
The Harvard fellowship is just one of a flurry of projects Woodruff has taken on since leaving CNN in June after 12 years as an anchor.
There's a documentary on the environment for a network of PBS stations in New England and a yearlong multimedia study of the attitudes of young Americans (ages 16 to 25) for Pew Charitable Trusts. To name just two.
"I feel unable to say no," muses Woodruff, 58, under contract to CNN as a part-time contributor and consultant through '08." MORE
# posted by ATN @ 8:34 AM
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Dr. Gupta Tracks Safety, Performance Issues in NA
Source: CNN PressRoom CNN senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta follows NASCAR drivers on and off the track to examine safety and athletic performance in America’s No. 1 spectator sport. “NASCAR: Driven to Extremes,” the latest Dr. Sanjay Gupta Primetime Special, debuts on Sunday, Oct. 16, on CNN/U.S. at 10 p.m. (ET)During the special, Gupta reveals NASCAR to be more than fast cars zipping around an oval track. As he reports on the athleticism and safety required to be a top racing team, he offers viewers a revealing look at how the speeds, the heat, the intensity and the crashes associated with high stakes auto racing impact the human body. Gupta also gets behind the wheel of a stock car to see what it takes physically to drive at high speeds. What he experiences will intrigue even the most ardent fans.
“The incredible strain on the human body from the heat, g-forces and the mental focus is like nothing I’ve seen before,” Gupta said. “We’re also going to give audiences a sense of how challenging it is to protect people at high speeds. We’ll likely debunk quite a few misperceptions about the fitness and athleticism required to be a NASCAR racer.” MORE
# posted by ATN @ 11:24 PM
Good #'s for CNN Over Weekend
Source: TV Newser
Saturday:
Total day: FNC: 2,183,000 / CNN: 1,933,000 / MSNBC: 669,000 / HLN: 353,000
Primetime: FNC: 1,439,000 / CNN: 1,473,000 / MSNBC: 541,000 / HLN: 262,000
25-54 demographic:
Total day: FNC: 896,000 / CNN: 847,000 / MSNBC: 309,000 / HLN: 157,000
Primetime: FNC: 486,000 / CNN: 519,000 / MSNBC: 272,000 / HLN: 131,000
Sunday:
Total day: FNC: 1,097,000 / CNN: 813,000 / MSNBC: 313,000 / HLN: 270,000
Primetime: FNC: 1,332,000 / CNN: 933,000 / MSNBC: 322,000 / HLN: 280,000
25-54 demographic:
Total day: FNC: 372,000 / CNN: 335,000 / MSNBC: 139,000 / HLN: 117,000
Primetime: FNC: 456,000 / CNN: 314,000 / MSNBC: 135,000 / HLN: 100,000
Saturday:
Total day: FNC: 2,183,000 / CNN: 1,933,000 / MSNBC: 669,000 / HLN: 353,000
Primetime: FNC: 1,439,000 / CNN: 1,473,000 / MSNBC: 541,000 / HLN: 262,000
25-54 demographic:
Total day: FNC: 896,000 / CNN: 847,000 / MSNBC: 309,000 / HLN: 157,000
Primetime: FNC: 486,000 / CNN: 519,000 / MSNBC: 272,000 / HLN: 131,000
Sunday:
Total day: FNC: 1,097,000 / CNN: 813,000 / MSNBC: 313,000 / HLN: 270,000
Primetime: FNC: 1,332,000 / CNN: 933,000 / MSNBC: 322,000 / HLN: 280,000
25-54 demographic:
Total day: FNC: 372,000 / CNN: 335,000 / MSNBC: 139,000 / HLN: 117,000
Primetime: FNC: 456,000 / CNN: 314,000 / MSNBC: 135,000 / HLN: 100,000
# posted by ATN @ 4:32 PM
More Americans Watch CNN in September Than Any Other Cable News Channel
Let's take a look at the CUME #'s for September:
Total Viewers:
CNN: 101,083,000
FNC: 87,219,000
MSNBC: 68,725,000
HLN: 67,935,000
CNBC: 31,675,000
24-54 Demo:
CNN: 49,737,000
FNC: 42,723,000
MSNBC: 35,515,000
HLN: 35,050,000
CNBC: 16,179,000
Total Viewers:
CNN: 101,083,000
FNC: 87,219,000
MSNBC: 68,725,000
HLN: 67,935,000
CNBC: 31,675,000
24-54 Demo:
CNN: 49,737,000
FNC: 42,723,000
MSNBC: 35,515,000
HLN: 35,050,000
CNBC: 16,179,000
# posted by ATN @ 4:15 PM
CNN Closes Gap During September
> CNN Attracts More than 100 Million Viewers in Sept. --Best Month Since April 2003 (War in Iraq) - Network Draws 14 million more viewers than Fox News
> CNN Closes Gap with Fox News to Narrowest Margin in More than a Year (19% in Prime P25-54 in Sept.)
- Situation Room with Blitzer at 5pm and new 11pm Live Hour with Brown and Cooper Beat Fox News for the Month in P25-54
- Anderson Cooper/Shepard Smith Gap has gone from 226% last year to 10% this year in P25-54
- Paula Zahn/Bill O’Reilly Gap has gone from 319% last year to 24% this year in P25-54
> CNN Posts Largest Gains in Sept., Doubling Audience (up 107% in prime time vs. Fox up 23% in P2+)
- Anderson Cooper 360, Paula Zahn Now, and NewsNight QUADRUPLE audience for the month in the demo (P25-54)
> CNN Closes Gap with Fox News to Narrowest Margin in More than a Year (19% in Prime P25-54 in Sept.)
- Situation Room with Blitzer at 5pm and new 11pm Live Hour with Brown and Cooper Beat Fox News for the Month in P25-54
- Anderson Cooper/Shepard Smith Gap has gone from 226% last year to 10% this year in P25-54
- Paula Zahn/Bill O’Reilly Gap has gone from 319% last year to 24% this year in P25-54
> CNN Posts Largest Gains in Sept., Doubling Audience (up 107% in prime time vs. Fox up 23% in P2+)
- Anderson Cooper 360, Paula Zahn Now, and NewsNight QUADRUPLE audience for the month in the demo (P25-54)
# posted by ATN @ 3:59 PM
End in Sight for Costas on LKL?
Source: New York Post Costas plans to be the substitute host of "Larry King Live" at least 12 more times, but is unsure about coming back next year."I'm to do 20 shows over the course of the year, and I've done eight so far — I'm sure that there will be no problem over the next few months in finding a dozen programs that we're both happy to do," Costas told The Post yesterday.
Costas is the primary anchor at NBC Sports and hosts "Costas Now" and "Inside the NFL" on CNN's sister network, HBO.
He said he is not sure if there will be time for him to work for CNN next year. "At the time that I agreed to do ['Larry King'] NBC had not acquired football for Sunday nights, and I'm not sure what my other assignments might be down the road."
# posted by ATN @ 9:53 AM
Katrina Takes a Toll on Truth, News Accuracy
Source: LA Times Maj. Ed Bush recalled how he stood in the bed of a pickup truck in the days after Hurricane Katrina, struggling to help the crowd outside the Louisiana Superdome separate fact from fiction. Armed only with a megaphone and scant information, he might have been shouting into, well, a hurricane.
The National Guard spokesman's accounts about rescue efforts, water supplies and first aid all but disappeared amid the roar of a 24-hour rumor mill at New Orleans' main evacuation shelter. Then a frenzied media recycled and amplified many of the unverified reports.
"It just morphed into this mythical place where the most unthinkable deeds were being done," Bush said Monday of the Superdome.
His assessment is one of several in recent days to conclude that newspapers and television exaggerated criminal behavior in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, particularly at the overcrowded Superdome and Convention Center.
Read the complete article HERE.
The National Guard spokesman's accounts about rescue efforts, water supplies and first aid all but disappeared amid the roar of a 24-hour rumor mill at New Orleans' main evacuation shelter. Then a frenzied media recycled and amplified many of the unverified reports.
"It just morphed into this mythical place where the most unthinkable deeds were being done," Bush said Monday of the Superdome.
His assessment is one of several in recent days to conclude that newspapers and television exaggerated criminal behavior in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, particularly at the overcrowded Superdome and Convention Center.
Read the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 9:48 AM
Monday, September 26, 2005
TWC to Be Apart of New Radio Network
Source: Media Buyer Planner American Urban Radio Networks has announced the launch STRZ Entertainment Network, its fourth RADAR-rated network, to debut in RADAR 87 in December. Inventory is for sale beginning this week, using the RADAR 86 Special Tabulation provided by RADAR.
Included in the new network's lineup is "What's Poppin" America's first hip hop daily soap opera and "Urban Weather Beat" customized local weather reports produced in association with The Weather Channel.
Included in the new network's lineup is "What's Poppin" America's first hip hop daily soap opera and "Urban Weather Beat" customized local weather reports produced in association with The Weather Channel.
# posted by ATN @ 11:04 PM
NewsNight CNN's Top Program Friday Night
This from a tipster: "NN in both 10pm and 11pm hours; over 3M making it the highest rated show on CNN, followed by LKL with 2.9; PZN; 2.4 and AC360 with 2.2."
Inside Cable News has the complete numbers.
Inside Cable News has the complete numbers.
# posted by ATN @ 9:07 PM
ABC, CBS Secretly Searching for Anchors
Source: Associated Press Executives at ABC and CBS News can be relieved this week that, unlike with Hurricane Katrina, their Rita coverage didn't appear seriously affected by voids at the chief anchor position left by the late Peter Jennings and Dan Rather.
It's been more than five months since both men last anchored the evening news. ABC is conducting its search for a successor very privately. CBS has struggled, although it gave itself the bigger challenge.
NBC's ratings spiked high in the wake of Katrina and the very visible work of its anchorman, Brian Williams. Even though its anchor decision hasn't been made, ABC moved aggressively to make sure its biggest names were on the scene with Rita: Charles Gibson and Bob Woodruff both reported from Texas, and Diane Sawyer spent a rare Saturday co- anchoring "Good Morning America."
ABC News President David Westin is the key man in the process, and he will likely decide Jennings' replacement on "World News Tonight" in consultation with parent Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger, a former ABC executive, and ABC network chief Anne Sweeney.
ABC News executives wouldn't speak about the process, a spokesman said.
Chances are ABC will have its successor in place before CBS News, which has been searching since at least November when Rather announced he was stepping down. Bob Schieffer has been interim anchor since March.
The ultimate arbiter is CBS chief Leslie Moonves. He directed CBS News President Andrew Heyward to give him suggestions, a prototype was filmed and the news division even asked its interns if they had any ideas.
The CBS prototype reportedly included a fast-paced news summary and longer, newsmagazinelike pieces introduced by individual correspondents. But Moonves wasn't satisfied.
"We are trying to change it, make it more user-friendly," he said in an investors conference call held by Merrill Lynch earlier this month. "Obviously, to skew it a bit younger. It is something that we are concentrating on, we are putting a lot of effort. We haven't come up with a great solution, so we have sent them back to the drawing board. But you will see changes coming in the next few months."
Heyward said CBS News will do more test films and present Moonves with other ideas soon.
It's been more than five months since both men last anchored the evening news. ABC is conducting its search for a successor very privately. CBS has struggled, although it gave itself the bigger challenge.
NBC's ratings spiked high in the wake of Katrina and the very visible work of its anchorman, Brian Williams. Even though its anchor decision hasn't been made, ABC moved aggressively to make sure its biggest names were on the scene with Rita: Charles Gibson and Bob Woodruff both reported from Texas, and Diane Sawyer spent a rare Saturday co- anchoring "Good Morning America."
ABC News President David Westin is the key man in the process, and he will likely decide Jennings' replacement on "World News Tonight" in consultation with parent Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger, a former ABC executive, and ABC network chief Anne Sweeney.
ABC News executives wouldn't speak about the process, a spokesman said.
Chances are ABC will have its successor in place before CBS News, which has been searching since at least November when Rather announced he was stepping down. Bob Schieffer has been interim anchor since March.
The ultimate arbiter is CBS chief Leslie Moonves. He directed CBS News President Andrew Heyward to give him suggestions, a prototype was filmed and the news division even asked its interns if they had any ideas.
The CBS prototype reportedly included a fast-paced news summary and longer, newsmagazinelike pieces introduced by individual correspondents. But Moonves wasn't satisfied.
"We are trying to change it, make it more user-friendly," he said in an investors conference call held by Merrill Lynch earlier this month. "Obviously, to skew it a bit younger. It is something that we are concentrating on, we are putting a lot of effort. We haven't come up with a great solution, so we have sent them back to the drawing board. But you will see changes coming in the next few months."
Heyward said CBS News will do more test films and present Moonves with other ideas soon.
# posted by ATN @ 6:14 PM
Question of Network's Role May Play Key Role in Discrimination Case
Source: Associated Press Is The Weather Channel a business or entertainment?That's the question U.S. Magistrate Christopher Hagy asked lawyers on Monday during an evidentiary hearing on an age discrimination case. The answer may help determine a lawsuit filed by former reporter Marny Stanier Midkiff, who claims the Atlanta-based network dismissed her in favor of younger, sexier forecasters.
Midkiff, who was 41 when she was fired in 2003, claims the network purged older employees, particularly women. Her lawyer, Dan Klein, introduced an October 2002 memo from Terry Connelly, a network official, that said viewers described the network's female broadcasters as matronly, dowdy and old.
"What does it matter?" Hagy asked during the hearing. "Are you telling me if I'm running a motion picture studio and I need a starlet or I need a 19-year-old, that's illegal?"
Klein argued that the network crossed the line when it fired Midkiff.
"No one's going to say you have to hire a woman to play Macbeth," he said. "But in the business world, to impose limits on sex and age and professions, such as reporting ..."
Hagy abruptly cut him off. "Is The Weather Channel business or entertainment?"
To Midkiff, the answer is a no-brainer.
"It's a business," she said.
For eight years, she was a manager for the network's on-air meteorologists in a job that required her to appear on air about 20 percent of the time.
When her position was cut, she said, she was not offered an on-air role simply because of her age. MORE
# posted by ATN @ 6:07 PM
Radio News Network Ratings Released
Arbitron has released the September 2005 Network Rankings. The survey measures All Broadcasts Mon-Sun 6AM-12MidPersons 12+/Total U.S. According to the numbers Westwood CNN News Reach Radio Network came in 40th place with a 1,612,000 average audience and a rating of 0.7. Premiere FOX News Network came in in 43rd place with a 1,181,000 average audience OR a 0.5 rating. All other radio news outlets outperformed all of the other news and information outlets. This was the first time for the Premiere FOX News Network to be included in a survey.
You'll find the complete list of #'s HERE.
You'll find the complete list of #'s HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 4:38 PM
Uganda Pays CNN $1m to Buy Good Publicity
Source: All Africa.com The Uganda government and Cable News Network (CNN) have sealed a $1 million (about Shs1.78b) six-month deal to promote the country as a top tourist destination.
According to the deal, Uganda will sponsor the Inside Africa show on CNN, which runs every Saturday, for six months. Spots promoting tourism under the tagline, "Uganda: A Gift of Nature" will run in the 30 minute show, which is repeated every Sunday.
State Minister for Tourism, Trade and Antiquities Jovino Akaki and officials from CNN signed the agreement in Kampala. "On Thursday we met and gave a nod to a team that is supposed to brand Uganda, so very soon you will be seeing on CNN good things about Uganda," Akaki told journalists at Murchison Falls National Park on Friday.
According to the deal, Uganda will sponsor the Inside Africa show on CNN, which runs every Saturday, for six months. Spots promoting tourism under the tagline, "Uganda: A Gift of Nature" will run in the 30 minute show, which is repeated every Sunday.
State Minister for Tourism, Trade and Antiquities Jovino Akaki and officials from CNN signed the agreement in Kampala. "On Thursday we met and gave a nod to a team that is supposed to brand Uganda, so very soon you will be seeing on CNN good things about Uganda," Akaki told journalists at Murchison Falls National Park on Friday.
# posted by ATN @ 4:27 PM
Katrina Could Forever Change How TV News Covers Storms
USA Today's Peter Johnson writes," Rita was no Katrina, to the relief of an entire nation. But in the aftermath of the first hurricane, which ravaged New Orleans and large parts of the Gulf Coast, broadcast and cable TV took no chances.
From networks calling in their weekday morning-show anchors for weekend Rita duty (ABC's Good Morning America ran five hours Saturday) to wall-to-wall coverage on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC and prime-time specials on ABC and NBC, never has a hurricane-turned-tropical-storm gotten such extensive media attention.
Before Katrina, "the thinking had always been, 'It's no longer a story once it's no longer a hurricane. Be there when it hits, get out by the time it's downgraded to a tropical storm,' " CNN chief Jon Klein says.
Katrina, he says, taught news outlets that post-hurricane storm surges and flooding, which destroyed levees and much of New Orleans, "are even more dangerous than the initial wind and rain. We know to stick around and wait to see how the story plays out."
Read the complete article HERE.
From networks calling in their weekday morning-show anchors for weekend Rita duty (ABC's Good Morning America ran five hours Saturday) to wall-to-wall coverage on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC and prime-time specials on ABC and NBC, never has a hurricane-turned-tropical-storm gotten such extensive media attention.
Before Katrina, "the thinking had always been, 'It's no longer a story once it's no longer a hurricane. Be there when it hits, get out by the time it's downgraded to a tropical storm,' " CNN chief Jon Klein says.
Katrina, he says, taught news outlets that post-hurricane storm surges and flooding, which destroyed levees and much of New Orleans, "are even more dangerous than the initial wind and rain. We know to stick around and wait to see how the story plays out."
Read the complete article HERE.
# posted by ATN @ 4:21 PM
Sunday, September 25, 2005
CNN NOT in Talks With Rather
CNN has issued a statement in light of the bogus 'tip' given to WHAC on Saturday stating CNN was in talks with Dan Rather: "We are not in discussions with Dan Rather and it should come as no surprise that we're very pleased with our lineup of Aaron and Anderson from 10-midnight since we're beating Fox at that time in the key demo."
WHAC admits it is sometimes quick to post 'tips' that are sent in and regret the error in judgment. I have made it a policy from this day forward to followup on any 'tips' before posting them.
WHAC admits it is sometimes quick to post 'tips' that are sent in and regret the error in judgment. I have made it a policy from this day forward to followup on any 'tips' before posting them.
# posted by ATN @ 10:14 PM
Critic: In the 24/7 News Cycle, Repetition is not Revelation
Danny Heitman with the Baton Rouge Advocate doesn't think too much about the cable news channels. Below is an excerpt from an article in Friday's Advocate:
"Scanning cable news channels, websites, and news blogs about Katrina or any other global tragedy, one can feel more than a little like Shiel's stimulation-addicted Harfager - a restless spectator so immersed in the present that he's robbed of a past and a future. Information immersion of this sort can narrow the mind as much as widen it, muting yesterday or tomorrow in favor of the ever-present Now."
"Scanning cable news channels, websites, and news blogs about Katrina or any other global tragedy, one can feel more than a little like Shiel's stimulation-addicted Harfager - a restless spectator so immersed in the present that he's robbed of a past and a future. Information immersion of this sort can narrow the mind as much as widen it, muting yesterday or tomorrow in favor of the ever-present Now."
# posted by ATN @ 1:53 PM
TV Networks Offer Extensive Rita Coverage
Here are a few tidbits on how cable news covered Hurricane Rita in an article by AP's David Bauder:
"While "dodged a bullet" was a popular television phrase, particularly with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, there was a danger in using it too soon with delays in getting pictures from the hardest-hit areas.
"At first, in many areas it didn't look really bad and suddenly we realized we'd been fooled," said CBS anchor Russ Mitchell.
CNN had strong footage with Miles O'Brien and Lumberton, Texas, police chief Norman Reynolds, trailed by a photographer when he discovered two trees that landed on his house.
"We were blessed," the chief said. "It could be much worse. This is an example of why you shouldn't be in a house while this is going on."
Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith was blown over while reporting from Beaumont Friday night. He struggled to his feet in the mud, then held onto a street sign for balance.
"It's just stupid to be out in this," he said.
There was little showboating from reporters, but there were exceptions.
MSNBC's Janet Shamlian tattled on herself, telling how she tried to drive in Galveston, Texas, but had trouble keeping on the road. Her hat flew off in the wind as she talked.
"Oh, there goes my new NBC hat!" she said.
"We'll get you another one," came a voice from the studio, ending her report."
"While "dodged a bullet" was a popular television phrase, particularly with CNN's Soledad O'Brien, there was a danger in using it too soon with delays in getting pictures from the hardest-hit areas.
"At first, in many areas it didn't look really bad and suddenly we realized we'd been fooled," said CBS anchor Russ Mitchell.
CNN had strong footage with Miles O'Brien and Lumberton, Texas, police chief Norman Reynolds, trailed by a photographer when he discovered two trees that landed on his house.
"We were blessed," the chief said. "It could be much worse. This is an example of why you shouldn't be in a house while this is going on."
Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith was blown over while reporting from Beaumont Friday night. He struggled to his feet in the mud, then held onto a street sign for balance.
"It's just stupid to be out in this," he said.
There was little showboating from reporters, but there were exceptions.
MSNBC's Janet Shamlian tattled on herself, telling how she tried to drive in Galveston, Texas, but had trouble keeping on the road. Her hat flew off in the wind as she talked.
"Oh, there goes my new NBC hat!" she said.
"We'll get you another one," came a voice from the studio, ending her report."
# posted by ATN @ 1:47 PM
