Happy New Year!

The All Things CNN team wish you a very Happy New Year.

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Ratings At A Glance- Week of December 22

Ratings for the week DECEMBER 22 - 26, 2008

	8PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 340,667 1 CNN 215,333 1 MSNBC 347,500 2 HLN 388,800
	9PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 327,667 1 CNN 274,000 MSNBC 310,500 2 HLN 169,600
	10PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 300,667 1 CNN 279,667 1 MSNBC 148,500 2 HLN 281,000

Looking at the average nightly rating of a program can sometimes leave you scratching your head. Last week was an unusual week with special programming running on most of the news networks over the holiday. HLN had another very good week in the Adults 25 – 54 demographic. They won the average for the week in the 8PM hour having won Monday, Tuesday, and Friday’s 8PM timeslot. They also won the timeslot those same days during the 10PM hour, but fell to second in the average rating. FOX who didn’t win single day in the 10PM timeslot averaged higher than HLN overall (counting three nights for FOX and five nights for HLN). FOX won the week in the 9PM hour and came in third during the 8PM hour. Their only first place finishes for the week were in the 9PM hour on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.

MSNBC ran special programming on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. Their regular programming two day average put them in second at 8PM & 9PM and fourth during the 10PM hour.

CNN found themselves in fourth during the 8PM timeslot and third during both the 9PM and 10PM timeslots (using three day averages for 8PM and 10PM and a five day average for 9PM). During Wednesday and Thursday’s mostly special programming CNN had the highest demographic rating during all three prime time slots both nights.

¹ 3 day average. FOX & CNN special programming on Wednesday & Thursday excluded.

² 2 day average. MSNBC special programming on Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday excluded.

^{^} Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.

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Out like a Lion

Seems 2008 had one more conflict to unleash before the countdown to a new year begins. Cal Perry flew from his home base in Beirut to Jerusalem to cover the conflict:

Cal also posted on the "In the Field" blog about his preparations for the assignment:

December 29, 2008

Airborne, but still grounded in Mideast politics

Posted: 1029 GMT

JERUSALEM — Think things through: Gaza is burning, and I’m in Beirut.

There’s nothing better than being frantically under control. Nothing better than looking at the phone as it rings and reading, “CNN Mothership.” 99 times out of 100 it’s a conversation about that day’s piece, or future pieces — in this case, it’s my favorite call. Either Earl or Bruce is calling to say, “Get moving now Perry.”

Besides wanting to jump out of your skin and directly into the story — you have to stop and think. Remember your training from all those years past, of security advisers with various accents telling you “plan, plan, plan.”

Fine.

I suppose you can take a reporter out of Iraq, but you’ll never get the Iraq out of the reporter.

So, first, where are you headed? In this case, we’ll need things like a flak jacket, bandages, tourniquet, bug spray and warm clothing. Then the equipment. Cameras, computer - basically all the various cool toys that enable us to get pictures and information out to the world. The apartment quickly starts to look like a tornado aftermath zone.

Then there’s the passport question. Any stamp from Israel in your passport will immediately prevent you from going to countries like Syria and Iraq. No good if you’re covering the region for an international news organization. So, you better have two, or convince the Israeli authorities to give you an entry stamp on a separate piece of paper (something they are quite good about and willing to do).

If you have two passports: you best hand the right one to the right authorities at the borders. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself in a very long conversation with very strange questions. Lots of fun in that scenario - trust me.

The distance from Beirut to Jerusalem is a simple 145 miles. Beirut is directly to the north, but is separated by a border that is locked down as tight as any border in the world. Hezbollah controls the southern part of Lebanon — and Israel has armed forces right up against its northern border: the two view each other as constant, and considerable threats.

They should - after a summer war in 2006 that changed the region forever. At the very least, Lebanon was changed — and is still changing today.

So getting from Beirut to Jerusalem is the equivalent of a crash course in Middle Eastern politics. It’s a lot like the TV show, “The Amazing Race” … only with lots of guns and periods of incredible boredom.

There are two travel options: neither of them appealing. First, you can drive, across Lebanon, through Syria into Jordan … and then across the bridge into Israel. It’s one giant desert. By desert, I mean: there is NOTHING out there. If you’re lucky — that may only take you 15 to 16 hours depending on how long you sit at border crossings, explaining to various intelligence officers where you’re going and why in the world you would want to go there. But 24 hours ago that option closed down — the border between Jordan and Israel was shut.

In some ways it’s a relief because I’ve done that drive 3 times in the past 2 years — and it’s about as much fun as a trip to the dentist. So, with the border shut: it’s option number 2.

Fly. Of course, there are no direct flights from Beirut to Jerusalem - so, you fly to Amman, Jordan. From Amman you sit and wait for the flight to Tel Aviv — it’s about a 7-hour layover.

As painful as it is: you get a feel for where things are, what the situation is — and how the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. It’s because between the flights, the airports and the border crossings … are cab drivers. They fill in the gaps despite the massive amounts of information coming across your Blackberry — which is great, because the minute you hit the ground, you’re off and staring into a camera.

As a story is still breaking, you can often learn more about the situation in the region from them. More important than that, you get far greater information: a genuine “feel” of the situation. In Lebanon I heard that everything was Israel’s fault. They started it, the driver said — and things are going to spin totally out of control. In Jordan I heard that it was Egypt’s fault. They’re the ones that silently gave the nod to Israel to start its campaign in Gaza.

In Israel, in the past 24 hours I’ve heard two versions: one, everything is fine - this is something “we (Israelis) need to take care of,” Hamas is to blame. And the old Middle East adage … it’s mostly “everyone’s fault.”

So, from Beirut to Jerusalem I can safely say that the region is like a pot of pasta simmering on your stove: you watch it simmer and as the water and foam rises, you can turn down the heat. But have you done it in time?

Or is it going to boil over anyway — and make a complete mess of your kitchen?

Posted by: Cal Perry, CNN Correspondent

Meanwhile, Paula Hancocks (who is normally based in Jerusalem) headed for the border and was doing a live report when rockets came in from Gaza:

CNN does not seem to have any reporters inside Gaza so far.

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Before leaving for the holidays, Michael Ware prepared a report on an investigation by the US military into the death of a man who was killed during a Special Ops raid. Please note: this report (which has not been aired on Domestic) carries a Graphic Content warning:

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And just to leave on a less-confrontational note -- on Sunday's Late Edition, Wolf Blitzer ended the look back at 2008 with some comments about the upcoming hand-over of the program to John King. The change won't happen until January 18th, so we still have a few more weekends with the Wolfman:

This is my final blog post of '08, so here's hoping everyone has a very enjoyable but safe New Year's Eve, and that we all have a much better 2009!

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Gimme My Money Back

In my Christmas stocking this year, I received a copy of Ali Velshi's new book Gimme My Money Back. I haven't decided if this is my family's way of indulging my CNN habit or hinting that I need financial help.

Last weekend, you could get a preview of what is in the book by watching the one hour program called Gimme My Money Back hosted by Ali Velshi. Here are a few highlights from that program:

Global Crisis

Managing Your Debt

Portfolio Risk Management

Ali talks about the book and specifically about an excerpt from Chapter 7 in this clip:

You can view the excerpt from the book here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

After having read the book, here are a few of my thoughts:

• It is a 156 page paper back, which means that it’s a fairly quick read. (It took me one afternoon.)
• Unlike some of the other financial books that I've attempted to read- this one is interesting and informative. A good chunk of the book is spent explaining how the economy got into the mess that its currently in and building a foundation of knowledge about the market (stocks, bonds, ETFs, etc).
• Chapter 7 really is the “what’s in it for me?” chapter. The first six chapters provide you with the knowledge to use what you learn in this chapter.
• For me, the book answered a number of questions: Why diversify your portfolio? How do you use the information provided by mutual funds? What’s the difference between different types of funds?

The program Gimme My Money Back is scheduled to re-air on December 30st, 31st, and January 3rd & 4th. And in January, 2009, AliVelshi.com is scheduled to come online.

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A Few Strands of Tinsel

This was one of those weeks when not a lot caught my eye to clip (could be because I was preoccupied with the holidays and the crazy weather outside my window!) ... and half of what I did clip was already posted!

But I did get this piece by Zain Verjee, talking about the "bling" given to SecState Rice (which she can't keep):

Gary Tuchman fixes our Little Red Wagon (okay, not really, but how could I resist a line like that?):

This is the newest incarnation of the "Let's Go" promo:

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Two special year-end reviews air Sunday:

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Best of 2008 will examine a remarkable year in news and look ahead at what is in store for 2009. CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will be joined by members of the “Best Political Team on Television” to look back at newsmaker interviews during the year of a historic election and a global economic crisis. Interviews with key political and business leaders including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain, President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Sarah Palin and CNN founder Ted Turner. Airing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), Blitzer and the panel will look ahead at the incoming Obama administration and discuss the future of the GOP.  [This will also be Wolf's final Late Edition.]

Howard Kurtz hosts Reliable Sources: A Year in Review to examine coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign and changes in the news business. Kurtz will be joined by Amy Holmes, CNN political contributor; Bill Press, radio talk show host; Terence Smith, former PBS media correspondent; and Jessica Yellin, CNN national political correspondent. The one-hour program will air in its usual time slot, Sunday at 10 a.m. (ET). 

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Randi Kaye was in Atlanta to host two hours of NewsRoom both days this weekend.

SUNDAY: Ed Henry was in Honolulu covering Obama; Bill Schneider was in Los Angeles; Jessica Yellin was in Washington; Susan Roesgen was in Denver to cover the plane that caught fire during takeoff; Arwa Damon was in New York.

MONDAY: Matthew Chance was in the Kaluga Region of Russia (south of Moscow); Carol Costello was in for John Roberts; Betty Nguyen was in for Kyra Phillips; TJ Holmes was in for Rick Sanchez; Suzanne Malveaux was in for Wolf Blitzer; Lisa Sylvester was in for Lou Dobbs; Erica Hill was in for Campbell Brown.

TUESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran Chetry; TJ was in for Rick; Suzanne was in for Wolf; Lisa was in for Lou; Erica was in for Campbell and for Anderson Cooper.

WEDNESDAY: Carol was in for Kiran; Betty was in for Heidi Collins; Richard Liu in for Kyra; TJ was in for Rick.

CHRISTMAS DAY: Joe Johns was in for John; Carol was in for Kiran; Alina Cho was in for Heidi; Richard was in for Tony Harris; from 1pmET on, all repeats (with the exception of Larry King Live, which was new but pre-recorded.) Zain Verjee was in the studio for news breaks.

FRIDAY: Nic Robertson was in London to report on the Pakistani troop movements; Peter Bergen was in New Orleans and also discussed the situation; Joe = John; Carol = Kiran; Alina = Heidi; TJ = Tony; Richard = Kyra; TJ = Rick; Suzanne = Wolf; Lisa = Lou; Campbell aired a pre-recorded special; Larry = himself; Erica = Anderson.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas week... now let's make plans for New Year's!

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Stocking Stuffers

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care… but we forgot to check them to see what was there! Yes, there are a few clips left in our stocking… First, on Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz interviewed Whoopi Goldberg last Sunday.

First, it was an anchor without a tie, now it’s a journalist without pants! Ed Henry was in Hawaii this past week reporting on the President-Elect's vacation. Yes, Ed has no pants. This first clip is from Monday's Campbell Brown No Bias No Bull:

Later on in the week, Ed decided to get even with the anchors- this clip is from American Morning:

The Washington Post even took notice of the wardrobe change.

It's prime time and CNN's Ed Henry is standing on the white sand of Waikiki Beach, reporting live on President-elect Barack Obama's holiday vacation in Hawaii. With the volcanic mountain Diamond Head in the distance, Henry is flanked by palm trees, bikini-clad babes and surfer dudes.

"Ed, are those your producers over your right shoulder, like sunning themselves and deciding what books to read?" anchor Anderson Cooper asks.

"No, my producers are working very hard," Henry replies.

"Okay, yeah, I think you're in board shorts and have a mai tai nearby," Cooper says, prodding the cameraman to zoom out.

And voilà! Below his blue dress shirt, Henry's sporting teal swim trunks with orange stripes.

"I kept my shirt on because I don't have the pecs of either Anderson Cooper or Barack Obama," Henry, the network's self-deprecating senior White House correspondent, said later in an interview.

"No offense to the people of Crawford, Texas, but taking the presidential retreat from Crawford to Honolulu is change anyone can believe in," Henry says, borrowing a phrase from Obama's campaign.

Henry says that when he calls his colleagues in Atlanta, New York or Washington, "they start cursing at me. I called one of our producers and I said, 'Aloha!,' and she said, 'Bleep you! Don't 'aloha' me.' " On Tuesday, when Obama's staff released a report about contact his aides had with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, television correspondents were reporting around the clock. Henry said he did 20 live shots that day for CNN and its sister networks. On such days, the seriousness of the news regarding the president-elect contrasts with the seaside location where reporters stand. And that raises the question of attire.

And what's the holidays without a Yule Log... CNN had some fun with one Christmas Day on American Morning.

Did you catch Joe Johns dancing as they went to commercial?

One last item in tonight's stocking... this is one of my favorite Christmas sights: 34th Street in Baltimore:

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Light Christmas Post

So there is not alot of news on Christmas Day which works well for me since it is a travelling day for me. So I capped a few pics from CNN this morning. The regular anchors had the day off and Joe Johns, Carol Costello, Alina Cho and Richard Lui filled in. Unfortunately the blogger gods were being naughty today so I have no clips.

If you are home Christmas night CNN is airing the following programs

7:00PM - Obama Revealed

9:00PM - Larry King Live with Jack Hanna

10:00PM - Planet in Peril: Battle Lines

Hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas with family and friends ~ Sapphire

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Merry Christmas

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas from all of us at All Things CNN.

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Ratings At A Glance- Week of December 15, 2008

Ratings for the week DECEMBER 15 - 19, 2008

	8PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 609,200 CNN 258,200 MSNBC 480,200 HLN 752,200
	9PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 521,400 CNN 370,600 MSNBC 429,600 HLN 241,600
	10PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 424,000 CNN 376,200 MSNBC 296,600 HLN 466,400

Last week was HLN's (formerly Headline News) week in the ratings. In the Adults 25 - 54 demographic, HLN takes the 8PM and 10PM timeslots. They had the highest demo rating all five nights at 8PM and the highest demo ratings two times (Monday & Wednesday) during the 10PM timeslot. During the 9PM hour, they dropped to fourth.

CNN did not fair as well, with fourth place all week during the 8PM hour, mostly third place at 9PM and 10PM. Tuesday night was the only bright spot of the week with a second place rating at 9PM and a first place rating during the 10PM hour.

FOX found themselves in second place at 8PM and 10PM. They were consistently in first place at 9PM. During the 10PM hour, they came in first two times (Thursday and Friday nights).

For the second week in a row, MSNBC did not win any timeslots in the demo during primetime. They were consistently third at 8PM. At 9PM on most nights, they had the second highest demo rating (except for Tuesday night when they slipped to third). 10PM found MSNBC in fourth all five nights.



^{^} Courtesy Nielsen Media Research; Demographics where noted; Live + Same Day (LS) Fast Track Nationals.

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A Monday Look at Things

Jill Dougherty is currently covering the bureau in Baghdad, which means updating the case of the shoe-thrower. Jill picked up the saga as of Wednesday:

And another update this afternoon:

Elsewhere, Christiane Amanpour was in the studio to discuss the Russian warships in Cuba:

Saturday I posted the update that Arwa Damon did about Youssif, the young boy from Baghdad who was so horribly burned by assailants. Yesterday Arwa's piece ran again, and she was in the New York studio to talk about it:

And finally, one last piece that Michael Ware prepared prior to leaving Baghdad for the holidays: a look at the war in Iraq that soon-to-be President Obama will inherit. This piece has not yet run on Domestic, but aired frequently on International last week. Hopefully the US audience will soon get a chance to see it as well:

From the frozen Pacific Northwest, I hope everyone has a Happy Hanukkah and/or a Merry Christmas! See you this weekend, if the snow and ice gives us a break up here!

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Tears & Surprises

Newsday.com recently spoke with D.L. Hugley about his new program on CNN. Here's an excerpt from the article:

CNN has had a new weekend talk show host since October, and he's ... a stand-up comedian? "D.L. Hughley Breaks the News" offers a take on the week's events in politics, entertainment, sports and pop culture. Hughley acknowledges the union may be "an unholy alliance," but sees it this way: "If CNN can have Nancy Grace, they can have me, too."

You and CNN - as if the line separating news and entertainment wasn't already murky enough?

The news has always informed what I talk about. My gig hasn't changed. News has been inundated with entertainment elements since O.J. So to even now pretend that news and entertainment haven't meshed is disingenuous.

You were taken by surprise when former White House rep Scott McClellan came on and endorsed Barack Obama. What else has caught you off guard?

Al Sharpton and I haven't seen eye to eye on a lot of things, and I was shocked at how different he was than I always imagined he would be. I've misjudged his motives. I always thought he was just doing what he does because he wanted attention. The more I talk to him, the more I realize that - however sometimes misguided he can be - he does what he does because he wants to make things better.

The "Original Kings of Comedy" tour and subsequent film were career milestones. How were you influenced by Bernie Mac?

Bernie taught me that the hardest thing for a black man to do was to be an individual. I have to tell myself that often, and whenever I think it, I have to think about him. Comedically, he was uncompromising. Right before he passed, he was at a charity event for Obama and said something that involved color, and people got irritated. That's how he was - an individual.

There's been this exhalation since the elections, at least in New York. Is there a particular pressure not to pounce on Barack Obama?

He'll do things that people find ironic and funny, and when he does, they should attack. For me, those things happen organically. Sooner or later, he'll be a politician - he'll do something that I think is ironic, or very human - and when he does, I'll be there.

Have you met Anderson Cooper yet? He's spread kind of thin, no?

Anderson Cooper is CNN's Ryan Seacrest.

Candy Crowley interviewed the President in the Oval Office this week. What could the President do that would throw Candy off balance? She talked about the interview on No Bias, No Bull with Campbell Brown.

Part 1:

Part 2:

What could bring Christine Romans to tears on Your $$$$$? On Saturday's program Ryan Mack discussed investment options for 2009 and then things got personal. Luckily, Ali Velshi was there to keep the program going.

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Saturday catch-up

Just some interesting pieces you may have missed this week while racing around shopping/wrapping/cooking:

Morgan Neill reports on the Russian warships visiting Cuba, and also an offer to release political prisoners:

Arwa Damon updates the recovery of little Youssif, the boy who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by masked assailants in Baghdad:

Cal Perry did a piece for BackStory on how they get around the crowded Beirut streets in order to do stand-ups:

Richard Quest tells the story of one of the most common sights for travelers -- the Gideon Bible:

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Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Don Lemon was back in Atlanta after spending Friday in Chicago.

SUNDAY: Alina Cho was in for Fredricka Whitfield.

MONDAY: Brianna Keiller, Ed Lavendera, and Jessica Yellin were all in Chicago, covering the transition and the governor; Nic Robertson reported from London on President Bush's visit to Afghanistan; Carol Costello was in for John Roberts; TJ Holmes was in for Kyra Phillips; Betty Nguyen was in for Tony Harris (Tuesday also).

TUESDAY: Candy Crowley interviewed President Bush at the White House.

WEDNESDAY: Gary Tuchman was in Springfield, Illinois to cover the State Supreme Court decision on the governor; Jill Dougherty is in Baghdad; Carol was in for Kiran Chetry; Don Lemon was in for Tony (also Thursday and Friday); Joy Behar was in for Larry King.

THURSDAY: Gary was in Fenton, Missouri at a Chrysler plant as it went into the temporary shutdown.

FRIDAY: Gary was in Chicago for the latest on Governor Blagojevich; TJ was in for Heidi Collins.

Okay... back to the Christmas shopping!

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CNN's First Anchors Retire

Trivia question: Who were the first anchors on CNN when they went on air on June 1, 1980?

Answer: Dave Walker and Lois Hart

Although not on CNN anymore, Dave and Lois are still together (the couple married in 1979). On November 26, 2008, they anchored their last broadcast on Sacramento’s KCRA Channel 3. Unlike some of the recent departures that we're seen from CNN, Dave and Lois were not forced out of their positions at KCRA- they decided that it was time to retire.

KXJZ Insight's spoke with Dave and Lois on November 25, 2008. They discussed their careers (including the first broadcast on CNN), how they met, and their plans for the future.

Here is a clip from CNN's first moments on air:

KCRA posted the following article which gives an overview of their broadcast career:

The couple married in 1979 and has been working together at KCRA 3 since 1990. They currently anchor KCRA 3 Reports weekdays at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. They will retire on Nov. 26.

"Those who have worked at KCRA over the years came to understand they are a part of something much larger, a legacy that committed KCRA to be the place where the news really does come first. And because of that, we were honored to be there when the viewers of Northern California turned to us for news during the good and the bad times and invited us into their homes for these past 18 years," the couple said. "But it takes a lot of people to bring you the news. It doesn't get done without the team of reporters, photographers, producers, editors, directors, technicians -- an entire station."

Walker and Hart met at KOVR in the late 1970s. He began working at the station in 1975, and Hart started in 1976.

Walker studied sociology and biology at Florida State University, and then began working at a radio station in Tallahassee, Fla. He then moved to a small TV station in town, where he began his TV career in 1965.

Hart is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism. Her TV career began in the early 1970s in Monterey, Calif., and at KNTV in San Jose. She moved to KCRA 3 in 1978 to anchor the noon newscast with Mike Boyd.

The couple made television history in 1980 when they anchored CNN's first broadcast.

In 1989, Walker and Hart joined CNBC and inaugurated the first CNBC newscast. They also anchored CNBC Mornings, Money Wheel and America's Vital Signs.

Viewers from all over the Sacramento Valley have grown up watching Walker and Hart deliver the news. Some of their most newsworthy reports include the Oakland Hills fire of 1991, the floods of 1995, and disastrous storms of 1997.

"Not many people get to have this much fun for so long -- covering news, being a part of the first draft of history," the couple said. "And for those of us in broadcast news, not many people have been so fortunate to work at one of the most respected and consistently top-rated television news organizations in the nation. We'll always be a part of KCRA 3 and thankful to our friends and colleagues here."

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Nancy Grace Visits Dr. Phil

Monday afternoon I was flipping through the channels (which I do when CNN shows are in commercial and I caught the tail end of Dr. Phil where I saw now other the HLN anchor Nancy Grace. Well thanks to the invention of time shifting on television (best thing EVER!) I was able to record the program. Below are clips of when Nancy was on. Part 2 actually has a funny moment I was not expecting.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

That is it for me tonight. Next time I blog it will be Christmas Day so I hopefully everyone will be able to get their last minute shopping done before then. Have a great week ~ Sapphire

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Not Much News

Except for firings (excuse me...nonrenewal of contracts) there hasn't been much information flowing from CNN/Turner in the last few days. I did find a mention of several current CNNers (David Bohrman, Dana Bash and hubby John King) attending the media Christmas party at the White House on Tuesday night. Haven't located any pictures, but we'll keep looking.

And while I'm still, sorta on the topic of the newly departed, there was an interesting column at Huff Po earlier this week titled 'Why My Dog and I No Longer Watch CNN'. Check it out when you have a few minutes.

Now onto the slim pickings for the week.

We received a notice from the CNN Pressroom today announcing that Headline News will now be called HLN. Not an earth shattering change, but as I said it's been a slow week.



HLN also announced recently that nationally syndicated radio show host and money coach Clark Howard will debut a new weekend program on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2009. Every week, Clark Howard will help viewers make smart financial decisions in all aspects of their lives as they face an increasingly dire economy. Howard’s mantra each show: Help viewers “save more, spend less and avoid getting ripped off!”
Clark Howard will air Saturdays and Sundays at 6 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. (ET). Two 30-minute shows will air back-to-back, featuring the best calls from Howard’s daily national radio program, The Clark Howard Show.
Each show will include a “Money Coach” segment, where Howard profiles finances of individual callers to reveal the best ways for them to take control of their money. “Clark’s Consumer Tip of the Day” will offer viewers easy-to-understand, practical advice on how to save money daily, while “Clark’s Travel Tips” will offer “insider” travel tips.Clark Howard will have an online presence at www.CNN.com/ClarkHoward, allowing viewers and users to submit questions and to interact with him across multiple platforms. The site will also include Web-exclusive segments and useful links.

That's all I have for you this week. I feel like such a failure, but with the holidays fast approaching I'm betting many of you don't have much time for idol reading anyway. ~Phebe



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