video You've seen the exclusive Fox News interview between Bret Baier and Pres. Barack Obama - and so did the media as a whole. How did MSNBC, NBC, Time, Hot Air and more react to the much-hyped interview? Check it out: (more...)

video Every single person involved in the John Edwards story is awful. But People magazine is still Team Elizabeth, and gets Elizabeth Edwards' PR team's spin reaction to the GQ Rielle Hunter interview. And the Today show dug deeper. (more...)

video Is Kirstie Alley's new diet company “Organic Liaison” connected to the Church of Scientology, of which she's a member? Reports vary, but she says the idea there is a connection is bullsh...oh Kirstie, you can't say that on network morning television! (more...)

video 30 Rock is well known for using both real-life news events and personalities to drive their plot: Alec Baldwin's character "Jack Donaghy" is said to be based on management style of Lorne Michaels, many believe that Will Arnett's turn as up-and-comer "Devin Banks" is inspired by former NBC programmer Ben Silverman, and of course Liz Lemon is, well, Tina Fey. But last night's episode featured a storyline ripped from the Mediaite headlines: NBC's takeover by a Philadelphia cable provider, affectionately referred to as "Kabletown." (more...)

ABC's Good Morning America weekend anchor Kate Snow is leaving the network and joining NBC. The news was first reported by TVNewser. It is the latest change at Good Morning America since Diane Sawyer left to become World News anchor. (more...)

A serious journalistic query should an intrepid reporter want to follow this lead: has anyone seen Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and WNBC investigative journalist Jonathan Dienst in the same room? Sure, they come from completely different media backgrounds and, save for both making occasional appearances on MSNBC, have little professional overlap. But we can't help but look at the photo evidence and wonder whether something is up? (more...)

The rumors were true - Conan O'Brien is going on tour, beginning April 12 in Eugene, Oregon. The news was announced via his Twitter feed this morning, a website has been set up (TeamCoco.com, of course) and more details about what to expect have been revealed. (more...)

Remember how the storyline when Conan O'Brien hosted the Tonight Show was that he could win in the younger demographics but would lose in total viewers? Well, after a first week back of big ratings and victories over CBS, Jay Leno and the new old Tonight Show lost to David Letterman in the demos Monday night. (more...)

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Chuck Todd, NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and host of MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," is immensely quotable, as it turns out (as evidenced by the Drudge-driven preview clip that has been burning up the internet for days now).  Today, we go Inside the White House Press Corps for the rest of our interview, in which Chuck holds forth on the job of the White House reporter, the role of the Press Secretary, and the idea of media bias. He also tells us what he thinks of Fox's Family Guy and 24. (more...)

video Dan Rather, longtime anchor at the CBS Evening News and now of HD Net, has been known for his analogies and anecdotes (Ratherisms). But Newsbusters has caught one that seems to have gone way off the rails during an appearance on the Chris Matthews Show Sunday - involving Pres. Obama and "watermelons." (more...)

video In anticipation of the release of his memoir, Courage and Consequence, Karl Rove opened up about his political and personal life to Matt Lauer this morning on the Today show, where the host probed into Rove's understanding of "Rovian" politics, his role in the more negative aspects of both George W. Bush presidential campaigns and the upbringing that primed him for his place in history as one of the most influential, if not most beloved, political figures of the 21st century. More shocking than Rove's willingness to open up to Lauer - who, despite not exactly being a hard-hitting interviewer, is no Oprah either - was his comparative ease in discussing his private life compared to answering political questions. It was clear that, despite the traumatic nature of Lauer's questions in the second half of the interview, Rove was more comfortable talking about his life than the 2000 Bush campaign. (more...)

“When it comes to going downhill, nobody is faster (than Lindsey Vonn), except NBC.”

“Welcome to The Late Show. My name is Dave Letterman. Same time, same host.”

video One of the reasons I started the "Inside the White House Press Corps" series was so that people could see a different side of the people who play a large part in guiding the American political narrative. In this preview of my interview with NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd, we see a more animated figure than we're used to, discussing the "Drudge Effect" (my phrase) in journalism. (more...)

video Sarah Palin was a two-segment guest last night on The Tonight Show (and was involved in the cold open, displaying her own version of "cue cards"). Dressed down in jeans, she made several key political points before trying her hand at stand-up for the first time ever. But she and Jay Leno also bonded over something they share. (more...)

Jay Leno's Tonight Show re-premiere last night, as expected, gave NBC a huge victory over CBS. How big? Here's a breakdown: (more...)

video What was the new, old, new Tonight Show like? Well look, if you like Jay Leno, it was vintage Leno. If you exited the earth for the last few months, you might have been surprised by the studio and the opening, but basically, it was the same show Leno was doing back in May. Here's a look at what you missed if you were boycotting. (more...)

video Former CBS correspondent Bernie Goldberg was on The Factor tonight promoting his new book "A Slobbering Love Affair" (not the good kind), and helping Bill O'Reilly lament the fall of network news. "These guys who run the three networks think their title is President of the News Division," said the man who once wrote a book called 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (90 percent liberals, apparently), "their real title is "funeral director." (more...)

Q&A Lost in all the Conan O'Brien/Jay Leno NBC late night drama was how it would affect the late, late night host Carson Daly. Well he's back, tonight, with a new Executive Producer (Stewart Bailey, formerly of The Daily Show), the same unique post-studio style, and a star-studded first week of Oscars-related guests (including Eli Roth, Giovanni Ribisi and Jeremy Renner). Coming off some great ratings during Conan's last week (tied with Jimmy Kimmel in the 18-49 demo), Mediaite talked to Daly about his "near-death" late night experience, the jabs from other late night hosts, the "new" MTV and more. (more...)

NBC anchorman Brian Williams had a good run in Vancouver these past few weeks, delivering the nightly news before a stunning mountain vista, hobnobbing with Olympians, hitting the Vancouver party circuit with Willie Geist, wearing a sweatshirt to work. It's been pretty clear from his blogging at The Daily Nightly that he had a blast — and fell hard for his beautiful, polite, be-mittened and be-beavered host country of Canada. Sadly, all Olympic dreams must end, and BriWi returned home from Vancouver on Friday — this I know for a fact, because he was on my flight — but he left behind a thank-you note to Canada which has been making Canadians blush with pride from coast to coast, like so many happy dancing maple leaves. (more...)

video Real Time with Bill Maher is not just an entertaining television program, but also a pretty good barometer of the cultural zeitgeist. This weekend saw a good example of that, when host Bill Maher lead a discussion on Health Care reform, filibusters, and the challenges facing the Democratic party (particularly their brand.) In a remarkably pithy way, Maher claimed that if the democrats can't "get this through, right now, then they're NBC. They're a joke." It's hard to say who should be more offended by the quip: the DNC or NBC, or both? (more...)

video This is what happens when you put hockey coaches in the announcer booth. Last night former professional hockey coach and GM Mike Milbury offered strong and politically incorrect analysis for the way that the Russian Olympic hockey team was conducting themselves on the ice. Milbury claimed that they "came with their Eurotrash game" which may have been code for cheap and aggressive? At least judging by the tourist-laden streets of Soho, that's what I would say. (more...)

good news We'll probably have more to say about this (ok, we definitely will), but for now, just go and follow: Conan O'Brien is now on Twitter. Bio: "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account." And he just had his first tweet: (more...)

video This is going to break your heart. Joanie Rochette is the Canadian figure skater whose mother died suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday two days before Rochette was scheduled to compete. Rochette decided to remain in the competition anyway, and gave a blazing, heart-wrenching performance last night that landed her in third place going into the long program. But it was the crowd's reaction, and Rochette's emotional response that really made this absolutely must-see TV. I dare you to watch this and not cry. (more...)

Finally someone who thinks NBC is not doing such a shabby job with the Winter Olympics. While plenty of people have spent the last 12 days complaining about NBC's tape delayed coverage NPR's Frank DeFord thinks most Americans actually prefer it. Much like attending a action-packed, feel-good blockbuster watching the Olympics can be that much more enjoyable when you're already assured of the fact your country has won the gold (courtesy of that pesky little Internet). Says DeFord: (more...)

Pissed that the Winter Olympics were being shown on taped delay on NBC, a lot of Americans chose to do the 21st century thing and bypass their television sets all together. Several websites were set up with illegal video streams of the events that could be watched in (basically) real time, making it one of the first instances of national sports being more up to date on your WiFi than your cable. But even though NBC's Olympic numbers were strong this year, some are postulating that an article in NewTeeVee which explained in detail how to watch an online stream of the games might be in violation of NBC's copyright laws. (more...)

The first batch of guests for Jay Leno's re-premiere of The Tonight Show is out - and it's shaping up to be a star-studded first couple of weeks. But the biggest surprise may be Sarah Palin, who appears next Tuesday. (more...)

Last night, after Team USA's nailbiting victory over the heavily favored Canadians in men's hockey, fellow Mediaite writer Anthony DeRosa called it "the greatest hockey game you never saw." Yet I think he overstates his point. For a game "no one saw," why were topics like "Ryan Miller," "MSNBC" and "GO USA" trending? As exciting as this game was — and trust me, as an American college and pro hockey fan, I could not have asked for more in the upset — from a media planning standpoint, it always belonged on the cable channel. While some joked of conspiracy theories related to carrier coverage of MSNBC's new HD channel, more level-headed minds note that there was a very good strategy behind the placement of it. (more...)

You know for an Olympics Games that very few people were supposed to be interested in watching NBC's coverage Vancouver 2010 is getting a whole lot of attention. And a whole lot of complaints! Has NBC done anything right where the Olympics are concerned? Um...nothing pops to mind but we're certainly open to suggestions. (more...)

video While NBC was airing Ice Dancing, their sister network MSNBC was airing one of the most exciting hockey games in recent history. It didn’t take a genius to figure the matching of the home host Canadian team taking on a surging USA team would be a compelling match-up. NBC realized the error of their ways, cutting off the two-man bobsled to capture the final moments of the match, but by then they already missed a golden opportunity. (more...)

video I have a terrible, terrible secret: I think I might be a hockey fan. And after tonight's goosebumps-inducing USA/Canada hockey game, I don't think I'm alone. In a game marked by a break-neck pace and a final two minutes that was full of "most exciting sports moment of 2010" candidates, the U.S. hockey team emerged victorious over Canada 5-3. But why was it on MSNBC? (more...)

video Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Shani Davis...your new American Idols! For the first time in six years, American Idol did not finish #1 in the ratings - losing last night to NBC's Olympics coverage that featured some big name Americans winning gold. The win had NBCU President Jeff Zucker bragging early this morning. (more...)

video Here's another great example of how NBC is flubbing the coverage of these Olympics. Everywhere I look people are talking about Shaun White's Double McTwist 1260 which won him the Olympic Gold, yesterday (actually he'd technically already won it...so more of a victory lap?). It sounds awesome. I really want to watch it. And I can't be the only one because "Shaun White Double McTwist 1260 video" happens to be a major trending topic on Google. Alas, when I search that very term (and some variations) all video links lead back to NBC's Olympic page (quickly uploaded YouTube clips appear to have already been removed). (more...)

NBC, meet the Internet. Once again -- this was also a big complaint during the Beijing Olympics -- NBC is determined to ignore the fact that news is now available 24 hours a day and that the entire world has adjusted to this schedule, and show the Olympics on time delay so that certain events only broadcast during prime time. This despite the fact they are losing a ton of money. Anyway, NBC's ridiculous Olympic Internet plan is not new news. But apparently it is getting NYT.com in hot water. (more...)

Jay Leno's longtime bandleader and sidekick Kevin Eubanks will be leaving the Tonight Show, but will still be with the show when it returns March 1. This story went through several incarnations over the past 24 hours - but it now appears more changes are on the way. (more...)

I really do enjoy the Winter Olympics, and I think that most Americans do recognize them as the massive media event that they are billed as. It is  very different from the Summer games, though. None of us can run 100 yards in nine seconds, and the draw there is the unbelievable athleticism on display. But there’s something accessible about the snow and ice sports – I’ve sledded before, I’ve pushed a broom on ice, of course I can do that. When the events and ceremonies kicked off this past weekend, fantastic numbers turned into the broadcasts (averaging 33 million and 68 million-strong overall, according to Nielsen). But despite NBC's massive on-air Olympic investment, this time around plenty of people will get their Olympic fix without watching television at all. Today, there are more ways to interact with the content through digital video and more ways to talk about it through social networks than ever before. (more...)

Because of Olympics coverage, NBCU's cable news outlets like MSNBC and CNBC air some of the competitions at set times during the day and evening. But Spud at Inside Cable News got the answer to why some markets in the United States haven't been getting Morning Joe or Daily Rundown - and seeing prison documentaries instead. (more...)

video The world is certainly getting a large dose of Canada right now thanks to the Vancouver Olympic Games. As a Canadian, listening to the various coverage coming out of American media outlets can be either strange, hysterical, and at times at bit irritating -- Canadians are not used to so much attention! So, I guess file this under sort of irritating. Last Friday morning Meredith Vieira, whilst talking about eventual Opening Ceremony flag bearer Betty Fox, speculated that as mother of "Michael Fox...who suffered from cancer, he started that marathon of hope" she might actually be the person who would light the Olympic cauldron. (In case you missed it, Wayne Gretzky did the honors.) (more...)

video Avery Jessup is the hot new host of the hit CNBC show Hot Box, which had on Jack Donaghy as a guest last night. Well, actually, it was just part of the storyline to 30 Rock - where a right-wing lovefest turned into a steamy love affair. (more...)

They've been warming up all week. But this morning NBC kicked off its Olympics coverage in earnest from the temporary mountaintop studio of the Today Show. The network's decision to put Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira 3800 feet above Vancouver on Grouse Mountain was brilliant. The mountain agreed to open to the public around the clock (snow problems aside) so that the live broadcast at 4am Pacific Time wouldn't have a lifeless backdrop. (more...)

video Big Journalism correspondents usually stick to pointing out often legitimate spin against the right wing in the mainstream media, but Archy Cary went one step further to analyze the well-documented media bias against victims of natural and political disasters. Asking "Has Haiti Fallen Victim to the MSM’s Short Attention Span?", Cary notes that the media has been unreliable in following up on the victims of massive humanitarian disasters in the past, specifically in the Cambodian genocide perpetrated by the radical leftist Khmer Rouge. But he called out one journalist who is sticking with the story. (more...)