On Friday, Gawker broke the story of a horrifically ill-conceived installment of Warren Olney's current affairs show on public radio, To The Point. Using the Jerry Sandusky child rape scandal as its jumping-off point, the show somehow drew a dotted line to the topic of gays and lesbians' suitability as foster and…
In your breezy Thursday media column: the Today Show wins television forever, the NYT hopes its paywall rises higher than its ad revenue falls, Vivian Schiller warns NPR, Time puts random media people on a list, and Mediaite rules.
NPR—and the entire public broadcasting apparatus in general—has had a bad year. The botched Juan Williams firing, followed by the botched fallout from the Juan Williams firing, followed by the dumb James O'Keefe prank pseudocontroversy, followed by the resignation of NPR's CEO, mixed with constant calls from…
NPR received a bomb threat in the mail today, prompting the news organization to take extra security precautions and "generally [be] more vigilant." Was it related to the termination of commentator Juan Williams? Or just a pledge drive gone wrong?
In your vacuous Tuesday media column: the Juan Williams brigade pipes up, Politico launches a paid news operation, Katie Couric might stay at CBS, and Rupert Murdoch's war against Hollywood PR firms.
In your gobsmacked Wednesday media column: a shining golden possibility for hundreds of media jobs, Richard Johnson scoots from Page Six, Current TV has a Bold New Plan, and Glenn Beck lives.
In your class warrior Thursday media column: the media is congenitally unable to stop covering stupid stories, Mississippi's Fresh Air censor resigns, more theories of David Westin's departure, and Paste magazine freelancers are left high and dry.
The Mississippi Public Broadcasting programming director who canceled Fresh Air explains: "the language [Terry Gross] uses - a lot of people of Mississippi are not accustomed to hearing. They're not accustomed to hearing word ‘orgasm' on the air." [Current/ Romenesko]
You can't take Garrison Keillor down. He'll only come back stronger and folksier, and will beat the urban out of you until you're pissing hay. Keillor's back on the show only three weeks after suffering a stroke, bitches. [CBS News]
In your inhumane Friday media column: Layoffs at NPR, another freakin' Dubya('s dad) book, newspapers burn as usual, New York mag has ad trouble, and Sean Hannity's waterboarding money appears!
In your swashbuckling Wednesday media column: XXL-Giant feud update, NPR infighting, nobody's scared of ASME, the Boston Globe is mad, son, and dead goats save newspapers:
Hah, adorable Congressman Barney Frank was on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me. They quizzed him on Bill O'Reilly's amazingly titled new memoir, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity. If you like being a smug liberal, you'll love this link to a public radio broadcast. [NPR]
Blood is in the water over at public radio, where top brass has apparently decided that Jesse Camp didn't teach big broadcasters enough lessons back in 1998. Officially, it's the "Public Radio Talent Quest," but Ira "I Am Shattering" Glass is calling it "This American Idol." The game is that people submit a short…
