Fox News Specialists? Not!

Unless “Specialists” is an FNC euphemism for “not so special” Five. On the positive side, it was Fox News Specialists co-hosts Eric Bolling, Eboni Williams, and Katherine Timpf‘s virgin show so they and the producers may have a honeymoon to work out the kinks with viewers who are accustomed to a livelier, sexier, and, quite frankly, much sharper The Five (which, thankfully, will air at 9:00 p.m. tonight to redeem its replacement).

The first thing that caught the author’s eye was the pretentious new solid circular desk that seemed to be designed to suggest a certain Sunday morning news gravitas with the co-anchors safely ensconced behind it: No much needed “leg chair” there today to spice up the show a la The Five at the five o’clock hour! As to the their heralded “specialists” guests, billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Showtime’s “The Circus” co-producer and co-host Mark McKinnon, they were not bad, and they provided their usual political perspectives: But, one can see them as guests oft on almost any FNC show of note.

There were no scintillating debates as one would expect on The Five or even on Outnumbered: Sadly, it felt like merely time filler for this FNC viewer. Hopefully, the show was not a harbinger of what is to come for the inaptly named Fox News Specialists or the network itself as it seems to be transmogrifying from Rupert Murdoch’s juggernaut FNC to his sons James and Lachlan’s “gentler and kinder” Fox News.

“The Fox News Specialists” needs to up its game as does Fox News or its rumored future more conservative rival may do what CNN and MSNBC have not been able to do thus far, i.e., take it down a notch or two.

As the show concluded, McKinnon said, “Five o’clock will never be the same again.” The author fears that he might just be right.

“The Fox News Specialists”: Really?

Five O’Clock Somewhere might strike a more resonant chord with long-time Five fans whose show has moved to prime time (9 p.m. ET). The Five‘s replacement show as of Monday (May 1), “Fox News Specialists,” sounds somewhat supercilious at best and downright condescending to faithful, informed FNC viewers who probably know almost as much or possibly even more than the newly named co-hosts Eric Bolling, Eboni Williams, and Katherine Timpf.

Eric deserves the five o’clock slot if anyone does: Eric has held the Five center seat with distinction and promoted The Five diurnally by pointing to his left hand with all five “fingers” (including his thumb) extended at the end of virtually every show–not to mention, he’s a smart cookie who also anchors Cashin’ In on Saturday mornings (11:30 a.m. ET). As for Eboni, she’s has been a regular on Outnumbered who has a sharp legal mind, good common sense, and distinct feminine pulchritude. As to Katherine, she is smart and sexy, too, but she can be annoying with her millennial snark as she frequently has evidenced on Red Eye and the Greg Gutfeld Show.

“News Specialists” sounds more like an obnoxious MSNBC show that might be hosted by Mika Brzezenski  of Morning Joe who infamously said, “[Trump] is trying to undermine the media and trying to make up his own facts. He could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think. That is our job.”

Eric, Eboni, and Katherine, it’s not Mika’s job, and it’s not your job. As you all well know, your job is to report and to let your audience decide. And, when you and your colleagues do it well, every viewer is a “Fox News Specialist.”

Break a leg! Hopefully, it’s “five o’clock somewhere”!

Eric Bolling: I Admit This!

“I watch them in the morning: I’m a very faithful viewer [of Mika and Joe]!” Sorry, Fox & Friends co-hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt, and Brian Kilmeade, Fox News The Five co-host Eric Bolling is cheating on you in the early morn–and he is doing it with MSNBC’s Morning Joe‘s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough!

The Five co-host Eric Bolling let the cat out of the bag on Outnumbered as the “One Lucky Guy” today when he was discussing Mika’s emotional response to President Trump’s claim that former President Obama spied on him during a segment moderated by The Five co-anchor Meghan McCain. Airing a vid of Mika tearfully exclaiming, “I don’t know how anybody can defend this President even if it’s their job….[T]his is not funny! This is really bad! Just for the record, we’re all really nervous! So, if people out there feel nervous, we do, too!”*

Turning to her right, Meghan said, “Eric, I’m going to go to you first. I just want to make reference to the fact that Mika and Joe were present at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s, hanging out with President Trump a mere less than two months ago–didn’t seem too nervous and freaked out then.”

In response, Eric concurred, “That’s right! And, they were also, ah, allegedly at one of the primaries in the Trumps’ hotel room as well.”  Coming clean, Eric stammered, “So, they, they, I admit this: I watch them in the morning. I’m a very faithful viewer!”

A “very faithful viewer” of Mika and Joe! Guess Eric needs to go to Father Jonathan Morris for confession when he lights his next candle. Hopefully, he will not only be forgiven by Father Jon but also by his colleagues, Ainsley, Steve, and Brian. Time to repent for “your sin” of being unfaithful, Eric!

*Outnumbered – 03/07/17 (@ 12:51 p.m. ET).

F&FW’s Juliet Huddy: Mika in the Mirror?

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity! Former Fox & Friends Weekend anchor Juliet Huddy returned to the curvy couch this past weekend looking as if she were ready to retake her throne. With notably no mention of F&FW‘s new co-host “for now” Anna Koiman, Juliet welcomed her fans back to a four-hour session as the mistress du jour of the house. Taking a page out of Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski’s sexy feature in Vanity Fair, a freshly shorn, plump-lipped Juliet sported a sassy new do that actually mirrored Mika’s short puffy blond coif (i.e., swept to the left side of her face) and swathed herself in a similar sexy sleeveless, short dress tailor-made for a saucy table dance.

“New and improved”: Juliet Huddy 4.0. Trying to pull off a second F&FW run? Juliet, it ain’t easy being Aly!

[Author’s aside: Juliet flashed her connubial bling anew this past weekend: Apparently, her fortunes have recently improved.]

Prime-Time Megyn: “Hannity & Kelly”?

Roger Ailes’ “Minor Change”? In an exclusive Thursday, the Drudge Report reported that Fox News was “set to make its first primetime schedule change in 10 years” and that “superstar newswoman Megyn Kelly [had] landed the 9 PM slot” according to its top sources. When asked about that “rumor” by Fox News’s Neil Cavuto, FNC chief Roger Ailes responded, “Well, generally, I don’t confirm or deny any rumors….However, Megyn has earned a better time period: She’ll be in our prime-time lineup. But, I must quickly say that all of our stars will be back: We have new deals with (Sean) Hannity and Greta (Van Susteren) and Shep(ard Smith).” Noticing Ailes’ obvious omission, Cavuto quizzically commented, “So, it sounds to me like (Bill) O’Reilly‘s gone: Mischievously, Ailes answered, “Yep, he’s finished, that’s it! No, I’m just kidding.”*

According to New York Times columnist Bill Carter, the prevailing speculation is that Megyn will get her own hour and Sean Hannity will move to the 7:00 p.m. slot (replacing Fox Report with Shepard Smith) and Shep will move to an afternoon hour. However, in his Cavuto interview, Ailes himself cryptically remarked, “We have a great roster of talent: I am making a few minor changes….You have to choose well in the first place and have the guts to stay with people who can do the job. And, that’s what I try to do.”** Furthermore, he reportedly explained, “One of my jobs is to get the best audience flow between shows and that’s one of the reason[s] I’m making a few changes right now.”***

And, that very audience of Ailes in both prime-time and full-day ratings “has had a median age of 65-plus (according to the aforementioned NYT author). If the anecdotal observation that older people tend to be resistant to change is true, Ailes would do well to only “[make] a few minor changes” as he seeks to facilitate the “best audience flow” of his hyper-loyal older viewers (and tries  to attract a younger demographic at the same time). Creating three new shows for Megyn, Hannity, and Shep, as the NYT suggested, seems more than a few major changes–especially, when Gretchen Carlson’s new fall show and, an imminent iteration of Fox & Friends (with new co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck) are added into the mix.

“Hannity and Kelly”? Don’t count it out.

*Therightscoop.com (video and text) – 08/08/13.

**Ibid.

***Therightscoop.com (video) – 08/08/3 (@ 02:12/04:13).

[Author’s aside: If Megyn does indeed join Hannity, Ailes real primetime schedule (8-11 p.m.), the hosts will represent true-blue gender equality surpassing rivals CNN and MSNBC.]

“New Day”: New Dawn or New Dud?

Chris, Kate, and Michaela: CNN’s New Day morning team brings a brighter dawn to their viewers–at least, for now. Gone are the too oft surly Soledad O’Brien and her Starting Point panel of milquetoast toadies (and the subsequent SP fill-ins): And, in their place are three sunnier replacements, alpha male Chris Cuomo, tomboy beauty Kate Bolduan, and the engaging BBBW Michaela Pereira. And, thankfully, for three full hours for those sick and tired of the schizophrenic Early Start/Starting Point (two hour/two hour) start to their CNN day.

For early morn viewers wondering who in the world the new CNN honcho Jeff Zucker’s tyro trio were, they introduced themselves to each other and to viewers in their respective profile segments (vids): Chris’s “Poseidon Adventure”; Kate’s “Skeet’r Shoot”; and Michaela’s “Soccer Mom.” It was almost an homage to FNC’s Fox & Friends: i.e., an acknowledgment that morning news TV should be informative, informal, and personal if it is truly to resonate with its audience.

However, the personal chemistry among Kate, Chris, and Michaela does seem somewhat forced at times, e.g., Chris requesting and receiving a kiss from Michaela and their subsequent group hug at the end of Michaela’s “Soccer Mom” segment. Nevertheless, the three seem to genuinely like other.

Still, Chris seems to be the wild card: He’s the baritone Cuomo scion that sometimes seems somewhat solipsist but is trying hard to mingle with the masses. Hopefully, he can. But, for future reference, as Kate seemed to sense, he probably should not tell aurally challenged, camera-curious three-year-olds–even if in jest–that he won’t abide their stealing “[his] camera” or his “single.”* [Video.]

As Ad Age noted, the results for a New Day were mixed in its debut week (June 17-21). It did edge out its HLN sibling in the ratings and was leaps and bounds above Soledad’s cellar status in the same time period in 2012: However, New Day was trounced by FNC’s Fox & Friends and lost to MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

A New Day: a new dud? It could yet be: But, CNN fans are hoping New Day is truly a new dawn. Leading that chorus, former American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry wished her a.m. “successors” well, saying, “Good luck guys!! The hours are a bear… But the experience is priceless. Godspeed!!!”

*New Day – 06/21/13 (@ 5:28/5:49)

Kiran Chetry: Back “Soon!!!!!”

ICN: Not a Chance… Only three days ago, Carpe Diem speculated that former Fox News host and CNN anchor Kiran Chetry might once again arouse her fans in the early dawn on yet a third cable news channel, MSNBC. It reported that Kiran had that day announced that she and her “good buddy” MSNBC host Willie Geist were both keynote speakers at Pace University’s Financial Education Day (Pleasantville, NY). Furthermore, it noted that Geist was leaving his show Way Too Early and that Kiran might just be ready for her “very special opportunity” that she had envisioned when she left American Morning over a year ago.

Fellow blogger Spud seemed less than impressed with the author’s musings. In an ICN post a day later entitled, “Willie Geist to Today…,” he asked readers who the new Way Too Early host would be with the options of Luke Russert, Mike Barnicle, Richard Lui, Veronica De La Cruz, Thomas Roberts, and “someone else.” In an update to the article, he linked to Carpe Diem‘s “Kiran Chetry: Way Too Early?,” scoffing, “Not a Chance….”

However, last night, Kiran Chetry appeared ready and eager to get back in the cable news game. With the Vice-Presidential debate as a backdrop, Kiran sent an incredible forty missives (thirty-seven Tweets and three reTweets). Before the debate began, one of Kiran’s acolytes queried, “When are you coming back. [sic] We miss you.” Succinctly, she replied, “[S]oon!!!!!”

Perhaps, Spud is right: But, with the seasonal change, the ole boy may be a bit off his game. Last night, Kiran promised to come back “soon!!!!” And, she seems perfectly positioned to take the place of her “good buddy” Willie Geist at Way Too Early–even if the author wishes she would take her seat on the Fox & Friends curvy couch if her old nemesis, Gretchen Carlson, vacates it after the election.

Kiran Chetry: Way Too Early?

“With (M)NBC’s Willie Geist, a good buddy of mine.” Former CNN and FNC anchor Kiran Chetry announced today that she will give the keynote address on Pace University’s Financial Education Day (Pleasantville, NY) on November 17, 2012. On her Facebook page that asks her friends to “stay tuned for Kiran Chetry’s next move,” she also reveals that she will share the duty with NBC’s Willie Geist. And, perchance, in a Freudian slip, she nonchalantly calls Geist ” a good buddy of mine” in the video to which she links.

Kiran’s “very special opportunity” at hand? As long-time Kiran acolytes know, their Nepalese goddess had a stellar, approximately seven-year run on Fox News (2001-2007) as a reporter and an a.m. anchor on both Fox & Friends Weekend and F&F First. When her contract renewal talks with FNC in 2007 soured, she was summarily selected to be the femme face of  CNN’s American Morning. After more than four years of awakening her AM fans with her inimitable “ray of light,” she bid them an emotional “namaskaar” on July 29, 2011, with the promise to see them again soon. In 2012, Kiran finally reappeared on TV–but as a special E! correspondent in January and February: subsequently, she did return to news, albeit Internet news, as a guest-anchor on GVTV (April 20).

Perhaps, as the year draws to a close, Kiran is once again ready to arouse her fans in the early morn on yet another cable news network, MSNBC. N.B. Kiran’s “very good buddy” Pace keynote speaker Willie Geist will soon leave his MSNBC’s Way Too Early with Willie Geist post for greener pastures as co-host of the Today Show (third hour).

Kiran’s “very special opportunity”: Way Too Early with Kiran Chetry?

H/t, J$P.

American Morning Toast?

Kiran Chetry out & Soledad O’Brien back in–for good? CNN appears to have bared its future plans for American Morning two months ago: on the day after AM announced that Kiran was leaving the show, it brought Soledad O’Brien in to fill in for her. At the time, the author surmised that the substitution seemed to be a strange and sadistic slap at Kiran who had replaced Soledad herself almost four years earlier–perhaps, from the very AM insider who had told Page 6 that “Kiran [was] dumb as a rock.” In hindsight, it appears that CNN may also have been showing its cards.

According to TVNewser, American Morning may be ending it current incarnation and transmogrifying into two shows (a two-hour one from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. ET and another from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.). Furthermore, TVNewser reported that the former American Morning anchor Soledad was being considered to host the second show and that TruTV anchor Ashleigh Banfield has been mentioned for the first one. Apparently, CNN is hoping that a mix of its old blood and new blood can jumpstart its program that has lagged behind as of August not only juggernaut FNC’s Fox & Friends but also MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” for five consecutive months.

Hopefully, the lovely ladies Soledad and Ashleigh can resurrect a moribund AM. Ever since the gorgeous, engaging Kiran Chetry left the show on July 29th on an awkward note, the show has gone from must-see HD to quick-scan low-def. Without her at the helm, AM‘s relatively plain and prosaic temporary co-hosts, Ali Velshi, Christine Romans, and Carol Costello, have gallantly tried to keep the listing ship afloat–to little avail.

Good luck, Soledad and Ashleigh!

Apology: Brian’s K.I.S.S.

Kilmeade Keeps It Short & Simple. Today Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade apologized for controversial and inaccurate comments that he made about Muslims last Friday. When defending Bill O’Reilly for saying on The View that “Muslims attacked us on on 9/11,” Brian had declared, “They were outraged that someone was saying that there was a reason, there was a certain group of people that attacked us on 9/11. It wasn’t just one person, it was one religion. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” Not surprisingly, he sustained significant flack for his statement, including being named the “World’s Worst Person” and called an un-American bastard by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann on his Countdown program. This morning, Brian said, “Sorry.”

As his sports segment ended in the first hour (@ 6:37 a.m. ET), Brian tersely stated, “On this show on Friday, I was talking about Bill O’Reilly’s appearance on The View and I said this: Not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. Well, I misspoke. I don’t believe all terrorists are Muslims. I’m sorry about that if I offended or offended [sic] or hurt anybody’s feelings. But, that’s it.” Segueing immediately to the next segment with barely a pause, Brian continued, “Now, let’s go over to Stuart [Varney, a FBN business news guest].

And, that was it.

Update: Apology vid via Johnny Dollar’s Place.

Olbermann’s Racial Authority?

Believe it or not: Reagan’s Interior Secretary James Watt! Last night on Countdown, incredibly, MSNBC’s top dog Keith Olbermann cited Watt approvingly in his advice for President Obama to “be Obama” and “to stand up” to the “perpetual fraud machine that is Fox News” who “assassinated” Shirley Sherrod with their “complete perversion of journalism” in their “manipulation of reality to make the racist seem benevolent, and to convict the benevolent as racist.”

And just who is this James Watt that Olbermann accords approbation? He is the Reagan Interior Secretary who had to resign after cracking a joke insulting blacks, women, Jews, and the physically challenged. In reference to one of his advisory committees, he callously commented, “‘We have every kind of mixture you can have. I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple. And we have talent.”

Yikes! Ironic, though. Perhaps, Olbermann, too, will want to proofread his producer’s copy in the future.

Pink: Kiran’s “New Obsession”

Has American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry found a new way to arouse the flaccid ratings of her slumping program? As producers began the second half of the show early today to the lurid lilt of Aerosmith’s “Pink,” co-anchor John Roberts pointed to Kiran’s pink open sweater  and deadpanned, “My favorite color.”* Smiling knowingly, Kiran risquely remarked, “It’s my new obsession.”

When Michael Calderone asked about a possible “radical re-thinking” of Jon Klein’s news network in his “How to Fix CNN” Politico article, who knew that Kiran might be thinking proactively outside the box? In the past, Kiran has said that pink is one of her favorite colors. And, with her major in broadcast journalism and minor in women’s studies (at the University of Maryland), the Nepalese beauty may have discovered a winning formula at last.

Watch out, Fox & Friends and Morning Joe. Today may well mark the dawning of a new American Morning. Rise and shine!

*American Morning – 04/01/10 (@7:27 a.m. ET)

Wallace: Morning Joe Blow

Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace hit back hard at Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough today in an interview with Megyn Kelly on America Live. Responding to Scarborough’s claim that Wallace “roll[ed] his eyes, embarrassed” after the Palin interview to signal to his friends that “yes, I know [that] she is not a serious thinker,” Wallace asserted, “‘No’ is the quick answer to that.”* Then, scornfully, he added, “Secondly, let me just say that Joe Scarborough lives out where the trolleys don’t run at night.”

Eager to pummel Scarborough further, Wallace continued, “The last time I heard of somebody getting that kind of a secret message, it was Son of Sam hearing from a Labrador retriever that he should go out and shoot people….I think that Morning Joe definitely needs to switch to decaf.” Later, in the interview when Megyn asked whether he was offended by Scarborough comment, Wallace snidely stated, “I’m offended that people watch him on MSNBC.”

For Wallace, apparently, there is little love left for that former Fox News contributor.

*America Live – 02/11/10 (@2:36 p.m. ET).

Update: Cf. Mediaite‘s vid of segment including footage of Wallace’s “eye roll” and Scarborough’s analysis.

Page Appears on MSNBC

Fans of former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Page Hopkins got an early gift in their stocking if they were watching MSNBC. (And that’s a big if for many of her former viewers at Fox News.) Page was spotted by ICN providing afternoon updates last Sunday: the cable news blog reported that her status was unclear, i.e., if she were a freelancer or a more permanent employee.

It has been over a year since Page Hopkins left Fox News reportedly on her own terms in late 2008. Page had been a rather popular F&FW co-anchor before being unceremoniously canned in early 2008. Subsequently, she was relegated to a rather minor role before her departure with little fanfare.

American Morning Censored?

Iconic sex symbol Marilyn Monroe’s alleged marijuana use? Hush! Controversial pop SINsation Lady Gaga’s gender? Hush! Hush! What is going on at American Morning this week or, actually, the last eight days? Unfortunately, it appears that  AM executive producer Jamie Kraft has presided over its becoming C.N.N. (not CNN), i.e., the Censored Network News.

Last Wednesday, when AM co-host John Roberts reported on the recent sale of a private Marilyn Monroe video, he failed to inform his AM audience that Marilyn Monroe was allegedly smoking marijuana in it: rather, he simply twice said, “[It] shows her acting casually on the couch with friends, smoking and drinking wine.”** However, cable news rivals FNC* and MSNBC did not shy away from Marilyn Monroe’s alleged pot use nor did the main stream media, e.g., ABC, BBC, and the New York Times.)

Today, Jeanne Moos reported on Lady Gaga’s meeting Queen Elizabeth II in Liverpool, England, after the Royal Variety Performance.*** Afterwards, Roberts remarked, “I’ll admit that there’s something strangely fascinating about her but, I mean, it’s all image and marketing.” Co-host Kiran Chetry concurred, “Of course, it is!”

Really? According to recent concert footage, Lady Gaga may be Laddy Gaga: In the NSFW Gawker.com clip, as she gets off a motorcycle and subsequently shimmies in a micro red mini, she exposes what seems to be a small male member. According to Bossip.com, Lady Gaga confirmed her hermaphroditic status, stating “It’s not something that I’m ashamed of, just isn’t something that I go around telling everyone. Yes. I have both male and female genitalia, but I consider myself a female.” Reportedly, she added, “The reason I haven’t talked about it is that it’s not a big deal to me.”

With Marilyn Monroe, AM omitted a material fact, i.e., her apparent smoking of marijuana. As to Lady Gaga, AM seemed to include a significant fiction, i.e., that her “strangely fascinating” nature is “all image and marketing.” If Kraft does not give his AM viewers the full news, sans such salient omissions and questionable inclusions, they may begin to lose confidence in the accuracy of American Morning and, by extension, CNN.

___________________________________________________________________

*Fox & Friends (12/02/09)

** Full quote: A new home movie of Marilyn Monroe unscripted has surfaced. The quick clip from the ’50’s shows her acting casually on the couch with friends, smoking and drinking wine. The copyright to the film will be offered on Ebay this week by a collector who paid a quarter of a million dollars for it.” American Morning (12/02/09)- @ 6:08 a.m. ET and @8:39 a.m. ET (Second reading omitted “and” between “smoking” and “drinking” and substituted “one” for “a” before “million.”)

***American Morning (12/09/09) – @6:55 a.m. ET

Palin: Was the AMFix In?

Even if she was on Oprah, SARAH PALIN WILL NOT BE PRESIDENT! American Morning viewer, if you did not get the message in the first hour, it was repeated in a less than subliminal fashion throughout the next two hours. Before each of its three Sarah Palin segments (two by Carol Costello and another by Christine Romans), a clip of Conan O’Brien’s monologue on the Tonight Show was run.

[In the selected snippet, Conan joked, “The other day Sarah Palin said that she would like to have coffee with Hillary Clinton. Now, Hillary is saying she looks forward to it. The two have agreed to meet at the Never Will Be President Cafe.”]

If the Palin slights had stopped at Conan’s comedy, they would have seemed insignificant. However, Carol’s “Palin vs. Oprah” story (which ran twice) seemed to go over the top to discount Palin’s appearance on the talk show queen’s program yesterday. In the promo to Carol’s segment, AM co-host Kiran Chetry had said, “It was Sarah Palin and Oprah: Very interesting, very interesting sit-down interview. And, we’re gonna have Carol Costello join us: she sat down with Libertarians, Independents, Democrats, and Republican women, and said, ‘Hey, what did you think?” However, when Carol appeared after the break, she remarked, “I sat down with four very sharp women, and you know what they thought of the interview? Boring!”

Then she said, “I talked with these four women, a Republican, a Libertarian, a Conservative, and an Independent to watch [sic] Palin vs. Oprah. We chose not to talk to a Democrat because Sarah Palin doesn’t seem to be trying to win over Democrats.” More telling, and, perhaps, a bit damning, she added, “Let’s face it: We know what Democrats think of Sarah Palin.” (She failed to note that according to most polls, approximately 80% of the media votes Democratic.)

Furthermore, Carol did not tell the  viewer how these four women in the focus group were chosen nor their particular political proclivities. E.g., she did not apprise the audience that the Independent Leighann Lord, who claimed that Palin had “almost trivialized the serious decision of abortion,” has been a pro-Obama HuffPo blogger. Moreover, Carol’s other three panelists appeared to be coastal “country club” Republicans at best: one (Jamie Maarten) was an Ivy League Libertarian prez who proclaimed that Palin “was well-spoken” (but cattily added “she did look nice but I feel it stops there”); the second (Marianna Picciocchi) was a “conservative” attorney who asserted that the interview was “boring” and later admitted that her friends, “of course, are all liberal”; and the third (Joyce Giuffra) was a former press secretary of failed GOP nominee Bob Dole, who indicated that she would not be buying the book but clairvoyantly discerned that “supposedly in a 432-page book, only 13 pages were dedicated to policy issues.” Incredibly, Carol stated that these women wanted “substance” [political]–from an Oprah interview. (Perhaps, they prefer their news from Oxygen as well.)

This segment should be an embarrassment to correspondent Carol Costello, American Morning, and, by extension CNN. Perhaps, AM executive producer Jamie Kraft did not get the memo from CNN news chief Jonathan Klein. According to the New York Post, Klein wants CNN “to position itself as an opinion-free, middle-of-the-road alternative to its cable news rivals — conservative Fox News and liberal MSNBC.”

American Morning should have followed Klein’s admonition and played it down the middle. AM is a good show with excellent anchors and gifted correspondents. Its viewers deserved better today. Hopefully, they will get it tomorrow and in the future.

Doocy: CNN “Communist News Network”

Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy took a sharp shot at rival CNN today while reporting the election of former CNN correspondent Mauricio Funes as president of El Salvador. Doocy declared, “Here’s a story that you’re not going to see on CNN: An ex-CNN reporter…Mauricio Funes…he’s from a party down in El Salvador that is essentially the Communist Party.”

Guest co-anchor Peter Johnson, Jr. elaborated, “The FMLN, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, which, allegedly, has ties to strongman Cesar [sic] Chavez.” After correcting Johnson’s verbal gaffe (i.e., mistaking the Mexican American agrarian labor leader for the Venezuelan President), Doocy sniped, “I wonder if he’s on just a leave of absence from CNN: Which given his political inklings CNN officially now could stand for the Communist News Network.”

Ouch!

N.B. In the past, Doocy has made similar stinging swings at news competitors MSNBC and NBC. He has dubbed MSDNC and NBC the National Barack Channel. Doocy, ready to rumble!

Links:
https://jakeho.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/doocy-dubs-msnbc-msdn/
https://jakeho.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/dooc-knocks-nbc-anew/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/16/AR2009031600038.html

Briggs: Keith Olbermann “Is the Devil”

In a discussion of Ben Affleck’s upcoming SNL parody of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann this morning, Fox & Friends co-host Dave Briggs introduced the segment, saying, “Now MSNBC…is the official Barack Obama Network: Keith Olbermann, he’s trumpeting the cause of the left.” When co-host Clayton Morris said, “Keith Olbermann…many people would say he’s a cariacature of himself already, Dave declared, “Keith Olbermann, he never has to dress up at Halloween: He is the devil every day.”* Co-host Alisyn Camerota laughingly replied, “Just spell it right out there, Dave.”

The FNC/MSNBC feud continues.

* Fox & Friends Weekend (11/01/08) – 7:38 a.m. ET

Doocy Knocks NBC Anew

Less than an hour after Bill O’Reilly called NBC News “the Pro Obama Network” on the O’Reilly Factor (third showing), (Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy took aim at the Peacock Network again this morning. After calling MSNBC MSDNC two days ago, Steve designated its parent NBC the National Barack Channel. During a segment on SNL (Thursday), F&F co-host Brian Kilmeade complained that SNL took no shots at Barack Obama or Joe Biden while SNL special guest Will Ferrell and Tina Fey took on the John McCain and Sarah Palin; Gretchen Carlson declared, “News Alert: Saturday Night Live is not fair”: and Steve rejoined, “Do you think it could possibly be the fact that it does originate on NBC, the National Barack Channel?”

Hit or miss? You make the call.

https://jakeho.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/doocy-dubs-msnbc-msdn/

Doocy Dubs MSNBC “MSDNC”

Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy left little doubt as to his view of rival cable news network MSNBC. In a segment entitled, “Sharp-Dressed Woman: $150K Spent on Clothes for Palin,” Doocy said that he had seen another channel, MSNBC, where a male commentator sneered, “You’d think that if she spent $150,000, they would have been good-looking clothes.” He added, “Attention, MSDNC! If you are going to talk about a woman’s clothing, don’t have a guy do it.”

Even though the Kansas native may have just stepped out of his fashion commentary cave, he left no doubt as to his view of MSNBC. Of course, in general there seems to be little love lost between rivals FNC and MSNBC. If you have any doubts, ask Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann.