Fmr NYC Mayor David Dinkins, FNC Chairman Roger Ailes and the Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Ailes Apprenticeship Program graduation

This morning a 12th floor studio at Fox News Channel hosted the commencement ceremony of the Ailes Apprenticeship Program. Established by Fox News co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes in 2003, the program selects a small, diverse group of candidates and puts them through the rigors of working in a news environment, paring them with seasoned mentors. And unlike Donald Trump‘s apprentices, at the end of the year-long program, all Ailes apprentices get hired.

Today’s ceremony was emceed by FNC anchor Bill Hemmer and the keynote speaker was the Rev. Jesse Jackson who admitted, “I’m quite nervous. I’m a lamb and I’ve come to the lion,” as he looked towards Ailes. Ailes tells TVNewser he’s known Jackson for decades and has kept up “a backchannel conversation for years.”

Jackson called Ailes, “a tough-minded, caring individual,” who is “preparing leaders for the diverse world in which we live.”

Speakers included world-renowned mathematician, Mexico City-born Hewlett-Packard researcher Dr. Pano Santos talked about his mentors: Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard; and Capt. Gail Harris who at her retirement was the highest-ranking African-American woman in the U.S. Navy told the four graduates they need to now be mentors for the next generation. Also participating, Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner who joked, “if you have not been inspired by today’s remarks, you must be sleeping.”

After the ceremony, we spent a half hour in Ailes office talking about a range of issues including election night, his re-signing with Fox News, whether he entertained any offers from CNN for their top job and about what the Apprenticeship Program means for his legacy.

“I don’t care about my legacy,” Ailes says. “It’s too late. My enemies will create it and they’ll push it. What I care about however… what I want to do is expand” the program. “If every company did this, could you imagine what that’d do to minority unemployment and success?”

More from our Q&A after the jump, and in subsequent posts…

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It is 4 o’ clock or so, and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews has just taken the stage/set that MSNBC erected in the shopping center. The crowd, around 150 strong, starts erupting into wild cheers, save for one older gentleman towards the back of the throng, who was booing very loudly.

Matthews was just taping a brief live-shot, but the crowd was excited. Even as it started to rain (and it really started to rain, watch the video below) a few dozen people stayed in their spots right behind the anchor desk, simply putting up their umbrellas, while the crew covered the equipment with tarps and closed off the set with plastic.

Finally, at 4:50, the main event began. Matthews again emerged from MSNBC’s workspace and walked to the set, and again there were cheers. Also getting loud cheers when they appeared on stage: Jesse Jackson, Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and NBC’s Chuck Todd. Yes, this was clearly a wonky crowd.

As “Hardball” continued through the 5 PM hour, the crowd outside seemed to keep growing, swelling to about 400 on the three levels of the EpiCentre that overlook the stage. “Who is that?” one woman asked her friend as they walked by. “Oh, I think it’s Chris O’Donnell,” said her friend, who meant to say Lawrence O’Donnell.

Towards the end of the hour, some of Bloomberg TV folks decided to have a little fun. As rain again

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“I’ve known Rev. Sharpton for over a decade and have tremendous respect for him,” said MSNBC president Phil Griffin in a statement. “I’m thrilled that he’s now reached a point in his career where he’s able to devote himself to hosting a nightly show.”

The announcement comes a month after Cenk Ugyur, who had been filling in on the 6pm hour since January excoriated the network for not making him the permanent host.

A presence on television for more than two decades, mostly for his work as a civil rights activist, this will be Sharpton’s first regular TV hosting job. But he does not come without baggage (but then, neither did this guy).

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“This” refers to Oprah Winfrey‘s live appearance Friday, when Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, and the gang descended on the Windy City for a live broadcast.  Booking the Queen of all media was two years in the making, dating back to Licht approaching her at a New York gala.

“And I literally went up to her,” he told TVNewser in Chicago, “and I knew she watched the show, and I said, ‘You’ve got to do the show.’  And she said, ‘I promise you, I will do the show.’”

Oprah was true to her word.  And she was joined on the program by a veritable Windy City who’s who at the RL Restaurant, including David Axelrod, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, former Playboy chairman and CEO Christie Hefner, Rev. Jesse Jackson, CNBC’s Rick Santelli. Crammed into the main dining room was a makeshift ’set’, plus tables and chairs where VIP guests watched the show.

We chatted with Joe and Mika after the show. Our video includes a special cameo from NBC News president Steve Capus on the subject of the recent Comcast takeover of NBC.

Breakfast was served for attendees, some of whom arrived so early they were also in the house for “Way Too Early”, which Willie Geist anchored live from RL starting at 4:30amCT.  For Geist, the Chicago trip was a homecoming: he was born in suburban Evanston, and lived

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Other guests include Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), former White House adviser and now returning Chicago resident, David Axelrod, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Vanity Fair special correspondent Maureen Orth, and her son, NBC News correspondent Luke Russert.

More in the press release after the jump…

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We spoke to CNN’s Candy Crowley who was looking forward to sharing the table with Kathy Griffin, but thought the crowd noise might be a problem. She told us, “I’m worried I won’t be able to hear her… Oh wait, what am I saying?”

CNN’s main table had Griffin, Crowley, John King, and Dana Bash as well as King’s invited guest: Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA). TVNewser, was a guest of CNN and at the table next to us, we spotted the Fox Newsers Brit Hume and Bret Baier, fresh from his interview with the president. Also, RNC Chair Michael Steele, and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Meanwhile, former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and the Rev. Jesse Jackson brushed past each other nearby. Miss America was even there.

Pres. Obama sent a funny taped message apologizing to the crowd of media industry pros who he characterized as “following me incessantly and waiting for me to screw up.”

Vice President Joe Biden appeared in place of the president and delivered a handful of hit-or-miss zingers. He told the story of St. Patrick who chased the snakes from Ireland, and said, “There were no snakes. He made that up. That’s why he’s the patron saint of Fox News.” Biden joked that “the only media outlet that ever gave me a fair shake in this town was Amtrak Magazine.”

CBS News’ Bill Plante presented the Joan S. Barone award to NPR. While BBC News correspondent Lyse Doucet was presented the David Bloom Award for her reporting in Afghanistan.

Comedian Joe Wong was the evening’s entertainment and made some new fans in the crowd. Afterward, TVNewser stopped by the “BBC World News America” party where everyone from David Shuster to Wolf Blitzer to a stylin’ Roland Martin were enjoying themselves.

FishbowlDC’s Betsy Rothstein was invited to the Fox News pre-party and has the full scoop on that bash.

In between bites we pulled out the FlipCam. See how many newsers you can spot:

• More photos after the jump….

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But what was not included in the NBC clip was Leno joking about MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer who last week introduced Al Sharpton, when she was really talking to Jesse Jackson.

“Even worse than that,” Leno joked, “after he told her I’m Jesse Jackson, she said, “Are you the one that’s between Jermaine and Tito?”

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One problem: Brewer was interviewing the Rev. Jesse Jackson. And he made her aware of that fact.

“I’m Rev. Jesse Jackson.”

“Right. I’m so sorry,” said Brewer. “The script in front of me said Rev. Al Sharpton. I’m looking at your face. I know who you are, Rev. Jackson, we all do. I’m sorry.”

Clip after the jump…

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And since it’s the holiday season, we included a little thank you in parentheses to the sites that made these page views possible.

1. January 4 — Beck Surgery Goes Horribly Awry — 907,286 (Drudge)

2. July 16 — Breaking: What Else Jesse Jackson Said on That FNC Tape — 366,611 (Drudge)

3. February 8 — Shuster Suspended For Pimped Out Comment — 334,182 (Drudge)

4. January 28 — Clinton Cancels on the Cablers — 214,524 (Drudge)

5. October 16 — Glenn Beck To Join Fox News Channel — 167,721 (Glennbeck.com)

6. May 28 — May Ratings: FNC Stays on Top — 76,480 (Drudge)

7. May 27 — Couric to Make Major Announcement on Today — 60,999 (Drudge)

8. November 23, 2007 — Glenn Beck’s Road Ahead: “A Doctor Told Me, ‘You Keep Treating Your Body Like This, You’ll Be Dead in 6 Months’” — 57,060 (TVNewser link from #1)

9. March 15 — Laurie Dhue Leaves FNC — 47,113 (Fark, HotAir)

10. February 8 — “Pimped Out” Comment Could Jeopardize Dem Debate on MSNBC — 46,892 (TVNewser link from #3)

• TVNewser’s Top 10 of 2007

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D.L. Hughley Breaks the News is CNN’s newest, and most unique, programming. The 10pmET show airs Saturday and Sunday, and moves between serious interviews and lighter ones, comedy sketches and more serious monologues by Hughley.

During Friday’s taping, the usual exit poll location for Soledad O’Brien and Bill Schneider was replaced with a green screen and an actor dressed as George Washington for a fake hologram segment. Interviews ranged from a group of Kenyan comedians, to actor/comedian Tim Reid to Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Within the interviews there were serious and comedy elements — amid Jackson, Jr.’s answer about how he’d be “honored” to named Pres.-Elect Barack Obama‘s replacement for U.S. Senate, he joked, “I’m willing to bet I’m one of the few United States Senators, if appointed, to ever be willing to even do your show!”

The show is taped in segments, which leads to a portion of downtime. Comedian Corwin Moore warms up the crowd between blocks. “It’s bizarre, but its fun and exciting,” he says of working on the CNN show. “It’s not one thing for me. I’m just amazed to see his face on the monitor.”

Hughley, who called Tuesday’s election “the most emotional thing I’ve ever been a part of,” is relishing the opportunity. “I enjoy it a lot. As long as people are watching we’re going to keep doing it,” he said.

And people are. The show regularly gets more than 600,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo and 1.4 million Total Viewers, putting it in competition on a nightly basis as the top prime time weekend program.

“For an organization not build to do a comedy show, CNN has been fantastic,” says the show’s EP, Mitch Semel.

It does have its critics as well, with some saying it “reinforces black stereotypes.” Semel says it’s not for everyone. “Good comedy doesn’t do that,” he said. “It’s very much like him doing his act on stage. Just remember, it’s a comedy show.”

(pictured top right: comedian/actor Donnell Rawlings (who appears on the show), Hughley and stage manager Bruce)

Click continued to see the interview with Jackson, Jr. from last weekend’s show…

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Schieffer follows up the Sunday Morning piece by anchoring Face the Nation live from Denver. His guests include Gov. Ed Rendell, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and one-time VP shortlister Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

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The hip-hop star (left) joined about 50 protesters, (less than another anti-FNC protest in 2004) from two organizations: ColorofChange.org and MoveOn.org who called on the network to, “stop its racist smears against the Obamas and other Black Americans.”

Also in attendance — more than 620,000 signed petitions. Andre Banks, deputy director of Color of Change, told TVNewser the plan was to bring the boxes in one by one, but in the end, “They refused to accept the petitions. They just don’t want to hear it.”

The protesters stood quietly for about an hour until Nas appeared, most holding pre-made or hand-made signs. Many Fox News employees came to check out the scene, including Red Eye host Greg Gutfeld and some of the show’s staff. “This is quite possibly the most boring protest ever,” he told us.

But that was before Nas arrived. The hip-hop star emerged from an SUV to a flutter of cameras, made his way to the front of the protesters and gave a short speech, before heading back into the SUV.

A Fox News spokesperson tells TVNewser, “Fox News believes in all protesters exercising their right to free speech, including Nas, who has an album to promote.”

About 15 minutes after leaving, Nas returned, and he had something to say.

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“The best way in measuring success in wooing the Latino community, is the Dobbs-O-Meter,” he said. “The angrier [Lou] Dobbs gets, the better you are doing.”

And with the presumptive presidential nominees speaking to Latino voters recently, the Dobbs-O-Meter was ready to explode.

And on an unrelated note — how does Jesse Jackson‘s “Nut Hibachi” come into play?

Click continued to see the opening segment of The Daily Show (with the Dobbs-O-Meter kicking in around 6:00)…

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On The Early Show, CBS’s Harry Smith, interviewing Rev. Al Sharpton, called the comment “disheartening.” Sharpton agreed:

I think that we have to be consistent. We have denounced the N-word at the National Action Network and other groups. Those of us, and many of us, who have used it privately said we must refrain from it if we’re going to challenge people using it publicly. You must be consistent and I think this is very disappointing.

Jackson responded with a statement last night:

I am deeply saddened and distressed by the pain and sorrow that I have caused as a result of my hurtful words. I apologize again to Sen. Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, their children as well as to the American public. There really is no justification for my comments and I hope that the Obama family and the American public will forgive me. I also pray that we, as a nation, can move on to address the real issues that affect the American people.

The situation even brought tears to the eyes of one of the hosts of The View this morning. And
Bill O’Reilly, whose program was the first to air other portions of the tape last Wednesday, appeared On the Record with Greta Van Susteren last night to discuss the fallout.

Click continued to see the segment (via Johnny Dollar)…

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Today, on Shepard Smith‘s program, O’Reilly confirmed, “It’s one word, a disparaging word.”

“N-word?” asked Smith. “Yeah, and it’s trash-talking,” said O’Reilly.

O’Reilly went on to explain why his show didn’t originally play the full tape: “I’m not in the business of hurting Jesse Jackson, because it does hurt Jesse Jackson. And I’m not in the business of creating some kind of controversy that is not relevant to the general subject: one civil rights leader disparaging another, over policy. So we held it back.”

Then he turned his attention to the person who tipped off TVNewser. “Some weasel leaked it to the internet,” he said. “That person wants to hurt Jesse Jackson.”

And what about the setting Jackson went to give his first response to the tape?

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