Super Bowl XLVI Most-Watched in TV History
African Americans, Latinos on Air for CNN During Caucus
Duluth, Minn., Launches Community Dialogue About Racism
Disney, Univision Weigh English-Language Cable News Channel
Cornel West Settles Scores with Melissa Harris-Perry
Iranian Journalists Under Siege Establish Website
Marisol Gonzalez, reporter for Televisa Deportes, causes a stir At Super Bowl XLVI Media Day on Jan. 31. (Credit: Jocksandstillettojill.com)
Super Bowl XLVI Most-Watched in TV History
“It was by the slimmest of margins, but last night’s Super Bowl XLVI set a record for most-watched program in TV history,” Toni Fitzgerald wrote Monday for medialifemagazine.com.
“The NBC broadcast averaged 111.3 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, bettering last year’s record on Fox by 300,000.
“It marked the third straight year that the Super Bowl has set a new record for most-watched program, having surpassed the 106 million who watched the final edition of ‘M*A*S*H’ in 2010.
“Viewership peaked from 9:30 to 9:58 p.m., when 117.4 million watched the New York Giants score their final touchdown and the New England Patriots get the ball back with less than a minute to play. The Giants won 21-17.”
- Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times: Adventures of the misguided prognosticator: Taking the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI [Feb. 5]
- Mary C. Curtis, Washington Post: A Super Bowl party with wistful former players
- Eric Deggans blog, Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times: Madonna’s seeming lip synching leaves this critic cold at Super Bowl halftime
- Rip Empson, Techcrunch.com: First Legal Streaming Super Bowl A Success, But Audience Still Denied The Real Show
- Mike Freeman, CBSSports.com: Second Super Bowl loss to the Giants hurts Belichick’s, Brady’s legacies
- Chloé A. Hilliard, Loop21.com: Madonna Is Part of My Black History
- HuffPost LatinoVoices: Latino NFL Greats And Super Bowl Stars
- Sean Jensen, Chicago Sun-Times: Giants’ ground game finally comes to life in postseason
- Jason Johnson, Politic365.com: Love and Hate Between the Super Bowl and Black Folks
- Julie Moos, Poynter Institute: In matchup between NY, New England, no clear winner for Super Bowl front pages
- David Steele, AOL FanHouse: Elite discussion now starts with Eli .
- Jason Whitlock, FoxSports,com: Eli an impact player — on NFL history
- George Willis, New York Post: Giants stop Brady when it counts
- Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPNNewYork.com: Deja Blue: ‘We’ve seen this before’
African Americans, Latinos on Air for CNN During Caucus
There seemed to be a healthy number of African Americans and Latinos on-air for CNN Saturday night for the Nevada Republican party caucuses, won handily by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Romney finished with 50 percent, former House speaker Newt Gingrich was second with 21 percent; Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, had 19 percent and former U.S. senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania finished last with 10 percent.
Among the working journalists live in the CNN Election Center were Soledad O’Brien, Don Lemon and Roland Martin, along with Maria Cardona, a contributor who is Latina. O’Brien is the daughter of a white Australian father and a black Cuban mother. Lemon and Martin are African American. Bryan Monroe, who is African American, is editor of CNNPolitics.com.
- Jeremy M. Gaines, spokesman for MSNBC, was asked what the diversity looked like on that network.
“Among others,” he replied, “MSNBC analysts Michael Steele and Karen Finney participated in the coverage. NBC’s Ron Mott reported from Gingrich HQ in Las Vegas.”
A Fox News spokeswoman did not reply to an emailed request for comment.
According to Chris Ariens of TVNewser, these were the Nielsen viewership averages 10 p.m. Eastern Time, when the polls closed, and midnight Eastern.
Fox News Channel: 1,334,000 total viewers, 244,000 ages 25 to 54; CNN, 631,000 viewers, 231,000 ages 25 to 54; MSNBC, 418,000 viewers, 187,000 ages 25 to 54.
- Chris Ariens, TVNewser: Nevada Caucus Cable TV Viewership
- Kim Barker, Al Shaw and Ariel Wittenberg, ProPublica: With Spotlight on Super PAC Dollars, Nonprofits Escape Scrutiny
- Charles M. Blow, New York Times: Romney, the Rich and the Rest
- Mary C. Curtis, Nieman Watchdog: Will Trump Take Credit for Romney’s Nevada Win?
- John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable: PEJ: Negative Newt Gingrich Coverage on the Rise
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Where are Romney’s Blacks?
Duluth, Minn., Launches Community Dialogue About Racism
“It’s hard to see racism when you’re white,” begins the copy on the home page of the Un-Fair Campaign, introduced by the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune.
“Racism is an issue that we don’t like talking about. The Un-Fair Campaign was developed to look at racism and to encourage a community dialogue about the causes and solutions.
“Racism is a complex social issue and depending upon what you see as the causes of racism you have ideas about the solutions.
“We invite you to spend time on this website and to ask yourself how you may be part of the problem as well as part of the solution.
“See it. Know it. Stop it.”
Partners include the Central Labor Boday, a coalition of churches, area colleges and universities and social action groups.
- Ellen O’Neill, Un-Fair Campaign: Campaign’s view: If we recognize racism, we can stop it
- Robin Washington: Racism easy to see with a little help
Disney, Univision Weigh English-Language Cable News Channel
“Walt Disney Co., owner of the ABC broadcast network, is in talks with Univision Communications Inc. to create an English-language 24-hour cable-news channel, according to two people with knowledge of the situation,” Andy Fixmer reported Monday for Bloomberg News.
“Disney, based in Burbank, California, would oversee advertising sales and distribution for the venture, said the people, who sought anonymity because an agreement hasn’t been reached. The channel would draw newsgathering resources from ABC News and Univision, the largest U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster, they said.
“The discussions have been under way for at least six months and are ongoing, said the people. The channel would be based in Miami and start service before the November presidential election, they said.
“A venture would provide Disney with a cable-news presence and advance Univision Chief Executive Officer Randy Falco’s goal of building new channels. Falco is interested in starting English-language service in sports and news, he told the Wall Street Journal in October. The Journal reported the discussions with Disney earlier today.
“Closely held Univision, based in New York, is starting a Spanish-language telenovela network this month on Dish Network Corp.’s satellite-TV system. Spanish-language sports and news channels will follow by midyear, according to Monica Talan, a spokeswoman.”
“Melissa Harris-Perry” is to debut on MSNBC on Feb. 18.
Cornel West Settles Scores with Melissa Harris-Perry
Cornel West, one of President Obama’s fiercest critics among black academicians, turns his fire on MSNBC’s newest host, Melissa Harris-Perry, apparently settling scores in the Feb. 2 issue of “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.”
“West says that the attacks by his former colleague, Melissa Harris-Perry, in the Nation and on cable news were strictly personal,” Jamal Eric Watson wrote. “. . . West was responsible for bringing her to Princeton from the University of Chicago after the two met at a conference. . . She held a joint appointment between the Center for African American Studies and later turned on him and [Dr. Eddie] Guade, the chairman of the department, calling them ‘hypocritical leftists.’ ‘I have a love for the sister, but she is a liar, and I hate lying,’ says West. . . . She’s become the momentary darling of the liberals, but I pray for her because she’s in over her head. She’s a fake and a fraud. I was so surprised how treacherous the sister was.’
“Harris-Perry declined to be interviewed for this story.”
“Melissa Harris-Perry” is to debut on MSNBC on Saturday, Feb. 18, airing Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to noon, Eastern time. .
Iranian Journalists Under Siege Establish Website
“Reporters Without Borders is supporting Khabarnegaran Iran (The Iranian Journalist), an Iranian news website aimed at journalists. Launched in July 2009, it has become part of the resistance to the government’s repression and propaganda,” the press freedom group said on Wednesday.
“What are the differences between working as a journalist in Tehran and working as a journalist in the rest of the country? How can you inform the public when all dissident voices are being censored? What role do women journalists play in Iran? Who are the journalists that are in jail and why are they there? How do the families of detained journalists live? These are the kind of stories the website covers.
“The articles are written in Farsi but about a quarter of them are translated into English in order to reach a wider audience. The team of translators also translate some international articles into Farsi.
“Using a network of contributors in Iran, the website offers a unique insight into what life is like for Iranian journalists and provides an alternative outlet to those who have been forced to stop working as journalists for political reasons.”
Short Takes
- Marcela Toledo, a freelancer who is securing a second bachelor’s
- “The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House,” Jesse Washington wrote Friday for the Associated Press. “Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: ‘black.’ “This column wrote about the origin of the term “African American” in 2004, on the 20th anniversary of its advancement by the National Alliance of Black School Educators.
- Alfred Liggins, CEO of Radio One since 1997 and president since 1989, told RadioInk, “The last three or four years have been very challenging for traditional media businesses. Radio is certainly as traditional as traditional media gets. They have been very tough years. However, we think that the industry has hit bottom.”
- Harris Faulkner, a former Minneapolis anchor now on Fox News Channel, was asked by Star Tribune columnist C.J., “Are you guys really beating CNN and MSNBC, because people can do whatever they want with numbers?” Faulker replied, “I think there are people who don’t admit to their friends they watch Fox …. You know, I travel quite a bit because I’ve got family in the Southwest. … People can tell me what I had on, so I know they’re watching. … If you ask me how they do the meters and diaries, I can’t tell you all that. But people are watching Fox News Channel in droves.”
- Nischelle Turner, a correspondent on CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight,” is profiled by Margaux Henquinet in the Columbia Missourian, publication of her alma Mater, the University of Missouri.
- Mikki Taylor, who retired in 2010 as beauty and cover director after 30 years at Essence magazine, discusses her time there in a video interview with Donya Blaze of MediaBistro .
- “Veteran WDAF-FOX4 sports anchor/reporter Al Wallace is recovering from prostate cancer surgery he had Thursday at the University of Kansas Hospital, sources have told Bottom Line,” John Landsberg wrote Friday for that website. “He reportedly went home Friday evening. His cancer was reportedly diagnosed early and he reportedly is doing well and will be recovering at home for an undetermined period of time.”
- “Academy Award front-runner Viola Davis covers the February 2012 issue of LA TIMES Magazine with a photoshoot that shows a drastically different side of the actress,” reports the site Young, Black and Fabulous. “See the pics inside and get highlights of the interview she did with Andre Leon Talley for ‘ET.’ ”
- “The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has reportedly enlisted the service of the police in a bid to stop foreign newspapers without local offices from circulating,” Media Institute of Southern Africa, based in Windhoek, Namibia, reported on Friday. “Publications that might be affected include; the Sunday Times, Mail and Guardian, Business Day and the Zimbabwean.”
- Nischelle Turner, a correspondent on CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight,” is profiled by Margaux Henquinet in the Columbia Missourian, publication of her alma Mater, the University of Missouri.
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