The race isn't over until the fat lady sings, or in the case of the elections, until the final polls close and the media speculation shitshow can finally begin in earnest, what with all those magic maps and HD technology and what have you.
But at least one major network and one major blog are predicting an early night, and won't have any qualms about callin' it like they see it.
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You guys know Lara Logan: She was that CBS correspondent/former swimsuit model who went to Iraq and inspired a brawl between a CNN reporter and a US defense contractor when they both fell in love with her. She's an inspiration to the children, really.
But now Lara is under fire for taking some souvenirs home from Iraq with her…and not just the baby that the contractor Joe Burkett knocked her up with:
As major news outlets continue shelling out for a very expensive election season (Debates: $500k-$1m a pop; Convention coverage: ~$2m), some might be looking to cut corners. Networks like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News already have some version of a user-generated news product, where viewers are solicited to send in tips and photos, that's less about getting all Web 2.0 than it is about getting everyday citizens to act as unpaid reporters (or so the inner cynic in us believe). But that doesn't mean the media are cooling down — quite the opposite. With the feisty Democratic primary done with, it's time to explore every possible angle leading up to November. Like what the temperature is on college campuses. Which explains why CBSNews.com, WashingtonPost.com, and university press syndicate UWIRE.com are teaming to find "15 to 20 top reporters" to keep their readers plugged in to who's waving what campaign banner on the Quad. They need everybody from investigative journalists to photographers to satirists to play a part. Interested? Fantastic. Just tell them how you like to be paid: Cash, cheque, wire transfer, or … exposure. CONTINUED »
EVERYONE AT CBS IS OLD Septuagenarian Bob Schieffer, the face of Face The Nation and former interim Evening News host, plans on retiring at the end of this presidential administration. "But I'll still have some relationship with CBS, at least I hope so," he told the AP. Well, he’s part of their news demographic. [AP]
A New York Supreme Court judge made a preliminary ruling to deny CBS’s motion to dismiss ex-anchor Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against them.
The judge, Ira Gammerman said, "I concluded there was enough in the complaint to continue with discovery (pretrial research).”
Rather’s lawyers want access to internal CBS emails, which could get uncomfortable if their office is anything like ours, where NSFW links and derogatory remarks are sent around constantly.
CBS is pretending to be happy that the judge is still (only a little bit) considering dismissing the case, and released the following statement CONTINUED »
CBS News has settled its issues with its writers, producers, editors, artists and assistants. Since April 2005, their staff of 500 has been working without a contract, which contributed to a canceled presidential primary debate last month. Good thing the primary continues!
Under the new contract, which has yet to be approved by the union, employees will receive a 3.5 percent raise for the next two years. (Um, isn't that the rate of inflation?) Awesome for the news writers, but we’d really like to see entertainment writers work out their issues with CBS. We’d really like to know how Ted Met Our Mother.
OFFICIALLY OVER As we speculated, CBS ended its fling with transparency and killed their ombudsman site Public Eye. [TVNewser]
Too Little, Too Late? “Through a deal with Gas Station TV, CBS will deliver breaking news and headlines from CBS News and entertaining and informative segments from CBS’s network line up to GSTV’s 5,000 screens at pumps nationwide.” Too bad that gas dependency, like CBS news, is passé . [MediaWeek]
Looks like Matthew Felling, the editor of the network’s ombudsman column, Public Eye, was among the casualties of Friday's CBSNews.com cuts.
With Felling gone, the column’s former editor, Brian Montopoli, filled in and wrote a post for Public Eye today.
In October, Romenesko called out Public Eye for ignoring the compromised Lynne Cheney story on CBS Sunday Morning.
With job cuts and a hiring freeze at CBS News, the transparency initiative at CBS could be over.
Update: Matthew Felling was let go.
Holiday cuts continue. CBSNews.com let go 10-plus people after months of on-the-quiet hiring freeze. We’re hearing it's mostly new folks, but TVNewser’s source is saying veterans are also getting cut. Just for giggles, we checked with a source at ABC News, who tells us that, no, nobody is losing their job over there. Nice work, Gibson.
CBS has named Maggie Rodriguez co-anchor of the Early Show. She joins Harry Smith (a white guy) and Julie Chen (an Asian woman).
While Americans like their evening news from old, white men, they appreciate diversity in the morning. The Today Show features a black guy and a half Asian woman; Good Morning America has a gay guy (Sam Champion, duh) and a black woman.
Congratulations on the new gig, Maggie. But the sad truth is that CBS could feature a live sex show every morning, and The Today Show would maintain its streak at number one.
Even though Broadway got it together last night, the TV writers strike shows no signs of ending. They've been picketing for so long that we’ve resorted to reporting on the New York Times coverage of the Nikki Finke’s blog.
And as the TV writers continue to not write for TV, CBS’s news writers could strike any day. As a precaution, CBS News has canceled the Democratic presidential debates it planned on hosting for December 10.
Here’s an idea, TV writers, news writers and stagehands: When we renegotiating your contract, how about picking different expiration dates? This perfect storm of entertainment strikes has left us with no evening plans.
Editorial Director
