Joe Scarborough is hosting MSNBC's Scarborough Country from Secaucus tonight for the first time since August. After months of back therapy, he hosted the show from his home in Florida after Christmas, and is feeling well enough to anchor from New Jersey next week. "MSNBC has high hopes for Scarborough," an industry analyst told TVNewser today. "They're betting a lot on Joe in the first quarter." MSNBC apparently wants to establish a ratings foothold at 10pm...

> Scarborough wrote about the past few months on his blog.

> Update: 10:15pm: Scarborough Country executive producer Lia Macko was let go today, according to two sources. She has a long history with NBC...

On Thursday, a new round of rumors suggested that CBS would release the Memogate panel report today. 5pm has come and gone, though, so it seems the report will be released next week -- when most of the nation's TV critics are in LA, by the way. "The report is in its final stages of preparation," RatherBiased says.

"I was, on the one hand, encouraged that the network brought in independent investigators to conduct a thorough look," former CBS affiliates Board Chairman Bob Lee tells Al Tompkins in a Poynter story today. "I am, on the other hand, perturbed that it has taken so long."

We've waiting more than three months, so what's a few more days? IMAO offers a "translation guide" when the statement comes. Poynter also offers questions you should be asking when you read the report.

> Update: 6:23pm: "The CBS report has been done for a while -- weeks in fact," an EP e-mails TVNewser. "So, why then has it not been released? Les Moonves (now Mr. Julie Chen) wanted it out AFTER his honeymoon. So when did the honeymoon end? Thursday...When the next round of rumors started." CBS may also be waiting for Dan Rather to return from overseas...

Thursday's CNN special report, "Saving The Children," was an excellent, compelling example of storytelling -- but the constant promos didn't attract a big audience. The show averaged 717,000 viewers at 10pm. (On FNC, Greta doubled that number.) CNN's tsunami coverage performed better than MSNBC's, though: The 9pm special report delivered 386,000 viewers. Full Thursday numbers:

> FNC: Shep: 1,459,000 / O'Reilly: 2,713,000 / H&C: 1,991,000 / Greta: 1,438,000

> CNN: 7p: 594,000 / 8p: 743,000 / King: 1,042,000 / 10p: 717,000

> MSNBC: Matthews: 476,000 / Olbermann: 386,000 / 9pm: 386,000 / Scarborough: 356,000

Since the tsunamis struck on Dec. 26, CNN's ratings have risen about 40% versus a year ago (but FNC is still easily #1). The following numbers are from 12/26/04 to 1/4/05, versus 12/28/03 to 1/6/04:

"Versus the same time period a year-ago, CNN and Headline News are the #1 and #2 networks in regards to growth for both Total Day and Primetime in both P2+ and P25-54," the network says. Total day, CNN is up 34% in P2+ and up 46% in the 25-54 demo versus the year-ago #'s. In primetime, CNN is up 44% in total viewers and up 98% in the demo. CNN has pointed out that FNC's year-over-year increases (17% in total day) pale in comparison to CNN's.

In the last week and a half, CNN has averaged 626,000 viewers. FNC has averaged 942,000. In primetime, CNN has averaged 1,057,000 viewers. FNC has averaged 1,409,000. (But CNN's ratings boost seems to be concluding, Drudge's Wednesday ratings suggest.)

Since the tsunamis hit, MSNBC has declined 5% in P2+ and 11% in P25-54 in total day compared to the year before. In primetime, the bleeding is worse: Down 17% in P2+ and 22% in the demo, compared to the same time period a year ago. "Headline News is outdelivering MSNBC in total day for both P2+ and P25-54," CNN notes.

Now comes the hard part for CNN: Enticing the viewers to stick around! "They have never solved the post-news audience collapse problem," an e-mailer noted on Wednesday.

> Update: 6:07pm: Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 6, CNN is up 30%, FNC is up 17% and MSNBC is down 5% compared to last year, a cable news insider says. In primetime, CNN is up 34%, FNC is up 20%, and MSNBC is down 11%.

SmartVideo has signed deals with ABC News and NBCU to stream live news programming to cell phones. LostRemote has details. Two press releases:

> ABC's P.R.: "Mobile phone subscribers will now have access to ABC News Now, a 24/7 streaming news channel, and daily on demand video from ABC News," including reports from WNT and GMA.

> NBC P.R.: "The agreement with SmartVideo means that all Smartphone cellular users will now be able to watch MSNBC and CNBC live, 24 hours a day on their handsets."

> Today's Note alluded to "extraordinary dreams for The Note's expansion in 2005." What are they planning? A blog? A TV show? TVNewser begged for clues, but Note co-founder Marc Ambinder wouldn't budge. "Stay tuned," he said...

> Bill O'Reilly referenced Media Matters' "Misinformer of the Year" award last night, wishing a happy new year to "all the other Kool-Aid people."

> "Andrea Canning has been named a correspondent for NewsOne," ABC announced yesterday. She will be based in D.C.

> "I notice that when Jonathan Klein and the other CNN sources are raving about Paula Zahn's skills, and that she will be with CNN for the future, they don't say where she will be," Jo e-mails...

> Robert Novak is on the right this afternoon.

> Crossfire "lost more than 20 percent of its audience in 2004 -- a troubling development for a political show during an election year," NPR's David Folkenflik notes.

> A must-read from NJ's Vaughn Ververs: "The show's impact on television is impossible to understate...It is hard to believe, but before Pat Buchanan and Tom Braden hit the air with their combative, back-and forth debates, television news was pretty devoid of argument."

> Mike Pesca's Crossfire obituary on NPR: "Sometimes a corpse can become bloated and quite pungent before anyone knows its even dead. In the movies the cowboys were never really sure until someone came over and kicked it. A few months ago on Crossfire, the comedian Jon Stewart delivered that kick."

> Former Crossfire host Bill Press blogs: "Sadly, it was Walter Isaacson who killed 'Crossfire,' in his short stint as president of CNN. He took a serious political debate show and turned it into a gong show."

Boulder's Daily Camera reports: "Fox News Network did not defame John and Patsy Ramsey or their son Burke in a 2002 story aired in connection with the six-year anniversary of daughter JonBenet Ramsey's death, a U.S. District Court judge in Denver has ruled." "While the December 2002 broadcast appears to plaintiffs not to have been 'fair and balanced' towards them, it was not defamatory," the Judge's decision said. Details... (subreq)

The NY Daily News got the scoop today: CNBC is replacing Dylan Ratigan's 6pm "Bullseye" with "Mad Money with Jim Cramer." The show will "take viewers inside the mind of one of Wall Street's most respected and colorful money managers," today's internal memo says. "This new program will allow Jim to translate to television what he does so well on his successful radio program."

Ratigan will stay with the network and "contribute throughout the Business Day," and Cramer will "continue to contribute to 'Kudlow & Cramer.'" "Bullseye" was produced by CNBC Business Day, but "Mad Money" will be produced by CNBC Primetime. I hear the pilot was "fantastic." Click below for the full memo, only on TVNewser:


TO: ALL CNBC EMPLOYEES
FROM: PAMELA THOMAS-GRAHAM
DATE: JANUARY 7, 2005
RE: DYLAN RATIGAN & JIM CRAMER

We will be making some programming changes in the coming weeks. "Bullseye with Dylan Ratigan" will be concluding its run and we will be replacing it with a new program hosted by Jim Cramer, entitled "Mad Money."

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dylan Ratigan, Matt Quayle and the entire "Bullseye" team. Their show brought a terrific energy to our network on a nightly basis. Dylan and the group approached every topic they tackled with a fresh perspective, consistently booked great guests and, on several occasions, took our viewers to places rarely seen on television. Who would have ever thought that a CNBC anchor would race the Baja 1000?

Their hard work and dedication is greatly appreciated and I am happy to say that Dylan and the entire team will be staying with our network. Dylan will be contributing throughout the Business Day and, as one of the most passionate and skilled core financial reporters working today, we should all be looking forward to him breaking news and continuing to provide cutting edge business reports. Matt will continue as senior producer of "Kudlow & Cramer."

"Mad Money with Jim Cramer," airing nightly and produced by CNBC Primetime, will take viewers inside the mind of one of Wall Street's most respected and colorful money managers. This new program will allow Jim to translate to television what he does so well on his successful radio program. "Mad Money" will give viewers unprecedented access to what Jim feels are the opportunities and pitfalls of the often confusing jungle of Wall Street investing. In addition to his new duties, Jim will continue to contribute to "Kudlow & Cramer."

Please join me in wishing Dylan and Jim all the best in their new roles.

Continue reading "CNBC's "Mad Money with Jim Cramer:" The Memo"

Yesterday, NewsBluntly reported that CNBC is "asking all new hires to sign a one-year contract," out of Fox Biz Channel fears. But three CNBC sources say the rumor is untrue. This week, CNBC hired three full-time staff employees -- and they signed standard two to three year contracts, an insider says. "CNBC's big talent is tied up for years -- and that was done before this Fox thing," another employee says. A new CNBC employee also confirmed it's not true...

Yesterday I mentioned CNN's full-page advertisement in the Washington Post for the "Saving The Children" special. The New York Times had a similar ad -- but with one very interesting difference: The Times ad has Aaron Brown in it, and the Post ad doesn't. "In the Post, I saw Amanpour, Cooper, Gupta and O'Brien. and I thought, gee, that's weird, it's Aaron's time period," an eagle-eyed reader says. On page A-17 in the New York Times, it's the exact same ad -- except that a picture of Aaron is inserted between Christiane and Anderson. Draw your own conclusion...

> Aaron Brown didn't appear in the CNN special, according to the transcript. But it aired during the 10pm hour...

> I noticed that Brown was missing from commercials for the special -- until Thursday, when I caught a glimpse of him.

> Update: 1:25pm: "Aaron Brown was never supposed to be a part of the Special, as it was taped prior to his even getting [to Banda Aceh]," an e-mailer says. "Sometimes CNN has their own priorities as to why they include anchors both in print ads and on air commercials. Unfortunately, it reflects badly in the end, causing the kind of speculation and rumor as has been pointed out here." "Brown probably raised a big stink, because his time period was pre-empted for the special," another e-mailer says. "Hence, last minute they stuck him in one of the ads to shut him up."

How would Nancy Grace do in the CNN 8pm timeslot?

As TVNewser first reported last month, Nancy Grace will soon host an 8pm show on Headline News. CNN will announce the news on Wednesday morning at the TV Press Tour. "Some say it could be bad news for prime-time CNN anchor Paula Zahn, who is on at the same time," Page Six says today. "One insider dished, 'Nancy is also going up against Paula, whose numbers are not great. There is talk of moving her possibly to a daytime talk show or getting rid of her altogether.' A rep for CNN said: 'As anyone who's watched Paula Zahn's expert handling of her tsunami coverage knows she is a preeminent anchor and has a strong future at CNN.'"

> Also: By the way, Grace is also hosting "a series of various primetime specials" for Court TV in 2005, in addition to her daily trial program.

Howard Kurtz: "On the Alberto Gonzalez hearings, I know congressional hearings can get tedious after awhile, having covered zillions of them. But couldn't the cable networks have found time to do more than dip in and out?...CNN, Fox and MSNBC all went live with a news conference by the attorney for Andrea Yates, whose conviction for killing her children was overturned by an appeals court. (MS gave it 17 minutes.) That's more important than the record of the next attorney general of the United States? I'll bet Amber Frey got more time on 'Hannity & Colmes' than the confirmation hearing got on cable (except for the subsequent arguing about it, as opposed to the actual showing of it)."

Only on TVNewser: It seemed to be a popular rumor on Thursday. "Zahn out, Heidi in at 8pm," an e-mailer declared. "Zahn out," a couple TVSpyers say. But the rumors of an 8pm shakeup are untrue, CNN president Jon Klein told TVNewser Thursday night.

"I have been thinking in general that Heidi is really strong on the air, and I'd like to find ways to use her more often in primetime in general," he explained -- "not on any specific show, but as a reporter on our primetime shows." He called Collins "bright, articulate, intelligent," but said "there's no specific plan other than to try to get her to do more reporting."

Klein said he has been "taking stock" of CNN's many correspondents -- "trying to familiarize myself with them" -- and he hopes to highlight their abilities. "I think you're going to see a number of CNN correspondents appear more regularly in primetime, as part of our effort to enhance our storytelling," he said.

And what about the rumors that Paula Zahn Now may come to an end? "Paula Zahn is an extraordinary talent who we are going to be in business with for quite some time," Klein said. He said Zahn is "very important to us," and noted that she has "held down the fort" during tsunami coverage this week.

> It's clear that, in Collins, CNN sees a star in the making. (And I hear her agent has been busy.)

> "I'm not sure why CNN sees a star in the making," an e-mailer responds. "Where's the experience?...If CNN thinks that Heidi Collins is a star then they are really desperate."

CBS Marketwatch columnist Jon Friedman explores CNN's coverage of the tsunami disaster and focuses on Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the first of a two-part feature. Gupta heard about the assignment when he was "returning home from family holidays in Michigan:" "I never unpacked," he says. Friedman says Gupta "then hopped a flight to Dubai and changed planes en route to Sri Lanka. The trip took a total of 20 hours." Read it all...

"Flipping back and forth between CNN and Fox News this week for tsunami reports is like hopping between a Cadillac and a Pontiac," the left-leaning Salon says. (Get a day pass: It's worth it.) "Two things have become obvious to news consumers in the aftermath of the tsunami," Eric Boehlert writes. "The first is that even when faced with covering a global humanitarian crisis, Fox News is incapable of turning off its robotic partisanship, not to mention its ever-present sense of victimization. Secondly, Fox News can barely call itself a serious news-gathering operation."

> Johnny Dollar tears apart Boehlert's "facts"

Is CNN's disaster ratings boost coming to an end? That's what the Wednesday ratings, as posted by Drudge, suggest. O'Reilly had a 2.3, H&C delivered a 1.7, and Greta averaged a 1.4; Meanwhile, CNN's special report averaged a 0.8, and Larry King pulled a 1.1. On MSNBC, the Amber Frey special was the highlight of the night, with a 0.6. It beat Hardball's 0.5.

> One TVSpyer suggests the headline should be "CNN Fails to Turn the Tide."