Larry King And The Ladies Of 'The View'

What the heck is the fascination that Larry King Live has with the ladies of 'The View'. They always seem to be on his show. This week is not different... a full week of the 'The View' women on 'Larry King Live'.

From TV Newser. Barbara Walters starts tomorrow, with sometime fill-in LKL host Joy Behar on Tuesday, Elisabeth Hasselbeck Wednesday, Whoopi Goldberg Thursday and Sherri Shepherd Friday.

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Larry King In A Hot Tub With Jim Carrey

You have to wait until the very end of this video.... but to see Larry King in a hot tub with Jim Carrey was funny. King... all wet in a shirt and tie.

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Ryan Seacrest Is NOT Taking Over For Larry King On CNN

Ryan Seacrest IS NOT going to take over for Larry King on CNN the duo announced tonight. It has been rumored that the hyper-busy, much-talked about Seacrest would be positioned to take over for King. That is even though King just extended his contact with CNN until 2011. The wrinkle is that King is not guaranteed to keep the 9pm time slot that King has owned. He's the biggest challenge for FOX News... even though Anderson Cooper does decent numbers at 10pm against FOX. King and Seacrest talked very briefly about CNN when King was outlining the many projects that Seacrest is a part of.

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Will Seacrest Be Paired With Anderson Cooper
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Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper... back to back on CNN. :) Just who would come out on top... in the nightly ratings? Can you believe it? Or, would you rather not think about it? The scuttle for a week now has been that Seacrest is in talks with CNN to replace Larry King in the 9pm time slot. Seacrest talked to Access Hollywood about it. “I will be on Larry’s show Thursday night. We will talk more about it with Larry,” Seacrest explained. “Larry is going to be on CNN as long as Larry wants to be but I am going to be Larry’s guest Thursday night and Larry and I are going to talk about everything.”

Talk about going from one end of the spectrum to the other. Larry King has a solid foothold on a demographic that likes to watch TV... old. No doubt CNN wants to continue to reshape it's news product into one driven by star-power in prime time (does anyone remember Cooper on the 'Mole"). Seacrest would definitely bring name recognition. But as is proven time and time again in big name hires (Couric, anyone?), names don't equate to ratings. King delivers a product that his aged audience likes. Could Seacrest deliver a product that King's audience likes... plus lures his own core viewers.? I suppose time will tell if CNN and Seacreat reach a deal. But, I just can't imagine how a prime time built around Seacrest and Cooper will attract a large enough core audience... at least outside of "the Village", Boys Town, Midtown, South Beach or West Hollywood. Crank up the dance party... the senior citizens have gone to bed.

And then there is this nugget from the Access Hollywood interview. “Larry and I have been friends for many years.” “I send him a pair of jeans every month because he loves [to wear] jeans under the desk.” I really don't know whether that is interesting, funny, laughable, disturbing or what. But a once-a-month gift from Seacrest to King?

Enough With Barbara Walters 'Audition' Already!

I like Barbara Walters as much as the next journalist.. I even like 'The View' sometimes (yes I can admit it)... but enough already! It's time to end the PR tour for "Audition", Walters new book. This seemingly endless media blast is demeaning to such a respected journalist.

I'm tired of hearing about her tawdry affair with a married Senator. I found the social challenges of a biracial affair in the early 1970's interesting. But, I've heard it enough. I'm tired of hearing how she worked so hard to get her jobs: at WNBC, NBC and ABC. There are many people who have worked many dedicated, difficult years without the same breaks Walters got. I'm tired of hearing how Harry Reasoner treated her like crap on the anchor desk at ABC for over a year. She's a highly paid anchor. Get over it.

I'm sorry to sound so sarcastic. But, every where I turned this week, it's all about Barbara Walters. If you enter "Barbara Walters Audition" in Google News right now, you get more than 1,000 entries from the last week. She appeared on 'Oprah',
On 'The O'Reilly Factor' with Bill O'Reilly.
'
with Charlie Gibson in primetime last night, the beginning of a month-long look at her life on 'The View', David Letterman Friday night, Tim Russert this weekend and Larry King Monday night. Geez. Enough already. I can't image all of the 'one on one' exclusives in the local media tour like this one from Wisconsin of all places.

Walters is a seasoned, respected journalist. The public relations parade of affairs, sexism and struggles don't endear her more to me than her professional career. Telling the story over and over and over in publicity stunts for her book makes it far less appealing. I'm sure the single moms who struggle with a $40,000 a year job in local TV news don't feel her pain either. Give her time in the spotlight for the book. Oprah seemed like a good spotlight. Then a discussion 'The View' may have been OK too. But stop the parade. Her story has lost it's appeal... and shock value if that's what publishers of 'Audition' wanted. It's begininng to affect whether I like to watch her as a journalist.

READ MORE WALTERS' POSTS
Walters and Star Jones' New Catfight
Barbara Walters: The News Anchor and the Senator
How 'The View' Has Changed From This Seat
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Who Will Replace Katie Couric -- Part 2: Bryant Gumbel or Leslie Stahl?

It seems everyone has a list these days of who should replace Katie Couric. There are many familiar names: Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper and Harry Smith. A few lists also add Bryant Gumbel who left his sports show recently. No... I don't believe he can have a comeback. He left 'Today'. His version of the "Early Show" stalled. His play by play sports career with the NFL seems history. He resigned a few days ago from the NFL Networks. "What happened is we had a conversation and we agreed to go in different directions. It's really as simple as that," Gumble is quoted. Plus, there's a lot of baggage from just being unlikable. He has a very polarizing appeal. You love him as an anchor... or you hate him. So... if Katie was a disaster for CBS... then Gumbel would be right along side her.

The Ventura County Star makes the case for Leslie Stahl to bump Katie. "If CBS wants to replace its first female solo anchor with another woman, how about someone who has been at CBS a long time and has the necessary skills and gravitas? A "60 Minutes" reporter since 1991, she covered the White House during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Stahl spent eight seasons anchoring "Face the Nation" and has reported a range of big stories. At 66, she's no spring chicken, but neither is the traditional network news viewer."
Here are some other lists floating around.
Arkansas Democrat Gazette - Ann Curry and John Roberts pop up here as somewhat familiar names
Time - thinks it will be some 'white guy'
The Ampersand - Some familiar names alongside some odd ones: Perez Hilton, Craig Kilborn... and you!

By the way.... here is my take and the justification from several weeks ago.
Harry Smith - solid but has been around CBS too long in low profiles with little notice. Good guy in a bad situation
Russ Mitchell - may be an inside-CBS favorite but he has little name appeal or major news creds.
Scott Pelley - He was a favorite during the Katie search... and may be more about the future than today. He's scored high profile reports for '60 Minutes'.
Maggie Rodriguez - She's a good addition to 'Early'... just too new to the CBS/national game.
Lester Holit - He's a solid anchor from NBC who may want to jump at a chance
Matt Lauer - He would be crazy to leave his comfy position at 'Today'
Terry Moran - He just wouldn't seem to cut it on CBS right now.
Keith Olbermann - It's risky for him and CBS for very different reasons
Anderson Cooper - "GQ News' won't cut it at CBS. The sharks would eat him alive.
David Gregory - He's positioned nicely at NBC... but this might make a good choice for the future for CBS. If CBS went this way, it would be a toss up between Pelley and Gregory though.
Wolfe Blitzer - CNN has invested so much in him. I just don't think he could connect in a newscast like viewers expect in an national network evening newscast.
Tim Russert - You might file this under the 'no way he would do it' category. But, it could bring a whole new level of credibility for the newscast. This choice could be very interesting.
Bob Scheiffer - It may have been a mistake taking him off the broadcast in the first place. But, it would be a PR disaster for CBS to bring him back... admitting one of the biggest mistakes since the short-lived Vargas and Woodruff team on ABC. The media would focus on the mistake instead of the future/product.
John Roberts - He claims to be happy with the small audience on CNN's AM. But I bet he's thinking 'If only I have hung in there."

So... who is my bet if a decision was made today?
Scott Pelley - He is the ' easy choice' for CBS right now. There is also low risk in his transition. There's not a lot of flash to this guy. If anything his reputation is squarely focused on his reporting skills. Could that be a bad thing? Pelley also allows the news division to stay focused on content instead of the media circus that will surround Couric's departure and the appointment of someone whos appointment is more about the name than the skills. Plus, Pelley may be a long-term player (as long as evening newscasts last). He doesn't appear headed to retirement anytime soon.

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Dan Abrams To Judge The News In MSNBC's 'Verdict'

NEW POST HERE: Dan Abrams Takes On Rush Limbaugh

MSNBC annouced that Dan Abrams, the host turned general manager turned host agian, will now also take on the role of judge. TV Decoder reports about Adam's new show 'Verdict' which will air at 9pm on MSNBC. “This show will make judgments,” Mr. Abrams said. “We will declare a sort of ‘verdict’ on everything from politics to law to pop culture.” Wow, look for a lot of cheesy cliches and graphics to go along with this concept. I'll admit it if I am wrong.. but it's ripe with potential to go really bad... really fast.

"When a news show tries to do something offbeat, there's a sense that it's gimmicky," Abrams told the WashingtonPost.com. "It's supposed to be fun. The media make everything two-sided, even when it's not. Rather than saying 'one side says this, the other side says that,' it's helpful for viewers to know where I'm coming from."

I hate to say this, election night coverage aside, but cable news is now more about entertainment in prime time. O'Reilly is the king. Well Larry King was the king until the 'Factor' came on the scene. "News" shows have tried and failed in prime time. Anderson Cooper may be the closest thing to "news"... and that's a bit of a stretch. Who knows what CNN will try to wrap around Campbell Brown after 'Election Center' ends. It may not be such a bad thing to accept that cable news prime time is about entertainment. Perhaps Abrams can be the next Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown.

By the way, in all of this, Tucker Carlson is gone. I have to admit I didn't realize he was still around after 'Dancing With The Stars'.
Plus, check out the post about 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' getting the 10pm time slot as well as his 8pm slot.

Well, time for some shameless promotion of another fun blog I just launched. Hey, we all need to get away from this mad media world on ocasion right? Check out Meerkat Mania: LOVE FOR THE MEERKATS. Yes, I love those cute little critters that scurry across the Kalahari every Friday night on Animal Planet. I've watched previous seasons on DVR on rainy or sick days. It's easy-wastching TV! "Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation" starts Friday at 9pm. Enjoy the show.. and add comments on the blog anytime! GET YOUR MEERKAT RINGTONES AT: Meerkat Mania LOVE FOR THE MEERKATS!

10 Predictions for TV News in 2008

ABC’s ‘World News’ with Charles Gibson finally clearly beats NBC’s Brian Williams and ‘Nightly News’ for the year. He had some success in 2007. But there will be little to celebrate for ABC, NBC or CBS. The audience for evening news shows will hold steady for most of 2008… only because of a heated Presidential race. After November, the erosion becomes a landslide.


‘Good Morning America’ makes another run for the morning show crown against ‘Today.’ NBC remains on top though. But, the show struggles with the fourth hour continuing to weaken and Meredith Viera wondering if she wants to go home to the family instead of working so much. In the end, 'Today' holds the crown. Look for the content after the first half hour to continue to be light and fluffy. CBS’s revamped ‘Early Show’ debuts in January with little change in ratings.

Campbell Brown debuts with a modest degree of publicity on CNN in February. But ratings quickly fall to levels below where even Paul Zahn hovered. CNN realizes Campbell is good… but not the solution to their prime time battle for viewers with FOX. Campbell helps CNN through the election year and its coverage of the campaigns She will bring a needed degree of attractive anchor appeal to the coverage with Blitzer, Crawley and King.

Larry King finally announces the date for his retirement from CNN. While his contract is good into 2009, he’ll talk about reasons he needs to step down a bit early. If his health permits, I would bet he continues to do some type of work... just not on CNN and not at 9pm.

FOX News prime time grows and grows with Bill O'Reilly at the helm! The election year will give him plenty of controversial topics to examine. The Presidential race will help CNN as well but CNN stays far behind FOX in prime. The 8pm hour will struggle. Larry King remains the biggest draw while he’s on-air. And, Anderson Cooper will continue to rake in a ton of money for a show that will continue to do only average ratings and demos for CNN.

NBC will stick with Jenna Wolfe co-anchoring the Sunday edition of ‘Today’. Her presence will continue to expand at NBC some how.

There’s another storm front rolling toward ‘The View’. Elisabeth Hasselbeck will want to spend more time with her children. Barbara Walters will do even less of the show. Whoopi Goldberg does OK… and manages to hold the show together.

Keith Olbermann gets his due. MSNBC will consider several ways to expand his roll in prime.

While the content of the ‘CBS Evening News” continues to improve, Katie Couric will decide she’s tired of the second-guessing and challenges in her evening time slot. She will announce plans to leave CBS at a later date for ‘other projects’. Expect a talk show or web venture. CBS will struggle to find the person it wants to build the 'Evening News' around. It won't be an easy task with the overall decline in the relevance and importance of such evening newscasts.

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CNN SOS: Can Campbell Brown Handle Prime Time?

OK… so no one really wants to criticize Campbell Brown before she even starts her prime time show on CNN. But after tonight’s Presidential debate in Las Vegas, I’m going ‘go there.’ Prediction: Replacing Paula Zahn with Campbell Brown will prove to be a net zero, a wash, an even trade. You can add any other cliche that says CNN is still in trouble in prime time. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t necessarily a Zahn fan. But I don’t believe Brown is the answer for CNN prime either.

The latest reasons… Brown stumbled, almost making no logical connections, in her first question during tonight’s debate. The two or three questions to come were average at best. I wasn’t impressed that she felt she has to play "the gender card.” In the Anderson Cooper debrief after the debate, Brown struggled in her first question to give her take on how Barack Obama answered a question. She even gave credit to John Roberts for the theme of her answer.

Brown’s high points in recent memory for me include her reports filed from New Orleans during Katrina. They were engaging and emotional. But a great reporter does not necessarily make a great anchor. For anyone who watched ‘Weekend Today’ regularly, you know that her hard news interviews were just… OK. They were nothing to write home about as my grandmother said often.

There are many prime time problems for CNN to come. CNN seems to place its prime time future squarely in the lap of Anderson Cooper. While some people (women and men) find him attractive, his anchoring skills leave something to be desired. His field work is far superior to his reading of scripts from behind the anchor desk (I’m not sure how much work he actually must do in the field). Larry King, while legendary, is aging. Worse yet, it’s beginning to show on air (ask Jerry Seinfeld). If CNN hoped Campbell Brown would be the other major support in prime time, there’s reason to send an overnight SOS to headquarters in Atlanta.

While the deal is signed, CNN should really re-assess what it wants to do in prime time. Instead of doing more of the same, be creative. Innovation from Ted Turner launched the network. Now, it’s time for more innovation for CNN to survive prime time.
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Hillary Clinton Wins CNN Debate, Barack Obama Struggles

UPDATE: Was a former Democratic party leader from Arkansas planted in the debate.. and allowed to ask a question? Interesting read here from HotAir.

GRADING THE DEBATE
WINNER: Hillary Clinton
LOSER: Barack Obama, John Edwards (tie)
DEBATE FORMAT: "D" - It lacked focus. The second half was better than the first.
WOLF BLITZER: "C" - He struggled to have any control.
CAMPBELL BROWN: "C" Oh this could be trouble for CNN at 8pm
JOHN ROBERTS: "C" He's just OK. Nothing great. Nothing horrible.

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Hillary Stands Strong, Barack Struggles

Candidates Booed for Repeated Attacks On Clinton
Obama Flub Illegal Immigration Driver's License Answer

SPECIAL NOTE: If you read the live blog tonight and my comments, you got the exact analysis in the CNN Q&A right after the debate. In fact, it was almost word for word.
CNN SIDE NOTE: 10:10 The handoff to Anderson Cooper..... Geesh.... couldn't they have scripted a better intro for him. Or, heaven forbid, could Anderson have adlibed to provide a better transition? Plus, John King did not have audio to hear Anderson. Anderson introduced a panel and tosses to the wrong tape. After a Q/A he tried to toss to the tape again. You guessed it... it was again the wrong tape. What a letdown for CNN and Anderson to have this show start in shambles--LIVE DEBATE LOG--
10:08 Does Clinton prefer diamonds or pearls? "I want both" she answers.
10:05 Answering whether she is too polarizing to be elected, Clinton delivers a great, focused, passionate response. Of all the candidates she looks the most Presidential. Joe Biden is on the opposite end of the charisma spectrum, but he knows and firmly explains his passions and beliefs.
10:00 Frank, another audience member, stumbled over his question as if it was scripted and he was having trouble delivering. Plus, why is Suzanne Malveaux restating or asking her own question after the audience member asks his or hers? This format was not well thought out. It may have looked good on paper. But, it did not work.
9: 57 Clinton talks about a Supreme Court nominee and abortion. She straddles a yes or no answer until pushed and talked about privacy.
9:49 I think this is the second time the audience has booed Obama and Edwards for their attacks on Clinton. It's an interesting dynamic when the second and third candidates at this point in the face must attack the frontrunner... but are booed.
9:44 The question from Judy was a very valuable question. But even she was stunned by the phrasing in how she asked the question, even muttering something like 'shoot.' Did CNN plant the specific questions with the audience members? We all know there is screening that goes on. But, I certianly hope CNN did not give the audience the specific question or help them script their question. What a nightmare if that indeed is happening.
9:41 Dodd speaks Spanish to help answer that question from the Latino member of the audience.
9:39 Great question from the audience about terrorism and the unfair focus on Latino and Hispanic immigrants as it relates to immigration. It's back to immigration but the man in the audience asked a great question.
9:34 Richardson talks a lot about guaranteeing services but rarely follows that with a plan for paying for it. In this instance, he proposed a 'Hero's Health Card.'
9:26 In the second half of the debate... it is interesting that Clinton stood to
answer the question from the audience. BRILLIANT! She knows her strength. Biden answered the first question seated. After Clinton stood, everyone else did as well.
9:11 Clinton deflects the gender card issue. She says she's playing the 'winning card' 'People are not attacking me because I am a woman. They're attacking me because I am ahead.'
9:03 Clinton is looking very Presidential. She's passionate and focused where the other leading candidates tonight have struggled to even finish thoughts.
8:59 Wow. Kucinich and Richardson are getting so much airtime right now. You would think they would the leading candidates right now.
8:50 After dominating the first half hour of the debate, Clinton, Obama and Edwards have rarely been heard this half hour.
8:44 As you watch Joe Biden talk about Pakistan, you have to wonder why this man has not served as Vice President or even had stronger runs at the Presidency. His passion and opinions seem well-defined and even logical.
8:38 Richardson says he wants 'to be the education President.' He wants a minimum salary. He wants to eliminate 'No Child Left Behind.' He wants a college loan standard. He wants the government to pay two years of college tuition in exchange for a year of public service.
8:29 Should illegal immigrants have drivers licenses?

Obama flubs the answer. To a yes or no question, he says "I am not opposing..." On a second try - YES
Edwards - NO
Dodd - NO
Clinton - NO
Kucinich - no real answer. He doesn't like the word "illegal"
Richardson -YES
Biden - NO
8: 25 After Obama talks about immigration, it seems everyone is answering each question with what is usually an opening statement. That means no real answer.
8:20 HILLARY'S LAUGH IS BACK!
8:19 Joe Biden seems to be the good 'ol boy candidate trying to step above the tit for tat of the other candidates. He seems to outline a very realistic approach to resolving some key issues.
8:17 This debate is going to be a mess. Wolf Blitzer doesn't have control and the format seems to be open ended. Add a cheering crowd... and very little will come from this debate.
8:16 John Edwards goes on the attack against Clinto for her positions on the war and votes that alligned her with Bush and Cheney.
8:12 This looks like it's going to be a Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama duel. They go blow by blow on health care. ROUND ONE WINNER: Hillary. She's clear on her health care plan and draws distinction between Obama. Plus,CNN is allowing cheering from the audience which is distracting.
8:08 Campbell Brown's first question. She's stumbling on her big CNN debut in prime time. I didn't even understand the question. I can't imagine what Hillary was thinking.
8:05. The introductions have taken this long. Then, CNN goes into Q&A with reporters and anchors, including Campbell Brown. They do this all day. I tuned into see a debate!
8:00 OK, Wolf Blitzer and CNN started the debate with the photo-op introductions? This seems silly and a waste of air time. Plus, where is Mike Gravel (is he not on the ballot in Nevada or was he not allowed in this debate)?

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