Pope: Sunday Notes

> “CNN and MSNBC did some taped programming and repeats this afternoon,” an e-mailer says. “FNC has been barreling through live and apparently will be on again all night tonight: midnight Rita, 2 am Rick Folbaum, 3 am Gregg Jarrett and Page Hopkins.”

> When CNN aired its People in the News special on the Pope, it placed a little live box on the screen to show a vigil in Rome.

> “I don’t usually watch Fox, but I did watch Shepard Smith from Rome for a while today and man, he was good,” an e-mailer says. “He was eloquent without crossing the line into broadcast news arrogance. He handled himself beautifully and he really shines on this story. I think he’s the future of news anchors.”

> Joanne Ostrow wonders: “Where was the short-term catharsis we normally expect from television? Where was the hour-to-hour forward progression that normally gives viewers the sense of experiencing firsthand the orderly march of time?”

> Johnny Dollar’s Place has instant transcript reactions to the Pope’s death from Chris Wallace, John Moody, Shep Smith, Ray Flynn, and Rita Cosby.