How Rick Kaplan's takeover of the CBS Evening News has managed to all but fail to mention that he was ousted from MSNBC for watching the network's ratings slide simply escapes us. (Interestingly, everyone seems to remember his CNN tenure when that whole "nerve gas in Vietnam" thing went down.) But as the Times' Bill Carter revisits the issue of Rome Hartman's insta-exit and Kaplan's grand entrance, he does highlight one interesting tidbit:
According to both men, Ms. Couric was not brought into the conversations [about Kaplan's hiring] until Wednesday, after Mr. Kaplan had accepted the job. Ms. Couric would not comment on Mr. Kaplan’s arrival. Colleagues of both described their previous relationship as strong and friendly, though they have not worked together.
Katie may be CBS' $15 million woman, but at least at the Today show, she actually had a say in how things went down. Funny how things change when people stop watching your show.
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So, about that earlier Page Six report that CBS News was looking to bring on former MSNBC chief Rick Kaplan to resurrect Katie Couric's ratings? "Totally false," tattles an industry insider with knowledge of CBS News goings-on. Sure, CBS had already denied Page Six's claim, but whenever there's a chance for CBS communications chief Gil Schwartz to wear his asshat and destroy an attempt at good or neutral press, we'll always opt against him.
What to do with Katie Couric's ratings in the shitter? Bring on the one person who knows what it's like to live with ratings in the shitter: former MSNBC chief Rick Kaplan.
RICK Kaplan, the veteran network news exec who most recently ran MSNBC, is rumored to be coming to CBS News to help boost Katie Couric's ratings on the "Evening News." [...] Kaplan, who ran ABC News when his friend Bill Clinton was in the White House, has been unemployed since Dan Abrams replaced him last summer at MSNBC. CBS News denies Kaplan is coming aboard, but the buzz goes on.
And while Kaplan can certainly identify with Katie's sluggish Nielsen numbers, don't let anyone ever tell you the Man Who's Worked Everywhere knows how to actually boost numbers. But certainly CBS PR chief Gil Schwartz will have a most excellent way to spin this one.
The details remain murky over Rick Kaplan's resignation from the top spot at MSNBC. The public agitprop: that Kaplan willingly resigned after his two and a half years on the job. But buried inside a Philadelphia Inquirer story, as Inside Cable points out, is the insider quibbling.
Meanwhile, back at MSNBC … NBC News president Steve Capus delivered the verdict to Kaplan, but industry insiders say Capus’ boss, NBC Universal TV honcho Jeff Zucker, made the call.
Sources say the two Alpha males clashed on their visions for the network _ Zucker wanted more emphasis on crime and lots of repeats; Kaplan wanted more fresh news. Big Rick is about a foot taller than Zucker, but Zucker outranks him.
“I fully didn’t expect Rick to go as quickly as he did,†says Capus. Still, “I thought it was inevitable, at some point.â€
Meanwhile, TVNewser reports Kaplan yesterday met with Good Morning America brass about that open executive producer slot — which is good news for us. We're just dying to hear about Kaplan and Diane Sawyer coming to blows about childhood obesity.
Kaplan Talks To ABC About GMA Job [TVN]
Related: Breaking: Rick Kaplan Splits MSNBC
We knew we should've made better friends with Dan Abrams instead of Tucker Carlson but, alas, our interns can only do so much.
Abrams, TMZ is reporting, has snagged the top job at MSNBC, replacing the recently "resigned" Rick Kaplan. With his schedule now full of Rita Cosby voice lessons and Chris Matthews blood pressure monitoring, Abrams won't even have time to do his own show, The Abrams Report — though he'll retain the title of "chief legal correspondent," which means you'll still see him popping up at the Today show, Dateline, and Brian Williams' Nightly News.
So enough with the hair piece jokes; it's time to get down to the real business at hand: clocking MSNBC's ratings under the change.
(Image via FishbowlNY)
• Si Newhouse & Co. put on their best cherry red lipped Christina Aguilera disguise for their not so super secret website Lipstick.com.
• Joy to the world, the photographs of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt were sold. Like fucktards, People pays $4.1 million for pictures that another magazine has on newsstands already. Crazy bloggers find these photos, give the mag tons and tons of press, and People freaks. Now, that's just not very charitable.
• We jossiped with Chandra Czape from Ed2010 and found out "whippersnappers" will pay to be in Anna Wintour's presence, and German chocolate is best served in the morning.
• Oh, and speaking of Anna Wintour: we know it's not hard to piss off the devil , but it's not Karl Lagerfeld's fault Lindsay Lohan has a drug problem.
• Rick Kaplan gets ousted from MSNBC after two short, sweet years. Hey, at least there's not a whole movement devoted to getting him axed.
The rumor mill churned, and the axe dropped: Rick Kaplan is out as head of MSNBC after two years on the job. He calls it a "resignation," we call it "the most drawn out ousting since Dan Rather." Kaplan announced his depature in a staff memo, where he was certain to point out his accomplishments:
Together, we've increased MSNBC's viewership 25% in primetime and 19% in dayside. Over just the last year, we've had great success across the board, with Hardball and Countdown coming into their own. All of our primetime programs have improved tremendously in their production and content. Together we had a great election year in '04 and you're poised to improve on that excellence this fall.
Inexplicably left out of the farewell: The unfortunate hiring of Tucker Carlson, Rita Cosby's ratings disappointment, and what medication Chris Matthews is fed to keep his head from imploding.
The full memo, after the jump.
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TVNewser has the latest from Seacaucus, where MSNBC chieftan Rick Kaplan has some exciting new changes to spice up ratings:
I'm happy to share with you some news about a primetime schedule adjustment we're going to make beginning next Monday. Rita and Joe are going to switch timeslots. Joe will move an hour earlier to 9pm and Rita will take his place at 10pm. Both Rita and Joe have great programs built around their unique personalities and this change will support their continued growth. We've had a lot of ratings growth this year with Chris and Keith and I'm confident that this change will improve our audience flow and allow us to extend that momentum to the second half of primetime. Tucker will continue to round out our primetime lineup at 11pm.
That is: Shuffling papers at least gives the impression Kaplan is doing something about slagging ratings. And putting Rita up against Greta Van Susteren and CNN Headline News impresario Nancy Grace? Smart move. Oh, and Tucker Carlson is still resident bastard child. Happy cable primetime!
Memo: Joe At 9, Rita At 10 [TVNewser]
This just in from an MSNBC spy regarding the report the GE-Microsoft cable venture is closing up its live daytime programming unit (or, you know, the entire pont of the channel):
So far people are pretty tight-lipped…but trust employees are talking about it.
Whew, glad they're talking about it. We're surprised there's enough time to do anything between reading TVNewser and Broadcasting & Cable.
Here at Jossip, we predict the future. As in, sometime in the near future, Rick Kaplan is gonna get the boot at MSNBC — something we've been rumoring about for months. But he's not the only one on the chopping block. Everyone at MSNBC – save the Tucker's, Rita's, Chris's, and Joe's – might be seeing more pink than their Secaucus makeup room can offer.
TMZ has learned that active discussions are underway at MSNBC to kill all live, daytime programming and replace it with taped shows.
High-level sources connected with the cable network also tell TMZ that MSNBC President Rick Kaplan will be booted from the network when his contract is up — within a year.
MSNBC's daytime, live news lineup has been anemic, compared to FOX News Channel and CNN. Since September, MSNBC has attracted an average of 267,000 viewers between 9AM. and 6PM, compared with 626,000 viewers tuning in to CNN and 1,125,000 viewers watching FNC.
Any final decision regarding programming will not affect nighttime shows, specifically 'The Abrams Report,' 'Hardball with Chris Matthews,' 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann,' 'Rita Cosby: Live and Direct,' 'Scarborough Country' and 'The Situation with Tucker Carlson.'
All live daytime programming shelved for .. Imus reruns? Bob Wright sure knows how to pick 'em.
UPDATE: This just in to Jossip from a a Rick Kaplan mouthpiece:
This is ridiculous and is wrong on every level. MSNBC, which under Rick Kaplan has seen a real uptick in ratings of late, and is by definition a news channel, is not going to abandon live news.
Abandoning Tucker Carlson, on the other hand, remains a very real possibility. We assume.
• Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein is the one to blame for the breakup with Nicole Richie. The celebrity spinner couldn't take her obsession with her weight, or lack thereof. [Perez Hilton]
• Lloyd Grove's interest in Tucker Carlson and Billy Bush's teenage romances gets him called a "turkey" by MSNBC chief Rick Kaplan. [Lowdown]
• How did nobody actor Brandon Routh score the lead in Bryan Singer's Superman? By sleeping with the director, of course. [Radar]
• A judge has banned the sale of Jennifer Aniston's topless photos, causing sales of GQ's Man of the Year issue to spike. [TMZ]
• Jay-Z is being sued over .. his hand symbol. Copyright infringement, claims a wrestler. [Page Six]
• Ever since she gave birth, Heidi Klum just doesn't do it for Donald Trump anymore. [Page Six]
• "Hard-partying" and numerically inclined Timessa Jenny 8. Lee will reveal why there are more Chinese restaurants in the U.S. than McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's combined. [Page Six]
• Michael Jackson has until Dec. 20 to make good on $270 million in debt. But don't worry: If he can't pay we're sure brother Randy will come up with something. [NYDN]
• Now that Leo DiCaprio is a free agent, he's moving in on Sienna Miller. At this point, who hasn't? [The Scoop]
• Jermaine Dupri publicly prefers Imperia Vodka, despite being an investor in 3 Vodka. [Lowdown]
Richard Johnson & Co. are expanding on a Los Angeles Times item yesterday that hinted CBS News is ready to announce a deal with Katie Couric. Sure, the media crits have been expounding on the idea for weeks and months, but Page Six claims the announcement could come "any day now." And when the Sixers spit it, you know it's gospel.
But the media movement doesn't stop there. ABC, not content to be completely forgotten about, is prepared to announce Charlie Gibson will take over Peter Jennings' old job, leaving Liz Vargas to swing in the 20/20 wind.
And most interesting to us, former Good Morning America and Primetime Live exec producer Shelley Ross will be responsible for ousting Rick Kaplan. She'll soon be sitting in his Secaucus office — and within weeks shouldering the blame for dismal Nielsens.
But back to Katie for a minute. If she does wave goodbye to her $13 million-a-year gig at NBC for a better paying anchor chair assignment and a flip-flopped sleeping schedule, it'll mean one thing in particular: CBS head Les Moonves didn't take Jon Friedman's advice to groom his own star. And that just makes us wish we had a heart to break.
Katie to CBS? [Page Six]
NBC's Couric May Jump to Rival CBS [LAT]
Related: Jon Friedman should keep his letters to himself
We're sure you're going to shed a tear or two, so we'll try and break the news slowly: Connected Coast to Coast has been cancelled.
Whew. Actually, that wasn't so bad. Though it seemed to be a grueling decision for MSNBC honcho Rick Kaplan, who is only now canning the lackluster performer headed by Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley. The last show will air Friday, Dec. 9, and Kaplan promises "exciting" programming to takes its place.
Looks like relying on bloggers for half your programming wasn't too keen a business move, eh? (Though we were pleased to be a part of it.)
MSNBC Finally Stops Getting 'Connected' [TVNewser]
Sweet Karl Rove, is Rick Kaplan actually on the way out? As soon as today?
Sounds like it could be, according to this ominous email circulating MSNBC's in-house network. Not only are Jeff Zucker and Steve Capus about to make an announcement — they're traveling all the way to New Jersey (Secaucus, no less) to make it.
From: Announcements @ MSNBC
To: @MSNBC Secaucus ALL
Sent: 10/6/2005 12:55 PM
Subject: Town Hall Meeting TomorrowJeff Zucker, President, NBC Universal TV Group, and Steve Capus, Acting President of NBC News will visit MSNBC for a town hall meeting this Friday at 1:00 pm. Together with Rick, they will answer your questions, as well as give you an update on what's happening throughout the news division and network-wide. This is a great opportunity to hear from Jeff, Steve, and Rick. Please gather in the Production Studio at 12:45 pm on Friday. See you there!
12:45pm? Looks like Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan are going to have to hear it through the grapevine. (Or will they?) Even more ironic, Connected Coast to Coast was Kaplan's idea.
• The days of Keith Olbermann bullying may be numbered, now that Rick Kaplan may be on his way out as MSNBC president. After getting passed over to head NBC News when Neal Shapiro announced his departure, his tenure there might not last the year.
• Howard Kurtz is joining Geraldo Rivera's cause, calling for the New York Times to issue an apology to the talk show host for claiming he staged a Hurricane Katrina rescue for the camera's benefit.
• While Rodale couldn't make Organic Style work (though it still appears on the website), the publisher is going ahead with a full-scale launch for Women's Health, the Men's Health spin-off. Finally there will be some David Zinczenko-style loving for the ladies.
• TV Guide president John Loughlin is quitting for the greener (and more stable) pastures at Hearst, taking over as vice president of the publisher late next month.
• Viacom and Comcast are working together to launch a new swatch of super-niche cable channels, because the YES Network and The Food Network aren't specific enough.
• Clear Channel is clearing the way to get song from new artists and unsigned bands into the hands of listeners by debuting tracks on their website.
• Is Men's Vogue an oxymoron all by itself? If Anna Wintour falls out of her seat and nobody there's to see it, did she really skip Diane Von Furstenberg's fashion show?
• Martha! Howard! Cosmo? Kate White is teaming with Sirius for a 24-hour channel to launch in 2006. But at this point, we're about the only ones without our own Sirius show. (Especially now that Oprah is signing on too. Jeez.)
• NBC News president Neal Shapiro is stepping down to pursue "the kind of creativity I've had in previous jobs." Namely, mastering the elongated chevron knitting stitch. Jeff Zucker named his replacement: Steve Capus, who's a bigger fan of the mistake rib.
• Meanwhile, Shaprio's stepping down is just the latest blow that's put network news on the brink of disaster that also includes ABC and CBS. Seating is first come, first served.
• Razor publisher (and Internet porn peddler) Richard Botto cut his staff loose on Thursday, notifying all that the struggling magazine would cease printing.
• Oh where, oh where, has MSNBC's weekend staff gone? With Hurricane Katrina taking up all available resources, they're operating on a skeleton crew — with honcho Rick Kaplan even exec producing their telethon. "there is NOBODY in charge … NOBODY!!!"
• Former ESPN reporter Adrian Karsten was found dead from apparent suicide after facing a prison sentence for failing to report more than $600,000 in income.
Rita Cosby's switch from Fox News to MSNBC went over as two parts blonde ambition tour and one part Tucker Carlson fuck-you. The GE news network is looking for ratings and, so far, it's been quite pleased with what Cosby's been delivering (not a jump in her fan club membership, but a jump in ratings .. for Joe Scarborough too).
But at what cost to things like .. serious journalism?
MSNBC's promotional arm has made much of Cosby's status as an investigative journalist. The network's Web site promises that "Rita Cosby: Live and Direct will be a hard-hitting, no-nonsense news program that brings viewers stories they won't see anywhere else." But if the network's going to try to score points by bragging about Cosby's three Emmys for investigative reporting, or her historic "back-to-back interviews" with Yasser Arafat and Ariel Sharon, they should be all the more ashamed to feature her in such a low-rent grab for ratings. So far, interviews have included Victoria Gotti's former publicist (now there's a "get"!) and Martha Stewart, who appeared with Mark Burnett to promote her two new shows, Martha and The Apprentice: Martha Stewart. Cosby served up a few creampuff questions (Q: "Is the best ahead?" A: "The best is yet to come.") before musing about Stewart's personal growth in prison: "Maybe she's, you know, grown a bit. I mean, this experience has got to change someone. But she seems very genuine, I thought."
Whatever keeps Rick Kaplan off her back.
After Keith Olbermann's very public lashing from MSNBC honcho Rick Kaplan over his Peter Jennings/anti-smoking memorial, we assumed the Counterdowner would avoid the subject of tobacco on-air for some time to come.
But his promos for tonight's show tell a different story. Rather than shake off the subject, Keith is asking viewers to join him in saying "I quit." Not his job, but smoking.
But if he doesn't keep the show clean of any graphic descriptions akin to "spitting globs of myself into a garbage can," we expect to hear a Donald Trump tagline screamed from Kaplan's office.
UPDATE: Keith writes in to let us know his "I Quit" series began August 9, throwing our humor-reliant timeline out of whack. Oh, and smoking still isn't something to laugh at, unless your an Altria stock holder.
Tucker Carlson just can't get a break. First Rita Cosby bumps him into seclusion with an 11pm time slot, now he's getting attacked from Mother Nature ally Greenpeace.
The nature-loving non-profit filed a formal complaint with the FCC after Carlson twice offered on-air support of the French attacks on Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior, which was cruising through in 1985 to promote the org's anti-nuclear stance. French gents thawrted their plans by planting two mines that blew open the ship's hull as it headed to France's nuclear test site at Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific.
Obviously, Carlson loved it.
There's little the FCC could actually do to Tucker or MSNBC, however, but his comments are sure to draw ire from the higher ups. Then again, it certainly beats MSNBC prez Rick Kaplan reaming you out in front of your crew.
Rick Kaplan has enough to worry about (read: Don Imus, Tucker Carlson, Rita Cosby .. can we stop now?) without crowd favorite Keith Olbermann raising his blood pressure. Such concerns, however, didn't stop the MSNBC prez from giving the Counterdowner a public lashing immediately after he signed off on Monday night.
Olbermann shared with viewers his own tales of health problems stemming from smoking during his Peter Jennings on-air memorial moment, including such gems as "spitting globs of myself into a garbage can." Kaplan ran downstairs onto the studio set as the show wrapped and berated Olbermann in front of the crew, even after the shocked Keith suggested moving to a private location.
Kaplan screamed he didn't care if his 8pm anchor came into work the next day, which may have been a good programming move — if he were talking to Tucker Carlson.
Editorial Director
