Say what you will about Keith Olbermann, but MSNBC will wholeheartedly defend the guy, if only because he's been printing ratings for the network, and provides the lead-in for new star Rachel Maddow. The liberal left loves the guy; they've got him on Hero Watch. And the conservative right can't stand him; they fear he wants to murder their first born. And then there's folks in the "center," like Campbell Brown, who thinks his whole shtick rings of ideology. Fine. But what's the real measure of a man? Like picking your president, it comes down to who you'd want to share a beer, or a nice glass of cab sav, with. CONTINUED »
Even the most hardcore Democrats are not going to deny that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is on their side. The man doesn't even pretend to be non-partisan, which of course has him run afoul of producers of late, who took both Keith and Chris Matthews off of election coverage in favor of David Gregory who is more able to at least pretend to be objective.
But for all his bluster and sarcastic rhetoric, is Keith Olbermann really the left's answer to Fox New's Bill O'Reilly, perhaps the most famous GOP villain since Karl Rove?
The two hosts share an antipathy and, frankly, obsession with each other. O'Reilly never mentions Olbermann's name, but attacks NBC relentlessly. "It's the usual for NBC News," he said about Andrea Mitchell's reporting on the clothing story, "trying to diminish the McCain-Palin ticket in any way they can."
Olbermann bragged about how he and Maddow topped O'Reilly the night before among viewers aged 25-to-54 (NBC essentially ignores older viewers, considering them unattractive to advertisers; O'Reilly dominates that audience)."Happy new contract, Bill," he said, with the song "Celebration" in the background. "We hope you'll enjoy every minute of those four years in third place."
So with all the blistering back-and-forth, is there a way to tell which of the show's your watching if you're not listening for the politics?
Sure there is:
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We're generally not too impressed with any cable news network's high-definition offering. Do we really need to see Wolf Blitzer or Brian Kilmeade with extra clarity? Being able to lust after a higher-resolution Anderson Cooper (or John King) is one thing, but so far the only tangible advantage anybody has shown is CNN when, during the presidential debates, they used the extra space HD broadcasts provide for those obnoxious pundit pie charts. Then again, only CNN (last September) and Fox News (this May) have made their broadcasts available on a HD channel; MSNBC remains out of the loop — and will remain that way until at least the the second quarter of 2009, missing the election season. So for now, you'll have to rely on our assessment: Yes, 35-year-old Rachel Maddow is as "fresh faced" in HD as she is in standard-def.
Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, the married "terrorists" with whom Barack Obama was accused of palling around, will celebrate Barack's takeover of America in 2009 by releasing a book about the evils of white supremacy.
JOSSIP IN DEPTH — Viacom. Hearst. Niche Media. Yahoo. Everyone is getting in the layoff game. It's shitty, yes. Nobody likes a job market where talent has no home. Well, except the companies who are hiring, because then we can get you on the cheap! But in big media, the massive staff reductions are symptomatic of the advertising industry. Without marketers spending lavishly, there just aren't the funds for payroll.
But a funny thing happened on the way this freefall: Fox News is spending maniacally! The network resigned Bill O'Reilly to a four-year deal. They stole Glenn Beck away from CNN Headline News for a hefty fee. Sean Hannity re-upped through at least 2012 in a fat deal. And Shep Smith re-upped last year for more cash. They've pretty much done everything to blow their wad on star talent except hire Elisabeth Hasselbeck. (And then there's Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade, who tried his hand at a ridiculous raise and got shot down.)
All this spending has some worried about how Fox is going to pay for all this. Advertising, which Fox relies on to generate a huge chunk of revenue (cable operator carrier fees help too), already looks like a compost pile; this time next year, the industry could look like a used diaper. But it's all about strategy, and signing star power is Fox's bet on remaining the ratings leader even if, as polls suggest, a Democrat ends up in the White House.
But here's the real truth of the matter: After Nov. 4, when America knows who it's going to start blaming in January for being unable to pull us out of this economic mess, you're all fired. Well, not all of you, but a whole crapload of you will be. That's because all the networks overstaff themselves leading up to an election, because these babies require tons of manpower. It began with the extended primary season, when networks had to continue spending to cover two Democratic candidates. And it will continue through election night and a little beyond. But once we know either McCain or Obama is no longer worth our time, Heidi Klum is going to hand deliver your auf'ing.
Like they're doing at NBC. CONTINUED »
The rotund gent you see at right is being indicted in the city of New York for snatching a McCain campaign sign from the hands of a middle-aged woman, snapping it in half and then punching the GOP supporter, who's been described as "small" and "quiet," in the face. Witnesses to the assault said the man gave no indication as to why he was attacking the lady, to whom he said only, "You people are ridiculous!"
What a crazy man. But what's even crazier is this…
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A round of sympathy for Bill O'Reilly, y'all. The Fox News pundit feels he's been the subject of unfair "attacks and smears" on his reputation. And that's completely true; he has been! But also: They're totally fair and he deserves them, BECAUSE HE IS A HATEMONGER. But despite his reservations about his Q score, he's allowing Roger Ailes to resign him to the network, so he can continue screaming "shut up" at guests for years to come. A new four-year contract extension (where his $10 million annual salary will likely lift) is expected to be announced today, just in time to shore up O'Reilly's brand on "fair and balanced" attacks for the next presidential cycle.
We've already mentioned how weird it is that a station like Fox News would object to having their broadcasters appear for a half of second in one of John McCain's political ads, or MSNBC for Obama's. So far, Fox, CBS, and NBC have all petitioned YouTube to remove videos that feature any of their on-air talent, even if the broadcasters themselves are openly for one of the candidates. These stations petition YouTube to take down any video ads that feature Katie Couric, Major Garrett, or Keith Olbermann, and YouTube so far has been prompt about the removal.
Okay, sure, that makes sense because technically it's the networks that own the talent's image, and they can't risk ratings damage by coming out in favor of a certain candidate, even if it is obvious to everyone in the world which way MSNBC and Fox staffers are likely to vote. Fine.
But now John McCain has the support of a digital advocacy group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which agrees that super-short segments of news footage falls under the fair use doctrine. A grateful but befuddled McCain replies, "A what advocacy group?"
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As part of our celebration of Judith Miller joining Fox News as a correspondent — a gig that can pay anywhere from $150-$350k/year — we thought it worth revisiting November 9, 2005, when the Times' executive editor Bill Keller wished her farewell: "We wish her well in the next phase of her career." Well that does sum things up. CONTINUED »
Wolfson, of course, dismisses the chatter. “People come up to me on the street—on the street!—and ask, ‘How can you be on Fox News? How can you talk to Rove?’ ” he says. Then he takes a page straight out of the professional-political-class textbook. “Well, I like Karl Rove. He’s smart. He’s funny.” He tugs on his Diet Coke, looking genuinely peeved. “Look, I’m under no illusions about what he and Bush have done to the country. I think Bush is the worst president since Hoover, and Karl has at least some responsibility for that. But on TV, he’s a good colleague.”
-Former Hillary Clinton attack dog and current Fox News analyst Howard Wolfson on the switch to the Dark Side
Judith Miller is the erstwhile New York Times reporter who claimed, having been fed very bad information, that Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass destruction. She was summarily ridiculed, shamed, and slayed at the stake. Fitting, then, that the woman who helped get us into the Iraq war will find work on the television network that's helped us stay there. Indeed, Ms. Miller is joining Fox News as a contributor, because that is where all once high flying members of the the media-political establishment end up. [Photo: Salon]
Amidst rumors that Elisabeth Hasselbeck might be leaving ABC for more Republican-friendly pastures, the lone dissent on The View cleared up any ideas that she'd be moving to Fox. And she did not enjoy Joy Behar's comparison of herself to another hate-fuckable blond conservative:
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What a perfect way to start off the weekend! Here's Alan Colmes' hate mail, which he has dutifully arranged for your reading pleasure so you can see how the lone liberal(?) on Fox News is treated by his "fans." Did we mention his cohost, Sean Hannity, just got a huge resign deal?
Some juicy items (all spelled correctly!) after the jump:
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'Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity has signed on for another tour at the top-ranked news channel. Financial terms of the multiyear deal were not announced. But it would keep him on "Hannity and Colmes" and "Hannity's America." It also follows a new radio deal he made with ABC Radio Networks, earlier this year, for a reported $100 million over five years.' [THR]
A couple weeks ago, we reviewed Spinspotter, an ostensibly useful widget for determining whether or not an article you're reading contains any sort of media bias. Except it is either really difficult to figure out or completely useless, since Huffington Post and Drudge Report, arguably to of the most spinniest of spin journals, contain no spin, according to Spinspotter.
Whatever. Now there is a second option for those of you looking to pepper the comment sections of various blogs with "reports" of bias in journalism.
Say hello to The Contrarian:
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Jerome Corsi, krazy konspiracy theorist (that's a picture of him with "bigfoot evidence") and frequent Fox News guest (duh) was detained in, and subsequently deported from Kenya after he made it widely known that he was going there locate Barack Obama's half-brother George and give him a check for $1,000. Somehow giving George money was going to discredit Barack, since Corsi is the author of the error-ridden bestseller, The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality.
But Corsi wouldn't shut up about his plan, giving Kenya officials ample time to find out and be like "hell no." Corsi was detained after the American failed to obtain the proper work permit, and got the boot right out of the country.
If you start feeling some sympathy for Corsi, just remember this is the guy who started the whole Swift Boat campaign against John Kerry in 2004.
Below, some footage of Corsi on Fox and Friends spouting his nonsense:
In the case of firebrand leftist Keith Olbermann versus the inhumanly rich and powerful conservative Rupert Murdoch, the combatants have a history that extends well beyond Olbermann's almost nightly attacks on Murdoch from his pulpit on MSNBC. A history that belies Olbermann's constant criticism of the man behind the ugly, ugly Fox News channel and one that deserves to be addressed.
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"FNC averaged 11,098,000 Total Viewers during last night's vice presidential debate, most among the cable networks and the highest viewership in the network's 12 year history. CNN averaged 10,685,000, and MSNBC averaged 4,412,000." [TVN]
Finally, Sarah Palin will have to answer questions about her disastrous interview with Katie Couric. Except whoops, she's doing it on Fox News, and the big revelation is that she seemed flustered and ill-prepared because she was annoyed that Katie wasn't asking the right questions. The questions the American People wanted to hear!
Watch after the jump, and decide for yourself if this is what you've been waiting for a politician to say all your life:
Political writer and former Clinton adviser Dick Morris has a little bit of history with Fox's preferred only liberal, Alan Colmes. The two sparred in August when Colmes called out the creepy foot fetishist for defending John McCain's hypocritical Iraq policies, and now the duo are at it again, this time over Sarah Palin's performance in the debate last night:
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