Keith Olbermann pulled from St. Paul to anchor MSNBC's storm coverage from New York

[leapinggnome]

TV networks shifting toward hurricane
By DAVID BAUDER – 1 day ago

NEW YORK (AP) — Television networks rapidly shifted focus and personnel away from the Republican national convention to Gulf Coast communities in the path of Hurricane Gustav on Sunday, wondering how much of their political planning will be for naught.

Anchors Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, Brian Williams, Anderson Cooper and Shepard Smith were all going to the New Orleans area for the storm instead of being with Republicans in St. Paul, Minn.

Whether they will be heading north at all depends on the strength of the storm at Monday's expected landfall. President Bush and Vice President Cheney both canceled plans to be at the convention, where they were to be featured Monday, and the GOP was considering other changes to its program.

"We're going to go with the biggest story of the day tomorrow," said Jay Wallace, a news vice president at Fox News Channel, "and right now the biggest story of the day is the storm."

Along with Smith, Fox was sending Geraldo Rivera and at least a dozen crews to the Gulf. Fox had been anticipating a big week in St. Paul; its ratings topped every broadcast and cable network at the 2004 GOP convention.

It's unclear how viewers will respond this time if the storm eclipses the convention as a story.

Wolf Blitzer was anchoring CNN on Sunday from the nearly empty convention floor, yet he was talking mostly about the hurricane. Sunday on the cable networks would have otherwise been dominated by political stories — as it was the day before the Democratic convention last week in Denver — but much of the political talk this week concerned the storm's impact on Republicans.

"These two stories are obviously interwoven right now," said Sam Feist, CNN's political director.

Even in the few times politics came up, the cable news networks usually kept an angry orange satellite picture of Gustav in the corner. At one point when Karl Rove was discussing Republican vice presidential choice Sarah Palin on Fox News Channel, his picture was crowded into one-fourth of the screen.

A bright red hurricane insignia spun into the picture, complete with whooshing noise, when MSNBC moved between stories.

ABC's Gibson decided to anchor "World News" on Sunday from New Orleans. George Stephanopoulos was staying in St. Paul, but Chris Cuomo of "Good Morning America" will be in the Gulf Monday. Diane Sawyer, who went to the Democratic convention, will be in New York Monday and her future travel plans were uncertain.

CBS pulled two crews from the convention and sent them south. Harry Smith of "The Early Show" planned to join Couric and several correspondents in the Gulf region.

Williams was going to stop to interview GOP candidate John McCain before he arrives in New Orleans, said NBC News President Steve Capus. Anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw will anchor the network's GOP coverage.

Keith Olbermann was pulled from St. Paul to anchor MSNBC's storm coverage from New York, with his seat beside Chris Matthews filled by David Gregory. Capus said political considerations had nothing to do with that move; Olbermann has been sharply critical of the GOP.

read more here:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtoBuIEiOnKUY6lLGbJWH39xuUvgD92TELF00

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Oh, I am sure...

That the repukes didn't burn up the phone lines to MSNBC over KO's presence at the convention. Absolutely certain. :eyes:

[Warpy]

2. The RNC turned into a non story when the "stars,"

Stupid and Evil, decided to use Gustav as an excuse not to talk to the rabble.

The stacked up hurricanes in the Atlantic are a much more important story than a bunch of pudgy white suburbanites cheerleading a senile old man and a bible Barbie as their hope for high office.

Olbermann is wasted at the RNC since he's pretty much muzzled and can't possibly be as honest as we are here at DU.

[Phred42]

3. Watch what happens to MSNBC's convention ratings