MediaMarketalk

Greta Van Susteren tweeted on January 29th that she was out at MSNBC. Van Susteren, who came to MSNBC after leaving her longtime position at Fox News, hosted a show at 6pm "For The Record" on the network and was just shy of 6 months on the job. Apparently Van Susteren's show, the lead-in for  MSNBC's analysis block, was not "picking up steam". It's been reported that Van Susteren, who has no plans to return to Fox, so far, and MSNBC agreed to part ways . When MSNBC announced Van Susteren's move, TCC wondered if Ari Melber and Steve Kornacki (who previously hosted his own show) would be utilized for anything other than fill-ins. We thought either would be "wise hosting choices" as they appeal to a younger audience. For now, it appears, Ari Melber will be getting the 6pm slot. Big Changes at MSNBC and NBC TCC also questioned how the former Fox News crew would do on MSNBC and it appears the first casualty has appeared. Megyn Kelly h...

Back in May, cohosts of "Morning Joe",   Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough announced their engagement. This was not a surprise to viewers of the show (their body language alone betrayed them!) Morning Mika and Joe NBC are Engaged  But now it appears Mika and Joe are claiming they have been the victims of an exhortation attempt, that involves Donald Trump , The National Enquirer and White House Staffers. Yikes! This story is bizarre. Why would anyone go to the trouble, as it seemed, for years, Joe and Mika were attracted to each other? Their announcement in  May only confirmed what was to many a forgone conclusion, Mika and Joe, were or would be intimately involved at some point.  Brzezinski and Scarborough cowrote an Opinion piece in The Washington Post, Donald Trump is not well  that was meant to responded to Trump's tweet-storm that involved the them. Apparently Brzezinski and Scarborough have been feuding with Donald Trump ...

Video In a brilliant video from The Atlantic ,   Michael K . Williams asks "Am I typecast". It's all about "challenging assumptions".   

Tech Well, this is cool. Chicago's newest Apple store, on Michigan Avenue, will have a giant Macbook for its roof.

Recap 1923 Major Retailers Still Risk Bankruptcy . The trend continues into 2017with retailers still struggling to get a handle on where consumers are heading, besides online.  Wow, read a piece that indicated we may not know  Where Were Your Louis Vuitton Shoes Made?  TCC comes down on the side of quality and workmanship, matter more.  Fashion Legend Carla Fendi Dies in Rome , who can't remember their first Fendi.  Fox Networks Group to Run Six-Second Ads , this was inevitable. Perhaps attention spans are not what they use to be.  Political in nature  Lunchtime LOL - Stephen Colbert  , but this was funny!   James Corden Pleading for Media Coverage Diversity , TCC isn't sure if the media will hear him. Ratings are going through the roof for political coverage. You know what they say, money talks.... TCC stumbled upon  Summer Reading for Fashion Lovers . #WinterIsHere!  TRAILER: Game of Thrones Season 7 . Appears  Facebook...

Basic Cable MSNBC is continuing to benefit from the chaotic and near daily breaking news surrounding the current administration and political environment. The Comey testimony, and the June 13th airing of Jeff Sessions' testimony, helped propel MSNBC and Fox into the "two most watched " basic cable networks. However, Fox finished in first place for total day. The Day of Private Citizen James Comey  MSNBC's rise in the ratings has also allowed the network to " increase ad rates by some 43% year over year ". Fueling this increase is the network's primetime block programming, with Rachel Maddow bringing in the biggest numbers, that thrives on political analysis. Related : ,  Trump Presidency Boosts Cable News 

Social Media Looks like Facebook has pushed media companies too far in their quest to fill their News Feed with videos, and now publishers are getting sick of Facebook . According to a Bloomberg piece, Facebook has "pitched" new offers to publishers demanding "TV-quality, edited, original videos" that would allow Facebook to compete with YouTube. Sounds like a business plan. CNN is a key partner and has the longest "arrangement" to provide video clips for Facebook, but the new arrangement has CNN and other publishers questioning if the deal would be "mutually beneficial" as "Facebook is about Facebook". While Facebook would offer publishers a "share of the ad revenue", it may not be enough to offset the expense and limitations. Publishers also cite, this is an experiment for Facebook.

Cable #WinterIsHere. TCC can't wait!

Fashion As TCC does love fashion, we like to pick up on a few books to add to our fashion book collection. We found two titles in "Tomes of the Times" Summer Reading 2017 . We're particularly interested in Dior: 1958-1960 (Classics). It's the second volume in a series of books devoted to the designers who worked for the house of Dior.  There's also a really cool book, Paris Refashioned: 1957-1968 , that makes TCC think about Twiggy and The Beatles !

Television James Corden thinks the media is spending too much time covering President Trump and his various investigations regarding Russia. On Tuesday, Cordon kicked off his show, "The Late Late Show with James Corden" with an announcement, after chastising the media, to let the President get on with his job. One of Corden's concerns is that "6 of the 18 members of the Presidential Advisory on HIV/AIDS resigned."

Online While surfing we got caught on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's" latest clip, "IsTrump Under Investigation? His Lawyer Says Yes, No, And More!" It's the perfect lunchtime diversion.

Advertising Fox Networks Group will begin airing six-second ads on its digital and on-demand platforms. YouTube was the first to begin running the non-skippable ads. Reporting is FNG will "eventually" bring the six-second ads to traditional television. FNG is the first television broadcaster to air the ads. YouTube to Stop Annoying 30-Second Un-skippable Ads 

Fashion Carla Fendi  was the public face for the brand and the hugely popular "baguette", now a classic, handbag. Fendi, one of five sisters, died on Monday after a long illness.  LVMH now owns 90% of Fendi. Carla Fendi, one of the five sisters who transformed @Fendi into a global luxury house, has passed away. https://t.co/VPhCgImrQC — Business of Fashion (@BoF) June 20, 2017

Retail Apparently in an effort to keep profits high and expenses low, luxury retailer Louis Vuitton is making some of its "Made in Italy" shoes in Romania . It may be time for an "assembled in" stamp for retailers. TCC isn't sure if the Vuitton customer really cares if the workmanship and quality are the same. Revealed: the Romanian site where @LouisVuitton makes its Italian shoes. https://t.co/NKbin8Ano8 (via @guardian ) pic.twitter.com/S0xCJMB2Fs — Business of Fashion (@BoF) June 19, 2017

Retail While many retailers have tried consolidation, store closings and amped up online shopping experiences, the woes of retailers and risk of bankruptcy continues into 2017. Time published a list, from Moody's , of 22 retailers that fall into that category. Not surprising, J.Crew is on the list. Also on the list, luxury fashion retailer, Vince which had a first quarter drop in sales of 14% for 2017.  What We're Reading - J. Crew's Rise and Fall  Neiman Marcus , the luxury retailer, puportedly being eyed by HBC , is also on the list. Should Neiman Marcus file for bankruptcy this could be a part of a larger strategy that will allow HBC to acquire Neiman Marcus without its enormous debt. However, it is implied Neiman Marcus' survival is far from certain. It appears department and speciality stores are expected to "continue to deteriorate". HBC Cuts Jobs Across Businesses 

Recap 1216 TCC was  Checking Out 2017 Tony Awards Reviews , which seemed to point to Bette Midler winning the night with her acceptance speech, as the 2017 Tony Awards Ratings Down . Then off to catch up with TRAILER: Black Panther . There was talk about the movie being too dark and too black! What We're Reading - J. Crew's Rise and Fall peaked our interest as a more definitive look at the company's predicament and how it got there. After that it was a lot of Megyn Kelly Catching Heat, Again , then  Megyn Kelly Tries to Clarify and Defend Jones Interview , while J. P. Morgan Removes Ads From NBC News  , then  Is Megyn Kelly a Good Fit for NBC News?  Finally, Megyn Kelly's Alex Jones Interview Still On .  Congressman Steve Scalise Injured at Baseball Practice , was really an attack. The congressman is still in critical condition and we are hoping he and the others injured and traumatized by the horrific incident have a speedy recovery. Have a good ...

Television Despite complaints and calls for boycotts, NBC News has decided to air Megyn Kelly's interview with controversial radio and web host, Alex Jones. Tom Brokaw, veteran newsman and former NBC Nightly News anchor, has questioned the wisdom of airing the interview, scheduled to air June 18th on "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly".  Even with an advertiser, J. P. Morgan Removes Ads From NBC News , publicly removing its ads and Jones himself is quoted as asking NBC News not to air the interview , (For reasons Jones makes clear in Deadline.Com's article. Jones also released secret phone calls with Megyn Kelly, who at one point takes a shot at veteran broadcast journalist  Barbara Walters .), exes are moving forward.  RELATED : Is Megyn Kelly a Good Fit for NBC News?

News UPDATE : The gunman was killed. Congressman Steve Scales is out of surgery and in critical condition. On a human level, it's unfortunate when people cannot go about their daily lives without someone else deciding they will impact it. A simple baseball practice has turned tragic. From current reporting, the congressman, an aide, Capitol Police special agents and a lobbyist were injured. Steve Scalise was injured by a rifle-wielding gunman. Several other people were hit, according to a lawmaker witness https://t.co/1A0TFlHBhj — Hollywood Reporter (@THR) June 14, 2017

Television Megan Kelly's recent troubles such as her interview with InfoWars' Alex Jones, to her first outing on NBC being not so impressive , to " the second broadcast of Kelly's show down in total viewers from her premiere ", then today TVNewser reports " a re-air of CBS' 60 Minutes more than doubled the viewership of "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly ", TCC was taken back to its first comments regarding Kelly and the NBC viewers. In a piece TCC wrote after learning Kelly appeared to be forcing out  Tamron Hall we offered, "NBC News execs can only hope Kelly brings a significant portion of her Fox News audience". While Kelly's current viewership challenge applies to her weekly "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" show, a daily broadcast of Kelly's news show, scheduled to begin airing this fall, could prove an even greater challenge now. Kelly does have the benefit of NBC News brass ensuring the show would have al...

Television It's hard to imagine Megyn Kelly and NBC News producers did not expect the near firestorm they would receive when word of InfoWars ' Alex Jones ' interview with Megyn Kelly, on "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly", become known.  Rather than defending her decision to interview Jones as "shining a light" on him, Kelly appears to be quickly backpedaling from the glaring light that has been focused on her decision and NBC News. J. P. Morgan Removes Ads From NBC News  Megyn Kelly Defends Alex Jones Interview; Calls His Sandy Hook Hoax Claim “Revolting” – Update https://t.co/dxZFt6VTiO via @deadline — Rachelle S. Ricks (@RachelleSRicks) June 13, 2017

Television YouTube The heat continues to grow for Megyn Kelly , who plans to air an interview with controversial radio and web host Alex Jones , and now NBC News, with J.P. Morgan removing its ads  over the Kelly interview with Jones.  J.P. Morgan wants local and digital ads removed from Kelly's show, does not want any ads appearing "adjacent to promotions for the interview", and does not want any of their ads appearing on NBC News "until after the show airs". Megyn Kelly Catching Heat, Again Earlier in the week as as news of the interview, scheduled to air June 18th on "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly", began to spread people took to Twitter with the hashtag "shameonNBC".

Ratings Looks like not even Bette Midler's "hilariously long" and amusing acceptance helped the 71st Annual Tony Awards gain viewers. Checking Out 2017 Tony Awards Reviews The awards show was down significantly, (some in the media wondered how the 2017 Tony Awards would fair without the play "Hamilton" in the running), dropping 31% in total viewers.

Television The first outing for " Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly " premiered at a disappointing third in the ratings last week, and had social media buzzing about her wardrobe choice, along with a scathing review on Comedy Central from Michelle Wolf. (The second broadcast of Kelly's show was down in total viewers from her premiere.) Megyn Kelly's First Outing on NBC Not Impressive  Now for this Sunday's show, airing June 18th, Kelly will be interviewing controversial radio and web host  Alex Jones , prompting the hashtag "shameonNBC" on Twitter and another " pounding ". It's unclear if Kelly is actually trying to bring in new viewers or broaden the audience. However, it seems doubtful that appealing to the Jones audience will help NBC retain its existing audience. In fact, it may be a turn off. Next Sunday, I sit down with conservative radio host @RealAlexJones to discuss controversies and conspiracies #SundayNight June 18 o...

Retail What Happened to J.Crew? Mickey Drexler , former J.Crew CEO, admitted he'd made "a very big mistake" when he allowed the company to be become "a little too elitist". Now we're checking out a breakdown of the " rise and fall " of Mickey Drexler from Quartz's Marc McBain.  McBain points out, as well as other factors, the design team frequently "missed the mark". Noting a "shakeup" was overdue. J. Crew CEO to Step Down

ICYMI, Marvel Studios released the trailer for Black Panther .  The movie is scheduled to be in theaters February 16, 2018.

Awards The reviews and winners are in for the Tony Awards 2017 ,   aired on CBS last night, and as the New York Times put it,  Kevin Spacey , host of the 71st Annual Tony   Awards, had an  uneven  night. However, TCC liked Spacey's opening number, which required him to sing. This takes guts when you're not known for singing, and you're in front of an audience of phenomenal voices! The award's opening musical was also panned as not so "amusing". The highlight of the Tony's was Bette Midler's acceptance speech, for lead actress in a musical "Hello, Dolly!", it was called " hilariously long ". Go Bette! TCC adores her. The Washington Post has a great wrap up of the " things you missed " and check out The Hollywood Reporter's  winner's list .

Theater  The Tony Awards 2017 will be hosted by Kevin Spacey , who won a Tony Award in 1991 for "Lost in Yonkers", and airs on CBS at 8 pm Eastern.  Here's a little history on Broadway's biggest night:

Recap 659 What a week it was! The buildup started with  Trump Presidency Boosts Cable News . Not only is cable news benefiting from Donald Trump being in office, late-night comedians like Stephen Colbert, host of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and Trevor Noah, host of the "Daily Show", who had somewhat of a  rocky start, has also benefited in the ratings . With ratings gold promised for almost all media outlets,  The Big Three Networks to Air Comey Testimony . Why miss out on a bonanza? Outside of the political realm, we did learn  J. Crew CEO to Step Down . TCC read a critical piece about the company the previous week, and was not surprised. Perhaps seeking a break to the upcoming Comey testimony frenzy, viewers turned to the  NBA Finals Hit Decades High Ratings . With Putin in the news, almost on a daily basis, "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" premiered with a Putin interview, but  Megyn Kelly's First Outing on NBC Not Impressive . Then, ...

Retail In a cost-saving move Hudson's Bay Company is eliminating 2,000 jobs , that are expected to save the company $350 million dollars. Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord&Taylor and Gilt are affected with senior-level management positions eliminated, layoffs and demotions. The jobs cuts are part of HBC's "Transformation Plan".  TCC wonders if HBC's transformation plan is part of a larger strategy that will allow the company to acquire Neiman Marcus or if it's an indicator that the purchase is off the table. 

Politics  Having released his direct testimony yesterday, former FBI director, James Comey , arrived at the Senate Intel Committee hearing several minutes after 10 a.m. EST. Media outlets have called today's testimony the " Super Bowl of Washington ". DC bars opened early with patrons lining up as early as 4 a.m. for, in some cases, politically themed drink specials. Some on social media reported having conference calls and meetings scheduled around the Comey testimony.  Some of the takeaways from the live testimony were: Comey said, " I was fired because of the Russian investigation ". CNN online lead with pointing to Comey " called Donald Trump a liar 5 times today ". What’s new from the testimony, not much. What will leave a mark? Perhaps the potential for “obstruction of justice” for President Trump .  At the end of the day where Comey's testimony will figure in history, after all of the investigations are complete, is not clear.  ...

Television Social media had been busy buzzing about Megyn Kelly's choice of attire, (feeling she was still in what some termed Fox -mode, considering she was wearing a cocktail dress) as inappropriate to interview Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but now the numbers are in and it would seem the substance of the Putin interview in is question too. Comedy Central's Michelle Wolf , ripped into Megyn Kelly  saying "Sorry, you're not the new Barbara Walters". Megyn Kelly Promo for 'Sunday Night' Released  Media coverage of Kelly's news magazine premiere viewership raged from moderate, modest, tepidly received, to those giving a more positive spin of "solid numbers". The reality is, " Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly ", finished third behind a rerun of "60 Minutes " and had an " ok debut " according to the ratings.  Much of TCC interest revolved around the perception that Megyn...

Ratings Perhaps Americans are looking for a stress reliever or a moment of mental rest from the wild political whirlwind that has gripped the nation, because viewers tuned in to the first two games of the NBA finals (Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers) in record numbers. According to TVNewsCheck, the ratings for the first two games were the most-watched since 1998. TCC is willing to bet any distraction from the daily controversy and political upheaval is welcome. 

Retail Last week  We're Reading - J.Crew's Upheaval , now it's been reported J. Crew CEO  Mickey Drexler  is stepping down. It seems the retailers who were slow to adapt to the changing retail landscape are paying the price. BREAKING | @jcrew 's Mickey Drexler to step down as CEO. https://t.co/QeTWVr3Qdo pic.twitter.com/fSXaOYaBYv — Business of Fashion (@BoF) June 5, 2017

Television ABC, CBS and NBC have announced, according to a Variety report,  they will interrupt their regularly scheduled programming to air former FBI director James Comey's testimony, before the Senate Intelligence Committee , live. Most Americans are taking bets on the impact the televising will have. Some are speculating it will become a "the world stopped to watch the Comey testimony". Or, “where were you when Comey testified?” Adding to the anticipation and buildup, cable news hosts are counting down the days until Comey makes his appearance. TCC can't wait to see how the ratings shake out. Stayed tuned.

Cable   According to an AP report the Trump presidency has been a " boon " for cable news. However, the networks have not seen the same boost for their evening news broadcasts.  With cable networks like MSNBC running wall-to-wall Trump coverage and reporting breaking news, at times by the hour, it’s no wonder viewers aren't interested in what may seem like "old news" when the networks air their nightly broadcasts.   Perhaps viewers, who are digesting the news all day on mobile devices, are ready for analysis at the end of the day, which would account for MSNBC's rise to number one, led by Rachel Maddow , in prime time.  

RECAP 292 While we kicked off what is the unofficial start to summer with a Happy Memorial Day , TCC realized President Trump Back to USA Back to Tweeting , again. And last week we were following  Will Lawrence O'Donnell Survive MSNBC's Center Lean . Well it seems after intense fan pressure O'Donnell announced in a tweet, he would remain at MSNBC.  Apparently, the dispute over renewing O'Donnell's contract revolved around his 10 p.m. timeslot. O'Donnell also shared his thoughts about his "public" contract struggles and " making nice " with MSNBC in a Daily Beast article. Have a good weekend!  Yes I will be saying hi to Rachel @maddow at 10pm for the foreseeable future. https://t.co/LKlkRTXL3F — Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) June 1, 2017