Ratings For The Week Of March 22nd and The Month of March

Ratings For The Week Of 3/22

1 - A special was aired on Friday and was not included on the average

Ratings For The Month Of March

2 - Special programs were aired for 2 nights and are not included in the monthly average.

Rating calculations are weekly averages based on nightly ratings provided by TVNewser with data by Nielsen Media Research. Numbers reflect Live and same day (DVR) data.

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

The NYT & Mediaite Weigh in on CNN & Jon Klein

From Mediaite's Colby Hall:

Cable news ratings for the first quarter came out this week, and its been a rather tough day for CNN. Writing for the NY Times, Bill Carter’s story includes a headline that screams “CNN Fails to Stop Fall in Ratings.” No, it’s not good news – or more to the point — it’s actually more bad news. Insiders have long whispered about what’s going on at CNN, and alas, the continued and consistent poor ratings mean that its finally time to openly question Jon Klein’s future in his role as President of CNN.
In today’s piece for the NY Times, Carter wrote:

CNN continued what has become a precipitous decline in ratings for its prime-time programs in the first quarter of 2010, with its main hosts losing almost half their viewers in a year.

CNN had a slightly worse quarter in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the last three months have included compelling news events, like the earthquake in Haiti and the battle over health care, and CNN, which emphasizes its hard news coverage, was apparently unable to benefit.

The losses at CNN continued a pattern in place for much of the last year, as the network trailed its competitors in every prime-time hour. (CNN still easily beats MSNBC in the daytime hours, but those are less lucrative in advertising money, and both networks are far behind Fox News at all hours.)

Carter is putting it nicely. Some lowlights for CNN’s First Quarter include the following:

•CNN is down by double digits for every program in P2+ and A25-54
•CNN lost nearly half of its prime time demo viewers for the quarter – network was down 42% over 1Q’09
•Anderson Cooper is down a whopping 46% in the demo (at 10pm) and down 42% in P2+
•Campbell Brown had her worst quarter ever with Total Viewers (down 44% in 25-54 and down 40% in P2+)
•Larry King had his worst quarter ever with both Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 (down 43% in 25-54 and down 44% in P2+)
•CNN’s recent addition, Rick’s List, is down 49% in 25-54 and down 42% in P2+
•American Morning is down 29% in 25-54 and down 32% in P2+ and is getting beat by Morning Joe for the first time ever for an entire quarter in P2+
The news is not good for CNN, but to be fair, the cable news landscape has changed dramatically in the last few years. Opinion media, or as some would call “Personality Journalism” appear to be the most commercially viable (and most watched) programs on cable news. Fox News ratings dominance is well accepted (and their murderer’s row prime time lineup often rates better than MSNBC and CNN combined.) Under Klein’s leadership, CNN’s has eschewed personality driven, or opinion programs for straight news (though Larry King sometimes fits in that category.) CNN’s sister channel HLN is the place for personality, featuring Nancy Grace, Joy Behar and Jane Velez-Mitchell. Not surprisingly, HLN is widely viewed as enjoying a resurgence, while CNN is fading.

“Jon Klein is a strong leader and a talented programmer, and he has my full support.”
Jim Walton — President, CNN Worldwide

Which bring us back to Klein. Let’s start with the prime time line up. Most television programmers understand a basic trough to crafting a lineup – keep viewers tuned in from show to show, ideally offering consecutive programs that offer some common ligature between them. It’s sort of best viewed as a relay race – and the most successful networks handle the hand-offs beautifully. In that context, let’s look at CNN’s prime time lineup for the last three years. At 7PM Lou Dobbs offered a unique blend of business news and right-of-center politics, followed by Campbell Brown at 8pm – a show who’s amorphous mission was “No Bias, No BS” or something. At 9pm we have the legendary Larry King, who clearly appeals to an older demographic, then back at 10pm, the allegedly young and hipper Anderson Cooper till midnight. If anyone can explain the programming logic here, please comment below. Because this slate flows about as well as the Hoover Dam.Last Fall, Lou Dobbs abruptly left his spot on the CNN dial, which gave Klein a perfect opportunity to show some creativity and forethought at the 7pm spot. He chose CNN Reporter John King, a rather predictable choice, that says as much about CNN’s lack of up-and-coming talent at CNN than correspondent John King. King is a world-class reporter, but his straight-ahead style recalls Judy Woodruff, Deborah Norville, Connie Chung, Campbell Brown, Aaron Brown, and sadly, every other failed CNN prime time program

When it comes to serious news reportage, nobody does it better than CNN (evidenced by their quick, thorough and intense coverage of the Haitian earthquake.) And in the brave new world of partisan news, there is a place for a fair arbiter of news; which is a role that CNN has ostensibly tried to fill. But unbiased does not mean uninteresting – as it often appears on CNN.

Earlier this year, Jon Klein seemed to suggest that ratings are besides the point, that advertisers are loathe to associate themselves with the sometimes bitter opinion makers, choosing instead to go with the safe outlet. In fact, while speaking at a NY Media Summit, Klein made that very point. Writing for econsultancy.com, Meghan Keane reported:

Speaking at the 2010 Media Summit in New York, the president of CNN said that television ratings don’t paint an accurate picture of his network’s strengths. But his reasoning is interesting — it’s not because FOX is beating them there, but due to competition from online sources that aren’t being tracked by the Nielsen ratings.

FOX consistently beats CNN in the ratings. And Klein has plenty of evidence to prove that those ratings don’t present a fair portrayal of popularity. For instance, CNN had 100 million viewers last month. That’s 10% more than FOX’s 90 million. But FOX’s visitors stay longer, view more often during primetime, and do other things that Nielsen takes into account when compiling its rankings.Klein says “we think of ourselves as being first.” But that’s not exactly how these things work. Even if CNN sees itself as the most fair and balanced, informed and fast network out there, that doesn’t mean that viewers are going to.

To be fair, the larger point of the importance of being first, fast and fair is completely legitimate. But its convenient for Klein to dismiss the importance of television ratings, particularly with regards to CNN’s economic viability. One would gather that neither Jim Walton (President, CNN Worldwide) nor Jeff Bewkes (CEO of TimeWarner) would be quick to agree with Klein’s assessment. You know who else would disagree? Jon Klein from exactly five years ago to the day, when he told Charlie Rose:

“A couple of years down the line, we ought to be essential viewing. You ought to actively look to see what it is we have on when you come home, because we will have by then well established the idea that we’re always giving you some fresh angle or fresh information that you couldn’t get in any other way. That’s — I’ll consider that success. And my bosses will, too.”

When reached by Mediaite, CNN provided the following quote from Jim Walton: “Jon Klein is a strong leader and a talented programmer, and he has my full support.”

Jon Klein is a gentleman and an intellectual who is widely regarded as a class act, and is beloved personally on the staff at CNN. But the continued and consistent failure of ratings (and unspired programming choices) beg the question: how much longer will Jon Klein be allowed to drive this ship into the ground?

Disclosure – prior to working at Mediaite, I wrote and produced for HLN.

And the New York Times article by Bill Carter:

CNN continued what has become a precipitous decline in ratings for its prime-time programs in the first quarter of 2010, with its main hosts losing almost half their viewers in a year.Anderson Cooper, seen reporting on the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Haiti, has had trouble holding onto viewers.
The trend in news ratings for the first three months of this year is all up for one network, the Fox News Channel, which enjoyed its best quarter ever in ratings, and down for both MSNBC and CNN.

CNN had a slightly worse quarter in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the last three months have included compelling news events, like the earthquake in Haiti and the battle over health care, and CNN, which emphasizes its hard news coverage, was apparently unable to benefit.

The losses at CNN continued a pattern in place for much of the last year, as the network trailed its competitors in every prime-time hour. (CNN still easily beats MSNBC in the daytime hours, but those are less lucrative in advertising money, and both networks are far behind Fox News at all hours.)

About the only break from the bad news for CNN was that March was not as bad as February, when the network had its worst single month in its recent history, finishing behind not only Fox News and MSNBC, but also its sister network HLN — and even CNBC, which had Olympics programming that month.

CNN executives have steadfastly said that they will not change their approach to prime-time programs, which are led by hosts not aligned with any partisan point of view.

But the numbers are stark: For the network’s longest-running host, Larry King, who has always been regarded at CNN as the centerpiece of prime time because he drew the biggest audiences at 9 p.m., the quarter was his worst ever.

Mr. King’s audience dropped 43 percent for the quarter and 52 percent in March. He dropped to 771,000 viewers for the quarter from 1.34 million in 2009. More alarming perhaps, Mr. King, whose show has been regularly eclipsed by Rachel Maddow’s on MSNBC (and is almost quadrupled by Sean Hannity’s show on Fox), is now threatened by a new host, Joy Behar on HLN (formerly Headline News.)

In her first full quarter competing with Mr. King at 9 p.m. Ms. Behar wound up beating him in the ratings 21 times.
CNN has given no indication that any changes in its lineup are imminent, but recently announced that it would try a series of specials in a talk-show format at 11 p.m. with its current 10 p.m. host, Anderson Cooper. The specials are interpreted by some at the network as a trial run for a new 9 p.m. show with Mr. Cooper.

Mr. Cooper has long been regarded as the strongest host at CNN, but his show has suffered badly as well. For the quarter, Mr. Cooper dropped 42 percent in viewers and 46 percent among the 25-to-54-year-old audience that the news channels use for their sales to advertisers.In the past, CNN relied on big audiences for Mr. King’s show to deliver viewers to Mr. Cooper. Now Mr. Cooper sometimes finds himself losing to repeats of shows on MSNBC and HLN. (At the other end of prime time, Campbell Brown’s show on CNN at 8 had its worst quarter ever with the 25-to-54-year-old audience.)

Even in the morning, CNN is sliding. Its “American Morning” show dropped behind “Morning Joe” on MSNBC in total viewers for the first time; it still beat the MSNBC show among 25- to 54-year-olds, though it was down 29 percent from a year earlier.

At the same time, Fox News, which had its biggest year in 2009, continues to add viewers. Greta Van Susteren’s show was up 25 percent from a year earlier. Bill O’Reilly, whose show commands the biggest audience in prime time with 3.65 million viewers, was up 28 percent, and Glenn Beck was up 50 percent from a year earlier.













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National Headliner Awards Announced

Recently the National Headliner Awards were announced recently. CNN was well represented among the winners. Here's a run down of their honors.

Continuing Coverage of a Major News Event
First Place: CNN
Anderson Cooper 360: Inside the Battle Zone: Afghanistan
Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, David Doss

Documentary or Series of Reports
Second Place: CNN
World's Untold Stories: Killing Fields: Long Road to Justice
Dan Rivers, Kocha Orlan, Mike McCarthy and Sheri England

Investigative Reporting
First Place: CNN
Your Government at Work: Post Office Mansion
Abbie Boudreau, Scott Zamost and Jessi Joseph
Second Place: CNN
Anderson Cooper 360: Texas Highway Robbery?
Gary Tuchman, Katherine Wojtecki, Kevin Myers, Derek Davis and Alana Duglas
Third Place: CNN
American Morning: Gulfstream Air Investigation
Allan Chernoff, Laura Dolan, Janelle Rodriguez, James Kraft

Business and Consumer Reporting
First Place: CNN
The Border
Drew Griffin, Kathleen Johnston, Scott Matthews, Todd Schwarzschild, Marcus Hooper
Second Place: CNN
How the Wheels Came Off: The Rise and Fall of the American Auto Industry
Michael Kane, Ali Velshi and Christine Romans

Health/Science Reporting
First Place: CNN
The Wheelchair
Drew Griffin, Kathleen Johnston, Scott Matthews, Todd Schwarzschild, Marcus Hooper
Third Place: CNN
Another Day Cheating Death
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Roni Selig, Tim Langmaid, Caleb Hellerman, David Martin


Congratulations to CNN and may I add that I did not see one award listed for Fox or MSNBC. It's nice to see the hard working people at CNN get some recognition for jobs well done.



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John Roberts to be Guest Speaker at AJA's

ATLANTIC JOURNALISM AWARDS
John Roberts Guest Speaker at AJAs

The Atlantic Journalism Awards (AJAs)announced recently that CNN's John Roberts will be the guest speaker at their award ceremony. The 29th Atlantic Journalism Awards will be presented at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, on Saturday, May 8, 2010, during the AJAs gala dinner and awards ceremony.
A veteran Canadian broadcaster and award-winning journalist,Roberts spent the first 10 years of his career as an anchor for several broadcasts of City TV in Toronto. He also co-anchored CTV's Canada AM.The Atlantic Journalism Awards (AJAs) is an annual celebration of excellence in Atlantic Canadian journalism. Over 70 gold and silver awards will be presented for the best 2009 print, radio, television, on line, and magazine stories and images.
Tickets for the show and gala dinner are available online at www.AJAs.ca, or by calling (902) 425-2727.


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Ratings For The Week of March 15th

1 - Based on 4 nights of regular programming

Rating calculations are weekly averages based on nightly ratings provided by TVNewser with data by Nielsen Media Research. Numbers reflect Live and same day (DVR) data.

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

Erica Hill Has a Baby Boy

Congratulations to former CNNer Erica Hill who had a baby boy yesterday. The baby's name is Sawyer Steven Yount shown here with his brother Weston.
Here's a clip of the announcement on CBS's The Early Show:



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Your Views On The News March 23, 2010

John King's new program debuted last night, did you watch it? What did you think?
Also curious about your opinions on the Washington Post column on Christiane Amanpour's move to ABC News. Here's the place to put your views on the news.

By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
If being the moderator of "This Week," ABC's Sunday morning news-talk show, required Senate approval, then journalist Christiane Amanpour -- recently named by ABC News President David Westin to take over the job -- would already be in big trouble.
In a way, Amanpour, scheduled to leave CNN after 18 years of international coverage and take over the program in August, could be seen as the opposite of the perfect candidate. "This Week" deals mainly in domestic politics and inside-the-Beltway palaver, an area where Amanpour is widely considered to deficient. Consider: Whenever CNN has thrown one of its big election-night, convention, or presidential debate spectaculars, drafting nearly every living staff member to appear, Amanpour has had a conspicuously low profile.
And even though Amanpour has often been touted for her expertise on foreign affairs, she has vocal and passionate critics in that arena as well. Supporters of Israel have more than once charged Amanpour with bias against that country and its policies. A Web site devoted to criticism of Amanpour is titled, with less than a modicum of subtlety, "Christiane Amanpour's Outright Bias Against Israel Must Stop," available via Facebook.
Amanpour grew up in Great Britain and Iran. Her family fled Tehran in 1979 at the start of the Islamic revolution, when she was college age. She has steadfastly rejected claims about her objectivity, telling Leslie Stahl last year relative to her coverage of Iran: "I am not part of the current crop of opinion journalists or commentary journalists or feelings journalists. I strongly believe that I have to remain in the realm of fact."
The conservative Media Research Center, on its NewsBuster blog, claims Amanpour has the "standard liberal outlook on the world," but then there don't seem to be many journalists that conservatives do not consider liberal
The group called Westin's selection of Amanpour to anchor "This Week" a "bizarre choice," but had also knocked her predecessor in the job, George Stephanopoulos, who has since moved on to "Good Morning America" and who previously worked to elect Bill Clinton and served in his White House.
As if outside opposition to Amanpour weren't enough, ABC News is practically in a state of internal revolt over her selection, according to such industry-watchers as TV Newser, which quotes ABC insiders as resenting Westin's hiring of a highly paid celebrity interloper for a job that many thought would go to White House correspondent Jake Tapper or to "Nightline" co-anchor Terry Moran. Either would have made a better "This Week" anchor, and neither would put ABC News in the position of having to rationalize spending big bucks on an superstar while making brutal cutbacks in the division.
Referring to the ABC staff as "too demoralized to care" about the nomination, an unnamed network veteran told TV Newser, "The appointment of Amanpour is a sideshow" because "the future of a Sunday morning talk show is trivial to people who believe they have no future at ABC News."
In defense of ABC, morale is hardly sky-high at any of the network news departments as personnel pruning continues and the news divisions try to deal with changes in TV technology and the exploding proliferation of news sources thanks to cable and the Web.
ABC News executives apparently see the future as belonging to so-called "backpack journalists" who can lug video equipment around and shoot their own reports -- much like a character once devised and played by Al Franken (now a congressman, of course) on "Saturday Night Live." Franken's jerk-of-all-trades one-man news bureau even had a small satellite dish on his head.
Giving Amanpour the "This Week" job seems like one more bitter pill for ABC professionals to swallow, even as they overdose on all the others they've been forced to gulp down. After artfully orchestrating a smooth transition from Charlie Gibson to Diane Sawyer on ABC's "World News," Westin now seems to have ended his winning streak with a resounding clunk.
From many angles, it was a bad choice -- one which could create so much consternation that Westin will be forced to withdraw Amanpour's name and come up with another "nominee" for the job. That would hardly be a tragedy -- considering how many others deserve it more than she does.


King did a recent interview with TVGuideMagazine.com and talked of his new set, philosophy of the program, etc.


K.I.N.G. in the USA
by Joseph Hudak March 22, 2010 08:47 AM EST

Armed with his innovatively high-tech Magic Wall, CNN’s John King broke out as one of the most versatile reporters to cover the 2008 presidential election. Now, the politically minded anchor aims to break down the wall separating Everyday America from the D.C. Beltway with his new nightly series John King, USA—premiering tonight at 7/6c on CNN.

“We want to cover politics in an accessible way, and by that I mean not being held hostage to the language of Washington. We want to take people behind the curtain,” King tells tvguidemagazine.com. “The biggest challenge to our business right now is to be relevant, because people are so busy and have so many choices.” It’s those very choices that make modern-day U.S. citizens among the most well-informed, King believes. “If you’re watching a cable news program at that time of night, you probably have a pretty good sense of what already happened that day. You log on at work, you get breaking news alerts, or you listen to the radio on the drive home,” he says. “So we have to tell them something they don’t know or that gives them new insight.”

According to King, that insight may come from an auto mechanic in Detroit or a farmer in Nebraska. “We make the mistake of sometimes reporting based on who is winning in Washington: Is it a good day for the Democrats or for the Republicans?” admits King. “I want to ask what the impact is on the person whose tax dollars or healthcare is at question. We have to put the people back in.”

The series also aims to make people feel at home, with a new, loose-feeling set that King says is different than anything currently on CNN. “It’s a mix of living-room comfort and fantastic technology,” he says, revealing his new Kingdom will boast an updated Magic Wall, a 103” plasma touch screen, and assorted personal trinkets—like items from the Massachusetts native’s baseball collection. “I’m a Red Sox fan, so the first big challenge will be to check our ratings in New York,” laughs King, who nonetheless may have a homerun on his hands thanks to USA’s homespun mission.

“Washington is a very fascinating place, but there are decisions being made in city halls and at kitchen tables all around this country that are just as important as anything happening here,” he states emphatically. “We have to cover all of it.”


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JR, Kyra and Slash

CNN anchors, and real-life couple, Kyra Phillips and John Roberts made the trip north to Toronto to interview Canadian Music Week keynote guest – rock guitar god Slash, of Guns N' Roses.
Roberts, a Toronto native has a long history of interviewing rock stars as he formally worked in music television in Canada during the eighties.
During the interview, Phillips shared memories with Slash of neighborhood restaurants they would frequent as she and Slash grew up in the same LA neighborhood.

I would like to thank Richard Budman of Shot7.com for permission to post and also for the shot of Kyra's killer stilettos.

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Wolf Blitzer Honored

The University at Buffalo Alumni Association will honor CNN host Wolf Blitzer, BA '70, with it's Distinguished Alumni Award. The UB Alumni Association Achievement Awards ceremony is to be held at 6:30 p.m. April 9 in Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall on the North Campus.

DiGamma Kappa, the University of Georgia's student professional broadcasting society, partnered with the Georgia Association of Broadcasters to honor Blitzer with their award for Distinguished Achievement in Broadcasting at the organization’s annual banquet on March 15, 2010. Wolf had some advice for the audience of aspiring journalists, he said a good reporter — above all else — must be curious.




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Christiane Amanpour Goes to ABC

Christiane Amanpour will be moving to ABC to host
a Sunday morning talk show beginning in the summer. Here's the full
article by the associated press:

NEW YORK — ABC News has hired Christiane
Amanpour, one of CNN’s best-known personalities for her hard-nosed reporting
from war zones over the past two decades, to host its Sunday morning political
talk show starting this summer.

She replaces George Stephanopoulos, who left the show in December to take over as co-host of ABC’s ‘Good Morning
America.’

An Iran-born journalist whose expertise is in international stories, and who has complained about the lack of overseas news in the American news media, would seem an unusual choice for a job that has largely been devoted to discussions of political and domestic news. That also may
represent a real opportunity.

“With Christiane, we have the opportunity to provide our audiences with something different on Sunday mornings,” ABC News President David Westin said.

Amanpour, 52, said she was exhilarated by the challenge.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime and a unique opportunity,” she said.

She had a high profile as CNN’s top international correspondent in the days when there was only one cable news network, reporting from conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Balkans and elsewhere.

Since moving to New York three years ago to be with her husband, former U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin, Amanpour has been seen much less frequently. She hosts a daily program for the CNN International network. Highlights of those are shown for a half hour each Sunday afternoon on CNN’s domestic network.

ABC has courted her for a job since back when Roone Arledge was head of the news division, more than a decade ago. She and Westin both said the time was right now.

“Of all the people I know in this business, Christiane knows herself and she knows the news,” said Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau chief. “I think it’s a very interesting and wise move for her and I think it will be a very different kind of program. George was the consummate insider, a former White House staffer turned interviewer. Christiane is the exact opposite.”

She’s already a non-Washington insider, who will commute to her new job from a home in New York.

That could be a risk for ABC, whose Sunday morning program has generally run a strong second to NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ with the competition closer since the death of NBC’s Tim Russert.

Amanpour downplayed the idea that ‘This Week‘ will dramatically change.

“This is something that people have come to really know and depend on,” she said. “The creative DNA of the show will remain. What we want to do is broaden it even more.”

Ian Cameron, executive producer of ‘This Week,’ said he looked back at tapes of the show when David Brinkley was host and found there was more news of the world discussed. The more intense domestic focus is a recent phenomenon, he said, perhaps partly in response to polls showing American news viewers with less of an interest in international news.

“That will be our challenge,” Cameron said. “We’ll need to explain to our viewers why we’re doing these stories, why it’s connected to their lives and what it means to them.”

He minimized Amanpour’s supposed lack of expertise in domestic subjects, noting she can become versed in them like she had to learn about different conflicts while traveling the world

Amanpour was chosen over some internal ABC candidates, some of whom filled in since Stephanopoulos left, including Jake Tapper and Terry Moran. Former ABC ‘Nightline’ host Ted Koppel was even in the mix at one point. Tapper will fill in as host until Amanpour takes over in August.

“It’s a real good and challenging fit for her and a good and challenging fit for ABC,” Sesno said. “I don’t think the television audience needs another inside-the-Beltway, inside-the-filibuster conversation on Sunday.”

Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, saluted Amanpour and said her work burnished the CNN news brand and gave it authority.

“CNN and Christiane helped make each other great,” he said.

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta Honored with WebMD Haiti Health Hero Award

WebMD Haiti Health Heroes.Meet Our Honorees
Paging Dr. Gupta





Dr. Sanjay Gupta
He has operated on wounded soldiers in Iraq, witnessed the terrible loss of life from the tsunami in Sri Lanka and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and seen calamities around the globe. But nothing prepared Sanjay Gupta, MD, for Haiti.

"It was an unfathomable sight, the worst devastation I've ever seen. At first my mind had not processed what really happened until I saw all the bodies with my own eyes," he says.

Gupta, 40, associate chief of neurosurgery at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital and the chief medical correspondent for the Health, Medical & Wellness unit for the CNN broadcast network, arrived the day after the quake and played two roles nonstop: delivering riveting reports for the network's global viewers and online audience and, as one of the few neurosurgeons onsite, providing critical care, most movingly on a 15-day-old baby who suffered severe head lacerations when the house around her collapsed. Now he worries about the aftermath. "Some people died, some lived but there are so many in the middle."

Despite the enormity of the tragedy, Gupta believes the "scales of faith are being tipped" in Haiti. "You see all these people coming together in a way we don't see in day-to-day life. The dignity and respect shown under such circumstances is truly inspiring."

Here's a link to the WebMD site.

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Ratings For The Week of March 8th

Rating calculations are weekly averages based on nightly ratings provided by TVNewser with data by Nielsen Media Research. Numbers reflect Live and same day (DVR) data.

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Your Views On The News March 15, 2010

There was a lot of buzz on the Internet last week about changes that may or may not be coming to CNN. As a long time AC360 watcher I have noticed a difference in the program's direction during the last few weeks. Less panels and more diverse stories on a wider range of topics have been a welcome change. Here are a few observations from insiders about what maybe in the works for American Morning. The Wrap wrote:"CNN – which has been shuffling its weekend and evening lineups of late – is developing a new morning show pilot, with a format closer to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and “Fox & Friends” than anything it has ever done, TheWrap has learned......
But according to one source familiar with the network’s development process, CNN is testing a concept that would include personalities with dueling political ideologies and opinions. That would be a bit of a departure for CNN, which considers itself to be a bipartisan, journalistically-driven network unlike its rivals at Fox News and MSNBC. (CNN does have a roving band of politically-charged commentators like Mary Matalin and Ed Rollins, but other than Lou Dobbs and the late "Crossfire," never had them host.)
A CNN insider, however, stressed that the programming and talent department are “always testing new talent” and formats, and that the pilot in question is not similar to “Morning Joe.”
It’s also unclear how the pilot would affect CNN’s current a.m. offering, “American Morning.” While the show, hosted by Kiran Chetry and John Roberts, is in second place in the ratings behind “Fox & Friends,” the gap is widening.
According to Nielsen, “American Morning” is down 30 percent across the board in 2010."Medialite took The Wrap's story a few steps further and wrote:
"In some ways, what’s happening in the morning at CNN is symptomatic of a larger issue at CNN – where hard news continues to drive prime time as well. While the formula may have worked in the past, the ratings are declining, and CNN hasn’t evolved in the same way the competition (FNC, MSNBC and even sister-network HLN) have.
Another element to this is Kiran Chetry, who came over from Fox News (very suddenly) almost three years ago exactly. Would a change at CNN in the morning coincide with her contract being up? CNN had no comment (although, regarding Chetry, others yesterday did).
One final note – in TVNewser’s write-up yesterday they highlight “another top-line talent may bolt the cable channel when her contract expires. We hear she’s being wooed by one of the big 3 news divisions.” It would make sense that this person is Christiane Amanpour, whose name has been rumored for the vacant This Week job. In that case, it wouldn’t directly related to CNN’s morning show changes (or non-changes). "

And while we're on the topic of Christiane Amanpour,
TVNewseris reporting that she was offered the job at ABC News and has not decided where her future lies.




Someone who has found her future is Gerri Willis, who has signed with Fox Business News. Willis will host a primetime weekend program called Willis Report. When announcing the new hire Roger Alies,FBN chairman and CEO, said "Most of the CNN talent have been restrained from showing what they can do."


So there you have some of the latest developments in CNN's struggle back up the viewship ladder. We look forward to your views on the news.



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Candy Crowley to Speak at FOSE

Candy Crowley, CNN senior political correspondent and host of State of the Union, will be the keynote speaker for FOSE on March 24. FOSE is a comprehensive event for government IT professionals and will be held March 23-25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. CC's keynote speech is scheduled for 9AM.
The FOSE Expo is free to government employees, military and government contractors. The conference is not. A two-day ticket costs $245 for government employees and $345 for nongovernment employees. For more information just follow the link.





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Can CNN Survive on News Alone?

The following article appears in this week's issue of TV Guide magazine. (Please remember to click to enlarge.)

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Ratings For The Week of March 1st

Rating calculations are weekly averages based on nightly ratings provided by TVNewser with data by Nielsen Media Research. Numbers reflect Live and same day (DVR) data.

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Candy Crowley in NY Magazine

NY Magazine posted an article with Candy Crowley about her new show. Here's an excerpt. Click here for the full article.

Four weeks ago, reporter Candy Crowley took over CNN's Sunday political show State of the Union from anchor John King, who will be moving to a weekday show to take over Lou Dobbs's spot. We spoke to Crowley about her new role, and about being a woman on a day of the week, and in a field, dominated by sputtering white men.

So, what are your goals with the new show? What do you hope to do?

I don't think the core of the Sunday genre changes. I think you want to have people on to either explain last week, or to look into next week. Still, one of the things that [CNN president] Jon Klein told me when I got the job was, "I don't want Candy Crowley to do John King's show. I want Candy Crowley to do Candy Crowley's show." And I wish that I could delineate for you what that is. For instance — and this is a small thing — last week we got a smaller table. And it made for a more intimate discussion, which I liked. I have topics that I’ve written out that I think would be nice to cover, but I don’t have specific questions, because I like to listen to the answers and just see where it’s going.

Sometimes it does seem like a big table makes people take turns talking.

It feels very much like I throw a jump ball, and they play the game. And some people can handle that, but just for me, I need to be able to look people in the eye and be close to them.

You are a woman on a day of the week, and in a position, where there aren’t many women. Did you think about that when you took this job?
I didn't. When Jon offered me the job I just thought, "What a good journalistic opportunity. This is gonna be really fun." And then it got announced three days later on the Sunday show. And I didn't really think about the whole female part of it until I started getting all these e-mails. I got this one great e-mail from a young woman, who worked in a small TV station somewhere, saying: "I worked here and I watched you for so long. All of my friends here are so excited to have a woman. I'm going to watch every Sunday, because I think it's so terrific and so about time. Also, it's time for more leopard prints on Sunday." And I just cracked up.

Are women subjected to different standards? You've talked about your appearance before, and whether or not that matters. Do you think that viewers look at women differently than men in this position?
I'm sure they do. I think sometimes it's helpful, and I think sometimes it's not helpful, depending on the viewer. I don't think anyone ever wrote John and said, "That’s a really ugly tie and never wear it again." But I fully expect someone, and it will probably be my mother, will write me and say: "Don't ever wear that again." Maybe there are more hills to climb. But you know, I’ve been a girl all my life, I’ll deal.

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CNN on SNL

If you are a regular CNN viewer you will recognize, and probably get a chuckle out of Saturday Night Live's opening skit. It pokes some fun at CNN's iReports, Twitter, Jack Cafferty, Gloria Borger, Wolf Blitzer and Christiane Amanpour. Enjoy!



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Your Views On The News March 5, 2010

ATC's readers have questioned Jon Klein's decisions from time to time......ok constantly. TV Guide Magazine posed some questions to Klein that might clarify why he does what he does.

I thought this might make a good starter for our Your Views on the News discussion.

So why isn’t CNN U.S. president Jon Klein worried? He thinks his channel’s straight-ahead news coverage has become more valuable as his competitors draw viewers with opinion. “Last year was our most profitable year ever,” he says. “We’ve doubled our profit just in the last four years by being the only reliable provider of TV news day in and day out, online and internationally.”
Noting that CNN’s 2009 prime-time audience was higher than it was in 2005, Klein says his network has not been hurt by FNC, which he believes is in a different business with its partisan personalities. “We cover the news,” he says. “They are about fomenting outrage. They do it very well. Their viewers stay longer. That’s about a state of mind.” (A Fox News Channel spokesperson said: “We don’t respond to presidents of fifth-place news networks. The last time we looked, Jon was losing to the Weather Channel, so call us back when he and CNN regain relevancy.”) Fox News points out that its regular news programs also top CNN by wide margins.

I couldn't resist highlighting the response from Fox, sadly it is so true. To read more just follow the link.

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Christiane Amanpour in Talks with ABC

Christiane Amanpour and her husband James Rubin, former Assistant Secretary of State and spokesman for the US State Department

Politico is reporting that Christiane Amanpour is in talks with ABC News to be the permanent host of 'This Week'. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment but sources say she’s among the internal and external candidates ABC is considering to replace George Stephanopoulos, who left to co-anchor “Good Morning America” in December.


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And Yet Another Heads to CBS

Vino Wong/AAJA Atlanta

The line between CBS and CNN blurred even further today when it was announced that CNN's Betty Nguyen is leaving CNN and joining CBS as a full-time CBS News Correspondent. Beginning March 11th. Nguyen will anchor "CBS Morning News" and report for "The Early Show." Nguyen has been with CNN since 2004 and is the weekend anchor for Newsroom along with TJ Holmes.
Congratulations to Betty, we wish you all the success you so richly deserve.

All Things CNN did a Q & A a few years back with Betty that you can read by following the link.

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Wonder Woman

The cable and telecommunications industry converge on the New York Hilton Wednesday, March 24 for the annual Wonder Women luncheon, honoring outstanding women leaders.
This year's hosts will be television journalists Kiran Chetry of CNN, Katty Kay of BBC America and Teresa Rodriguez of Univision. This event is co-sponsored by Multichannel News and the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications.
Chetry anchors CNN's American Morning, Kay is Washington correspondent for BBC America's BBC World News America and Rodriguez co-hosts Univision Network's Aqui y Ahora news magazine with Maria Elena Salinas.
If you're interested in attending the event tickets are still available.



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Ratings For The Week of February 22nd And The Month of February

Ratings For The Week Of 2/22

1 - Based on four nights of regular programming.

2 - Based on three nights of regular programming.

Ratings For The Month of February

3 - Special programming was aired one night during the month.

4 - Special programming was aired two nights during the month.

Rating calculations are weekly averages based on nightly ratings provided by TVNewser with data by Nielsen Media Research. Numbers reflect Live and same day (DVR) data.

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

CNN en Español's New Senior VP & GM

Award-winning Spanish-language television executive and journalist Cynthia Hudson has been named senior vice president and general manager of CNN en Español and Hispanic strategy for CNN/U.S., it was announced today by Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International. Hudson will relocate from Miami to CNN’s global headquarters in Atlanta, and report to Maddox.

In her new position, Hudson will oversee newsgathering, editorial content, programming, production, operations and personnel, of CNN en Español, CNN en Español RADIO and the recently launched CNNMexico.com, a joint venture Web site produced in conjunction with Grupo Editorial Expansión.

“Cynthia brings to CNN en Espanol a wealth of creative and strategic experience in both television and new media,” said Maddox. “Her appointment underscores CNN's commitment to the Latin American marketplace, where CNN en Español consistently ranks as the region’s leading pan-regional news network, and positions us to best serve the growing Hispanic market in the U.S.

Hudson comes from Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), where she served aschief creative officer and executive vice president for SBS and managing director of Mega TV. Hudson was responsible for SBS’ expansion, directly overseeing flagship TV station Mega TV, as well as the companies’ internet site www.lamusica.com and other new media development. In addition, Hudson supervised the strategic expansion of SBS content across multiple media platforms and development of branded entertainment synergies among all SBS properties. Mega TV saw tremendous growth under her watch and garnered the network 27 EMMY awards in just four years since its launch.

Source: CNN Press Release: CYNTHIA HUDSON TAPPED TO HEAD CNN EN ESPAÑOL, 3/1/2010

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CNN International on the Fast Track

Lotus Racing and CNN International have today announced a partnership deal that sees the newest Formula One™ team entering into a long-term agreement with the world’s leading news network. CNN’s world-famous logo will feature on the T127 race cars, the drivers’ overalls and on all team clothing.

The deal will be managed by CNN’s commercial ‘Partner Solutions Group’, which is led by Rani R. Raad, senior vice president of CNN International Advertising Sales.

“The combination of two such iconic and aspirational global brands fits perfectly with CNN’s worldwide reach and brand positioning,” said Raad. “This unique partnership with Lotus Racing takes CNN into a new era of marketing and promotions and puts us in front of a worldwide audience of millions.”

A delighted Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes commented: “We are very proud to welcome CNN into the Lotus Racing family. It is a sign of the positive impact we have already made in the global business market that such a prestigious brand, familiar to millions around the world as the definitive source of news and current affairs, has made the decision to partner with us. The whole team and I are looking forward to working with CNN in the months and years to come on some very exciting campaigns.”

About Lotus Racing

Lotus Racing joins the 2010 Formula One™ World Championship as one of the new teams granted an entry in 2009. The team has been through an accelerated growth curve from being granted its entry on September 12th 2009 to launching its T127 race car just five months later on February 12th 2010, and beginning testing in mid February in Jerez, Spain. With Tony Fernandes as its inspirational Team Principal, the team has a visionary leader, working closely with his Deputy Team Principals SM Nasarudin and Kamarudin Meranun to guide Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne, drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen and the ever growing team on the path to long-term success.

The Formula One™ World Championship is a truly global phenomenon, just like CNN. The 19 race schedule takes the teams to all corners of the world and Lotus Racing, with a classic British name, owned by a Malaysian businessman, with drivers from Italy and Finland epitomises the international pedigree of the championship.

The season starts in Bahrain, March 14, and continues on March 28, Australia; April 4, Malaysia; April 18, China; May 9, Spain; May 16, Monaco; May 30, Turkey; June 13, Canada; June 27, Europe (Valencia); July 11 Great Britain; July 25, Germany; August 1, Hungary; August 29, Belgium; September 12, Italy; September 26, Singapore; October 10, Japan; October 24, Korea; November 7, Brazil; November 14, Abu Dhabi.

Source: CNN Press Release, CNN MAKES ITS FORMULA ONE ™ DEBUT WITH LOTUS RACING, 3/2/2010

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Name That News Program

John King has a secret and he's talking about it on Twitter. His new 7PM program has a name and a start date... but he isn't telling... yet. What he will do is tweet clues at 7AM and 7PM ET each day this week ... (leading up to a big reveal).

The clues so far:

Gearing up for the new 7p show! want the name and launch date? will tweet clues rest of the week _ at 7 am/pm (eastern). Check back!
4:00 PM Mar 1st via OpenBeak

Good morning. First clue: new show name tied to something special we share. More re name and launch @7a & 7pE thru final clue fri! #cnn.
about 14 hours ago via OpenBeak

clue 2: in settling on name for new 7pE show, we knew had to be very much about politics, and about a place. more clues 7a&7p til fri. #cnn
about 2 hours ago via web

You can follow the rest of the clues on twitter: JohnKingCNN

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Jim Clancy: Casserole Controversy in Italy

While browsing through the videos on CNN's International site, I came across an unusual report from CNN's Jim Clancy. He reports on a controversy involving Italian TV Chef Beppe Bigazzi and a cat casserole recipe. (I can't make this stuff up.)

Source: Cat casserole controversy

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Candy Crowley: 20 Questions With The Hill

The Hill recently posted an interview with State of the Union host, Candy Crowley. Here are a few excerpts:

There’s been a lot of talk about you being the only woman to host one of the Sunday morning talk shows. How do you feel about that distinction?

It’s factually true that at this moment I’m the only woman in that genre, but it was not where I first went. When they offered me the job, I just looked at it as a journalistic opportunity. But so many women that I know and don’t know have said, “This is so great; this is so fun. I’ll be happy to see a woman on Sunday mornings.”

...

So have you effectively said goodbye to your weekends?

Apparently. I’m getting that feeling. Actually, I thought I let go of all seven days the first week. Saturday, when a lot of things are put together for the show — graphics and things — that’s my research day. We’re going to try to take Monday and Tuesday off … I’m really trying to get my rhythm on how this is going to work.

...

What kinds of political stories draw your attention?

It’s really the ones with the interesting people in it, because in the end, it is about the person. We all know there’s an X factor — there’s something about the person that draws people to vote, whatever that X factor is. Look, what has been one of the best stories the last two years? It’s Sarah Palin, and it’s not so much about her positions — it’s her. What is it that brings people to her or repels them from her?

... to read the full interview: 20 Questions with Candy Crowley

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