With Pope Benedict XVI about to retire, the network morning shows all had interviews with Cardinals to preview the spectacle, and talk about next steps. “Today,” “Good Morning America” and ‘CBS This Morning” all spoke to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, while “CBS This Morning” also spoke to Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.

Teasing the discussion with Dolan, “Today”‘s Savannah Guthrie said that she would be speaking to Dolan “live, exclusively,” though clearly only the first half of that statement was true. Dolan, funnily enough, began his interview with Guthrie by saying “good morning Savannah, and good morning America.”

NPR’s David Folkenflik tackles CNBC’s aggressive booking practices, and reveals some terrific anecdotes along the way. In the TV news world, booking is the lifeblood, so it isn’t surprising that networks get aggressive.

“Bookers are a unique life form in the ecosystem of news gathering,” said former top CNBC executive Jonathan Wald, now the executive producer of Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN. “They are often the snipers who sit waiting for their prey, drinking black coffee, smoking cigarettes and striking at the ideal moment.”

Wald said that he has issued strict instructions that Morgan will not interview guests once they’ve appeared on certain other shows.

“You don’t want to follow,” Wald said, “and so you’ll do whatever you can to impress upon the guest … the need to be on your show or your network first.”

Folkenflik also talks to Bloomberg TV president Andrew Morse, who notes that while it pays to aggressive, his channel doesn’t try to dictate terms… though sometimes they like to poke fun at the competition:
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If you were watching NBC’s “Today” this morning around 8:10 AM, you may have seen designer Jason Wu talking about the inauguration dress he designed for First Lady Michelle Obama.

“And designer Jason Wu is with us exclusively, our belle of the ball,” Savannah Guthrie said introducing the man.

Wu, however, was not exclusive to “Today,” despite the hype. He would appear live in-studio with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning” just after 8:30 AM and was also in-studio on CNN at 9:40 AM.

Watch the interviews, after the jump.
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Yesterday afternoon, CBS News announced that senior correspondent John Miller scored the “first television interview” with NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo who was caught on camera giving a pair of boots to a homeless man. An excerpt ran on yesterday’s “CBS Evening News,” with the full report airing this morning.

One little problem: ABC’s Dan Harris also interviewed Officer DePrimo for “World News.” NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk spoke to the officer,  the Arizona tourist who took the photo and the sales clerk who sold the shoes, for a story that aired on yesterday’s “NBC Nightly News.” The officer and the tourist also appeared together this morning on “Today.”

WATCH:

After the jump, the CBS story from this morning, with the mention of the “first TV interview” scrubbed:
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With tonight’s Powerball jackpot now topping half billion dollars, the morning shows went all out with big money bookings today. “Good Morning America” brought in New York Lottery spokesgal Yooolaaaanda Vega while the “Today” show got an exclusive with the most recent big money winners: Brian and Mary Lohse who won the $202 million Powerball jackpot in September. “They are with us for their first national interview,” said Matt Lauer. Only it wasn’t, really. The Lohse’s sat down for an interview with “CBS This Morning” earlier in the week in a story that aired minutes before their live appearance on “Today.”

NBC’s “Today” had two “exclusive interviews” this morning, although both people had already been interviewed on CBS News.

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner was interviewed by Savannah Guthrie this morning, touted as a “Today” exclusive. The only problem is that he gave an interview to “CBS This Morning” last Friday. TVNewser hears that he was also supposed to appear on “Good Morning America” this morning, but it was scrubbed after his CBS appearance.

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Tennis player Serena Williams won the women’s title at the U.S. Open yesterday, and today she is making the media rounds. Despite the fact that she is appearing on no fewer than five TV shows today, ABC’s “Good Morning America” decided to brand their interview with Williams at 7:41 AM as “Exclusive,” as pictured right.

Of course, “GMA” was not the only morning show to talk to Williams, or even the only show on ABC to talk to her. “CBS This Morning” also spoke to Williams less than an hour after “GMA” at 8:30. Williams also appeared at 9:17 on “Live with Kelly and Michael,” which, while technically syndicated, is produced by ABC and airs on the ABC O&Os.

During prime Monday night, ABC ran promos for an exclusive “Good Morning America” interview with British housewife-turned-author E.L. James who penned the erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey.” One problem: James was also on the “Today” show.

ABC’s on-screen graphic read “exclusive” and the voice over said “she’s only talking to GMA.” 

But NBC’s Michelle Kosinski also interviewed James about the success of the book. And in introducing the story, Matt Lauer pointed out that NBC’s corporate cousin Universal Pictures had secured the movie rights.

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Elizabeth Vargas did the sit-down with James for GMA. And to the show’s credit, they didn’t blare it as EXCLUSIVE. But apparently the primetime promo producer didn’t get the message.

Both “Today and “GMA” ran their interviews at the exact same time, at 8:19am. “CBS This Morning” also mentioned how the steamy book is also boosting sales at sex shops. Gayle King reported customers “are asking for some of the products described in the book.”

Update: It seems ABC did have the exclusive, more details below.

Original Post: With the Royal Wedding less than a month away, news divisions are scrambling to get whatever exclusives they can in advance of the nuptials.

When Prince William’s younger brother Harry announced that he would be trekking to the North Pole to raise money for charity, the press jumped at the chance to get some quality time with the young Prince in Norway.

Unfortunately, ABC News chose to market Bob Woodruff‘s interview as a “Royal Exclusive” on “Good Morning America” this morning:

Exclusive it may have been, except for the fact that NBC’s Ben Fogle interviewed the Prince as well for his “Today” piece, which aired yesterday:

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Maybe NBC should just give “Two and a Half Men” actor Charlie Sheen his own hour in the morning. For the third consecutive day, NBC’s “Today” ran an “exclusive” interview with Sheen this morning.

But wait, you may be asking. Wasn’t Sheen on “Today” Monday and Tuesday? And didn’t ABC’s “Good Morning America” run clips from an interview Monday? And didn’t he appear live on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight” Monday? And didn’t he do a live video interview on TMZ.com Monday? And Didn’t he do a live interview on Howard Stern‘s show Tuesday? And didn’t ABC air a one-hour interview special Tuesday night?

Yes, Sheen did all of those things… but none were live in the morning, ergo, EXCLUSIVE.

The interview was the first conducted since Sheen’s children were taken from his custody by police, so there were new things for “Rockstar” reporter Jeff Rossen to ask him about.

Video of Sheen’s interview is after the jump.

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