25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 302 | MSNBC: 122 | CNN: 109 | HLN: 89

• Primetime: FNC: 459 | MSNBC: 216 | CNN: 201 | HLN: 104

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:	12a:
FNC	TheFive:	Baier:	Shep:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:
	320	400	386	623	437	316	380	240
MSNBC	Matthews:	Sharpton:	Matthews:	EdShow:	Maddow:	O’Donnell:	EdShow:	Maddow:
	148	160	177	199	253	196	121	194
CNN	Blitzer:	KingUSA:	Burnett:	Cooper:	Morgan:	Cooper:	Burnett:	Morgan:
	126	136	112	173	155	276	134	91
HLN	Special:	Prime:	Issues:	Grace:	DrDrew:	Grace:	Showbiz:	DrDrew:
	56	98	111	140	74	106	108	80

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Our innovative 4-week online Job Search Boot Camp starting January 31 will help you discover your unique qualifications and learn how to showcase your skills to employers. Register by January 17 to get the $79 early bird rate.

Sitting at a long table at the Landmarc restaurant in New York’s Time Warner Center, CNN host Piers Morgan looks quite relaxed. He says he feels it, too, having survived one year of his 9 PM program, a year that included earthquakes, tsunamis and revolutions.

Having to toggle between covering breaking news on CNN and judging dancing Christmas trees on “America’s Got Talent” began to take its toll however, and late last year Morgan was released from his NBC obligations, and focused his attention on his CNN program.

That program, “Piers Morgan Tonight,” will be undergoing a transformation this year.

“I think we will be evolving the show into a more structured format, bringing more of my personality into it,” Morgan said over a lunch with a small group of media reporters. “If you ask me what my favorite shows are on cable, it would be Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart, on network it would be [David] Letterman. The shows where they have a basic structure you get familiar with, stuff to look forward to.”

The goal is to make the program “a bit more mischievous, certainly more humor, more opinionated,” Morgan says.

“PMT” will be adding signature segments, and injecting more of Morgan’s personality into it.

“We will still have long-format interviews where appropriate, but less,” he says. “It will have a much newsier, and I hope humorous tone to it as well.”

While Morgan admires talent like Stewart and O’Reilly, he also says he has no intention of copying them. He wants to put his own stamp on it.

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• Jennifer Suozzo, EP of MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports”, is joining the mothership as Senior Broadcast Producer of “NBC Nightly News” weekend editions. Suozzo has been with MSNBC for 10 years working her way up from line producer to senior producer to EP. Before MSNBC, she worked for NBC O&O WVIT. Suozzo joins Weekend Nightly next month reporting to EP Sam Singal.

Richard Threlkeld, who spent 25 years as an anchor and correspondent at CBS News, was killed this morning in a head-on car crash on Montauk highway in Amagansett, New York.

Threlkeld worked for local TV stations WHAS in Louisville and WMT-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa before joining CBS News in 1966 where he would remain until 1981. Threlkeld served as co-anchor of the CBS Morning News with Lesley Stahl from 1977 to 1979. In 1982 Threlkeld joined ABC News, reporting for “World News Tonight.” He returned to CBS in 1989 where he stayed another 10 years.

During his news career, Threlkeld covered the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Tiananmen Square protests. His last assignment for CBS News was as Moscow correspondent. His wife, Betsy Aaron was CNN’s Moscow correspondent at the time. Richard Threlkeld was 74.

Here’s a Threlkeld report from Nov. 1995 on “CBS Sunday Morning.”

> More: Statement from CBS News colleague Lesley Stahl: “Richard Threlkeld had the kind of name and kind of looks that could’ve made him a reporter in the movies, but unlike a reporter in the movies, he could write his owns scripts. In fact, he was one of our best writers and reporters, someone CBS sent to troubled spots to cover the big stories of the day. Richard was known for his integrity and his decency.”

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Misplaced phrasing has turned into claims of bias against CNN reporter Dana Bash. While covering the Ron Paul campaign earlier this month, Bash said to her husband/host of “John King USA,”

“…I’m sure you talk to Republicans who are worried as well, just like I am, that Ron Paul will continue on, long into the Spring and Summer…”

Turns out that phrase, “just like I am,” should have come earlier in the sentence.

CNN tells TVNewser, “The notion that Dana is anything but objective is preposterous. Dana’s report should be fully reviewed in the context in which she meant it—to reference John’s sources and her sources, not her own opinion.”

Still, the Super PAC dedicated to Paul wants Bash off the air. And they are getting attention from other media outlets, like Fox Business Network, which covered the issue last night on Judge Napolitano’s show. Watch:

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This morning “Today” dedicated most of its broadcast to its 60th anniversary celebration, kicking off with an introduction from Matt Lauer:

The program featured congratulations — and a proclamation — from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President and First Lady Michelle Obama and a cadre of celebrities (Tom Hanks delivered the birthday cake), along with a number of retrospective packages, such as this one:

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Barbara Walters’ retirement timetable is none of our business.

“I know when I’m going to do it, and I’m fine about it,” says ABC’s Walters, 82. “When I leave, I’m not going to go do something else or go tackle something else. I have a wonderful, full private life. I will be just fine.”

Got that?

“The fact is, I’m still working, I feel great and I’m still doing very important stories,” she adds. “It’s been one of my busiest years. I’m on ‘The View’ three times a week, I went to Syria, I interviewed the Obamas before Christmas.”

The first female co-host of ‘Today,’ Walters returns to her former digs this morning as part of the show’s 60th anniversary celebration. She’ll be joined by fellow alums Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel, Tom Brokaw, Jane Pauley and Hugh Downs, among others.

Breaking into the boys club of ‘Today’ hosts was no easy task for Walters in 1974. She had to do it over Frank McGee’s dead body. Literally.

The backstory: McGee had refused to do joint news interviews with Walters, who had sweated her way up from ‘Today Girl’ to reporter. For the veteran newsman, working with a woman “was a humiliation,” according to Walters, and ‘Today’ represented “a demotion.”

In the mindset of that era, TV-women “were supposed to do fashion shows and celebrities,” explains Walters. “When NBC hired me [as a writer-researcher in 1961], I wasn’t an actor or a model and I didn’t sing. It was a huge breakthrough just to put me on.”

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Despite a tight ratings battle between NBC and CBS of late, Sunday morning’s NBC debate — which drew more than 4,000,000 viewers  — propelled “Meet the Press” to a win on January 8.

“Face the Nation” placed second in both categories, followed by ABC’s “This Week” in third on the day of George Stephanopoulos‘ debut (again). “Fox News Sunday” and Univision’s “Al Punto” traded off fourth and fifth place in total and demo viewers.

The numbers for January 8:

Network	Program	Total Viewers	A25-54
NBC	“Meet the Press”	4.15M	1.44M
CBS	“Face the Nation”	2.76M	924K
ABC	“This Week”	2.36M	747K
FOX	“Fox News Sunday”	924K	324K
Univision	“Al Punto”	870K	404K

The party’s still going at the Edison Ballroom in Times Square as the “Today” show celebrates its 60th anniversary. The morning milestone began with a welcome from “Today” frontman Matt Lauer before singer Pit Bull took the stage.

Fourth hour hosts Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford were early arrivals, with Kotb (below) front and center during Pit Bull’s set. We spotted NBC News president Steve Capus and “Today” EP Jim Bell working the room, as longtime EP and, later NBCU president Jeff Zucker was deep in conversation with former “Today” anchor Meredith Vieira.

“Today” senior broadcast producer Don Nash, who’s been with the show more than a third of its life — 23 years — tells TVNewser tomorrow’s anniversary program is not to be missed. All former living on air talent — save for Joe Garagiola and Gene Shalit who aren’t able to make it — will be a part of the show. And we spotted many of them at the party tonight, including Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, (above) Barbara Walters, John Palmer and Hugh Downs.

NBC spared no expense flying in correspondents from other NBC bureaus including Andrea Mitchell, Kerry Sanders, Kevin Tibbles, Janet Shamlian and Luke Russert.

Brian Williams stopped in after “Nightly News.” And we chatted with “Today” anchors Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Wolfe and Amy Robach, here with husband Andrew Shue, and said hello to Willard Scott on our way out. Other “Today” regulars celebrating  included Jill Rappaport, Martha Stewart, the Scotto family and Bobby Flay. We chatted with Andy Cohen (mostly about NeNe Leakes) who later tonight will be interviewing Rosie O’Donnell on his Bravo show, “Watch What Happens Live.”

Rounding out the crowd: Willie Geist, Jeff Rossen, Martin Bashir, Carl Quintanilla, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Tyler Mathisen, MSNBC president Phil Griffin and CNBC president Mark Hoffman and many more I may have missed. Because, as I said, the party is still going. Then, tomorrow at 7am, “Today” takes the party nationwide.

Andrea Mitchell and Jeff Zucker

Kerry Sanders and Jenna Wolfe

(Photos: Chris Ariens)

25-54 demographic (Live +SD)

• Total day: FNC: 317 | MSNBC: 135 | CNN: 131 | HLN: 117

• Primetime: FNC: 576 | MSNBC: 223 | CNN: 247 | HLN: 156

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:	12a:
FNC	TheFive:	Baier:	Shep:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:	Greta:	O’Reilly:	Hannity:
	386	357	430	752	542	424	315	265
MSNBC	Matthews:	Sharpton:	Matthews:	EdShow:	Maddow:	O’Donnell:	EdShow:	Maddow:
	130	183	199	229	258	181	138	108
CNN	Blitzer:	KingUSA:	Burnett:	Cooper:	Morgan:	Cooper:	Burnett:	Morgan:
	181	136	176	256	247	239	104	131
HLN	Special:	Prime:	Issues:	Grace:	DrDrew:	Grace:	Showbiz:	DrDrew:
	63	106	143	159	138	177	143	119

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