Debate: In Miami, Brokaw & O'Reilly Are Stars

"In Miami, there are two news stars at this debate that eclipse all others - Tom Brokaw and Bill O'Reilly," a cable news insider tells TVNewser. "The reaction to these two men has been extraordinary. O'Reilly has been treated like a rock star with throngs of people with cameras and magazines with his likeness on the cover following him everywhere he goes. Brokaw is being fawned over by other journalists like he's walking on water. It's been very interesting to stand back and take it all in."

Debate: Insta-Polls, Fact-Checkers, E-Mailers

> CBS went to a commercial immediately after the debate.
> Brian Williams headed up NBC's "Truth Squad." ABC's Jake Tapper offered "Fact Check" segments.

> ABC featured an "instant poll." NBC's Ron Blome interviewed undecided voters in Ohio. CBS and CNN tracked focus group reactions to the debate.

> "CNNfn is great," an e-mailer says. "They have the audience reaction...Kerry seems to be doing better. The chart goes up whenever he speaks." Bill Hemmer called it an "experiment."

> At times it seemed CNN's anchors beside the crowd were almost drowned out by the student supporters.

> "Just before going to his last break, Brit Hume said that when they came back he'd have something to share about the emails they were getting, and why they were getting them," Mark notes. "But after the break, they just did a wrap-up with the panel and nothing about any emails."

> Joe Trippi blogs: "The 'colossal error in judgement' line of attack will be in the lead of most newspapers tomorrow if they have any news sense left."

Debate: Insta-Reactions From The Pundits

> On NBC, Tim Russert commenced the analysis: "There were no knockouts, no knockdowns, but this was the kind of debate this country wanted, needed and deserved."

> On CNN, Carlos Watson's prediction: "More people will tune into the second debate a week from now, which is reminiscent of 1992. Instead of the audience going down as it did in 2000, I expect it to go up."

> On CNN, Jeff Greenfield commented about the split-screens: "Kerry was clearly aware that the camera might always be on him...It does seem to me that John Kerry looked -- and I hate this phrase -- as presidential as the President."

> On FNC, Bill Kristol's reaction: "I think Kerry survived and indeed, did pretty well tonight. Kerry was forceful and articulate."

Debate: Networks Utilize Split-Screen Shots

CNN and ABC News were the first networks to split the screen and show candidates listening to the other one speak. "C-SPAN has been showing nothing but the split screen since the first question was asked," an e-mailer says.

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CNN's Paul Begala and Bob Novak are "blogging" (reacting) to the debate as it happens. Excerpts:

Paul Begala: "The reaction shots are none too kind to our president. As Kerry was going through his argument that Bush has neglected homeland security, Bush was giving that grimace/smirk that he displays when he's angry. It was Kerry's best moment so far."

Bob Novak: "Rules were supposed to prevent cutaway shots, but Fox has ignored them. Kerry is shown nodding his head when Bush talks -- not a good habit."

Debate: Notes From The Pre-Game Show!

> The cablers have pulled their ticker. CNN is listing the questions at the bottom of the screen.

> Tom Brokaw is in Miami, while Dan Rather and Peter Jennings are in NYC. At the top of the hour Brokaw pointed out today's violence in Iraq.

> ABC News is offering an Enhanced TV version of the debates.

> Wolf Blitzer began anchoring at 8:30pm on CNN. "History is about to be made here," he said. Jeff Greenfield: "This is actually one of those events that we are not overhyping."

> "Everything before tonight was preview," Chris Mattthews said tonight. "Everything after tonight will be celebration and regret. Tonight's the night." (Via Hardblogger)

> Bill O'Reilly pretended to be Bush and Kerry during his Follow-up segment tonight, while Pat Caddell and John Kasich asked him "unexpected questions."

> NBC Nightly News was the only evening 'cast to lead with the debates, Noted Now notes. ABC led with Iraq and CBS led with the Vioxx recall.

Debate: Battle of the Loud Crowds

At the end of the hour, a cable anchor stands among a crowd and chats with voters. This sounds like Chris Matthews on MSNBC, but today CNN's Anderson Cooper is trying something similar. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," an MSNBC insider joked to TVNewser tonight. "It looks like it could be on our air." CNN and MSNBC's sets are located close to eachother, on opposite sides of the Student Union...

> Update: "I think these two networks need to stop looking externally for solutions to the bad ratings and bad TV and need to start looking internally," a viewer writes in.

Debate: Battle of the Countdown Clocks

"Why is it that CNN and MSNBC have different times on their debate countdown timers?," a viewer asks. MSNBC's debate clock is more accurate -- it is counting down to the actual debate start time at 9:01:30, while CNN's clock is counting down to 9:00:00. Producers in Miami have noticed the disparity...

Debate: It's All About The Frame

ABC's Teddy Davis admits that "press frames are instrumental in determining the outcome of debates because the reporters, correspondents and producers who watch them, and who choose which soundbites to play and replay, are looking for moments that cohere with the story lines they have already established about the candidates."

Exclusive: CNBC Cancels 'Capital Report'

First on TVNewser: CNBC has cancelled one of the the best purely political shows on cable. The informative but ratings-challenged Capital Report program will end its run on November 12, sources say.

"We really knew the show was going away after election day or after inauguration day," an insider tells TVNewser. "They apparently chose election day." The source called the cancellation "a damn shame."

Staffers were informed of the news late Wednesday. CNBC will likely fill the 7pm timeslot with reruns in the short term.

The program was popular among politically astute D.C. types, but never delivered many viewers.

Another source mused, "Do the C's in CNBC stand for Confused Channel?" NBC's business channel seems to be suffering from MSNBC's former identity crisis. "CNBC is in a complete meltdown," the insider said...

Debate: Tonight's Programming Plans

> NBC, ABC, and CBS coverage airs from 9 to 11pm. > On FNC, The O'Reilly Factor will air like usual at 8pm, followed by the debate at 9. The post-game will be anchored by Brit Hume. H&C is up at 11, and Greta is live at midnight.
> On CNN, Anderson Cooper is live at 7, Paula Zahn anchors a half-hour at 8, and Wolf Blitzer and friends take over at 8:30. They hand it off to Larry King at 11, and Aaron Brown wraps up from L.A. at midnight.
> On MSNBC, Countdown will air from 6 to 7, then a special five-hour edition of Hardball will air from the University of Miami campus. After Hours (!) will return from midnight to 2am.

Debate: Restrictions Aren't All That New

Broadcasting & Cable's John Eggerton says that the strict debate restrictions aren't all that new. "The campaigns called up and asked for similar restrictions," which the network promptly ignored, a source who worked for a network news org in 2000 says. "They just didn't write them down."

Debate: Describing The Different "Media's"

MSNBC's Howard Fineman describes debate spinners, and says "it may take longer than [2000] for a consensus" about the debate to emerge. Why?: "Because there is no longer a 'media.' There are two, three, many media. Fox will have a take; the New York Times will have a take; Don Imus will have a take. And it will take time for all of them to agree on what they saw with their own eyes."

Debate: A Guide To Conventional Wisdom

ABC's Note has a handy dandy guide to all of the media's conventional wisdom about the debates:

> "What the news coverage says immediately after the debate is just as important -- maybe more important -- than what happens in the debate itself."

> "How about those wacky, restrictive, detailed campaign-negotiated rules that make this less a debate and more a joint appearance."

> "In a nation of several hundred million people, why does Jim Lehrer get to keep moderating these things."

Aaron Brown Comments On Rathergate Coverage

Yesterday I noted that CNN's NewsNight has included eight mentions of Rathergate, not one story as Aaron Brown told the Oregonian. This morning Brown e-mailed in with comment:

"I believe what I said to peter was that we did "the" story and moved on. The conversation had to do with the non stop "mud wrestling" that the story generated which we did not do. But there is no doubt I considered it an important story and that we covered it.  I did a page two essay on it, we looked at the backlash among some affilates and its impact on media generally.  I did not and do not think it was the MOST important story and I did not allow it to dominate the program at the expense of all else as some others did. That's not what Newsnight is. That was the context of the conversation with Peter."

I, for one, am glad Brown did not let Rathergate dominate the program...

Debate: Hair Calls Restrictions "Unprecedented"

The Hollywood Reporter offers some more quotes from the networks about their debate coverage plans:

> CNN Exec VP Princell Hair: "The level of restrictions is unprecedented, as far as I can tell...We're not a signatory of the agreement, so we're not bound by it...And we're just not going to comply."

> ABC News spokesperson Julie Summersgill: "We will make editorial decisions about any camera shots in our coverage on Thursday night. We don't enter into agreements with the people we cover."

> FNC spokesperson Paul Schur: "We're not going to bow to outside pressures."

Debate: Morning Newspaper Clippings

> "Reality TV it is not," a Quad-City Times critic says.

> Tina Brown explains why tonight "is the political equivalent of the Thrilla in Manila," in the WashPost.

> Bernie Shaw calls Jim Lehrer the "dean of moderators." He's not aggressive, but he's fair, an AP story says.

> Is this extreme paranoia or what?: The "entire election [is] in jeopardy for Kerry" because FNC is the pool network for the debate, this blog says...

Is MSNBC Canning Conservative Pollster Luntz?

On Monday MSNBC's debate coverage P.R. said "pollster Frank Luntz will take the pulse of focus groups" after the debates.

...On Tuesday Media Matters complained to MSNBC's Rick Kaplan about Luntz's "partisan Republican ties and history of questionable scientific methodology."

...On Wednesday an MSNBC spokesperson told MM the Luntz mention was an error, and that focus groups will not be used during the debate coverage. Roll Call says "MSNBC Cans Luntz." Is he being shown the door -- and if so, why so suddenly, since his Republican ties have been evident for years?

(For the record, I've participated in two of Luntz's not-for-broadcast focus groups, and I have found him to be completely objective.)

James Wolcott: On CNN, FNC, Talking Heads

The highlights of James Wolcott's interview with Salon this week:

> The biggest problem with CNN right now, in his opinion: "There's no one in charge, and I don't think they know what they want to do. I mean, with Fox, you know Roger Ailes is running it, his whip crack can be heard. With CNN, I don't think they know whether they should be imitating Fox, trying to be more authoritative, or what."

> He says people like Paul Begala and James Carville "become caricatures of themselves:" "That whole show is just a caricature."

> Wolcott gives credit to MSNBC's Chris Matthews' "great moments recently" and Keith Olbermann's "skepticism."

> He's not a fan of FNC, but: "I actually thought Fox did a better job of covering the Democratic Convention than CNN did."

FNC Is Entertaining, Aaron Brown Says

In a Seattle P-I interview today, Aaron Brown explains "in obnoxious detail" why he believes Fox News is beating CNN:

"They're more entertaining, and I don't mean that pejoratively...They are conservative talk radio on television, and they are very entertaining about it. So they have very entertaining personalities, and they go about it in a very entertaining way..."

And then he continues into the "people only want to hear that which they agree with" belief and that it's "not healthy for democracy." Here's the full interview...