MSNBC contributor David Axelrod criticized CBS News’ Bob Schieffer this morning, taking issue with the “Face the Nation” host’s stance on the Obama administration’s handling of the press and the DOJ investigations of the media.

Schieffer criticized the administration’s communications policy on “Face the Nation” this week, noting the show has to go through the White House press office to arrange on-camera interviews with anyone “from the lowest-level worker to a top White House official.”

“So I am glad the President has asked the Attorney General to review whether his investigations into leaks is having a chilling effect on journalists,” Schieffer said. “But it shouldn’t stop there. The president needs to rethink his entire communications policy, top to bottom. It is hurting his credibility and shortchanging the public.”

On “Morning Joe” this morning, Axelrod said while “the notion of naming a journalist as a co-conspirator for receiving information is something I find disturbing,” it should be separate from the issue of press access.

“The notion that the public should be concerned or disturbed, or that the taxpayer’s being cheated because Bob can’t book the guests he wants, I’m unsympathetic to that,” Axelrod said. Watch:

As they promised they would, activists took aim at MSNBC at the Comcast shareholders meeting, forcing CEO Brian Roberts to respond.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Paul Bond has some of the details:

“If you sit back and think about it,” said Borelli, “why would a conservative person in any state want their money to go pay for Al Sharpton’s salary? Have you contemplated the damage that MSNBC and its biased coverage is doing to the overall Comcast business?”

Roberts didn’t buy the premise, given all of the distributors – Time Warner Cable, Dish Network, DirecTV, Verizon, AT&T – that carry MSNBC.

“Ultimately, I think, giving diversity of voices has been what cable has stood for all these years, whether it’s one side or another, so I don’t think in the long run it will change the trajectory of Comcast cable,” Roberts said.

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The Associated Press is “distressed” after the Justice Department secretly seized two months of phone records of its reporters and editors, including those of former CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier. AP executive editor Kathleen Carroll was on “Morning Joe” today to talk about the seizure, which the AP called a “‘massive and unprecedented intrusion’ into how news organizations gather the news.”

“I’ve been in this business more than 30 years. And our first amendment lawyers, and our lawyers inside the AP, and our CEO is also a well-known first amendment lawyer — none of us have ever seen anything like this,” Carroll said. Watch:

MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry was on FX’s “Totally Biased” on Thursday, where she talked to host W. Kamau Bell about the Cleveland hero Charles Ramsey, and of course politics.

WATCH:

If you watch “Morning Joe” you may already know this, but Mika Brzezinski is obsessed. Now she’s written a book — her third — about one particular obsession: America’s food addiction, and her own.

Brzezinski was feted at a book launch event last evening overlooking Central Park, where her morning partner Joe Scarborough described the root of Mika’s obsession: “If you know the Brzezinski family, you know why she has the issues she has,” Scarborough joked. “They are crazy, brilliant, and always striving for perfection.”

In “Obsessed” Brzezinski describes her history of food obsession, distorted body image and her struggle to be thin. It is dedicated to her two teenage daughters, Emilie and Carlie. “Girls, this book is for you,” Brzezinski said in her remarks as she asked them to “get off Snapchat and come forward.”

“I don’t want it to take 30 years for you to realize what it has taken me to realize.”

In the crowed, we spotted NBC’s Willie Geist, iVillage’s Kelly Wallace, CBS’s Leslie Stahl, MSNBC President Phil Griffin and CBS News chairman Jeff Fager. The “Morning Joe” crew was there including EP Alex Korson and former EP, now CBS News VP of programming Chris Licht. Also, Donny Deutsch, Joy Behar, Tina Brown and Sir Harold Evans.

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This morning starting at 11:30, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing on what exactly happened during the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya that resulted in the deaths of four people, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya.

Fox News and CNN are planning live coverage of the hearings, with CNN bringing in Jake Tapper, Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer and Arwa Damon to join the coverage. Fox News will have Bret Baier, Congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel, chief Washington correspondent James Rosen and Fox News contributor and Amb. John Bolton contributing.

Interestingly enough, it is quite likely that the Sunday public affairs shows will be part of the story. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice appeared on the network Sunday shows and argued that the attack was spontaneous and not premeditated. That now appears not to be the case, and some State Department officials say they knew that all along.

Elsewhere, The Washington Post profiles CBS News correspondent Sharyl Atkisson as “a persistent voice of media skepticism on Benghazi.”
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Believe it or not there was a Congressional race last night. The race–largely inconsequential in terms of affecting legislation–nonetheless became national news, as the Democratic candidate, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, is the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert, while the Republican candidate was disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford.

It was a close race, but Sanford topped Colbert Busch to take the seat.

According to TVEyes CNN projected the race for Sanford at 8:31, MSNBC called it for Sanford citing the AP at 8:35, while Fox News cited the AP right at 9 PM, as “Hannity” began. Update: FNC did note the victory in a ticker text update at 8:39, citing the AP.

“Hannity” didn’t dwell on the race until midway through the show (when Karl Rove appeared to talk about), only saying at the top that Sanford “easily” topped Colbert, adding later on that she might have had a shot if not for her “goofy, liberal” brother. MSNBC announced the news by referring to Sanford as “scandal-plagued,” and that Colbert Busch faced an “uphill climb” against the former Governor.

Anderson Cooper ended up correcting something he said when he first announced Sanford’s win:

“Earlier I said he resigned as Governor after news broke of his extramarital affair,” Cooper said. “I want to correct that, he did serve out his term.”

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CNBC’s Brian Shactman is moving to MSNBC. Starting Monday, he’ll host “Way Too Early” the network’s 5:30m show. “I’m just extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity and i’ll be there between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. if anyone wants to say hello,” Schactman said on “Morning Joe” today. Willie Geist, who now co-anchors the “Today” show’s 9am hour, was the original host of “Way Too Early.”

More: Official announcement after the jump…

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Three women, missing for years, and presumed gone forever. A dramatic rescue, with a very–memorable–rescuer.

For TV news bookers, particularly those on the network morning shows, it is a dream come true. The surprising story broke late last night out of Cleveland, as Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were freed, with some help by Charles Ramsey, whose 911 call and interviews spread around the Internet like wildfire.

One morning show source says that “the race is on” to try and book the girls, as well as Ramsey, who may require a seven second delay should he appear in a live interview.

On TV last night, the story played out primarily on CNN, which covered it almost non-stop since it broke in the 8 PM hour. CNN ended up going live until 1 AM covering the story. Fox News first broke in at 9:47 Pm during “Hannity, and continued covering it during the 10 PM hour with “On the Record”, with MSNBC also providing some coverage during “The Last Word,” according to TvEyes.

This morning the story led the morning shows, and is dominating the coverage on cable news.

After the jump, video of an interview with Ramsey conducted by the local ABC affiliate.
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MSNBC.com is staffing up ahead of a major relaunch later this year. The relaunched site will focus on the world of politics and the personalities that populate MSNBC’s programming. There will also, however, be plenty of political news and information.

To that end, the channel is adding a number of reporters, including Talking Points Memo’s Benjy Sarlin, who joins as a political reporter in Washington, The Washington Post‘s Suzy Khimm, who joins as a reporter at “All In,” and Rothenberg Political Reports’ Jessica Taylor, who joins the team of “The Daily Rundown” and NBC Politics. Other additions include Adam Serwer as a national reporter focusing on civil rights issues, Amy Pereira as director of photography, Jason Fields as director of design, Emma Margolin, Evan Puschak and Michele Richinick.

MSNBC.com executive editor Richard Wolffe‘s memo to staff is below.
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