June 10, 2008

CNN’s Erica Hill is heating up..

Via CNN.com/AC360
By Erica Hill

There are plenty of days when I’d love to grab a little power nap in at the office. Today is a perfect example — not exactly a solid night’s sleep chez us last night. This heat wave makes it tough for all of us to sleep because we are without A/C. We do have two air conditioners, but they’re in CT, scheduled to arrive in the City with my parents on Sunday. I thought we’d be fine with some fans until then, despite the rumors of a heat wave. I even said to my husband, “ We’ll be fine. People did this for centuries dressed in wool! Surely we can survive a few days.” That lasted about 24 hours. I don’t care about the people of yesteryear in wool; I care about my overheated brood.
(more…)

Henderson still at Fox4 — for now

Via Above the Fold
Henderson still at Fox4 — for now
By Ed Bark

Good Day co-anchor Megan Henderson has another weekend Fox & Friends stint behind her, but is still non-commital about any possible future with Fox News Channel.

“I had a great time filling in,” she said of her June 7-8 guest host appearances on the Manhattan-based waker-upper. “It’s a very friendly and comfortable place and I really enjoyed the opportunity.”

There’s otherwise “nothing new to report,” said Henderson, who reportedly is being wooed by the network and met with FNC executives during her second trip to Fox & Friends in two months.

Henderson has co-anchored Fox4’s Good Day with Tim Ryan since August 2003. The show ran in a statistical dead heat with WFAA8 in the May “sweeps” total homes Nielsens, with just three-hundredths of a rating point (730 homes) separating the two stations. But Fox4 dipped to a second-place tie with NBC5 in the key 25-to-54 demographic after winning that competition in the February sweeps.

>Earlier: Megan Henderson returns to F&F

A Ratings Coup for Keith Olbermann

Via TVDecoder
A Ratings Coup for Keith Olbermann
By Brian Stelter

Keith Olbermann may not be going on vacation anytime soon.

Mr. Olbermann, the host of “Countdown” on MSNBC, cancelled his vacation plans for this week when it appeared likely that his program, which debuted five years ago as a distant also-ran to its counterparts on Fox News Channel and CNN, may beat Fox in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic for a full week for the first time.

And sure enough, “Countdown” did displace “The O’Reilly Factor,” hosted by Mr. Olbermann’s arch-nemesis Bill O’Reilly, last week in that demographic.

>Read the rest at TVDecoder.

Changes at FNC

>TVNewser has some info on changes at FNC. Looks like I finally got my wish and ED HILL has been issued a good riddance! Alright, that’s a joke but close enough, eh? Oh and head on over to TVDecoder for the part about the 5pm hour… (Laura Ingraham)

Broadcaster warns of security threat in proxy fight

Via IHT
Broadcaster warns of security threat in proxy fight
By Andrew Ross Sorkin

Lou Dobbs, wearing an American flag pin in his left lapel, introduced a segment on his CNN program last week with his trademark outrage: “Tonight, there is a new threat to national sovereignty and security: A foreign hedge fund trying to take control of CSX.”

Doing his best imitation of Howard Beale’s “I’m mad as hell” line - but with no sense of irony - Dobbs said of the foreign hedge fund, “Who the heck do they think they are?”

At one point he proclaimed, “This has to go immediately to CFIUS,” a reference to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, as he contended that CSX “is without question a national security asset.”

Dobbs, a vocal opponent of Dubai’s attempt to buy six American ports, is not the only one up in arms. Six members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee are raising red flags, too.

CSX is one of the largest railroad companies in the United States. And given all the hubbub, you would imagine that the hedge fund was based in the Middle East. But the hedge fund is - wait for it - based in London. Yes, London. The British are coming!

>Read the rest at IHT.

Open thread for Tuesday


Sean Hannity is talking new (radio) contract

Via New York Daily News
Sean Hannity is talking new contract
By David Hinckley

Sean Hannity could be leaving ABC Radio for a new syndicator on Thursday - a move that might or might not make much difference to listeners.

Hannity, who Talkers magazine puts close to Rush Limbaugh as the country’s most popular talk host, has a contract window that lets him leave ABC within a year of the company’s sale.

That date is Thursday, and Hannity is talking with the new owners, Citadel, about reupping - presumably at a higher number with a healthy signing bonus. He reportedly makes $5 million a year from radio, compared to some $30 million for Rush.

The trade mag Taylor on Radio-Info says Hannity had a personal meeting with Citadel chief Farid Suleman last week. Clear Channel is also a contender, but even if he jumps there he could continue to be heard on WABC (770 AM) - because WABC is the country’s most important talk station and Clear Channel doesn’t own a talk station here.