Jake Tapper’s “The Lead” Debuts March 18

Today’s Lead: Jake Tapper’s “The Lead” Will Debut on CNN March 18

                The newest addition to CNN’s weekday afternoon line-up, The Lead with Jake Tapper, will premiere at 4 p.m. ET on Monday, March 18. Anchored by chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper, the one-hour program will draw not only on Tapper’s deep knowledge of politics and national issues, but also seek to examine and advance stories across a wide range of topics that demonstrate his own curiosities and interests. Compelling headlines will come from around the country and the globe, from politics to money, sports to popular culture, based on news drivers of the day.

                Tapper’s prolific tweeting will extend to his program, which will aggregate and incorporate trends and response from social media into the reporting of stories that are part of the national consciousness. Users should follow @jaketapper and @theleadcnn. Original digital content including exclusive video and blog posts will appear on CNN.com/thelead beginning March 18.  

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Your Views on the News 3/1/13

DCFishbowl is reporting that CNN's new pres Jeff Zucker took a meeting this week with the leadership of the National Association of Black Journalists to discuss the state of black journalists at the network. In part Betsy Rothstein writes:

Speculation continues…to swirl about the network’s future with journalist and NABJ member Roland Martin. He recently answered a question from a fan on Twitter who would like to see him go to MSNBC. Martin’s contract with CNN expires April 8.
Some at the network believe times have been iffy for black journalists at CNN. TJ Holmes left his anchor slot in late 2011 over concerns of future advancement. Morning anchor Tony Harris did not have his contract renewed by CNN in early 2011 and surfaced at Al-Jazeera.
With O’Brien’s departure, Suzanne Malveaux will be the only black weekday anchor. On the weekends there are Fredericka Whitfield, Don Lemon, and Victor Blackwell.

Here's your chance to weigh in on who should be in primetime and who CNN shouldn't consider hiring/bringing back or anything else that strikes your fancy.

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This Weekend's Programming 3/2 - 3/3/13

SATURDAY, March 2, 2013

SANJAY GUPTA, MD – Airs Saturday 4:30PM – 5:00PM and Sunday 7:30AM – 8:00AM

This week Sanjay Gupta MD puts 'bullying' under a microscope.  First up, Sanjay speaks to candidly with a teenage girl who was bullied so viciously about her looks that she had elective cosmetic surgery at 14.  Sanjay also talks to Anderson Cooper about "The Bully Effect," an AC360 special report that chronicles the journeys of a bullied child, a grieving parent, a victim of violence and a filmmaker turned activist.  Also this week, the lasting legacy of C. Everett Koop, the first Surgeon General to officially warn about the dangers of passive smoking and a vigorous opponent of Big Tobacco.   

THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER– Airs Saturday 6:00PM – 7:00PM

Topic:   Gun Control

Guest:   Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City

Topic:   Iraq

Guest:   Arwa Damon, Senior International Correspondent

Topic:   Rodman in North Korea

Guest:   Shane Smith, Co-founder, VICE

Topic:   Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rosa Parks

Guest:   Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition

Anchor:  Wolf Blitzer

SUNDAY, March 3, 2013

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM and NOON

Topic:    Forced Spending Cuts

Guest:   Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader

Topic:    Forced Spending Cuts

Guest:   Gene Sperling, director, National Economic Council; Assistant to the President for Economic Policy

Topic:    Forced Spending Cuts; 2014 Midterm Election

Guest:   Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), DCCC Chairman

Guest:   Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), NRCC Chairman

Topic:    Current State of the Economy

Guest:   Mark Zandi, Moody's Analytics Chief Economist

Guest:   Stephen Moore, economist; senior economics writer, The Wall Street Journal.

Guest:   Susan Page, Washington bureau chief, USA Today

Anchor:   Candy Crowley

RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE Sunday 11:00AM – NOON

Topic:    Woodward vs. The White House; Coverage of Sequestration; Fox News Sunday interviews Ann and Mitt Romney

Guest:   Jackie Kucinich, political reporter, USA Today

Guest:   Cenk Uygur, host, The Young Turks on Current TV

Guest:   Tim Carney, senior political columnist, The Washington Examiner

Topic:    Michelle Obama in the Media; Coverage of Yahoo’s Decision to Forbid Working from Home

Guest:   Sally Quinn, The Washington Post

Guest:   Barbara Lippert, editor at large for Mediapost.com and formerly of Adweek

Host:     Howard Kurtz

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS – Airs 10:00AM – 11:00AM and 1:00PM – 2:00PM     

Topics:    How Iran feels about ‘Argo’; the future of nuclear talks

Guest:     Mohammad Khazee, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations

Topics:    Forced budget cuts; Italian election politics – and what they mean for the U.S. and global economies

Guest:     Roger Altman, American private equity investor

Guest:     Zanny Minton Beddoes, economics editor The Economist

Guest:     David Leonhardt, author, Here’s the Deal (2013); Washington bureau chief, The New York Times

Guest:     Beppe Severgnini, OBE, journalist, Corriere della Sera

Anchor:   Fareed Zakaria

THE NEXT LIST –  Airs Sunday 2:30PM – 3:00PM

This week The Next List profiles Saul Griffiths, an inventor, engineer, scientist and recipient of the coveted MacArthur "genius" award, whose goal is to transform the way America generates and uses power, and make alternative energy the fuel of the future.  Griffith is the co-founder of Otherlab, a hothouse of ideas and inventions where he and his team are developing technologies that could dramatically cut the cost of solar power, make it possible for cars to run on natural gas and change everything you think you know about robots.

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

Jim Murphy Lands At CNN

Brian Stelter reports, in the NYT,  that Jim Murphy will produce the new CNN morning program with Chris Cuomo and a yet to be announced co-host.  Stelter writes:

In 2011 Mr. Murphy left “G.M.A.” and helped start “Anderson,” the daytime talk show hosted by the CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Amid behind-the-scenes turmoil over the ratings of the talk show, he stepped down in early 2012.

Blogger's Commentary:

'Stepping down' is being polite, we've heard that Murphy was fired (or maybe we should say forced out?).  But then most realize that Anderson and its reincarnation Anderson Live have been a train wreck from the start and cutting Jim Murphy loose in favor of the current executive producer Terence Noonan is just one of the program's numerous missteps. 
CNN and Jeff Zucker, unlike those calling the shots for Anderson's talker, are making a smart move with Murphy.  But he will have his hands full trying to make CNN relevant in the early morning. Good luck Mr. Murphy and welcome aboard.

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CNN Evening Programs Show Growth/Gap Narrows with MSNBC

CNN NARROWS THE GAP WITH MSNBC

The Network Tops MSNBC during Dayside

CNN Evening Programs Show Growth vs. a Year Ago; FNC has Steep Declines in Key Demo

In February, CNN narrowed the total day gap with MSNBC to only -9k in total viewers (424k vs. 433k) and -11k in 25-54 (130k vs. 141k). At its recent monthly peak (October 2012), the gap was -180k in P2+ and -72k in 25-54.  Last month it was -43k in 2+ and -26k in target demo.

CNN also topped MSNBC during dayside programming (9a-5p) in both total viewers (475k vs. 412k) and in the key demo 25-54 (129k vs. 119k) this month.

Other CNN ratings highlights include:

Erin Burnett Outfront

• Outfront was the only 7p show to grow vs. competitors – increasing +15% in total viewers (482k vs. 420k) and up +11% in the demo (148k vs. 133k) vs. last February.   Fox Report with Shep Smith was flat in P2+ and down -21% in the key demo and Hardball was down -7% in total viewers and off -5% in 25-54. 

Anderson Cooper 360

• AC 360 at 8p had the most growth this month in cable news prime – increasing +42% in total viewers (791k vs. 559k) and +27% among 25-54 (236k vs. 186k) compared to a year ago.  While AC 360 grew this month, The O’Reilly Factor was down -3% in total viewers and -26% in 25-54 and The Ed Show declined -14% and -10% respectively.  This represents O’Reilly’s worst delivery at 8p since July 2008 in key demo 25-54. Outside of the November 2012 (Election) and March 2011 (Japan Tsunami), this month represents CNN’s best performance at 8p in over three years in both total viewers and 25-54.

Piers Morgan Tonight

• Last year the cable news networks saw heightened viewing due to the political primaries, debates and the death of Whitney Houston. This year at 9pm all the nets saw declines vs. a year ago with PMT registering the smallest among total viewers (-3%), while FNC’s Hannity was off -11% and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show was down -6%.  In the demo 25-54, Hannity was down the most of all the networks, dropping -35% -- representing the Hannity’s worst demo delivery since May 2006. 

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer

• The Sit Room posted increases at 6p vs. a year ago -- growing +15% in total viewers (522k vs. 455k) and increasing an impressive +25% in the key demo 25-54 (158k vs. 126k).  The show also grew the most vs. the competition, with FNC’s Special Report declining -15% in the demo and MSNBC’s Politics Nation declining -8% in total viewers.

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This Weekend's Programming 2/23 - 2/24/13

SATURDAY, February 23, 2013

SANJAY GUPTA, MD – Airs Saturday 4:30PM – 5:00PM and Sunday 7:30AM – 8:00AM

This week on Sanjay Gupta MD, Sanjay joined by Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper & Chief Business Correspondent Ali Velshi, examine the potential implications for your health should congress fail to act and forced budget cuts take affect next week.  If Congress fails to act, the CDC expects to face projected cuts of $300+ million; the FDA could lose $200-250 million; the NIH expects $1.5 billion in cuts.  Also, director/producer David France joins Sanjay to discuss his film “How to Survive a Plague” - nominated for best documentary feature film at this years Academy Awards - about the early years of the AIDS epidemic. Peter Staley, a long time AIDS & gay rights activist (and a main character in the film), will also be part of the discussion.

THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER– Airs Saturday 6:00PM – 7:00PM

Topic:   U.S. security firm ties hacking attacks to Chinese military unit based in Shanghai

Guest:  Kevin Mandia, CEO, Mandiant

Anchor:  Wolf Blitzer

SUNDAY, February 24, 2013

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM and NOON

Topics:  Forced Spending Cuts; Stalled Hagel Confirmation; Immigration Reform

Guest:   Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), ranking member, Armed Services Committee

Topics:  U.S.-Cuba Relations; Meeting with Castro; Guns and Immigration

Guest:   Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman, Judiciary Committee

Topics:  Guns; Immigration; Sequestration

Guest:   Former Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS), former Chairman, Republican National Committee
Guest:   Jackie Calmes, White House Correspondent, The New York Times
Guest:   Gwen Ifill, Moderator and Managing Editor, PBS's "Washington Week"
Guest:   Gov. Dan Malloy (D-CT)

Topic:    Movies and Politics

Guest:   Crystal Palmer, director, D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Department

Anchor:   Candy Crowley

RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE Sunday 11:00AM – NOON

Topic:    White House Press Corps Access to Obama; MSNBC Hires Former Obama Advisors Axelrod and Gibbs

Guest:   Bill Plante, CBS News Senior White House Correspondent

Guest:   David Zurawik, Television Critic for the Baltimore Sun

Guest:   Julie Mason, host of “The Press Pool” on Sirius XM Radio

Topic:    Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign Architect: One of his first extensive interviews since the campaign

EXCLUSIVE Guest:   Stuart Stevens, senior advisor to the Romney 2012 Campaign

Topic:    The Oscars: Washington Portrayed on the Big Screen

Guest:   Ann Hornaday, film critic, The Washington Post

Host:     Howard Kurtz

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS – Airs 10:00AM – 11:00AM and 1:00PM – 2:00PM     

Topics:    Warfare rules: drones & hacking – also the significance of the debate over torture in “Zero Dark Thirty”

Guest:     Reuel Marc Gerecht, contributing editor, The Weekly Standard, former director of the Project for a New American Century Middle East Initiative

Guest:     Richard Haass, PhD, president, Council on Foreign Relations

Guest:     Jane Harman, former U.S. Congresswoman (D-CA), director, president and chief executive officer of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Guest:     Gen. Michael Hayden, AF (ret.) former Director of the National Security Agency, CIA (George W. Bush Administration)

Topic:      Meteors and asteroids – the state of American science at predicting them and preventing impacts with Earth

Guest:     Neil deGrasse Tyson, PhD, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History; author of Space Chronicles (2012)

Topic:      Iran’s internal struggles – and how those struggles may be affecting Iran’s willingness to negotiate on the nuclear issue

Guest:     Karim Sadjadpour, associate, Middle East Program – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Guest:     Hooman Majd, journalist, author – The Ayatollahs’ Democracy: An Iranian Challenge (2010)

Anchor:   Fareed Zakaria

THE NEXT LIST –  Airs Sunday 2:30PM – 3:00PM

This week The Next List profiles Diana Eng, a fashion designer and technologist who gets her inspiration from math, science and nature. Best known for her role on the second season of "Project Runway," Eng’s mission is to bring innovation to the fashion world by creating fashion and accessories that combine cutting-edge technology with design concepts from nature and science.

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