25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 316 | MSNBC: 97 | CNN: 162 | HLN: 134

• Primetime: FNC: 424 | MSNBC: 171 | CNN: 207 | HLN: 178

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Media bias and the press were the subject of two big segments on cable news last night. On FNC’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” Bill O’Reilly sent producer Jesse Watters went to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where he asked attendees whether there was bias in the media. Al Roker, Les Moonves, Bob Schieffer, Chris Matthews and Piers Morgan were all among his “victims.”

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On MSNBC ‘s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell,” the MSNBC host made the White House press corps the subject of his ire. In a lengthy, 16-minute (!) segment, O’Donnell argued that for the American reporters, the conferences “are more about the press than the President.”

WATCH:
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April 2013 was a big news month, but while some of MSNBC’s dayside news programs saw ratings bumps, overall the network was flat or down compared to 2012 in both primetime and total day.

The ratings for April, 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 682K Total Viewers / 234K A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 406K Total Viewers / 139K A25-54

Compared to April 2012 MSNBC was down -10% in total viewers and -1% in adults 25-54 in primetime. In total day, MSNBC was down -4% in total viewers and was flat in the demo. That said, coverage of the Boston bombing (and subsequent manhunt) on CNN and the Jodi Arias trial on HLN led to the channel placing fourth in the demo in total day for the month.

During dayside, MSNBC actually some substantial growth, with every show from 9AM-2PM up in both total and demo viewers. The most “Andrea Mitchell Reports” was up +14% in total viewers and +47% in the demo, while 12PM’s “Now” was up +16% in total viewers and +19% in the demo. “Martin Bashir” was up at 4 PM, improving +6% in total viewers and +41% in the demo.

The only MSNBC shows to be down in both total and demo viewers were “Morning Joe” (down -6% and -14%, respectively) , “PoliticsNation” at 6 PM (-15% and -11%, respectively), and 10PM, which is “The Last Word” and long-form docs (-8% and -6%, respectively).

Some shows, like “Hardball,” and “The Cycle” were down in total viewers but up in the demo.

Las Vegas magician and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Penn Jillette appeared on Glenn Beck‘s TheBlaze TV this week. Jillette, a libertarian who is as comfortable with the Hollywood set as he is with Republicans like Donald Trump, is good friends with MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell.

O’Donnell, it turns out, really wants to meet Beck:

“He said, you know, ‘I would love to sit down with Glenn Beck and talk privately.’ He said, ‘We have a lot in common.’ And he went on and on like that, then said, ‘but you know, with our jobs and where we are it will probably never happen.’”

Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC president Phil Griffin and the UAE’s Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba threw a 50th birthday bash for Joe Scarborough last night in Washington, DC.

According to Politico, Scarborough thought they were coming to D.C. for a speech, instead, on the rooftop of 101 Constitution Ave., Scarborough was treated to a “this is your life” with friends and family. “We have your life covered here completely, from Boston to Los Angeles to Florida to New York to Washington. Everybody is here,” said Brzezinski.

“You can sit back and relax and just hang with your family because, actually, we are going to talk tonight — and you’re not going to say a word.”

Among the guests: NBC/MSNBC’s Willie Geist, David Gregory, Luke Russert, Mike Barnicle, Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O’Donnell and Lawrence O’Donnell. “Morning Joe” EP Alex Korson and former EP Chris Licht and Licht’s boss’s boss at CBS, Jeff Fager. Also, Walter Isaacson, Dan Senor, Nicolle Wallace, Bob Woodward and more.

(h/t Playbook)

MSNBC continued as the number two cable news network in the first quarter of 2013, second only to Fox News in both Total Day and primetime. But like the competition, MSNBC is down across the board compared to the year-ago quarter.

The ratings for Q1 2013 (Nielsen Live + Same Day data):

• Primetime (Mon-Sun): 755,000 Total Viewers / 225,000 A25-54
• Total Day (Mon-Sun): 431,000 Total Viewers / 141,000 A25-54

In Total Day, MSNBC leads CNN by just +29,000 Total Viewers and +19,000 A25-54 viewers. In primetime, MSNBC’s lead gets slightly wider: +165,000 Total Viewers and +51,000 A25-54 viewers.

Compared to the Q1 2012, MSNBC was down -6% in Total Viewers and down -1% in A25-54 viewers in Total Day. In primetime, the network was down -8% and -4%, respectively. Ratings for the cable news networks got a boost in Q1 2012 from debates and primaries during the Presidential election cycle.

It was a mixed bag for the network in primetime compared to the year-ago quarter. Ed Schultz‘s program, which is moving to weekends this month, was down -11% in Total Viewers and -4% in the demo. (Note: percentages are based on a blend of Live +7 and Live +3 data.) “The Rachel Maddow Show” was down -3% in Total Viewers but up +5% in A25-54 viewers, while “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” was up +2% and flat, respectively.

MSNBC grew among younger viewers in its late afternoon programming: “The Cycle” was up +13%, Martin Bashir‘s program was up +41% and “Hardball with Chris Matthews” was up +17% compared to Q1 2012.

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MSNBC’s Chris Hayes would like to see more hosts of color on the cable networks – including his own.

“It’s a problem,” says Hayes, a lifelong Caucasian. “People’s opinions, interpretations of news, journalistic instincts, editorial concerns are the product of the people they are, the experiences they have, the way they move through the world.

“It’s why organizations, companies, the Senate, the U.S. Supreme Court benefit from diversity. … Diversity produces people with a specificity in their world view, and it benefits the product.”

Hayes’ product, ‘All In with Chris Hayes,’ debuts Monday in the 8 p.m. slot formerly occupied by Ed Schultz. Rachel Maddow (Hayes’ mentor) follows at 9, with Lawrence O’Donnell at 10.

It is a Murderers’ Row of liberal brainiacs. It is also, like the prime-time lineups at CNN and Fox News, blindingly white – a state of affairs to which Hayes says he has given “obsessive thought.”

Diversity is his top priority, he says. ‘All In’ will feature a wide variety of guests, especially conservatives. Hayes followed the same practice on his MSNBC weekend show, ‘Up with Chris Hayes,’ which debuted in 2011.

“I can’t control my gender, race or sexual orientation,” says Hayes. (He and his wife, law professor Kate A. Shaw, have an 18-month-old daughter.) “I can control who we have on and what voices we introduce to viewers.”

Those voices will be streamlined on ‘All In,’ Hayes says. Discussions will run up to 17 minutes, less than half as long as the marathons on his two-hour ‘Up.’

“I want to create a show that a lot of people watch, and produce really good TV,” says Hayes, who never met a complex sentence he didn’t like. “I want it to be high-quality journalism – compelling, dynamic and addictive.”

Hayes’ admiration of Maddow borders on hero worship. She gave Hayes his first shot as a guest anchor.

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25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 255 | MSNBC: 104 | CNN: 106 | HLN: 163

• Primetime: FNC: 346 | MSNBC: 160 | CNN: 96 | HLN: 152

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MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell is interviewed by Salon. The interview focuses on O’Donnell’s cameo in the new movie “Olympus Has Fallen,” and segues into his scripted TV past and cable news present. O’Donnell plays himself working at a fictional TV news channel in the movie. When asked why he says yes to appearing in films, O’Donnell replied:

Because I miss show business so desperately that I will do anything short of pornography at this point to hang around sets and have fun.

Sets are really fun workplaces and everyone there is creative and energetic. These are the most creative electricians in the world. They’re not the electricians who come to your house. They’re the most creative carpenters, the most creative carpenters, writers, directors, directors of photography: there’s a great spirit to a film set that is unique in American workplaces by far. And it is the most fun I’ve had in my professional life.

He was also asked whether he had any advice for his new primetime colleague Chris Hayes:
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MSNBC president Phil Griffin talks to The Daily Beast’s Lloyd Grove about this week’s primetime shakeup at the channel. Ed Schultz will move to the weekends next month, while Chris Hayes will take over the 8 PM slot. Griffin says that the move was, in fact, Schultz’s idea.

“This began with Ed coming to me,” Griffin insisted. “And I will tell you that Ed has an incredible following in the network… Ed and I were talking about his contract, and Ed is a very sharp guy. He said he wanted to be here long-term … He wanted to spend more time in Minnesota. I said, ‘Well, Ed, I am extending the weekend. I need someone for 5 to 7. It’s critical. It’s going to be as important as 8 to 10 [on weeknights].’ And he came back to me and said, ‘I want to do that long-term.’ ”

He also weighs in on what Hayes’ new program will look like:
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