Outside Cable News

Via Observer
by Felix Gillette
Keith Olbermann and MSNBC Crew Invade Time Warner Center

Last night, NBC threw a party to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Network bigwigs, including Jeff Zucker and Phil Griffin, turned out to toast their top cable-news anchor, who at one point during the night posed for pictures wearing a sparkling tiara.

The party was thrown at the Landmarc restaurant at the Time Warner Center.

That would be the same Time Warner Center that is home to CNN–i.e. MSNBC’s rival in the ongoing battle for second place in the cable news wars. In case anyone missed the not-so-subtle we’re-taking-over-your-territory jab, the NBC crew decorated the environs with various placards taking potshots at their rivals.

On one, Mr. Olbermann’s face beamed over the words “MSNBC this way” with an arrow pointing up and “CNN this way,” with an arrow pointing down (vaguely in the direction of a coat check).

Zing!
(more…)

Via Business & Media Institute
By Jeff Poor
CNBC’s Cramer: Job Brings ‘A Lot of Death Threats’
‘Mad Money’ host says criticism of some stocks upsets people enough for him to call police.

Giving financial advice, especially on TV, is more dangerous than you might think.

CNBC “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer appeared on the April 3 “Squawk Box” and claimed he has received “a lot of death threats.” He blamed it on the way he critiqued certain stocks which triggered angry and sometimes over-the-top emotions.

“You know, look, obviously I’ve had a lot of death threats,” Cramer said. “They’re actual death threats. And, you go to the state police and the state police go to the local police and the local police call the guy and that’s what you have to do, or you bring suit against them. I’ve had to do a lot of that.”
(more…)

Via CJR
By Megan Garber

>Maybe I’m missing something but don’t see the promo at the MSNBC link. I’ll look for it now on Red Lasso and update when I find it.

Update: I saw a promo but it didn’t say anything about keys. So, I give up on that, eh.

The Best Unintentionally Ironic MSNBC Ad Yet!

This little gem, an ad promoting “Hardball’s College Tour” through Pennsylvania, has been airing on MSNBC this morning:

“After three days in Pennsylvania, Chris Matthews has the keys to unlock the Democratic primary!”

Um…three days? That’s all it takes to learn the keys to the Keystone State? I mean, I’ll be spending a long weekend in Vegas this summer, and fully expect that my time there will allow me to hone keen insights about the ins and outs of Nevada politics…but I’ll have four days to “unlock the keys” to that state’s political culture. Only three days, though? That seems to push it, you know, just a smidge.
(more…)

Via CJR
Say It Ain’t Joe!
By Clint Hendler

Recently, I’ve found chatty “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough to be just as serviceable as any other MSNBCer. But it’s easy to forget that the man was once the very definition of a partisan gunslinger. So this Village Voice piece—by Wayne Barrett, an old professor of mine—is a worthy reminder of how far he’s (sorta) come from his Clinton-bashing, abortionist-murderer defending, Al Sharpton-baiting days as a deep south Republican congressman. The article is a bit overworked, but Barrett and his research staff have turned up some shady ethics for a quasi-journalist, and at least one booking that was brazen, undisclosed, self-dealing:
(more…)

Via Time Warner Newsroom
CNN’s God’s Warriors Scores Prestigious George Foster Peabody Award

CNN Worldwide received a George Foster Peabody Award for CNN Presents: God’s Warriors, it was announced today by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For CNN’s 11th Peabody, the judges praised CNN’s chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour and the documentary for a detailed examination of the political influence of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

“We are pleased that the Peabody panel has once again honored CNN with one of the most prestigious journalism awards in the industry,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “This award pays tribute to the power and effectiveness of God’s Warriors to illuminate the intersection of politics, extremism and faith in each of these three religions. It also honors one of the world’s top journalists, Christiane Amanpour, as well as the award-winning producers from CNN’s documentary unit.”
(more…)

Via Multichannel News
By Kent Gibbons

Time Warner HD Upgrade Coming To New York City
‘Enhanced HDTV’ Will Expand Lineup, Add ‘Start Over’ Service, This Year

Time Warner Cable’s New York City area systems are getting a major upgrade in high-definition programming, starting April 30 and continuing throughout the year, adding more than 20 channels to the HD lineup it has on digital cable today in Manhattan, including versions of CNN, Food Network, Travel Channel and Weather Channel, the company said.

Read the rest at Multichannel News.

Related: 10 more channels going from flat to sharp

Via Silicon Alley Insider
Michael Learmonth

Fox Biz Ratings Plan: Mobile Phones

With cable and satellite TV distribution at just over 30 million, it’s no secret the Fox Business Network is struggling for viewers. Its new plan? A distribution deal with mobile video service MobiTV for a full live feed of the cable channel.

But MobiTV has its own distribution problems; as of January, the 9-year-old company had 3 million subscribers.

>I’d like to know why FBN doesn’t just make the channel available online.. (until distro gets bigger) Is there a “law” against this? With that said, Directv’s had it since day one, so I guess if ya really want it.. Call ‘em! I should add, watching FBN on a little phone screen isn’t my idea of a good time.

Via TPM
By Greg Sargent
Hillary Backer Ed Rendell Slams Olbermann, Media

Time magazine’s Karen Tumulty interviews prominent Hillary backer and Fox News fan Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, and finds him in a particularly feisty mood about the press’ coverage of Hillary and Obama…

In a recent appearance on Fox News — not exactly considered friendly territory for the Democrats — he congratulated the network for having done “the fairest job [and] remained the most objective of all the cable networks.” In an interview with me, the governor was again in media-critic mode. “It took Saturday Night Live to bring some fairness to this election,” Rendell said, referring to the show’s now famous skit lampooning the media’s crush on Obama. “It’s stunning. Does Keith Olbermann get checks from the Obama campaign?”

Relatedly, is it just me, or has the tone of MSNBC and NBC towards Hillary changed of late? I reported here recently that top Hillary advisers had lodged repeated behind-the-scenes complaints about Chris Matthews, and the Hillary campaign publicly went to war with MSNBC over the network’s protracted and palpable hostility towards her and its rather generous coverage of Obama.

>Read the rest at TPM.