Don't Worry CNN, Adding Anthony Weiner Will Equalize the Ratings

“Red Eye now beating CNN primetime in the ratings — despite 3 a.m. airtime.” Mediaite naturally buries the lede; fortunately, Hot Air spots it.

Here’s the Mediaite article:

Do you think the Twitter campaigns have helped? [Redeye fans regularly use Twitter to promote their show, and the #redeye hashtag to converse with each other as the show airs every night]

We’ve always been really accessible, fans can contact us and they like using Twitter while watching the show, which is fun, and I’ll go on there at the same time and do it myself if I can’t sleep or it’s the weekend. I think it’s great and also, the viewers know that a lot of the stuff that they said via my website I often use. The way I introduce guests– they realize that after 10,000 times of doing that, I need help, so they send me suggestions and I use them. So it’s one of the few shows– probably one of the only shows– where the fans actually help write it.

Your ratings are stellar for the 3 A.M. timeslot, but this quarter even beat some primetime shows– namely CNN’s 8 PM show In the Arena. That show, the Daily News is now speculating that that show (and possibly Eliot Spitzer) could see an exit. Any thoughts on how that came about, or what they’re doing over there that has them on the decline?

To be perfectly honest, it’s on at a time that I’m working, so I never watch it, so I guess I’m like the rest of America. But I honestly haven’t seen the show. I wish him well. I’m sure he’ll find work elsewhere.

Heh. And speaking of which, at an even lower-rated opinion network than CNN, Mark Halperin of Time magazine has been given a timeout:

[flashvideo file=http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/files/2011/06/halperin_obama_dick_6-30-11.flv image=http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/files/2011/06/halperin_calls_obama_dick_6-30-1.jpg /]

Mark Halperin has been suspended indefinitely by MSNBC for calling President Obama a “dick” live on air.

The suspension came just hours after Halperin, a top editor for Time and a regular on “Morning Joe,” profusely apologized for the remark, which came during Thursday’s “Morning Joe” broadcast.

MSNBC’s statement read:

Mark Halperin’s comments this morning were completely inappropriate and unacceptable. We apologize to the President, The White House and all of our viewers. We strive for a high level of discourse and comments like these have no place on our air. Therefore, Mark will be suspended indefinitely from his role as an analyst.

Halperin also issued a statement:

I completely agree with everything in MSNBC’s statement about my remark. I believe that the step they are taking in response is totally appropriate. Again, I want to offer a heartfelt and profound apology to the President, to my MSNBC colleagues, and to the viewers. My remark was unacceptable, and I deeply regret it.

Thoughtcrime does not entail indefinite suspension. Thoughtcrime is indefinite suspension. Perhaps one day, after years of rehabilitation, somebody will take Halperin into Room 101, and only that person will come out, to paraphrase another former MSNBC “regular,” Which is also a reminder that it doesn’t matter what you say on MSNBC as much as who you say it about. Especially when you say it on a show to which the Obama White House has been known to email in “corrections” while the show is on-air.

As Ed Morrissey responds:

Halperin later apologized for his language, but the fuss seems a little overblown. “Dick” isn’t a word that needs to be censored; for one thing, it’s a proper name used by a number of politicians, including Dick Durbin, who’s second in Democratic leadership in the Senate. It’s also a playground word for “jerk” or “penis,” but hardly an obscenity. Either way, the producer shouldn’t be blamed for missing the delay button.

Halperin should be apologizing for a lack of imagination. He’s right in that the President acted like a pouting, sullen adolescent during the press conference, whining about having to answer for the constitutionality of sending men and women into combat without asking Congress for authorization. Obama bizarrely blamed the fiscal crisis on a small coterie of corporate-jet owners, a heretofore unknown juggernaut of economic destruction. Instead of acting presidential, Obama gave us a hissy fit for over sixty minutes. And the best Halperin can do is “dick”?

Heh. Let’s ask Chris Matthews what he thinks of Halperin’s suspension: