Harry Smith, who was replaced in January as co-host of CBS’ Early Show in the struggling morning show’s most recent makeover, will leave the network and join NBC News, where TV Guide reports he will be a part of the upcoming primetime news hour hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, set to debut this fall.

Smith joined CBS News in 1986 as a Dallas-based reporter and was named a correspondent in March 1987, reporting primarily for the CBS Evening News. Prior to that, he was a reporter and anchor for KMGH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Denver. He also worked in radio in Denver and Cincinnati. In his years at CBS, Smith has served as a fill-in anchor on nearly every news show, and won numerous awards including several Emmys, an Edward R. Murrow award, and he’s won recognition from the American Women in Radio and Television and the National Association of Black Journalists. Smith was also given the Silver Anniversary Award by the NCAA for former varsity athletes who have gone on to a career of distinction.

On Friday, Parker/Spitzer co-host Kathleen Parker announced that she is leaving the show. In a guest column, John Ziegler, radio host, Palin confidante, and the filmmaker behind Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted, offers his commentary on Parker’s departure from CNN.

The views expressed in this guest column are those of John Ziegler alone.

About three months ago, I predicted that CNN’s Parker/Spitzer show was “not long for this world.” I made this hardly earth-shattering prediction just after I appeared on the program to discuss the national rerelease of my documentary, “Media Malpractice… How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted,” where I confronted Kathleen Parker about her role in the “assassination” of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election cycle.

Bizarrely, a clearly startled Parker responded by actually taking credit for having “led” the “assassination” of Palin. This smackdown created news and even inspired Palin to tweet about the episode. The whole thing was almost certainly the most memorable moment in the show’s short and forgettable history, and is emblematic of why Parker was indeed just let go from the program. From CNN:

There are many reasons why Parker’s short stint on CNN didn’t work. Some weren’t even really her fault. The taped format was antiquated, boring and stuffy. Creating chemistry with a notorious dog like Eliot Spitzer would have been impossible for any “conservative” female to do without turning themselves into an almost literal call girl. Plus, the show’s time slot is the most competitive in cable news television.

But the primary reason why the program couldn’t work is also the very reason Parker got the gig in the first place. She was clearly hired because she was perceived as a “conservative” who was willing to vigorously attack Palin, while not holding any particularly strong conservative opinions which might offend the largely liberal CNN audience. It is hardly a secret that the best (and perhaps only) way for an unknown or career-challenged conservative to achieve mainstream media acceptance is to be a sellout to their supposed cause (just ask Arianna Huffington, Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, David Frum, Michael Smerconish, or Joe Scarborough, to name only a few).

Criticizing Palin (along with endorsing Obama) has quickly become the most reliable path to instant notoriety/credibility for ambitious “conservatives,” and Parker became the poster child for this phenomenon. When I went on CNN during my film’s first release, I was actually asked to respond to a Parker quote about Palin. This was especially absurd because Parker had no special knowledge of Palin and was virtually unknown before she “led” Palin’s “assassination.” Had Parker praised Palin, CNN would never have found the quote remotely newsworthy.

However, there is apparently a downside side to getting a show this way. Much like a guy who spends all his cash to get the girl and has nothing left to keep her, Parker had no capital with which to make the show a ratings success. Conservatives, most of whom don’t trust CNN to begin with, had no reason to tune in, and she was such a soft and colorless “conservative” that she didn’t even make for a fun punching bag for the liberal audience, or her overrated co-host (based on my experience Spitzer is actually quite dumb). The sad reality of cable news television today is that you must be polarizing to “succeed.” Moderation or wimpiness simply won’t work, especially when such a temperament is clearly contrived, and not backed up with any real talent.

With no spark, no friction, no talent, and no audience base, Parker brought nothing to the table, and the show was clearly doomed. In the end, she got the fate that she clearly deserved, only probably better.

There is also an interesting secondary element to Parker’s demise which might make media pundits a little more hesitant to attack Sarah Palin. Since the 2008 election, many of her biggest media critics have found themselves out of a job. Keith Olbermann, Rick Sanchez, David Shuster, Alan Colmes, Campbell Brown, John Roberts, Larry King, Harry Smith and Parker are all prominently mentioned in my documentary and all of them have been let go from TV jobs since Obama got elected.

Coincidence? Perhaps, though I have no doubt that if the media wanted to create a narrative here there would be more than enough data to justify it. Regardless, if Chris Matthews is smart, he might want to be careful.

The latest chapter of of the

The situation in Egypt evolved rather dramatically over the course of last week, why it seemed like it was just a few days ago that CNN’s Anderson Cooper was getting “cold-cocked” by pro-Mubarak thugs. Cut to seven days later and we see footage of CBS News’ Harry Smith getting hugged and kissed in Tahrir Square. Egyptians must have LOVED The Early Show!

Watch the clip below, courtesy of Comedy Central:

Let’s be clear, this is not as much a criticism of Amanpour’s efforts as it is a praise of Tapper in this role. Amanpour is a serious and informative journalist, yet in her five months hosting the show it’s clear where her passion and strengths lie, and it’s not in the intricacies of in-the-beltway political squabbles. The worldly Amanpour is excellent at informing viewers about what they should be concerned about in the world, and her imprint on the show reflects that, mainly with the addition of international experts to the roundtable discussion and full episodes dedicated to single issues like charity and the ground zero mosque. On paper, Amanpour and these ideas sounded like a great way to shake up the traditional Sunday morning show format, which some would argue are desperate for a change. However, what that paper does not reflect is, quite frankly, how boring this show has become.

Tapper on the other hand, as evidenced Sunday and throughout his tenure, was able to find a way to make the show not only extremely relevant and insightful, but also fun. On Sunday’s show, Tapper moderated a roundtable discussion with conservative regular George Will and liberal commentator Donna Brazile that was filled with surprises (Will and Brazile agree Republican Governor Mitch Daniels is the most formidable Republican nominee to challenge President Obama in 2012) and with laughs as Will then wondered if Brazile was trying to sabotage his candidate by saying she was impressed by him. The last time there were laughs on Amanpour’s roundtable . . . well, that implies that there ever were any laughs.

Tapper also was successful in questioning all of his guests intelligently, calmly and fairly, no matter their political affiliation, while also frequently eliciting such unique headline-generating comments like when Governor Christie of New Jersey mentioned he wasn’t a fan of the reality showJersey Shore. New ABC News President Ben Sherwood has a chance to correct this ship’s course before it’s too late. Well that was unnecessarily dramatic, since I guess it’s never too late if Tapper is willing to wait around for a while, but given a feared and rumored move of the show to New York in order to accommodate Amanpour, now is as good a time as any for a host change.

And the case of the extremely competent and arguably superior Sunday morning show host understudy is strangely not unique to ABC. Yesterday, as the hosts of both CBS‘s Face the Nation and CNN‘s State of the Union, Bob Schieffer and Candy Crowley, respectively, enjoyed their vacation, substitutes Harry Smith and Ed Henry shined. Smith moderated an entertaining political bloodbath, while Henry conducted a tough interview with Congressman Darrell Issa that proved to be the most enlightening and newsworthy of Issa’s many interviews all day. However, since Smith is already the likely successor to Schieffer (who has to retire at some point, right?) and with CNN justifiably concerned about other parts of their schedule that are in worse shape, it seems only ABC should seriously consider a Sunday morning shake-up as soon as possible.

If there is one strategy for success that all current Sunday morning hosts should learn, then look no further than current and longtime ratings leader Meet the Press host David Gregory: don’t go on vacation.

After two tours totaling 17 years on CBS’ early shift, Smith signed off at the end of his final show Friday, describing his major emotion as “one of gratitude, absolute gratitude.”

On Monday, new co-hosts Erica Hill and Chris Wragge will attempt to rescue CBS’s morning fortunes from last place.

CBS says Smith will stay on at the network, serving as a correspondent and fill-in anchor for CBS News.

On CBS this morning, a “nutty” fan of The Early Show hopped the fence to get as close as possible to host Harry Smith and substitute host Rebecca Jarvis. The unidentified man yelled a few inaudible things, but concluded with “in the house.” Although he wasn’t in the house for long as security immediately yanked the Smith admirer off camera.

The hosts were visibly shocked, but did manage to recover smoothly from the unexpected surprise. Although this guy may be onto something? Maybe encouraging audience participation would increase the popularity of the ratings-hungry morning show?

Watch the clip from CBS below:

But today? Um…where do we begin? Maybe it’s best just to get right to it.

Mark Wahlberg kissed Harry Smith’s feet. On live national television. The actor, who apparently thinks Smith is “the best, ever,” concluded his interview by dropping to the floor to get right up on Smith’s hush puppies. There were also a couple of hugs, but after kissing a guy’s feet, hugs just seem so darn routine, you know?

At any rate, here it is–very likely going viral in foot fetish circles as we speak, from CBS:

This really raises the stakes for other noteworthy farewell-bound TV hosts. What will Larry King have to do, kiss some actor dude on the lips? Oh, wait… nevermind.

A survey of media buyers reveals a general consensus among the folks who make key advertising spending decisions: CBS’ Early Show was in major need of “something,” but “I’m not sure this is it.”

According to the survey, reported in Media Life Magazine, media buyers still think morning news is “relevant:”

“People watch them,” answered one reader.

“Early snap shots of current event and pop culture events and celebrities,” wrote another.

And wrote yet another: “They serve a need for ‘background’ news and weather and traffic while the viewer is dressing and preparing to leave home.”

But CBS’ morning show, set for a re-start in January with Hill and Wragge replacing the current team of Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez and Dave Price, did not get warm reviews in the survey:

A quarter of respondents think it’s a good idea; 25 percent agreed with this statement: “It has been lagging in the ratings for years, and this should give it a fresh look.”

Nearly as many, 23 percent, thought not, agreeing with this statement: “Harry Smith is great, and I don’t think the problems were on camera. I think they were behind the camera.”

But the largest share, 52 percent, was unsure, agreeing with this statement: “Clearly the show needed a shakeup of some sort, but I’m not sure this is it.”

Just a small percent believe the makeover will help ratings, a mere 6 percent.

Earning the highest marks from media buyers was NBC’s TODAY, followed by Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends and ABC’s Good Morning America.

Weekend Early Show regulars Erica Hill and Chris Wragge are slated to become the new main duo. Marysol Castro will reportedly step into Price’s role.

Bauder reports the changes go into effect January 3:

It marks the second big change to a morning team in a year, after ABC installed George Stephanopoulos as a co-anchor with Robin Roberts and added news reader JuJu Chang.

Smith had the longest tenure on “The Early Show.” He was the sole survivor from 2002 when CBS installed a four-anchor team that included Smith, Hannah Storm, Julie Chen and Rene Syler. He also hosted a previous CBS morning show from 1987 to 1996. He’ll stay at CBS as a news reporter and primary substitute on Katie Couric’s evening news show and on “Face the Nation.”
Wragge worked in sports, including a stint as a sideline reporter at events for NBC, until he made the jump to news in 2006. Beside his weekend job at CBS, he had been anchoring local news broadcasts at the network’s New York affiliate, a job he’ll give up to go national.

Hill, who came to CBS from CNN, briefly filled in for Rodriguez last year when Rodriguez was on maternity leave.
Price had strayed beyond the weather for other stories at “The Early Show.” Most recently, the show left him in Alaska with $50 and challenged him to earn money for a return trip to New York, filming his adventures along the way.
CBS said Rodriguez and Price will continue with the network, but their future roles are unclear.

Writing for CBSNews.com, Jimmy So reports:

Support is growing for this stunning reversal from Graham, who in 2007 drew the ire of Republicans when he lobbied for granting legal status to 12 million undocumented workers, and along with President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., led the failed immigration reform effort that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

The 14th Amendment was enacted in 1868 to ensure that states would not deny citizenship to former slaves. It reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Arizona’s Republican State Sen. Russell Pearce – the architect of the controversial immigration law that was largely struck down by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton – also separately proposed the same measure.

“The 14th Amendment [has been] interpreted to provide that if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen no matter what,” Kyl said. “So the question is, if both parents are here illegally, should there be a reward for their illegal behavior?”

With immigration a big issue in the upcoming mid-terms, support for this bill appears to be growing among Republicans, perhaps seeing this as a litmus test in the upcoming elections.

Sitting down with CBS Early Show anchor Harry Smith, the President had good things to say about Rep. Rangel’s tenure in Congress but showed concern about the recent ethics investigation taken out against him in response to several questionable personal financial issues. “I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well, but these allegations are very troubling,” he told Smith. He also pointed to Rep. Rangel’s age as another factor to be taken into consideration: “He’s somebody,” he told Smith, “who is at the end of his career, 82 years old, I’m sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity and my hope is that that happens.”

The full interview is slated to be broadcast tomorrow on Sunday Morning and on the Monday edition of CBS’ Early Show. The clip from the CBS EVENING NEWS last night below:

We talked to Smith today about the decision by CBS News, BP’s lack of transparency, and Smith’s theory on government involvement in the clean-up.

You can hear the full BlogTalkRadio interview below, which took place this morning. It is part of our ongoing series, “Live From The Spill.”

Here are a couple key exchanges, with the full interview after:

(1:58) Mediaite: What do you think of BP? There has been criticism of the way they’ve dealt with the media, of not being completely transparent. How have they been in your dealings with them?

Smith: Well we talked to one of the guys this morning, and just asked a couple of pretty basic questions. You have scientific entity after scientific entity and all these research groups saying there’s this big plume of oil down underneath the surface. And they continue to deny that it exits. It’s some kind of Alice in Wonderland world we’re living in, where there’s reality on one side and then there’s BP’s reality.

(5:06) Mediaite: It sounds like CBS is really putting their resources into the story. You could be in for the long haul. What, in your mind, is behind the decision to do this?

Smith: I think a couple of things happened. I have a daily radio commentary that I do and almost from Day 1 that this happened I saw that this was going to be a real catastrophe. And I think its difficult for people to visually get their brains around it until they’ve seen the effects of the oil. Now we’re starting to see it, and the realization of how many millions and millions and millions of gallons have poured out of that hole…it may have taken awhile but I think people have finally gotten that this is a colossal mess.

(6:18) Mediaite: A lot of the criticism so far has been aimed at BP but also President Obama, talking about the style, the way , he’s dealt with this. As someone who has covered this from the beginning, have you seen an evolution in the way Pres. Obama has taken on this crisis?

Smith: I don’t want to get on my editorial side too much. The problem in these catastrophes, and what these folks down there understand is if you wait for some governmental entity to intervene and help you out, you’ll be overwhelmed by the problem by the time it gets around to happening. This is not unique…In some ways, yes there needs to be a greater government response, but the greater government response probably needs to be less government. If there’s a greater government response there’s just that much more red tape. Then these people are going to end up strangling you. So they’ll either drown from the oil or get strangled by the red tape. The smartest response needs to be how do we help these people best, not how do we throw more agencies on top of the freakin’ mess.

Check out the full interview here, including how long Smith thinks he’ll be returning to the Gulf Coast as part of CBS News’ plan (“for the rest of my life” is an option):

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The walk-and-talk and in-game chat revealed an interesting exchange between anchor and President about talk radio – which Pres. Obama felt the need to call out specific hosts personally.

It began with Smith lobbing the pass up in anticipation of the Pres. Obama alley-oop. “The kindest of terms you’re sometimes referred to out in (pause) America is a socialist, the worst of which I’ve heard is called a Nazi,” he said, strangely pausing before saying ‘America’ for emphasis. “Are you aware of the level of enmity that crosses the airwaves that people have made part of their daily conversation about you?”

And then it was time to slam it down. Yes, Pres. Obama is aware of it, in fact…

Obama: When you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck…
Smith: It’s beyond that.
Obama: It’s pretty apparent. it’s troublesome.

What reason does the leader of the free world feel it is appropriate to personally call out radio and TV hosts, even if they are, perhaps, some of the most powerful media figures in the country? And this isn’t the first time, going back last year and during the 2008 election.

It certainly provides some red meat for Limbaugh, Beck and their supporters – it ensures the exchange will be replayed and rehashed for the coming days and weeks. (Can you see Rush saying, ‘Here’s what’s pretty apparent, Mr. President!…’) Surely he understands this will only elevate their platform and increases their power. Perhaps he feels that he benefits somehow by their consistent anti-Obama stance.

But by this particular sitting President using Beck and Limbaugh’s names, it indicates one of two things – he either, at least occasionally, tunes into their TV or radio shows (a surprising, but interesting prospect) or he has no idea, ultimately, what he’s talking about regarding the content of these programs. To ardent supporters of Pres. Obama – which one is better?

Here’s the key segment, and on the next page, check out some basketball (and Harry Smith’s “go to your right” joke):

Watch CBS News Videos Online

>>>NEXT PAGE: Check out a preview of Pres. Obama’s basketball skills.

CBS’ The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith will interview Pres. Obama on the White House basketball court. Then they will play basketball.

CBS News announced the interview last night in a release:

EARLY SHOW Co-anchor Harry Smith will go one-on-one with President Barack Obama in a court-side interview before the CBS Newsman and CBS Sports’ lead college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg challenge the President to a game of hoops on the White House basketball court. Smith’s interview and clips from the game will be broadcast on THE EARLY SHOW Friday, April 2 (7:00-9:00 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Kellogg’s interview with the President, and the game, will be broadcast on Saturday, April 3 (4:00-11:00 PM, ET) during CBS Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2010 NCAA Final Four®. The interviews and game are scheduled to occur on Thursday, April 1.

Our emphasis added.

It’s certainly interesting to see networks find more unique settings to get a chance to sit down (or, run down the court) with the President of the United States. How serious an interview can occur minutes before a pick-up game of basketball starts remains to be seen, since it’s fairly unprecedented to have the interviewee join the interviewer in any sporting activity at the conclusion of the conversation.

And although it was CBS who had Pres. Obama’s last basketball game, these are very different circumstances. The in-game impromptu discussion was between Clark Kellogg, Verne Lundquist and Pres. Obama – sports broadcasters discussing sports. Harry Smith is a news anchor (and sometime fill-in for Katie Couric on CBS Evening News), who will take part in the hoops game as well. Those who feel the love affair between the mainstream media and Barack Obama has continued since it began during the 2008 election have more ammunition today.

Something that likely helped this unlikely interview – Sean McManus. His title of CBS News and Sports President allow even smoother crossover between both sides. With March Madness taking centerstage this weekend, it’s a good time for a good get. And with Pres. Obama’s post health care polls dipping, this move could make him more appealing with the sports fan set – and provide a far more comfortable venue than any traditional interview format.

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It wasn’t so much of a specific review as a pass to unleash his hatred of the longtime NBC star.

It started with this: “Just the mere mention of Jay Leno’s name makes me want to vomit.”

Stern told his personal story as well, comparing it to Leno’s situation:

Jay is a lapdog, he goes on at 10 o’clock at night, he bombs there…I was fired by NBC many years ago, you know what I did? I didn’t sit there like a lapdog and take it, I got up, brushed myself off and I went on terrestrial radio on a competing station and I buried NBC into the ground.

Later, he rammed home the point he’s made before on his radio show – that Leno is “a thief.” “Jay takes and lifts bits directly from my show, directly from Dave’s show,” he said. “They don’t have an original thought on that show.”

Just over four minutes…and typical Stern.

Here’s the King Of All Media on CBS (not sure why they aren’t making this a CBSNews.com clip):

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Cusack appeared to be enjoying the hosting charms of Smith — so much so that he may have forgotten that he was on live television. The naughty word can be found around the 2:40 mark in the video.

Comparison: Conan O’Brien‘s Tonight Show on NBC had 2.3 million viewers. In fact, Letterman beat everything in NBC’s prime time line up — including his old foe Jay Leno.

This is good news not only for Letterman — ratings are the silveriest of linings in TV land — but for Craig Ferguson, whose Late Late Show follows him — and potentially CBS’ The Early Show, depending on how many people fall asleep with the TV on.

I’m going to use myself as a test case. Here’s what I did on Monday night: Watched Letterman, but I was at the office so I went home straight after (fell asleep watching a documentary about crocodiles on PBS. Be freaked out and have nightmares along with me here). Here’s why this is relevant: I made a point of watching Letterman, and when I got home I turned on the TV, and while I was scrolling through my DVR, got hooked on whatever was on. I am that kind of TV watcher.

More proof? Last night I tuned into Letterman again (the very garrulous Paul Shaffer would have reminded any Sondheim fan of this) — but I was at home, so the TV stayed on. Hi, Craig Ferguson! I loved the Mmm-Bop opening of your show, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was a terrific guest. Also, good to know that your tattoo goes all the way to your penis. Since I like to work with the TV on in the background, I “watched” CBS for the next few hours until I passed out somewhere along the line. I woke up to Katie Couric and Lara Logan talking about Afghanistan with Harry Smith — and lo, the CBS Early Show had one more viewer.

Okay, so not everyone keeps the vampiric hours of a blogger. (And to be honest, I don’t always, either.) But otherwise I’m not that abnormal. I watch things on DVR, and though I’ll flip around a bit to find something I like. I’m more likely to just settle on something quickly rather than maniacally scour the listings. (I mean, crocodile documentary? Really?) Working from home during the day, I keep the TV on even if I’m not that engaged, which is why I just looked up and thought, “Oh! They’re still using the same set for the house on The Young and the Restless!” I’m thinking there must be people out there like me, who also keep the TV on for company — stay-at-home moms, unemployed people, college kids cutting class, hypochondriacs who are sure they have swine flu.

Normal? Um, whatever, but the point is this: Networks have been counting on the laziness of TV viewers for ages — that’s why lead-in programs are so critical (I’m betting on a Diane Sawyer-World News tie-in on Oprah when she takes over the anchor chair). That’s why Jon Stewart throws directly to Stephen Colbert and Keith Olbermann throws to Rachel Maddow. That’s why Dancing With The Stars and American Idol help whatever they are before.

And that’s why I predict this week will turn out to be a good one for Craig Ferguson — and the CBS Early Show. Will viewers stick around? That’s always the question. Maybe Leno and Conan should start having an affair.

TV Moments Mentioned Above:
Katie Couric & Lara Logan Discuss Afghanistan [CBS]
Julia Louis-Dreyfus & Craig Ferguson Talk Tattoos, Douchebags [CBS]
Supersize Crocs: Nile Crocodile Ambush Power [PBS]