FNC VP of Digital Mike Straka Out

Straka_3.10.jpgTVNewser has learned Mike Straka, the VP of Fox News Digital, has left the network. We hear Straka is headed to HDNet where he is going to host a mixed martial arts program.

A Fox News spokesperson confirms Straka's last day was yesterday.

A source tells tells us Straka accepted the HDNet job while still working as a Fox News VP, likely a conflict of interest. His HDNet show premieres March 26.

At FoxNews.com, Straka oversaw production and content distribution for the website and served as EP of "The Strategy Room," the daily live streaming program. Straka had been with FNC since its launch in 1996.

Prior to FOX, Straka worked on the assignment desk at CBS News Radio. He began his career as a CBS page.

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Wolff: 'No one has ever successfully been able to compete with FOX'

webnewser_wemedia.gifWebNewser is covering the We Media conference in Miami where author and media critic Michael Wolff took part in a Q&A on the current state and future of media, including the role of cable news.

"No one has ever successfully been able to compete with FOX," said Wolff. "CNN just lied down and said 'They're bad people, we're good people.' That's a bad way to build an audience."

• WebNewser has more on Wolff's colorful comments, including his tear into the family that owns The New York Times calling them, "The stupidest people who have ever walked the Earth'

The Onion Explains How Cable News Works

You've seen Charlie Brooker's "How to Report the News." Now, the Onion News Network presents their own take on how a generic cable news story gets covered. (via Daily Dish)

(WARNING: Contains profanity.)

"Now let's see if we can drag this out a little longer by showing emails written by some of our viewers."

'Today' Celebrates Willard Scott's 60 Years at NBC

This morning was birthday-wisher Willard Scott's 30th anniversary with the "Today" show, and this month he marks 60 years at NBC. "Today" put together a special segment with a retrospective of his time at the show.

Scott worked in the control room when "Today" first started. "They paid me six dollars a day," he said. "I made six dollars for Saturday and six dollars for Sunday, and about a week ago, GE cut half the six dollars."

The Scoreboard: Sunday, Mar. 7

25-54 demographic: (L +SD)

Total day: FNC: 222 | CNN: 117 | MSNBC: 187 | HLN: 123

Prime: FNC: 233 | CNN: 78 | MSNBC: 254 | HLN: 95
  5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:
FNC NewsHQ: FNSunday: Report: Huckabee: Hannity: Geraldo: Huckabee:
  181 272 307 190 258 250 163
CNN Amanpour: Newsroom: Showbiz: SOTU: King: Newsroom: SOTU:
  103 94 105 66 77 92 65
MSNBC Special: Special: Special: Special: Special: Special: Special:
  308 279 303 288 249 226 252
HLN HLN: Prime: Issues: Grace: Behar: Grace: Showbiz:
  79 95 86 114 81 91 83


Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.

continued...

The Scoreboard: Saturday, Mar. 6

25-54 demographic: (L +SD)

Total day: FNC: 276 | CNN: 126 | MSNBC: 176 | HLN: 113

Prime: FNC: 267 | CNN: 142 | MSNBC: 314 | HLN: 84
  5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:
FNC NewsHQ: NewsHQ: Report: Huckabee: Beck: Geraldo: Jrnl/FNW::
  236 238 336 292 303 207 145
CNN Newsroom: SitRoom: Newsroom: Special: Special: Newsroom: Special:
  141 124 112 141 162 123 99
MSNBC Special: Special: Special: Special: Special: Special: Special:
  205 250 278 271 283 387 287
HLN HLN: Prime: Issues: Grace: Behar: Grace: Showbiz:
  69 80 90 86 82 84 106


Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.

continued...

Dan Rather Explains 'Watermelon' Remark and How It Went 'Viral'

rather_3-10.jpgIn a blog post this morning, Dan Rather explained his comments from the weekend's "Chris Matthews Show" and the controversy that surrounded them. On Sunday, Rather used the expression "he couldn't sell watermelons if you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic" in explaining the position of President Obama's opponents.

Rather, known for his "folksy" sayings, writes at The Huffington Post, "It's an expression that stretches to my boyhood roots in Southeast Texas, when country highways were lined with stands manned by sellers of all races. Now of course watermelons have become a stereotype for African Americans and so my analogy entered a charged environment." He adds, "I'm sorry people took offense."

Perhaps even more interesting is Rather's take on how the news spread in the new media landscape:

But what has caused this comment to "go viral" is the trumpeting of an online and cable echo chamber that claims the banner of news but trades in gossip, gotcha, and innuendo. Furthermore, even for those who brook no prejudice, when everything is condensed to 140 characters or a small YouTube clip, many people who got this "news" did so without any context, just a headline that popped up on their phone or inbox.

"What saddens me is what this experience has made all too clear," Rather writes. "Much of what we call news, isn't."

More: TVNewser sat down with Dan Rather for a Media Beat discussion about the changes happening in journalism.

David Letterman Comments On Halderman Case as Former Producer Heads to Jail

Halderman_3.10.jpgFollowing his Top 10 list last night, David Letterman talked about yesterday's guilty plea from former CBS News producer Joe Halderman.

"I need to talk to you about a segment of my life here that began six months ago," said Letterman. "I found myself in some legal trouble... I had never been involved in anything like this in my life. I was concerned and full of anxiety and nervous and worried."

"The people in the district attorney's office said this will be handled professionally, this will be handled skillfully, and appropriately. Well, the matter was resolved today."

Letterman thanked the DA's office, the special prosecutions bureau and the NYPD.

As for Halderman, he'll serve six months after pleading guilty to blackmail. The award-winning producer on "48 Hours" is no longer employed by the network. A CBS News spokesperson could not confirm when his employment with the company came to an end, or how.

Harry Smith Undergoes Live Colonoscopy with Encouragement from Katie Couric

harry_katie_3-9.jpg"I was just in Harry's kitchen, and he chugged a big tall glass of miraLAX," CBS' "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric told us. She'd stopped by "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith's apartment on her way home after the newscast to give him some advice and words of encouragement.

Smith was prepping himself for the colonoscopy he'd be undergoing the next morning live on "The Early Show." "The night before is when you do your prep," Couric said. "We're trying to take people through the process. I'm like a colonoscopy tour guide."

In 2000, Couric famously taped an on-camera colonscopy for NBC's "Today" show. The segment is credited with starting the "Couric-effect," a spike in the colonoscopy rate. She's referred to it as her "proudest accomplishment" in the past.

In fact, Couric was the one that asked Smith to have the live colonoscopy in the first place. "Katie came to me and asked me about it," Smith told TVNewser. "It so happened that I'd had a physical a year ago and the only thing that was incomplete was this. I thought, why not do it?"

He also said knowing about the "Couric-effect" played a part in his decision to go through with the exam on the air. "This is a moment in morning television you can be an advocate," he said. "It can save lives. It was a no brainer."

Smith's live colonoscopy will make "TV history," but he joked, "It's not exactly the first color telecast." He pointed to what Couric had done as an important step. "You have to continually remind people of this kind of screening," Couric said. "It s so 'easy' to put it off."

continued...

Cable Network Rankings: FNC #2, MSNBC #25, CNN #31, HLN #36 in Prime

Fox News was the #2 network in all of primetime cable last week in total viewers. MSNBC was #25, CNN was #31, and HLN was #36. In total day, FNC was #4, CNN was #27, MSNBC was #32, and HLN was #35. You can see the full rankings for the top 30 below.

Glenn Beck: 'I Think This Is the First Time I Have Wasted an Hour of Your Time'

"America, I'm gonna shoot straight with you," Glenn Beck said near the conclusion of his apparently frustrating chat with Rep. Eric Massa on Fox News. "I think I've wasted your time. I think this is the first time I have wasted an hour of your time. I apologize for that." Video after the jump.

More: On his radio show Wednesday, Beck said he "almost threw him out of the studio three times."

beckwastehour_3-9.jpg

continued...

The Scoreboard: Monday, Mar. 8

25-54 demographic: (L +SD)

Total day: FNC: 405 | CNN: 129 | MSNBC: 130 | HLN: 150

Prime: FNC: 741 | CNN: 189 | MSNBC: 261 | HLN: 186
  5p: 6p: 7p: 8p: 9p: 10p: 11p:
FNC Beck: Baier: Shep: O'Reilly: Hannity: Greta: O'Reilly:
  714 526 523 1080 629 510 463
CNN Blitzer: Blitzer: Blitzer: Brown: King: Cooper: Cooper:
  112 134 77 131 271 164 120
MSNBC Matthews: EdShow: Matthews: Olbermann: Maddow: Olbermann: Maddow:
  111 134 184 318 253 212 108
HLN Prime: Prime: Issues: Grace: Behar: Grace: Showbiz:
  79 89 112 201 147 221 193


Data by Nielsen Media Research. Live and same day (DVR) data.

continued...

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