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Associated Press Ticked Off Justice Department Obtains Phone Records of Its Reporters & Editors

May 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
300px US DeptOfJustice Seal.svg Associated Press Ticked Off Justice Department Obtains Phone Records of Its Reporters & Editors

Associated Press Ticked Off Justice Department Obtains Phone Records of Its Reporters & Editors (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Justice Department ‘secretly’ obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors at the Associated Press. Of course, the AP doesn’t like it, characterizing the move as a ”massive and unprecedented intrusion” into how it gathers the news. Matt Drudge tweeted “Talk had filled the halls of The Hill today that something big was coming.” I’ll take whatever he has to say with a grain of salt. He’s been wrong before. Many times. If the Associated Press got its hands on classified information, the Justice Department is absolutely within its rights to obtain the telephone records of journalists and editors to see who leaked the information. The problem I have with all this is why did their investigation have to be so far-reaching and encompass so many journalists? That’s a violation of the First Amendment right.

In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies.

“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know,” Pruitt said. Source

The Obama administration has prosecuted leaks aggressively. A study last year by ProPublica showed it had brought six prosecutions under the World War I-era Espionage Act, twice as many as all previous administrations. Source

Ooooh, I guess Eric Holder is scared of the big bad wolf called the Associated Press. It was previously said in public testimony that a criminal investigation is being conducted into who may have leaked information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. That news story included details of a CIA operation in Yemen that disrupted an al-Qaeda plot in 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane heading for the U.S. I don’t like the idea of Big Brother and Big Sister stepping all over our rights. The actions of the Justice Department sends a chilling message. I must say, President Obama is having a really bad week and it’s only Monday. Dang…..

Journalists Slamming DOJ for Wiretapping AP:

AP tweets:

 

 

Associated Press Ticked Off Justice Department Obtains Phone Records of Its Reporters & Editors
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Could a Rush Limbaugh Shakeup Be on Horizon At Cumulus Media Over Sandra Fluke Comments?

May 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
300px Rush Limbaugh by Ian Marsden Could a Rush Limbaugh Shakeup Be on Horizon At Cumulus Media Over Sandra Fluke Comments?

Could Rush Limbaugh Shakeup Be on Horizon As Cumulus Media’s Revenues Continue to Plunge? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grab a bowl of popcorn and pull up a chair, two news reports surfaced this weekend pointing to Rush Limbaugh’s deal with Cumulus in jeopardy, possibly leading to the biggest shakeup in talk radio history. We wrote about Rush Limbaugh causing the company’s revenues to plunge from fallout after he called Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut.”

Rush Limbaugh insists it’s not his fault that ad revenue has dropped at his flagship WABC radio station — and if his boss keeps saying it is, Rush just may pack up his megadittoes and leave…

Lew Dickey, the CEO of WABC parent company Cumulus, has said Limbaugh’s controversial comments have diminished ad revenue for the past year — and the slump remains a “residual hangover” for the station.

The timing of the Cumulus-Limbaugh dogfight is damning:

Cumulus Media, which has a contract with Limbaugh through 2013, declined to comment for this report: “Cumulus owns the premier talk radio distribution platform in the United States and doesn’t comment on negotiations with talent under contract,” Davidson Goldin, a Cumulus spokesman, told POLITICO. Clear Channel, which distributes the Rush Limbaugh Program through its Premiere Radio division, also declined to comment.

The news of Limbaugh’s possible departure comes one day ahead of Cumulus’s Tuesday earnings call, at which Dickey Is once again likely to address the impact the Fluke controversy has had on advertising. The source close to the show described Dickey’s remarks about advertising revenue as unjustified, and said such “criticism” of Limbaugh had resulted in the consideration to leave the company.

Um, I don’t think too many people will feel much sorrow if this right wingnut is dropped by Cumulus. There comes a point when the company realizes that the backlash over Rush Limbaugh’s comments isn’t worth watching its bottomline disappear into thin air. If true, I can only say echo Miss Sofia from “The Color Purple,” who said, “I know’d there is a God. I know’d there is a God!”

Could a Rush Limbaugh Shakeup Be on Horizon At Cumulus Media Over Sandra Fluke Comments?
Filed Under: Media News, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Obama Jokes at WHCD that “Buzzfeed Was Something I Did in College Around 2 A.M.”

April 27, 2013 by Leave a Comment

president obamas new look 300x225 Obama Jokes at WHCD that Buzzfeed Was Something I Did in College Around 2 A.M.

President Obama’s new look at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

President Obama joked at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that “Buzzfeed” was something he did around 2 a.m. in college. Don Lemon tweets if President Obama made a marijuana joke. Um, he was quite oblivious to the weak lactating joke dropped by Ed Henry.

President Obama also zinged Michele Bachmann, Mitch McConnell, Sheldon Adelson and the news media.

Obama also gave plenty of ribbing to the Fourth Estate.

Of the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd, Obama said: “Maureen Dowd said I could solve all of my problems if I was just more like Michael Douglass in ‘The American President.’ I know Michael’s here tonight. Michael, what’s your secret? Could it be that you were an actor in an Aaron Sorkin liberal fantasy?”

Of CNN: “I know CNN has taken some knocks lately but the fact is, I admire their commitment to covering all sides of the story, just in case one of them happens to be accurate.”

Of MSNBC: “David Axelrod now works for MSNBC, which is a nice change of pace, since MSNBC used to work for David Axelrod.”

From Twitter:

More quips from President Obama:

Conan O’Brien slammed CNN’s John King:

Conan O’Brien disses George Stephanopolous — lame joke:

President Obama’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech:

Conan O’Brien’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech:

Kevin Spacey muscled his way into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner:

Filed Under: Media News, President Obama Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Samuel Martin, Last Black Publisher at Gannett, Resigns as President of Montgomery Advertiser

April 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Samuel Martin, the last black publisher at Gannett Co., Inc., resigned Monday as president and publisher of the Advertiser Media Group, which publishes the Montgomery Advertiser, the Maynard Institute reports.

“I’m going to step back and sort of assess what I want to do with the rest of my life,” Martin, 53, told Journal-isms by telephone. “It’s a tough industry to be in right now. I still believe in newspapers . . . but we still have a lot to do, resetting this model.”

Other losses of high-ranking African Americans in recent years have also come in the Gannett South Group: Don Hudson, managing editor of the Clarion-Ledger, and Rod Richardson, who held the same title at the Times in Shreveport, La., both laid off in 2010; Ronnie Agnew, executive editor of the Clarion-Ledger for nine years, who left in 2011; and this year, Martin and Wanda Lloyd, who retired this year as executive editor of the Advertiser.

Gannett also is losing Arthur Harper, believed to be the sole person of color on its board of directors, effective in May. However, USA Today, the Gannett flagship property, named Derek J. Murphy its executive vice president and general manager in February.

Filed Under: Media News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Conservative Media Watchdog Tim Graham Questions New MSNBC Host Karen Finney’s Blackness

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

SHAMEFUL:  Tim Graham, director of media analysis for the conservative Media Research Center, questioned whether Karen Finney, who MSNBC announced today would be their weekend host in the 4-5 p.m. slot, questioned whether she was really black because of the color of her skin.

The ignorance of some conservatives defies logic. Um, I didn’t realize only dark-skinned people could claim they are black. How incredibly stupid. Newsflash to Tim Graham, blacks come in all shades and no, we all don’t look alike you moron. This would be the same Republican Party that would expect blacks and Latinos to gladly vote for their candidate, while they continue to make a mockery out of us with ridiculous comments such as this.

This comes as Buzzfeed reports Raffi Williams, son of Fox News’s Juan Williams, is the face of the Republican National Committee’s outreach to the black community.

“I think it’s a slow process. If you expect us to get a ridiculous amount of African-Americans in the next election, that’s not going to happen probably,” he said. “But we can start to make inroads, and the more inclusive we are as a party, the better optics we get to other demographics as well — not just African-Americans — and that helps us in the long run.”

Good luck…..

Filed Under: Black Politics, Media News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Former Hillary Clinton Aide Karen Finney Gets New Weekend Show on MSNBC in 4-5PM Time Slot

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Karen Finney has been named a new weekend host on MSNBC in the 4-5 p.m. EST time slot. The show has not yet been named, but is a lead-in for the new Ed Schultz show.  @FINNEYK

“Karen’s rich background in both education policy and politics will add a unique point of view to our expanding live weekend programming,” said Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.

Finney has been an MSNBC political analyst and guest host on the network since 2009. Finney has more than 20 years of experience in national politics working on four presidential campaigns, the Clinton White House, and Hillary Clinton’s first New York Senate race. She was the first African American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee. Finney has also worked to improve public education in the public and private sectors.

It was her interest in improving public education that first got her involved in politics, having worked as a teaching assistant in a minimum-security facility for pregnant teenagers in Los Angeles after graduating from UCLA. In the private sector, she worked for Scholastic Inc., one of America’s leading children’s media and education companies, on projects including strategic development for literacy programs, afterschool education, and reading intervention. Finney also served as the chief spokesperson and Communications Director for New York City Schools, managing crisis communications for the system of more than 1.1 million children in the aftermath of 9/11.

As spokeswoman and Communications Director for the Democratic National Committee, Finney helped guide the DNC’s communications and media strategy for the successful 2006 Congressional elections and the 2008 presidential campaign. During the Clinton Administration, Karen served as Deputy Press Secretary to then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and as Deputy Director of Presidential Scheduling for President Bill Clinton. She served as Communications Director to Elizabeth Edwards during the 2004 general election. Source

 

Filed Under: Black Politics, Media News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Associated Press Drops ‘Illegal Immigrant’ from Stylebook

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The Associated Press will no longer use the term “illegal immigrant,” ABC News reports. Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll made the announcement in a blog entry, explaining that the decision is part of the company’s on-going campaign to remove their Stylebook of labels. The right wing is freaking out about this.

Filed Under: Immigration, Media News Tagged With: , ,

Jeff Zucker White-Out: CNN Reportedly Considering Anderson Cooper-Kathy Griffin Series

March 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
300px KathyGriffinTIFFSept2011 Jeff Zucker White Out: CNN Reportedly Considering Anderson Cooper Kathy Griffin Series

Jeff Zucker White-Out:  CNN Reportedly Considering Anderson Cooper-Kathy Griffin Series. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s amazing that it’s so easy for CNN to pony up funds for another white-hosted show, but couldn’t give Soledad O’Brien the necessary backing for “Starting Point.” Jeff Zucker is really going for a white-out on CNN. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, who team up yearly for the New Year’s Eve special, may get their own show. Wow, that easy, huh?

I hear the duo filmed a pilot today at the CNN studios in the Time Warner Center in New York. Details about the hourlong project are sketchy, but I’ve learned that it had a lot of humor in it and filmed in front of a live audience — which I hear included new CNN topper Jeff Zucker. While it is unclear whether the project is definitely for CNN, Zucker has been looking to shake things up at the ratings-challenged cable news network by adding more mainstream entertainment fare. The annual New Year’s Eve pairing of Cooper and Griffin draws solid ratings and generates a lot of headlines with racy moments like Griffin getting up close and personal with Cooper’s private parts this year. It is also unclear how the new project would fit in with Griffin’s weekly talk show on Bravo, where the comedian has been a fixture for almost a decade and has won two best reality program Emmys for her series My Life On The D-List. Source

Kathy Griffin is not funny one bit and I find her NYE appearance too raunchy. Well, if Deadline Hollywood’s report is true, then Jeff Zucker is on a mission to create a new, much whiter CNN. It’s pretty damning that Kathy Griffin can get a show on CNN and Roland Martin, Soledad O’Brien and others can get the boot. Wow. CNN has sunk to a new low. No longer a credible news source.

Jeff Zucker White Out: CNN Reportedly Considering Anderson Cooper Kathy Griffin Series
Filed Under: Entertainment, Media News Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Soledad O’Brien Sacked by CNN, Says Show ‘Starting Point’ was ‘Essentially Ignored’

February 23, 2013 by 1 Comment
5817022443 be3ffda503 m Soledad OBrien Sacked by CNN, Says Show Starting Point was Essentially Ignored

Soledad O’Brien Sacked by CNN, Says Show ‘Starting Point’ was ‘Essentially Ignored’  (Photo credit: jdlasica)

Soledad O’Brien lost her morning show, “Starting Point,” and isn’t going quietly. She said she losing her show is ‘win-win’ because the show was understaffed and was essentially ignored. O’Brien told the Huffington Post, “we did not get a lot of promotion. We did not get a lot of marketing. We weren’t fully staffed,’ she said in an interview with the . That’s just what happened.” Erin Burnett and Chris Cuomo will likely take over her time slot.

The management at CNN are crazy for allowing Jeff Zucker to sack Soledad O’Brien. She was one of the best journalists on the network. I have never watched an interview conducted by Erin Burnett in which she asked the tough questions like Soledad O’Brien. That’s just insane but I am sure she will land on her feet.

O’Brien is reportedly planning to enter a production partnership with CNN. Her new company, Starfish Media, will provide documentaries and other programs for airing on CNN including her ‘In America’ series, Huffington Post reports.

 

Soledad OBrien Sacked by CNN, Says Show Starting Point was Essentially Ignored
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Fox News Drops ‘Pollster’ Dick Morris, Who Wrongly Predicted a Romney Landslide in Election

February 5, 2013 by 2 Comments
5589211723 3d21c12e4f m Fox News Drops Pollster Dick Morris, Who Wrongly Predicted a Romney Landslide in Election

Fox News Drops ‘Pollster’ Dick Morris, Who Wrongly Predicted a Romney Landslide in Election. (Photo credit: markn3tel)

Another one bites the dust at Fox News…..  So-called political commentator and pollster (laughable) Dick Morris was kicked to the curb by Fox News, Politico reports. Separately, he will be on a guest on the Piers Morgan Show on CNN at 9 p.m. EST Wednesday night. This is the first time since 2002 that he will appear on CNN. Um, are they that desperate over at CNN that they would book former toe-sucker Dick Morris on the network? Wow. I am slowly but surely drifting away from CNN.

 

Fox News Drops Pollster Dick Morris, Who Wrongly Predicted a Romney Landslide in Election
pixel Fox News Drops Pollster Dick Morris, Who Wrongly Predicted a Romney Landslide in Election
Filed Under: Media News, U.S. Politics Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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