WASHINGTON DC TRAIN COLLISION COVERAGE - SEE VIDEO

Six die in the worst Metro accident in Washington DC history. Here is a WTOP report. PHOTO FROM WTOP.COM
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A Metro train smashed into the back of another at the height of the Monday evening rush hour, killing at least six people and injuring scores of others as cars from the trailing train jackknifed into the air and fell atop the first.
One of the fatalities was a female train operator, Metro officials say. The woman's name has not been released.
D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin says more than 70 people were transported to hospitals. Of those, two people have life-threatening injuries and 50 are classified as "walking wounded" injuries.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier says people who believe their loved ones were on the train can dial 311.
"It looks to be the worst Metro accident in D.C. history," D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty says.
Metro General Manager John Catoe says it appears one of the trains was stopped on the tracks awaiting permission to clear the station when another train came up behind it and slammed into the back of the train.
"I give my deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives today," Catoe says. "This is an incredibly tragic event. We will get to the bottom and find out what happened."
Rubin says there are about 200-250 firefighters on the scene. The firefighters are working to clear each train car. Two D.C. firefighters were injured, but their injuries are minor, Rubin says.
Authorities have scheduled a news conference for 8 a.m. Tuesday


Here is my LIVE blog of WJLA, WTTG, WUSA and WRC coverage of the Metro train accident.

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A Twitter World - Protests In Iran

If you don't Twitter, there's a lot going on this weekend to spotlight Iran. Many people have added a green overlay to their Twitter avatar to show support for peace in Iran. Also, a retweet tonight from many users asks everyone to change their location and time zone to that of Tehran, Iran. The note says there is a crackdown on bloggers. By a world of Twitter users saying they are from Iran, the bloggers hope to add confusion to any crackdown.
Follow me on Twitter: @JeffParsonsDC
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Also tonight.. FNC and CNN go wall to wall with Iran protest coverage. FROM TVNEWSER.COM
After last weekend's criticism over a lack of U.S. cable news coverage of the post-Iranian election protests, at least two of those networks - CNN and Fox News - have been going wall-to-wall with coverage today.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield anchored much of the afternoon coverage getting reports from correspondents Christiane Amanpour in London, Susan Candiotti at a protest in New York at Ivan Watson at the "Iran Desk" in Atlanta. Why Atlanta? Watson explained: "It's because we received this fax - our team in Tehran - from the Iranian government, banning us from working in Iran. From sending any dispatches without prior approval of the Iranian authorities."

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NBC Nightly News "Off The Shoulder"

'NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams' tried an "off the shoulder approach for 20 minutes of their newscast Wednesday. It was widely panned. Chalk it up to trying. Take a look for yourself.

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Walter Cronkite Sick

FROM TV NEWSER
TVNewser has learned legendary CBS newsman Walter Cronkite, 92, who once held the title of "Most Trusted Man in America," is gravely ill, according to multiple CBS News sources. The network began updating his obituary more than a week ago, a source adds.
CBS News executive Linda Mason, designated to speak on Cronkite's behalf, had no comment.
The avuncular Cronkite anchored "CBS Evening News" for 19 years, until 1981, when he was forced to retire. Dan Rather was named his successor. Cronkite maintained an office at CBS, where he was a special correspondent.A native of St. Joseph, Mo., Cronkite made his mark as a World War II correspondent for United Press. He joined CBS in 1950 as a Washington correspondent. In 1962, he was named anchor of "CBS Evening News," then 15 minutes in length. The following year, it became network TV's first 30'minute weeknight newscast
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Nightline Beats Conan O'Brien

From MediaLifeMagazine CLICK TO READ MORE
After kicking off with huge numbers last week as host of NBC’s "Tonight Show," Conan O’Brien has seen his ratings slip each night.
More troubling, on Tuesday O’Brien fell to third place behind CBS’s "Late Show with David Letterman" and ABC’s "Nightline.""Letterman" had a 3.4 household rating, up from a 2.9 a year earlier, based on Nielsen metered-market overnight ratings, while "Nightline" pulled a 3.1. O’Brien earned a 2.9.Long the No. 2 competitor to "Tonight Show," "Letterman" almost never ranked No. 1 ahead of "Tonight" when Leno was at the helm.
Tuesday’s ratings partly reflect a decidedly unusual night on television.
NBC aired a thrilling NHL Stanley Cup game that upended the network’s primetime lineup in the western half of the country. Many affiliates aired a mishmash of local shows after the game instead of NBC’s regular programming, which presumably drove away a number of viewers who otherwise might have stayed around for O'Brien.And ABC had an exciting NBA finals game, which pushed back the start times of its late night shows. "Nightline" got the benefit of the ratings spillover from basketball, which probably added a half a point to its ratings. The prior night it drew a 2.6.
But even allowing for those factors, O’Brien and NBC have good reason to be worried based on "Tonight's" steady rating slide.On O'Brien's first night out, "Tonight" generated a lofty 7.1 household rating, well above the average rating Leno had been pulling most nights. Much of that was the result of the heavy promotion NBC put behind O’Brien taking over the show.
On the second night, the show slipped to a 5, then on the third to a 4.3. On the fourth it pulled a 3.8 and the fifth a 3.5. This Monday, it slipped further, to a 3.1, before hitting Tuesday's 2.9
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Sarah Palin on Tdoay Show Friday

From TVNewser
Sarag Palin will be interviewed live tomorrow by Today Show's Matt Lauer. The interview will no doubt start wtih the dust up between Palin and David Letterman regarding a joke that Palin's daughter was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez!

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Erin Burnett on NBC Today Show

The first segment of the Today Show is now back in my routine. This week I have watched CNBC's Erin Burnet co-anchor with Matt Lauer. Here are some quick thoughts (as always these are simply my personal opinions and in no way meant to be taken personally by the reader).
--Burnett is "ok" on this show. She's young. She's growing.. and she's just "OK"
--She's trying too hard at times. Opening the show this AM with a reference to sun needed in NY when the first story was the shooting at the Holocaust Museum was awkward. Lauer knew it. He moved on without a reference. Given more hard news exposure, Lauer is the most under-utilized "hard news" guy at NBC. How long can he keep doing cooking segments.
--When all else fails, reference mom. She's done it this week. Just seems odd.
--I still like Natalie Morales and Ann Curry filling in. Both are strong and enjoyable for different reasons. NOTE: I don't like the silliness that happens on the show sometimes. Curry and Morales, like all the others, get caught up in themselves too often. Still, I watch.

In the end, Burnett is OK. She's easy on the eyes. She is a "TV expert" on the evonomy. She'll grow. SEARCH for more of my posts about Burnett by entering her name in the search box above.


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Barney Frank Gets All Hot Under The Collar On CNBC

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DC, Other Areas Media Jobs

I have many friends in the media business who are searching for jobs. Here are a few that I know are available -- some in DC, some in other areas.
UPDATED JUNE 17
- Bloomberg L.P. : Speed Desk Editor (Mexico City, Mexico-) - 06/10/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6001
- The Associated Press : Producers for Regional Desk (Philadelphia-PA) - 06/10/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6002
Television-----------------
- KSHB : Associate Producer (Kansas City-MO) - 06/05/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=5997
Radio-----------------
- Bloomberg L.P. : Radio Sales Team Leader (New York-NY) - 06/04/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=5995
New Media-----------------
- The Deal : Financial Blogger (New York-NY) - 06/09/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=5999
- The New York Times : Web Newsroom Intern (New York-NY) - 06/10/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6003
Public Relations-----------------
- Total : Paid Internship/Fellowship at large corporation (Beaumont/Port Arthur-TX) - 06/05/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=5998
Media Business Positions -----------------
- Bloomberg L.P. : Head of Product - Bloomberg.com (New York-NY) - 06/09/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6000
Other-----------------
- ClimateWorks : Senior Communications Officer - Technical Writer/Editor (San Francisco-CA) - 06/10/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6005
- ClimateWorks : Senior Communications Officer - Technical Writer/Editor (San Francisco-CA) - 06/10/09URL: http://www.journalismnext.com/jobdetails.cfm?jid=6004

You can see all the details at www.JournalismNext.com where you can apply for these jobs online and also see over a hundred other jobs and internships.

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JOBS
AP - PHILLY , CHICAGO, PHOENIX - PRODUCERS
https://careers.ap.org/viewjob.html?optlink-view=view-14023&ERFormID=newjoblist&ERFormCode=any
AP - ARIZONA - AST.SPORTS EDITOR
https://careers.ap.org/viewjob.html?optlink-view=view-5283&ERFormID=newjoblist&ERFormCode=any
REUTERTS - DC - REPORTER
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1061629
PEW RESEARCH - DC - AST. WEB EDITOR
http://www.journalismjobs.com/Job_Listing.cfm?JobID=1061516
GANNETT - WUSA - DIGITAL CORRESPONDENTS (2), DIGITAL ASSISTANTS (DESK) - DC
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?sc_extcmp=JS_JobAlert_Title&ipath=PSSKGT03U&psa=1&Job_DID=J8F07R79D1KZK81017B
DC - WEB CONTENT JOBS - VARIOUS
Content Developer http://www.net-temps.com/job/z87b/0906KDKI0401/web_content_developer_web.html?r=ind&utm_source=Indeed&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Indeed
Content Manager - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/JS_JobSearchDetail?jobid=28251411&jobSummaryIndex=0&agentID=&xfeed=1&wpmk=MK0000005&GCID=C17812x034
Web content management http://www12.georgetown.edu/hr/employment_services/joblist/job_category.cfm?CategoryID=1#20090131
Sr. web content manager http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?ipath=EXIND&siteid=cbindeed&Job_DID=J8G0TB64PZJ038208FG&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=2db0f047559743518afc43f55df0e3ca-297982541-RC-4
Web content manager http://www.sologig.com/Job/aggregator/Web-Content-Manager-01072242/Chantilly-VA/J3I5LS646MGTSNCRF74.aspx

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Man In Woman's One Piece Swimsuit Arrested

OK.. I never do blog work while I am on the job. But this is the funniest piece of video I've seen in weeks... although the criminal charges are sad.
Take a look. Man in women's one-piece swimsuit arrested in Ohio.
Pay close attention to the boots.
LOL
From WKEF TV
SUGARCREEK TOWNSHIP, Ohio-- For almost a week police in Sugarcreek Township had been searching for an unknown man reported to be approaching women and teenage girls along the Little Miami River while wearing a women's bathing suit. Monday evening, they arrested 41-year-old Kevin Lee Miller at a property not far from the river. At the time of his arrest Miller was wearing a green women's bathing suit. Police say over the past week they'd received about 15-20 legitimate reports about a man in a bathing suit. They say Miller never physically threatened anyone, but certainly scared some of the women and girls he came in contact with. Miller is facing five counts of public indecency and three counts of menacing, all misdemeanors. He's expected to appear in Xenia Municipal Court at eight o'clock Tuesday for arraignment.
http://video.ap.org/?f=1296344&pid=rOEgDKLLu4AATHqiUMyy0oCejyKnUWNk

Hey, we all need a laugh. More serious posts to come!

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Campbell Brown's New CNN 8pm Show

Thanks to the rain and crappy weather in DC tonight, I decided to stay in for the night. I decided to sample the new Campbell Brown 8pm show on CNN. Prime starts with a "the only place for news. CNN prime time begins now." I will say upfront.. I did not watch this show for a full hour. In fact, I was bored before the end of segment one. I'll come back in a month to sample again.

Brown's 'no bias, no bull' approach had some attitude. She's canned that now. It seems to indicate CNN's further focus on 'just the news please'. Here are my quick observations.

--There's no identity. It's not a "news" feel. It's an interview show. The interviews are like watching studio paint dry. It's also not an AC 360 (the early years). It's plain. It's simple. It's dry.

--The graphic background is just annoying. It a wild array of images. She looks like she's sitting in front of a collage. It just feels less than classy.

--Brown seems to want to push the attitude she wrapped around 'no bias no bull'.. but she can't. In fact a guest in her first segment tonight referenced the old show. What an awkward moment for insiders.

--About that first segment... it was odd. The "new whip" approach (I don't even recall what they brand it), was less than exciting. Most of the segment was a roundtable discussion with three guests on the set.

To be fair... and I really like CNN so I want to emphasize that... this is a new show. Give it time. I'll check back in about a month to see what has grown, changed, improved, etc. We all know new products need time to grow. I hope it does. CNN could use some good news lately.

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From Politico: Who Said This?

"U.S. senators believe that U.S. senators are very important people and going and paying your respects to people who think they are very important is very important."
FROM POLITICO
--Former Clinton White House spokesman turned Glover Park Group guy Joe Lockhart, being poetic about Sonia Sotomayor visiting the Senate, on MSNBC.
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Brian Williams, Barack Obama, Conan O'brien

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Brian Williams, Barack Obama, Conana O'brien

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FOX Wins May, CNN Plunges

From TV Week
Fox News Channel ended May as the top-rated cable news network during a month that included the unraveling of the U.S. auto industry and the announcement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter's retirement, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
Fox News saw a jump of 30% with viewers between 25-54 compared with May 2008, while CNN plunged 37% and MSNBC declined 9%. Some of the Fox News shows that were the biggest gainers were "Glen Beck" more than doubling its audience among the demographic and "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" increasing 45%.
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NBC Nightly News Notes: Meet The Press, Pearl, Conan and Obama

A few special notes from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams tonight. During one of the later commercial breaks, a promo for Meet the Press aired. It's a softer side of MTP. David Gregory is softly talking over lightly playing moving while promising. It just feels soft... way too soft for MTP. Notice a theme here: soft. It gets old. The music and tone do not match a hard news image.

Williams also announced that Nightly now airs on the Pearl network in Hong Kong. Williams pimped tonight's debut of Conan O'brian. And finally, he promoted his behind-the-scene at the White Hosue special for Tuesday and Wednesday night.
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My Twitter feed: @JeffParsonsDC

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Patti Blago Speaks on MSNBC

Patti Blagoievich... the wife of ousted Illinois governor Rob Blago, talked to MSNBC about her new reality show and her husband. Hasn't this Blago bunch had enough of their 15 minutes of fame already?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Carrie Prejean on FOX News

Carrie Prejean co-hosted FOX and Friends Wednesday. How sad.... that she actually seemed to fit in just naturally -- hot blonde chick between two heavy breathing men. On some other FOX shows the men would be in the closet. I'm guessing that's not the case here LOL. Total joke people. Take it easy. Oh.. and poor thing... she had to get up early to get a big break on FOX News.

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'60 Minutes' Ratings Increase

Congrats to '60 Minutes' for increased ratings this season. As critics point out it may not be high brow journalism that is once did every segment in every show. But, times have changed. Check out TV Newser.
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Politico's Daily Look At Best Of Late Night

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Glenn Beck on 'The View': I Knew It Was Going To Be Bad SEE THE CLIPS

Glenn Beck was on 'The View' this morning. It was not pretty. Beck was off radio and took off his 5pm FOX show because he was sick. Beck called into his own show.

Here is the first segment of 'The View'.

Here is the second segment of 'the View'.

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CNBC: When People Make No Sense

From the Business Insider.
Poor Dennis Kneale thought he was just asking Jeff Macke some meaningless softball question, and Macke comes back at him, talking in what we think is probably English, but with no coherence to it whatsoever. Seriously, if anyone has any clue what's going on here or can translate Macke-speak, we'd love to know what it all means.

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Local News After Kris Allen Wins 'American Idol'

I live in Washington DC, so I got a chance to watch the local FOX station (WTTG FOX 5) after Kris Allen's rather surprising 'American Idol' win. I don't envy the fight for ratings in local news for one minute! You have to fight for every single meter. That also means I don't envy the sometimes over-the-top effort to keep me watching. Here are a few notes.
--The pre-show LIVE tease was OK. The only problem: the LIVE bug in the upper left corner covered the male anchor's face as he fronted a tease standing beside a monitor.
--The show open: "ANNOUNCE: This is FOX 5 News. ANCHOR: FOX 5 news is everywhere tonight." I guess that implies they are NOT every where every other night. I get it. It's urgent writing It lets us know they are doing a good job. I get it. Having been removed from local news now for 2 years, it sounds forced.
--Pretty 'clean' newscast.
--The content on this station is always pretty solid.
--An awkward moment in the final element of tease 1. The anchor voiced over a tease for Idol. The shot was a W-I-D-E studio shot of the anchor desk and a picture of Kris Allen in a studio monitor. The problem.... nothing was really the focus of the shot. It was using a camera for using a camera sake.

As I said, this station is pretty good.. day in and day out. I just happened to watch tonight... and as a blogger, I write about most media I see. I would never pretend to have all the answers about local news engagement. I worked at two very good TV stations and two very challenging stations in my local TV career. I learned a lot from all of them. While I don't have all the answers... like every viewer at home, I always have an opinion :)

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Is Dateline NBC Dead?

With NBC's announced fall and spring schedule, is Dateline NBC dead? What... no more 'To Catch a Predator?"
NBC Fall.

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Nancy Grace Boots A Guest From Her Show

From TV Newser
Nancy Grace gets bent out of shape when a St Louis radio host takes Grace and her show to task.
KTRS radio host McGraw Milhaven had appeared on Grace's HLN show several days last week to discuss the murder case of Sheri Coleman and her two sons.
On Monday's show, Milhaven responded to a question from Grace about murder suspect Christopher Coleman and his rumored girlfriend in Florida — a question he deemed irrelevant. "This show is a joke, you are a joke," said Milhaven, closing with, "I'm embarrassed to be on this show."
"Well, sir, you're off," said Grace, and cut his mic.


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Glenn Beck, Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg and "The View" Confrontation

Glenn Beck stepped into it on the 'The View', Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg confronted Beck about some comments on his radio show.

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Why Anderson Cooper's Ratings Are Down; Why Katie Couric's Ratings Should Go Up

CNN's AC360... is more like AC180 these days.
Ratings for the the silber hair fox (to many women and gay men) are in a freefall lately. Has Anderson Cooper's popularity peaked? I decided to sample tonight's show to see what all the fuss is about. Why are Cooper's ratings falling faster than the Dow in February?

Here are XXX observations.
1. The first, and most obvious, reason is that CNN is getting zero benefits from the political landscape. It happens when you straddle the fence. Of course that may be where a "news" organization should be.
2. Tonight's show... was just boring. The opening piece was a question and answer with Dr. Gupta. So, the AC team worked all day on this show and the most they deliver for me at the top is a Q&A with Gupta? When the gate opens, the race starts. It was more like a stuttering engine t0night.
3. Cooper seemed lifeless. He almost seemed tired tonight. He smiled and chuckled a bit with Erica Hill in the final segment. But for the first 55 minutes, he was seemed uninterested.
4. The show and its production lacked creativity tonight. Cooper was one of the first cable prime anchors to get up from behind a desk. There was motion, energy and a completely different atmosphere to the show then. Tonight it was dry.
5. The content didn't break new "news". The topper was the final segment about a new world record for a Thriller dance performance from William and Mary students. Cool story and video. Unfortunately I saw the same video a few days ago... maybe even last week!
6. There could be 'Cooper-fatigue'. Been there and done that.

No doubt there are many other reasons we could talk about. But there are the top things that came to mind as I watched tonight's broadcast.

On the flip side, I checked out Katie Couric's CBS Evenign News tonight (on DVR).

Watch CBS Videos Online
She's getting a lot of positive press again, including her column in USA Today today. I have preached this for more than a year. The content in this show is pretty darn good. With few exceptions, it's focused. There is solid storytelling. There is content of depth and interest... not just quick passive voiceovers. While I have liked Couric, I still long for the days when she actually "talks" to me instead of reading that freaking prompter. It's an tool to help communicate... not a crutch to walk on.

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Glenn Beck: Will Obama Take Over California?

You may not agree with Glenn Beck (or you may)... but he does zero in on issues that many Americans are asking.

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Sunday Night 60 Minutes Notes

On 60 Minutes tonight.....
Katie Couric brought us her report from the military trip abroad. It must be 60 Minutes becasue she needed her "I am intelligent" glasses.
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I heard the term "bitch" more in the piece about the top woman Bogue than I really ever care to hear. Take out the 'bitches" and call it 57 Minutes. i'd still be pleased.
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I like Andy Rooney's bitching about the cost of air travel. Well said.

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Recent Blog Feedback: Anderson Cooper, Jenna Wolfe

How to bring Anderson Cooper's ratings up - the gay way.
olsond said...
I vote leave AC's personal life to AC! Not much of anyone's business but his.
May 16, 2009
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Is Jenna Wolfe connecting?
Anonymous said...
yep!
May 15, 2009
Anonymous said...
She is still terrible. Give me Amy Robach any day of the week!
May 16, 2009


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Single Best TV News Blooper Of All Time: Bill O'Reilly Goes Nuts

Every time I see this... I laugh! Bill O'Reilly goes nuts. This is the single best TV news blooper of all time.

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KMAX Sacramento News Set Promos

Let's admit it. It's rare that local news promos hit home runs. There are some good ones... and a load of bad, rushed ones. But, let's give KMAX in Sacramento some credit. These promos for their new set are very creative. I admit they get a little less creative later in the sequence. But, the first couple on the reel are great!

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Jon Stewart's Take On Obama's Detainee Photos and Gay Lieutenant

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
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Two Gay Prime Time Anchors Hit Ratings Lows: Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow

FROM THE LIVE FEED
Tuesday night's Rachel Maddow was seen by only 789,000 viewers, a series-low performance since her show debuted last summer.
Friday's Anderson Cooper 360 was the anchor's least-watched show since Barack Obama's inauguration, with 622,000 viewers.
Cooper and Maddow's average audiences have been sliding since January following last year's historic presidential election, and with the bombastic daily economic headlines have lessened somewhat. Cooper is about on par when compared to the same period last year.

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How To Get CNNs Anderson Cooper's ratings Up: Planet Out Answers

Planet Out has some ideas how to improve CNN's Anderson Cooper's ratings -- that same Cooper is perhaps the mostly well-known, closet homosexual. PART OF THE PLANET OUT STORY:

...I love the guy, but I have to admit that even as a fan, I think the network goes a bit far with the deification of Anderson. Could that be hurting his ratings? Is he the victim of a backlash?
Or maybe he is suffering such a dramatic fall-off because the excitement of the presidential election is now over and done with?
Perhaps some viewers are turned off by AC360's uneven tone? One minute Anderson is conducting a serious interview, the next he's laughing over some wacky Japanese video clip with his sidekick Erica Hill.
I have one friend who takes issue with Anderson not being out and argues that it seriously takes away from his credibility as a journalist. His decision not to come out publicly may rankle members of the gay community, but I don't think your average viewer has stopped watching AC360 because Anderson refuses to talk about his personal life.
Whatever the cause of AC360's precipitous slip in viewership, Anderson needs to stop bleeding viewers and pump up the ratings.
I would go back to watching AC360 every night if Kathy Griffin became a special correspondent for the show.

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VIDEO OF THE WEEK: Jon Stewart Takes On Nancy Pelosi

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George Stephanopoulos Subs For Charlie Gibson

George Stephanopoulos subbed for Charlie Gibson on 'World News' on ABC tonight. He wasn't bad. It was far better than the early fill-in days when he first joined ABC as a chief Washignton correspondent. Still.... it wasn't all that good either. I like anchors who communicate by telling a story... no just trying to READ with emotion.

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CBS Evening News to Debut New Graphics Monday -- TVNewser.com

From TVNewser

TVNewser got a sneak peek at the new look today. CBS news and sports president Sean McManus told us the graphics came about late last year. "It was motivated by looking at the election graphics and realizing they look so much more contemporary, so much clearer, and so much cleaner than the Evening News graphics," he said. "At that time we charged Bob Peterson with coming up with a new graphic look which he has done."
Peterson, CBS News' executive creative director, and his team came up with the graphic design and concept entirely in house in the span of approximately six months. The "convergence of different designs," as Peterson put it, features a logo with three interlocking globes, moving images in the OTS box and a bolder blue and red color scheme....
At the center of the new look, anchor and managing editor Katie Couric, who will mark three years with CBS in September. McManus praised Couric's versatility — on TV, the Web and more, when "put together, results in a pretty good plan to get her exposed on as many different platforms as possible," says McManus. "And also to give her a chance to exhibit what makes Katie Couric different, which is not so much the way she reads the news, but it's the way she reacts to things, the way she interviews people. She's got a very broad array of talents, and a lot of them can't be seen between 6:30 and 7:00 every night."

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See Conan O'Brian's New Set

From TV Week

NBC has released the first picture of the new "Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" set—and it's quite striking.
The dominant color on the set is blue: Blue curtains, blue carpet, a blue bandstand and a blue skyline of Los Angeles at night. The background includes a number of L.A. landmarks, including the Capitol Records tower and what appears to be City Hall. There's also a giant full moon.

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CNN's Rick Sanchez Obviously Doesn't Like Ashton Kutcher

CNN's Rick Sanchez really doesn't like Ashton Kutcher. But... who really cares who Sanches likes. Oddly enough someone in my office today mentioned that Sanchez was one of the two daytime CNN male anchors he can't watch.

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Thought MSNBC Loved Democrats

I thought MSNBC loved all Democrats. But, take a look a the quick little dig at Nancny Pelosi by Morning's Mika B. The whole 'Morning Joe' bit is a bit inside-baseball. The Pelosi bit is the best part of the clip.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Cell Phones Interupt Gibbs Presser

First.. the video and then the CBS reporter note.

Here is Bill Plante's response as reported on CBSNews.com
The issue of the day at the White House briefing: the Obama administration's reversal of the decision to release photos of detainees being tortured. After an appeals court refused to hear the case, the administration said last month they would abide by the lower court's decision and release the photos. So the President's decision NOT to do so was the topic of most questioning today - intense at times. Intense, that is, until a reporter John Gizzi's cell phone began chiming one of those vaguely familiar ring tones which have become this era's elevator music. Spokesman Robert Gibbs looked up and said, "just put it on vibrate man. We did this before...it happened twice one day." He resumed. Ten seconds later, Gizzi's phone went off again. "Give me the phone," said Gibbs - and started down from the podium, hand outstretched. Laugher all around. Gibbs took the phone, walked to the pressroom door, and pitched it to someone inside. More laughter. Then the briefing resumed -- for thirty seconds. That's when my phone rang - a standard ring, nothing imaginative. I answered. It was a source I'd been waiting to hear from. "You too," asked Gibbs? "So you want to do it too? Here, come on." "Gibbs wants to take my phone," I explained to the caller as I got up from the chair and headed outside. "I assume it's your banker, with a suit like that?" Gibbs quipped as I walked out, in reference to my pin-striped suit. "There's cotton candy down the street. It's a circus." I spent about five minutes on the phone and came back into the briefing. I asked Gibbs if I'd missed anything. He joked in response: "Will somebody brief Bill on our new Supreme Court nominee?"

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Bristol Palin on 'Good Morning America' Wednesday

Will the madenss never end? Bristol Palin is live in-studio Wednesday on 'Good Morning America' with Chris Cuomo. She later appears at a town hall with Cuomo to talk about..... teen pregnancy.

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American Idol Accident.. And It Wasn't Paula Singing -- May 5

The big news from American Idol was the accident that happened just before the show. A stage manager was hurt and sent to the hospital. TMZ.com has more.
Also... last week, Paula Abdul denied a drug addiction to 'Nightline'. Now word comes she WAS addicted. Shocking!!!!!! Tomorrow night, she sings.

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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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Sarah Palin Twitter: Who She Follows Shows Who She Thinks Will Compete in 2012

Has anyone taken a look at the new Sarah Palin Twitter account. First, get over the "who cares" attitude. This is politics. There is some real insight to be gained from checking out who she is following.

Of course, she is following many of her state agencies and Alaska media sites. Palin is also following David Gregory of 'Meet the Press' and George Stephanopoulos of 'This Week'. There's no Bob Scheiffer (he does Twitter here). So is she dissing Bob? Palin is also following a list of state governors. Here's the interesting part, Palin has selected a short list of high profile GOP politicians who are likely candidates for the 2012 nomination... and ignored at least one:

Tim Pawlenty - Minnesota governor who was among John McCain's finalists

Eric Cantor - up and coming GOP guy from VA. He may not be the leader of the pack.. but he is the center of a lot of GOP action. His high profile positions him for a run.

Bobby Jindall - Louisiana governor and another McCain finalist

Mike Huckabee - 2008 candidate, FOX News guy and a favorite of the right wing

Newt Gingrich - has he done anything lately? But he's always talked about as a GOP spoiler.

There are other GOP govs and senators on her list.. but not getting the attention of the above list. So, do you notice anyone missing from that list? Mitt Romney. There is a parked Romney Twitter page and a page (MittRomneyUSA) that directs to Romney's PAC. Maybe Palin doesn't believe Romney will be a real competitor in 2011-2012. Just sayin'...

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Barack Obama Press Conference Ratings: Enough?

After earning a last-minute reprieve from the judges two weeks ago, Matt Giraud did not make the cut on Wednesday’s results edition of “American Idol.” The final episode for the 23-year-old piano player from Michigan drew 21.8 million viewers at 9 p.m., according to Nielsen’s estimates, easily lifting Fox to No. 1 in the ratings for the night. (More from NY Times)
Fox led over all despite earning a much smaller audience of 7.9 million viewers during the 8 p.m. hour with “Lie to Me.” The crime show was the only regular programming in the time period on the major broadcast networks as Fox was the only one of the big four networks that opted not to carry a live news conference in the hour in which President Obama marked his 100th day in office and took questions from the press.
About 29 million people watched the press conference on a total of 10 broadcast and cable channels, down about 30 percent from a similar event held last month.

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Jenna Wolfe - Is She Connecting?

Is Jenna Wolfe finally in a good groove with Lester Holt on 'Today'.


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