Anchor Erica Hill to leave CNN for CBS

It's a sad day for viewers who enjoy the flirt fest between 360 host Anderson Cooper and co-anchor Erica Hill. Cooper announced last night on "360" that Hill will be leaving CNN news.
The silver fox, who made the announcement while Hill was on screen, said: "[I] cannot imagine doing this program without Erica Hill and I cannot really express how much I'm going to miss you."

Pushcart educator named CNN Hero of the Year

Efren Peñaflorida, who started a "pushcart classroom" in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership, has been named the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year.

CNN's Anderson Cooper revealed Peñaflorida's selection at the conclusion of the third-annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday night.

The gala event, taped before an audience of 3,000 at the Kodak Theatre, premieres on Thanksgiving, November 26, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the global networks of CNN.

The broadcast, which honors the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2009, features performances by Grammy Award-winning artist Carrie Underwood, R&B crooner Maxwell and British pop sensation Leona Lewis.

Peñaflorida, who will receive $100,000 to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company, was selected after seven weeks of online voting at CNN.com. More than 2.75 million votes were cast.

"Our planet is filled with heroes, young and old, rich and poor, man, woman of different colors, shapes and sizes. We are one great tapestry," Peñaflorida said upon accepting the honor. "Each person has a hidden hero within, you just have to look inside you and search it in your heart, and be the hero to the next one in need.

"So to each and every person inside in this theater and for those who are watching at home, the hero in you is waiting to be unleashed. Serve, serve well, serve others above yourself and be happy to serve. As I always tell to my co-volunteers ... you are the change that you dream as I am the change that I dream and collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 9,000 viewer nominations, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter. Each of the top 10 Heroes receives $25,000.

"With the recognition they receive on our stage," said Cooper, who hosted the tribute, "they'll be able to help thousands and thousands of people. Through their efforts, lives will be changed and lives will be saved."

Maxwell sang "Help Somebody" from his first album in eight years, 'BLACKsummers'night.'

Lewis, a three-time Grammy nominee, performed "Happy," from her second album, "Echo."

All three performances echoed the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which salutes everyday people whose extraordinary accomplishments are making a difference in their communities and beyond.

Presenters included Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Neil Patrick Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Randy Jackson, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"This record number of nominations is further evidence of the momentum CNN Heroes has built in just a few short years," said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide.

"Viewers have been engaged by these stories of inspiration and accomplishment beyond our expectations. It is truly an honor to be able to introduce the CNN Heroes to our global audience every year."

Again this year, producer/director Joel Gallen served as executive producer of "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." Among his credits, Gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina, winning an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for "America: A Tribute to Heroes."

The Kodak Theatre is best known as the first permanent home of the Academy Awards.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/11/16/cnnheroes.tribute.show/index.html

CNN in third place in prime time for first time

CNN is poised to finish March third in the prime-time weeknight ratings behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, the first time this has ever happened for the channel that pioneered the cable news genre nearly three decades ago.

CNN says its overall business is healthy and it is not straying from its straight news path. But it is suffering more audience erosion than its rivals since the peak days of the presidential election, further proof that the opinionated prime-time shows on Fox and MSNBC have greater audience loyalty.

CNN's weekday prime-time ratings are relatively flat compared to last year during the primary campaign, up 1 percent from March 2008, according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox's ratings have jumped 30 percent and MSNBC, the new No. 2, is up 24 percent. The biggest growth in cable news is for CNN's partner, HLN, formerly Headline News, which is up 62 percent.

Fox remains on a mountain above its two closest competitors, with its prime-time audience in March more than that of MSNBC and CNN combined. "The O'Reilly Factor" has done particularly well, keeping more of its postelection audience than anything else on CNN and MSNBC.

Through Wednesday, Fox was averaging 2.73 million prime-time viewers in March. MSNBC had 1.16 million and CNN had 1.14 million. The March ratings period ends Friday, and it's doubtful CNN will be able to overcome MSNBC.

"The fact that one network may have eked out a slight edge in one small slice of the overall business really doesn't say much of anything," Jon Klein, CNN U.S. president, said on Friday. "It's more clear than ever, given the way that our competitors have positioned themselves, that CNN has positioned itself as the real news network."

Relying on news, rather than opinion, leaves CNN more susceptible to higher ratings peaks during big stories and lower valleys in routine times. Yet it's hard to consider the present - new president, economic turmoil and two wars - a slow news period.

CNN's ratings news "is very significant," said Frank Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief and now a professor at George Washington University. "This is a big problem."

More significant is what CNN's ratings problems mean coupled with the daily drumbeat of layoffs in the newspaper industry, he said. With people more interested in hearing things through an ideological prism as a form of entertainment, it diminishes the value of independent voices giving straight news.

"It's getting harder to do real journalism on television," Sesno said. "This is `man the ideological barricades.'"

Fox is ready to start a new venture Monday, "The Fox Nation," which it bills as an online community that believes in "your right to express your views, your values, your voice." Fox representatives would not immediately return a call for comment.

The most problematic part of CNN's prime-time schedule is Campbell Brown's 8 p.m. show, up against O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann. Brown's audience is smaller than any prime-time show on the three networks, and beneath Nancy Grace's crime hour on Headline News.

Brown leaves for a six-to-eight week maternity leave following Friday's show, and will be replaced temporarily by Roland Martin. Klein said Brown's show isn't in any danger, noting that it took years for Olbermann and O'Reilly to build their audiences and Brown has been in her job for a year.

There's been no talk of moving Grace to CNN, he said. Having Grace's crime-oriented show on Headline News allows CNN to keep its focus on being a news network, he said.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow is a close third to Larry King, and both are beaten handily by Sean Hannity's new Fox solo show. At the 10 p.m. hour, a rerun of the show Olbermann did two hours earlier has been doing surprisingly well against CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," leading MSNBC to at least temporarily put on hold any development of a new live show then.

MSNBC chief executive Phil Griffin said the prime-time ratings are an affirmation of the network's decision to go liberal with Olbermann and Maddow. But he also said it pointed to problems at his rival.

"They've got the best brand in news," he said. "CNN, that's better than anybody. But you've got to deliver on that - and they're not. It's a hollow promise."

He compared CNN to ESPN, which started at the same time, saying that, while ESPN has evolved aggressively and remained the leader in sports, CNN hasn't. Their evening lineup of Lou Dobbs, Brown, King and Cooper lacks any consistency or flow, he said.

"What do they stand for?" he said. "That's their biggest challenge. CNN ain't what it used to be, and that has given us an opening because we stand for something and they don't."

Klein dismissed Griffin, noting CNN is beating MSNBC handily when the full day - not just prime-time - is taken into account. He said that for March and the year's first three months, it was CNN's best showing since 2003, when the Iraq War started.

CNN continues to have a greater reach and reputation than its rivals across all platforms, he said. When you measure viewership across the full day - not just prime time - CNN has a comfortable lead over MSNBC.

"When you have other so-called news networks ceding the field of journalism, we are happy to fill that void," Klein said. "It's working for us."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TV_CNN_IN_THIRD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-03-27-21-23-12

‘Himala’ is CNN’s Best Film of All Time in Asia Pacific

Pinoy power fueled the country’s bid for Nora Aunor’s movie “Himala” (Miracle) to be the Best Film of All Time in the Asia Pacific via a poll conducted by CNN.

Himala is a 1982 Filipino classic film about a girl who claims to have been chosen by the Virgin Mary as the messenger of good faith in a backward town. It’s a masterpiece of award-winning director Ismael Bernal starring erstwhile superstar Nora Aunor.

During the Asia Pacific Screen Awards on Tuesday in Australia’s Gold Coast, “Himala” was announced as the best film in the region. The film won via online voting through CNN’s website.

Himala bested tough competitors, namely Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon from China; The Seven Samurai from Japan; Gabbeh from Iran; Gallipoli from Australia; Pather Panchali from India; Oscar-winning Spirited Away from Japan; Oldboy from South Korea; Internal Affairs from Hong Kong/China; and Chungking Express from China.

Himala was the Best Picture in 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival and 1983 Catholic Mass Media Awards. It also raked numerous awards that time from Famas to Urian. It also won the Bronze Hugo Price at the Chicago International Film Festival.