Powerful hurricane and tropical force winds have hit many areas in the southeast, and rain has been reported from New York to Wilmington, Delaware.

Smith cut to reporter Doug McKelway in Ocean City, Maryland, but because of an audio malfunction, they were unable to communicate directly. Nonetheless, McKelway delivered his report as waves peaked right behind him, describing them as some of the biggest he has ever seen in the region. Local officials are concerned that the heavy rainfall combined with a poor drainage system could pose a threat of flooding.

Smith cut directly to footage from Fox’s local affiliate in Washington DC to highlight the attempts by local officials to place handbags strategically in the city. Smith praised all of Fox’s affiliates in the hurricane-targeted areas for doing their best reporting in such difficult weather.

Smith has been praised in the past for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and so his dedication to keeping viewers informed about Irene obviously comes from a very personal place.

John Roberts, reporting from North Carolina, stood out in the middle of a field as heavy winds blow around him. Roberts said he was feeling the heavy part of the storm, but the eye is steadily approaching the area for a brief respite from the hurricane. Roberts also worried that New York could face the same harsh weather.

People have their fun with reporters who fall over while reporting on heavy weather, but for McKelway and Roberts to brave what most people wouldn’t even dare venture into if their lives depended on it is admirable. News reporters provide a public service by informing people what to expect and how they can be safe.

Watch the video of the segment below, courtesy of Fox News:

The New York Post is reporting tonight–and Mediaite has confirmed–that that American Morning co-host Kiran Chetry is leaving the morning show–and CNN. The Post cites “sources” saying Chetry “was seen packing up her desk today” and plans to leave the network at the end of the month. Mediaite has learned her last day at American Morning–and CNN–will be July 29.

In recent weeks, Chetry, who previously co-hosted AM with John Roberts (who himself left CNN for Fox News) has been part of a morning trio including Ali Velshi and Christine Romans. No final decision has been made on staffing for the show after Chetry’s departure.

Here’s Chetry’s note to the AM staff:

Subject: Farewell from Kiran

To My American Morning Family–

July 29th will be my last day on our show and at CNN. While there are exciting things for me coming up soon, I want you to know how much I will miss spending the wee hours of the morning with you.

As journalists, together we have covered some of the most pivotal stories of our time. I will never forget your dedication and hard work toward getting it right and through it all, we always found a way to laugh and enjoy our work.

The stories we told were generational: The Virginia Tech shootings, the Gulf Oil Spill, President Obama’s inaugration, the Royal Wedding… My special reports on teen drug abuse, autism, the challenge of military families… And who can forget the 8 hour marathon shows we did on election mornings, and on and on….Together we’ve had a front row seat to history.

The “thank yous” could go on forever. But Jim Walton, Jon Klein and Joel Cheatwood made the call to give me an opportunity I will treasure forever.

The nearly 5 years here at CNN have been some of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding of my career.

It was a true honor to come to work everyday with some of the most kind, professional, hardworking and fun people in the business.

This isn’t goodbye… this is see you soon.

God Bless,

Kiran

Henry’s contract with CNN was up. In a short statement, CNN says “we thank Ed for his contributions and wish him the best. We will be naming our new chief White House correspondent in the coming days.”

Henry’s move adds another big name to the shifts among the Washington press corps, with Norah O’Donnell‘s move from MSNBC to CBS announced last week.

Here’s Henry’s farewell note to his CNN colleagues:

It was only a few days after I started on the White House beat in 2006 that I shouted a question in the Rose Garden about Donald Rumsfeld that led President Bush to now famously declare, “I’m the decider.”

I will never forget that day. But it was just one of many thrilling moments on this beat for CNN, which makes my decision now to leave this network so difficult. It would be easy to say good-bye if I didn’t care about the people or the mission, but I am still a passionate supporter of both.

So after seven years at CNN it is bittersweet for me to say I’ve landed a terrific opportunity elsewhere that I am absolutely thrilled about. But first I just want to say thank you for what has been a wild ride for me, from the beginning of my tenure when I was in the anchor chair when Robert Novak walked off-set — right up until the night a few weeks ago I raced from a Capitals playoff hockey game to the White House to report through the night on the killing of Osama bin Laden. I’m still getting grief for the polo shirt I wore on the North Lawn that night but what can I say, I was trying to Rock the Red.

Before I depart at the end of the week, I want to express my deep appreciation for anchors like Wolf Blitzer, Judy Woodruff (CNN Emeritus), Candy Crowley, John King, Anderson Cooper, Ali Velshi, Kyra Phillips, TJ Holmes, Don Lemon, Robin Meade and so many others who have made me a better journalist.

More importantly, I want to thank the real stars around here — all of the amazing producers and photojournalists here who have made me not just a better journalist, but a better person too.

To some people, our former Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman is remembered as a tech wiz who rolled out Magic Walls and holograms — not to mention that shelf full of Emmys and Peabodys. I prefer to think he’s best known for making ME his first hire in Washington when I left Roll Call!

David left behind big shoes to fill but the talented Sam Feist will take things to whole new heights. Trust me though when I say the secret to Sam’s success in the days ahead will be the person who runs our newsroom, the classy, hard-working friend I have named Edith Chapin.

But Bohrman might never have hired me if Wolf had decided to sleep in on the campaign trail early in 2004. True story: Wolf found himself exercising in a New Hampshire hotel gym next to Roll Call’s Mort Kondracke. As Wolf tells it, while he was on a treadmill he pressed Mort on whether I was ready to make the jump to TV and next thing you know a long-stalled personnel move at CNN was unstuck and I was hired as the new Congressional correspondent. Thanks to Wolf — and Jim Walton too — for taking a chance on a kid from print. I also owe a big debt of gratitude to the rest of the WolfPack.

King is a reporter’s reporter and it has been an honor to be one of the go-to people for he and Michelle Jaconi, first at State of the Union and then at JKUSA. John may not remember this but back in March 2004 his advice about transitioning from print to TV included this: “Listen to your cameramen. They’ll tell you when you suck.” His point was the photojournalists have seen it all and can tell when a reporter genuinely has new information or is just going through the motions — so check your ego at the door and listen to their feedback.

John could not have been more accurate about the photojournalists’ knowledge — or their willingness to tell you you’re awful! I kid because the banter and friendships with the photojournalists has been awesome, starting with the guys who did my very first live shot, Khalil Abdallah and Martin Dougherty. I love them, and every single other PJ I have worked with throughout the world, including the gone-but-never-forgotten Jerry Thompson.

I found the same kind of selflessness where I started on Capitol Hill. I didn’t win the Dirksen Award on my own — it was because of the hard work of Ted Barrett, Steve Turnham, Deirdre Walsh, Laura Bernardini, Evan Glass, and Craig Broffman.

And the standard of excellence was just as high in the White House unit, where I won the Merriman Smith Award because of great people like Steve Redisch, Tim McCaughan, Stacia Deshishku, Emily Schultze, Becky Brittain, Jamie Crawford, and Julian Styles. A special word about my primary producer Shawna Shepherd — she has been indispensable and invaluable every day of our time together and I adore her. Dan Lothian is a consummate professional and a trusted partner. My only regret about my new opportunity is it does not allow me to spend more time working alongside Brianna Keilar — the future is so bright for her.

Covering two presidential campaigns for CNN was great fun, especially because of remarkable friends throughout the entire political unit, especially Mark Preston. And then there’s Paul Steinhauser, the producer who was talking into my earpiece when Novak walked off. After saying “oh my God” and some other things I can’t repeat, Paul delivered the most terrifying news: “Ed, sorry but you have three more minutes until the next commercial break.” Somehow James Carville and I stalled.

Candy is such a class act, so getting to fill in for her on Sundays has been a highlight, not to mention working with her team led by the truly legendary Tom Bettag.

I have been lucky to work with a terrific group of correspondents in DC but a special mention of Dana Bash. She warned me to think twice about getting into this crazy business over dinner at DC Coast oh so many years ago. And as always her reporting and analysis of the situation were dead-on. And despite me ignoring that warning, she has been a cherished colleague.

Working with Anderson has been unbelievable, especially because of the remarkable Charlie Moore. And while I never thought I would say I enjoyed waking up at 4am, the team at American Morning is stellar. I could never forget the dozens upon dozens of people in Atlanta who have been so great to work with across all of the platforms of cnn.com and CNN Radio, as well as fabulous colleagues at CNN International, HLN, and CNN Espanol.

But forgive me for being biased when I say the absolute best producer in any bureau is Shirley Henry by a mile. Before I met her, she literally almost lost her life in Iraq doing what CNN does best — reporting on a story with immense global ramifications. I thank God every day he allowed her to survive so I could be lucky enough to eventually meet her and then convince her to be my own “executive producer” — the most loving wife and stepmother a man could ever have.

Last but not least — or perhaps least is the word I am searching for — there’s my pal Ali Velshi. There are no two guys I’d rather be covering a big story with — or heading to Atlantic City with — than Ali and our mutual friend Darius Walker.

Ali and I have had so much fun with “The Stakeout” segment — kudos to his executive producer Kelly Frank for that idea — I have been thinking maybe the Bromance is what I will miss more than anything. But I thought it over and realized — no offense to Ali — the truth is that it is really just one of many friendships here I will quite simply cherish forever. Kindest personal regards, Ed

Imus was curious if Roberts thought there should be more skepticism from the media regarding America’s involvement in Libya? Roberts referenced the argument made by Howard Kurtz, to which Imus interrupted and asked if Kurtz made that point on CNN? Imus declared, “well I hate CNN, so why would you want to reference them and you must hate them too?” Roberts replied that he really liked Kurtz, but chose not to clarify his opinion on CNN as a whole. Imus agreed that he liked Kurtz too.

Later there were some other entertaining exchanges as Roberts admitted he still watches CBS even though he doesn’t work there anymore and as Imus wondered whether Roberts and his companion, CNN’s Kyra Phillips, have a “new age arrangement” where they won’t get married. Finally, Roberts discussed his moment of agitation captured live on CNN, and blamed it on someone trying to fix his nail polish while he was conducting an interview. Imus compared it to Bill O’Reilly‘s infamous outburst while taping Inside Edition, prompting Roberts to laugh and to even imitate the “we’ll do it live” moment.

Watch the clip from Fox Business below:

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 war room tracks every dollar and every ounce of drugs seized, but DEA asst. special agent Carl Pike told Roberts the ultimate message coming from the war room is that attacks on federal agents will not be tolerated in this country or anywhere in the world. As Roberts points out, the operations being run from the special operations center are not just in border towns and places like Mexico, but rather “deep into the continental United States.”

Watch the exclusive here, from Fox News:

In my off-camera conversations with Kiran Chetry, she was as energetic and friendly as she is on-camera, and clearly has a passion for the news business. She also spoke, at length, about the challenges that face troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, an issue in which she has a particularly strong interest.

In the first part of our interview, Kiran gives a quick bio that includes stints at Fox News and WICU-TV in Erie, PA, and talks about the long hours involved in each and every American Morning:

Next, I ask Kiran to talk about her show’s “most news in the morning” angle, and whether that emphasis will change, plus she assesses the legs on the Wisconsin story, and reveals the story behind that John Roberts clip.

Finally, in the last segment of our interview, Kiran talks about Mediaite (she has incredible taste in websites), addresses those super-devoted fans, assesses CNN’s place in the cable news firmament, and the state of journalism. She also reveals some personal details, talks about her rapport with co-anchor TJ Holmes, and makes me really, really want to do karaoke with her.

Ex-CNN anchor John Roberts has made his first appearance as a senior national correspondent for Fox, appearing Monday afternoon on Studio B with Shepard Smith.

Roberts, who CNN’s American Morning in December after three years on the morning shift, has relocated to Atlanta, where his fiancee CNN Kyra Phillips are preparing for the birth of twins.

Introduced as the “newest member of the team,” Roberts told Smith it was “great to be here.”

Shep later added, “John Roberts, welcome aboard, my man! It’s great to have you on Fox.”

Roberts’ first story, on security for lawmakers in the aftermath of the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, focused on the difficulty of protecting 435 different members of Congress in Washington, when they travel, and at home in their districts.

Watch it here, from Fox News:

According to Jautz, Roberts will leave the show in the next few weeks and he’s expected to land in Atlanta in a reporting role. But the morning memo reveals more changes at AM, including the departure of executive producer Jamie Kraft, who’s headed to NBC Nightly News, and format changes designed to make the morning show “better suited to the morning and to better reflect the way people view news as they’re getting going with their day.”

Here’s the entire memo:

TO: CNN Staff
FROM: Ken Jautz
DATE: December 14, 2010

I want to share some news regarding American Morning, both in terms of personnel and content of the show.

First, we are announcing today that John Roberts will be leaving the morning show by the end of the year, and we are discussing an Atlanta-based reporting role for him. John told me about his desire to be based in Atlanta so as to be near his fiancé and his desire to be able to spend more time reporting in the field on major stories and on documentaries.

Also, Jamie Kraft has accepted a role outside the company. Jamie has been a strong producer for both AC360 and American Morning and a great colleague, and we wish him the very best.

Moreover, we have been making some format changes to the show to make it better suited to the morning and to better reflect the way people view news as they’re getting going with their day. By that I mean I’ve asked for the show to be more upbeat and faster-paced and for us to look carefully at the kinds of stories we’re covering during that daypart. We’ve already started in this direction — you may have noticed fewer long packages and a broader selection of stories and some changes to the set and look of the show — and we’ll be continuing down this path.

I want to make sure we have the right “American Morning family,” as it were and we will be looking at different people alongside Kiran on a rotating basis. Beginning next week, TJ Holmes will be the first to co-anchor with Kiran and you may see some new contributors as well.

I’ve asked Jim McGinnis to take over immediately as the interim EP for American Morning to implement these changes. As most of you probably know, Jim is a long time CNN veteran and has been running key shows and projects for us for many years, so AM will be in good hands with him.

Ken

The Murdoch-owned tab says the head-rolling and chair-shifting will being in January, with American Morning co-host John Roberts first on the list to pick up a new gig, at least according to the Post‘s “insiders:”

John Roberts is finalizing a contract to leave “American Morning” and start a new life as a CNN national correspondent in At lanta, where his pregnant fiancée, Kyra Phillips, anchors “CNN Newsroom.” Insiders speculate that handsome newsreader T.J. Holmes, who filled in for Roberts yesterday, is one of the favorites to take over Roberts’ role and anchor alongside Kiran Chetry. “T.J. Holmes has always been groomed for a bigger gig,” an insider told us.

The Posties also suggest it’s the end of the CNN road for CNN daytime anchor Tony Harris, who will reportedly “announce to his staff…that he’s leaving the network after six years.”

CNN told the Post it would not comment on talent contracts.

Rumors, of course, about shakeups–particularly on the ratings-troubled American Morning–have been bubbling for months. Roberts and co-host Kiran Chetry have failed to find a winning chemistry, and at one point Roberts even seemed to snap at Chetry on air.

More recently, those chatty “insiders” have been speculating that HLN anchor Robin Meade might be a natural for a revamped and reworked American Morning, considering her show has been racking up strong ratings on CNN’s sister network.

To be fair, Jesse Eisenberg does deliver Aaron Sorkin‘s dialogue very quickly, but still. Breyer went on to mention other instances of digital ignorance within the Court. As the Associated Press reports,

Chief Justice John Roberts in a public employee privacy case before the court earlier this year tried to figure out the role of a text-messaging service in enabling an exchange between two people.

“I thought, you know, you push a button; it goes right to the other thing,” Roberts said. Responded Justice Antonin Scalia: “You mean it doesn’t go right to the other thing?”

In another example provided by the AP, one case prompted Justice Anthony Kennedy to ask a lawyer why people couldn’t simply use V-chips to prevent children from playing violent video games. The lawyer had to “politely explain” that V-chips only work for TV programming.

Not very promising. Come on, Supreme Court Justices, get your act together! It can’t feel good to be behind the Queen of England.

After some searching, we found what they were talking about. Wednesday morning, right before Roberts was set to interview David Axelrod, he sternly reprimanded her for some off-screen distraction.

As Roberts introduced Pres. Obama’s senior adviser, he seemed distracted. “Let me ask you first of all,” pause, smile, restart. “Let me ask you first of all, David, if I could, before we get into the…”

Full stop. Then, Roberts turned to where Chetry was sitting next to him (she had been on camera earlier in the segment), and said, with Axelrod still in the double-box shot: “Would you mind not doing that while I’m talking? Thank you, I appreciate that.” Then, added for emphasis and sarcasm, “If you don’t mind.”

And then back to the interview. Chetry and Roberts anchored together later that week, but this week Roberts has been off and Chetry only returned today (paired with Drew Griffin). So, uh, some tension over there on American Morning? I think it’s safe to say Roberts enjoys this on-air pairing a little more.

> Update: The Carpe Diem blog, which covers all the cable morning shows, wrote about this last week.

Check it out (via):

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After taking the constitutional oath reserved for all federal employees earlier today, Kagan took the final oath administered by Chief Justice John Roberts. She will begin serving on the bench on the first Monday in October. The New York Times compiled some interesting facts on Kagan as a Supreme Court justice:

Arguably, she made a mark from the moment she took the oaths on Saturday. Ms. Kagan is the third woman to serve on the current court, joining Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, She is also the fifth justice, or a majority, to have been born after World War II, at once bringing down the average age on the court to 64 years old, from nearly 69. And she is the first since William H. Rehnquist 38 years ago to join the court without experience as a judge.

Watch Kagan’s swearing in ceremony, as broadcast on Fox News, below:

After Chetry asked if Sherrod would file a defamation suit against Andrew Breitbart, Sherrod agreed that she should. She points out that any apology from Breitbart (which still hasn’t come) wouldn’t be good enough and that he’s someone she’d like to “get back at.” Both CNN hosts quickly asked her to clarify and, when they asked if she’d like to see his site shut down, she again answered in the affirmative.

“That would be a great thing. Because I don’t see how [BigGovernment] advances us in this country. I don’t see how that helps us. At a time when we have many, many minority groups in this- many, many ethnic groups is, I guess what I need to say- in this country. At a time when we should be looking at how we can make space for all of us in this country so that we could all live and work together. He’s doing more to divide us.”

Breitbart, of course, weathered similar legal battles following the ACORN tapes (a more recent lawsuit related to the tapes doesn’t list Breitbart as a defendant). However, if Sherrod decides to go ahead with any plans to “get back” at him, if apologies from the President aren’t enough, it will be interesting to see if Breitbart will make it out of this one unscathed as well.

While the discussion was cordial, Roberts put Suttles on the spot on his own turf regarding the lack of BP transparency and more.

One key exchange:

Roberts: But you know the President said he doesn’t fully trust BP. There are a lot of other politicians who, for whatever reasons, are saying they don’t trust BP. There are a lot of people across the United States who probably think you’re shading the truth to some degree to minimize your liability, to try to make things look as good as possible for the company.

Suttles: Well John, you know if you look at what we’ve done since the beginning, I mean today we were over 1.3 billion dollars. On any given day we spend 30, 40 million dollars a day on this activity. I believe that shows our commitment to do the right thing. We didn’t hide behind some cap in the law. We’ve been out here doing everything we can not only to stop this thing but to clean it up and try to do right. It’s very difficult for people to believe that right now and I know that. But I would just ask, just give us a chance.

Check out the full interview:

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With Brown out for part of this week and next week, let’s look at who’s filling in and speculate about whether that means they’re being considered for the slot!

Obviously no outsider will be filling in during the hour, so that eliminates many of the options that have been thrown around. We put the odds for “current anchor, temporary” at 10:1 and three of the four named are going to be taking over the hour in the coming days. Rick Sanchez (currently anchoring 3-5pmET) filled in last night and does so again tonight. Sanchez has previously filled in for Brown, before he got his own Rick’s List slot. And he also held the 8pmET hour before Brown with Out In The Open.

As for next week, Monday the show is gone for Memorial Day, and Wednesday and Thursday Sanjay Gupta‘s special, Toxic America, airs. Tuesday the anchoring duties goes to John Roberts (currently morning show co-anchor) and on Friday, it’s Candy Crowley (currently Sunday show anchor).

What does it all mean? Who knows – but if one person shines more than the others, it could give them a leg up over other internal candidates. Of course, if the hour goes toward Crossfire it would be the pundits that get the job. And if they look outside the network, all bets are off.

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But how about the three-hour morning block, American Morning? Multiple stories yesterday brought up the idea of changes at the program, and while CNN wasn’t talking, maybe it’s time for a change.

TheWrap.com’s Dylan Stableford wrote about testing at the network: CNN “is developing a new morning show pilot, with a format closer to MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Fox & Friends than anything it has ever done.”

A CNN insider tells us “talent testing is done all the time,” and this round is “not tied to specific timeslot.” But while there may not be an entirely new CNN show on the horizon, what does a “format” change actually mean. The thing that Morning Joe and Fox & Friends do well are unscripted, prompter-less programming, something American Morning stays away from (in many ways, it most resembles a local news morning show – with some banter but mostly a hard news driven focus).

But when asked if any changes are coming to American Morning, whether related to this round of talent testing or not, a CNN spokesperson had no comment.

The ratings for the show have held steady in 2nd place on cable news in total viewers but 3rd place in the A25-54 demographic, behind sister-network HLN and Morning Express. But the show has lost the most total viewers of any cable news show year-to-year, and Fox & Friends firmly in first place for years, has more demo viewers than American Morning has total viewers.

The best way I’ve learned to keep an eye on cable news as part of my daily job is to watch one channel and have another in picture-to-picture, toggling between the two. At 5pmET, it’s Glenn Beck and Chris Matthews. At 3pmET, it’s Rick Sanchez and Shepard Smith. The reason for this is simple (and professional, not personal) – it’s an attempt to not miss what may be an important media story to write about.

Which is why in the morning, it’s Fox & Friends and Morning Joe. Now F&F is a huge presence in the ratings, but MSNBC’s Morning Joe decidedly isn’t. In fact, it regularly finishes in fourth place on cable news in the demo and total viewers. But the difference here is buzz – noteworthy guests, interesting (sometimes contentious) debates and discussions, a few gaffes. American Morning may not ever be able to touch FNC’s ratings, but why shouldn’t they try to compete with MSNBC over buzz? And for a network seen for it’s hard news chops, the combination of buzz and news in the morning could help in the ratings as well. Which may mean changes are on the horizon.

In some ways, what’s happening in the morning at CNN is symptomatic of a larger issue at CNN – where hard news continues to drive prime time as well. While the formula may have worked in the past, the ratings are declining, and CNN hasn’t evolved in the same way the competition (FNC, MSNBC and even sister-network HLN) have.

Another element to this is Kiran Chetry, who came over from Fox News (very suddenly) almost three years ago exactly. Would a change at CNN in the morning coincide with her contract being up? CNN had no comment (although, regarding Chetry, others yesterday did).

One final note – in TVNewser’s write-up yesterday they highlight “another top-line talent may bolt the cable channel when her contract expires. We hear she’s being wooed by one of the big 3 news divisions.” It would make sense that this person is Christiane Amanpour, whose name has been rumored for the vacant This Week job. In that case, it wouldn’t directly related to CNN’s morning show changes (or non-changes).

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Killen’s first outings into the blogosphere were with PopEater, New York Magazine and MTV News, and her only pre-CNN television appearance on her local network news. Through those interviews, Killen has managed to form an image of herself as an everyday girl with everyday hopes whose life was turned upside down by the restlessness of arguably the nation’s most beloved comic. Her food tastes (the main thing Conan focused on) are as widely embraced as they are top-notch and her economic troubles resonate in this economy, too.

And the reviews from the blogs have been almost universally positive (except for Gawker indirectly calling her a shill), praising Sarah for remaining level-headed and humble, and using her newfound fame to raise money for cancer research.

CNN anchors Kiran Chetry and John Roberts continued to shower praise on her– and her fiancee, who had not actually spoken in public before– while having unexpectedly unveiled a side of Killen it appears she had been trying to hide from the public. For the first time since her fateful Friday, Killen lost her deer-in-the-headlights look and let herself enjoy the moment a bit, describing the perks of fame that have come her way: wine, a limo, and a wedding dress for her big day, a new computer, and meeting rapper Ludacris, for a start.

Her fiancee John described himself as her “manager”– the first indication that Killen may perhaps be keen on making her fifteen minutes in the spotlight as long as possible. Chetry and Roberts replied to the “manager” comment with what was perhaps the most offensive part of the interview, citing what seems to be the only celebrity couple they could think of that was famous without actually doing anything worthy of attracting the spotlight. Watch the couple reel in disgust as they are compared to Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag (and talk about their post-Conan lives!) below (also, Killen is back on CNN tonight, appearing on Larry King Live:

The report, dubious from the onset, suggested that Roberts had “personal reasons” to remove himself from the seat and that the blog “has been told that Roberts, 55, could announce his decision [to step down] at any time.” This could mean we are hours away from a new Chief Justice, or simply that in a few decades Roberts may choose to retire into the sunset after an extended term of service. Yes, Roberts could step down at any time. He could also die, go shopping, make a sandwich, or watch a movie.

Probably since “personal reasons” is so often a code phrase for “scandal,” Drudge put the link directly under the headline, leading publications from the Huffington Post (who pointed to a 2007 Time report on Roberts’ possible epilepsy diagnosis as a potential clue) to the Village Voice to pick up on it. Drudge responded by releasing a statement that his sources had denied it; Fox News also reported the rumors were false. The Radar report now stands with an update: “RadarOnline.com has obtained new information that Justice Roberts will NOT resign. The justice will be staying on the bench.” The post disappeared from Drudge and the alarm was cleared.

It’s an interesting move on the part of Radar, one that gave them, literally, their 15 minutes of fame. And it was completely successful: write an “exclusive,” completely false piece on something the blog has no expertise on and watch the links and hits roll in. Since no one goes to Radar expecting factual coverage of the Supreme Court, the fact that they are completely unreliable when it comes to their political coverage is irrelevant. Sure, next time they publish a political bombshell exclusive, no one will take them seriously, but their bread-and-butter stories on Brangelina and Tiger Woods remain unscathed.

Update: Sadly, the rumor was not a fabrication by Radar with the intent to get a ton of hits and media attention. Apparently, it all started in a Georgetown Law School classroom, where Professor Peter Tague was teaching his 1L class about the importance of reliable sources:

Today’s class was partially on the validity of informants not explaining their sources. [Professor Tague] started off class at around 9 am EST by telling us not to tell anyone, but that we might find it interesting that tomorrow, Roberts would be announcing his retirement for health concerns. He refused to tell anyone how he knew. Then, at around 9:30, he let everyone in on the joke.

Justice Alito’s flamboyantly insinuating himself into a pure political event, in a highly politicized manner, will only hasten that decline. On a night when both tradition and the Court’s role dictate that he sit silent and inexpressive, he instead turned himself into a partisan sideshow — a conservative Republican judge departing from protocol to openly criticize a Democratic President — with Republicans predictably defending him and Democrats doing the opposite. Alito is now a political (rather than judicial) hero to Republicans and a political enemy of Democrats, which is exactly the role a Supreme Court Justice should not occupy.

Alito’s behavior meanwhile has opened the floodgates for Democratic complaints that both Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts (both Bush 43 nominees) misled Congress during their confirmation hearings when they “represented themselves as jurists who would respect precedent.”

Meanwhile Dahlia Lithwick says cool it. Alito’s human:

[T]here was also absolutely nothing inappropriate about the justice’s reaction to him. Both the president and the justices are political actors, and all are entitled to screw up their faces and grumble in public as they see fit.

And then there’s this from George Will which doesn’t actually address the SCOTUS moment per se, but instead articulates what I think Sarah Palin (also Glenn Beck last night) was trying to get at when they complained of the president’s lecturing:

Obama seems to regret the existence in Washington of . . . everyone else. He seems to feel entitled to have his way without tiresome interventions in the political process by the many interests affected by his agenda for radical expansion of the regulatory state….Obama’s leitmotif is: Washington is disappointing, Washington is annoying, Washington is dysfunctional, Washington is corrupt, verily Washington is toxic — yet Washington should conscript a substantially larger share of GDP, and Washington should exercise vast new controls over health care, energy, K-12 education, etc. Talk about a divided brain.

I also love that song about a shorty fire burning on the dance floor. Am I alone in this secret love for cheesy Aughts-Pop? I refused to believe it — so I pried it out of a few of your favorite media people, or even some people you don’t much care for. I also asked them who their favorite villain of 2009 was, and what we should blame on the a-a-a-a-a-a-alcohol. Turns out, maybe also this list.

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“I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. The only lyrics I know from this song are “Mazel tov!” Why? In the name of Yahweh, WHY!?!?!”
— Baratunde Thurston, Comedian & Vigilante Pundit

“If I had shame I would be totally embarrassed to love Kelly Clarkson’s “Already Gone” — but I love it openly and without guilt!!”
— Corynne Steindler, Senior Reporter/Editor, HollywoodLife.com (@corynnes)

“”For Your Entertainment” by Adam Lambert, not really embarrassed to love, but maybe it’s a little embarrassing how much I love it?” – Meghan McCain, Contributor, The Daily Beast (@McCainBLogette)

“I love “Party in the USA,” fyi – you’re not alone!” – Kate Lee, ICM Agent to the Blog-Stars and Beyond

“”She Wolf” by Shakira. It was more the video than the song itself. Yikes.” – Willie Geist, host of “Way Too Early” on MSNBC (@williegeist11)

“Was that song about being able to see your halo from 2009? If not, then the Glee version of it, fer sure.” - Drew Grant, Writer, FishbowlNY & Columnist for Street Carnage

“Everything from that fake-alternapoprock genre (3OH3!’s “Don’t Trust Me,” Boys Like Girls’ “Love Drunk” etc.)” – Danny Shea, Media Editor, Huffington post

“Bad Romance – GAGA!” – Gary Vaynerchuck, Winelibrary.com impresario and author of “Crush It!”

““Fireflies” by Owl City.  I typically don’t like music made on anything that won’t make a sound unless it’s plugged into a computer, but this was one happy little tune in a year of otherwise abject despondency.” - John Roberts, CNN “American Morning” co-anchor

“Glenn Beck’s version of “Revolution.”" – Patrick Gavin, Politico

“It’s every Taylor Swift song from ’09.  Also, “Big Ego” by Beyonce and Kanye…” – Matt Lewis, Politics Daily

“I am not ashamed to love Miley’s “Party In The U.S.A.” or the entirety of Taylor Swift’s Fearless album, but maybe I should be.” - Verena von Pfetten, Sr. Editor, Lifestyle and Entertainment , Air America Media

“‘Stronger,’ by Kanye West. Yes, I know it’s from 2007, but this year every radio station DJ would play it before or after Taylor Swift, chuckling, ‘See? I got them together now!’” – Rob Kutner, Writer, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (@ApocalypseHow)

“I hate to admit it, but I actually downloaded Kris Allen’s remake of The Frays remake of Kanye West’s ‘Heartless.’” – Roy Sekoff, Editor, The Huffington Post

‘Ha, “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha although I’ve transcended the embarrassment! Ooh, that “Tonight’s Gonna be a Good NIght” song is pretty great.” - Katie Baker, Mediaite columnist and Awl contributor

“Cobra Starship feat. Leighton Meester, ‘Good Girls Go Bad’” – Caroline McCarthy, The Social Columnist, CNET

“The theme song from Thomas the Tank Engine (not new, but new to me…and VERY catchy, trust me).” John Berman, ABC News Correspondent, who has 3-year-old twin boys.

“1st choice – “Party in the USA” because that’s how I roll… Kidding! Runner up: Scarlett Johannson & Pete York “The Realtor.’” – Leslie Sanchez, CNN Commentator

“The Glee Cast! I sing their songs at the top of my lungs and actually think I sound okay.” - Jill Chappell, CNN Producer

“Soulja Boy — Turn My Swag On.  Perfect hype music for a night out or facing down a series of impossible deadlines.” – Jenna Wortham, New York Time tech writer

“I don’t believe in guilty pleasures, so I’m proud to admit that I loved almost everything the Beelzebubs sang on ‘The Sing-Off,’ especially ‘Magical Mystery Tour.’” - Tommy Christopher, Mediaite columnist

“The mashup of Creed’s “With Arms Wide Open” and Biggie’s “Juicy.” If you don’t know, now you know, Jesus.” – Foster Kamer, Gawker Weekend Editor

“Tik Tok, Ke$ha. Duh.” – Jonathan Wald, former CNBC macher and Big Man on Twitter

“I don’t think I have a song from 2009 that I’m embarrassed to love, so I’ll have to go with my two longtime guilty pleasures: Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” and Bryan Adams “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” And really, does it get more embarrassing than that? (Answer: No. No it doesn’t.) But obviously I’m totally embarrassed for anyone who loves any Black Eyed Peas song, or even for anyone who can listen to an entire BEP song without wanting to chop off body parts. (Their own or other people’s.)” – Andy Levy, “Red Eye” half-time anchor

‘”Empire state of mind”. There was no other song that permeated the city’s nightlife more this year, than that song. So much so that it became passe and annoying to anyone with standards by August. However, I still get tingles and ‘inspired” by it even after its over stayed its welcome.” – Seth Herzog, Comedian

“I have no idea how to answer these, except to say that I’ve been listening to a lot of Tom Waits lately, so I’ll go with his sentimental “House Where Nobody Lives” — a nice holiday song about love and family.” – Howard Fineman, Senior Washington Correspondent, Newsweek & MSNBC analyst

The GOP pollster and paid Fox News contributor didn’t admit any role in stoking right wing anger despite being challenged by the CNN host over a memo he wrote to Republicans that outlined what Roberts called “charged language” to stop White House led efforts to reform health care.

The subject of Luntz’ book is what he sees as an unprecedented level of anger among the American electorate. Roberts asked: “You wrote a memo to the Republican Party, giving them suggestions on how to oppose the health care plan, suggested that they use phrases like ‘it’s a bailout of the insurance industry,’ ‘Washington takeover of the system.’ All of these words were out there. So my question is, did you help contribute to that anger?”

“But what is the first page of that memo?” Luntz responded. “That you must support health care reform. That’s exactly what Americans would say. We need to cover those people who aren’t covered.”

Roberts: “The question I have about all of this anger is, how much of it is organic and how much of it is ginned-up by the opposition to try to give Democrats a hard time? You know President Clinton was on Meet the Press with David Gregory yesterday and he said that the vast right-wing conspiracy was…extremely virulent”

Luntz: “You see, he doesn’t get it.”

Video is from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast Sept. 28, 2009.

Back then, hearing the news of a VP selection by text message made us all giddy; hours of cable news time was spent pondering the hubris of Greek pillars at Invesco Field; Hurricane Gustav was threatening to wipe the whole GOP event off the map; and the country was about to be introduced to a little-known politician who showed enormous promise named Sarah Palin. Wow.

PHOTOGALLERY: 2008 CONVENTIONS

Through it all, a cadre of journos, news execs, pundits in TV makeup, upstart bloggers and jockeying political operatives had gotten used to each other’s faces on the campaign trail, through stops in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, Super Tuesday and more, with their speeches, rallies, debates, spin rooms, hoe-downs, barbecues, fundraisers, black-tie dinners, arugula, waffles, shots of JD, the thrill of final victory and the bitter, bitter pall of defeat. In August-September 2008, it all converged into one Mega-Week (give or take a few days of travel time) as the whole gang plus everyone else who could score some couch space converged on Denver and Minneapolis/St. Paul. It was lots of work but lots of fun — like sleepaway camp for politicos. So – if you’re bored and nostaligic on this sleepy summer long weekend, you’re in luck — I took the best of my 600+ photos from last year and winnowed it down to the very best of the bunch, for some golden Kodak moments featuring any and all of — in no particular order — Joe Scarborough, Joe Klein, Mika Brzezinski, Arianna Huffington, Jake Weisberg, Dana Milbank, Luke Russert, Kevin Madden, Mark Salter, Ana Marie Cox, Jon Klein, Anderson Cooper, Rick Stengel, Mary Katherine Ham, Chuck Todd, Betsy Fischer, Trent Lott, John Roberts, Laura Ingraham, Jonah Goldberg, Patrick Gavin, Rick Klein, Tucker Carlson, Amy Argetsinger, Norah O’Donnell, Pat Buchanan, Ryan Lizza, Joel Stein, Walter Isaacson, Courtney Hazlett, Keli Goff, Chris Cillizza, Mike Isikoff, Alan Cumming, Jason Jones, Samantha Power, Cass Sunstein, Carly Fiorina, Larry Page, Henry Kissinger, Chad Hurley, Jon Hamm, John Dickerson, Obama Girl, Ari Melber, Josh Green, Joan Walsh, Ron Brownstein, Matt Cooper, Fred Armisen, will.i.am, Markos Moulitsas, Chevy Chase, Tammy Haddad, Lynn Sweet, Karen Tumulty, Ben Smith, John Oliver, Karl Rove, David Carr, Kathleen Sebelius, Sammy Hagar, Rahm Emanuel, Katie Couric, Peggy Noonan and various people eating free food at the CNN Grill. Was that just a blatant attempt at showing up in all of your Google alerts? Perhaps. But still, the pics are pretty fun. Check them out here — and happy Labor Day Weekend!

PHOTOGALLERY: 2008 CONVENTIONS

Do you have a question, comment or complaint about anything concerning Mediaite? Well if you do, today is a real chance to make your voice heard. We will be holding our 5th “Mediaite Office Hours” at 4pmET.

Roberts is co-anchor of American Morning on CNN, and spent more than seven hours live on the air yesterday covering the news of Sen. Ted Kennedy‘s death. You can find him on Twitter here. Also, he’s Canadian, like two-thirds of the Office Hours hosts, so there’s that. Stelter is our first return guest – and of course is on Twitter as well.

Glynnis MacNicol, Steve Krakauer and Rachel Sklar host the live-streamed call-in show, and others in the Mediaite team, like, Colby Hall and our fantastic interns, will appear periodically, as well as special guests.

With the new studio, comes a new call-in number: (347) 632-8956. Also, we’re using Skype now, so you can video chat in to our username – Mediaite.

Watch us live here on this page at 4pmET, or check it out at www.livestream.com/mediaite.

As for the schedule, you’ll hear Roberts first, followed by Stelter in the 2nd half hour.

See you at 3pm!

It’s a depressing read though: As you go through it, myth by myth, the distortions are clear and incredibly frustrating to see. (They also come almost exclusively from Fox, which by no means is the only place spreading misinformation but, from this document, certainly seems to do so reliably!) Here’s an example:

MYTH 9: Obama said he didn’t read House bill

CLAIM: Obama “admitted” that he has not read the House health care reform bill.

• Limbaugh asserted that Obama “doesn’t know what’s in the bill! He admits he doesn’t know.” [The Rush Limbaugh Show, 7/21/09]

• “Obama Admits He’s ‘Not Familiar’ With House Bill” [Heritage Foundation, 7/21/09]

• HANNITY: “The president even admitted before the press conference — the day before — he hadn’t read the bill.” [Hannity, 7/24/09]

REALITY: Obama actually said he was “not familiar” with opponents’ false talking point that bill would ban private individual insurance. During a July 20 conference call, a blogger asked Obama to comment on the claim made in the July 15 IBD editorial — which is false — that the bill, in the blogger’s words, “will make individual private medical insurance illegal.” Obama responded, “You know, I have to say that I am not familiar with the provision you’re talking about.”

“Sheesh” does not seem even close to strong enough here. More like bonking your head repeatedly against a wall, hard.

Look at how much effort has been expended by Media Matters in doing this. As the misinformation spreads, energy and resources must be redirected in addressing and debunking – and hoping that the fact-check gets spread around as widely as the initial false claim. I alluded to this in my own piece about Betsy McCaughey – Myths #3 and #13! -  that rumor containment will always be forever lagging behind those bent on spreading it, but seeing it laid out neatly and plainly here really shows just how true that is. De-pressing.

Myths and falsehoods about health care reform [Media Matters]
Who’s To Blame For The “Death Panel” Rumors? Betsy McCaughey, Again [Mediaite]
Newt Gingrich, Health Insurance Shill, Objectively Debates Health Care [Mediaite]