Fox News Channel took the silver in all of cable last week, finishing second in prime time with 1,930,000 average viewers (Live+SD). CNN took 17th (913,000) and MSNBC 27th (654,000). All networks saw week-to-week increases.

FNC was 6th in Total Day (984,000), MSNBC 14th (583,000) and CNN 22nd (526,000). MSNBC was helped in total day from strong Olympic ratings.

Click here to see the full ranker.

5 Questions For...Brian Ross

Alissa Krinsky
TVNewser Contributor

Brian Ross is ABC News' Chief Investigative Correspondent. He joined the network in 1994 after 20 years at NBC News. Earlier, Ross worked at Miami's WCKT-TV (now WSVN), Cleveland's WKYC-TV, and KWWL-TV in Waterloo, Iowa. He's a University of Iowa graduate.

Ross' investigative unit has made headlines this month, with Ross responding to "vital questions" about the team's 2001 anthrax reporting. Then, days later, the unit broke news on the Sen. John Edwards-Rielle Hunter affair.

Up next for Ross and company: a new round of Money Trail reports on the intersection of money and politics at the Democratic and Republican Conventions. Ross first started reporting on the subject in 1996.

1. TVNewser: Why convention-related investigative reporting remains of particular interest:
Ross: It was Peter Jennings and then-ABC News executive Paul Friedman who first asked us, in 1996, to take a hard look at the intersection of money and power at the conventions.

Rivals and competitors initially belittled the reporting because 'there's nothing illegal about it.' That's the point, however. Under a system endorsed and kept alive by both parties, lobbyists and corporate executives and union officials have been able to buy access to powerful American politicians in ways they don't want the outside world to see.

We started our reporting when now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff was still a king in Washington and despite 'reforms,' the abuse continues in a variety of forms. It is most prominently on display every four years at the conventions which remain a kind of 'ethics-free zone.'

2. TVNewser: With news organizations slashing budgets — and a tough legal environment for investigative journalists (threat of lawsuits, lack of federal shield law) — I see the future of investigative television journalism...
Ross: The future of investigative journalism remains very bright. In many ways, the growth of the Internet makes for huge opportunity. ABC News and some other news organizations remain committed to robust investigative units because it is the right thing to do, the viewers recognize its value, and it helps to distinguish us from our competitors.

(answer continues after the jump)

continued...

Last night's "Character & Conduct" documentary special about Sen. Barack Obama was the top-rated documentary of the year for Fox News in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo.

Airing in the 8pmET hour, the Bill Hemmer-hosted special averaged 2,343,000 viewers and 493,000 in the demo. The Sen. John McCain "Character & Conduct" special airs tonight at 8pmET.

Fox News' second highest rated documentary of the year, "Russia: The Angry Giant," aired the day before.

The top rated program on cable news last night was Hannity & Colmes, which aired after the special (and had Rick Warren as a guest at the beginning of the program).

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:
FNC	ElectionHQ:	Hume:	Shep.:	ObamaSp.:	H&C:	Greta:	ObamaSp.:
	274	353	381	493	622	414	287
CNN	Blitzer:	Blitzer:	Dobbs:	Brown:	King:	Cooper:	Cooper:
	269	265	272	240	388	297	174
MSNBC	OlyUpdate:	OlyUpdate:	Hardball:	Countdown:	Abrams:	Countdown:	Investig.:
	355	391	305	375	233	233	175
HLN	Prime:	Prime:	Beck:	Grace:	Beck:	Grace:	Showbiz:
	99	93	137	272	109	258	220

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On his Daily Kos blog today, Keith Olbermann is taking some of the credit for Rachel Maddow getting her own show at 9pmET. "Let me answer the key questions in advance," he writes:

4) Yes, I had something to do with it.

5) Yes, you had something to do with it.

An insider tells TVNewser, "This is further proof that Keith Olbermann really does run MSNBC."

Olbermann also writes that Maddow will be on Countdown tonight to discuss the news.

He's been chief legal correspondent, anchor, and executive. So what will be Dan Abrams' next act? If you ask insiders, and we did, it may not be with NBC. Abrams final Verdict airs Thursday night on MSNBC. He's being replaced by Rachel Maddow, a rising star at the network. The NYTimes' Bill Carter, who broke the news, reports Abrams will anchor MSNBC daytime shows as well as filling in on the Weekend Today show and reporting for the network.

But one insider predicts the 11-year NBC veteran might just leave the peacock altogether. "There's interest from other news networks," the source says. We're told Abrams has another year on his contract, but could be let out early if another job comes along. And we hear that may include a management position. Abrams was general manager of MSNBC for 15 months in 2006-2007.

As for the cancellation of Verdict, Abrams tells Carter, "Putting my general manager's hat back on, considering where the network is right now, it is actually the right call."

Very diplomatic, Dan.

After speculation dating back to December, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow will get her own show.

The New York Times' Bill Carter reports Maddow will replace Dan Abrams and his show "Verdict," at 9pmET, beginning after the conventions.

The move will take place on 9/8/08, one month after the Olympics began. Says MSNBC president Phil Griffin in the story, it, "will be the final leg of the political race this year."

The final "Verdict" airs on Thursday. Abrams will stay on with MSNBC and NBC News as daytime anchor, substitute host of Today show and NBC News' chief legal correspondent, according to the Times.

• Earlier: TVNewser's Gail Shister profiled "The Cable TV Rising Star," last month.

> Former CNN, now PBS anchor Aaron Brown is profiled in courant.com: "The truth is, I liked anchoring shows and also got tired of anchoring shows."

> Former CNN, now FNC anchor Bill Hemmer opens up about MSNBC: "I believe our competition at MSNBC made a decision on how to program their network, which is different than how we program our network."

> Former MSNBC, now local anchor Gulstan Dart, is on the move. Dart joins NBC affiliate KCRA in Sacramento next month. After anchoring at MSNBC, Dart went to work for WSB in Atlanta and is currently an anchor at KIRO-TV in Seattle.

C-SPAN has announced their convention plans, and they're going gavel-to-gavel. Some highlights from the release:

• C-SPAN coverage begins at 7amET every day, and continues until the conventions close for the night at 11pmET.

• C-SPAN 2 will cover the Republican Platform Meetings taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday of the DNC convention and Ron Paul's rally during the Republican convention.

• Video clips on the C-SPAN Web site will be embeddable.

Click continued to see the release...

continued...

As mentioned earlier today, ABC has announced the hiring of Jonathan Dube and the promotion of Deirdre Michalopoulos.

Dube joins the network as vice president of ABCNews.com. He previously worked for CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) News, where he was director of digital media.

Michalopoulos will oversee editorial content as managing editor of ABCNews.com. She was previously a senior producer at the site.

Click continued to see ABC News president David Westin's email announcement to the staff...

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Fox News Channel has announced Convention plans, which will focus on 'The FOX Experience.'

The headquarters for the majority of the FNC coverage, the Experience will be located at Braun's Bar & Grill in Denver and in a custom tent in St. Paul. Some notes from the release:

• Live from the 'Experience' will be programming from 6-11amET (Fox & Friends and America's Newsroom) and 3pmET-1amET.

• The schedule remains largely the same, with Brit Hume anchoring America's Election HQ from 9:45-11pmET each night and Greta Van Susteren anchoring On the Record from 11pmET-1amET.

• Neil Cavuto anchors both Your World at 4pmET and "Cavuto" on FBN at 6pmET.

• Chris Wallace anchors FOX News Sunday from the convention sites, live at 9amET.

Click continued to see the complete release...

continued...

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:
FNC	ElectionHQ:	FNSunday:	Report:	Russia:	Hannity:	Cops,Cases:	Russia:
	173	184	230	238	302	262	151
CNN	Newsroom:	Newsroom:	Dobbs:	Pres.Forum:	Cont.:	Newsroom:	CNN SIU:
	139	180	160	359	--	278	223
MSNBC	Live:	MTP:	Special:	Special:	Special:	Special:	Special:
	219	190	141	175	225	238	91
HLN	HLN:	Prime:	NotJust/NTMe:	Grace:	NotJust/NTMe:	Grace:	Showbiz:
	68	127	63/75	86	49/54	149	77

continued...

	5p:	6p:	7p:	8p:	9p:	10p:	11p:
FNC	Journal*:	Belt./FNW:	Report:	Pres.Forum:	Cont.:	Strategy:	Pres.Forum:
	202	304/295	286	678	--	419	248
CNN	WeekinPol.:	Dobbs:	NextPres.:	Pres.Forum:	Cont.:	NextPres.:	CNN SIU:
	135	181	231	556	--	415	261
MSNBC	Reports:	Hardball:	Gregory:	Pres.Forum:	Cont.:	Investig.:	Special:
	142	118	95	379	410	195	237
HLN	HLN:	Prime:	NotJust/NTMe:	Grace:	NotJust/NTMe:	Grace:	Showbiz:
	96	87	60/25	64	41/71	84	78

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Newsbusters noted yesterday MSNBC political director Chuck Todd's comments prior to the Saddleback Forum on Saturday night.

Todd suggested Evangelicals may have a, "personal hatred," of Sen. Barack Obama, in the context of the types of judges a President Obama would nominate.

A few hours after the post, Todd apologized, through Newsbusters. "Clearly, I should not have used that word, but I was using it in terms of political hate, which I view as differently," he said. "But it clearly came across the wrong way. Message received. I deserve the hit."

TVNewser is hearing ABC will be announcing a new VP and managing editor of ABCNews.com later today.

EP of ABCNews.com Chris Sheridan left last month to take a producing job at ESPN, leaving an opening at the site.

We hear one position will be filled from inside ABC and the other from outside the network.