Cable news changes: "Super Tuesday that never ends"

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: The TV Watch
A New Star as Campaign Programs Shuffle: The News
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: April 7, 2008

The 2008 presidential race truly is about change: Tucker Carlson of MSNBC, Paula Zahn of CNN and John Gibson of Fox News were swept out of the way to make room for newsier programs that treat each night like election night — a Super Tuesday that never ends.
CNN gave Ms. Zahn’s slot to Campbell Brown, who is the host of “Election Center,” while MSNBC turned “Tucker” into “Race for the White House” and put David Gregory, the chief White House correspondent for NBC, in charge. Fox News replaced “The Big Story,” led by Mr. Gibson and his co-host, Heather Nauert, with “America’s Election HQ,” whose hosts are Megyn Kelly and Bill Hemmer. (Ms. Zahn left CNN; Mr. Carlson and Mr. Gibson remain with their networks.)...

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All three new programs zero in on the latest developments on the campaign trail, but each has its own tone and style. Even with Ms. Brown, who was a glamorous rising star at NBC when CNN hired her, “Election Center” is like the rest of CNN: solid, sound and not particularly flashy. Ms. Brown is quick, sharp and pleasant but unassuming, relying on commentators and veteran political reporters like Candy Crowley to provide the analysis.

Mr. Gregory, who introduces his program with the motto “the fast pace, the smart takes and every point of view in the room,” has a lighter, more playful affect that reflects the MSNBC sensibility. But “Race for the White House” tries perhaps too hard to cram in as many voices on a topic as possible — and as many faces on the screen. Mr. Gregory sits framed on top of four guest commentators in boxes in a montage that looks like the opening of “The Brady Bunch.”

And not surprisingly, “America’s Election HQ” comes with Fox News topspin: the tone is hypercaffeinated and fervid, and Ms. Kelly, who is the alpha host, has a gleam of zeal in her eyes that last week drove even Karl Rove, a Fox News contributor, to defend Mrs. Clinton. More than its rivals, “America’s Election HQ” obsesses about the patriotism of Mr. Obama’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., or Mrs. Clinton’s family finances, and the program highlights the usual Fox News bugbears: Jane Fonda’s endorsement of Mr. Obama last week was treated as a major news item — and a potential stink bomb.

All three of these new programs reflect their home network’s essence, but together they are a testament to voters’ newfound passion for electoral politics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/us/politics/07watch.html