Perspective On FNC's Ratings Record

Reuters provides perspective on the FNC win: It "marked what is believed to be the first time a cable channel has grabbed the biggest audience for a telecast of a single event covered by all the networks, Fox said."

"One network official who spoke on condition of anonymity called the Republican National Convention a 'made-for-Fox event.' But Fox News spokesman Rob Zimmerman dismissed such barbs as sour grapes, saying, 'The numbers speak for themselves. They're embarrassed that they got beat last night by a cable news channel.'"

Some cable folks are buzzing that FNC is in a different stratosphere than CNN and MSNBC now...

Did FNC Beat Nets In 25-54, Too?

Any network insiders want to forward along the 25-54 demo data for Tuesday night? Nielsen didn't release it, but Fox News probably beat the broadcasters in the demo, too. Between 10 and 11pm, FNC averaged 2,127,000 viewers between 25-54, while MSNBC had 492,000 and CNN had 417,000.

Tuesday Ratings: FNC Beats Broadcast Networks

Fox News Channel's ratings were higher than the broadcast networks on Tuesday night. Between 10 and 11pm:
FNC: 5.2 million
NBC: 5.1 million
CBS: 4.4 million
ABC: 4.3 million
"This has never happened before," one source notes...

Convention Ratings: MSNBC Beats CNN Tuesday

MSNBC beat CNN in total viewers and the 25-54 demo during primetime convention coverage on Tuesday night. Between 8 and 11pm, MSNBC averaged 1,257,000 million viewers, while CNN had 1,177,000. (FNC averaged 4,118,000 viewers.) In the demo, MSNBC had 398,000 viewers, while CNN had 312,000 and FNC had 1,484,000.

Insiders Scratch Heads About CNBC's Tina Brown

"Another show on CNBC's cancellation radar is Tina Brown," a cable news source says. "She's been on the air for 29 weeks and has scratched in one way, shape or form every single night her show has been on the air." That's a hard thing to do, eh? She has had a 0 rating overall three times."How low can she go before CNBC pulls the plug? And between Brown, McEnroe, Deustch and Miller, how much more can Jeff Zucker endure before heads begin to roll?"

> Excel Spreadsheet: Tina Brown's CNBC Ratings

Media Matters Tracking FNC Conv. Coverage

Media Matters for America is monitoring Fox News like a hawk this week. They report on Monday night's conv. coverage: "Fox News Channel showed 74 total minutes of live primetime speech coverage on the first night of the Republican National Convention—33 minutes more than the network showed of speeches on the first night of the Democratic National Convention." Here are their charts...

Convention Protests: "Shut-Up-A-Thon" At FNC

Protestors held a "shut-up-a-thon" outside FNC headquarters Tuesday afternoon. This web site has photos from the demonstration, and says over 1,000 people participated.

>The NYDN says they chanted "Fox lies, people die."

> Shep showed video of the protestors on the Fox Report. He seemed to be making fun of them...

> Neil Cavuto says one of the protestors "was nice enough to call me one of the marginally nicer Nazis at Fox."

> Activists plan to hold a March on the Media today that will pass by CBS, CNN, Fox and NBC to protest "a news agenda driven by business interests."
> UPDATE: 2:30pm: A source who was at the building entrance puts the figure at less than 200, not 1,000.

CNN Rejects Log Cabin Republicans Commercial

Quoting National Journal's e-mail newsletter: "The Log Cabin Republicans [Monday] launched an ad protesting the GOP platform plank on marriage and same-sex unions. And while the spot is running nationally on Fox News and in New York on various stations, CNN is refusing to air it unless the group edits the final frames. According to LCR's Christopher Barron, the network took issue with pictures of Topeka minister Fred Phelps Sr. holding signs reading 'God hates fags' at the funeral for Matthew Shepherd, a gay man who was murdered in 1998. 'If CNN thinks that image is too controversial,' Barron said, 'Imagine being Judy Shepherd and having to see it at your son's funeral.'"

ABC's 'Angels' Investigate Fat-Cat Lobbyists

Quoting the Daily News: "Some folks call them 'Brian's Angels.' They're attractive young female television producers, sexily attired in party dresses and equipped with palm-sized digital cameras, sent by ABC News correspondent Brian Ross into the heart of big-money corporate darkness. Their mission this week...: to crash the fabulous high-dollar private shindigs being thrown by moguls and fat-cat lobbyists - and come back with choice video of elected officials sponging off Corporate America." (Via Romenesko)

Convention Ticker: Shales Criticizes Fox Coverage

> WP's Tom Shales: "At the Fox network, the Republican convention is being covered like a happy birthday party for God, with the channel's right-leaning commentators and anchors hanging on for the joyride of their lives, all but turning cartwheels."

> Daily Kos readers wonder: "Where are the Dems" during coverage of the RNC?

> Chris Jansing says the MSNBC convention diet is "sugar and caffeine."

Behind The Scenes With Tom Brokaw

Howard Kurtz has a must-read Washington Post profile of Tom Brokaw's life at the convention. Tom Brokaw says the dearth of broadcast coverage is "very frustrating"...

Faneuil Hall Was Easy Compared To Herald Sq.

Howard Fineman says MSNBC's Herald Square set is a "fabulous spot." He talks about it on MSNBC.com: "Setting up outside Faneuil Hall was easy compared with the logistics of Herald Square, Rick Jefferson, the technical production manager for MSNBC, told me as he showed me around. He had to get permits and permissions from all levels of government and labor -- not to mention the custodians of Herald Square. Jefferson...is a master of it all, and even managed to convince the powers that be in the city to allow us to set up work trailers in a curb lane."