DNC ratings surge in Charlotte, flat in Tampa

Media Lite

Conan O’Brien on Bill Clinton speaking at the DNC: “Out of habit, Clinton told Hillary that he was nowhere near Charlotte, he doesn’t know who Charlotte is, and Charlotte is a liar.”
Jay Leno: “AAA reports the number of people on the road this Labor Day weekend increased 10 percent from last year. Actually this increase is due mostly from strippers driving from the Republican Convention in Tampa up to Charlotte.”
Jon Stewart: “We are here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I think I can honestly say it’s one of the country’s top Carolinas. I can see why James Taylor spends so much time here in his mind.”

Charlotte ratings surge
Among voting-age viewers (people 18 and over), TV ratings in Charlotte surged 80 percent week to week on Tuesday, the nights the candidates’ wives spoke.
Week to week ratings in Tampa, however, were relatively unchanged. “It’s safe to say there appears to be a lot of excitement in Charlotte about the DNC being here,” said Robert Wendt, research director for WSOC (Channel 9), though he noted that Michelle Obama spoke for nearly an hour and Ann Romney only 22 minutes, which could affect comparisons, as well as the effects of Tropical Storm Isaac.
Here is average number of viewers 18+ in the 10 p.m. hour Tuesday in Charlotte on the three major networks week to week.
Station Aug. 28 Sept. 4
WSOC (ABC) 26,000 70,000
WBTV (CBS) 32,000 36,000
WCNC (NBC) 17,000 34,000
Source: Nielsen

CNN smothers DNC at grill

Five hours sleep per night is the norm for Candy Crowley,  chief political correspondent and 25-year veteran of CNN . “You get so tired it’s like you get new energy. You just get kind of giddy.” … Perhaps the most secure venue in Charlotte is the CNN Grill at the EpiCentre. In the Vida Mexican Kitchen y Cantina, the network has set up its eatery, which has been a political convention destination for the well-connected since the first one was tried at the GOP convention in New York in 2004. Shows for the network originate there beginning at 5 a.m. with “Early Start,” anchored by John Berman in Charlotte and Zoraida Sambolin in New York, and ending with Piers Morgan at midnight. Soledad O’Brien was in the grill Wednesday doing her “Starting Point” show, which will move Friday for the convention wrap-up to the Midnight Diner at East Carson and South Tryon streets. In every city, CNN Grill’s menu is updated to reflect local fare. In Tampa it was a Cubano sandwich; in Charlotte, it’s fried bologna, says David Nurnberg, director of Civic Entertainment Group, which sets up the restaurants each convention. …
Biff Henderson, a frequent guest on David Letterman’s show, was seen taping a segment on the arena floor Wednesday, talking his way up to the podium. … Alexandra Pelosi, who produced “Journeys with George,” the HBO documentary about George W. Bush and his traveling 2000 press corps, was seen with her camera interviewing folks uptown. “Journeys with Barack?” ... Raleigh’s WRAL account: “Any doubt that #DNC2012 is a major event? Just chatted with a news crew from Georgia ... that’s the former Soviet state, not the Peach State.”