Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

The 2nd presidential debate is in the books between Barack Obama and John McCain. Just released Nielsen ratings show that this second debate was better watched than their first. However, the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin had more attention. I wonder why? ---- LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The second presidential debate drew more viewers than the first but still proved less of a draw than the Joe Biden-Sarah Palin matchup. A total of 63.2 million viewers watched Tuesday's debate in Nashville, Tenn., between Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday. The figure represents the collective audience for 11 networks. The Obama-McCain debate on Sept. 26 was watched by 52.4 million viewers, while more than 70 million saw Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin's sole meeting on Oct. 2. It's the second most-watched political debate ever, behind the 80.6 million people who watched the 1980 Carter-Reagan debate. Nielsen tallied viewership fo...

The first Presidential debate on Friday Night was not the biggest event ever seen in the history of television, but it did get fairly decent rating according to Nielsen. While neither candidate got the knockout punch they hoped for, it's good to see the nation following the election very closely. Both candidates are in the process of budgeting a ton of money for important states, like Ohio... which will again play a deciding vote in this election year. NEW YORK (AP) -- The first debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, seen by an estimated 52.4 million viewers on Friday, was one of the first events of the presidential campaign that was not a huge TV hit. The audience was 10 million less than the first debate between President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry in 2004, according to Nielsen Media Research on Monday. It wasn't even one of the 10 most-watched presidential debates, falling well short of the record 80.6 million people who saw the only debate between Presi...

As we first mentioned last night, Cleveland will become the home for the only Democratic presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as Decision 2008 comes down to the important March 4th Ohio primary. But why did both choose the NBC Network and Cleveland as their platform. Simply said, it's because of the importance of getting their important message for change to one of the most economically depressed cities in the country - and the fact that both candidates have great respect for NBC Nightly News Anchor Brian Williams and Meet the Press Moderator Tim Russert, who will moderate the debate. Although MSNBC's David Shuster made unhelpful comments on the air today about Mrs. Clinton's daughter, Chelsea - and has subsequently been suspended by NBC - we are confident the candidates will understand their presence at a Cleveland debate will not only help their cause, but our area as well. Both Williams and Russert offer fair, but tough questions. Unlike past deba...

CLEVELAND -- Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have accepted an invitation from NBC and Cleveland State University to debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, February 26th. This acceptance from Obama comes after announcing on Wednesday that he would focus his time in Ohio on meeting with voters and not debating. Hillary Clinton has been pushing for a debate since she and Obama essentially split the Super Tuesday vote. WKYC is helping to sponsor the event. NBC's Tim Russert and Brian Williams will moderate the event. NBC Nightly News will broadcast live from Cleveland the night of the debate. Dr. Michael Schwartz, Cleveland State University President, said the University was contacted Thursday. They were asked to accomodate the event and are very, very glad. President Schwartz said: "This is very important for Cleveland. It matters for the University a great deal as well. We will do anything we can to promote this region." He also believes this is...