First MSNBC beat CNN in primetime in the 25-54 demographic on Monday. Then it happened again on Wednesday. Then it happened again on Thursday. (And on Friday, MSNBC was 4,000 demo viewers shy of CNN.) Then it happened again on Saturday. And, just to rub it in, it happened again on Sunday.

Is it an aberration, or is it a trend? One thing's for sure: it's a morale booster for MSNBC. The perenially third-place cable news net beat CNN in the demo in primetime three of out of five weekdays, and five out of seven days, last week.

Yes, MSNBC's wins were slight -- CNN was usually within a few thousand demo viewers of MS in primetime. But the mere fact that Countdown, Scarborough Country and the Doc Block are competing against Paula Zahn, Larry King and Anderson Cooper must be striking fear into the hearts of CNN Center and Time Warner Center.

> Also: MSNBC beat CNN in the demo in total day on Friday. That hasn't happened on a weekday since March...