Still in New York... more posts late tonight.

Live From New York: MSNBC Observations

Chris Matthews pausing a cell-phone call to be mag-scanned inside the media pavillion across from MSG... MSNBC has nine cameras in the square... Tammy Haddad comparing her job to "air traffic control"... "Our whole philosophy is that this isn't just a show, it's an event," Haddad says... Bystanders holding red foam Hardball fingers...

MSNBC: "The People's Voice Counts," Haddad Says

Live from MSNBC's Herald Square set... Dozens of New Yorkers have crowded around the Hardball platform here, and many others line Broadway holding signs. The area is electric, and Chris seems to love it.

"This election is about the people making a big choice," Hardball E.P. Tammy Haddad said. "We're saying that the people's voice counts as much as the guests on the show. We want them to be a part of it."

Ratings: MSNBC, CNN Battle For Second Place

MSNBC beat CNN in the 10 and 11pm hours on Wednesday night, and doubled CNN's viewership during the Chris Matthews/Zell Miller duel, Nielsen data shows. CNN performed a lot better earlier in the evening, though. Here's all the P2+ data:

Time	MSNBC	CNN	Fox
8pm	547,000	841,000	3,167,000
9pm	656,000	1,231,000	3,729,000
10pm	1,214,000	1,202,000	5,918,000
11pm	1,296,000	1,015,000	3,397,000

Wed. Convention Ratings: 5.9 Mil For FNC

Early data for Wednesday night's convention coverage is coming in. FNC challenged the broadcast networks again; official data will be available in an hour or two. Between 10 and 11pm, FNC averaged 5.9 million viewers, while CNN and MSNBC battled for the second place spot with 1.2 million viewers each.
Between 8 and 11:30pm, FNC averaged 4,271,000 viewers, CNN had 1,095,000, and MSNBC had 921,000.
> Update: 8:35pm: NBC had 4.5 million viewers and CBS had 2.6 million. ABC had 3.1 million according to the first #'s, but those will probably change later.

The CNN Diner: Milkshakes And 'Crossfire'

Blogging live from the CNN diner at 34th and 8th... Crossfire is about to go on the air. The room is packed with delegates, media and folks wearing "mission not accomplished" T-shirts. Chocolate milkshakes seem to be the most popular on the menu, and for good reason -- they're delicious! The crowd is encouraged to applaud when they agree with one of the hosts.

Live From New York: CNN Observations

James Carville sitting in the driver's seat of the CNN bus talking on the phone... 11 CNN staffers (producer, floor director, three cameramen, audio, make-up, etc.) crammed into a tiny platform above the hall... A CNN green room that's really mostly red... Anderson Cooper rushing down an escalator from the skybooth... Massive spider webs of wires in all directions inside CNN's engineering skybooth...

Ratings: The Post-Olympic Drop?

"Last night, Anderson Cooper 360 topped its year-to-date P25-54 average audience by over 50%, nearly doubling MSNBC's Hardball in that demo plus won the overalls," a cable news source notes. "Can you hear the sound of the post-Olympic drop?"

FNC's Coverage "Even-Handed," Critic Says

Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Fox's RNC coverage has "has been "relatively even-handed:" "On Wednesday night, it was a Democrat who spewed the hot-headed bile, and Fox News covered it like, well, like news, instead of a sign from God. Kind of disappointing, actually."

Blogging From The Convention Later Today

I'm catching a train to NYC in an hour. Posts may be limited today, but check back for dispatches "covering the coverage."

Matthews/Miller: Chris Was "Surprised"

Did you see Chris Matthews and Zell Miller face off last night? If not, here's a summary and video clip.

Chris Matthews blogs about it: "I was pretty surprised with his reaction," Chris notes. And he adds: "I hope he accepts my invite to join me at the MSNBC set Thursday evening."

> "Chris allowed a response for every question," an e-mailer says. "He cut off a few of the longer answers, but only after Zell had gotten his point across. It's not like that's 'out of bounds.' It's a cable debate show."

> Miller appeared on Imus this morning.

> Michelle Malkin hops into the fray...

Convention Ticker: Olbermann, Cooper, Carlson

> Keith Olbermann calls himself the "Dick Cheney of the Anchor Desk" -- here's why.
> "My favorite moment of the convention so far has been watching Triumph the Comic Dog corner Tucker Carlson -- literally in a corner -- and watch Carlson go beet red and not know what to say," Anderson Cooper blogs.
> "It's fun and easy to mock the TV personalities," Jonathan Storm says. "But beneath their foibles lies serious business, the danger of a misinformed electorate that makes hazardous decisions."

Cablers Prepare For More Hurricane Coverage

If not for the Republican National Convention, the all-news cable networks wouldn't exactly be hurting for material," David Bianculli writes in the Daily News today. Case in point: Hurricane Frances. Expect the cablers to pre-empt some of their typical weekend shows for extended coverage. I hear MSNBC is planning "extensive additional" coverage this weekend. The network hired a weather woman recently, but she doesn't start until next week, so Sean will be working overtime again...

Reporting Live For ABC News -- Via WiFi

The Star-Ledger profiles ABC News correspondent Wonbo Woo, the first broadcast network correspondent to hold the title "wireless reporter." It's an extension of "one-man-band" recporting: "Where the above typically shoot and edit their pieces and save them to air later, Woo often reports live via his wireless card." "Most of Woo's stuff looks pretty grainy," Matt Zoller Seitz notes, but I bet it's more riveting that way... (Via LostRemote)

Another Round of Koppel & Stewart

Comedy Central's Jon Stewart returned to Nightline Wednesday, after a notable conversation with Ted Koppel during the DNC. Lost Remote has some soundbites from the chat. (On Tuesday, Koppel told Elizabeth Jensen that "I think Jon Stewart is to the coverage of news what a good editorial cartoon is.")

The Evils Of Partisan Media, Part 153

Howard Kurtz used the CNN/FNC DNC/RNC match-up to say "there are growing signs that television viewing, like presidential politics, is getting a lot more partisan." He talked to Aaron Brown last night. "There is I think a problem in the country in that we don't listen to each other," Brown said. "We don't listen to other points of view." Kurtz agreed, and said the "national conversation shrinks" as a result...

Duel: Chris Matthews & Zell Miller!

Many viewers were surprised/impressed/shocked by Chris Matthews' heated exchange with Zell Miller on MSNBC Wednesday night. "Whew! This really is Hardball," one e-mailer said. Editor & Publisher calls it "probably the most incendiary moment" in all the RNC coverage so far. Check it out:

> Watch an eight-minute video clip (3MB WMV)

"Matthews is doing his usual ask a question, give a chance for two words to come out, and then asking another question," The Media Drop says. Tom Biro has all the highlights: "I think we ought to cancel this interview," Miller said at one point. "Get outta my face. Step back and let me answer," he said later. He even referred to Michelle Malkin!

> Update: The FReepers are pissed. And Joann writes in to suggest the problem was the background noise: "Matthews on the street, Miller in the loud convention hall really messed things up," she says.

"Watch Fox News," GOP Delegates Tell CNNers

A group of GOP delegates taunted CNN's cast and crew in the convention hall Tuesday night. "'Watch Fox News' chanted the delegates and other convention-goers in Section 223, likely broadcasting the message to millions of homes tuned in to CNN," The Hill notes. "The entire section was doing it," one delegate says. "The gal who was being interviewed couldn't even think straight."

Ratings: Comparing The RNC & DNC Numbers

The Washington Post compares RNC ratings to the DNC ratings: "ABC's and CBS's numbers were on par with their first night's coverage of the Democrats' clambake in July (the Big Three networks covered Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights during that convention), while NBC's average was about 1 million viewers ahead of its first night at the Democratic convention. MSNBC's Tuesday prime-time average is only very slightly ahead of its Tuesday Democratic convention score, and CNN fumbled about 1 million viewers that night, convention-to-convention. That might account for some but not all of FNC's increase."

> Also: Lisa has a must-read back-and-forth between Fox News and its competitors!

Ratings: Some CNBC #'s Rose In August

"It looks like CNBC's daytime ratings have definitely bottomed out," an Ratings were up across the board in August compared to July - definitely encouraging considering the fact that August is a slow business month and the Olympic competition during the last two weeks of the month. Viewing to Morning Call was up 11% (175,000 vs. 157,000), Power Lunch was up 23% (200,000 vs. 162,000), Street Signs was up 12% (191,000 vs. 182,000), Closing Bell was up 21% (229,000 vs. 190,000), Kudlow and Cramer was up 13% (172,000 vs. 152,000) and Bullseye was up 23% (95,000 vs. 77,000)."

O'Reilly Calls FNC A "Traditional Channel"

Bill O'Reilly defends FNC to USA Today: "If Fox News is a conservative channel -- and I'm going to use the word if -- so what? You've got 50 other media that are blatantly left. Now, I don't think Fox is a conservative channel. I think it's a traditional channel. There's a difference. We are willing to hear points of view that you'll never hear on ABC, CBS or NBC."

Bianco Asks Anchors, Pundits To Shut Up

Robert Bianco vents in USA Today's Thursday editions. He begins: "Would it be too much to ask one tiny favor of TV's anchors, analysts and pundits? In the name of all that's holy, shut up." And he concludes: "Entertainment, after all, is what the cable channels are really doing. They're just not doing it well."