Jeopardy- Once More

CNN was once again on Jeopardy Monday night. This time Candy Crowley, Campbell Brown, and Soledad O'Brien was providing clues to the contestants.

Here's the clip from the show:

Weekend Specials Offer Election Preview in Final Days before Nov. 4

In the days before the last votes are cast and counted in the 2008 presidential election, CNN will air special election programming throughout the weekend that features lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and other members of the Best Political Team on Television.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. (ET), CNN political contributor and Christian Broadcasting Network senior correspondent David Brody will host the one-hour special Election Countdown: View from the Right. This roundtable discussion will examine the strength of the McCain-Palin ticket, the priorities for conservatives after the election and top issues on voters’ minds, including national security and the economy. Brody will be joined by Amanda Carpenter, national political reporter for Townhall.com; Brian DeBose, editorial writer for The Washington Times; Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard; and Kevin Madden, Republican strategist and former press secretary for Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer expands to a three-hour election special, airing from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET). Blitzer will be joined by McCain and Obama campaign surrogates and members of the Best Political Team about expectations on Election Day. Chief national correspondent John King will be on hand with the “Magic Wall” to zero in on the hotly contested battleground states and calculate electoral math based on the latest polling. Reliable Sources host Howard Kurtz will join Blitzer to lead panel discussions with fellow journalists about the coverage of the election.

To cap off the weekend, Blitzer will anchor a one-hour election preview special on Sunday at 8 p.m. (ET) He will be joined by members of the Best Political Team live from the campaign trail. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider will zero in on the latest polling data, and King will again break down the electoral map county-by-county in his analysis of battleground states.

Encore presentations of the 90-minute CNN Presents documentaries McCain Revealed and Obama Revealed will air back-to-back on Saturday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (ET), respectively.







Tis all hallows eve, and alas we’ve been tricked! For one night alone, we see our favorites from CNN as Peanuts clones. Its all from the Great Pumpkin and first on our list, who's going to be Charlie Brown? Anderson Cooper will fit.








He’s with Lucy – hey, that’s Campbell Brown. Debating, debating…do I chance a punt? Campbell may be “no bias, no bull” but footballs she’ll pull.








Poor Anderson should have checked with Jeffrey Toobin- he’d have warned him to beware.



John King ala Linus with his magic map in tow. The polls! The polls! No matter red state or blue state- the great pumpkin will show! He’ll spend the night in the field – reporting the results. Won’t be alone, Sally, Dana Bash, will be there to consult.









A Halloween party, with Violet, Erica Hill, as host. The whole gang is there (well most). A pumpkin to carve- they'll need Anderson's help.





Erica knows that Anderson has modeled before, so along with Patty, Candy Crowley, and Campbell they talk him into helping them out.







Oh my, that’s not what he had in mind. How could Erica do that!








Music! Music! Now who plays the keyboard? Well, that must be Schroeder, Wolf Blitzer, striking a chord.






Let’s check in with John King as the night comes to a close. Did the Great Pumpkin show? How could the polls have been wrong? The magic map led astray and no Great Pumpkin this year. Polls sometimes betray and fall on deaf ears.


No meanness intended with this paraody in hand. It’s Halloween- a treat for all us CNN fans.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Samhain!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

CNN Election Night Coverage Plans

Blitzer, Team of Anchors, Analysts to Lead CNN’s ‘Election Night in America’
After more than a year and a half of debates, primaries and political rallies, the U.S. presidential election will culminate on Tuesday, Nov. 4, with live, comprehensive programming and in-depth analysis across the powerful resources of CNN Worldwide platforms.

CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage begins at 6 p.m. (ET) – one hour before the first polls close – with Wolf Blitzer leading the Best Political Team on Television along with Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper from the Election Center headquarters in New York.
As he has throughout most of this presidential election cycle, chief national correspondent John King will use the latest technology as well as his reporting from every battleground state of this campaign to zero in on hotly contested states and provide analysis – down to a county-by-county level – to explain CNN’s projections in each state. Using CNN’s “Magic Wall” and a 3-D, 6-foot-long virtual U.S. Capitol, King will break down data about the presidential race and report on updates to the House and Senate balance of power.

In addition, Soledad O’Brien and Bill Schneider will, for the first time, showcase exit-polling data simultaneously from all 50 states with demographic comparisons. By using two 103-inch interactive plasma screens, the team will display a state-by-state breakdown of polling data according to any number of demographic and political groups. The new way of presenting polling information will allow viewers to compare how others in their state voted compared to those in different states.

Throughout the evening, senior analysts Gloria Borger, David Gergen and Jeffrey Toobin and political contributors Paul Begala, Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Amy Holmes, Roland Martin, Ed Rollins, Hilary Rosen, Leslie Sanchez and Tara Wall will provide analysis and commentary. CNN political correspondents Candy Crowley, Suzanne Malveaux and Jessica Yellin will report live throughout the evening from Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago, while correspondents Dana Bash and Ed Henry will be on the ground at Sen. John McCain’s headquarters in Phoenix. In addition, CNN correspondents will be on the ground reporting from key battleground states.

Adding to what promises to be one of the most technologically advanced events in CNN’s 28-year history, CNN will enhance interviews with remote correspondents and guests using hologram projection. The network has built sets powered by hologram technology at both campaign headquarters making it possible to project three-dimensional images into the Election Center. From the New York set, anchors will exhibit more natural conversations with newsmakers and CNN correspondents in the field by interacting in real time with their 3-D virtual images.

CNN Programming Pre- and Post-Election Day
Amid CNN's multi-platform coverage, anchor Lou Dobbs will provide his independent perspective on this pivotal election. Special editions of Lou Dobbs Tonight will air live on Headline News on Monday, Nov. 3, and Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 9 p.m. (ET).
CNN’s live pre-Election Day coverage begins on Monday, Nov. 3, at 6 a.m. and will continue through Thursday, Nov. 6. On Monday evening, CNN’s prime-time coverage kicks off with Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull and includes two live hours of Anderson Cooper 360° followed by a live midnight airing of Larry King Live. CNN/U.S. will remain live from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., at which time American Morning with anchors Kiran Chetry and John Roberts will begin its Election Day coverage. On Wednesday, Nov. 5, American Morning will follow-up on the election news of the day before beginning at 3 a.m. (ET)

CNN Coverage of Voter Irregularities:
On Election Day, CNN will assemble “go teams” of correspondents and producers who will report on breaking election news and voting irregularities. Throughout the day, CNN’s Ali Velshi will anchor reports on voting irregularities from the “go teams,” and legal experts will track and analyze such issues across the country.
As announced earlier in the month, CNN launched the Voter Hotline at 1.877.GOCNN08 (877.462.6608) to assist voters in reporting any problems or irregularities noticed at the polls. To date, the hotline has received more than 15,000 calls with the expectation to handle hundreds of thousands of calls by Election Night.

CNN.com Election Coverage:
As the premier online destination for Election Day coverage, CNN.com will showcase real-time election coverage and live results for national and state races, detailed exit-polling data, video and audio feeds, photo galleries and games. Users can customize their online experience by selecting the races they most care about and viewing results by state and county, as well as scorecards, maps and live streams of speeches.
CNNPolitics.com, the site’s political news gateway, will feature complete coverage and analysis as the results are tallied. Members of the Best Political Team will share their insights on the Political Ticker, the Internet’s No. 1 political news blog according to Nielsen Online. Also, through The Forum, CNN.com’s destination for social and political self-expression, users are empowered to engage in real-time discussions with other registered members and invite their Facebook friends to join in the conversation through the recently launched Facebook Connect.
CNN.com Live will stream “Election Night in America” in its entirety, plus provide real-time election results and commentary from CNN analysts, contributors and correspondents. Throughout the day, CNN.com Live anchor Melissa Long will co-anchor a live Election Special from the CNN Election Center in New York with various guests, contributors and members of the Best Political Team on Television. As results start coming in, CNN.com Live will have special Election Night coverage with Long from New York and Reggie Aqui, Naamua Delaney and Nicole Lapin from CNN Headquarters in Atlanta. CNN.com will also offer users the ability to watch past candidate speeches online through video on-demand, CNN.com Live and full text transcripts.

CNN Grill/Times Square Viewing Party:
Building upon the success of the CNN Grills at both conventions as well as 2006’s “CNN Election Nite Blog Party,” the network will open a CNN Grill inside the Time Warner Center Park Café from 6 p.m. to midnight (ET). Internet reporter Abbi Tatton will report live for CNN.com Live from the Grill throughout the night. Comments from bloggers in the Grill will post at CNN.com.

Also on Election Day from noon to midnight, CNN will hold a viewing party in Times Square in conjunction with the Times Square Alliance. The public, on a first-come, first-served basis, will be able to view CNN’s election coverage on Spectacolor HD, ClearChannel Spectacolor’s digital display, located at the corner of 47th Street and Broadway. Similar viewing events for Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speeches attracted more than a thousand spectators to the heart of Times Square.

CNN’s International Coverage:
Viewers from around the world also will also have the opportunity to follow the U.S. presidential election as CNN International simulcasts many hours of CNN’s non-stop coverage. The network has teams in place in more than 32 countries with correspondents in Obama’s ancestral home town in Kenya as well as in Iraq, Israel and key capitals of Europe, Asia and Latin America. CNN Español also will provide rolling coverage of America Votes 2008. In addition, CNN-branded global networks and digital services such as CNN IBN in India, CNN Turk in Turkey, CNN+ in Spain and CNNArabic.com, CNN’s Arabic language Web site will provide on-going coverage of “Election Night in America.”

CNN Radio/CNN Newsource/CNN Student News:
CNN Radio will have continuous anchored Election Night coverage by CNN Radio Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins and CNN anchor Kyra Phillips. It will be available to CNN Radio affiliates worldwide and streamed online at CNN.com beginning at 7 p.m. (ET). CNN Radio correspondent Jim Roope will report live from McCain campaign headquarters and CNN Radio correspondent Amanda Moyer from Obama campaign headquarters. Also contributing will be CNN Radio correspondents Steve Kastenbaum, Ed McCarthy and Dick Uliano along with members of CNN’s Best Political Team on Television. CNN Newsource will provide its affiliates access to custom reports from correspondents Kate Bolduan and Sandra Endo and RunningMate correspondent Samantha Hayes.

The day after voters head to the polls, CNN Student News will focus on the last-minute campaigns and voter turnout and present the results of the presidential and congressional elections at its regularly scheduled programming time. Teachers, parents and students can visit CNN Student News for election activities and discussion questions about the elections. The “Talking Democracy” link provides additional free content that focuses on election-related concepts, such as the right to vote, campaign finance and debates. CNN Student News is a 10-minute commercial-free program on Headline News at 4 a.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, streamed online at http://www.cnnstudentnews.com/ or as a free iTunes podcast.

This is my last post on ATC before the election. I want to end with a clip of some children who were on CNN NewsRoom with Kyra Phillips. They are a smart group of kids and I want you to remember them when you go to vote on Tuesday. Vote for them and their futures as well as your own.

Until next week ~ Sapphire

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Campbell Brown and the CNN Election Hotline

There was big news from Campbell Brown this week. She and her husband are expecting their second child in April. Brown talked about this news a bit when she was Jon Stewart's guest on The Daily Show Monday night. They also touched on the Tucker Bounds interview that Campbell did plus what she had wanted to call her new program. Of course it's a bit tough to get No Bias No Bullshit past the CNN censors so she had to settle. The interview was about 7 minutes long and I've posted it in two parts.
Part 1

Part 2


Hudson's Booksellers now has the CNN lineup, in bookmarker form, available at most of their locations. The bookmarks are free for the asking. Hudson's are located in most major US airports.

With the election quickly approaching now is the perfect time to again mention CNN's hotline for voting abuse. Viewers have reported problems in the weeks leading up to Election Day, but the bulk of the irregularities are expected on November 4th. Of the many important issues leading up to the election, voter concern for accuracy and accountability at the polls is at the forefront. So spread the word about the CNN Hotline and let's keep this election honest.


CNN Voter Hotline: Keeping Them Honest
Uploaded by thatsfunny

Just think the next time I blog at ATC we will have a new president! I, for one, am curious what CNN will do to fill all the hours that have been devoted to politics. Until next week ~Phebe





All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Ratings At A Glance

Ratings for the week OCTOBER 20 - 24, 2008

	8PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 871,000 CNN 497,400 MSNBC 854,600 HLN 429,400
	9PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 802,400 CNN 657,600 MSNBC 796,600 HLN 155,200
	10PM^Adults 25-54 FOX 723,800 CNN 787,800 MSNBC 564,400 HLN 303,000

Nothing is for certain when it comes to day by day ratings. The end results for this week are very similar to past ratings performances with FOX having the top average Adults 25 - 54 demographics for the 8PM and 9PM hours and CNN winning the 10PM hour. But a closer look reveals that during 8PM and 9PM hours MSNBC won the demo in those timeslots on both Tuesday & Friday. CNN slipped to 3rd in both timeslots all five nights except for Tuesday night at 9PM when it came in second.

During the 10PM hour, CNN had the highest demo ratings three nights, but FOX came out ahead on both Wednesday and Thursday night.

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

CNN recently released this press release about their ratings...

• CNN is #1 at 10p in 2008 Among Adults 25-54
• CNN has the Most Growth in Prime Time During October
• CNN Tops FNC at 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11p in 25-54
• HLN Grows by Double-Digits Every Hour in Total Viewers and the Demo
• CNN.com Breaks Multiple Records in September

Year to date, Anderson Cooper 360 remains the #1 show at 10p among cable news networks with 461k in 25-54, 4% ahead of On The Record's 443k and 77% ahead of MSNBC's Countdown replay (260k).

In prime time (M-Su), CNN grew the most during the month of October versus last year, increasing by an impressive 241% among adults 25-54 (840k vs. 246k), FNC grew 160% and MSNBC was up 212%. Beginning at 7p, CNN showed record growth in October with Lou Dobbs Tonight increasing 115% in total viewers (1.333 vs. 621k) and growing 110% among adults 25-54 (428k vs. 204k). At 8p, Campbell Brown: No Bias No Bull (formerly Election Center) increased more than any cable news program in the hour, up a whopping 190% in total viewers (1.604 vs. 554k) and increased 202% in 25-54 (610k vs. 202k). Larry King Live at 9p also posted significant increases, up 93% in total viewers (1.962 vs. 1.014k) and increased 128% in adults 25-54 (674k vs 296k). Anderson Cooper 360 at 10p posted the greatest growth in its hour with an increase of 238% in total viewers (2.451 vs. 726k) and up a staggering 297% in 25-54 (989k vs. 249k). Anderson Cooper 360 at 11p continued to post the most growth in its hour with 256% increase in total viewers (1.699 vs. 477k) and 263% in 25-54 (770k vs. 212k).

CNN is now the #1 network among adults 25-54 during five key hours: 3p, 4p, 5p 10p and 11p. At 3p, CNN Newsroom hosted by Rick Sanchez averaged 312k in 25-54 in October compared to FNC's Studio B with 309k and 178k for MSNBC Live. At 4p, The Situation Room ranked #1 with 341k in adults 25-54, compared to 334k for FNC's Your World and MSNBC Live's 203k. At 5p The Situation Room posted 369k compared to 336k for FNC's Election Headquarters and MSNBC Hardball's 313k. At 10p Anderson Cooper 360 ranked #1 for the month with 989k in the demo versus 862k for On the Record, and 512k MSNBC's Countdown. At 11p, the second hour of Anderson Cooper 360 ranked first with 770k versus FNC's O'Reilly Factor repeat 597k and MSBNC's repeat of Rachael Maddow trailed with 351k.

During October, CNN's coverage of the presidential debates rated #1 among cable news networks in 25-54 (three of the four debates aired in October). Additionally, CNN's coverage of the vice presidential debate set a new record for the network in 18-34 with more than 3.166 million tuning in, the highest number for a scheduled broadcast in the network's 28-year history.

Headline News grew its total viewer and demo audience by double-digits during every weekday hour and in every daypart in October. The network showed impressive growth with an 82% increase in total viewers in M-Su prime (666k vs. 365k) and a 94% increase in demo viewers (262k vs. 135k). Nancy Grace posted the most growth on the network with an increase of 127% in total viewers (1.191 vs. 454k) and 149% increase in 25-54 (454k vs. 182k).

CNN continues to reach more viewers in October with 79,012,000 total viewers tuning in during the month, FNC had 62,927,000, MSNBC 57,904,000, and HLN 55,323,000. Among 25-54 CNN again ranked first with 36,378,000; MSNBC was second with 28,235,000, FNC had 27,222,000 and HLN had 25,797,000.

In September, the CNN Digital Network ranked #1 among all Current Events and Global News sites, registering 1.7 billion total minutes for the month. This is the highest month on record for CNN.com since tracking began in 2001. (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel, September 2008)

During September, the CNN Digital Network also:

• Ranked #1 in share among all Current Events and Global News sites; (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel)
• Registered 44.4 minutes per person, the highest average time per person among the Top 5 News and Information sites based on reach – and the highest average time spent on CNN.com in more than two years; (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel)
• Registered 37.3 million unique visitors in September, CNN.com's second highest unique visitor count since tracking began (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel); and
• Generated 1.9 billion page views, the highest monthly count in almost three years. (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel)
• Served 144 million videos, the highest month ever for CNN.com video. (Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst, Global)

September was also a record-setting month for CNNMoney.com - CNN's exclusive business site and the online home of FORTUNE, MONEY and FSB: FORTUNE Small Business magazines ' as its reach and engagement grew more than any other site in the business and financial news category according to Nielsen Online. CNNMoney.com's year-to-date numbers have also increased significantly with 142% growth in page views, a 121% increase in total minutes, a 73% rise in time per person and a 30% increase in unique users over this time last year. (Source: Nielsen Online and Omniture SiteCatlyst, Global)

In September, CNNMoney.com's month-over-month percentage increases were the highest among the top 10 business and financial news sites; and the site generated record-breaking traffic:

• 10.4 million unique visitors - up 46% versus prior month
• 257.2 million page views - up 58% versus prior month
• 192.8 million minutes - up 67% versus prior month

Additionally, CNN.com set multiple records on its political news and live video platforms during the month of September. On Monday, Sept. 1, the day Hurricane Gustav made landfall and the first day of the Republican National Convention, CNN Digital garnered more than 43 million page views and brought in more than 5.4 million unique users (Source: Nielsen Online Home/Work Panel). Also on that day, CNN.com Live served a record-breaking 1.8 million streams, a 124% increase over CNN.com Live's previous high on Feb. 21, when it served more than 700,000 streams amid the Democratic presidential debate in Austin, Texas. (Source: Omniture SiteCatalyst, Global)

During the four days of the Republican National Convention, CNN Digital was the most used online news entity with 207.6 million usage minutes, 42.5 million more than Yahoo! News and 45.6 million more than MSNBC Digital.

On Friday, Sept. 26, the day of the first presidential debate, the CNN Digital Network ranked #1 in unique visitors, total minutes and page views. Also, on Sept. 26, the Political Ticker, the #1 political news blog according to Nielsen Online, set a new daily traffic record when it generated 4.8 million page views, nearly doubling its previous daily record, while CNNPolitics.com generated 12 million page views, a 91-percent increase over the prior four-week period. (Source: Omniture SiteCatylist, Global).






For his short film “13th Amendment,” Mike Dennis of Philadelphia, Pa., followed his 90-year-old great-great-grandmother on her trek to vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary. The film, depicting the lifelong voter’s first opportunity to cast a vote on behalf of a black man for U.S. president, took the Grand Jury Award at the iReport Film Festival, CNN’s first user-generated short film competition.

In comments about “13th Amendment,” film reviewer Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times said: “In less than five minutes, Mike Dennis tells a complete story with an inspirational message. I was impressed by all the entries, and I'm sure I'll see many of these names on feature-length films and documentaries in the years to come.”

Following the theme “Campaign 2008,” the iReport Film Festival provided a platform for filmmakers to document this year’s presidential campaign from their personal vantage point, whether they were volunteering for a campaign or had compelling stories about this election they wanted to document creatively. This short film can be found at http://www.iReport.com/docs/DOC-90261.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

How will YOU choose?

Miles O'Brien takes a look at the emotional way people make decisions, whether buying a car or voting for a president:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the Pentagon, Zain Verjee gives an update to the Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sunday, Cal Perry had a report about Syria claiming that US helicopters crossed into their country from Iraq in order to attack a farm there. Note that despite the graphics and what is said in the set-up, Cal is in Beirut, not Baghdad. Compare the location with the version posted on CNN.com:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Saturday I posted the piece Michael Ware did for the AC360 special "Back From the Battle," and this is the interview Anderson Cooper conducted with Michael at the concert Thursday night:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just for the record, John King says he can bounce Michigan, too!

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Politics- What Else??

Tonight's post won't be nearly as light as my post on Friday. I just can't seem to get away from politics as hard as I may try. Tonight's post brings you an article from Tom Foreman, a clip with John Roberts, and an upcoming appearance for John King. And on with the politics...

Tom Foreman's article in the New York Metro took a different look at politics... who's talking about space?

We’re falling behind in the space race

I hate to bring this up, with the election grinding into its final days, and so many urgent issues at hand, but somebody needs to be talking about Mars. India has sent an unmanned rocket to the moon. China is making noise about putting a human being on the lunar surface; the first since we packed our Samsonites and left that great gray sandy beach in the sky in 1972. That’s right, we left the moon 36 years ago, and no one has been back. We don’t write. We never call.

Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has shown any real enthusiasm for space exploration. Each offers a tepid notion that we should generally continue our efforts in orbit, and that’s about it.

Considering our economy, fractured international relations and security issues, it is understandable that they and many voters might want to cool it with the NASA talk.

But space matters.

The economy? Space exploration is a fundamental power behind scientific and technological advances, many thousands of which wind up as consumer products that we market to the world. Security? Our banking, communications, satellite imaging capabilities, spy networks, and military forces could be hugely diminished if our dominance of space fell to the wayside. Education? One of Obama’s own commercials talks about how he was inspired to serve his country, because as a child he saw astronauts in a parade.

Maybe America has grown tired of the space race, but others haven’t. China is not messing around. They are still, according to space experts, considerably behind us, but they are paying to educate hundreds of thousand of new engineers each year, sending robotic probes around the moon, and seriously looking at a manned mission to Mars.

Robert Zubrin, the most enthusiastic proponent of Mars travel I’ve ever met, says, “If we continue to stand still, by the middle of the next decade their space program is going to be superior to ours, and they’ll be moving on to the moon and Mars, while we’re looking back on our former greatness.”

That’s right. If the next president wins reelection, by the time he leaves office, China could be the Man in the Moon’s new BFF. The space race is a marathon, not a sprint. America will not be able to just suddenly catch up, if we hear the Chinese are getting ready to launch. Is there life on Mars? Not yet. But there could be. And how are we going to feel, if the explorers who make it first, are there to plant another nation’s flag?

CNNPolitics.com | Catch Tom Foreman on CNN every Saturday at 6 p.m. on This Week in Politics for a look back at the presidential campaign trail.

Next on our political agenda tonight, have you tried having a conversation with someone about politics recently? How about someone who doesn't agree with your views? If you've found it challenging, you're not the only one! John Roberts interviewed Kelly Nyks about his documentary, Split: A Divided America on America Morning on October 17th.

Thursday night, John King will appear on South Carolina ETV. Here's a look at the press release for The Big Picture.

Columbia SC… In an interview with South Carolina ETV taped Wednesday, John King, CNN’s chief national correspondent, admitted that some criticism of the media’s handling of election coverage is legitimate. The interview airs on “The Big Picture,” Thursday, Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Telling program host Mark Quinn, that he hopes there will be a lot of reflection after this election cycle as to how it was covered by the media, King said there is a lot to be learned.

“We did invest our thinking too much at the beginning, in the Clinton juggernaut,” he said. “Of course, Senator Clinton was going to win—the Clinton name is the gold standard in Democratic politics. Of course she’s going to win. And so, when people say now we haven’t spent enough time looking at Barack Obama’s background, a lot of that was because people were looking at Senator Clinton early on as the frontrunner, and thinking ‘Well, this guy, he’s going to mount a good race, but he can’t possibly beat her.’ And then he does, and we’re on into the general election. I think there’s some very legitimate criticism that we did not treat all of the candidates in the Democratic race—particularly the top two or three—equally, because of the Clinton obsession in the national media. It is a very fair point. We need to learn that lesson.”

In response to a question Quinn asked about whether Sarah Palin has been treated much differently by the press than her counterparts, King said, “Part of that may be legitimate. Part of that may be how the McCain campaign put her out there. We whine too much sometimes. If the McCain campaign doesn’t want to make Sarah Palin available for interviews, OK, just say they won’t make her available for interviews. We don’t have to jump up and down and scream and cry about that…In today’s democracy, if she is doing talk radio, if she is going to town halls, if she is out campaigning, we should make note of it…it is not our job to whine or complain…If (people) think that’s important, if a voter thinks it’s important that she’s not doing the Sunday shows, then the voter will make their decision based on that. Other voters will think, ‘So what? Why do I want to listen to you? I want to see her in a town hall. I want to see her giving a speech.’ So, we need to observe, not object so much…”

King then went on to comment about the perception by some that the media is elitist.

“I say this all the time, and many in my business disagree with me, but one of the things I love about what I do is I travel. And there are a lot of people who sit—they’re wonderful people—they’re well-intentioned, don’t get me wrong, but they sit in New York or Washington—and they don’t come to South Carolina or North Carolina or Ohio or any other swing state out here and actually talk to human beings—or watch what it’s like to stand outside of a factory that just shut down with people. And so their attitudes are influenced by the fact that they live in Washington or New York and they don’t travel enough. And the criticism is that makes them elitist. I would just say sometimes there are some people who are very influential in our business who are somewhat out of touch.”

All Things CNN is now on Twitter.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

BackStory and a Bonus

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a new CNN International series called BackStory, hosted by Michael Holmes. Several of their behind-the-scenes pieces have been posted on CNN.com, and I thought I'd share a few today.

In this clip, Rome Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci tries to put together a report about the Italian Army being called in to battle the Mafia in a small town. The locals don't want to talk, the Army wants to sing, and one mafioso's lavish villa -- complete with quick-escape route -- is now police headquarters:

Arwa Damon goes out to film some stand-ups, and while she can now take off her flak vest while she films, she can't safely linger in any one place for long:

Miles O'Brien and Ali Velshi discuss those loaded words used to describe the stock market's behavior. The dead cats are bouncing:

Phil Black attempts to film a report about a Baghdad pet shop that has some rather unusual stock. But getting there really is half the battle. And the photo that Phil and one of his crew pose for in the Green Zone? Everyone who visits does that, apparently...:

Michael Holmes does a "Greatest Hits" piece. (The only duplication is a bit of Alessio's report.) This one is worth it just to hear about Ali Velshi's "onesie":

I really wish we could get this series on Domestic... It's a fascinating look at how the reporters, producers, and cameramen spend their time and the obstacles they have to hurdle to get what they need.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And now, the bonus: Michael Ware's report for the "Back from the Battle" special airing tonight and tomorrow, a follow-up with SS David Bellavia, who was featured in an incredible cover story Michael wrote for Time Magazine about the second battle for Fallujah. The video footage of the battle was filmed by Michael:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World...?

SATURDAY: Ed Henry was in Woodbridge, Virginia with the McCain campaign; Suzanne Malveaux was in St. Louis, Missiouri with the Obama campaign.

SUNDAY: Dana Bash was in Toledo, Ohio with McCain.

MONDAY: Suzanne was in Tampa, Florida with Obama; Candy Crowley was in Orlando, Florida at a rally with both Hillary Clinton and Obama; Dana was in Belton, Missiouri with McCain; Ed was in Grand Junction, Colorado with Palin; John King was in Charlotte, North Carolina for his series on battleground states; Sanjay Gupta was in Los Angeles all week.

TUESDAY: Suzanne was in Palm Beach and Lake Worth, Florida with Obama; Dana was in Harrisburg and Bensalem, Pennsylvania with McCain.

WEDNESDAY: Ed was in Manchester, New Hampshire with McCain; Dana was in Cincinnati with McCain; Jessica Yellin was in Richmond, Virginia with Obama; Candy Crowley was in Leesburg, Virginia with Obama; Campbell Brown was in Los Angeles to interview Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

THURSDAY: Ed was in Ormond Beach and New Smyrna Beach, Florida with McCain; Dana was in Sarasota, Florida with McCain; Jessica was in Indianapolis with Obama; Gary Tuchman was in Raleigh, North Carolina with the Biden campaign; Candy was in Washington; Lisa Sylvester hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight as she also would tomorrow; Anderson Cooper (above) co-hosted a special MTV concert for veterans.

FRIDAY: Suzanne was in Honolulu with Obama; Dana was in Denver with McCain; Richard Quest was in Atlanta.

All Things CNN is now on Twitter.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

Who's The Fairest Of Them All?

Saturday is the premiere of DL Hugley's new program on CNN.

He’s an Original King of Comedy and he’s coming to CNN. On October 25th, CNN debuts a new weekend show hosted by renowned comedian D.L. Hughley. This self-professed news junkie is one of the most popular and highly recognized stand-up comedians performing today. His new weekend show will take a comedic look at the week’s events in the news. It’s a fact - some of the most popular shows on television are focused on the news but hosted by comedians. Now, the world’s news leader will take the lead in this extremely popular genre of programming based on news and current events. Our dedication to journalism is unequivocal, but sometimes we all need a laugh.

This is a bold, unconventional programming initiative for the CNN brand, but it’s an example of how CNN continues to explore new ways to connect to its audiences and build community, especially with the younger, more diverse audience that has recently been choosing CNN in significant numbers. There is nothing like D.L. Hughley on CNN and his presence to motivate new audiences to sample all of the networks in the CNN portfolio.

This new late-night-style weekend show will feature Hughley’s fresh take on the news of the week – and the world around him. Everything from politics and world affairs to entertainment, sports and pop culture will be fodder for comedy and commentary. Hughley’s curiosity will be paired with CNN’s global resources to create an unconventional broadcast of comedy, conversation and debate.

Performed in front of a live audience, the show will feature Hughley’s unique interpretation of some traditional late night television offerings, each with an added value only CNN can offer. The show will draw heavily on CNN’s video resources and will feature richly crafted video pieces. Interviews with newsmakers and panels of pundits, as well as real people and comedians are all likely to show up depending on the topics of the week. Live and pre-taped comedy segments in studio and on location will also be featured in the show. CNN’s own correspondents and reporters will be on hand to weigh-in on topics and potentially be seen occasionally as Hughley’s good-natured “straight men.”

The show will deliver information with an unusual perspective that taps into all of Hughley’s comedic instincts. The one-hour show will be taped on Fridays and air every Saturday and Sunday from CNN’s New York studios.

"D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS" on CNN
Uploaded by thatsfunny

The program airs at 8PM ET on Saturday, October 25th and 8PM ET on Sunday, October 26th on CNN.

Thursday night's Anderson Cooper 360 showed a clip from the Thursday night edition of Saturday Night Live. SNL aired a skit concerning the magic map that we frequently see John King using.

Thanks to Phebe for the clip!

If you were watching Ellen earlier this week, you would have seen her talking about how much CNN she has been watching. She mentions The Situation Room, Larry King Live, Campbell Brown, John King, Anderson Cooper, and Wolf Blitzer.

Friday night, Richard Roth appeared on Jeopardy to provide the answers for the United Nations category. Friday was "United Nations Day."

All Things CNN is now on Twitter.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things CNN and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.