No mention here as to whether this will just be on MSNBC (as Nightly News is) or on a dedicated NBC Portal.

Being an early adopter sort, I felt compelled to try CNN Pipeline this morning. CNN Pipeline is CNN’s new pay news service delivered via the Web. Being a thrifty sort, I am on the 99 cent “for the day” trial.

Some early thoughts:

1. If you want the desktop player, it’s a funky download requiring some sort of Microsoft runtime to be installed. I am not a big fan of such things, but I figured the collateral damage would be slight.
2. The picture is the size of an index card which is pretty decent. I don’t see a full screen mode anywhere.
3. There are many viewing options including a mini mode that is relatively unobtrusive. I cannot figure how to get the player to persistently stay on the screen no matter what else I am doing (checking email, using Word,, etc..)
4. There is a cool feedback feature that populates an email to allow you to share your thoughts. Gotta figure there will be an AIM client soon (AOL and CNN are both in the TWX family)
5. There are four pipes (channels) running at the same time on varying themes. Right now, there is an international story, something on the White House, weather forecasts and a general news feed. The anchor appears to be dedicated to the Pipeline as opposed to a rebroadcast of an existing feed.
6. There are no commercials
7. There are lots of on-demand feeds and segments on such topics as sports, entertainment, business, etc..

On a 0-10, it gets a solid 7.5 so far. There’s nothing better than watching a live feed of  heavy snow falling in Virginia when it’s sunny and 65 at your home.

I think it’s great that MLB has hooked up with ESPN for a long-term contract. No other network—cable or otherwise—has done a better job with baseball coverage (live games, highlight shows, etc...) than ESPN.

It leads you to wonder what ESPN has in store for MLB over the next several years…beyond the TV screen, that is. Will ESPN broadcast games to mobile phones? Will ESPN broadcast games to the PC via the ESPN 360 widget? Will ESPN brew some sort of interactive experience where fans can interact via IM during games (hence more oomph behind the open IM platform)…at the same time will it build some sort of baseball “social network” that allows fans to build personal sites and communicate ala Myspace?

All of these are possibilities as is the notion the network will help MLB usher the game into additional foreign markets. I look to ESPN to be innovative and not afraid to try and fail. It’s a great marriage.

In the midst of the plight facing our nation, I found great humor in the Fall Preview issue of everyone’s favorite TV weekly. I hung up the keyboard as a newspaper TV critic more than 15 years ago, but I watch with great amusement as the roster of new shows makes its way to the consumer each Fall. This year is a special one. No, not in programming, but in the rapid countdown to oblivion facing commercial TV, and the end of a business that perpetuates itself with planned obsolescence.

As I leaf through the guide, I note the return of Angie Harmon and Holly Robinson Peete. Both are/were married to pro football players, now well past their prime. The football players, that is. I never was clear why Harmon left “Law and Order,” but she’s back and NBC has her. Peete is on UPN on a show about wingwomen. Seriously. Those are women who take guys out on dates in an effort for them (the guys, that is) to meet other women. Difficult to explain, but I did see wingwomen as a theme on a “CSI Miami” episode. TV can be educational.

Michael Rappaport who was in a bunch of Woody Allen movies and the underrated film, “Beautiful Girls,” as well as “Cop Land,” is in a show called “The War at Home.” Bow wow. There’s also a show called “Kitchen Confidential,” based on the book of the same name. The book was written by Anthony Bourdain (a fav in our house) of Food TV and Travel Channel fame. Sadly, the show is a wobbler, probably only marginally better than Emeril’s ill-fated sitcom.

Neil Patrick Harris, who was a teen star as “Doogie Howser” has a new sitcom called “How I Met Your Mother.” Harris, who was outstanding in “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle”, seemed destined for more outrageous things than a tame comedy. His former Doogie Howser co-star Max Casella was brave enough to step out and take a role on “Sopranos” as a murderous sidekick to Paulie Walnuts. (as well as Tony’s latest driver).

Personally, I am rooting for a new show called “Out of Practice.” It’s on CBS at 9:30 p.m. on Monday (I think that makes it a lead-in to “CSI: Miami”). It stars Henry Winkler who not only is funny, but one of the most level-headed, self-effacing talents in Hollywood. And how can you not love his role as Coach Klein in “Waterboy?” I am hoping he has a hit on his hands.

But what did I know? I panned “Cheers” as the worst TV show on NBC the year it launched. You never can tell.

Wherein Allen and Mike try to understand the effect of Katrina on the NO media. Will papers make a permanent jump to all digital -- or primarily digital -- by necessity?

You can feel the momentum change. It’s palpable. The acceptance of Podcasting is growing by the day as major media companies see the opportunity. It’s so easy and effective; the Media Giants are shaking their heads and wondering “what’s the catch?” There is none. It’s personal and timely and portable. Money can be made, directly from the ‘casts themselves (by inserting ads) or by tying back to other assets in the brand.

WMAQ, Chicago, is the latest to join the Podcasting phenomenon. The lightning speed at which Podcasting is making an impact is unprecedented because of the buzz that transfers from user to user to non-user. Once media players have imbedded tools to manage Podcasts, this trend goes to the next level. Products such as Ipodder and Doppler need to be pre-loaded in iPods, I-rivers, etc… A story for another day.

Who’s next to join the Podcasting parade? A better question is, who wants to be left behind?