Current Events

How's this for media gossip. Today NYT's Brian Stelter got the scoop that Current TV - famous for hiring, bickering with, firing and being sued by Keith Olbermann - has been bought by Al Jazeera, which means Elliot Spitzer, Jennifer Granholm and the other lefty pundits will be dropped too:

Al Jazeera plans to shut Current and start an English-language channel, which will be available in more than 40 million homes, with newscasts emanating from both New York and Doha, Qatar.

Time Warner Cable responded to this news by dropping Current TV, and right-wingers on Twitter started an Islamophobic hashtag game about new show ideas like "Stoned in Afghanistan" and "Arabia's Funniest Home Beheadings."

And now it turns out that Glenn Beck tried to purchase Current himself last year but was rejected because he's "not aligned to [their] point of view".

Remember when that scrappy documentary series "Vanguard" was doing award-winning exposés on organised crime and Olbermann was going to single-handedly save journalism from corporate interference? Where did it all go wrong, you guys? (About five minutes after KO signed on, yes, I know.)

The Ezra Klein Show

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We've been seeing a lot of Ezra Klein on MSNBC lately. Washington Post's "Wonkblog" editor is now Rachel Maddow's go-to substitute host, and there are rumours floating around that he may get his own show. That's how Chris Hayes and Melissa Harris-Perry got their start on the network, after all.

I like the guy and he's really smart, so I wouldn't mind seeing him join the lineup. He needs work, though. You can tell he's trying to develop more on-screen charisma, but right now he's copying Maddow's inflections and mannerisms too much. (Don't worry, Ezra, Chris Hayes used to do that too and he's much better now.)

If the show rumours are true, my suspicion is that MSNBC is trying to tap into the geek love generated by Nate Silver's polling triumph in the 2012 election - which is funny, because Nate Silver apparently hates punditry.

P.S. Yes, I know I talk about MSNBC people all the time. I haven't drunk the Kool-Aid, it's just that Fox News is too absurd and CNN is too boring, and all my other favourite news sources are on the Internet. I think of the network as a tidy case study of everything that is good and bad about cable news.

Character Sketch

A sketch from Michael Arthur of playwright Tony Kushner and MSNBC pundit Rachel Maddow at the "Duets" event at Joe's Pub in New York City, via MaddowBlog.

From the New Yorker: "[My persona is] not a fake me, but it is a slice of me. Like, I am a person who has depression, and I don’t let depressed Rachel on television."

"The Campaign"

I wasn't planning to see this - Will Ferrell isn't really my thing - but my newspaper's social club picked it for our movie night and I had nothing else to do, so what the hell.

In "The Campaign" (or "Citizens United 101 for Frat Boys" as I like to think of it), Ferrell plays Cam Brady, a North Carolina congressman running unopposed for his fifth term until he accidentally leaves a sexually explicit message for his mistress on a Christian family's answering machine.

The Motch brothers, two corrupt billionaires blatantly based on the Koch brothers, see this as a chance to buy the election so they can sell the district to Chinese sweatshops and save on shipping.

They pick an associate's son, Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), to run against Cam, putting millions of dollars into his campaign. "When you have the money," Jon Lithgow's Glen Motch smirks, "nothing is unpredictable." But Marty is fat and silly and sounds kinda gay, giving Cam plenty of opportunities to make gross Will Ferrell jokes.

Friendship and Politics

In the end it was probably inevitable.

I'm sad to notice that a rift has opened between one-time friends and colleagues Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann. The two of them were a big reason why I got into news and politics, and their apparent break-up is a reality check about the pressures of show business.

When Olbermann left MSNBC in January 2011, he and Maddow had kind words for each other. He called her "my dear friend" as he signed off, and she spent a brief segment of her show explaining that she would never have found a place on the network without his support.

Mika Brzezinski, Journalist/Pin-up

Okay, I realise this is Vanity Fair we're talking about, but whyyyyyy. If you insist on playing up the "they have so much on-screen chemistry" angle, then shouldn't Joe Scarborough be making googly eyes at Mika Brzesinski instead of ignoring her and striking his I'm A Savvy Manly Media Figure pose? They've reduced the daughter of Jimmy Carter's national security adviser to a silly teenager trying desperately to seduce an older man.

Jon Stewart Skewers CNN (Again)

I don't always agree with Jon Stewart, but CNN's big mistake on the Supreme Court ruling was what he was born for.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

"Yes, 'widely different'. There's what you've been saying, and then there's what happened."

Has Cable News Peaked?

Jack Shafer makes an interesting point about the future of the cable news business:

CNN isn’t the only network riding the down escalator when it comes to ratings. Over the same week, Fox News Channel attracted its fewest viewers in the important 25-to-54-year-old category since July 2008, the Times added.

Various observers have blamed the viewership downturn on the lull in the 2012 campaign, on viewers defecting to the season finales on the entertainment channels and on the lack of breaking news. But I interpret the falloffs as fresh evidence that the audience for cable news has peaked.

Despite my favourite (and pretty much only) TV show being on cable news, I see discussion like this with more curiosity than concern. Beyond a few bright spots, the format is starting to feel tired and predictable, and I'm waiting for some innovative multimedia format to become profitable enough to take off.

That's one of the reasons I'm drawn to television personalities who didn't originally come from television - who started out as professors or bloggers or writers. With a little basic talent you can always learn how to look good on TV, but I think if you want to stay afloat in the media over the next few decades you need to be able to evolve and do something out of the ordinary.

HBO's "The Newsroom"

Days after Keith Olbermann gets fired from Current TV, we get this spectacular teaser from Aaron Sorkin.
 

I'm hooked. Sorry, "Mad Men."

(I can see it now. Sorkin in interview after interview, saying "Why, my character is completely fictional! He's a combination of a range of different TV personalities! After all, he's a Republican!")

Melissa Harris-Perry's "Nerdland"

Fair play to MSNBC. They're actually starting to seem a bit edgy - at least on the weekends.

I've loved watching Dr Harris-Perry as a guest and guest host on the network. As a tenured professor and a political scientist, she makes me feel like I should be taking notes and doing homework - a rare thing for cable news.

Now she has her own show, following the equally nerdy "Up with Chris Hayes". Michael P Jeffries writes in The Guardian that this proves MSNBC's commitment to education and intellectual debate:

The Harris-Perry show will not solve the deeply-rooted inequities that restrict access to higher education for so many Americans. But it does represent MSNBC's recognition that the public thirsts for earnest intellectual discussion, driven by data and evidence and facilitated by trained professionals. All members of the academy, regardless of discipline or political preference, should recognize the value of the Harris-Perry show, as its host explicitly acknowledges the different skill sets and demands of academic research and public intellectualism.

Sounds great. If we see more of this intellectual style brought into the primetime lineup, I'll be a happy news geek.

One Foot on the Ladder

Making the transition from news junkie to journalist is a strange experience. I have insight now that I never imagined when I was just watching political shows and bumming around on the Internet - and there are a few guilty pleasures from my fangirl days that I can't get away with anymore.

Here are a few of the things I've learned:

• Controversial issues have a tendency to split into obvious, polarised and ultimately unhelpful factions. Reporters ought to find a different way to frame the debate while still getting ratings and page clicks. Good luck with that, reporters.
• Everyone thinks their favourite story should be on the front page or at the top of the news hour. Don't even try to please them all - but have a good reason for your decision.
• Humour, sarcasm and moral indignation are fun, useful tools that can backfire spectacularly.

Michael Moore vs Jon Stewart

This article recently made the rounds through pundit fandom and sparked a few arguments, as I'm sure the author intended it to:

Just as one is likely to hear criticism of [Michael] Moore in liberal circles or carefully qualified appreciation, i.e. “I like him, but I wish he wasn’t so strident,” one will never hear any blasphemy spoken against the idol of modern, urbanite, educated liberal culture, Jon Stewart.

It’s impossible to understand the hatred of Moore from the cocktail party and faculty lounge scene of the liberal establishment without also understanding the same politically impotent group’s love for Jon Stewart. Understanding the juxtaposition of Moore and Stewart reveals the true depths of the failure and soullessness of modern American liberalism.

Personally I think Stewart is much more likeable than Moore, but I found myself nodding my head at the observation that many Daily Show fans don't like embarrassing displays of emotion or undignified tactics - things like LGBT activists glitter-bombing anti-gay politicians.

Outing the Ringers

The usual clever take from Jay Smooth on media coverage of Occupy Wall Street:

The Rise of Maddow

Fresh from winning an Emmy for her coverage of Afghanistan, Rachel Maddow is on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter, promoting her show, her cheap blazers and her upcoming cameo in the new George Clooney movie.

It's like Fangirl Christmas.

A few things, though.

Whenever there's a big feature about Rachel, the writer is almost certain to emphasise how nice and friendly she is. Which is true, I'm sure; and it is good to see a cable news host who is civil with her guests even when she disagrees with them.

But just because she doesn't yell or call people names doesn't mean she won't skewer her guests to the wall when the situation requires it, as Rand Paul can tell you:

The Opposite of Tucker

As a rookie journalist, I have role models in the field who inspire and inform me. And then I have reverse role models who I can't stand but still check on from time to time, just to remind myself what not to do.  One such person is Tucker Carlson.

For example:

Earlier this week, [Carlson's website] the Daily Caller reported that the Environmental Protection Agency was "asking taxpayers" to pay for "230,000 new bureaucrats," at a cost of $21 billion, to implement new rules to control greenhouse gas emissions. Given that the agency currently employs 17,000, this seemed like a rather shocking revelation. Naturally, this factoid whipped Fox News and conservative blogs into a frenzy; they pointed to it as evidence that the Obama administration is ape-crazy out of control. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a foe of climate change action, enthusiastically cited it.

But there was a problem: This was not true. [...] The EPA was defending a rule that would allow it to limit the number of pollution sources it must regulate, so the agency wouldn't have to expand its workforce to such an absurd level.

See, perfect media ethics question. "Faced with this dilemma, do you a) print a correction and apology and learn to read government reports more carefully, or b) deny you made a mistake, attack anyone who criticises you and create a viral Internet scandal that drags on for weeks?"

If you're Tucker Carlson, you pick B. If you're a decent journalist, you make fun of Tucker Carlson.

Just a Comedian?

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart will be in the next issue of Rolling Stone, doing what he does best -- making insightful and yet oddly frustrating jokes about President Obama and 24-hour cable news:

"[The 24-hour networks] are now the absolute most powerful force driving the political narrative," he says. "And the picture that they create is one of conflict, because they're on for 24 hours a day, so they have to create a compelling reason for you to watch them. Otherwise, they're just Muzak – newzak."

He held his Rally To Restore Sanity last fall as an attempt to counteract their message: "The idea of the rally was to say, 'They created this false sense of urgency. It's a funhouse mirror.' That's probably the frustration that people had with the rally: It didn't have aspirations beyond our normal aspiration, which is to point out comedically something we think is fucked." 
 

Norway, Journalism and Stephen Colbert

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

"The point is, this monster may not be Muslim, but his heinous acts are indisputably Muslish. And we must not let his Islamesque atrocity divert our attention from the terrible people he reminds us of."

I'm really starting to think that Jon Stewart is the better comedian, but when it comes to insight and political commentary Stephen Colbert has gained the upper hand.

Miss Representation

Hallelujah, this film is getting played in New Zealand.



Information about viewings in Wellington is available at the New Zealand International Film Festival website.

I'm working on a news story about women in the media and later a review of the film, so stay tuned.

Diane Sawyer: "I Have Nothing"

Actor/comedian Harry Shearer has posted raw footage of Diane Sawyer preparing for a live broadcast from the disaster area in Joplin, Missouri:



"This is a portrait of a fly-in anchor covering a disaster," Shearer says in a statement. "Diane may be Diane, but this is pretty much what you get when you send high-priced anchor talent into a place where everything has fallen apart and nothing works. The quote, 'I have nothing,' of course, should more appropriately be coming from a tornado victim.'"

Is that really what's going on here? The footage shows the entire crew, not just Sawyer, looking disorganised and shaken after losing power in the middle of a storm. What we don't see is how they recover from the problem. Did they continue struggling when the camera went live or did they pull together and get through it?

I'm all for taking self-important celebrities down a notch, but if Diane Sawyer managed to provide solid coverage in a disaster area without a script, then I don't really mind that she gets paid a lot for doing her job.

Weinergate: Allow Me to Explain How the Internet Works

So, this is happening:

New York Congressman Anthony Weiner said on Wednesday that he did not send a lewd photo over his Twitter account but cannot be sure that the photo was not of him.

"It certainly doesn't look familiar to me, but I don't want to say with certitude to you something that I don't know to be the certain truth," Weiner told CNN in an interview.

"I didn't send any twitter picture," he said, adding that the photo might have been manipulated.

Weiner has said his account was hacked when a lewd photo of a man in bulging boxer briefs was tweeted to a 21-year-old female college student in Washington state over the weekend. ... The student, Gennette Cordova, issued a statement to the New York Daily News that denied she personally knew Weiner but said, "I am a fan."

Here is why I think the news coverage of this story is painfully ridiculous.

I follow politics on Twitter a lot, so I have a pretty good idea of how this corner of Internet fandom works. When we’re not watching the news and debating the issues, we’re joking, arguing and sometimes outright flirting with our favourite media personalities – and there are intricate networks of nicknames, catchphrases and inside jokes for each of them.