RATINGS RISE AT CNN

CNN’s key moves in recent months — in particular, the decision to move Anderson Cooper into the 8:00 p.m. slot and replace Larry King with Piers Morgan at 9:00 pm. — appear to be paying off with significantly higher ratings, according to an examination of Nielsen ratings by the New York Times. Among adults 25-54, [...]

MCCARTNEY TO TALK TO SCOTLAND YARD ABOUT HACKING

Paul McCartney said on Thursday that he plans to meet with Scotland Yard following allegations by ex-wife Heather Mills that a voicemail from McCartney while they were in the throes of breaking up had been hacked by a reporter working for the London Daily Mirror. Speaking via satellite from Cincinnati to the Television Critics Association [...]

MORGAN SAYS HE NEEDS SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR TO PROVE HIMSELF

Piers Morgan, who replaced Larry King in CNN’s primetime lineup, has defended himself against growing criticism from TV columnists, who cite his ratings tailspin in their frequent predictions that his tenure at the cable news network will be shortlived. “This is a long-term game, and CNN looks at the big picture,” Morgan told the London [...]

WILL MORGAN BE “DANGEROUS” TO KING?

CNN announced Tuesday that Piers Morgan’s interview with Larry King will air on Wednesday night. It did not indicate whether the interview had been — or will be — pre-taped. However, it comes after King’s surprising criticism during a BBC radio interview that CNN had oversold Morgan as an unpredictable and “dangerous” interviewer. Whether Morgan [...]

KING: CNN OVERSOLD PIERS MORGAN

UPDATE: Piers Morgan is due to interview Larry King on Wednesday, CNN said on Monday. In a Twitter post, Morgan said he expects “tension to be in the air” when the interview occurs. Larry King is obviously unimpressed with the performance thus far of his CNN successor, Piers Morgan. During a BBC radio interview on [...]

NOW, REGIS IS QUITTING, TOO

In a surprise announcement, Regis Philbin said on this morning’s (Tuesday) Live with Regis and Kelly that he will be retiring from the show around the end of summer. “I don’t want to alarm anybody,” he remarked, then stated, “This will be my last year on the show.” His co-host, Kelly Ripa is expected to [...]

NO FIREWORKS IN PIERS MORGAN DEBUT

At the end of his interview with Oprah Winfrey on the premiere of CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, the host asked Winfrey, “How have I done?” Her reply: “You have been surprising.” “Surprisingly bad?” asked Morgan, laughing nervously. “No, just surprising,” Winfrey insisted. TV critics, some of them referring to that exchange, indicated that they, too [...]

KING’S RATINGS SURGE ON FINALE

For one last time CNN’s Larry King Live was back where it once was as the most-watched cable news show in its time period Thursday night. The finale edged out Hannity on Fox News 2.25 million to 2.24 million. The margin of victory may have been statistically insignificant, but it looked good in the news [...]

CONAN HASN’T HEARD FROM JAY — DOESN’T EXPECT TO

Conan O’Brien says that he has not heard directly from Jay Leno since he was told by NBC officials that they intended to move The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 p.m. and The Tonight Show to midnight (a proposal that O’Brien rejected, opening the way for Leno to resume hosting Tonight). In recent interviews, O’Brien [...]

KING: HOW TO PLAY SOFT BALL

In advance of his swan song on CNN Thursday night, Larry King has responded to the frequent criticism of his interviewing technique that has obviously rankled him over the years — that he rarely challenges his guests and tosses only softball questions at them. In an interview with the New York Times, King remarked, “I [...]

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