Can Sean Hannity's Chats Be Called "Interviews?"

Sean Hannity's "suck-up session" with VP Cheney last week "was so syrupy that it made those Julia Roberts celebrity interviews on 'Entertainment Tonight' look like Prime Minister's Question Time in the English House of Commons, this columnist for The Nation writes today.

John Nichols says Hannity "does not appear to have the faintest inkling of how of how much his 'interviews' look like a local television station's 'remote' broadcast from the grand opening of a new car wash." Appearing on H&C after the chat, Sen. Mary Landrieu said she wouldn't call it an interview -- "I think it was an infomercial for the Bush-Cheney reelection campaign."

Hannity's interview with President Bush airs tonight.

Auletta Says The Press Has A "Bias For Conflict"

The media's "bias for conflict" is a critical challenge journalists face, Ken Auletta said at a Poynter Leadership Academy session last week. He said too often the instinct of execs is: "We need more 'wow' stories, we need more 'stand up and pay attention,' more conflict, more racy stories that will lure people to watch our TV or read our newspapers, and that drives us away from the serious news that we all want and to the racier fare, the conflict fare, the 'gotcha' kind of stories." But sometimes, he continues, "we have to be willing to say no ... Somehow we have to be willing to say, 'Hey, enough of the horserace coverage, enough of the gotcha, enough of the Gary Condit.'" Here's more...

Court TV's Dimond Responds To "Insider"

Court TV reporter Diane Dimond was none too pleased at this morning's post about comments she made on Friday, and a quote attributed to an unnamed source. In an e-mail to TVNewser, she called the post "completely off base:"

"If you are billing yourself as a journalist you MUST ask yourself: Is what Diane Dimond said correct? And the answer is YES. Fox does go on the offense at every turn and that, by the way, can also be seen as a positive action.  I'm sure my friend Bill O'Reilly, for example, is grateful that Fox has stood so solidly behind him.

"And your gratuitous use of an 'insiders' comment about my tenure with Fox was also completely incorrect. I had decided to semi-retire from the business in August of 2001, after having worked in the business for 25 years. Then September 11th happened and Roger Ailes called me to see if I could do some freelance anchoring. I told him yes, not wanting to miss out on reporting one of the biggest stories of the century. Nine months later I was offered a simple newsreaders job at Fox and I chose not to take it. Your 'insiders' assertion that 'her contract was not renewed' is completely false."

O'Reilly Sex Suits: There's "Glee In The Media"

Fox News Watch tackled the O'Reilly sex suits over the weekend. (Here's the transcript. Quoting Neil Gabler: "You know, celebrity and sex would be enough to make this a tabloid story. But let's face it there's a certain glee in the media right now -- you can see it in Olbermann -- and the glee is hypocrisy."

Cal Thomas agreed that many members of the media want the allegations to be true. "Bill O'Reilly is the big Kahuna of cable television," he said. "Nobody draws as many viewers. And if some of these other networks that are not drawing any viewers at all, infinitesimal, can in their mind bring him down, they think that will accrue to their benefit."

O'Reilly Endorses Bush -- Sort Of

Quoting Bill O'Reilly's radio show today: "I'm not going to endorse anybody or tell who I am voting for, but it's getting to where if you don't know who to vote for, then you should vote for Bush, just because of the left-wing press. Nobody begrudges the left-wing media for what they say on their editorial page. But when you put on a number of stories designed to make one candidate look bad in their news pages, that is dishonest. And this is the worst, the most vicious I've ever seen it." (Thanks Johnny Dollar)

Diane Dimond Refers To FNC's Nastiness

Industry insiders were amused at Court TV's Diane Dimond over the weekend. The show averages a .3, but one person who actually watched her sitting in for Catherine Crier on Friday night discussing the O'Reilly lawsuit noted this exchange:

Diane Dimond: "Do you think, Keith [Appell], that well let me put it this way -- I used to work at Fox, and I remember when Al Franken's book came out Fox attacked him, when Paula Zahn jumped ship and went to CNN they attacked her. They called her, said a dead raccoon could get better ratings than her. It's always so nasty with them. Do you suppose it might have been better for them to just settle with this woman out of court, whatever it was, rather than go so public with it?"

"Guess she forgot to mention that her contract was not renewed by Fox News back in the summer of 2002," an insider remarked. "Now that couldn't be the reason for her overt bashing of Fox, could it?"

Five More Weeks For Brian Williams To Wait

Every other story is focusing on Tom Brokaw, but the Washington Post previews the NBC Nightly News transition through the eyes of Brian Williams this morning. "I hope to gain everyone's trust, and the only way I can do that is hours in the chair," BW says. Neal Shapiro's take: "We're changing the driver, but people also like the car."

8 Days: And The Candidates Sit Down For An Alphabet Soup Of Interviews

Poor CBS. They're the only major net not to secure a big-name political interview for Monday's news cycles. Here's a run-down of all the interviews slated to air today. [Note to MSNBC daytime producers: Exploit the Kerry/Cheney chats!]

> President Bush: Interviewed by FNC's Sean Hannity; A transcript was released Sunday (and led to many media mentions), while the sit-down will air Monday on H&C. Also, ABC's Charlie Gibson interviewed Bush at his Texas ranch on Sunday; excerpts aired on WNT, with more to come Monday on GMA.

> Senator Kerry: Interviewed by NBC's Katie Couric; A transcript was released Sunday, and the chat was previewed on Dateline. The full interview will air Monday on 'Today.'

> Vice President Cheney: Interviewed by NBC's Jamie Gangel; A transcript was released Sunday, and the interview will air Monday on 'Today.'

> President Clinton: Interviewed by ABC's Diane Sawyer; excerpts aired on WNT, to be followed by segments on GMA Monday and Primetime Live Thursday.

Fox Viewers Vote Bush, CNN Viewers Vote Kerry -- But Guess Who's More Critical About The Coverage

Oh, good, it's another poll analyzing viewer perception of the media's election biases. The Pew Research Center released the findings Sunday.

"Seven-in-ten voters who get most of their election news from Fox News support Bush, while just 21% back Kerry," Pew says. "By contrast, voters who get most of their election news from CNN favor Kerry over Bush, by 67%-26%."

Duh. This is interesting though: "Voters who get most of their election news from the Fox News Channel are more critical of the coverage than are voters who rely on other sources for news about the election."

> Kurtz gives it six paragraphs at the end of his Monday column...

O'Reilly Sex Suits: Settlement? Edition

> "Lawyers are talking in the harassment case against Bill O'Reilly," the AP reported on Friday, "raising the possibility of a settlement." Sources were "mum" over the weekend, the Post says.

> "It's too bad we won't have O'Reilly taking apart O'Reilly," Margaret Carlson opines.

> The NY Daily News editorial director tells the NY Times asks: "Have Papers Taken Sides on O'Reilly?" (Including the NY Post's commentary on the lawsuit is like including the defense lawyer's statement as news," one e-mail to mediabistro.com said last week.)

> Since the news broke, "The O'Reilly Factor is averaging 3.04 million viewers, up 27% from the third quarter," B&C notes.

Media Fact Checkers Frustrate Repubs

The New Republic analyzes the Republican National Committee's "remarkable" decision to go after members of the media, including MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "Now that at long last fact checking has become a more integral part of campaign coverage than it was for most of the year, it's no surprise that the RNC is none too pleased," the Campaign Desk surmises: "After all, the spin doctors had it pretty good for a good long while."

This Refrain Keeps Repeating...

Quick! Guess which "veteran media writer" offered up this quotable in USA Today's Life section this morning? "There's this giant echo chamber which desperately needs new information, and everything we do is grist for that mill."

Time's up: It's Ken Auletta. Peter Johnson follows this by pointing his finger at cable news, which "needs a fresh supply of news to survive..."

Carlos Watson's CNN "Conversation Show"

Did anyone watch "Off Topic" on CNN Sunday night? Friday's post about Carlos Watson's "conversation show" pilot inspired several e-mailers to wonder about his credentials. "What makes Carlos Watson an expert on anything but self promotion?," one person asks. "He's never worked in politics, never been a journalist, he's only hosted really bad CNBC specials." Well, he's dabbled in both, but not for long. Here's his bio.

As I noted on Friday, his E.P. quit in September. Some CNN execs hope to take the "Off Topic" programs weekly next year...