White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Comedy Central Extends Trevor Noah’s Contract Through 2022

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Photo courtesy Comedy Central.

Earlier today, Comedy Central and Trevor Noah announced that they have agreed to a contract extension to keep the popular comedian and television host behind the late night desk on the Emmy-winning smash The Daily Show with Trevor Noah through 2022.

President of Comedy Central Kent Alterman celebrated the announcement stating, “Trevor makes us look smart on a daily basis, and for that we’re grateful.”

Similarly, Trevor Noah expressed his gratitude to the network and his fans for helping bring another five years of his late-night show to the airwaves.

“I’m thrilled to be continuing this amazing journey with both fans of The Daily Show and Comedy Central.  It’s really exciting to renew this contract for either five more years or until Kim Jong Un annihilates us all – whichever one comes first.”

Under the contract extension, Noah will remain as host at The Daily Show through 2022, in addition to his roles of writer and executive producer.  He will also host and produce year-end specials for the network beginning in December 2017.

Noah has found outstanding success since joining the network in 2015, especially among millennial and Generation X viewers.  In the third quarter of 2017, The Daily Show increased its viewer share among millenials an astounding 28% compared to last year, more than triple the growth of any other late night talk show.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday at 11:00 PM EST and is available to stream the following day on thedailyshow.com and via the Comedy Central mobile app.

Justice Department: Russian Network RT Must Register as Foreign Agent

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Photo courtesy the Kremlin.

The Department of Justice announced that the owners of the Russian state-owned network RT must register as a foreign agent, suggesting all their content would be labelled as Russian propaganda.

To date, media organizations have largely been exempt from registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which focuses primarily on political consultants, lobbyists and public relations professionals working for foreign states.

Registration would not halt RT from broadcasting in the U.S., but would require regularly-submitted government paperwork listing sources of revenue from foreign governments and contacts within the United States.  The Act also would require any reporting to be labeled as financed by the Russian government.

Failing to file the paperwork would be a felony.

New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen said of the Justice probe, “We can’t allow foreign agents, particularly those working on behalf of our adversaries, to skirt our laws.  Every new revelantion about Russia’s use of propaganda to influence the 2016 election further highlights the need of the federal government to bolster its enforcement of FARA.”

The U.S. intelligence community issued a report in January calling RT a “state-run propaganda machine.”  It said the network “has positioned itself as a domestic U.S. channel and has deliberately sought to obscure any legal ties to the Russian Government.”

The Foreign Agents Registration Act was enacted prior to World War II in an initial effort to combat Nazi propaganda intended to sway American public sentiment.

Miss North Dakota Cara Mund Crowned Miss America 2018

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Photo courtesy Cara Mund via Twitter.

Celebrations and congratulations flowed Sunday night in Atlantic City as Miss North Dakota, Cara Mund was crowned 2018’s Miss America.  Last night was the first time in pageant history that Miss North Dakota has ever won the coveted tiara.

A Brown University graduate heading to law school following her reign, Mund said she hopes to one day become the first woman elected governor of North Dakota.  She showed political savvy and determination when asked about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accords earlier this year.

Referencing the decision to withdraw from the climate accords, the newly-crowned Miss America said: “It’s a bad decision.  There is evidence that climate change is existing, and we need to be at that table.”

She told reporters at Boardwalk Hall following the ceremony that it was her desire to provide a factual and honest answer to the question posed, instead of glossing over her answer.

“My onstage question answer was just my personal opinion,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “I think everyone has a right to think what they want. But it’s important to have a spot at the negotiating table. This isn’t necessarily: ‘Does climate change exist or not?’ but rather the fact that we’re going to keep our Earth clean for future generations, and I just think it’s really important that we have a seat there. To pull out, I think, is just really unfortunate.”

Behind Mund, the other top five 2018 Miss American contestants were first runner-up Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis, second runner-up Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel, third runner-up Miss District of Columbia Briana Kinsey, and fourth runner-up Miss Texas Margana Wood.

The panel of judges for the 2018 pageant included country singer Thomas Rhett, actress and author Molly Sims, Grammy-nominated singer Jordin Sparks, People Magazine’s editor in chief Jess Cagle, CEO of AfterBuzz TV Maria Menounos, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri and Olympic gold medalist, Tara Lipinski.

The Miss America Organization, alongside The Miss America Foundation and its 52 licensed organizations, is the nation’s largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women, awarding millions annually for young female scholars across the country and around the world.  The Foundation provides academic and community-based scholarships for undergraduate and graduate studies, as well as endowed scholarships for young women entering medical school, working in special areas for military service awareness and the performing arts.

‘The Weather Channel’ Viewership Surges During Hurricanes

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

Cable television viewers flocked to The Weather Channel last week, driven primarily by concerns over recent hurricanes bombarding huge portions of the United States.

The channel had averaged approximately 150,000 viewers in prime time throughout July.  Last week, according to Nielsen ratings, roughly 1.3 million people tuned in during peak hours – nearly a ten-time spike in viewers.

The Weather Channel has featured 24-hour coverage of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma during the past few weeks.  Nearly 70 reporters and producers have deployed to Texas, Louisiana and Florida to cover both of the deadly and devastating storms blasting the region.

“People are tired,” said Nora Zimmett, senior vice president of programming for the Weather Channel.  “But there is an adrenaline that comes with an event like this.”

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ Adds New Correspondent Dulce’ Sloan

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Photo courtesy Comedy Central.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah just added new correspondent Dulce’ Sloan to the roster, with her scheduled to debut this week with an in-studio desk piece.

According to a release issued by Comedy Central,

“Sloan is truly a unique emerging voice in the world of comedy.  She offers a fresh and honest perspective, bringing her signature point-of-view and confidence to commentary on a wide range of topics.”

Sloan was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the ten comedians you need to know, as well as “New Face” at Montreal’s 2015 comedy festival Just for Laughs, and also as a correspondent at E! News Daily.  She has appeared on Conan, Steve Harvey, @midnight, and truTV’s Comedy Knockout.  Most recently, Sloan was cast in the Fox comedy pilot Type-A alongside Eva Longoria, Andy Richter and Ken Marino.

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ airs on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday at 11:00 P.M. EST and is available to stream the following day at thedailyshow.com.

Mass Layoffs at Glenn Beck’s “The Blaze”

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Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Glenn Beck, founder of the conservative multi-platform news and entertainment network The Blaze, announced Thursday his company would conduct mass layoffs.

“Today, we said goodbye to just over 20 percent of the combined workforce of Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze,” Beck said in a press release.

The one-time Fox News and HLN host suggested his network “needed to become more nimble and drastically adjust our approach to keep pace with the massive changes unfolding before us.”

The Blaze TV is struggling for ratings especially due to not being carried on major cable companies such as Comcast, Time Warner and Cablevision.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Most-Watched Show in Cable News in August

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Rachel Maddow speaking at SWSX. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Rachel Maddow had the most-watched show in cable news for the month, with 2.783 million total viewers in August, according to data released by Nielsen Media Research.  This marks the second consecutive month the MSNBC host landed at the top spot.

Closely behind was Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, with 2.679 million total viewers.  Rounding out the top five news shows were Fox News’ Tucker Carlson (2.483 million), MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell (2.352 million) and Fox News’ The Five (2.351 million).

Maddow also was first among adults 25-54, a critical demographic for advertisers.

Fox News Channel edged out competitors including MSNBC and CNN for top overall cable network for the month, averaging 2.2 million viewers in prime time.  Fox has been the top-rated cable network based on total day ratings for 14 consecutive months and most watched cable news channel in both total day and prime viewers.

Fox News Goes Off the Air in UK

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Fox News Channel newsroom. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Fox News will end its feed airing the network throughout the United Kingdom on Tuesday afternoon, according to an announcement by its parent company 21st Century Fox.

“21st Century Fox has decided to cease providing a feed of Fox News Channel in the U.K.,” the company said in a statement.  “Fox News is focused on the U.S. market and designed for a U.S. audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the U.K.”

There has been stiff competition for viewers in the United Kingdom, where U.S.-based Fox News was going up against British-based news organizations such as the BBC, ITV and Sky News.

A decision to approve 21st Century Fox’s bid for ownership of Sky TV was postponed last June by U.K. Culture Secretary Karen Bradly, pending additional review and analysis by the country’s Competition and Markets Authority.  21st Century Fox currently owns 39 percent of Sky TV.

In the United States, Fox News finished August as the most-watched channel on basic cable, according to Nielsen Media Research.  The network has held this title for 14 consecutive months.

Emmy Predictions! Entertainment Insiders Choose ‘Veep’ as Front-runner for Best Comedy Series

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

More and more experts are expecting the political comedy Veep to be victorious in winning the Emmy for Best Comedy Series this year.

According to the website GoldDerby.com, which tracks and analyzes entertainment award nominations, ten of the 16 entertainment journalists that have made predictions so far have revealed the smash HBO comedy has the advantage come September.

This year marks the sixth year in a row Veep has been nominated for Best Comedy Series, including winning the category both of the past two years.

The show has far more nominations than any other comedy this year, setting a high mark this time with 17 nominations, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Best Comedy Actress, Anna Chlumsky for Best Comedy Supporting Actress, Tony Hale and Matt Walsh each for Best Comedy Supporting Actor, Morgan Sackett, David Mandel and Dale Stern each for Best Comedy Directing, and Billy Kimball and David Mandel each for Best Comedy Writing.

The ten insiders predicting a Veep win this year include: Variety’s Debra Birnbaum, NPR’s Eric Deggans, TV Guide’s Joyce Eng, Gold Derby’s Tom O’Neil, TV Guide Magazine’s Matt Roush, Gold Derby’s Paul Sheehan, IndieWire’s Anne Thompson, Yahoo’s Ken Tucker, ESPN’s Adnan Virk, and LA Times’ Glenn Whipp.

 

MSNBC Earns Title of Top Cable Network in Total Viewers for First Time Ever

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Photo courtesy Jeff Maurone via Wikimedia Commons.

According to Nielsen data, the cable news channel MSNBC ranked as the number one network across all of cable in total viewers for the day, for the first time in its history.

For Wednesday, August 16th, 1.52 million viewers for the total day tuned in to MSNBC across all of cable, beating Fox News, who came in second place with 1.5 million viewers.  CNN placed fourth among all cable networks for the day with 1.13 million viewers.

In the key 25-54 adult demographic, CNN was in first place among cable news networks for the day, averaging 381,000 viewers.  Fox News was second in the demographic with 353,000 viewers, and MSNBC third with 343,000 viewers.

Wednesday’s episodes of MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” and “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” were both among the top 10 shows of the evening in total viewers.  Maddow’s show averaged 3.25 million viewers, with O’Donnell averaging 2.54 million.  Both shows were the highest-rated and most-watched cable news programs during their time slots.

Compared to Maddow’s 9PM EST time slot, Fox News’ “The Five” averaged 2.31 million viewers.  CNN’s Anderson Cooper averaged 1.52 million viewers during that hour.  (Cooper’s broadcast during the 8PM EST timeslot was third in total cable viewers with 1.67 million.)