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Corporate Press Release Theater: If Only Barack and Hillary Sang

One hitch in the theory that the media are in cahoots to get Hillary out of the race—ratings numbers like these, from MSNBC: MSNBC’s telecast of last night’s Democratic candidates debate drew 7.8 million viewers (9-10:36 p.m. ET), becoming the most watched broadcast in the eleven year history of the network, according to Nielsen Media [...]

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Building the Ultimate Reality Show

The other day I got a DVD screener for The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom, a reality show (hosted by Growing Pains’ Tracey Gold) in which women who have put careers on hold or given them up to stay at home get a chance to spend a week working at their would-have-been careers. It’s [...]

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Live from New York Ohio: Hillary's SNL Defense

Anyone who believes that corporate synergy does not work in TV should watch last night’s Democratic debate in Ohio. There we saw Hillary Clinton using one NBC Universal property (Saturday Night Live) to attack another NBC Universal property (MSNBC, the debate host) for its treatment of her. Fielding a question about NAFTA, Hillary–whose aides and [...]

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The Morning After: I Just Want to Be Your Everything

Don’t retire this Castro yet. / FOX I’m divvying up this week’s American Idol semifinal coverage with time.com editor / music critic Josh Tyrangiel, and his reviews of Tuesday’s boys’ night ’70s sing-off should be up any… second… now. (Whoa! There it is already.) If you ask me, Josh got the lucky half of the [...]