December 2009
In Praise Of Greta Van Susteren And Larry King,... →
A lot is made here and elsewhere about the changing cable news business, which seems to show viewers want opinion more and more.
Which made it refreshing to see Greta Van Susteren and Larry King
Meghan McCain’s ‘Chesty’ Twitpic Makes HuffPo... →
The death of Michael Jackson; Mackenzie Phillips‘ incest accusation; Kanye West’s uber-interruption; Meghan McCain’s PG-rated (at best) Twitpic: One of these things is not like the…
Not Again! Another Incident Reported On... →
Another incident has been reported on Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, CNN and BNO News are reporting. Details are still coming in, but here’s the information that’s…
Tapper To Gibbs: If Flight 253 Suspect Was On A... →
Hot on the heels of Janet Napolitano’s “The system worked like clockwork” appearance on This Week, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs faced questions from Jake Tapper, who cut…
#Iranelection Storms Twitter Again As Protesters... →
News of violent protests in Tehran, Iran have reignited the Twitter movement #iranelection, which many point to as a defining moment for the 140-character service during highly contested…
Janet Napolitano on This Week: The System Worked... →
Jake Tapper interviewed DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on ABC’s This Week, giving an early indicator of what the administration’s narrative on Flight 523 will be. Caught between the need…
Time Spent Online Nearly Doubled This Decade →
How did people act during The Aughts? Well, they were snarky. Sometimes dead? And gay! But almost all of it happened online, according to a Harris Interactive poll which put…
New York Times and Washington Post Sunday Covers?... →
It’s unarguably a rough time to travel. To make matters far, far worse, the attempted terrorist attack on Northwest airlines flight 253 has turned airport security upside-down this holiday…
Rep. Peter King Slams Obama: Where’s The... →
There may have been a brief reprieve because it did happen on Christmas, but make no mistake: the politicizing of the attempted attack on Northwest airlines flight 253 has begun. Rep. Peter…
CNN Pays For Cell Phone Image, Plane “Hero” Wants... →
Here is a lesson in how journalism (and really, life) works in 2009: the passenger on Northwest Flight 253 being billed as a hero for helping subdue Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab will tell you…
Twitter Reveals The Realities Of Increased Airport... →
Despite the billions spent since 2001 on intelligence and counterterrorism programs, sophisticated airport scanners and elaborate watch lists, it was something simpler that averted disaster…
CNN Scores Interview With Flight 253 Hero Jasper... →
Jasper Schuringa, a 32-year-old film maker from Amsterdam, is being lauded as the primary hero after he led the charge to subdue would-be attacker Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest…
Sidney Awards: David Brooks’ Best Essays Of 2009... →
What can we learn about New York Times columnist David Brooks through his favorite essays of the year, published annually as The Sidney Awards? Well, he loves The New Yorker, paid special…
Possible Link Between Northwest Airlines Terrorist... →
Here’s new, scary development in yesterday’s attempted terrorist attack on Northwest airlines flight by 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: he may have had ties to…
Ali Velshi’s Terror Attempt Coverage For CNN... →
As news broke yesterday and last night about the attempted terror attack, CNN stayed live the longest, until 11pmET, FNC the 2nd longest and MSNBC stayed in doc block programming for the…
Terrorist Attack First Reported As ‘Brief... →
The availability of breaking news online is at an all-time high as Twitter streams, email alerts and RSS feeds blast headlines to millions, who in turn retweet, reblog and recite as fact. But…
Soundbite: Abdulmutallab’s Materials “More... →
“We’re trying to ascertain exactly what he had and what he thought he was doing, but our sense is he wanted to wreak some havoc here and was attempting to do just that. Whether at the…
New Details! Passengers Describe Terrorist Attack... →
After yesterday’s failed bombing of a Northwest airlines flight, new details are beginning to emerge, both about the suspect — confirmed as 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk…
So Much For A Slow News Day: Charlie Sheen... →
Charlie Sheen has been arrested on domestic violence charges involving his wife Brooke Mueller, ABC News is reporting.
Police in Colorado confirmed that the actor was taken into…
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: What We Know So Far... →
There are currently about ten results in Google for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who today attempted to ignite some sort of explosive device on Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Here is what we know so…
Charlie Sheen & Brooke Mueller: From Half A “Who?”... →
Hollywood bad boy Charlie Sheen is as well known for his antics off the screen as his work in classics across the genre spectrum, including Platoon and Major League. His rough and tumble…
Fox & CNN Covering Flt. 253 Terror Scare — MSNBC... →
Tonight, the White House is calling an attempt to detonate a bomb aboard Northwest Flight 253 an attempted terror attack, by a man who himself claims to have been sent by al Qaeda — and MSNBC…
Terror on Northwest Flight 253: Bomb On Plane... →
A passenger on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 landing this afternoon in Detroit tried to blow up the flight in an attempted terrorist attack — but the bomb failed, say authorities.
The White…
Brittany Murphy, In Crowdsourced Photos →
When Brittany Murphy died earlier this week, everyone went straight to the Internet, looking for clips on YouTube and trying to understand how a 32-year-old healthy-seeming actress dies…
Start Your Own White House Christmas Ornament... →
After seeing the stir caused by Andrew Breitbart’s “Ornament-Gate” story, I had to go back and review the footage and pictures that I shot of White House Christmas decorations a few weeks…
Bah Humbug! Woman Takes Down Christmas Tree To... →
“Bunny from Kansas” called in to C-SPAN yesterday morning, angered by the passage of Health Care through the Senate — and she did something about it. “I am so disappointed. I have taken my…
Brittany Murphy, In Crowdsourced Photos →
When Brittany Murphy died earlier this week, everyone went straight to the Internet, looking for clips on YouTube and trying to understand how a 32-year-old healthy-seeming actress dies…
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, From Network... →
Want to get away from all the Christmas Day festivities for a few minutes to watch some late night comedy?
Here’s a collection of holiday-themed moments from the past couple weeks. From…
Merry Christmas, Baby! →
I love Christmas songs. I always, always have. How can you not, really — from Hallowe’en on they’ve been drummed (ba-rum-tum-tum-tum) into your head for as long as you’ve been alive,…
A Very Colbert Christmas →
‘Tis the season for Christmas classics on Hulu! Since he’s one of our Mediaite 50 and the top magazine mover of 2009, we thought we’d present his star-studded song-littered bear-fighting…
Pope Knocked Down At Midnight Mass →
A female attendee jumped the barriers in St. Peter’s Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he walked down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass on Thursday. The 82-year-old…
Jane Hamsher, Grover Norquist Name-Checked on Air... →
Hot on the heels of her controversial appearance on Fox & Friends, Firedoglake founder Jane Hamsher has joined forces with conservative activist Grover Norquist to demand the resignation…
Use Twitter And Google Maps To Keep Track of... →
There may be a slight tinge of darkness to this holiday season, what with the midwestern snowstorms, the flight delays, and the inevitable health care debates sure to snow over many a…
White Christmas: An Appreciation →
The 1954 musical is divisively campy and barely even about Christmas–but it’s been a longtime favorite in my family and I’ve got a well-worn VHS copy with Channel 22 news promos from 1987 to…
Sen. Harry Reid Almost Derails Health Care With... →
They convinced Sen. Ben Nelson. They secured Sen. Mary Landrieu. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the Democrats couldn’t get to 60 votes because of Majority Leader Harry Reid’s ‘no’ vote?
Well…
Is Dr. Earl B. Bradley, The New Name Of Evil, Too... →
News is breaking today about a Delaware pediatrician who is alleged to have sexually abused well over 100 potential victims. Last week, he was charged with molesting or raping at least…
Snap Judgment: Stephanopoulos’ First Week Good... →
The final numbers are in for George Stephanopoulos‘ first week on Good Morning America.
So how did he and the rest of the new ABC News morning show team do? It depends on how you look at…
Happy Holidays From Mediaite, To Some Very Worthy... →
You know what they say — charity begins at home, which if you work on the Internet is basically your office because the Internet is INESCAPABLE. Which means charity begins at the office — as…
Mediaite’s Magazine Editor Of The Year: Newsweek’s... →
The year 2009 was a remarkably troubled year for magazine publishing — filled with lay-offs, declining ad revenue, and serious questions about the viability of the medium as a whole. Yet, in…
Avatar and the Art Of Buzz …NOW IN 3D! →
This holiday weekend, after over-indulging in much food and beverage and spending perhaps just a little more time with your family and friends than you can handle, many of you will partake in…
Buble and Beck: Good For Demo, Not For Total... →
Cable news ratings, December 22, 2009: Check out the highlights, and see the full ratings below:
• Glenn Beck spent the full hour with Canadian singer Michael Buble for Tuesday’s pre-taped…
‘Dead’ Brittany Murphy Movie Poster Recalled →
This is sad, unfortunate timing. We’re all familiar with the phenomenon of a long-planned magazine cover suddenly becoming inappropriate. But what happens when it’s an entire movie…
New Jersey Has A Situation With Jersey Shore,... →
New Jersey is not happy with its portrayal on MTV’s popular new reality show Jersey Shore, and its lawmakers are stepping up to take action.
Seriously, there are lawmakers in New Jersey…
5QQ: Rex Sorgatz →
Rex Sorgatz is many things: Writer, editor, blogger, developer, consultant, authority on microcelebrity, wearer of exotic t-shirts, former web TV show Svengali, proud dog owner…
O’Donnell: Parker Griffith Switched Parties To Get... →
Lawrence O’Donnell was subbing for Countdown host Keith Olbermann last night, and dedicated part of the program to Alabama freshman congressman Parker Griffith, who announced on Tuesday…
President Obama: Change No One Can Believe In... →
So! 2009 is almost over. The health care bill has passed. President Obama has announced his plan for Afghanistan. The midterms are still eleven months away. What will we talk about? If some…
Simon Cowell Leaving American Idol? →
Is Simon Cowell, seen by many knowledgeable observers as “the only reason to watch American Idol,” about to depart from said American Idol at the end of this season? Simon Cowell’s…
Glenn Beck’s Audience Didn’t Really Want To Know... →
Cable news ratings, December 21, 2009: Check out the highlights, and see the full ratings below:
• Fox News’ 5pmET ratings juggernaut Glenn Beck is off this week, and there are several…
9/11 First Responder Wins $I Million →
Here is a nice Christmas Eve (day!) story that has zero to do with the contentious health care debate, the economy, people being held hostage in post offices, or ordering coffee after being…
Senate Passes Health Care Reform: Christmas Eve... →
‘Twas the crack of dawn before Christmas, and one hundred angry, vitriolic (also determined) politicians have aroused themselves at the crack of dawn in order to vote on the health care…