Christine O’Donnell (former Republican U.S. Senate candidate and witch), just walked off Piers Morgan Tonight yesterday when he asked her about Gay Marriage. Talk about an awkward interview.
Another zinger by O’Donnell: “Where in the Constitution is separation of church and state? … You’re telling me that separation of church and state is in the First Amendment?” (awkward laughs and gasps from the crowd)
Sean Hannity's Blatant Lie
Wow… Words can’t describe how completely wrong everything about what Sean Hannity is saying on Fox News is. This man is an abject liar and deserves to be taken off the air forever. I still have trouble understanding why people watch such frustrating and shameless propaganda.
HC makes China a priority on her first trip abroad as Secretary of State. Good choice.
That’s Neat/Buzz in the Biz
Kristen Who? [Read Article]
Gov. Paterson of NY yesterday announced that Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand would fill Hillary Clinton’s empty Senate seat… Who?!
What happened to Andrew Cuomo? The GOP is going to have a field day over this when the seat goes up for election in 2 years.
Local Stations Killing NBC [Read Article]
It might be time to cut the cord on the old broadcast network model. There really is not very much need for local television anymore anyway.
I still can’t believe John Roberts messed up the oath on inaguration day. It’s four sentences, it’s easy to memorize, it’s in the Constitution! I guess, though, I shouldn’t expect the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to have read the constitution.
Another great decision from President Bush that we’ll have to live with for years to come. Click here to watch both oaths on CNN.
Buzz in the Biz: 1.19.09
SAG to Oust Allen [Read Article]
“The moderate majority of the Screen Actors Guild’s national board has declared unequivocally that embattled national exec director Doug Allen must go.”
No surprise here. Allen has turned a completely deaf ear to the calls from his members and audiences around the world that a SAG strike during this economic climate would be totally unreasonable and irreparably damaging to the industry.
Even without the strike authorization, his waffling is costing his members valuable pay gains in a dangerous economy (remember, most actors are not millionaires and hold many part-time jobs, such as waiting tables): “The studios have calculated that the refusal of SAG leaders to accept the AMPTP’s final offer made on June 30 means that members have missed out on $46.5 million in pay gains.”
Dems Try to Delay Move to Digital TV [Read Article]
Rarely would I agree with an attempt to slow progress, but I agree that the Bush administration has done a terrible job managing the promotional efforts for the upcoming move to Digital TV.
I certainly haven’t heard a significant deal about the upcoming transition, and it’s even more concerning that despite a lackluster ad campaign, there are still millions of people who haven’t received their $40 upgrade voucher because the program’s budget was so terribly mismanaged. Further, “Nielsen Media Research estimates that about 8 million households are unprepared and would lose access to broadcast TV after the switch.” That’s a lot of people, and a lot of lost advertising network for the nets, who are already facing an uphill battle this year.
Here’s the argument I don’t understand: “Republicans, including Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rep. Joe Barton, have come out against the delay, saying it would only confuse viewers who have been told for months through on-air PSAs and other educational efforts that the switch is coming on Feb. 17.”
There’s no harm in converting sooner. I seriously doubt pushing back the date would confuse anyone enough to completely bail on converting and lose their broadcast networks in the process. Republicans…
Carlos Slim Saves the NYT [Read Article]
The world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, just injected $250 million into the New York Times, tiding it over for another 1 or 2 years. He made out extremely well on the deal (14% annual interest on $250 million, along with along with 10% of the company in Class A Common Stock), and we get to keep our failing newspaper industry. Everybody wins.
Seriously though, the Times and the other papers need to get their act together with ad-based revenue sourcing online or come up with some alternative, service-based business model, a la Bloomberg. With talks of Hearst’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer switching to online-only news stories in light of its inability in this market to cover the massive costs of printing and distributing a daily newspaper, there is clearly room for more efficiency in this industry. And based on recent online ad numbers, it looks like they might need to start thinking outside the box.
Source: Kevin Ko
Bush's 15 Minutes
Variety reports that Bush asked “ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC for 10-15 minutes of prime time airtime for a live farewell address to the nation.” Seems like a reasonable request, but wait until you hear the time slot he’s seeking: Thursday at 9 PM EST.
Well that’s great. Bush is going to pre-empt “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “The Office” (NBC), and “CSI” (CBS), three of the top-watched shows on television, for his last ditch effort to save face in front of America.
I know he’s our President and all, but is this seriously important enough to take us away from our favorite shows during the biggest recession since the Great Depression? This past holiday box office report shows that entertainment is extremely important to consumers during rough economic times, and it’s one of the only consumer-focused industries that hasn’t been completely debilitated by the downturn (read: retail).
I say the nets renegotiate a better time for this, or figure out a way to delay the shows. After all, even President Bush can’t want America’s reaction to his 15-minutes of defensive excuse-mongering to be “You interrupted my show for this?”
