Outside Cable News

Via AJC
Fox News finds recipe for morning success
By KRISTI E. SWARTZ

Though CNN has made some prime-time ratings headway in recent months, Fox News Channel is still No. 1 in terms of overall viewers, and the gap between them is no more apparent than in the morning.

“Fox & Friends” has twice the number of viewers than CNN’s “American Morning” nationally and in several key cities — including CNN’s home turf of Atlanta, according to data from Nielsen Media Research and the two cable channels.

The big three broadcast networks still rule early morning TV across the country. But “Fox & Friends” recently finished third for 72 consecutive months in metro Atlanta, Miami, San Diego and several other major markets. “American Morning” was No. 4 and CBS’s “The Early Show” was No. 5 in those markets.

What is Fox News’ secret? A more stable cast and faster pace, experts say.

“Fox is a new kind of television,” said Paul Levinson, chairman of Fordham University’s communication and media studies department. “It’s a program that’s more in tune with YouTube, with the Web and with the way television has been evolving in the 21st century.”
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Via Earth Times
CNN’s Soledad O’Brien to Moderate LEDA Town Hall: The Voice of Generation Next
By LEDA

Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, proudly announces its inaugural LEDA Town Hall: The Voice of Generation Next, scheduled to take place Thursday, May 22nd, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the New York City headquarters of Google. Noted CNN anchor and special news correspondent Soledad O’Brien will moderate the event. In partnership with Scoop08, the first national student publication dedicated to the 2008 election, LEDA will conduct national online polls of young and undecided voters, the results of which will be announced at the Town Hall.
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Via Jossip
Did Fox Business Fire Shahnaz Hussain Because She Complained of Harassment, or Because She’s Terrible at Her Job?

There’s a rumor going around that London-import Shahnaz Hussain, who until recently worked at the Fox Business Network, was axed from the network after complaining about being sexually and racially harassed.

So the story goes, Scott Bleier, the network’s business analyst and contributor, allegedly made inappropriate comments/advances toward Hussain, which she complained about to HR and Fox’s legal head, Diane Brandi, who “did nothing.” A few days later, operations SVP Brian Jones showed her the door.

Other details include colleagues being told not to associate with Hussain, having their email and BlackBerrys rummaged through, and being told “to degrade her performance” and “to lie and vilify” her. FoxBusiness.com managing editor Ray Hennessey, FBN’s Brian Jones, and FNC programming VP Kevin Magee spoke with Hussain’s peers in recent weeks, the story goes, and told them not to have any contact with Hussain, inside or outside work.

>Read the rest at Jossip.

Via RadarOnline
Seacrest “Out” Of Larry King Replacement Running?

Sad news for people who just cannot get enough Ryan Seacrest: the colorless personality has denied rumors that he’s going to replace Larry King when they finally put the oft-married yakker out to pasture. But good news for Katie Couric if true: the slot’s still open for when she leaves CBS. If, you know, King ever dies. Which seems increasingly unlikely.

>Earlier: Ryan Seacrest’s Blue Gift For Larry King

Via NBCUNI Media Village
CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, Names optionMONSTER Co-Founder Jon (’DRJ’) Najarian As Contributor

CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today announced that Jon (’DRJ’) Najarian, co-founder of optionMONSTER, a leading news and market intelligence site for options traders, has joined CNBC as a contributor.

“When we select contributors, we look for a certain level of expertise, insight and a successful track record in their industry,” said Susan Krakower, Vice President of Strategic Programming and Development, CNBC. “With the changes happening in the securities and options industry, Jon’s knowledge and outstanding career make him a great and strategic addition to the CNBC team.”

Najarian will regularly appear on CNBC’s Business Day programming, including “Fast Money,” providing unique, in-depth analysis of the day’s market activity from his vantage as an options trader.
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Via Turner PressRoom
CNN to Offer Unmatched Kentucky and Oregon Primary Coverage

CNN’s political team will report live from the CNN Election Center and across Kentucky and Oregon as returns from those key states come in on Tuesday, May 20. CNN correspondents and analysts will be on-hand throughout the day to report the results and what it means for Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

CNN’s special prime-time programming will begin at 7 p.m., following wall-to-wall politics on The Situation Room, and will run late into the night. Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will direct the coverage and will be joined by anchors Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs. CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien and senior political analyst Bill Schneider will review exit poll data. Chief national correspondent John King will again provide in-depth, Kentucky- and Oregon-specific data and analysis using the CNN “multi-touch” board, which makes complex demographic and delegate data more understandable and accessible.

The coverage will lead into a special edition of Larry King Live at midnight hosted by Larry King. American Morning with John Roberts and Kyra Phillips will be live the following morning at a special time from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.
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Via Washington Times/Newslab
Welcome to the news loft
By Scott Galupo

The broadcast-news business used to follow Otto von Bismarck’s advice about making laws — as with sausage, it’s best not to see what goes into making it.

In recent years, however, a number of factors have conspired to make the networks’ coverage of politics a more improvisational, laid-bare affair: closer contests and, therefore, longer nights; more electronic gadgetry at the disposal of anchors and analysts; and the influence of the blogosphere, which has made TV safe for unprecedented levels of wonkery.

On CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, laptop computers have become required accessories to the pinstripes and pantsuits. There are more talking heads than ever, to the point that pundit panels often resemble telethon phone banks. In addition, to accommodate both the bodies and the digital trappings, newsrooms have taken on the sleek, vaulted look of refurbished modern lofts.

More space exposure has led to coverage that’s more kinetic: Anchors are no longer tethered to their desks; they prowl the newsroom.

Leggy Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has patented a background-to-foreground approach to the camera, chitchatting as she makes her way down the studio ramp. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper stand and chat with panelists as though they’re at the office water cooler.

“It was clearly our intent to ramp up and put some life in our election coverage,” says David Borman, senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of CNN. “We want to provide this interesting swirl of opinion instead of three guys in a dark room, which is what television had historically done.”
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Via Sun-Times
Radio Rachel
MSNBC’s star political analyst brings talk show back to WCPT
BY ROBERT FEDER

Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow, who’s become the breakout star of MSNBC this political year, is joining the lineup of Chicago’s progressive talk station.

Starting Monday, Maddow’s show will air from 5 to 8 p.m. weekdays on Newsweb Radio’s WCPT-AM (820).

It’s a return to the market for Maddow, who previously hosted mornings on the station. She most recently had been heard only on its Internet site.

“I am thrilled to be back on WCPT,” she said in a statement. “Chicago is a wonderful city, and I look forward to helping WCPT listeners make sense of this very unique time in which we live.”

Maddow, a Rhodes Scholar who holds a doctorate in political science, has become a popular liberal pundit and contributor to MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and “Race for the White House.”

Speaking of Rhodes, WCPT’s realignment was triggered by last month’s departure of Randi Rhodes, who resigned from Air America after her suspension for making crude remarks about Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro at a public appearance.
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