Across America, families are wracked with doubts about whether the next generation will ever be able to enjoy the opportunities afforded to their parents. But as it turns out, there’s still hope for you, Young America! You can …
News Media
Charlie Rose and Gayle King, Together At Last on CBS’s Early Show
One of the very first articles I wrote for TIME magazine was about CBS trying to relaunch its low-rated morning show, The Early Show, with a new anchor team. It hired Bryant Gumbel (remember him?) and Jane Clayson (remember her?) and plopped them in a voguish glass-walled studio (remember those?). And then—not much. The Early Show has …
Three… Uh… Uh… Maybe Two Things About Rick Perry’s Debate Gaffe
So CNBC threw another debate for Mitt Romney and his traveling comedy troupe last night, this one focused, befitting the channel, on the economy. I could write about how the questions at the debate were as sharp and pointed as any since the excellent Fox News debate in August. I could note how the crowd booed Maria Bartiromo for asking …
The Herman Cain Media Storm: He Said, She Said Over What She Says He Said (and Did)
It was I Love the ’90s Day in TV news Monday. First, there was a dramatic press conference featuring Gloria Allred and an explosive charge of sexual harassment against a political figure. Scant hours later, the news networks broke away for the verdict from Los Angeles in a celebrity-death trial. The whole scene was so nostalgic, I …
Could Sex-Scandal Coverage Be Doing Herman Cain a Favor?
If there’s one thing people who follow politics are trained to believe, it’s that sex scandals bring politicians down. A sexual harassment scandal, doubly so. And an inartful response to a sexual harassment scandal, triply. So after Politico reported that Herman Cain had been accused of harassment by former employees who received …
Campaign Video: Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em for Herman Cain
Can this insane campaign ad help keep Herman Cain from inadvertently getting himself nominated?
Did You Need to See Gaddafi’s Corpse?
When Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden in May, people criticized the government’s decision not to release the reportedly grisly photos of his corpse. Rumors were swirling that bin Laden was not actually dead, and the lack of visual evidence—as opposed to the leaked video that emerged after Saddam Hussein’s hanging—encouraged them. We …
Is the Media Ready to Take Herman Cain Seriously? Is Herman Cain?
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Sunday morning, David Gregory introduced former pizza executive Herman Cain to Meet the Press as the frontrunner in NBC’s latest GOP poll and as “the man of the moment.” Taken together, you can translate those two statements thus: …
Are You Ready for Some Hitler? ESPN Benches Hank Williams Jr. After Obama Comparison
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As country singer and Monday Night Football jinglemaster Hank Williams Jr. learned yesterday, Godwin’s Law is real, and there are penalties for violating it. Appearing on Fox News’ Fox and Friends to talk politics, the conservative Williams, in a rambling interview, criticized Speaker …
Can’t Complain: Andy Rooney to Step Down from 60 Minutes
Don’t you hate when a fixture of the past several decades of your life comes to an end, reminding you of your own inexorable process of aging? That will happen this Sunday, when 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney, the proud original H8R, will announce that he is ending his regular commentaries at the end of 60 Minutes.
Rooney, who began doing “A …
The Morning After: CNN Throws a Raucous Tea Party
Last night, the Republican field met for another debate, this one organized by CNN and a Tea Party group, and held in Florida. Michael Scherer at Swampland has a play-by-play, but in short we learned that (1) the GOP contenders want to make sure that Rick Perry does not pull away from the field; (2) CNN would really like the Tea Party not …
Rock Center with Brian Williams: When Bad Titles Happen to Good Anchors
This morning, NBC announced the title for its long-awaited primetime newsmagazine: Rock Center with Brian Williams, which will debut later this season, marks a big entry into the nighttime news business, with the network throwing its primary anchor and some of its greatest resources into a—oh, stop. I can’t do this. Because all I can …
Breaking News! HBO Picks Up Sorkin’s Cable-News Series
While this may not count as the most stunning development in TV, HBO has made it official: it’s greenlighted a season of Aaron Sorkin‘s yet untitled drama set at a cable news network, starring Jeff Daniels as a talented but difficult high-profile anchor.
With little to go on but the premise and Sorkin’s history, I’m excited, and I’m nervous.