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 "There is a big difference between that and a clown"
4/30/05 20:56:40
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Jon Klein simply doesn’t get it, but I will say this. The PR folks at CNN who have made it possible for Klein to get this sort of uncritical coverage really need to get a raise:
During Jon Klein’s weekly airborne commute Thursday from New York to Atlanta, one of his prized employees announced her impending departure from CNN.
Klein was aware of Judy Woodruff’s plans, but her decision to go public brought home the fact that the cable news network, where he serves as U.S. president, is undergoing a sea change.
Yet it’s not programs or on-air personnel that Klein fixated on throughout an interview Friday. (For the record: "Inside Politics," the afternoon show anchored by Woodruff, will be re-evaluated as Klein considers alternative ways to cover doings in D.C.)
It’s how CNN presents the news.
"Dramatically different, certainly in our prime-time approach," contends Klein, 47, who has done the New York-Atlanta shuttle — here one day, gone the next — most weeks since stepping into the revolving-door job in December.
"When I got here, we were doing just straight newscasts with two-minute-long pieces. The problem with that approach is by [midevening], the public already knows what happened. You’ve got to go beyond the headlines.
"That’s what Fox [News] has been doing — discussing stories that you’re already familiar with. Now we’ve started doing stories in our way, not just by talking about them but reporting them in greater depth."
And, with un-CNN-like techniques. One reporter, in a story on a device that shocks the body with an electrical charge, strapped on the belt and absorbed a few thousand volts.
Another, following up on the drowning of a prop plane pilot, donned a survival suit and, accompanied by the Coast Guard, flopped into the lake — where he delivered his report.
"There is a big difference between that and a clown," Klein says. "Reporters must be less stiff, less imperious, less above-it-all, less condescending. More involved and passionate in the stories they do."
Klein’s gospel: Pounce on a story and explore it from every angle.
"We do a better job of identifying what the most important stories are and throwing more resources at them," he says, citing Terri Schiavo and the Atlanta courthouse shootings as examples. "No one can compete with us when we do that. We saw that in the tsunami, the pope. We want to keep hammering away, smothering a story. That’s how we put our resources to use instead of spreading ourselves thinly over a variety of stories, many of which are inconsequential."
Klein acknowledges that Nielsen ratings do not reflect what he considers upgraded news treatment.
While CNN has celebrated scattered head-to-head victories on given nights, it still trails Fox News substantially in the big picture. Since Klein’s hiring, his rival has widened its lead.
"We’re winning the quality war already, not the ratings war," he says. "About a year from now, we should be able to establish consistent ratings growth."
Klein maintains that his philosophy is easier to sell to a staff competing against white-hot Fox News. Resistance to change has been "far less" than he braced for.
"We’ve been getting our clocks cleaned the last few years by Fox," he says. "If we were No. 1, we’d be a lot more conservative in how we embrace ... the new modes of connecting to viewers.
"These are smart professionals here who are tired of being in second place. They want to be No. 1 in the hearts and minds of viewers — as well as in the Nielsen books."
First, he says, the makeover on relaying the news must be completed.
"It’s not consistently where I want it to be. Probably 50 percent. On any given night, half of what we do is right on target, the other half is what we need to work on."
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Still not ready for his closeup
4/30/05 18:27:11
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The fantastic Crooks&Liars has the "Gannon" Real Time interview up. Check it out.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Apparently you can’t pull the wool over Bill Hemmer’s eyes
4/30/05 15:44:48
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Wait, who’s that on American Morning? Is it Bill Hemmer, or
investigative superstar Mike Wallace? Kind of hard to tell, particularly
when babyfaced Bill focuses his journalistic skepticism on the issue that’s truly
divided America: Are Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise ACTUALLY dating, or
is it all a big publicity stunt?
LESS than
48 hours after Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ publicists sought to convince the
world that the unlikely pair have embarked on a hot romance, CNN’s Bill Hemmer
said on "American Morning": "What kind of sham is this, by the way?"... Maybe someone will buy the
magazines celebrating this week’s affair of the decade, but as Hemmer put it on
CNN yesterday, "You are gullible, America."
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Words you’re unlikely to ever see again on this blog
4/29/05 22:10:49
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And what would those unlikely words be? "An excellent article in the WEEKLY STANDARD". I’ve been meaning to post this piece for a while, but have forgotten, more’s the pity. A great primer on the disgustingness of the Jack Abramoff/Mike Scanlon/Ralph Reed axis of evil.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Rapture index
4/29/05 22:01:51
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Lee
Siegel outdoes himself in TNR on the subject of CNN’s desperation to reach
the "moral values" crowd:
There has been some criticism of how news organizations exploited the
occasion in Rome, but I have yet to see anyone remark that the trinity of recent
events--Saint Ashley, Saint Terri, and the pope--exemplified a new reality in
the delivery of the news in general. The television newspeoples’ fluid
inhabiting of the story, which is by definition always other people’s story, was
not merely pandering to a newly discovered religious market, or a nervous
response to charges of "liberal" bias against religion. (Nobody had better make
that accusation again.) Above all, it meant that stories About You, once
intended to bring the news to more viewers, had been usurped. Now the television
people were reporting real news in a way that made every event, no matter how
"hard," a story that you experienced through the vicarious empathizing of the
anchors and their cast of dozens. They were Us. And we were They.
Call it Newsaoke--karaoke with deadlines. The worst--or most gifted,
depending on what qualities you are measuring--practitioners of Newsaoke are to
be found on CNN. The networks had their share of oozing credulity, but nothing
could surpass the Cable News Network, which for the duration of the ceremonies
in Rome transformed itself into the Catholic News Network. This was perhaps
inevitable, given the fact that a round-the-clock station devoted exclusively to
news would inevitably try to adapt the news to all the genres it was competing
against: drama, comedy, action-adventure, confessional talk show, and so forth.
And maybe the network’s mandate of eternal watchfulness had gone to its head,
causing it to imagine that it was doing God’s work in a godless world: according
to CNN correspondent John Allen, "CNN and the papacy of John Paul II, in a
sense, grew up together."
Some print journalists pointed out the irony (if not the offense) of
the pope spending so much of his reign traveling the globe apologizing to
everybody for centuries of church intolerance, stupidity, and slaughter. But the
talking heads represented the apologies as crescendos of authentic feeling that
actually accomplished the goals the church hoped to achieve by making them, and
in some way absolved it. Christiane Amanpour earnestly related that the pope had
apologized to the Muslims for the "excesses of the Crusades"--though not for the
Crusades themselves--and also to the Jews for the Holocaust. She then solemnly
intoned that during John Paul’s pontificate the Catholic Church had apologized
to the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church had apologized
to the Catholic Church, for the schism that had occurred between them in the
eleventh century, though neither set of apologies had closed the schism. This
persistent discord between Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christians was, she
said, "the great sorrow of the pope’s life," but neither she nor anybody else on
television bothered to explain what the schism was really about, or what steps
the pope might have taken to defy church doctrine and overcome it. There was
little time for such nuances. There were still the matters of the Inquisition
and the historical anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust, and John Allen
eagerly reminded us that this pope made sure to apologize for them, too. Also
the tsuris with Galileo.
Meanwhile, an archbishop working as a consultant to CNN--there’s a
phenomenon--was able to show that the injuries were not all one-sided. Gerhard
Schroeder himself had apologized to the Catholic Church, and also to the Polish
people, for Germany’s failure to come to the aid of Solidarity during the revolt
against Soviet rule. All these apologies, the CNN theatrical troupe assured us,
were "amazing" and "extraordinary" acts of reconciliation on the part of this
pope, who also, we were told reverentially, had the courage actually to set foot
in a synagogue, and also in a mosque. You almost felt like you should apologize
to the church for making it feel so guilty that it had to do so much
apologizing. Was the thing with Galileo really that
bad?
There were moments of sanity, or at least an occasional recognition
that the performance had gone too far. Toward the end of CNN’s run in Rome, the
network even brought in someone whose very presence might imply a criticism of
this pope’s attitudes toward women and human sexuality, one Claudia Spadazzi, an
Italian gynecologist. Spadazzi assured viewers that far from being in thrall to
the church, Rome was a great city "where there are many different realities." Of
course, she couldn’t have been directly critical of John Paul. And any such
old-fashioned journalistic independence quickly collapsed under the weight of
having to turn in the most treacly reading of events possible. When Jeff
Greenfield tried to make the point that the massive demonstration of affection
in St. Peter’s Square did not necessarily signify broad support for the pope’s
more intransigent positions, Wolf Blitzer reined him in: "And yet at the same
time, Jeff, the outpouring of emotion that we saw today involving the pope’s
funeral does involve an extraordinarily strong bond. You have to, I think, agree
with that." You just have to.
By that point, only Christ himself could have harrowed the CNN crowd
into some semblance of rational skepticism and detachment. For the pope had
barely arrived in heaven when he seemed to swing into action. Amanpour credited
him with the handshake between the Israeli president and the Syrian president:
"Maybe it’s the spirit of John Paul." "Amazing," agreed Cooper, who asked the
archbishop-consultant if the pope was watching from heaven. "Certainly," said
the archbishop, pleased to offer his expertise in the afterlife department.
(What are his sources? I demand to know.) And the archbishop added that the pope
watching from the sky "is pleased at the great number of young people who are
here." But what about Schiavo, Sontag, Bellow, Hunter Thompson, Grace Kelly’s
husband, and all the other new arrivals? What about a special two-hour "edition"
with the dead on Larry King Live? It would be, as they say in the kingdom of
television, ratings heaven.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Man crush
4/29/05 21:49:43
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The Blogger Formerly Known As The Big Trunk posts this heartwarming Valentine to his man crush, "good Democrat" Zell Miller, over at TIME’s Blog of the Year:
I’ve been a fan of former Georgia Senator Zell Miller since early 2003, when I posted my first in this long running series of notes and explanations for my assessment of him. This is the seventeenth in a series that began in March of that year.
I wrote then that the list of acceptable Democrats was admittedly a short one, but I provided a list of reasons why Miller rated his status as our favorite. I pointed to the terrific Wall Street Journal column that he had recently published ("Mr. Moonves, call off your hillbilly hunt"). The piece made me reflect that I had liked everything I’ve read by and about Senator Miller.
I found more reasons to like him when I took a look at his incredible (now removed) Web site. First, Senator Miller featured his support of the president’s proposed tax cut right from the git-go on his home page, with what appeared to be his trademark good humor: "Just as that first tax cut passed in 2001 with bipartisan support, I have no doubt the same will happen with this one. As the line in that old hymn says, when the roll is called up yonder on the President’s tax cut, I will not be the only Democrat voting for it, I guarantee it."
Second, the guy has an awesome life story. The highlight: "Miller’s passions are education, history, baseball and music. He is a walking baseball encyclopedia who is equally at home at the Grand Ol’ Opry or Symphony Hall. When he learned that the classical music he loves could help foster development in newborns, he distributed classical music CDs to parents of newborns in a nationally acclaimed program called ’Beethoven for Babies.’ He has written five books, including ’Corps Values: Everything You Need To Know I Learned in the Marines’ about how his three-year enlistment in the Marines turned his life around as a young man in the 1950s."
Whew! Hose me down! And I totally understand why the bloggin’ weenie would hitch his wagon to Miller’s super-manly star. The "good Democrat", after all, is the consummate Republican. Lots of clues available to the alert semiotician, but the big giveaway? Miller’s much talked about "Marine enlistment" was completed stateside, with no combat to be had. That’s why the loudmouthed phony shamelessly went after the much-decorated John Kerry, who did in fact see much combat, during his Republican convention keynote address. So, to review: Inflated resume? Check. No-combat-participating-saber-rattler? Check? Loudmouth? Check. Militantly pugilistic, hostile attitude? Check. Attacking his betters? Check. Thin-skinned opportunist? Check. Yup, I can see why the Powerline gang is so enamored.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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$500 for what?
4/29/05 17:36:23
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Jim Wolcott points out that 500 smackers will buy you a ticket to NRO’s hellish "Atlantafest", where you can then hang out with NATIONAL REVIEW luminaries such as Jonah Goldberg and that asshole John Derbyshire, the latter of whom described Hillary Clinton as a "double bagger" (while actually writing, in the same piece, "Margaret Thatcher at 60 could still drive men crazy", meaning in a sexual way), as well as the following memorable pensees:
Chelsea is a Clinton. She bears the taint; and though not prosecutable in law, in custom and nature the taint cannot be ignored. All the great despotisms of the past — I’m not arguing for despotism as a principle, but they sure knew how to deal with potential trouble — recognized that the families of objectionable citizens were a continuing threat. In Stalin’s penal code it was a crime to be the wife or child of an "enemy of the people". The Nazis used the same principle, which they called Sippenhaft, "clan liability". In Imperial China, enemies of the state were punished "to the ninth degree": that is, everyone in the offender’s own generation would be killed, and everyone related via four generations up, to the great-great-grandparents, and four generations down, to the great-great-grandchildren, would also be killed. (This sounds complicated, but in practice what usually happened was that a battalion of soldiers was sent to the offender’s home town, where they killed everyone they could find, on the principle neca eos omnes, deus suos agnoscet — "let God sort ’em out".)
We don’t, of course, institutionalize such principles in our society, and a good thing too. Our humanity and forbearance, however, has a cost. The cost is, that the vile genetic inheritance of Bill and Hillary Clinton may live on to plague us in the future. It isn’t over, folks. Dr. Nancy Snyderman, a "friend of the family" (how much money did she give them?) is quoted as saying that Chelsea shows every sign of following her parents into politics. "She’s been bred for it," avers Dr. Snyderman. Be afraid: be very afraid.
Yes, just the person I want to hang out with, but only if we’re playing the Abu Ghraib game, with me as Lynndie Englund and Derbyshire taking on the role of the prisoner unprotected by the Geneva Convention. You’re all invited.
Anyway, Wolcott kindly offers this advice:
They should be made aware that there are a lot of black people in Atlanta. A lot. To those used to seeing a J. C. Watts or an Armstrong Williams sticking out like a chocolate chip in a vanilla cookie, this may come as a cultural shock. There is no reason for them to feel threatened or besieged, but if anxiety gets the better of them they can clump together in a protective scrum and move like a plump centipede from the Boss Hogg motel to the Carson McCullers Memorial Sad Cafe, where the fest is being held.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Those cutbacks in newsroom budgets are a bitch, aren’t they?
4/29/05 08:02:58
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Maybe the press folks just can’t "afford" his time, if you know what I mean:
DISGRACED former White House reporter/male escort Jeff Gannon can’t believe no one has invited him to tomorrow’s White House Correspondents Dinner. "It seems to me to be odd to exclude the one person who has brought more attention to the White House press corps than anyone else in years," Gannon tells PAGE SIX’s Jared Paul Stern. "Probably many who would want to extend such an invitation already assume I will be in attendance." Gannon, whose real name is James Guckert, quit his job with the conservative Talon News earlier this year after his fake name, lack of journalistic qualifications and male escort connections came to light. The dinner usually features several stars and sensational guests such as Paula Jones to liven things up. The sub-par star lineup this year includes Robert Duvall, Burt Reynolds, Randy Quaid, Ron Silver, Patricia Heaton and Anne Hathaway.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Own your very own (pre) Pope Mobile!
4/28/05 19:38:57
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I can’t verify this is real, and I’m feeling a little tender after having been burned by that dwarf/hippo myth. If you’re going to risk your hard-earned Euro on this auction, please bid wisely and carefully.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Eccchhhh
4/28/05 08:16:37
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I’m beginning to think that CNN Chief-for-now Jon Klein was pantsed quite a bit as a child. Consider this priggish, goody-two-shoes portion of his recent address at the National Association of Broadcasters’ convention in Las Vegas:
We need to police ourselves, to set clear standards of behavior and ethics for those who would call themselves journalists. When the Jeff Gannon bomb exploded in the White House press room, where was the White House Correspondents’ Association?
Their board proudly voted to stay out of the fray, to remain out of the business of credentialing members of the White House press corps. They say that’s the job of the White House. The White House is quick to say it’s not their job to decide who’s a reporter. And they’re right. It’s our job. At least, it’s our self-interest.
When a fake reporter infiltrates the White House press corps, who suffers most? The White House? No, the press corps. Because it’s another reason for the public not to believe what they see and hear. It turns "The Gaggle" into a gag. And a bad one at that.
I have a modest proposal for The White House Correspondents Association, whose annual black-tie gala I eagerly await next week: cancel the gala, and instead spend that time and energy creating standards--and enforcing them--for those who would call themselves White House correspondents.
Yes, cancelling the dinner and utilizing that time to meditate on the lack of standards in the media biz should make all the difference in the world; CNN can rest easy, knowing it was ahead of the curve during Gannongate. But uh-oh, what’s this? CNN let the story hit critical mass on the Internets before paying attention to it? For the answer to that question, I refer you to the incomparable coverage over at AMERICAblog, your source for all things "Gannon".
Oh, and Jon Klein? If I were you, I’d spend less time giving speeches and interviews and rethink that scary "storytelling" strategy, which doesn’t seem to be working all that well. Whoops!:
Since Jon Klein took over CNN in December 2004, CNN’s audience has decreased 3% in total day and 4% in primetime, while FNC has gained 3% in total day and 13% in primetime.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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You give love a bad name
4/28/05 08:15:51
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Leave it to Paris Hilton to turn "falling in love" into a grotesque parody of the Special Olympics, if by "falling in love" you mean having sexual relations with someone and miraculously NOT having a recording of the act end up on the Internets (at least not so far):
Love is likely to thank for Paris’ newly angelic demeanor. She was joined at the W Hotel after-party by her new beau, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis.
"He’s definitely the one," she said, explaining that Paris Un et Paris Deux met way back in 1997 in a Hilton-owned Monaco club called Jimmy’s.
"Paris and I met when he was 14 and I was 16," she said. "I had this fake tattoo on my back, and he came up and was like, ’Is that real?’ and I totally lied and said, ’Yeah.’ He’s like, ’That’s hot,’ and I’m like, ’I know.’ Then he said, ’My name’s Paris,’ and I said, ’My name’s Paris.’ Then we danced all night."
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Crap
4/28/05 08:00:46
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So now it appears the aformentioned hippo story is an urban legend. Dammit. Not that I wish harm on a little person, but the physics of such an improbable thing happening was so intriguing. Damn you Popbitch!
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Just imagine the workman’s comp claim
4/27/05 22:50:00
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From Popbitch:
A hippopotamus swallowed a circus dwarf in a
freak accident in northern Thailand last week.
The circus dwarf, Od, was in mid-act, bouncing
on a trampoline, when he accidentally jumped
sideways... and straight into the mouth of
Hilda the hippopotamus, who was yawning on the
sidelines, waiting for her act to get underway.
Hilda’s gag reflex took over.. and Od was
swallowed whole.
The 1000 spectators in the audience applauded
wildly ... until they realised what they were
watching wasn’t part of any act.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Told you so
4/27/05 22:17:22
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Yglesias makes
the same point I made earlier, only I wasn’t
as articulate:
Now it’s well known that the media employs an extremism double
standard. Any Democrat is allowed to be tarred with the views of any
semi-prominent person who supports Democratic candidates or, at a minimum,
criticizes Republican officeholders. But the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate
can share a television platform with a gaggle of bigots and that says nothing
about him. I don’t like it anymore than you, but this is the standard that’s
been in effect since 1968 at least. So the fact that Bill Frist can appear with
white supremacist Tony Perkins and William "Hollywood is controlled by secular
Jews who hate Christianity" Donohue and escape unscathed no longer surprises me.
But when Trent Lott was removed from his leadership post it seemed that the
United States had applied a new standard: It Is Not Okay For The GOP
Congressional Leadership To Be Composed of White Supremacists. Now it seems to
me that a corollary -- it’s not okay for white supremacists to be U.S. Senators
-- seems to flow naturally from that principle. And yet, it doesn’t. Does anyone
out there in the conservosphere have a good explanation as to why white
supremacism is an objectionable view in a Majority Leader but a-okay in a mere
committee chair?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Bleh
4/27/05 20:57:40
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Sick as a dog today, so here’s the topic. KINGDOM OF HEAVEN - what do you think? Here’s my analysis. On the one hand, it’s a sword and sandle epic of sorts, and that genre’s been taking a beating at the box office. On the other hand, it’s directed by Ridley Scott, which is a good sign. On the other hand, Russell Crowe doesn’t star in the film, Orlando Bloom does. On the other hand, Bloom is a heartthrob. On the other hand, Bloom’s teenybopper fans probably won’t flock to see him in a movie about the Crusades. And speaking of the Crusades, what a great topic, rich in possibilities and great narrative; but what are the chances that they’ve had to neuter the script for PC reasons? So I’m torn. What do you think?
Oh, and I finally figured out REVELATIONS sucks.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More Examiner agita
4/26/05 20:44:35
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I see someone else shares my DC EXAMINER-related disgruntlement.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Hitchhiker’s guide chat
4/25/05 08:06:51
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I have a fond connection to Douglas Adams’s THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. When I was the captain of my high school It’s Academic team my senior year, I spent quite a bit of quality extra-curricular time scrimmaging with younger versions of Comic Book Guy, all of whom seemed to be ga-ga over one or more of the following: Dungeons and Dragons, DR. WHO, and the HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE. I was more of a record collector, but I loved the Guide as well, particularly the version televised by the BBC, starring Simon Jones as Arthur Dent. Most of my dorky friends at Brown were also big Hitchhiker’s fans (not Finn-Olaf, though; he was too cool for that).
So when I heard that the Guide was being remade I was pretty skeptical, until I read that cutie patootie actor Martin Freeman, who played Tim in the original BBC version of THE OFFICE (i.e., the good version), will play Arthur Dent in the film. Freeman was one of the only bright spots in the otherwise boring and silly LOVE ACTUALLY, where he plays a porno film body double. So maybe the new HHGTTG will be worth seeing...or am I being too optimistic? What do you guys think?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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For your surfing pleasure
4/25/05 08:05:25
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www.georgewbush.org
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Sit back and enjoy the show
4/25/05 07:12:42
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Let’s say that Michael Savage and Catholic League president Bill "Secular Jews and Anal Sex" Donohue very publicly bitchslapped Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Who would win? Answer: All of us, of course!
RABID radio host Michael Savage is whining that he has been banned from the Fox News Channel after he dissed Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
The controversial conservative — who was fired by MSNBC in 2003 after referring to a caller to his show as "a sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die" — recently burned more bridges by calling O’Reilly a "Leper-Con who poses as a conservative" and Hannity "another Republican bootlicker who began as a Rush [Limbaugh] understudy" on his "Savage Nation" radio show.
Savage claims that he’s been bumped off four scheduled appearances on Fox News Channel in the wake of his caustic comments.
"These two are now acting the way the mainstream media has been acting for decades, thinking they are the gatekeepers of who shall be heard in the conservative world," Savage sputtered in a statement.
"Both are jealous of my audience and are trying to silence me because they do not want the competition."
Savage boasted that the supposed "ban" has not affected sales of his new book, "Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder," which debuts at No. 6 on the New York Times best-seller list next week.
The gay-bashing broadcaster isn’t the only publicity hound taking aim at O’Reilly, the undisputed king of cable news.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue, famed for firing off several press releases a day to media outlets, is ticked that O’Reilly once described him as a "witch-hunter" and Pope John Paul II as an "autocrat."
"My members are a little bit fed up with him," Donohue claims. "I guess he feels like if he is to the left of me, he’ll appear more fair and balanced. We’re on the same side philosophically on most issues. But I feel like, when someone crosses the line from criticism to disparagement, I’m gonna call them on it."
Fox to the rescue!
A Fox News Channel spokesperson responds: "One is a well-known hater, and the other is a notorious publicity hound. We congratulate them on their successful attention-grabbing efforts."
NOW you tell us.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More Pesach entertainment
4/24/05 20:39:51
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I’m not sure when Passover and hip-hop became synonymous, but it’s a very positive development. First Sedah Club, now this latest Jib-Jab offering. Big ups to my fellow members of the tribe!
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Answer: no
4/24/05 18:43:10
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Atrios drew my attention to the following post at Aravosis’s place:
Remember last fall when Whoopi Goldberg made a joke about Bush at a Kerry fundraiser and the GOP went crazy? Ken "Straight but not on the record" Mehlman called it a "hatefest." The lapdogs in the mainstream media all obediently tagged Kerry with Whoopi’s remarks. It was such a scandal....neverminding the fact that Whoopi is a comedian.
The right wingers are always pulling stunts like this, linking comedians to Democratic politicians as if the Dems. are responsible for their acts.
Fast forward to today’s radical right wing hatefest: "Justice Sunday - Stopping The Filibuster Against People of Faith." This event is not being hosted by comedians or entertainers. It is sponsored by political professionals who have very close relationships to the White House, the RNC and the GOP leadership in the House and Senate.
+++++++++
The MSM and political commentators salivated over the Whoopi story. Um, folks, she is a comedian who was telling jokes. The political professionals, like Tony Perkins and James Dobson are close allies and supporters of Bush, Frist, DeLay, Mehlman...these people really have organized a "hatefest." (And Mehlman should be concerned about the people they hate...he might fit in to a couple of the categories.)
Let’s say it’s unlikely that the MSM will go ape over Frist’s participation in this event. The spin on this issue was presented by Brit Hume, who reminded the Fox "News" Sunday audience that when he covered Jesse Jackson’s 1988 presidential campaign, JJ frequently gave political speeches "from the pulpit" (message: Politicians frequently use religious gatherings to shore up political support). Spin point 1A: Frist didn’t show up in person at this event, which for some reason lessens the impact of his wholehearted support.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Message for James Wolcott
4/24/05 18:27:33
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He posts this odd thing on his blog:
Hence to the UCLA campus, site of the LA Times Book Festival, where I received my VIP pass and found my way to the author’s Green Room, where I spotted Victor Davis Hanson interrogating an Iraq prisoner behind the buffet. This didn’t seem the time or place for such things, but I suppose if you’re a full-time freedom warrior, you don’t play by the usual rules of hospitality. I immediately bumped into Michael Kinsley, who, in a jovial manner of course, inquired, How I dared show my face out here.I get a lot of that. I show up at parties, only to be blocked at the door by the host wanting to know who invited me. "You did." "Oh, yeah, I forgot...OK, I guess you can come in." I know they’re just funning, but the routine is getting a little stale.
Jim, if you’re reading this and what you wrote isn’t just a demonstration of false modesty, please know that I’m aghast that anyone would question your presence at a get-together. I’d assume that having you at a party would automatically raise the IQ in the room by at least 50 points, a phenomenon for which any host would be grateful (although maybe not in Los Angeles). So just know that the next time you’re in DC you’ll be extravagantly fussed over by an admiring rabble.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Fundraising update
4/24/05 18:18:14
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Again, thanks so much to everyone who’s donated. To paraphrase Steve
Gilliard, I’m shocked anyone would be kind enough to send money, so thank you
thank you thank you to those who have given.
On another note, I’m extending my fundraising drive for another week, so if
you haven’t given yet, send a couple of bucks via PayPal to
dcmediagirlmail@gmail.com. And I thank you for your support!
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Well, it’s an argument
4/23/05 22:27:49
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This guy is either completely unhinged, or he has a highly developed sense of
hutzpah. Here’s
his rationale for why he shouldn’t get the death penalty:
The statement of facts included as part of Moussaoui’s plea
said the French citizen was part of a conspiracy "to fly planes into American
buildings" that culminated in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and
Pentagon that killed nearly 3,000 people. It said Moussaoui had been personally
selected by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden "to participate in the operation"
and that bin Laden told him: "Sahrawi, remember your dream."
Yet minutes after agreeing to these written allegations,
Moussaoui said in a rambling monologue in Alexandria’s federal courthouse that
he was not part of the attacks but was involved in a separate plot to fly an
airplane into the White House in order to free Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who is
imprisoned for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Moussaoui also said he
planned to argue that he should avoid the death penalty because he was not
directly involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I came to the United States of America to be part, okay, of a
conspiracy to use airplane as a weapon of mass destruction," Moussaoui said. "I
was being trained on the 747 . . . to eventually use this plane . . . to strike
the White House. But this conspiracy was a different conspiracy from September
11."
:
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Also file under "Titanic, rearranging deck chairs on the"
4/22/05 21:15:18
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For the love of God, someone please put this show out of its misery:
"Women-Centric" Paula Zahn Pilots?
This anonymous tip may be completely ludicrous, or it could be totally true: "NY has been experimenting with new angles for the Paula Zahn show. Several pilots have been shot this week. Looks like a more woman-centric angle. I dont expect it to work, though. Lots of talks to move Nancy to CNN lately."
Update: 9:30am: "There have definitely been PZ pilots shot at CNN this week," another tipster says. "I don’t know anything about the content though."
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Big boobs
4/22/05 20:44:12
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OK, so I really want to know how much the NATIONAL ENQUIRER pays Anna Nichole
Smith to "write" this
"column":
You know what I hate more than anything
else? People I don’t even know who say bad things about me just to make a name
for themselves. Or, worse still, make money off of me.
They’re users --
and losers. This lady, Donna Hogan, knows what I’m talking about. She has a
website that says she’s my sister, and she’s even been on Inside Edition and
Entertainment Tonight.
Who do you think she talked about on those shows?
You guessed it -- me. Donna did it again this week. She talked to A Current
Affair. Then a reporter for the show ambushed me at Grand Central Station in New
York when I was signing copies of The National Enquirer to mark the launch of my
new column. The reporter wanted to know why Donna said I abandoned my family.
Well, let me tell you about my so-called sister. This lady may be my
biological dad’s daughter, but she’s not my sister. My biological dad left me
when I was a kid. I didn’t even know he had another daughter until I was an
adult. Until after I became a celebrity. To this day, I’ve never seen her. I
don’t know her. But, somehow, this lady has the nerve to do interviews about me.
And I’m the bad person? I wonder how much she got paid.
I’ve said it
before and I’ll say it again: blood isn’t everything. Donna, stop saying you’re
my sister. Stop doing interviews about me. Why don’t you try to make it on your
own and stop using my name? I’m sick of it.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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From the Washington Post, a story that breaks my heart
4/22/05 08:03:50
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For those of us who loved working in news, this revelation is a killer:
American corporations, fleeing high labor costs, often head overseas. Turns out, some federal agencies may be doing the same.
The Voice of America, working with ever-tightening budgets, is planning a little outsourcing itself -- to Communist China -- to save some taxpayer dollars.
Ted Iliff, central news division chief, said the plan, announced at a recent staff meeting, is to take about eight news writer jobs -- the slots of people who work the graveyard shift from around midnight to the morning -- and move those tasks to Hong Kong. (The people will move to other shifts.) These folks handle the late news writing, then send their stories to be translated by VOA language services into Swahili, Spanish and so on.
VOA says the move could save at least $300,000 in salaries and benefits each year, and would relieve people burdened by working those hours -- though we hear most of those affected like their hours and enhanced night pay.
Reuters decided to splurge on India:
The protest in the US against outsourcing is getting louder and angrier. A few days ago US employees of news organisation Reuters protested the outsourcing of editorial jobs to India.
Their union has begun its legal challenge to the company’s attempt to cover Wall Street from Bangalore.
New York Guild president Barry Lipton says, "Instead of focusing on producing the highest quality news, Reuters is now focussed on producing the cheapest news. This change is not just bad for our members, it’s bad for Reuters and its clients."
The Guild states that it had alerted Reuters managers last August that the exportation of jobs violated their contract. However, the London-based news and information company went ahead with its plans to expand its Bangalore-based editorial staff that was set up to write about American companies and other selected US financial news.
Lipton adds, "This is remote-control journalism, with low-paid reporters in India writing US news to US editors. It produces a cheaper product but adds no value to stories with reporting at the source." Although no Guild-covered employees have lost jobs to offshore outsourcing to date, that could change in a few weeks with the Reuters’ plans to move other US-based editorial jobs to Canada and Singapore.
The exportation of New York-based reporting jobs to Bangalore comes just a few years after Reuters built its Times Square office tower and received millions of dollars in tax breaks by agreeing to retain and increase jobs in the city. The Guild and Reuters have been in contract negotiations for more than two years, with management seeking to slash healthcare coverage, retirement benefits and job security.
This, my friends, is precisely why I left the news business. Anyone could see the writing on the wall last year when Reuters made the chilling announcement that they were going to start moving some of their editorial operation overseas. All that matters now is getting product out as cheaply as possible, quality and experience be damned. I’m sure that the beancounters at MSM organizations, particularly those tasked with overseeing the money losing dot-com components, are following these developments with keen interest, so if you’re employed on the Web I’d advise you to get out. Now. Chances are your job will be based in Shanghai in the next quarter.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Meatrocket back for another thrust
4/21/05 23:35:51
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He’s HAD IT, by God. Is the Left’s lack of respect for wholesome values bottomless (sorry)? I ask you, what is the world coming to when lefties abandon their beloved Marxist principles to engage in free commerce and sell items like this? Or open stores brimming with filth like this? Why, why??
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Defining deviancy waaaaaaaaay down
4/21/05 23:26:38
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I usually don’t give much thought to anything Jonah Goldberg has to say, but this caught my attention:
I still don’t get it. Are we to believe that successful diplomats always treat the staff nicely? Senators are known for their decorum towards each other. However, last time I checked, some of them can be real jerks to their staffers or to government functionaries. Does that mean they shouldn’t be Senators? Does anyone think Bolton is going to scream at the foreign minister of China on the floor of the General Assembly simply because he’s known for yelling at fellow bureaucrats when he needs to get results? What, precisely, is the connection? What, exactly, is the concern?
Again, I’m not defending being a jerk to your subordinates. If he is, shame on him. But it sounds like he’s more of a skull-cracker to get results. And, whatever he is, it is a new and absurd standard to say that a government official has to play nicey-nice on the staff in order to be confirmable.
Let’s review the charges, shall we?
Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel -- throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and, generally, behaving like a madman. For nearly two weeks, while I awaited fresh direction from my company and from US AID, John Bolton hounded me in such an appalling way that I eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed there. Mr. Bolton, of course, then routinely visited me there to pound on the door and shout threats.
When US AID asked me to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in advance of assuming leadership of a project in Kazakstan, I returned to my project to find that John Bolton had proceeded me by two days. Why? To meet with every other AID team leader as well as US foreign-service officials in Bishkek, claiming that I was under investigation for misuse of funds and likely was facing jail time. As US AID can confirm, nothing was further from the truth.
He indicated to key employees of or contractors to State that, based on his discussions with investigatory officials, I was headed for federal prison and, if they refused to cooperate with either him or the prime contractor’s replacement team leader, they, too, would find themselves the subjects of federal investigation. As a further aside, he made unconscionable comments about my weight, my wardrobe and, with a couple of team leaders, my sexuality, hinting that I was a lesbian (for the record, I’m not).
To review:
- Running wild in the hallways after a contractor
- Throwing things
- Making threats
- Slanderous accusations of embezzlement
- Personal insults
- etc.
This behavior is so beyond the "Dude, my boss is such a dick" phase. This woman’s letter makes Bolton sound like he has, shall we say, some issues that probably require more than the garden variety anger management sessions. Jonah, your spin is weak, dude.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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What, no magic dolphins?
4/21/05 23:07:22
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She’s at it
again:
We are living in a time of supernatural occurrences. The old pope
gives us his suffering as a parting gift, says his final goodbye on Easter
Sunday; dies on the vigil of Feast of the Divine Mercy, the day that marks the
messages received by the Polish nun, now a saint, who had written that a spark
out of Poland would light the world and lead the way to the coming of Christ.
The mourning period for the old pope ends on the day that celebrates St.
Stanislas, hero of Poland, whose name John Paul had thought about taking when he
became pope. We learned this week from a former secretary that John Paul I, the
good man who was pope just a month, had told everyone the day he was chosen that
he wanted to be called John Paul I. You can’t be called "the first" until there
is a second, he was told. There will be a second soon, he replied.
It is an age of miracles and wonders, of sightings of Mary and
warnings, of prophecy, graces and gifts.
The choosing of Benedict XVI, a man who is serious, deep and brave,
is a gift. He has many enemies. They imagine themselves courageous and
oppressed. What they are is agitated, aggressive, and well-connected.
They want to make sure his papacy begins with a battle. They want to
make sure no one gets a chance to love him. Which is too bad because even his
foes admit he is thoughtful, eager for dialogue, sensitive, honest.
They want to make sure that when he speaks and writes, the people of
the world won’t come running.
What to do to help? See his enemies for what they are, and see him
for what he is. Read him--he is a writer, a natural communicator of and thinker
upon challenging ideas. Listen to him. Consult your internal compass as you
listen, and see if it isn’t pointing true north.
Look at what he said at the beginning of the papal conclave: It is
our special responsibility at this time to be mature, to believe as adults
believe. "Being an ’adult’ means having a faith which does not follow the waves
of today’s fashions or the latest novelties." Being an adult is loving what is
true and standing with it.
This isn’t radical, or archconservative. And the speaker isn’t an
enforcer, a cop or a rottweiler. He’s a Catholic. Which one would think is a
good thing to have as leader of the Catholic Church .
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Fab
4/21/05 21:03:29
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| There’s a hilarious review of the new Tom Friedman book in THE NEW YORK PRESS. Thanks Matt Taibbi:
I think it was about five months ago that Press editor Alex Zaitchik whispered to me in the office hallway that Thomas Friedman had a new book coming out. All he knew about it was the title, but that was enough; he approached me with the chilled demeanor of a British spy who has just discovered that Hitler was secretly buying up the world’s manganese supply. Who knew what it meant—but one had to assume the worst
"It’s going to be called The Flattening," he whispered. Then he stood there, eyebrows raised, staring at me, waiting to see the effect of the news when it landed. I said nothing.
It turned out Alex had bad information; the book that ultimately came out would be called The World Is Flat. It didn’t matter. Either version suggested the same horrifying possibility. Thomas Friedman in possession of 500 pages of ruminations on the metaphorical theme of flatness would be a very dangerous thing indeed. It would be like letting a chimpanzee loose in the NORAD control room; even the best-case scenario is an image that could keep you awake well into your 50s.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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That’s entertainment
4/21/05 20:34:31
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So I’m about halfway through my fundraiser, and I’d like to thank everyone
who contributed so far. Your generosity is very much appreciated. I’d like to
send a special shoutout to my boyz Jim Wolcott and Steve Gilliard for getting
the word out.
Speaking of Steve Gilliard, it dawned on me that he went about raising money
the right way. Every day, before asking for dough, he’d do a virtual
song. I, on the other hand, have had the attitude "give me money
beeyotches". And that’s just not right.
So while I can’t do like PBS and entice you to contribute by showing a Monty
Python marathon, I have trawled around to find some cool entertainment for
you. Sure, you won’t get a tote bag, but you can watch this little movie
called "Seder Club", have a
laugh, and then send me a few bucks when you get the chance.
I’d also like to draw your attention to some twisted little films sent to me
by a reader who, like me, used to be a member of the MSM. Unlike
me, he now makes twisted little movies starring Barbies. Please check them out.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Some entries just write themselves
4/21/05 08:10:37
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When I see the words "Bill O’Reilly" and "Caribbean" in the same sentence, I have no choice but to post, right?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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You buy, girl!
4/21/05 07:55:02
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From the NY Observer:
Andrea Mackris, the former associate producer for Fox News Channel who made headlines by suing talking head Bill O’Reilly for sexual harassment, recently purchased an Upper West Side condo for $809,500, according to deed-transfer records.
Ms. Mackris, an alumna of Columbia University’s journalism school, had worked as a producer on The O’Reilly Factor before leaving for CNN in January 2004. However, in July of that year, she returned to Fox, reportedly at a $93,000-a-year salary.
Hours before Ms. Mackris filed her $60 million suit, Mr. O’Reilly sued for extortion. In the week that followed, the lurid details of the case—complete with explicit phone-sex allegations—served as endless fodder for late-night monologues (and fake news shows). On Oct. 28, Mr. O’Reilly agreed to settle the suit for an unspecified amount.
The approximately 750-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment is a rarity in this prewar condominium, but hardly an extravagant post-settlement purchase.
According to property records, Ms. Mackris signed the contract in mid-November, almost three weeks after a settlement was reached in her suit against Mr. O’Reilly.
And perhaps a few Fox News jokes may be overheard in the elevator: Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey and her husband, Jeff Richmond, purchased an apartment in the building in May 2004.
Ms. Mackris could not be reached for comment.
Listing broker Iva Spitzer declined to comment. At the time of the sale, Ms. Spitzer was working for Prudential Douglas Elliman, before splitting to rival Corcoran Group in March, becoming executive vice president in their new development sales and marketing division.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The unstoppable little doc that could
4/21/05 07:55:00
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Good news for a change...OUTFOXED, last year’s documentary sensation, has sold over 200,000 units. The accompanying book is now on sale (and I just received my copy yesterday). What started off as a little film to be sold on the Internets became an unexpected hit, reaching #1 on the Amazon list, opening in theaters, and giving the Fox folks, particularly Mr. Bill O’Reilly, agita. Consider their official statement on the film:
Any news organization that thinks this story is legitimate is opening itself to having its copyrighted material taken out of context for partisan reasons. The illegal copyright infringement actions of Moveon.org in cooperation with the New York Times, including “cutting a deal” not to give FOX News Channel adequate time to react, is unprecedented. The New York Times corrupts the journalistic process by taking orders from a George Soros-funded web site – Soros is a left-wing billionaire currency speculator who funds many liberal efforts. This is the real story. If any news organizations decide to make this an anti-FOX News story, then all of their material becomes fodder immediately for possible out of context and biased documentaries.
The former low-level FOX employees are hardly worth addressing. Some of the “sources” for this documentary never worked for FOX News Channel. Some left because of incompetence, and none expressed concern about editorial policy while employees. They represent fewer than 10 employees out of 2,000 over 8 years. Any news organization that believes this story is big and FOX News Channel is a problem will be challenged by FOX News Channel in the following manner:
If they will put out 100 percent of their editorial directions and internal memos, FOX News Channel will publish 100 percent of our editorial directions and internal memos, and let the public decide who is fair. This includes any legitimate cable news network, broadcast network, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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REVELATIONS
4/20/05 21:16:33
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So what do you guys think so far? I’m not sure whether this show is
brilliant or dreadful. Since the thing was written by the guy who did THE
OMEN, which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures, I’m willing to stick it out.
But I expect some HARDCORE tribulations in the near future. Only that can
satisfy me.
By the way, why is it that Satan reacts so strongly to crosses? Growing
up as a young Jewish girl in an EXORCIST-crazed culture, I remember being
worried. What if someone who’s not Christian is possessed by the Devil?
Would a cross still work to expel the demon, or would the religious practitioner
have to wave a more culturally appropriate item in front of the victim? And in
the case of Jews, what would that be? A matzah? Please let me know.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Hard up for cash?
4/20/05 20:40:13
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I just want to point out that I’m utterly sickened by the fact that Jane’s Addiction is allowing Coors to use the brilliant "Mountain Song" to sell beer. Shame on you.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Defensive much? WTF???
4/20/05 18:10:54
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John Cloud testily
responds to the critics of his Ann Coulter piece. Holy shit:
I think a pertinent thing about (Eric) Alterman is that he has
said publicly that he will not engage Ann Coulter in debate. He won’t go on
television with her. So his solution to Ann Coulter is to act as though she
doesn’t exist ... I don’t agree with that approach to people that we don’t
necessarily like. I think you engage those people in open debate, you get those
people to talk about their ideas, and then you weigh those ideas. And my story
does that. My story is very fair about her.
I think maybe Eric and Ann are in the same bunch. They also, by the
way, use the same language. He calls Ann Coulter a name-caller, but he doesn’t
do anything in that screed against me except use sort of fancy name-calling. He
says [the piece] is a "moral, professional, intellectual abomination" without
making an argument about the actual substance of the piece. Instead, he picks up
something from David Brock’s Web site [Media Matters] and reprints it on MSNBC’s
website. Now David Brock is a very famous hater of Ann Coulter. They used to be
friends, they’re not friends anymore. He is also a serial liar. David Brock
wrote a whole book saying, ’Oh, my other books? They were lies.’ So I don’t
think David Brock has a lot of credibility on the question of Ann Coulter. And
what they are doing is a smear job. That’s his other history -- David Brock has
a history of smear jobs. And this is a smear job against me
personally.
+++++++++
Now, I had a choice of, do I want to, in my article, list every
single Ann Coulter mistake ever made, even ones that have been corrected by the
publisher -- which is, by the way, what almost every other journalist who has
written about her has done -- or do I want to say something fresh and
interesting about her? Do I want to engage her on issues and try to figure out
what makes her tick and whether this is all an act? That was what my story was
about. My story was not primarily about picking apart ... all 1,000 of Ann
Coulter’s columns or the hundreds and hundreds of pages that she’s written in
her books. My job in this story was not to be a fact-checker. I don’t say in
this story that she’s never made a mistake. In fact, I point out some mistakes.
This is a story that calls some of her writing highly amateurish. I say I want
to shut her up occasionally. I quote a friend of hers calling her a fascist
[and] another friend of hers calling her a polemicist. I quote Eric Alterman,
Salon, James Wolcott, Andrew Sullivan, and Jerry Falwell all criticizing
her. The idea that this is a puff piece is just absurd. And it’s part of this
left-wing attack machine that David Brock has invented for himself in his
shame.
++++++++++
...I think Eric Alterman and Ann Coulter engage in the same kind of
debate. They don’t often make actual arguments. Instead, they throw names
around. This is the point of my article. This is the way politics is engaged in
debate now. And I think that his response to my article proves our point that
this kind of dialogue, which is the Ann Coulter kind of dialogue, now holds
sway.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Thanks Atrios
4/20/05 08:16:32
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Via Eschaton, the latest bit of madness from the imbecilic John Gibson:
Ramzi Yousef, an Iraqi agent that was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and his associates were allegedly talking to Terry Nichols in 1994 about how to build a fertilizer bomb.
So now the question: So if there is all this evidence, why has the U.S. government ignored it?
Well, for one thing, I submit George W. Bush didn’t ignore it after September 11, 2001. He realized then that Iraq was behind a lot of the attacks on the U.S. and it was time for it to stop.
But before September 11th, he did ignore it and so did the Clinton administration.
If McVeigh were just the grunt — mixing the chemicals, driving the truck, setting the timer, and running off — guilty though he might be, if the bombing was a plot by a foreign government, his lawyer would have had a chance at the sentencing hearing to argue that others were more responsible and McVeigh should not be executed.
The fear that the McVeigh execution might have been an error — and a mistaken execution — could put the federal death penalty itself in jeopardy. The fear of losing the federal death penalty could explain why the U.S. government does not appear to be anxious to act on evidence it has that Iraq may have been involved in the Oklahoma City bombing.
What the fuck is Gibson talking about? God forbid that this plot was solely the work of home-grown, right wing gun nuts, militia weirdos and "Turner Diaries" loving crazies (a.k.a. Fox’s core audience). More importantly, however, is Fox "News" Channel really suggesting that the U.S. government would cover up a foreign attack on American soil that left 168 people dead?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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You know who hearts the new Pope?
4/20/05 08:15:51
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Rick Santorum, of course.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Tom out
4/20/05 08:07:54
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So it’s come to this. Man overboard at NBC.
I actually knew Tom Touchet (very) slightly when we worked at ABC. I remember him primarily because he bore a passing resemblance to my first secret college crush, Finn-Olaf Jones, who was a classmate of mine at Brown.
But this post isn’t about my non-existent love life 20 years ago. It’s about morning shows.
Behind those chipper faces and the cheerful sets with jaunty coffee mugs lurks a working culture that’s utterly brutal. The working hours are horrendous. The competition to get the best guests is cutthroat. A late-breaking story throws the program into chaos. 15 hour days are not uncommon. The ideal job candidate for one of these shows is a young, single workaholic whose entire life is devoted to the show, at least until he or she is fired or has a nervous breakdown.
The bitter irony of Tom’s ouster is that THE TODAY SHOW remains in first place, but apparently it’s not #1 by a wide enough margin for the poobahs at NBC’s liking. Not only that, but someone had to be punished for the entertainment division’s inability to come up with a hit. Solution? Fire someone in the news division:
Sources said Touchet’s removal was the result of decreased ratings as well as reports that he didn’t jell well with the anchors. But Andrew Tyndall, a network news analyst based in New York, said Tuesday that neither Touchet nor his predecessor (Jonathan) Wald were allowed to be innovators.
+++++++++++
But Tyndall noted the irony in Touchet’s dismissal, which is more about NBC’s failure to come up with primetime hits like Lost and Desperate Housewives than anything the news division has or hasn’t done.
"They’re still in the lead. It’s tough when you get fired for being in first place," Tyndall said. "It’s something that (New York Yankees owner George) Steinbrenner would do. You’re not clobbering the competition, you’re just beating them. That’s pretty hard."
Hang in there, Tom. You’ll be fine.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Papal reax
4/20/05 07:30:07
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E.J. Dionne has some interesting thoughts on the new Pope:
Why did the College of Cardinals make such a controversial choice, and with such dispatch? The simple answer is that the 78-year-old pope is a transitional figure. Barring a medical miracle, it is likely that a new pontiff will be elected in a few years. One need not be Machiavelli to suggest that potential popes sitting in the Sistine Chapel decided they did not have the votes or the standing to make it this time, and would use a Ratzinger papacy to prepare for the next.
But the political realist’s explanation does not do full justice to the radical nature of this choice. What is happening inside the church is a slow erosion of the progressive hopes created by the Second Vatican Council, often said to have opened the church to the world. The forces on the rise believe, as the conservative historian James Hitchcock once put it, that the core issue before Catholics is whether they will confront modernity or capitulate to it.
Pope Benedict XVI was elected because he had a clear sense of where the church needs to go. He will make liberal Catholics and many moderates uncomfortable. They should see his election as a sign of how urgent it is to revive -- and make credible -- Vatican II’s hopeful vision of a church that has much to teach the modern world, and much to learn from it, too.
Then there’s this bizarre column by Anne Applebaum:
Although there is plenty of religious apathy in Europe, it is far less powerful than the antipathy directed not just at the Catholic Church in Europe but at religion in general. It’s not that Europeans think the church is out of touch or backward, but that they -- or rather an influential group of intellectuals and politicians -- heartily despise everything about it. Some of this was visible yesterday. Within hours of his election a BBC profile had already speculated that the new pope had honed his rhetorical skills in Nazi Germany (he deserted the Wehrmacht at age 15) while some on the German left were describing his election as a "catastrophe." I expect we’ll hear far worse insults in the next few days.
The Catholic scholar George Weigel calls this phenomenon "Christophobia" (a phrase he borrowed from the South African-born American legal scholar J.H.H. Weiler, who happens to be Jewish). Weigel began investigating the phenomenon after being struck by the European Union’s fierce resistance to any mention of the continent’s Christian origins in the draft versions of the new, and still unratified, European constitution. In his recent book, "The Cube and the Cathedral," Weigel lists the many sources of this very powerful, very profound and very European -- as opposed to American -- antipathy. He cites, among other sources, the experience of the Holocaust, which many European intellectuals concluded was the logical outcome of Christian bigotry through the centuries; the disappointment still felt among European leftists over the collapse of European communism, which many "blame" in part on the church; the legacy of the 1968 rebellions, which, there as here, opposed traditional authority of all kinds; and Europeans’ tendency to associate the church with the "right" in general and Christian Democratic political parties in particular. To this I would add one more: Europe’s present associations of "religiosity" with "America," and in particular with George W. Bush, who still scores reliably high negatives in opinion polls across the continent.
For the many Europeans who dislike religion, it was easy enough to dismiss the late pope as a "backward" Pole, and to find him inconsequential even when he somehow persuaded millions of young people to attend his outdoor "youth" Masses. But the advent of a German pope, who in fact shares many of John Paul II’s views, may well make religion part of the European political debate again, this time on the western as well as the eastern half of the continent. At the very least, a German-speaking pope will be hard for Germans to ignore.
I’m thinking that Applebaum missed the portion of history class where actual history was taught. If she had shown up and paid attention, she would have learned that Europe was torn to pieces for centuries by religious wars. Did you know, for example, that the Inquisition lasted into the 19th century? So I think the European tendency to be, shall we say, skeptical about religion isn’t such a surprise give the circumstances.
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A hilarious bit of wingnuttery to brighten your day
4/19/05 08:00:36
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Something this wacky deserves to be brought to a wider audience:
Look at the front page of almost any daily newspaper in any town in America. What do you see? Invariably there will be a story or two about some victim group or person who is being helped by a government program or by a non-profit, often using government funds. It could be a person moving into a Habitat for Humanity house, or a group of inner-city kids getting some computers via a government grant, or a training program to help “underserved” citizens, or an “urban garden” being planted to help the poor....Editorial content is skewed heavily toward the activities of the welfare state because that’s the sector that reporters and editors identify with.
++++++++++
There was a time when reporters came from the streets and neighborhoods they covered. They didn’t go to Ivy League schools or even college. Their journalism school was a cigar-chomping city editor who would throw their copy back in their face if it was boring or smelled of elitism. Nowadays this would be called a “hostile working environment.”
So what’s Ham’s background? Is he one of those rugged, self-taught scribblers or an effete, overeducated pantywaist (apparently there is no choice "C")?
He has a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in political science from Auburn University. He did three years of doctoral work in political science at Duke University before joining The Durham Sun in 1985.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Henry Hyde to retire
4/19/05 07:51:27
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And here’s my tribute:
The statute of limitations has long since passed on my youthful indiscretions. Suffice it to say Cherie Snodgrass and I were good friends a long, long time ago. After Mr. Snodgrass confronted my wife, the friendship ended and my marriage remained intact. The only purpose for this being dredged up now is an obvious attempt to intimidate me and it won’t work. I intend to fulfill my constitutional duty and deal judiciously with the serious felony allegations presented to Congress in the Starr report.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Well, it’s about that time
4/18/05 22:37:29
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Years ago, when PBS would hold its audience hostage during its interminable fundraising drives, the pitch was that the public should donate to support programming "you coudn’t find anywhere else".
Well, PBS can’t make that claim anymore. Not only can you find historical docs elsewhere (History Channel, A&E), not to mention costume dramas (ditto) and fine British comedies (BBC America), but nowadays you can rent ARE YOU BEING SERVED?, SHERLOCK HOLMES and the like to watch in the privacy of your own home, unmolested by annoying pleas. Yes, there’s still FRONTLINE, which is as outstanding as ever, but nowadays good muckraking journalism and opinion can mainly be found on the Web.
The leftie blogosphere has thrived despite the lack of support of the sorts of sugardaddies who prop up the network of "think" tanks, "media" organizations and publishing houses the right has come to depend on. Those of us who blog from the left depend on support from our readers to keep going, so I’m asking you to please donate to keep DCMG, which is my labor of love, up and running. I’ve made the "donate" button nice and large to facilitate giving. Or you can send your contribution to me via PayPal at dcmediagirlmail@gmail.com. I’ll be soliciting contributions all week, so you might as well get it over with now. Your money will fund some much-needed upgrades that my site desperately needs. I thank you in advance.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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A laff break
4/18/05 08:23:38
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Tom Tomorrow is particularly hilarious today. Read up.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Everybody’s doin’ it!
4/18/05 08:22:25
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Ladies and gentlemen, presented for your boredom and indifference, another blogging panel. At least this one involves a cover charge and booze, and it sounds like there is some attempt at substance:
Is blogging journalism? Is journalism blogging? Is blogalism journing? Why don’t we just agree that it’s possible to do journalism on a blog—or reportage, at any rate. Join us for a discussion about reporting via blog, where we’ll discuss sourcing, finding good stories, and combining reportage with commentary in the age of push-button publishing. We’ll also be talking about intellectual property issues, fair use, and libel law.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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I guess it’s just a WTF??? kind of day today
4/18/05 08:21:42
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This terrifying and amusing John Bolton story comes to us by way of
Kos. As if being stuck in Kyrgyzstan wasn’t depressing enough, how’d
you like to be "chased through the halls of a Russian hotel" by a John Bolton
gone mad?
In the late summer of 1994, I worked as the subcontracted
leader of a US AID project in Kyrgyzstan officially awarded to a HUB primary
contractor. My own employer was Black, Manafort, Stone & Kelly, and I
reported directly to Republican leader Charlie Black.
After months of incompetence, poor contract performance,
inadequate in-country funding, and a general lack of interest or support in our
work from the prime contractor, I was forced to make US AID officials aware of
the prime contractor’s poor performance.
I flew from Kyrgyzstan to Moscow to meet with other Black
Manafort employees who were leading or subcontracted to other US AID projects.
While there, I met with US AID officials and expressed my concerns about the
project -- chief among them, the prime contractor’s inability to keep enough
cash in country to allow us to pay bills, which directly resulted in armed
threats by Kyrgyz contractors to me and my staff.
Within hours of sending a letter to US AID officials
outlining my concerns, I met John Bolton, whom the prime contractor hired as
legal counsel to represent them to US AID. And, so, within hours of dispatching
that letter, my hell began.
Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a
Russian hotel -- throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my
door and, generally, behaving like a madman. For nearly two weeks, while I
awaited fresh direction from my company and from US AID, John Bolton hounded me
in such an appalling way that I eventually retreated to my hotel room and stayed
there. Mr. Bolton, of course, then routinely visited me there to pound on the
door and shout threats.
When US AID asked me to return to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in advance of
assuming leadership of a project in Kazakstan, I returned to my project to find
that John Bolton had proceeded me by two days. Why? To meet with every other AID
team leader as well as US foreign-service officials in Bishkek, claiming that I
was under investigation for misuse of funds and likely was facing jail time. As
US AID can confirm, nothing was further from the truth.
He indicated to key employees of or contractors to State that, based
on his discussions with investigatory officials, I was headed for federal prison
and, if they refused to cooperate with either him or the prime contractor’s
replacement team leader, they, too, would find themselves the subjects of
federal investigation. As a further aside, he made unconscionable comments about
my weight, my wardrobe and, with a couple of team leaders, my sexuality, hinting
that I was a lesbian (for the record, I’m not).
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More on the Coulter cover
4/18/05 08:20:30
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I seem to recall an expression involving lying down, dogs, and fleas...it seems appropriate given the unfolding of rather idiotic events at TIME’s expense. Apparently one of the photos provided by the blonde attack stick figure depicts a fake anti-Coulter protest led by faux demonstrators. Just because the Freepers are having a big laugh at TIME’s expense doesn’t mean we can’t join in.
UPDATE: Skippy puts me to shame by writing a letter to the powers that be.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Two words: "Torah cocktails"
4/18/05 08:16:08
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Three letters followed by punctuation: WTF????
Last Tuesday evening, bearded men in black robes were davening in the corner of a Tribeca penthouse while young Jews in Prada swarmed the kosher buffet. It was a fund-raiser and launch party for the SoHo Synagogue, which will open in a loft this fall and offer Orthodox services, “Torah cocktails,” and organized trips to the Hamptons for Shabbat.
“We call it a boutique synagogue. You might have to RSVP. There might be a roped line. It will totally be a scene. But it’s all kosher,” explained Dovi Scheiner, a thin, 28-year-old Orthodox rabbi dressed casually in black pants and an untucked white button-down, with tallith strings hanging down from his waist. Scheiner and his demure 24-year-old wife, Esty, co-founded the project with the philanthropic Soho-ites Katrin and Tony Sosnick, whom the Scheiners met on vacation in Puerto Rico.
Over the past few years, the Scheiners have amassed a following of successful, religious, twenty- and thirtysomething Jews interested in being cool and kosher, too. “It’s the happening thing,” said makeup artist Felicia Kesten, before flagging down a passing plate of coconut chicken fingers. Matisyahu, a Hasidic reggae singer who played for the wildly dancing crowd, said, “Dovi gets it. He’s religious, he believes in God, and at the same time, he’s very hip to American culture.” The Scheiners even have a fan in Mayor Bloomberg, who presided over the copying of the synagogue’s new Torah and loves Esty’s homemade challah.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Help raise TV’s IQ
4/18/05 08:10:09
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..by signing the pledge to save ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT...
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Preach, Frank Rich
4/18/05 08:07:55
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"The hair shirt is the new thong". Genius.
The values alleged so far in this scandal - greed, hypocrisy, favor-selling, dissembling - belong to no creed except the ruthless pursuit of power. They are not exclusive to either political party. But the religious trappings add a note that distinguishes these Beltway creeps from those who have come before: a supreme righteousness that often spirals into anger and fire-and-brimstone zealotry that can do far more damage to America than ill-begotten golf junkets.
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Washingtonienne gets the full frontal treatment
4/18/05 08:05:51
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In USA TODAY
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Yet another indication that the news business is dying a slow, painful death
4/17/05 21:15:50
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From Drudge. The hits just keep on coming:
ABCNEWS TESTS ’NIGHTCLUB’ TO REPLACE ’NIGHTLINE’
In recent weeks, the news division at ABC has recorded several test programs to fill the NIGHTLINE spot at its Times Square studios -- one of which featured a nightclub setting with white tablecloths, candles and faux fog!
MORE
The NEW YORK TIMES on Monday plans to detail the bizarre ’News Cabaret’ pilot shot in Gotham.
Anchor Ted Koppel announced last month he would be leaving latenight NIGHTLINE and the network in December. Koppel’s departure gives ABCNEWS president David Westin something he desperately wants -- the opportunity to put on a program at 11:35 p.m. that might appeal to more viewers, some of them younger.
NYT Reporter Jacques Steinberg plans to quote Westin, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE: "You’re not going to see a smoke machine."
Developing Late...
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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First she was "influential"
4/17/05 19:02:09
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Now she’s
"Ms. Right". Words REALLY fail this time. Someone please explain:
Ann Coulter and I were well into a bottle of white Bordeaux—and I
believe she was chewing her fourth piece of Nicorette—when it happened. From
what little I knew of her—mainly her propensity for declamations such as
"liberals love America like O.J. loved Nicole"—I thought it impossible for
Coulter to blush. Many of her fans would later tell me it was her fearlessness
they admired, her fully unburdened sense of outrage against liberalism, against
anyone left of Joseph McCarthy (whom Coulter flattered in her best-selling book
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism).
But in person, Coulter is more likely to offer jokes than fury. For
instance, you might ask her to name her historical antecedents in the
conservative movement, and she’ll burst forth, "I’m Attila the Hun," and then
break into gales of laughter so forceful you smell the Nicorette. "Genghis
Khan!" So finally, I asked that she be serious. I wanted to see the rancor that
allegedly is her sole contribution to public discourse (that and being a "lying
liar," in Al Franken’s estimation, as well as a "telebimbo" [Salon] and a
"skank," according to a blog kept by Vanity Fair’s James Wolcott). Why, I asked,
did she enjoy attacking others and being attacked?
She composed herself and offered a very Ann Coulter answer. "They’re
terrible people, liberals. They believe—this can really summarize it all—these
are people who believe," she said, now raising her voice, "you can deliver a
baby entirely except for the head, puncture the skull, suck the brains out and
pronounce that a constitutional right has just been exercised. That really says
it all. You don’t want such people to like you!"
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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"Militant"?
4/17/05 11:45:28
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A terrifying article in today’s WASHINGTON POST sheds some light on who the "passionate" Cuban community, with the help of its enablers/tools in Florida and Washington political circles, is harboring:
In 1988, the late, great Cuban exile director Nestor Almendros released his critically acclaimed film about political prisoners in his homeland -- a documentary that shattered whatever was left of the utopian view of Cuba. It was called "Nobody Listened." The title would work well for a sequel, this time set in Miami to shatter any lingering illusions about the nature of Cuban exile politics.
The anti-hero could be Luis Posada Carriles, the fugitive militant, would-be assassin of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and prison escapee who is wanted by Venezuela for the 1976 shootdown of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 civilians. Late last month, a South Florida television station offered a startling exclusive: Posada, last seen in Honduras, had slipped into Miami. Then last Tuesday, Posada’s newly retained attorney had the temerity to request asylum for him.
Posada must have thought nobody would be listening. How was it possible that a self-described "warrior" and "militante" -- long a fixture on the U.S. immigration authorities’ watch list -- had crossed into the United States with a bogus passport and visa? And is it remotely conceivable that the Bush administration, notwithstanding its purported commitment to the war on terrorism (Rule 1 of U.S. counterterrorism policy: "make no concessions to terrorists and strike no deals"), would consider residency for a notorious paramilitary commando? He has even boasted of orchestrating numerous attacks on both civilian and military targets (including the 1997 bombings of Cuban tourist facilities that killed an Italian vacationer and wounded 11 others) during his 50-year war to topple Castro.
In any other American city, Posada, who is now 77, might have been met by a SWAT team, arrested and deported. But in the peculiar ecosystem of Miami, where hardline anti-Castro politicians control both the radio stations and the ballot boxes, the definition of terrorism is a pliable one: One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. His lawyer made the tortured argument that those who planted bombs in Havana could not be held responsible for innocent victims unless it could be proven that those victims were, in fact, targets. Other supporters have underscored that Posada was once a CIA asset who fought in its ill-fated excursion at the Bay of Pigs, and who played a crucial role in the Iran-contra operations during the Reagan-Bush years.
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Dueling Boltons
4/14/05 21:49:14
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Check out the Poor Man’s take on John v. Michael Bolton. It’s a stitch.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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It’s not all bad
4/14/05 21:35:42
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I’ve been bitching a lot about bad writing and horrid journalism on this blog. Just to show that the news isn’t all bad, I’d like to send a shoutout to THE NEW YORKER’s Steven Shapin, whose book review of Jose Canseco’s steroid memoir JUICED is a thing of beauty:
The young man leads another to a toilet stall, cautiously looking around to make sure they’re not being observed. Then he has him lower his trousers so that he can get at his buttocks. What follows is a matter of enormous public interest. Years later, President George W. Bush makes a speech condemning it. Congressional hearings are held to investigate it and to frame public policy.
It is the summer of 1988; the toilets are in the home locker room of the Oakland Athletics; and Jose Canseco is injecting Mark McGwire with anabolic steroids. Or so Canseco recounts in “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ’Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big” (Regan Books; $25.95). “It was really no big deal,” Canseco writes. “We would just slip away, get our syringes and vials, and head into the bathroom area of the clubhouse to inject each other.” By the late nineteen-nineties, according to Canseco, teammates were pairing off together in bathroom stalls with such regularity that it became an object of clubhouse drollery: “What are you guys, fags?”
Then there’s my man James Wolcott, whose writing skillz are, quite simply, startling. Maybe someday I’ll be able to write sentences like these:
According to popular stereotype, Middle-Aged Man plods a treadmill of malaise, ennui, futility, and burden, and that’s assuming he can pry himself off the couch to reach the treadmill. Once Middle-Aged Man was young, frisky, full of sap. But, to paraphrase the old song, the winds grew colder, and suddenly he is older and the dreams that he dreamt have all gone astray. He’s a beanbag marking time.
Read these reviews. Forget the books.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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A moralizing pol is a hypocrite? Perish the thought!
4/14/05 20:36:15
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The last paragraph in this post is the punchline (read the whole piece here):
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A state senator sponsoring a constitutional amendment aimed at "solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman" is accused in a divorce case of cheating on his wife.
State Sen. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Cleveland, is accused of "inappropriate marital conduct" in a divorce complaint filed Feb. 25 in Bradley County.
The senator’s March 2 answer to the complaint "vehemently denies" any inappropriate marital conduct.
"He is very hypocritical, fighting for the sanctity of marriage and not keeping his own," the senator’s wife of 15 years, Bridgitte Suzanne Miller, said in a report in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Jeff Miller, chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, acknowledged the divorce in a statement Thursday.
"Divorce is a very difficult time for everyone," he said. "It is a very private matter which is played out in public proceedings. My chief concern right now is the best interest of our children."
The senator’s wife said Wednesday her husband was involved with a woman in Nashville. She said family members saw him with the woman at a Martina McBride concert.
"He told them that she was just a friend," Ms. Miller said. "That really bothered me."
The state Senate approved Miller’s marriage protection amendment Feb. 22. In addition to defining marriage as "the historical institutional and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman," it would also forbid state recognition of same-sex marriages.
Miller stopped an attempt to include a constitutional ban on adultery in the amendment.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Paris Hilton is going to have to find another friend
4/14/05 19:28:32
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...it looks like President Bush and Tom DeLay have made up.
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"Jeff Gannon’s", uh, past, hand-searched
4/14/05 19:25:33
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...investigation reveals no record of Gannon/Guckert having served in the Marines.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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I have a vewy gweat fwend in Wome named Bigus Dickus
4/14/05 08:05:06
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The Blogger Formerly Known As "The Big Trunk" writes:
What is the breakdown of left-wing moonbats versus right-wing nuts who obscenely project their fantasies of homosexual conduct on bloggers they wish to abuse? Based on our experience with the beating heart of the left, I bet that the answer to that question tilts astronomically toward the left-wing moonbats who hold themselves out as the guardians of civil liberties from the similarly imaginary depredations of George Bush and John Ashcroft.
Gee, "Scott", you could have a point there. As to why this is the case (and I’m assuming you’re speaking of yourself and your buddies at Powerline when you complain about those mean lefties projecting their "homosexual fantasies"), my guess is that it probably has something to do with the contrast between your humorless, scolding prose and your hilariously phallic aliases and virile, thrusting blog icons. Why don’t you ask your buddy in tumescence, John "Hindrocket" Hinderaker?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Come again?
4/14/05 08:01:25
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First the intelligentsia criticize Woody Allen for making lily-white movies. Now TNR is dumping on him for adding characters of color. Read the following paragraph from a review of MELINDA AND MELINDA, rub your eyes, and read it again, allowing the total self-seriousness and madness of it to sink in:
Twice in the film young black men figure in the story, and in neither case is there a mention by anyone of race. Both of these men are attractive and intelligent, fit companions for any young woman. But none of Melinda’s friends ever notes that these men are black. Her friends are civilized New York whites; still, it seems odd that none of them says something like, "That man is very nice, but does Melinda, in her present emotional state, need to add racial problems?" Omitting any mention of the men’s race seems factitious, an attempt to bring into being a social state that doesn’t yet quite exist. May the day soon come when awareness of race is irrelevant; but that day is not yet here.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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And speaking of f***ed up
4/14/05 08:00:43
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..there’s the DC EXAMINER, Washington’s equivalent of the Gong Show, only without the talent, entertainment value and Gene Gene the Dancing Machine.
Just as a quickie reminder, let me point out that before the paper debuted, the men on the masthead were talking a whole lotta smack:
Backed by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, the Examiner is being marketed as the next “big idea” in newspapering. It hopes to combine lively reporting by a young staff, guided by veteran editors, with the benefits of a controlled-circulation daily that can target high-income residential areas. All the revenues will come from advertising.
“We’re going head-to-head with everyone,” says James McDonald, publisher of the Journal Newspapers, the suburban chain that will serve as the Examiner’s launching pad.
The Washington Examiner will have a staff of 16 local reporters and veteran editors, including longtime newspaperman Nicholas Horrock, who has the Washington Post in his sights.
“I think the Post has a great franchise,” says Horrock, who will be the Examiner’s managing editor. “But there’s room for a quick, well-edited newspaper. They will have to share.”
And yes, the man who wrote that piece for THE WASHINGTONIAN ended up getting hired by...the EXAMINER.
So how are those "young reporters and veteran editors" faring? I know I’ve picked on the news items and the "Too Hot for TV" feature, so what about their gossip? Young reporters and veteran editors have a fondness for tiddle taddle. So let’s take a look at a recent "gossip" item:
It’ll be a packed show tonight at Temple Sinai in Tenleytown. Well, not really a show, more of a gathering. Not really a gathering as much as a, well, book signing. Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times’ little man that could, with his brand-new tome, "The World is Flat."
But it’s strange to see Friedman doing a book signing. It’s really not him.
The last time I met Mr. Friedman, it wasn’t at a signing; he was moderating a panel discussion on the Middle East - his forte.
I remember a congressional staffer asking him afterward if he’d sign a copy of his New York Times column.
"I don’t do autographs," was Friedman’s response. Well, lets preface that: "I don’t do autographs if it doesn’t help me plug my book."
Still awake? This actually made it into print. Yes it did. Hell, this offering makes Richard Leiby look like the NATIONAL ENQUIRER’s much-feared gossip editor Mike Walker by comparison.
By the way, am I the EXAMINER’s only reader? Just asking.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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In the greater galaxy of fucked up shit
4/14/05 07:45:09
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..this story pretty much rules the roost. Not suprisingly, the action takes place in Florida:
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. (AP) -- A mother is under arrest, accused of selling a 12-year-old daughter into prostitution and trading a 14-year-old daughter for a car.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The report says the youngest daughter is currently three months pregnant and she was 11 when her mother first forced her to have sex with a man. She charged 20 dollars for the sex.
The older daughter refused to be used as a prostitute and was allegedly sold for a car.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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ISO a friend
4/14/05 07:23:24
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Friends. You win some, you lose some. It looks like Paris Hilton is looking for a new foil:
PARIS Hilton needs a new friend. PAGE SIX first reported that she and Nicole Richie were on the rocks, and now, "The Insider" is reporting that Fox is searching for a replacement for Richie on "The Simple Life."
How about Tom DeLay? He could certainly use someone to pal around with seeing as he’s somewhat bereft these days, having been shut of of the treehouse by his "friend":
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay apologized Wednesday for using overheated rhetoric on the day Terri Schiavo died, but refused to say whether he supports impeachment of the judges who ruled in her case.
DeLay backtracked as White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush considers the Texas Republican, who is battling ethics allegations, a friend, but suggested that the majority leader is more of a business associate than a social pal.
"I think there are different levels of friendship with anybody," McClellan said.
I wonder if all those wingers who got such a big kick out of Clinton’s parsing of the word "is" will have a reasonable explanation to offer about the conservative definition of "friend"?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The Idaho legislature hearts NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
4/13/05 07:55:46
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Sweet!
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More idiocy from the DC EXAMINER
4/12/05 19:05:12
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The DC EXAMINER is a joke. There, I said it. It’s a paper so bad that even though it’s given away free at almost every downtown intersection and left on (wealthy) people’s doorsteps, no one reads it. That’s how bad it is. Poorly written, poorly edited, and riddled with errors, every issue is a new adventure in journalistic awfulness. And you know, it’s the little things that make me crazy.
Consider the following paragraph from this story about the perils of methamphetamine:
As the scourge of meth has come east and into the Washington area, its appeal has been low cost and the relative ease with which an average person can become a manufacturer. Called "hillbilly heroin" as it moved out of the Midwest, meth or "crank" is now showing up in fancy Washington clubs and suburban cookouts.
I’m willing to forgive the reporter for not knowing that meth has been around for a long time, and that contrary to having just "now shown up" in Washington, it was very popular in the club scene back in the 80s (of course). But for God’s sake, if you’re going to throw around cool drug nicknames, you (or your editor, if you have one) should know that METH IS NOT HILLBILLY HEROIN. That’s the nickname for Oxycontin, you fool. Oxy is a narcotic. It’s the stuff Rush Limbaugh couldn’t get enough of. Meth is an upper. An AMPHETAMINE.
Sheesh. These kids today.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More on the multi-talented Jon Klein
4/12/05 08:02:32
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So he’s behind on writing his screenplay, is he? And what a super-original premise for a film! Watch out Charlie Kaufman! From TV WEEK:
In his day job, Jonathan Klein is president of CNN/US, with oversight of programming, editorial tone and the network’s strategic direction. When he can find the time, which isn’t often these days, he turns to his other job after hours-putting the finishing touches on his latest feature film screenplay, called "The Pinnacle." He said last week it is an action-adventure techno-thriller about "five friends who band together to save the world." He admitted he is already past his deadline with Jerry Bruckheimer’s production comp-any. Before joining CNN, Mr. Klein sold five screenplays. The only one that was produced was "Buffalo Soldiers," which ran on TNT.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Andrea Dworkin R.I.P.
4/12/05 08:00:56
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Here’s a graf you’re unlikely to see in any other obit:
Born to a Jewish family in Camden, New Jersey, Dworkin was embroiled in controversy from an early age. Arrested during an anti-Vietnam protest as a student, she was sent to a women’s detention centre where she was subjected to a body cavity search. She later became a prostitute in New York and Greece.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More from the department of lists
4/12/05 07:50:36
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There must be something in the water. First TIME comes out with their ridiculous "100 Most Influential" list, now ROLLING STONE publishes the last 50 entries of their "The Immortals: The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" (in case you’re wondering, the top five reflected the usual suspect mindset of the baby boomer editors at RS: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, blah blah blah. Yes, OF COURSE they’re immortal, but do we need to be reminded of it every few months?). But I have to ask: Radiohead is considered "immortal", but the megaselling Pink Floyd and chilly techno pioneers Kraftwerk don’t even make the list? Can someone explain this?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More on millinery
4/12/05 07:49:32
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An astute reader points out that Camilla Parker Bowles Windsor’s daughter Laura wore a hat to her mother’s wedding which was designed by the same milliner who came up with mom’s chapeau. That is, if by "hat" you mean the twigs and other assembled leavings of the landscaping atrocity sported by Mom. The compulsion of British women to put ridiculous things on their heads never ceases to amaze me.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Ann Coulter makes TIME Magazine’s list of "the world’s 100 most influential people"
4/11/05 07:18:14
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Simply unbelievable:
To Ann Coulter, liberals are worse than wrong; they are traitors out to destroy the American way of life. That view is at the core of her columns, her TV appearances and her best-selling books. But it is not just her perspective that has made Coulter, 43, an icon to her fans and malice incarnate to her critics. It is the way she delivers it--in ferocious, lucid, hyperbolic bursts of invective. It helps too that she is a tall, thin, attractive blond who favors miniskirts and furs. Coulter is the right-wing pinup of partisan vitriol.
She has been an avowed conservative since her grade-school teacher preached against the Vietnam War (she argued back). Armed with a law degree, she arrived in Washington in 1995, just as a new G.O.P. Congress, a scandal-prone Democratic President and the explosion of cable-TV shoutfests were about to converge into punditry’s perfect storm. A star was born. Her penchant for the outrageous cost her a perch at MSNBC in 1997 after she told a disabled Vietnam vet, "No wonder you guys lost." After 9/11, she reacted to Muslims who celebrated the attacks by writing, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." National Review Online soon dropped her syndicated column.
In her books, Coulter can be erudite and persuasive, as when she exposes the left’s chronic softness on communism. But her signature is her gleeful willingness to taunt liberals and Democrats, to say out loud what some other conservatives dare only think--that Bill Clinton is a "horny hick," for example, and his wife "pond scum." It’s what makes Coulter irresistible and influential, whether you like it or not.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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And your point would be...
4/9/05 21:24:05
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For those of you who haven’t noticed, THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER has undergone a pretty radical makeover. Yes, you still have the celebrity gossip and embarrassing post-plastic surgery photos (it’s Michael Douglas’s turn this week), but for some inexplicable reason the editors have expanded the tab to include "news you can use" type features, celebrity recipes, and other stories you could find written more convincingly elsewhere. It’s a bizarre hybrid, merging different elements that don’t remotely fit, like that mouse with the ear growing on its back. And really, who would read the National Enquirer for any reason other than to find out who’s banging who, who’s going into rehab, who’s got cellulite and who looked like crap on the red carpet?
The worst new element by far, however, is the new "column" "written" by Anna Nichole Smith, if by "column" you mean a random assortment of "thoughts" so shallow they make Larry King’s former USA TODAY ellipsis-intensive scribblings look like they were brought down from Mount Sinai. Have a look:
Save the baby seals, now!
I found out something horrible! People are clubbing baby seals to death in Canada. More than 300,000 this year. The babies are clubbed, sliced down the middle and their skin is ripped off just so people can wear the furs. How can Canada let it happen? We have to stop it. This week I was supposed to go with PETA to Canada. We were going to protest the baby seal slaughter. But the head of PETA called and said it wouldn’t be safe -- people are pointing guns. Please join me in writing a letter to the Canadian Prime Minister. It’s not right! See www.furisdead.com for more information.
Pat O’Brien: I feel for you. Everyone knows you as the guy who hosts The Insider on TV but I know you as a friend. And I know what you’re going through. Rehab sucks. There’s no special treatment. So be strong. I’m rooting for you. I really wish you luck. I’ll be your first interview when you’re back on TV -- where you belong.
Age doesn’t matter, look at Ashton and Demi
Wow! Go Demi! Go Ashton! Go age difference! Demi Moore is expecting again. I’m glad someone’s getting some action. Demi is already a great mom and her boyfriend Ashton Kutcher will be a great dad. He’s funny, he’s young. But to be honest, I’m a little jealous. I want kids again, four more! How old are you, Demi? Tell me I still have a chance.
And there’s more where that came from. Check it out, if you dare.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Meatrocket can’t let it go
4/9/05 20:08:58
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The big girl’s
blouses over at Powerline just can’t stop talking about their personal
Waterloo, the Schiavo memo:
We were "wrong" in the sense that we laid out the evidence and said
that based on the available evidence, we thought that the memo was a fake. We
did not report as a fact that the memo was a fake, and we did not purport to
have any information that was not publicly available. Any reader could follow
our logic and either agree or disagree with our opinion. But the Post was
"wrong" in a much different and more serious way. The Post reported as a fact
that the memo was written by "Republican officials" and was "distributed to
Republican senators by party leaders." The Post didn’t say that was an opinion,
or a guess, or an inference; they reported those statements as facts, without
giving the reader any information about how the paper knew them to be true. But,
as it turned out, they weren’t facts. We still don’t know why the Post reported
inaccurate information, not as opinions, but as facts.
Talk about splitting hairs. On the one hand, you have the Post writing
about the distribution of the memo. What we know so far is that the
document was created in Martinez’s office, and that the Senator was so stupid he
handed a copy to Tom Harkin, not realizing that although Harkin was on board on
this Schiavo thing he is not, in fact, a Republican. On the other hand, we
have Powerline posting headlines like these:
- Is This the Biggest Hoax Since the Sixty Minutes Story?
- Talking Points Story Goes Up in Smoke
I know it’s a mistake to try to argue rationally with irrational people, but
it has to be said: In the greater galaxy of inaccuracies, whose screwup was the
most egregious? The Post’s or Time Magazine’s "Blog of the Year"?
Dude, you fucked up. Stop whining like a bitch and let it go.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More on the NPC panel
4/9/05 19:34:11
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As per usual, Digby gets it exactly right:
Gannon has quite the schtick going for him. I don’t know if it’s a natural gift or if he has had help, but he handled it all quite deftly, I thought. He makes absolutely no sense, wanders off into unrelated subjects, claims victimhood at every turn, avoids questions like a pro and appears to me to be incredibly stupid, arrogant and deluded all at the same time. A clown that nobody in their right mind could take seriously. In others words, meet the next GOP nominee for President of the United States.
I spent years right on this old blog screeching about George W. Bush being just as I described, assuming that any sentient person could see that he makes no sense, that he speaks in riddles that he is coached (badly) and that he has absolutely no idea that he is an idiot. It took me a long time realize that that is exactly what a lot of people like about him. He doesn’t need to make sense as long as he claims to represent the "real" people who are predisposed to support him against the pointy headed know-it-alls who lord over them. I have little doubt that they think Gannon really kicked ass.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Oh, boo
4/9/05 19:20:12
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It’s a sad day in the left wing blogosphere. It looks as thought the ambiguously phallic trio over at Powerline have dropped their hilariously phallic noms de blog, and will now be known as "John", "Paul" and "Scott". Perhaps they’re trying to distance themselves from the cock-up (pun intended) over the Darling/Martinez "Forged By Harry Reid" memo, and are attempting to fool us by going by their real names? Clever, very clever, as was the move of the left hand nav to the right...sort of like a new day rising (sorry). So goodbye to Hindrocket, The Big Trunk and Deacon, but thanks for leaving behind (sorry) your virile, tumescent symbols to remember you by.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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News from England: Charles marries the Mad Hatter
4/9/05 13:48:12
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In a fashion statement sure to be copied by no one, Camilla Parker Bowles Windsor sports a hat that looks like a bizarre landscaping accident. Seriously, though, doesn’t this prove that the Windsor’s search for Charles’s first bride, otherwise known as the Great Virgin Hunt, was a complete farce? I guess the good news is that the boys took after their mother in the looks department. Imagine the hideous genetic cocktail that would have resulted if these two had spawned.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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This one goes out to all the ladies
4/8/05 21:39:49
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If you’re not a woman over the age of, say, 35, who grew up on ABC’s After School Specials, you don’t understand how sought-after this man’s digits would have been, oh, about 30 years ago. On the other hand, if you watched SOONER OR LATER obsessively and remember Rex Smith as that sensitive Peter Frampton lookalike (and ignore some of the uglier subtexts in the film, like statutory rape), then you maaaaaay be tempted to give him a call or drop him a line at his place of business....for old time’s sake. But for God’s sake, you’re middle aged now. Control yourself.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Book recommendation: REBELS ON THE BACKLOT
4/8/05 21:25:25
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Talk about a book that fills you in on things you always wanted to know about Hollywood but that the entertainment press was afraid to ask. Sharon Waxman focuses on six nerdy, maladjusted directors who, like their counterparts in the 1970s, flipped the business of moviemaking on its ear and changed the visual language of film. There’s great behind-the-scenes dish, including:
- The story of how BEING JOHN MALKOVICH got made (hint: it was an accident)
- Why David O. Russell and George Clooney scuffled on the set of THREE KINGS
- Why Gene Hackman called THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS director Wes Anderson a cunt
- How Quentin Tarantino can’t write
- How Spike Jonze doesn’t read
- Stephen Soderbergh’s commitment issues
- The marketing of FIGHT CLUB and the making of an underground hit
And there’s more. Get a copy, it’s a great read.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The guy can write AND he’s a math genius...grrr
4/8/05 21:13:52
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When you run across sentences
as perfectly crafted as these, attention must be paid:
The entire right-wing movement is like a
hovercraft floating on the perpetually roaring whirlwind of sub-rational,
self-reinforcing nonsense that gusts through the minds of its adherents. It goes
on and on and on, and nobody stops the people who feed it; most of the time,
nobody with a prominent voice even stands up to them and calls them on their
nonsense.
What got this guy’s dander up? A column by Jonah Goldberg. I think you
now understand why he’s so bitter. Read the rest of his essay; it’s a
keeper.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Someone needs to dance into an editor’s office
4/8/05 21:08:52
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How’s
this for a ghastly lede:
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (CNN) -- The long, strange case of
the United States v. Eric Robert Rudolph took a turn Wednesday into a hotel
ballroom, where hundreds of prospective jurors joined a legal dance that could
last through the fall.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Which side do you root for?
4/8/05 21:05:14
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Ah, wingnuts. It’s always fun to watch two rapacious, merciless creatures turn on each other, much like the final scene of JURASSIC PARK when the T Rex and the velociraptors have at it. What could be a better spectacle? Indeed, that’s the question one must ask when observing the attack on Bill "Loofahs and vibrators" O’Reilly by William "Jews and anal sex" Donahue. And as a special bonus, the Freepers swoop in to shoot the wounded. Enjoy!
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Educated? No. Stupid? Yup
4/8/05 20:59:30
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Our friends at Crooks&Liars have put together a highlight reel
of today’s kickin’ blog panel at the National Press Club. And yes,
Wonkette and Matt did a great job. Many congratulations on a job well
done, all.
By the way, who can identify the song that inspired the title of this post,
and the band that performs it?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Anger management
4/7/05 20:48:30
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The world is divided into two groups: The evil geniuses
who invent demonic self-improvement schemes like "anger
management therapy", "diversity training seminars" and "Outward Bound", and the
rest of us, who are forced by management to participate in these hellish
gatherings. Apparently D.C. is the latest municipality to throw good money
at one of these "consultants" offering "conflict management training".
You see, we have a little problem with over-zealous enforcement of the law on
the Metro. Passengers using cell phones get handcuffed. People
caught eating candy get arrested. Things of that nature. So
the city found an expert:
Since Feb. 14, Metro police have been
attending one-day conflict management seminars led by a Laurel company called
RobertPruitt.com. By the end of next week, all of Metro’s approximately 380
officers will have attended one of the 15 classes, for which Metro paid the
company $28,641.
Pruitt divides people into four
personality groups -- the controlling lion, the promoting peacock, the
analytical owl and the supportive koala bear -- and advises police officers to
identify their own type, as well as the passenger’s. Pruitt says he is a classic
koala.
Nice work if you can get it.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Burying the lead?
4/7/05 19:07:00
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Over
at TVNewser, buried underneath a lot of tiddle taddle about the
Correspondent’s Dinner I found what looks like quite a scoop:
> I forgot to ask CNN’s Daryn Kagan about her recent engagement to
Rush!
So Daryn Kagan and Rush are now engaged? Has anyone else heard
this?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Um, never mind
4/7/05 07:13:12
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Whoops - looks like Howie Kurtz got burned by his impeccable sources over at Powerline!
The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.
Brian H. Darling, 39, a former lobbyist for the Alexander Strategy Group on gun rights and other issues, offered his resignation and it was immediately accepted, Martinez said.
The sweetest thing? Mike Allen wrote the piece. You know, the Mike Allen who wrote the original story, whose reporting skillz Howie passive-aggressively suggested were not as well-honed as Hindrocket’s. Beautiful.
Meatrocket, however, continues to flail away:
UPDATE: Mike Allen has an article in tomorrow’s Washington Post, which says that Mel Martinez’s "legal counsel," Brian Darling, was the author of the memo. Otherwise, his story doesn’t add much that is new, and doesn’t attempt to explain the discrepancies between his original reporting and the most recent version.
Yes, nothing new to report, apart from THE NAME OF THE GUY WHO WROTE THE MEMO AND WHO HE WORKED FOR.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Scheduling change
4/6/05 22:12:02
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A disappointing program note: Tom DeLay will not be speaking at the
hater’s conference convening in D.C. tomorow, but his heart still belongs to
daddy:
1:15pm –
Congressman Lamar Smith will speak in place of Tom DeLay, who was
called to Rome as part of the US delegation attending the Pope’s funeral. Rep.
DeLay expressed his "heartfelt regret at not being with the Judeo-Christian
Council for Constitutional Restoration for this historic conference," and
pledged to work with the Council to restore One Nation Under
God.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Atrios, Atrios, Atrios
4/6/05 21:40:33
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The question tonight over at Eschaton:
Could there be any bigger morons than the phallus-obsessed bunch at the powerline ("blog of the year!")?
Come on buddy, you know the answer to that.:
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Drip, drip, drip, drip
4/6/05 21:27:53
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David Frum is doing his best to be a good soldier, but give me a break:
The Times story makes the point that DeLay’s campaign and political action committees - ie, his contributor-funded organizations, not his taxpayer-funded office - employed his wife and daughter at various times, paying them some $4,000 a month each. This practice is not illegal nor is it, alas, even all that uncommon, as the Times itself acknowledges in its story.
Yes, and I’m sure he and his fellow DeLay defenders would be equally apologetic and fairminded if the politician had been Bill Clinton, and Hillary and Chelsea had been paid this money. Sure.
And what happens when things get ugly? Blame it on the Jews:
But while we’re on the topic of doubtful practices, can we notice this, please? The Times story is sourced to - and is packed full of quotations from - a series of groups whistled up by George Soros for almost the exclusive purpose of attacking DeLay. (You can read some of the details here.) Maybe the Times should be alerting its readers to the true identity of those sources of these shocked-and-appalled quotations? Or even balancing this bought-and-paid-for expertise with comments from some genuinely disinterested and impartial observers?
Soros is a devious bastard, isn’t he? I mean, it takes a seriously evil genius to trick DeLay into filing embarrassingly revealing disclosure statements to the Federal Elections Commission and in Texas. Frum knows this is bullshit, but it’s worth a try.
Ah yes...the beasts are starting to circle. They sense the predator is injured. Anyone who’s seen a National Geographic special knows what happens next. While I give DeLay credit for having the survival skills of a rabid wolverine, the question is, does he strongarm his way through this or does he succumb? And if it’s the latter option, who does he take with him? We’ll see.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Enough already
4/6/05 21:01:30
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Yes, ok, Jane Fonda’s book sounds interesting, but for the love of God, enough already.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The shameless cash shakedown
4/6/05 20:59:41
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So Tom DeLay was offering phony awards in exchange for contributions? I can’t believe that someone would have the nerve to copy this crude shakedown from the masters of the game.. yes, none other than the people who compile "Who’s Who", evil greedheads who prey on fragile egos in order to extort outrageous fees from listees (you didn’t think those listings were complimentary, did you?). Why doesn’t DeLay just cut to the chase and send out one of those Nigerian SPAM letters? Or sell penis enlargements online? Please e-mail or post some of your creative ideas for alternate fundraising methods for the Hammer and his minions.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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"Jeff Gannon" = Oscar Wilde?
4/6/05 20:50:11
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One of the great Wilde’s most quotable quotes is "there is only thing worse in the world than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about" (that’s from THE PORTRAIT OF DORIAN GRAY, beeyotches). Very droll, yes, but it occured to me that "Jeff Gannon" appears to live by that motto. Have you visited his Web site recently? Sure, he loves to take swipes at lefties, but what really revs his engine is writing about "Gannongate" - the Congressional demands for an investigation, the embarrassing "Doonesbury" series, the Press Club imbroglio. What’s fascinating, of course, is if it weren’t for all his leftie critics visiting his Web site his traffic would probably collapse. Let me ask you something, "Jeff" - how many of your right-wing friends, the ones who defended your right to be in the pressroom, have blogrolled you? Apart from "defending" you by floating the preposterous theory that liberals hate gay people, have your conservative allies demonstrated their respect for you and your journalism skillz by linking to one of your "stories"? Check for yourself. It’s sad, really.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Drip, drip, drip
4/5/05 22:59:41
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More
on Tom DeLay:
The wife and daughter of Tom DeLay, the
House majority leader, have been paid more than $500,000 since 2001 by Mr.
DeLay’s political action and campaign committees, according to a detailed review
of disclosure statements filed with the Federal Election Commission and separate
fund-raising records in Mr. DeLay’s home state of Texas.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Big fun
4/5/05 17:04:18
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As if we didn’t have enough to look forward to here in D.C., what with the
exciting upcoming panel at the Press Club, a group calling itself the
Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration is holding a two-day conference in the nation’s
capitol starting April 7. The theme? "Confronting the Judicial War on
Faith", featuring the following exciting keynote speakers: House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay, David C. Gibbs, Esq., attorney for Terri Schiavo’s parents,
Chief Justice Roy Moore and former Ambassador Alan Keyes. Featured
workshops: The
Judicial Assault On Our Judeo-Christian Heritage, Judges: Abortion And Other
Life Issues, Judicial Nominations, The Real Constitution, Remedies To Judicial
Tyranny, Mobilizing The Grassroots, and The Decline Of Faith And What To Do
About It.
Who says conservatives don’t know how to kick out the jams?
Courtesy of the WayBack machine, here’s a press release announcing one of my
all-time favorite wingnut gatherings, the ever-popular Judicial
Watch Clinton hater’s cruise:
Gennifer Flowers, one of the Clintons’ female victims who
alerted the world to Bill Clinton, will detail not only her own sad relationship
with the former President and Mrs. Clinton, but will also entertain us in the
ship’s lounge. As you may know, Gennifer is an accomplished singer.
Jack
Daly, the Navy Lieutenant Commander who was attacked by Russian lasers over
Puget Sound, will fill us in on his saga in fighting against Russian
infiltrators on U.S. territory.
Donato Dalrymple, the “Fisherman,” will
explain his religious experience in saving Elian Gonzalez and his legal struggle
to hold Janet Reno and the entire Clinton Administration accountable for the
crimes they committed against not only little Elian but the entire Little Havana
community.
Morgan Brittany, famous movie actress and Judicial Watch
supporter, who formerly played the girlfriend of J.R. Ewing on the TV hit show,
“Dallas,” will fill us in on how conservatives exist in Hollywood, as well as
her many experiences in fending off J.R. Ewing – a Clinton clone.
Paul
Rodriguez, the loquacious and amusing managing editor of Insight Magazine, and
the person who uncovered more scandals during the Clinton-Gore years, except for
Judicial Watch (i.e., Paul exposed the sale of graves at Arlington National
Cemetery for campaign contributions and uncovered the seeds of the e-mail
scandal), will entertain us in his usual “no holds barred” manner.
Jane
Chastain, renowned WorldNetDaily.com columnist, the first female television
sportscaster (for the Miami Dolphins) and co-anchor of The Judicial Watch Report
radio show, will provide perspective on the political events of today and what
it means to be a religious conservative.
Finally, Rev. Bob Rieth, my own
personal pastor and founder of Media Fellowship International, will not only
give us his views on the decline of ethics in America today, but how we can
bring back a revival. And, for those who would like to participate, Rev. Rieth
will hold Bible study classes aboard ship.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Will he talk about FIVE EASY PIECES?
4/5/05 07:52:02
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Hee hee. From the National Press Club’s Web site:
Jack Nicholson
NPC Luncheon
April 20, 2005 12:30 PM
Secretary, US Departmetn of Veterans Affairs
More information
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Why we love John Aravosis
4/5/05 07:20:26
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Incapable of admitting an obvious fuckup, Press Club is channeling Yul Brynner as it takes a "so it shall be written, so it shall be done" stance on this Friday’s panel. From Raw Story:
Salem News (MA) Reporter Melissa Beecher, who says Gannon plagiarized her work, expressed disappointment last week that Gannon had been selected as a panelist.
“When I attend those conferences and I’ve been to many, you always think the person behind the desk that you’re learning from has qualifications that put them there,” Beecher said. “It’s just disturbing that a person who is accused of doing what he did is now teaching the next generation of young reporters. Or fostering a dialogue between professionals in this business.”
National Press Club officials, reports Akers, “insist they’re going to sharply question Gannon about how he wound up covering the Bush White House with no prior journalism experience.”
Then we get to nitty gritty:
“I don’t think John Aravosis is the only person in the world who’s capable of criticizing Jeff Gannon,” Mike Madden, a reporter with Gannett News Service who will moderate Friday’s panel discussion told Akers.
You’re right. I’d suggest World ’O’ Crap and the other bloggers who broke the story to participate in the inquisition, since the credentialed journalists of the White House press corps, rumored to be the toughest group of reporters in the world, let "Gannon" maraud around the White House press room for two years unmolested (pun intended). This reminds me of cliched cop movies where the locals to the legwork, only to have the FBI swoop in at the last minute and say "we’ll take over from here".
Ah, but here’s Aravosis:
“The Press Club is giving GannonGuckert the keys to the city while telling the blogger-journalists who exposed him to take a hike,” Aravosis wrote Akers in an email.
He added, “In order to speak at the Press Club, do you have to be a plagiarist AND a prostitute, or is one sufficient?”
Preach.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Nightly viewing
4/3/05 23:30:57
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DCMediaboy drew my attention to this remarkable animation. Please view, and if you like what you see be sure to donate to the artist who slaved to make it a reality.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The perils of Google ads
4/3/05 11:38:24
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An alert blogger has posted the following screen grab over at his place. Yikes. The treachery of Google ads....
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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This is awesome
4/3/05 07:44:03
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From TV Newser:
An e-mailer says: "CNN’s Newsnight program Friday was stellar -- particularly Correspondent Chris Burns’ insightful, remarkable looks at the Pope’s youth in Krakow. The Jon Klein strategy of indepth packages and quality guest segments over quantity may give CNN the intellectual endurace to outrun what will undoubtedly be marathon coverage."
Signed,
Jon Klein, uh, whoops (SHIT!!!) I mean ANONYMOUS. Yeah, ANONYMOUS.
Editor’s Note: The above signature was posted in the spirit of satire. DCMG cannot verify that Jon Klein actually wrote the e-mail to TV Newser. After all, it could have been written by CNN’s PR department, or someone on the NEWSNIGHT staff trying to score brownie points, or a Klein family member. We’re just big kidders around here.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Can someone help me out?
4/3/05 07:43:43
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Does anyone know the real story of Media Whores Online’s demise? Please send an e-mail or post a comment. Thanks
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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More on PanelGate
4/2/05 22:48:34
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First we were allowed in. Then we weren’t. Now we are again. John
Aravosis’s "go
get stuffed" response pretty much sums up my thinking on this
idiocy:
National Press Clubs reinvites bloggers to watch
GannonGuckert panel, so long as we promise to be good
by John in DC - 4/1/2005 02:38:00 PM
Yes, so long as we promise to be
good children, daddy will let us sit at the big table
(wonder if we get a phone book?). Perhaps even more annoying is the comment from
National Press Club vice president Jonathan Salant that I (John Aravosis)
personally "can feel good about the fact that his [my] work on highlighting
Gannon led directly to the NPC event."
Gee, thanks. I’d like to feel
swell, but I don’t.
You see, the thing is, I already knew that my work,
and the work of other blogs like DailyKos.com, Eschaton, World O Crap,
CrooksAndLiars.com, MediaMatters.org and countless other online gonzos, led to
the NPC’s panel on GannonGuckert. The problem has always been that the National
Press Club never realized it - until now, so it would seem. It’s hardly helpful
to hear that our work actually DID lead to the panel happening, but that they’re
still excluding us from the panel itself.
Perhaps they thought we’d throw
our peas.
I for one have no intent on watching some
hooker-slash-plagiarist demean what’s left of the National Press Club’s, and the
national press’, credibility. The mainstream media represented by the NPC
dropped the ball on this story for two months, and when they did deign to cover
it, got the facts wrong and let GannonGuckert get away with whatever latest
version of events he wanted to spew. Other than a select few mainstream media
journalists like Eric Boehlert, Greg Mitchell, and Anderson Cooper, the MSM was
abysmal at covering this story. I have no desire to watch the ongoing train
wreck in person.
Have fun with your plagiarizing man-whore, guys. It only
seems fitting, considering what you’ve become as a profession.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Early critiques of papal coverage
4/2/05 21:27:29
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Digby gets in a
few zingers in his post on the coverage of the Pope’s death:
The good news is that there has never been
more riveting news coverage on television than these last few days, has there? I
mean, who can take their eyes off of that spine tingling long shot of The
Apostolic Palace with the three lit windows. I could stare at it for hours and
hours and hours. And hours. Talk about a story made for TV.
And I don’t
know about you, but after listening to the last three days of non-stop
pre-eulogizing by such brilliant minds as Daryn Kagan and Miles O’Brien, the
latter of whom seemed simply bowled over yesterday when informed that the Pope
talked to Jews just like they were normal, I’m truly on pins and needles
wondering what they will all say for the next week of ritual and
observance.
Expect to see lots of commentary by people like William Donahue of the
Catholic League. For those of you who need reminding, click over to
Crooks&Liars and check out the video tape of his best TV
appearance ever, where he railed against Hollywood’s secular Jews and their
anal sex fixation.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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"Am I wrong here? Is this just plain ugly?"
4/2/05 14:23:30
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That’s the question the good folks at Crooks&Liars are asking themselves about this disturbing video of Randall Terry performing at Terry Schiavo’s memorial service.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The Bush administration’s intelligence - two opposing views
4/2/05 14:02:37
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John Gibson is sorely vexed that some people would like an explanation as to why we went to war using intelligence that a report has characterized as "dead wrong". He’s even more annoyed that those same people would like to hold someone responsible for the fuck-up; someone like the President, maybe:
First, do we not like the results of the war? Yes, we do. Do we think these results could have been achieved without the war? Don’t make me laugh, but not a chance.
So, once again we have anti-war Democrats denouncing a successful war that accomplished what it set out to accomplish. And we have a president who is unhappy that intelligence was faulty, that he could not know for certain WMD were not in Iraq, and he was left to make a prudent decision on what turned out to be faulty information.
So we’re going to have hearings on why the president didn’t know information that was dead wrong was dead wrong? If the information was "dead wrong" - let’s recall George Tenet’s slam-dunk line - how was the president supposed to know?
Yes, yes, I know that if the shoe was on the Democratic foot and Clinton was in office, Fox, the GOP and the rest of the gang would be impeaching him all over again, not to mention going on the air night after night suggesting that all the blood flowing to his crotch had disrupted his ability to think. And no, I’m not enjoying the John Gibson Experience on Fox any more than I did on MSNBC (why does this man keep getting hired?). But rather than write a reasoned, well-researched response, I’ll let the Rude Pundit do the talking:
4/1/2005
Of Fools and Curveballs: So let’s see if the Rude Pundit’s got this straight: the U.S. went to war with Iraq because of some asshole named "Curveball"? Why the fuck would you trust someone named "Curveball"? The very nature of the curve ball is to trick the batter, to make the guy standing at the plate think the ball is coming straight across before veering inside or outside. A good curveball is an amazing deception. Trust someone with the super secret spy name "Curveball"? It’d be like investing all your money in a firm called, to be au courant, April Fool’s Finance. It’d be like eating a meal at a restaurant named "Kentucky Fried Botulism." It’d be like fucking a hooker named "Syphilitic Sally." You know from the outset you’re gonna get ripped off and/or diseased. But if you do it anyway, you’re just a fuckin’ idiot.
’Cause, really, and, c’mon, as the report of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction discusses in detail, Syphilitic Sally came to town with her friend Gonhorrea Greta and we were, indeed, infected. Quoth the Commission: "Virtually all of the Intelligence Community’s information on Iraq’s alleged mobile biological weapons facilities was supplied by a source, codenamed ’Curveball,’ who was a fabricator." (Or, in the real world, a "liar" or a "con artist.")
+++++++++++++++++++++
But, alas, sweet Curveball was not what he seemed. He was not straight and down the middle. He . . . how shall this be put . . . curved. The Defense Department sent a "detailee" to meet with Monsieur Ball way back in May 2000 to see if Le Ball was telling le truth about being in a biological weapons accident. Oh, let’s let the Commission speak for itself here:
"First, the detailee observed that Curveball spoke excellent English during their meeting.286 This was significant to the detailee because the foreign service had, on several earlier occasions, told U.S. intelligence officials that one reason a meeting with Curveball was impossible was that Curveball did not speak English. Second, the detailee was concerned by Curveball’s apparent ’hangover’ during their meeting. The detailee conveyed these impressions of Curveball informally to CIA officials, and WINPAC [the Center for Weapons, Intelligence, Non-Proliferation and Arms Control] BW analysts told Commission staff that they were aware that the detailee was concerned that Curveball might be an alcoholic."
Said the poor detailee in a hurried e-mail sent to the CIA Directorate of Operations, "I do have a concern with the validity of the information based on Curveball having a terrible hangover the morning of [the meeting]. I agree, it was only a one time interaction, however, he knew he was to have a [meeting] on that particular morning but tied one on anyway. What underlying issues could this be a problem with and how in depth has he been vetted by the [foreign liaison service]?" When was this sent? The night before Colin Powell’s presentation to the U.N. In 2003.
On and on this sad, sordid tale continues, with its unraveling of Curveball’s stories when they were actually checked. When the weapons inspectors did their jobs after the invasion. All Curveball’s words unverified. All "fabrications," all lies. But still, because intelligence officials "believed" (or were told to believe) that Iraq had to have weapons, they clung to Curveball like a wet rat clings to the debris of a sinking ocean liner. It became a farce, really: Former co-workers said he had been fired before the times he claimed he had been involved in any programs. "By January 2004, however, when CIA obtained travel records confirming that Curveball had been out of Iraq during the time he claimed to have been working on the mobile BW program, most analysts became convinced that Curveball had fabricated his reporting."
In March 2004, the CIA finally met Curvey and, indeed, quickly discovered he had punked them. Tenet didn’t want to admit "error," and, indeed, "Only in May 2004, more than a year after the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, did CIA formally deem Curveball’s reporting fabricated and recall it."
And there’s your April Fool’s joke for the day. The real question is who gets the credit for the joke? Just poor drunken Curveball? Just the miserable Intelligence community who, strangely, were able to offer caveats in their reports prior to Bush coming to office? Or perhaps those who needed Curveball desperately to be right and did not want to know otherwise until they were forced to know? Or, most ominously, those who knew it was all lies and wouldn’t let the rest of us in?
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Update on FNC’s "The Pope is dead" gaffe
4/2/05 10:59:35
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From
TV Newser:
An Fox News insider has outed the
"Pope
Dead" producer as Rachel McEntee. Her voice was heard on
the translator’s open mic in the audio booth this afternoon. McAntee is an
"amateur who doesn’t belong anywhere near this big of a story," the insider told
TVNewser. The FNCer added that no one is holding Shep accountable for the
mistake, because he handles breaking news constantly, and was put in an
"extremely awkward position" after McEntee’s frantic voice was heard on the
air...
> Update: 10:35pm: "I
worked alongside Rachel for six years at FNC, and I can tell you -- she is NOT
an amateur," a former FNC employee e-mails TVNewser. "She is, in fact, one of
the more intelligent, knowledgeable, and professional people on the staff.
From the sound of the tape, it seems that Rachel was simply doing her job: a
passing on to others in-house -- not to the viewing audience -- information
that was coming in from the Vatican. That the information was wrong, and
that her voice wound up on air, were the faults of others -- not
Rachel’s."
As luck would have it, TV Newser’s source also wrote to me. Here’s the
rest of his comment:
Whoever your "insider" is, he should be ashamed of himself for
his cheap-shot description of Rachel. The irony is that FNC regularly rewards
flunkies -- people in responsible positions willing to toe the company line at
the expense of actual journalism. Rachel McEntee is not a flunkie.
Your source is -- and a gutless one, at that.
Awful, sad - and typical.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Subtle? Sure
4/1/05 20:11:58
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Ah, Nancy Grace:
NANCY GRACE, HOST: After weeks of angry protests, marches, police arrests, and Congress calling emergency sessions, the beautiful young woman at the center of all the controversy, Terri Schiavo, has passed away. Her parents, brother and sister all kicked out during Schiavo`s final moments on Earth. Instead, her husband, Michael Schiavo -- the man responsible for her slow death by starvation -- was there instead. Now, as her family mourns, he is planning her autopsy.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. And I want to thank you for being with us tonight.
Terri Schiavo hopefully is resting in peace tonight finally. But again tonight, the angerness and the bitterness lives on.
"Angerness"??
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Such a deal
4/1/05 19:50:26
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I’ve heard of some whack contract negotiations in my time, but this takes the cake:
Newsday and the gossip columnist Liz Smith are parting ways, and Ms. Smith is not at all happy about it.
The newspaper, owned by the Tribune Company, says Ms. Smith decided not to exercise an option to renew her contract for another two years.
Ms. Smith says that she missed a deadline six months ago to exercise that option, but has expressed her desire to renew for the last four months and that the paper wants to get rid of her to save money.
"The reports of my demise are very premature," she said yesterday. "They are just attacking me on a technicality."
After the missed deadline, Ms. Smith said, Newsday executives offered her a new contract that would have paid less than 5 percent of her former salary. David Blasbend, Ms. Smith’s lawyer, said the offer had been "summarily rejected."
For those of you following along at home, this adds up to a 95% pay reduction.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Terror alert
4/1/05 19:40:15
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Where’s the greatest threat to freedom and free speech coming from? If you said "the Left", you win. Here’s Michelle Malkin:
Sorry, I am not in the mood for April Fools.
Drudge linked last night to a story and video of Pat Buchanan getting attacked by a deranged college student while giving a speech. The assailant doused Buchanan’s face completely with salad dressing. He screamed, "Stop the bigotry!"before charging within inches of Buchanan and nearly hitting him in the head with the bottle as well.
If you think this is funny, you are sick. This is madness and it is chilling. (Wow, this really IS serious. Too bad Michigan doesn’t have the death penalty, right Michelle? - DCMG) Where are all the free-speech defenders when you need them? Too busy defending loons like you-know-who and trying to suppress the free-speech rights of law-abiding citizens.
These physical attacks targeting conservatives on campus and in the public square are getting more frequent. (See Kristol, Coulter, Perle, Harris, and the conservative kid who got kicked by a left-wing nut professor, for starters.) The Left continues to snicker about it. The MSM makes light of it (CBS: "A Dressing-Down For Pat Buchanan"; NPR: "What’s a little pie in the face?"). And for the most part, college administrators let the thugs get away with it.
These unhinged wingnuts have more thoroughly exposed the great myth of liberal tolerance than any conservative critic could. For that, I suppose we should be grateful.
It is time, however, for the Left to get a grip. Get back on your meds. In the end, you are only harming yourselves.
O’Reilly must have gotten the same memo:
O’REILLY: All right, this hour’s devoted to the most intense threat to your freedom in the world. It’s not Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is not the most intense threat to your freedom -- it’s the American Civil Liberties Union. And I will back up what I say.
Damn those lefties! Not only do they hate America, they’re also trying to undermine the sanctity of marriage, as the falafel-and-vibrator enthusiast blares:
O’REILLY: The judges in Massachusetts knew they weren’t going to be impeached when they said to the state legislature, "Gay marriage is now legal in Massachusetts because we say it is. We the judges" -- they knew they weren’t gonna be impeached. They knew the legislature didn’t care. You get the government you deserve. In California, the prevailing wisdom is marijuana is no big deal, let’s legalize it. And since we can’t get that through the legislature, we’ll do it this way. And they did it! You see?
And 10 years, this is gonna be a totally different country than it is right now. Laws that you think are in stone -- they’re gonna evaporate, man. You’ll be able to marry a goat -- you mark my words!
My conclusion? Whoever’s assigned to monitor O’Reilly at Media Matters should get combat pay.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The bitchslapping continues
4/1/05 19:04:12
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From THE SEATTLE TIMES:
Who would have thought we’d welcome the return of a celebrity trial for child molestation?
But then, few TV spectacles in history have achieved the grotesque and shameless proportions of the Schiavo story.
From the close-ups that relentlessly zeroed in on Schiavo’s gaping mouth to the O.J. Simpson-like video of a white van bearing away her body, news coverage has been a lascivious feast of gruesome details.
Forget about Janet Jackson and bleeped expletives. This was obscenity.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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So true
4/1/05 19:01:10
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It’s true that Roger Ailes is a visionary - one of the few in television (the other one, believe it or not, is Rick Kaplan, but in network TV, not cable). Here’s Jon Friedman’s take:
Maybe Ailes’ greatest asset is his self-confidence. Like most visionaries, he doesn’t seem to give a hoot what skeptics think. That’s partly because he doesn’t have much patience for critics, especially within his ranks. When a group of people are all working on the same page, it’s easy to build loyalty. Once people function as a team, they feel unbeatable and, in turn, it’s very hard to beat them.
From what I could see, there isn’t a self-deprecating bone in the man’s body. If Ailes sounded utterly unapologetic about Fox’s unique brand of success -- pandering to the right wing -- it was because, quite clearly, he feels that he has nothing to apologize for.
That Ailes is cleaning CNN’s clock -- remember, it was known as the Clinton News Network -- is being viewed as a blow to liberals and left-wing causes everywhere. And make no mistake about it. Nobody is enjoying their discomfort more than Ailes himself.
Ailes is the luckiest dog on the porch. He has the run of the network. He knows who his audience is, so he knows how to cater to their needs without having to worry about unmanly concerns like fairness and news value (remember, Fox is NOT a news network). He’s allowed to hang on to a story and beat it like the family mule, thereby setting the pace and tone for CNN and MSNBC (who are stupid enough to allow themselves to be cowed). He has complete freedom to berate and insult his counterparts at other TV networks (and former FNC talent) without getting a dressing-down from Murdoch. People are scared to death and envious of him, which gives him a huge advantage. He is utterly and completely without shame:
He was telling a story about how he set about marketing Fox before it ruled cable news. Fox’s campaign would proclaim that it boasted The Most Powerful Brand in News, even though it then appeared in a mere 20 million homes.
When someone from NBC called to protest this bravado, he asked Ailes how he could make such an outrageous proclamation.
"I made it up, you idiot," Ailes said at the breakfast. "I got it from the same guy who told you that you were The News Leader."
And for all this, he makes a ton of coin. Hell yes, he’s the luckiest dog on the porch.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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The cavalcade of indignities continues
4/1/05 07:37:09
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Some enterprising capitalist has figured out a way to make some dough off Terri Schiavo’s suffering: Terri Schiavo cufflinks and bracelet for sale on eBay.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Where’s the content?
4/1/05 07:27:17
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My entries are archived by the month, which is why this page looks so empty. Check out the archives by going to the left hand nav and clicking away.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Steve Gilliard is on fire
4/1/05 07:15:27
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His response to Wonkette takes no prisoners.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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