This is really good. Read O Reilly's denial.. That guy is a FLIP FLOPPER ?
MEDIA
Off-Balance
Yesterday, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. scrapped its plans "to publish a book and air a two-part TV interview" on Fox in which O.J. Simpson was to describe how he "would have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Lyle Goldman." The stunt was "widely viewed as a device to bolster Fox's flagging ratings." But Fox was forced to abandon the project -- which was heavily promoted and hyped on Fox News Channel -- after at least a dozen Fox affiliates announced they were refusing to air the program and advertisers bailed. (Murdoch tried to claim the decision was made on principle, calling it "an ill-considered project.") The debacle is just the latest misstep by News Corp. and Fox News, which is beset by sagging ratings, evaporating credibility and more robust competition.
O'REILLY HAS NEVER HEARD OF NEWS CORP.: Fox News' primetime leader Bill O'Reilly is desperate to deny ties between Fox News and Fox Broadcasting, which was planning to air to O.J. Simpson interview. O'Reilly, who called the book and interview "a low point in American culture," claimed that “Fox Broadcasting has nothing to do with the Fox News Channel,” and that claims to the contrary were by people “doing the bidding of far left fanatics who will do anything to disparage me and [Fox News].” In fact, the two entities have the same chairman (Roger Ailes), the same owner (Rupert Murdoch), and Fox Broadcasting regularly airs Fox News content. Fox News covered the O.J. interview incessantly, mentioning it as much as CNN, MSNBC, and Headline News combined.
FOX NEWS' ELECTION NIGHT DEFEAT: On Election Night, Fox News -- for years a ratings juggernaut -- had fewer views than CNN in the key demographic of adults 25 to 54. CNN also edged out Fox in total viewers on election night between 7PM and 2AM "drawing 2.54 million viewers to Fox's 2.39 million and MSNBC's 1.58 million." (Fox News edged out CNN in total viewers during prime time.) It's a dramatic fall from grace by Fox News. In 2004, for example, "Fox beat CNN by nearly 2 million viewers."
FOX NEWS' RATING SAGGING OVERALL: Fox News' election night woes were part of a much broader ratings slump. For the last 12 months, Fox's "prime-time audience has been smaller than the year before." For the first 8 months of this year, viewership "was down 5 percent compared to 2005, with a steeper 13 percent decline in prime time." In October, ratings were "down 17 percent."
FOX NEWS' VANISHING CREDIBILITY: Fox News has developed a reputation as a channel for incendiary political commentary, not news. A Fox News editorial memo by network vice president John Moody recently leaked to the Huffington Post reinforces that view. The day after the election, the memo instructed Fox News staff to "be on the lookout for any statements from Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled congress." Two other memos surfaced in recent days target incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). AP reports, "Some of the bigger stories of the past year, such as Hurricane Katrina and the wars in the Middle East, played better to the newsgathering strengths of CNN."
THE OLBERMANN FACTOR: As Fox News sinks, MSNBC is on the rise. Its ratings for October, for example, were up 14 percent over last year. One of the keys to MSNBC's recent success: progressive political commentary, spearheaded by Keith Olbermann. Compared to October 2005, Olbermann's ratings are up 67 percent. Since election day, Olbermann has been nipping at Bill O'Reilly's heals in the coveted 25-54-year-old demographic -- Olbermann is drawing 321,000 people in that group to O'Reilly's 405,000. Overall, Olbermann's ratings are up another 32 percent since the November 7th election, while O'Reilly is down 5 percent.
Under the Radar
CONGRESS -- 'DO-NOTHING' 109TH CONGRESS PASSES THE BUCK TO THE 110TH: "Republicans vacating the Capitol are dumping a big spring cleaning job on Democrats moving in." Congressional leaders "have opted to leave behind almost a half-trillion-dollar clutter of unfinished spending bills," a move that "promises to consume time and energy" from the 110th Congress' agenda. "Such a move would leave the new Democratic majority with the responsibility of passing the nine remaining spending bills, totaling almost $500 billion for government programs ranging from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to the national parks." Congress passed a stop-gap spending bill last week, and next month they plan to "pass a third such measure to keep the government's doors open into next year." The extra work will complicate efforts by the new the Congress "to focus on their issues such as raising the minimum wage, lifting restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and cutting interest rates on student loans." Also, several Bush administration legislative goals -- including a domestic wiretapping bill, a Vietnam trade deal, and "multibillion-dollar measure to prevent a cut in fees to doctors treating Medicare patients" -- will be put off until 2007. "This is only the latest example of why the American people rejected this do-nothing Congress at the ballot box earlier this month," a spokesmean for Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) said.
EDUCATION -- REPORT FINDS TOP PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES BECOMING 'RICHER AND WHITER': Financial aid is falling short for minority and low-income college students, according to a new study examining the enrollment and graduation rates of the 50 "flagship" state universities. The study, a product of the Education Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the interests of educationally disadvantaged students, graded flagship universities based on their ability to attract, retain, and graduate low-income and minority students. The study gave "4 of the 50 institutions an overall grade of B, while 14 received C’s, 25 earned D’s, and 7 were hit with F’s." The study notes that, at these universities, financial aid for students with families earning over $100,000 grew by 406 percent since 1995 while the amount of aid for families earning under $20,000 actually declined 13 percent. Furthermore, 24 percent of all college students are black, Latino, or American Indian, but represent only 12 percent of the student body at the flagships in 2004, a growth of three percent since 1994, but a rate that does not match gains in minority high school graduation rates. The study cites the "growing tendency" of top institutions to provide institutional financial aid based on academic merit rather than financial need. In "the relentless pursuit not of expanded opportunity but of increased selectivity,” the study says, “many of these flagship institutions have become more and more enclaves for the most privileged of their state’s young people.”
INTELLIGENCE -- ACCUSED INTEL AIDE'S CLASSIFIED ACCESS RESTORED: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) has quietly reinstated Democratic aide Larry Hanauer's access to classified information, "essentially clearing the aide of accusations that he leaked a sensitive report on the Iraq War to The New York Times," Roll Call reports. In late October, Hoekstra suspended Hanauer's access to classified information based on the "remarkably thin evidence" that Hanauer "requested a copy of the Iraq National Intelligence Estimate" two days before its findings appeared in The New York Times. (The Times said in its original story that it had been conducting interviews with government officials "weeks" before the story was published.) Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL) admitted afterward that the suspension was payback for ranking member Jane Harman's (D-CA) decision to release "the summary of the committee's investigation into the corrupt practices of former committee member Rep. Duke Cunningham." Harman was enraged by Hoekstra's decision and blasted the chairman for "abuse of power." Hoekstra insisted that the committee allow an investigator to "look through the Democratic staff's phone logs, email, and review all other 'relevant' records all with a broad breach to uncover any 'improper' conduct." On Friday, Hoekstra informed Harman that his "inquiry found no evidence of any wrongdoing."
|
