John Seigenthaler, the former NBC Nightly News weekend anchor, was watching the debate the other night on CNN. He was at first enthralled, then exhausted by CNN’s Perception Analyzer, those focus group dials that generate lines at the bottom of the screen representing the feelings of real voters, in real time. Seigenthaler’s wife said she “hated” it. Which may be why he was so interested in following its every move Tuesday night. Until:

While I wasn’t seeking to bond with a few undecided voters from Ohio over candidate nose scratching, I found myself caring what their responses said about ME when I didn’t agree with them.

I was self-consciously mesmerized via a non-scientific gizmo operated by a voting group too small for statistical validation. And this torture was on CNN? The Perception Analyzer had crossed the line from seductive to annoying to exhausting. Couldn’t CNN have waited to share till after the debate was over?

This wasn’t news. This isn’t news. This is pure political entertainment.

John Seigenthaler, who was one of the original anchors at MSNBC and went on to anchor the weekend editions of NBC Nightly News, is joining his family’s public relations firm, based in Nashville.

Seigenthaler has joined Seigenthaler Public Relations Inc. as partner and CEO of the New York office. “For both professional and personal reasons I look forward to helping lead this company that bears my family name,” Seigenthaler said in a statement. “I had the great opportunity to serve as a network anchor and journalist during a period when television provided most of our citizens most of their information.

“That media landscape has changed dramatically with the magnetic pull of the Internet, and the movement toward convergence. The transition offers those of us with professional communications skills and experience to serve new constituencies in fascinating ways.”

Seigenthaler is the son of legendary journalist John Seigenthaler, Sr. whose brother, Tom, started Seigenthaler Public Relations in 1972. His cousin, Beth Seigenthaler Courtney, is chairman and CEO.