This is our weekly round-up of the tidbits that couldn't make it to a post of their own, but are worth noting, along with news items we may have missed during the week.

If you have any of your own observations from any of the CNN Worldwide networks during the week, send us a message via the tip box bottom right.

- Former CNN.com/Live anchor, Nicole Lapin, made her CNBC debut this week. Lapin co-anchors CNBC's Worldwide Exchange.

- CNN launches new mobile service in Sri Lanka.

- TV Newser is the first to report of HLN's Showbiz Tonight moving to 5pm.

- CNN's January numbers.

- CNN International nominated for "News Channel of the Year" in Britain.

- Stephanie Elam and Christine Romans are pregnant.

- Sasha Herriman, CNN International's London-based anchor and reporter, returned from maternity leave this week.

- Bob Schieffer, host of CBS' Face The Nation, tells Politico.com of Candy Crowley's recent promotion, "This is really a long-deserved recognition. She's really good, and it means we have to work harder."

- And finally - something from the archive: Do you think you're Ralitsa Vassileva?

Weekly Observations Poll

Each week in this space, you'll see our new Weekly Observations Poll, something directly related to CNN in the previous week. Our first poll is related to Candy Crowley and her new position as anchor of CNN's State Of The Union show.

CNN Press Release - CNN’s new monthly series i-List takes you to countries that are changing the way we live and look at the world around us.

The i-List will highlight innovation and influence in industry, business, technology, culture and more. It showcases a nation’s people and places – those having an impact inside and outside their borders.

From 8th February, CNN International turns its cameras on France in i-List: France, a special week of prime time programming and reports from the country that will uncover some of the economic, social, cultural and political developments currently shaping France and positioning the nation for the future. Throughout 2010, i-List is set to come from a number of Asian countries.

Mike McCarthy, CNN International’s Vice President of coverage and feature programming commented: “With i-List, we wanted to give our viewers and users insightful and intelligent programming about countries that are changing the way we think and how we live in an Interconnected world.

“It will highlight the inventive people, innovative businesses and inspirational cultural trends in nations that directly impact the way we live and do business in the future.

“We are delighted to launch our showpiece series in France. It’s a country that fascinates and intrigues our audience and we are looking forward to a week of compelling programming”.

CNN will anchor two of its signature European prime time shows from France. Hala Gorani will be in Paris with ‘I-Desk’ and Fionnuala Sweeney in Lyon with ‘World One’. As well there will be a series of specially commissioned reports by correspondents Jim Bittermann and Atika Schubert.

CNN’s Paris-based Senior Correspondent Jim Bittermann – recently awarded the Legion of Honour for his 30 years of distinguished reporting on France – examines how France is leveraging long established ties with China and India through the entrepreneurial spirit of business leaders such as the legendary Pierre Cardin, former French Prime Minister and Senator Pierre Rafferin and inspirational Club Med chairman Henri Giscard d’Estaing.

Atika Shubert begins our week at the Lyon Library which has joined up with Google Books to post 500,000 ancient manuscripts online. French officials fear that the scanning project by Google will put the country's national literary treasures in the control of corporate hands. Lyon's Library Director shows CNN the rare document he believes need to be scanned by Google.
Atika Shubert then travels to Marseilles – the nation’s third largest city, a standard bearer for cultural integration and set to be Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2013. Two Islamic leaders give viewers an insight into the “Muslim Marseilles” in a report that highlights how immigration and integration in the city can set an example, not just for other French cities, but for cities beyond its borders.

The high energy rappers Fonky Family offer an intriguing insight into what the accolade “Capital of Culture” could mean for the future of this historical port city in 2013 and a day spent with the superstars of the Olympic Marseilles explains what makes this Mediterranean city so special for football fans around France.

The special week of coverage will culminate with a 30 minute debate hosted by CNN’s Hala Gorani with a panel of French personalities including Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon.
Online users will be able to visit the i-List microsite, www.cnn.com/ilist for video packages and more.

Program schedule (subject to change) :

Airtimes: Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore and Taipei (minus 1 hr for Bangkok & Jakarta

Feb 9 – 12 : Fionnuala Sweeney anchors ‘World One’ live at 0430 from Lyon (Feb 9, 10) and Paris (Feb 11, 12)

Feb 9 – 13: Hala Gorani anchors “I-Desk” live at 0200 from Paris
Feb 9 – 12: Reports and live interviews across Europe prime time programming, from 0000 to 0500

[Editor's Note: Click here to view the current promo for the iList French Special.]

CNN Press Release - IN KEY DEMO 25-54, HLN OUTPERFORMS MSNBC IN TOTAL DAY; NANCY GRACE BEATS COUNTDOWN

MSNBC PLACES 4TH OR 5TH DURING THE DAY; OLBERMANN, MADDOW SLIP TO 3RD; HARDBALL, MORNING JOE ARE 4TH

In January, CNN topped MSNBC during daytime (9am-5pm), total day (6am-6am) and in weekday primetime (8-11pm) in both total viewers and in the key demo adults 25-54.

In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion news programming – CNN dominated, averaging 658k vs. 305k in total viewers (+116%), and 165k vs. 75k in adults 25-54 (+120%). MSNBC placed either fourth or fifth (trailing behind CNBC) every weekday hour throughout the day (9 am until 5 pm) in the key demo 25-54. At 5pm, Hardball slipped to fourth place behind FNC, CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and HLN’s Prime News among adults 25-54, and also placed fourth at 7 pm, trailing FNC, CNN and HLN’s Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell.

CNN also outperformed MSNBC in total day (6am-6am) in both total viewers (577k vs. 369k) and among adults 25-54 (177k vs. 122k). And HLN topped MSNBC in total day in the key demo adults 25-54 with 130k vs. MSNBC’s 122k.

In weekday prime, CNN topped MSNBC (M-F/8-11 pm) in both total viewers and among the key demographic adults 25-54. For the month, CNN averaged 946k total viewers, a 13% advantage over MSNBC’s 838k, and 294k among adults 25-54, a 20% lead over MSNBC’s 245k. This represents the first time in six months that CNN topped MSNBC in the key demographic adults 25-54 in prime. Compared to December 2009, CNN grew an impressive 52% among adults 25-54 (294k vs. 194k), while MSNBC was up only 14% (245k vs. 214k).

At 10 pm, Anderson Cooper 360 had a 52% advantage over MSNBC in total viewers (906k vs. 597k) and a 51% lead in the key demographic adults 25-54 (305k vs. 202k) in January. CNN’s Larry King topped MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow at 9 pm in both total viewers (930k vs.876k) and the key demo 25-54 (264k vs. 233k). And at 8 pm, CNN’s Campbell Brown grew significantly in January, up 43% in total viewers and 73% in 25-54 compared to last month, while Countdown with Keith Olbermann increased only 6%/7% respectively vs. December. Countdown also placed third in January, behind FNC and HLN’s Nancy Grace among adults 25-54. CNN is the only cable news network that provides non-partisan programming representing all points of view in primetime.

In the morning (6-9 am), CNN’s American Morning placed second in total viewers, while both CNN and HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade outperformed MSNBC’s Morning Joe among adults 25-54 with HLN averaging 166k, CNN posting 152k, and Morning Joe trailing with 100k.

During January, CNN reached 118.0 million viewers, FNC had 103.4 million, HLN posted 98.5 million and MSNBC had 91.3 million.

HLN:
As HLN approaches the fifth anniversary of its 2005 revamp to personality-based programming in primetime, it continues to celebrate ratings successes across the board. HLN beat MSNBC in total day in 25-54 (130k to 122k). Morning Express with Robin Meade placed second in 25-54, beating MSNBC’s Morning Joe (166k to100k). Nancy Grace continued its reign as HLN’s highest-rated program, overpowering Countdown with Keith Olbermann in adults 25-54 (283K to 267k). In its fourth month, The Joy Behar Show posted its best monthly deliveries yet among both total viewers (687k) and adults 25-54 (188k). The Joy Behar Show also posted 42% growth among total viewers versus last year (the most growth of any 9 pm cable news show).

Miles O'Brien made an appearance on CNN International's 'World Report' on Tuesday.

Speaking from CNN's Washington bureau, O'Brien offered up his analysis on President Obama's plan to cut NASA's budget.

CNN Observations believes that this was Miles' first appearance on a CNN network since his departure in December, 2008.

This is Miles' tweet from his live hit:

In the belly. In the CNN green room. Nice to see some old friends. Weird wearing a viz pass. Appearing on CNN-I with @klstout #NASA

CNN Press Release - Award-winning producer Geraldine Moriba has been named executive producer of CNN's "In America" unit, the network's newly created division, which will extend the “In America” franchise anchored by Soledad O’Brien. The announcement was made today by Bart Feder, senior vice president for current programming, CNN/U.S.

With more than 20 years of journalism experience, Moriba will be responsible for leading the editorial direction of the "In America" unit, working with CNN anchor and special correspondentSoledad O'Brien and a team of producers, generating “In America” series which will run within CNN's weekday programming, as well as long form primetime documentaries.

"Geraldine is a fantastic choice to lead the ‘In America’ unit in its reporting on communities across America,” said Feder. "Her years of award-winning production work and management experience give her the background to expand CNN’s commitment to long form journalism that reflects all aspects of the American experience.”

Moriba comes to CNN after 16 years at NBC News, where for 12 years, she served as a producer for Dateline NBC. Most recently she has served as senior producer for Broadcast Standards, monitoring news reports on all NBC News platforms. During this time, Moriba also served as an executive and senior producer on various multiplatform projects including: Obama’s America 2010 with Chris Matthews and Tom Joyner, an MSNBC special town hall on race; About Our Children with Bill Cosby, a two-hour MSNBC special on education; Making Your Vote Count, an election unit covering election fraud and irregularities in the 2008 elections; and the critically acclaimed Father’s Promise with Al Roker and Tiki Barber about the crisis of absent African American fathers. While at Dateline NBC, she produced numerous breaking news reports, as well as an investigative report on a NYC Child Services, various 9-11 stories, and an in-depth report tracing the lives of students in a 1982 fourth grade class photo to determine the impact of crime, poverty and broken homes.

Said Moriba, "It is an honor to join CNN and the “In America” team. I’m excited as I realize the magnitude of CNN's field of vision, and my mission is to continue CNN’s tradition of telling underreported news stories first. I hope to raise the bar by delivering even more untold stories from underrepresented communities in new and innovative ways.”

While at NBC News, Moriba was appointed a prestigious Visiting Ferris Professorship of Journalism position at Princeton University. During her tenure she developed and taught a seminar on how to use digital journalism skills to get more untold stories on the air. She was also the co-chair for NBC News’ Diversity Committee developing diversity programs to support leadership development and diverse content across NBC News programming.

Before joining NBC, Moriba was a researcher at ABC’s PrimeTime Live. She was also a producer for As It Happens, the news and current affairs broadcast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Canada, covering stories ranging from the LA Riots to the Gulf War.

Moriba has won five Emmy Awards, including most recently in September 2009 for Outstanding Coverage for a Breaking News Story Long Form, NBC News Decision 2008 Election Night. She’s won a Peabody Award for a Tom Brokaw special report she produced on the Supreme Court case against the University of Michigan’s affirmative action admissions policy. She has also received an Alfred I. DuPont, the National Association of Black Journalists First Place Award, two New York Association of Black Journalists Documentary Awards, the Radio-Television News Directors Association First Place Unity Diversity Award, the Newswomen’s New York Front Page News Feature Award, the US Films Video Festival Silver Screen Award, two National Headliner Awards, the “Chris” Award of the Columbus International Film and Video Festival, a New York Film Festival Finalist Award and a Nancy Susan Reynolds Informational Documentary Finalist Award.

Moriba received her honors bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario. She is married with two children. The second of four children, Moriba grew up in Toronto, Canada.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Candy Crowley is the new anchor of CNN's State of the Union.

Calling Crowley a "remarkable journalist" during a tease of the announcement at the start of today's program, John King revealed the news at the conclusion of the 9am hour of his final SOTU this morning.

The anchor seat on CNN's Sunday morning political news review became available after King was promoted to prime time in November last year.


Update: Here's the official press release from CNN, which includes details some changes to the Sunday morning lineup.

CNN Press Release: CNN Announces New Sunday Lineup to Begin Feb. 7 at 9 a.m.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has been named anchor of CNN’s Sunday morning political program, State of the Union, it was announced today by Jonathan Klein, president, CNN/U.S. Crowley will take the reins of the program beginning Sunday, Feb. 7 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET). The program will continue the tradition of hosting a political hour of newsmaker interviews along with analysis of the week’s most important issues.

“Candy’s rare combination of shrewd insight and healthy irreverence for the games politicians play has made her one of the most honored political journalists and a cult figure among CNN viewers,” said Klein. “Every Sunday she’ll translate Washington-speak into plain English that every American can understand, as she has been doing better than any reporter on the beat for decades.”

“To me, Sunday morning is a sweet spot—a weekly meeting place to bring the hopes, worries and questions of everyday Americans I talk with along the campaign trail to the people I talk with in the Corridors of Power,” says Crowley. “Add to those conversations, interviews with A-team experts and international heavyweights making sense of global issues and what you have is interesting, relevant information. I can’t wait.”

An award-winning political journalist, Crowley joins the ranks of the network’s all-star Sunday lineup that includes Christiane Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria. The new Sunday lineup will begin with State of the Union at 9 a.m., followed by Fareed Zakaria GPS at 10 a.m. and Reliable Sources at 11 a.m. An updated edition of State of the Union will air at noon followed by a replay of GPS at 1 p.m. CNN’s Amanpour will air at 2 p.m. and replay at 5 p.m.

State of the Union launched one year ago with CNN’s chief national correspondent John King at the helm, and quickly became the most-quoted of the Sunday morning talk shows. In the wake of that success, it was recently announced that King would take over the weekday 7 p.m. program, which will launch in February.

Since joining CNN in 1987, Crowley’s assignments have taken her to all 50 states and around the world. She most recently served as the network’s senior political correspondent covering a broad range of stories, including presidential, congressional and gubernatorial races and major legislative developments on Capitol Hill.

As a member of the Peabody Award-winning “Best Political Team on Television,” she played a pivotal role in CNN’s America Votes 2008 coverage, traveling to both conventions, every debate and additional stops along the campaign trail. Crowley earned a prestigious Gracie Allen Award in 2009 for her coverage of Hillary Clinton’s bid for the White House. She also was part of the network’s Emmy Award-winning 2006 mid-term election coverage.

In her career, Crowley has covered the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Howard Dean, Bob Dole, Jesse Jackson, Edward Kennedy, John Kerry, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, among others. Since the presidential nomination of Jimmy Carter, she has covered all but one of the national political conventions.

Starting today, we'll be posting a weekly round-up of the tidbits that couldn't make it to a post of their own, but are worth noting, along with news items we may have missed during the week.

If you have any of your own observations from any of the CNN Worldwide networks during the week, send us a message via the tip box bottom right.

- CNN covered Haiti 4 times as much as any other cable news channel last week, according to a new survey released this week

- CNN International's Hala Gorani anchored her program, International Desk, from Port-au-Prince in Haiti this week. Chief International Correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, is also in the Haitian capital, and anchored her daily show live on location.

- New figures reveal that 2009 was a watershed year for CNN Digital.

- CNN International's Richard Quest was on the road all week and anchored his program, Quest Means Business, from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

- TV Newser reports on job losses after restructuring at CNN Radio.

- Mediaite’s Steve Krakauer chats with Anderson Cooper (via ICN)

- CNN International's Fionnuala Sweeney anchored her program, World 1, from Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday this week. The weeknight news show is normally anchored from CNN's London hub.

- Anderson Cooper buys a firehouse.

- CNN International launches a new monthly feature in February: iList

Today is Susan Lisovicz's last day at CNN. Her contract is not being renewed. Kyra Phillips had some nice things to say during her hour of CNN Newsroom.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's keep things on an up note. To all our viewers, ladies, gentlemen, everyone that's tuning in now, I just want you if you don't mind to stay with us here for a moment, stop what you're doing. This is Susan Lisovicz's last day with us, and I just want to do a little "This is your life." Let's take a listen for a moment.

(LAUGHTER)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

LISOVICZ (on camera): Could clear the way for Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler lookalikes to light up the screen or possibly the television set once again. But whether today's writers could pull it off with the Southern style and grace of Margaret Mitchell remains to be seen.

Susan Lisovicz, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And you talk about grace, that is Susan Lisovicz, ladies and gentlemen. Grace, class, smarts. And the moment that I'll never forget -- she was the only reporter on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to track down the president of the United States. Folks, it was called what we like to call a kick-ass moment in television. Let's go ahead and listen to it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: Do you think it's warmer than on Capitol Hill right now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: Yes, I'll never forget that. I think we went live, Susan Lisovicz, for about ten minutes because nobody here at the network could believe that you were able to work your way through that crowd.

LISOVICZ: It was actually 40 minutes, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Were we live for 40 minutes?

LISOVICZ: Yes. It was all unscripted. You know, I tell you, that photo that we're seeing, that shot went around the world because President Bush was only the second sitting president to visit the New York Stock Exchange. And so there was mayhem on the floor, even more than usual.

And I only recently learned the story here. There was only one photographer on the floor. He was standing on a ladder. Such a great guy. He was calling my name to face the camera so I could have a memento but I was live on the air, I didn't hear him. The president heard him, looked up, waved and that shot was used in countless newspapers around the world. And in fact, yes, it was just...

PHILLIPS: We should point out too, Susan, that's what's been one of the most amazing things about you in all the years that you've been here at CNN. You're not just the gal at the New York Stock Exchange talking about our money. You've covered disasters, hard news, you've done amazing features, you've done it all.

And you're the only one to get the president that day and ask him one of the tough questions when he was getting hammered on Capitol Hill for issues concerning the war.

Bottom line, we are going to miss you, Susan. You're one of the most remarkable women I've ever met here at CNN, and I thank you for making me better at what I do.

LISOVICZ: Oh, I'm a click and a call away for all of you. I really appreciate all the calls, the e-mails.

And just one last thing about the president. That was an unscheduled visit, Kyra, and my sources told me he wasn't going to come unless the market was rallying, and the market rallied that day. And he dropped in and the market is rallying today.

PHILLIPS: And you rallied for us, boy, for 40 minutes on live television. We're going to miss you. We love you.

LISOVICZ: Likewise.

PHILLIPS: You're a great person, Susan Lisovicz. All right.

During Tony Harris' shift on CNN Newsroom, he had some comments about Susan's leaving. Here is the video:

Although she has been an anchor for Headline News, and a reporter for CNN and CNN International, she was most frequently seen reporting from both the CNN studio and the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.

She was live on the air when then-President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to the NYSE and pushed her way through the crowd to become the only reporter to get an on-air comment from Bush during his visit.

The Huffington Post's Danny Shea writes about CNN's real-time Twitter analysis of Wednesday's State of the Union speech...

"We turned the corner tonight," Alex Wellen, CNN's Senior Executive Producer, Integrated Programming said in the control room shortly after King demonstrated the technology for the first time.

Wellen said that CNN had access to the entire "firehose" of Twitter data, as opposed to the limited amounts Twitter makes publicly available for search, and said that there were three elements that made the analysis successful: 1. massive amounts of data, 2. timing of that data, and 3. state-by-state geotagging of that data.

"All together, it gave us a 50,000 foot view of what the Twitter reaction was," he said.

CNN Press Release: CNN’s Anderson Cooper and several CNN Heroes will come together for a special hour about courage, sacrifice and extraordinary personal commitment to help the people in Haiti. In the days following the devastating earthquake there have been brave and selfless acts of kindness and heroism throughout the country and CNN is dedicating this hour to acknowledge and honor those people. The hour will also follow up with some familiar faces: heroes who were honored by CNN’s annual initiative CNN Heroes and are in Haiti now working to rebuild the country. The special will air on Friday, January 29^th on CNN and CNN International at 11pm ET.

Anderson Cooper’s reports on both tireless search and rescue teams as well as Haitians who suffered so much but who went on to help others while maintaining their resilient spirit. CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta will profile surgeons Jerry and Marlon Bitar, twin Haitian brothers who run a hospital in Haiti with minimum supplies, yet they are determined to save lives and rebuild their country. CNN international correspondent Ivan Watson will profile Francois Rozenvil Gertha, a Haitian UNICEF therapist working with the children of Haiti on what is being done to treat the long-term emotional turmoil that follows a human disaster of this magnitude. Before the earthquake, Haiti had an astonishing 380,000 orphans, a number that has greatly increased since. Gary Tuchman, CNN correspondent, introduces us to Jean Robert Cadet, a man committed to rescuing children who have been victimized in Haiti.

In addition to Haiti’s everyday heroes, the special hour will also revisit CNN Heroes who have stepped in and are helping out in the relief and rescue efforts in Haiti. CNN Heroes is in its fourth year of spotlighting everyday citizens accomplishing extraordinary deeds. Doc Hendley, 2009 CNN Top Ten Hero, whose charity Wine to Water brings sustainable water purification systems to countries in need, is distributing the much needed water to the citizens of Haiti. Tad Agoglia and his First Response Team, honored in 2008’s CNN Heroes Tribute Show, will bring their recovery equipment and will be going on missions throughout the city. Boby Duval’s group L’Athletique d’Haiti‘s after-school soccer program, featured in 2007’s CNN Heroes, was created to feed and tutor the children. The soccer field is now a makeshift home to displaced Haitians who are encamped in Cité Soleil.

The special hour is produced by Anderson Cooper 360° executive producer David Doss and CNN Heroes executive producer Kelly Flynn. Executive producer Charlie Moore from Haiti and producer Chuck Hadad in New York also contribute to this hour. The special will re-air on Saturday and Sunday, January 30 and 31^st at 8 and 11pm ET and 2am ET.

Which CNN International Correspondent does this broken femur belong to?


Hint: It happened during a ski break (no pun intended) in Beirut.

Taken your guess? Check your answer here.

CNN Observations sends our best wishes, and hope for a quick recovery!