Recapping Press Tour: Olbermann’s Mask, FNC’s Promo, Williams’ Funny Side

Buffalo News TV writer Alan Pergament sums up the best and worst moments of the summer TCA press tour. Here are a few:

“Best Gag: Keith Olbermann of MSNBC’s ‘Countdown’ arrived with a photographic cutout of his whipping boy, Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, and superimposed it on his face.”

“Worst Promo: Before a session with Roger Ailes to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Fox News, Fox ran a clip of all the negative reviews and predictions of failure from critics after its first broadcast. The promo was hardly fair or balanced. The critics may look wrong now that Fox News is a success, but it was awful at the start.”

“Best Anchor Performance: Because CBS brought Katie Couric to promote, ABC and NBC had sessions with Charles Gibson and Brian Williams, respectively. Williams was interviewed after NBC played a gag reel of his late-night appearances. This prompted one critic to note the irony of Couric trying to lose her light reputation at the same time NBC was highlighting Williams’ humor. But seriously folks, it is hard to declare a winner in the three anchors’ performance, just as it will be for a while when they begin competing in September. They were all good.”