In "Incestuous Minuet," Viewers Lose

CJR Campaign Desk comments on the Carville/Begala controversy: "However it plays out, the only losers in this incestuous minuet of the observed and the observers are the readers and the viewers," they say.

An interesting point: "Somehow, we suspect there would be more indignant outcry about all this if two Fox News headliners -- say Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly -- had joined the Bush campaign as advisors, while continuing on at Fox." More...

Friday Ratings: MSNBC #'s Fall Off

MSNBC's Republican convention success did not translate to Friday:
Total day: FNC: 1,231,000 / CNN: 687,000 / MSNBC: 293,000
Primetime: FNC -- 1,671,000 / CNN: 912,000 / MSNBC: 377,000
12pm hour: Clinton breaking news: FNC: 1,086,000 / CNN: 815,000 / MSNBC: 267,000

SNL's Hammond To Host News/Doc Emmy Awards

Darrell Hammond will host the 25th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York next week, the Discovery Times Channel and the National Television Academy announced today. "It's only fitting that he stand up in front of the very people he routinely skewers in his hilarious and incisive comedy sketches," the channel's VP and GM Vivian Schiller said. Presenters at the awards show include Peter Jennings, Gwen Ifill, Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Wolf Blitzer, and Brian Williams...

Leventhal Describes Searching For Hurricane "Ground Zero"

FNC's Rick Leventhal writes about his hurricane coverage experience: "The goal is to be in a position to report on the storm as it comes ashore, as close to 'ground zero' as is safely possible," Rick writes. He describes finding the "perfect location:" "There was a wide driveway by the front door with a five-story building offering protection from winds from the north and east, and an opening south allowing the dish to hit the 'bird' (satellite) in the sky. There was a breezeway right next to this parking spot and access to a stairwell door, so we could run cable directly to the beach some 300 yards away, and/or upstairs to a room with a balcony if we needed to go live inside." More...

Begala: Will Advise Kerry But Only Work For CNN

Larry King asked Paul Begala about his arrangement with the Kerry campaign last night:

KING: One quick question, Paul, before we get back to the calls, are you going to work on the Kerry campaign, that was in 'The New York Times' yesterday? BEGALA: Yes -- no, I work for CNN, Larry, I'm going to keep working for CNN if they'll have me. I absolutely... KING: So you can't... BEGALA: I support John Kerry. And I will advise him as I would advise any Democrat who wants advice, but I do it for free and I do it for love. So I'm going to continue to advise Kerry and support him but I'm not going to work for anybody but CNN. KING: Carville, too? BEGALA: Yes. That goes for James as well.

See the related post below...

A Conflict Of Interest For Carville, Begala?

Paul Begala and James Carville are among the former Clinton strategists who are helping with the Kerry campaign, the NYT notes. MSNBC's Keith Olbermann calls foul: "Wait a minute. Aren't Carville and Begala on television? Isn't that a conflict of interest? I mean, you can't actively participate in  a campaign while analyzing it on-- Oh, sorry. I forgot-- I live in the past."

Talent Fleeing The Nets? Spokesmen Spar!

FNC's win over the broadcast nets continues to reverberate: "With these numbers, we can expect more talent to flee (ABC News President David) Westin's magic kingdom," Fox News spokesman Rob Zimmerman told the Associated Press over the weekend. "Two of Fox's chief personalities, Hume and Chris Wallace, are ABC refugees," David Bauder noted. ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider responded by not-responding: "If that were true, clever or funny, I guess I'd respond."

Kiernan Wanted To Work At "Lowly News Channel"

NY1's Pat Kiernan, whose WB Manhattan-based game show 'Studio 7' was just cancelled, referred to Fox News as a "lowly news channel" on NY1's Inside the Papers segment Thursday, when FNC's huge convention ratings win was discussed. When asked about it, a Fox insider responded: "Funny that he didn't consider FNC a lowly news channel not too long ago when he was floating his resume all over the building and begging for a job."

O'Reilly "Seriously Considering" Senate Run

The NYDN's Lloyd Grove hears that "in recent days, [Bill] O'Reilly, a registered independent, has confided to friends that he's seriously considering a run" for the 2006 Senate race in New York. More...

Rita Cosby Could Have Ended Up At NYT

FNC's Rita Cosby: "In the news business, there are always unpredictable things. You can thrive on it or go to an insane asylum, and I prefer to thrive." She is profiled in The Hill: "Cosby always thought she’d work for The New York Times, but eventually, she explains, she liked to write the story but have a great picture along with it."
> "The only way Rita Cosby could've wound up working for The New York Times is by selling it or recycling it," a cable news insider responds via e-mail...

MSNBC Set: New Anchor Desk, Updated Duratrans

MSNBC will return to its main studio this morning, after a new floor was installed and the set was updated. "The anchor desk is now much larger, but more than anything it is now laid out better as to allow us to utilize the space more efficiently," an insider says. The changes apparently improve the three-anchor arrangement used during Newsforce. Some other changes, according to sources:

> Some of the logos and duratrans behind the anchors have also been updated -- the backgrounds look brighter.

> The circular desk (employees call it the "sliding cyber desk") in the center of the newsroom has grown.

> The location usually used for MSNBC Live is now an interview area.

I hear that as of Sunday, the tech folks hadn't blocked out the shots yet -- is that why a couple segments on Monday were anchored from the new set? Tune in this morning...