The '60's on the Early Show: Lame-O!

So the CBS Early Show is commemorating a decade a day this week in yet another ridiculous ratings sweeps stunt. At least they aren't sending everyone to every corner of the world like the Today Show. So this whole nostalgia thing is just a cheap excuse for the hosts to dress up in period duds and recollect on the past. Unfortunately the female hosts completely wimped out and went for early '60's Jackie Kennedy style dresses as opposed to the more desirable late '60's barely-covering-your-ass dresses. Beyond lame, so I'm guessing '70's hot pants is out of the question then.

In addition, the hat that Julie is wearing just makes me hate her more and more because it makes her face look even uglier than it is. Can someone please get rid of her, now?

To Change or Not To Change

So Rebecca Gomez decided to take her new husband's last name, Diamond so she is now Rebecca Diamond. This is pretty unusual especially for a TV newswoman to do. Most do not change their last names when they get married or at best they hyphenate it. There are some who got married before they became well known so the name change was not a big deal. I understand that Rebecca is probably the traditional type and wants to show her love and loyalty to her husband by taking his name. That's great, but as a guy in the IT business I can tell that it's always a pain in the ass especially when they want to change their user ID. Boy that annoys me. First of all, no one cares what their user ID is because it's only important to the user themselves. No one else sees it. When you're an anonymous woman, it's OK to change the name. But when you're fairly well known and known by your maiden name, going about changing it does indeed have an effect on your career and your notoriety. It's kind of like celebrities who have stage names. They're legal names may change but their stage name stays the same because that's their identity and that's what makes them money. Also there's that pesky problem of divorce. Rebecca should have sought out her co-worker Megyn Kelly's advice. She changed her name for her first marriage to Kendall. Then she got divorced and went back to Kelly. Problem was that no one knew her as Kelly so no one knew if she got married or divorced. So she got married again and smartly did not change the name. Keeps things easier that way.

Nice Thigh, Amy!

Gorgeous Amy showing Scarborough the thigh high show.

Damn, Trish!

You trying to put an eye with those things? Too bad you didn't dress as good live as you did in that piece or it could have been another classic double leg delight with you and Gorgeous Amy.

Julie Palin?

What's up with the Sarah Palin look that Julie Banderas was sporting on Redeye? I can't listen to the show so I have no idea if anything was mentioned about it. I guess there's a segment of the population who finds the glasses and hair up look sexy and I admit that on certain types it does look good. I think it has to do with sexual repression and that the act of taking off the glasses and letting the hair down frees up a woman. Besides, you can't let your hair down if your hair's already down. Also I think this fits with Jules's history because when she was on local TV I understand she used to do this kind of look all the time.

Well It Had To End Sometime

Kiran was in pants today, ending a four day skirt-and-sitdown streak.

Shame On You, CNBC

For hiding your hotties. Margaret Brennan appeared on the Today Show today for the first time, since, well it's been so long I can't remember. And while she of course looked great, while all the regular hostesses did not, it points out that these appearances by the CNBC hotties have been few and far between. And I don't mean Erin Burnett playing news reader on the weekends and wearing pants; that don't cut it. That also doesn't mean Michele Caruso-Cabrera showing up on the Nightly News and then not getting the leg shots. CNBC has got the hotties to go against FBN. OK, they may not win, but they can put up a fight. CNBC/NBC seems either unwilling or uninterested in doing so. It's something that they can do quite easily as well. They've had plenty of opportunities to do so in the past few weeks but they have refused to take advantage. Meanwhile, Liz and Alexis from FBN have made appearances on CBS Early Show and have looked great. Dagen and Go-Go have appeared on the M&J show. CNBC, are you taking notes? Of course not.
Shame on you also for bringing back the chairs, then not doing it for the rest of the week, then bringing it back today with Becky in pants. Guess that's what Kernen meant by "phasing" it back in.

When It Rains, It Pours

Ever since Wednesday, when I mentioned that Kiran's sitdown broke the drought, there have been three straight sitdowns in a row. Coincidence? I think not.

The People Have Spoken, The Chairs Are Back!

CNBC Squawk Box brought the chairs back due to popular demand this morning, so it wasn't just me. But at least I was honest. I bet all the other people asking for it were dudes who wanted to scope out Becky's stems but came up with some lame, politically correct excuse. Well, whatever, it's back. However, Kernan said they were going to phase it back in. Uh, why? And note to Becky: This does not mean you are allowed to cover your legs with the newspaper. Ever heard of folding it up?

Huh?

What the hell is ED Hill doing on the View? OK, I know she's filling the blond seat in Hasselbeck's absence. Well, for what it's worth, she's probably the smartest host, guest or otherwise, the show has had in a while.

Sitdown At Last, Sitdown At Last, Thank God Almighty A Sitdown At Last

Kiran finally had a sitdown today after who knows how long. OK probably since the last time I mentioned the drought ending. I ain't keeping track anymore.

So That Explains It

Go-Go got her lovely curvaceous ass married this weekend which probably explains her lack of appearances this past week. Boy she sure picked a good week to get married, eh? Well congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Whatever-The-Groom's-Name-Is-Cuz-It-Don't-Matter-Cuz-She-Ain't-Taking-It-Anyway and have fun on the honeymoon.

Go-Go On "Emergency Happy Hour"

Just one day after noting that Go-Go had been quite absent from all of the frenzied Fox Business coverage of the stock market demolition that has pre-empted the Happiest Hour on TV, who would appear but Go-Go herself on the Happy desk today. Coincidence? I think not.

It Ain't Thursday, It's Skirts' Day

Boy this is weird. All four of the female Today Show hosts during the first three hours wore skirts. Coincidence? I think not.

Fox Biz-CBS Hookup?

Interesting to see the CBS Early Show inviting Alexis Glick and Liz Claman on to provide some expert commentary on the recent economic crises. Since CBS doesn't have a CNBC to draw on for expertise I guess they gotta go somewhere. What's interesting is that Alexis had made a couple appearances on Good Morning America. When she wasn't on this morning I thought she was going to GMA but lo and behold she was on CBS. I guess CBS outbid them.

Happy Hour Pre-empted, Go-Go Gets The Shaft

You know it's bad when Fox Biz can't even have Happy Hour but instead does the crisis thing instead. However Cody Willard has been joining in on the desk there but Go-Go has been absent except for an appearance on the Mike & Juliet show yesterday. What gives? Is her presence no longer desired in times of dire need? Might this be an indication of what Fox really thinks of Go-Go's "talents"?

It Ain't Hump Day, It's Pants Day

Every female host on the Today show today for the first three hours wore pants. Meredith, Ann, Amy and Maria. Coincidence? I think not.

More Maria Weirdness

Maria Menounos actually didn't look too bad yesterday but unfortunately the day was somewhat marred by the re-telling of her old story about losing weight. Supposedly in college, Maria was a size 14 and was absolutely in despair about it and wanted to lose it so now she is down to a size 4. The pictures they showed of her allegedly at that size did not reveal, to me, an obese or even mildly overweight woman. In fact one shot of her in a skirt looked pretty good to me. In fact she looked about average. She may not have been able to rock a bikini but in anything else she would have been OK. Ann even brought up the point that she didn't look all that bad after Maria showed off her old trousers but somehow she was so depressed and sad about being a size 14 that only shrinking down to a size 4 would do. I do not see what the point of that segment was and I think it just makes Maria look bad because they exploited her story as some kind of fat-t0-thin story a la their Joy Fit Club series. Now those people are really worth talking about. When those people show their old pants off, you can put a family in there. Maria's pants looked smaller than a lot of regular women I see on the street. That's like interviewing someone for a get rich story and they only made $50,000. That ain't rich to me. Sorry, Maria.

Squawkbox and the "Chairs"

CNBC's Squawkbox has on occasion a segment where the hosts sit in director's chairs and they usually discuss what's in the day's papers or any kind of current affair or event. It's also the only time to get caps of Becky Quick's legs. Whenever the shit hits the fan, and it's been like a billion toilets' worth these past few weeks, CNBC ditches the chairs and sticks to business. I don't understand why. So the economy's in the toilet, and the stock market is crashing worse than the Hindenburg. What's the problem with taking 5-10 minutes out of the show to talk about something different and get away from the doom and gloom? Is it so bad that you can't do that? Is spending those 5-10 minutes on business really so important that it makes a difference? I don't think so.

Random Thoughts: Maria and Erica

Maria Menounos had a mixed week. Again, I have no idea why NBC brings her in for these stints. She always looks like the little kid who has found herself sitting at the grown-ups' table. I think she has absolutely no substantive talent other than looking good. NBC makes sure not to overstress her from a segment point of view and she rarely has to stretch outside of her comfort zone. You won't see her doing too many segments on finance or world affairs. She has this odd fashion sense once she's in New York (lots of darks and drab) and shows off her West Coast affinity but always dressing more warmly than her colleagues, to the detriment of her overall appearance of course. Maria very rarely nails it totally but can usually be counted on to do it on one day, but usually one day only.

Erica has been (not surprisingly) confirming my fears by being pretty consistent with the pants on Saturday Early. I will give her credit in that she looks fitter than she did during her Headline News days, but I still see no benefit from her having the SES job. I don't see how she adds viewers or value. The show seems to a continually mediocre, and just there to be there. CBS seems either unwilling or unable to make the show anything more than what it is and they clearly don't seem to care that it succeeds or not.

On The Other Hand...

SNL knows what the costume score is!

Palin Wimps Out Against Katie

After Katie Couric "undressed" Sarah Palin in their first interview, Palin had nothing for her in the second one, as they more or less switched outfits with Palin in pants and Katie in a skirt when it was the other way around the first time. Guess Palin couldn't take Katie's heat.

Nice Boobs, Alexis!

Much Better, Jenna

Jenna took one look at that English Emma and said "You don't come into my house and dress like that."

Rockin' Robin Is Just... Different

I don't normally cap a non-skirt day, but I just had to to point out something about Rockin' Robin. She just definitely doesn't swim with the tide that's for sure. She's worn the leggings before but not with boots. In addition to their "Escaped from the '80's"look, they definitely are stuff most newsbabes wouldn't be caught dead with, but Robin seems to want to be different. Sure it does come off kinda sexy in a white trash way, unfortunately it comes off sexy in a white trash kinda way. Not only that but the way she's sitting. I'm not getting that, but she only sits that way when she wears those leggings. Strange. I don't think I've ever seen a girl sit like that who was older than 10. If you know where Robin came from, then you know that she always seems one step from the trailer park and that wacko voice she used to have when she started out on TV. You can still hear it creep back into her voice every once in a while when she's not paying attention. I could go on about the shtick that she does that annoys me, but I gotta give her props for being busty, sexy, and lively. I just wish she'd cut out the dressing like a high school hooker thing.

A Strange Day on Today

The top two morning news shows have this strange notion that they can travel the country and "take the pulse" of America in this presidential election season. All I know is that it really screws up the works. Matt and Al was in Virginia today doing something. They dragged Amy down there to do what appeared one story on something that I didn't bother to pay attention to, and that was it. One story. So Meredith held down the fort and wasn't actually too bad, and Hoda played Ann/Amy for the day. Otherwise fairly forgettable because they also decided to bring in Billy Shrub. If they had a female they could have somewhat made up for things, but oh well, I guess they had to stick to the theme of the day, just plain old strangeness.

What The Hell Happened To CNN's Issue #1?

CNN had Issue #1 which was on at 12 PM direct from the New York with Christine and Gerri and it was a good show with lots of leg including Popcorn Poppy Harlow. Now the show is a bunch of head shots and Tony Potts from Atlanta anchors the show and the business types only show up every so often. What gives? I want my sit downs with Christine and Gerri and my leg shows with Poppy back!

Julie Chen Is Annoying And Unwanted

I find Julie Chen really annoying now that Big Bro is over with and she has insinuated herself back on the Early Show. I thought Mags and Harry made a good pair and seemed to do well but with Jules butting herself in it's upset all the chemistry. Plus Jules hasn't exactly been dressing all that great. I've not really warmed up to Jules and it's obvious that part of it that's she's married to the boss so you can never quite be sure about her. Also, her hosting Big Brother seems to taint her newsworthy skills, not that she had much to begin with. Kind of in the same way that Meredith Vieira continues to host the Millionaire show. I don't understand that. One, I don't understand why she's the host and two, I don't understand why NBC tolerates it. At least with Jules, she's doing a CBS show so you can kinda understand. Still, I don't think Jules really brings anything to the table and I think the show would be much better with just Mags and Harry. Mags has a softer, more approachable look and personality. Jules come off a bit snobby, and snooty, too much the Hollywood trophy wife who just does the job because she wants to keep busy. Plus I can't stand it when Jules does her thing from L.A. and she gets people up in the morning there at 4 stinking o'clock to do an interview. Gimme a break, the only reason she can do that is 'cuz she's married to the boss. Anyone else, I'm like, screw you I'm staying in bed.

In additional CBS Early Show news, Erica Hill has been named the permanent host (for now, permanent is a relative word with CBS) of Saturday. I'm, like, ehh... ok. I really wish that they would have given it to someone who was with CBS for a while, maybe a Susan Koeppen, but she's pregnant (again) so she's out. It seemed like such a long, tortured period after Mags left to take the big job and they just kept rotating different girls in and out. Some of them were quite good, actually. I almost liked that approach more than settling on one, because I was afraid that they would settle on the wrong one and we'd be stuck with her. Well, I kinda get that feeling with EH. When she was on Headline News a few years ago, I would record her to get some leg but I would never get anything good. Yeah, she'd show some but she'd go for long periods of pants. She had a bit more weight back then and she had the thunder legs going on. I always thought she was a bit conservative. Then she really disappeared off my radar and landed in New York. I guess the only real reason she's got the job is because of the CNN/CBS talent sharing deal and that she's in NY because it's a one day a week job and they can't really afford to pull someone off another job or fly someone in from an affiliate. OK, I get that, but even with that, I still think there were other choices. I for one never viewed EH as any kind of a morning news show host, just never seemed the type. Oh well, guess we'll have to get used to her and see how she works out. In the couple times that I've seen her on Saturdays, she's worn pants, so I'm not too optimistic. She'll be on and off, but not like Mags or Tracy Smith who were almost always on.

A Disturbing Trend

Whoopi Goldberg is showing the most leg on the View these past couple days, which ought to disturb most people. Whoopi has about as much business wearing a skirt and hose as I do. What's more disturbing though is that Elisabeth seems to be slacking a great deal. She busted out a skirt for Bill Clinton but she had boots on today. She's been pretty spotty since their season started and since she's about the only one worth looking at, even though she's a dimbulb with questionable political leanings, if she ain't looking good, the show is worthless.

Arggh, Amy In Pants

And with Meredith doing her boots thing, it was pretty thin on Today today.

Boots Already, Alexis?

Alexis Glick is the first Fox Biz babe I've seen wear boots this season and I sure hope it's the last. As with all of these early season boots appearances, I cannot fathom a reason for them.

English Bird Emma Kick's Jenna's Ass

English Emma from the FBN office in London joined the MfB crew today and totally outdressed Jenna, who had on a long blue dress. Jenna has got to realize that she is one of the top two best lookers on staff there (along with Shibani Joshi) and really needs to make everyone aware of that. She's consistently among the most conservative dressers (along with Shibani. Notice a trend?). The other girls aren't as good looking but they seem to want to do more. Jenna should be doing more and should be showing who's boss against the interloper. I love English birds, that accent is so randy and shag-adelic, but c'mon, Jenna, show some bollocks.

Ann Update

So it looks like Ann Curry actually went to Pakistan to cover the hotel bombing. I gotta say that I'm a little worried about Ann's continued desire to go covering events like this. I mean I respect the fact that she loves her job and wants to be there to cover these things because she has a passion for it and feels that she can bring attention to the problems and issues that exist in the world. The problem though is that she's no spring chicken anymore and this type of war-zone/hot spot type coverage is something that should be left to the young and expendable. We've seen Western journalists get killed and/or taken hostage in these kinds of places and each time someone goes there it just increases the risk. Now I probably sound very paternalistic because selfishly I'd rather Ann be in the studio and give me some of those great leg crosses that she does where she nearly flashes the camera. I suppose that it is the contradiction that you see with Ann. She is great with the soft studio stuff but has really built a career out of being a crusading, go anywhere to cover a story reporter in the best traditions of the profession.

Fox Business Knows What's Important

Even in this time of Wall Street melting down and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Fox Business knows that it's still important to bring the leg as much as possible. They know that their babes can do their jobs, break the news and provide insight and still be the sex goddesses of cable network news. Amen, bros, keep it up. Gotta hand it to Rebecca "Go-Go Girl" Gomez, Sandra "Double S" Smith, Tracy "T&A" Byrnes, La Liz "Large Cans" Claman, The Glickstress and Jenna "Yes That Is My Real Name And No I'm Not A Porn Star But I Could Be" Lee and all the others for showing CNBC that you don't have hide the legs when the shit hits the fan.

Amy In For Ann Today

OK, Amy was going to be on anyway but she was playing the Ann part today as well. Ann was apparently already under the weather a bit yesterday so I guess she just took today off. She'd been looking not so great anyway, so no big loss there. 'Sides, Amy's been rocking the hose and peep-toes all week and I'm a hose and foot fan if you ain't already noticed. While peep-toes ain't my ultimate cup of teas I guess they're tasteful and classy enough to wear with hose. I know there are some stupid rules about not wearing sandals or open-toed shoes with hose like it's something only old ladies or whatever. I really prefer them in, well, more adult example, but for the real world, I don't mind them, it's been done before, but not often. Curiously, the only examples of GN's wearing hose and sandals have been older types like Donna Fiducia and Meredith. Maybe there is something there.

No Casual Friday For Rockin' Robin

Robin bucked the trend by sporting the skirt and bare legs today.

Thursday: M.K .In D.C. - OK.....

Megyn was back in her old stomping grounds in D.C. yesterday. Not sure why as she didn't really seem to be there for any purpose wasn't like she was talking to anyone there. 'Course I didn't pay real close attention. All I know is that it was head shots only!

Palin Lets Her Hair Down Literally And Figuratively For Hannity

This is slightly off-topic and I might be regretting this, but considering that Sarah Palin is about the only major female political candidate in a long time (maybe ever) who could be considered "hot" and she appears on all the news networks and hence it's impossible for anyone into GNN not to notice her, I thought this was worth mentioning. Good ol' Sarah did her second major TV interview last night on Fox News with Sean Hannity in part 1 of a 2 parter. Part 2 airs tonight. She had her hair fully down, unlike her previous appearances where her hair was either partially or totally up. Also, was it me, or was her skirt just a tad shorter than she gave ol' Charlie G. for his interview with her? Dunno, but it sure looked it! Now I'm sure it's a combination of being on an friendlier network and being interviewed by a more sympathetic interviewer but she seemed more relaxed and comfortable. Of course everyone knows that she won't be getting a whole lot of softballs from here on out. What I'm waiting for is an interview in full HD and not that crappo SD to HD stuff that ABC gave us. Maybe Jay Leno will get lucky and book her, and there's a fair chance of that considering that McCain has been on the show before. Letterman maybe not 'cuz he'll probably rattle her but it would be fun to see.

Rockin' Robin In Pants

Guess it's gonna be one of those weeks, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow (Friday) as she will likely be in jeans, 'cuz ya know, it's Casual Friday.

Megyn Kelly Back With A Whimper

After a one-day absence, Megyn returned wearing a rather long skirt, for her. Don't ask me what's going on.

The Streak Ends!

Kiran finally had a sit down for the first time since 8/29 and that was a taped interview with Whoopi Goldberg. 8/27 was her last live sit down.

Rockin' Robin Out Of The Boots

OK, so it's gonna be that way, eh? I would normally say that she should make up her mind, but in that respect, female indecisiveness is a good thing. God forbid if she decided to wear boots all the time.

Rockin' Robin Back In Boots

Could it be permanent? Robin's always been a bit of a boot you-know-what so you never know if she decides to sport them for a long stretch.

Hurricane Amy Storms Back Into Town

Hurricane Amy saves the day and the Today show from the continued dreariness of Meredith, who made a brave attempt today, and Ann, who continues to be mired in a slump. Amy's calves of steel were gloriously adorned in sheer black hose, although the skirt could have been shorter. Ann has perplexed recently with a lack of show. She can be quite good if she puts the effort out but it seems that as soon as the weather turns she pulls out the shawls, the wraps, and the blankets and bundles herself up in them.

Well That Didn't Last Long

Megyn Kelly came back yesterday and now today Heather Nauert is in for her. I did not hear an explanation although there probably was one.

Megyn Kelly Back On Fox With A Vengeance

After two weeks of sitting behind a big desk for the Democratic and Republican conventions and then being off a week, Megyn Kelly said enough was enough and came back firing on all cylinders with a real nice short one. Good on ya, Megs!

Hurricane Amy's Continued Effects of the Today Show

Hurricane Amy's absence from the Today Show set continues to cause waves and bring cloudy skies. Ann and Meredith laid a real F-5 sized egg in pants and only small glimmers of sunlight appeared with the guests. Never fear, dear readers, GNN will continue to be on top of this developing story and continue to use as many weather analogies as we can get away with.

Amy on Hurricane Duty;Today Show Ruined

So they sent Amy to Texas to cover Ike. I have no idea why. Why oh why couldn't they have sent Ugly Jenna instead? Maybe she could have gotten blown out to sea. Sending Amy to cover a hurricane is like sending her to Iraq. Combat boots just don't suit her. Seeing her in a big ol' rain poncho trying to fight off the wind like Anderson "I Look Tough In A Black T-Shirt" Cooper just ain't right.

Linda Stouffer. Why!?!?

Robin promptly disappeared after Monday for three days and we were subjected to Linda Stouffer. What, no Susan Hendricks or Christy Paul? Linda is really not a bad looking lady, albeit a bit large eyed, but man is she more conservative than a nun. When she sat wearing a skirt, which ain't often but happened this week, her legs were so tight together you needed the Jaws of Life to get them apart.

Whew, back to normal.

Robin Meade was back to sporting the legs today. Not sure what was happening on Friday, maybe a sudden cold snap.

Soledad Impressing

I don't say this often, in fact never, but I was pretty impressed with Soledad O'Brien and her anchoring of the New York coverage of the convention this week. She wore nice dresses and shoes three days in a row. I think she still thinks that she has a shot at something at CNN and is certainly trying her level best to stay with it. Being in New York, her options there are limited and I'm certain she still feels a bit chastened by being ousted out of her seat at American Morning and replaced by Kiran. Now I think that move was warranted, although certainly Kiran had a part to play in that, but it certainly doesn't mean that Soledad should just take it on the chin. She certainly thnks she's a good broadcast journalist and wants to take a hold of the best opportunities. She might be better at doing the projects like the Black in America series and stuff like that as opposed to the day-in, day-out shows. But regardless she certainly acquitted herself well with the time that she had.

Not A Good Sign

Robin Meade is already wearing boots, and a crazy looking dress as well. In an ironic twist, Jennifer Westhoven was indeed not wearing boots while sitting in studio with her.

Pregnant Natalie Going On Maternity Leave

Today was her last day before going on maternity leave. Good luck with the new kid Nat. Now I'm guessing that Amy Robach will be taking over for her during the week, but I wonder if she will also keep doing Saturdays.

Meredith Vieira with boots on "Today" yesterday. Why?

So Meredith had boots on yesterday. I have no idea why. No one else was even thinking of wearing boots. It's still summer and it feels like it. Even pregnant Natalie who wore the most unflattering, tent-like whatever up top looked better than Meredith.

Soledad Anchoring "Isuue #1" Substitute for Conventions

Soledad O'Brien is doing the hour that is normally "Issue #1" with Gerri Willis, Christine Romans, and Poppy Harlow. Guess those three have two weeks off or whatever. OK, maybe not completely off as Gerri may pop into the American Morning set to do biz talk and Christine should still be doing the weekend "Your $$$$" show. Soledad was in a skirt yesterday (Tuesday) but pants-ed it Monday. Guess it'll be a little bit of both with her. At least Kiran is still showing up strong anchoring solo in New York while John Roberts does what he loves, covering politics and making people think he looks cool with that hairdo of his. I guess he think it lends him "gravitas".

Democratic Convention Screwing Up The Works

Chalk up FNC's America's Newsroom as a casualty of the DNC Convention, with Hemmer and Megyn Kelly behind a big desk in Denver.

Add in CNN's Issue #1 as well, with convention coverage taking over.

The Case for CNN

It's hard to believe but CNN may actually have more and better GN's on more often during the weekday schedule than Fox News. When you look at it now, Fox's schedule is pretty weak. They've banished Alisyn Camerota to the weekends, leaving (or rather dumping on) us three hours of Gretchen Carlson. Ugh. Then it's two hours of Megyn Kelly which is great. But after that, it's all downhill. Two hours of Jane Skinner behind a giganto desk is bad enough, but even when she's out and a better looking and dressing substitute is in, we still don't see anything. After that, it's two hours of Martha MacCallum for the Live Desk. They do some good shots but overall the format of the show is unnecessarily busy and cramped as if the more video windows and crap they cram on the screen the more it makes it look like they are on top of the news. Gimme a break. Martha has occasional flashes of brilliance but has never been a consistent home run hitter. After that, that's it. Nothing. The America's Election Headquarters show at 5 has Heather Nauert, but she's hidden behind a desk.
On the other hand, look at CNN's New York based shows. You have Kiran Chetry doing 3 hours of American Morning. Kiran has really hit her stride on AM and is looking comfortable, poised and great. Then at 12 you have Issue #1 which was already doing well with Gerri Willis, an underrated beauty for several years and the nice new addition of Poppy Harlow. Now you have Christine Romans back from maternity leave and looking great and that show is really timely from a content perspective and the talent is hard to beat. Gerri looks to actually have lost out a bit as Ali Velshi I believe is the real co-host. When Christine first came back, Gerri disappeared and I was a bit worried that Gerri was sent back to Atlanta. Now it looks like they are kind of doing a bit of a time sharing deal on the show. Ali is either on vacation or on assignment but I hope when he is back on that Gerri can find a place somewhere in New York on high-def where she belongs. I think Ali is being used as a campaign guy as well so it's possible that we will see less in the studio and that is only for Gerri. Then in the evening you have Lou Dobbs with Kitty Pilgrim. Now, OK, Kitty's no winner in the facial department but she brings the legs all the time. I've never seen her wear pants. Carrie Lee has also been on the show as well but not very recently and she has been impressive. After that you have Campbell Brown doing her show and I've always liked her a lot even though some people think she is too skinny and looks like a witch. Eh, whatever, she's tall, thin got long legs and can look very appealing so I'm happy. Really what more can you ask for? So really, looking at the weekdays, CNN is kicking Fox's butt. Now I wonder why this has happened. Fox seems to be going away from it's bread and butter that has been so successful for the past ten years. I think their constant schedule tweaking has not proven to be a good idea and the 2 hour time slots they are employing I think gets stale. They need to go back to one hour slots and rotate more people in and out to keep things fresh. I don't see the need for two hours of Jane, and two hours of the Live Desk. I just don't. I don't understand why Fox has to make each of the shows different with a different name and set. None of the other networks do that, and frankly who cares? Most people who watch cable news networks tune in and out during the day and expect to get the same kind of look and feel and coverage each time they tune in. I don't think anyone really says "Wow I really love the Live Desk format or the America's Newsroom and I really have to watch it." Whenever there's breaking news they always end up covering the story the same way, so what's the point?
You can tell Fox has a problem when their best GN's are mostly on the weekend. You have Alisyn doing Fox & Friends. You have Jamie Colby and Julie Banderas doing the news and Julie doing the Fox Report. Ainsley Earhardt kisses up to Hannity on his show but is otherwise sorely underused. There's a problem here, too many of these GN's are on the weekend when they should be on during the week. When either Jamie or Julie sub in for Martha it brings a spark to the show that isn't there normally. I have no problems with Ainsley doing F&F Weekend and it's a shame that Courtney Friel is now buried for some reason. She may be on during Jane's stint, as she was before, but I wouldn't know as I don't watch it and she was only ever window dressing anyway. They really aren't utilizing their talent to the best they can and I think it is clearly hurting them when I, a staunch FNC supporter, think that CNN is kicking their butts. I think they've put more time and effort into building up the Business Network, which is great because they have the best GN's for sure, but it's been to the detriment of the News Channel. As they head into the general election season, I see even less time and effort being put into the daytime studio stuff as most of the emphasis is on the coverage out on the trail and the evening re-hash and debate shows.
Fox has also I think really shot themselves in the foot by losing Laurie Dhue and also diminishing the roles of some of their, uh, more "mature" GN's like ED Hill, Brigitte Quinn and Page Hopkins. It's funny but a year ago I would have said that I thought FNC had too many GN's. Now it seems like they have too few, or at least too few that they are willing to use. Their insistence on the 40-and-done policy hurts them because they have no bench and no experience if they do that. Now again there may be individual reasons with all those ladies as to why they are not on screen a lot anymore, but I can't help but think that Fox needs to re-evaluate their notion of GN's reaching a certain sell-by date and then getting rid of them.

Catching Up

Well I've fallen behind a bit in updating the blog with new links to caps but never fear they are still being posted. For the sake of convenience, I'm not going to post direct links or highlights for the past few days. The real easy way to get to the album for a specific day is to use this format:

http://photobucket.com/GNNCapsMM-DD-YY

So for example, July 30's caps are at: http://photobucket.com/GNNCaps07-30-08. Easy eh? So that you can get to any day's caps by using that format.

July 28 Caps

Link.

Highlights: