• 6.5 on the Richter scale – it hit around 4:30 p.m. PST source

• Is Roger Ailes more powerful than Rupert Murdoch? We know that’s a controversial statement, but hear us out. The Fox News chief not only made more money than Murdoch himself last year (and put up the kind of numbers that made him deserve the paycheck), but the level of influence the guy wields arguably has a wider reach in politics. It’s something that’s directly affected elections and regularly pushes the news cycle forward. And it makes some members of the Murdoch family (who aren’t Rupert) uncomfortable.

A media icon with massive influence

• Regardless of whether you like what he is doing, Roger Ailes is one of the most creative talents of his generation. He has built a media empire that is capable of driving the conversation, and, at times, the political process.
• CNN political analyst David Gergen • Regarding the influence of Roger Ailes, who runs Fox News and has since 1996. Ailes got his start with the Nixon campaign and often brings that sort of political experience to the channel, controlling the conversation with pinpoint focus. source

Three events that defined Roger Ailes’ career

• Don’t sell TV short Back in 1967, Ailes, then a producer on “The Mike Douglas Show,” bluntly told Richard Nixon that television wasn’t a gimmick and he needed to focus on it. His hardnosed response led to a role in the administration, the role of which was played up in the book “The Selling of the President 1968.” source
• Willie Horton, superstar Ailes is largely responsible for turning convicted murderer Willie Horton into a household name during the 1988 presidential election. Horton was released from prison in Massachusetts on Michael Dukakis’ dime, and Horton’s face dominated TV during the era. It also helped to ensure a George H. W. Bush victory. source
• America’s Talking Before the consultant started Fox News, Ailes conceived the talk-show-focused MSNBC precursor America’s Talking, which had a cult following (and led to the success of Chris Matthews) but ultimately faltered. In 2009, Fox started using the “America’s Talking” tagline. How ironic. It’s almost like a dart in NBC’s eye. source

Fox News rules the ratings

• eight the number of consecutive years the network has led the cable news ratings roost
• 16% increase in 2009’s ratings Fox News had over 2008; crazy part – it wasn’t even an election year
• 96% increase in Glenn Beck’s ratings after moving to Fox News from Headline News in 2009 source

How much money does Roger Ailes make Fox News?

• $700 million the amount Fox News makes in profit for News Corp. yearly – more than all the other major TV news outlets combined
• $23
  million the amount Fox News head Roger Ailes made last year – which is more than Rupert Murdoch, his boss made last year source

• Too much influence? Some of Rupert Murdoch’s own family members have questioned just how much influence the guy has in the News Corp. corporate food chain. “I am by no means alone within the family or the company in being ashamed and sickened by Roger Ailes’s horrendous and sustained disregard of the journalistic standards that News Corporation, its founder and every other global media business aspires to,” said Matthew Freud, who’s married to Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth. source

Could he run for president? It’s possible

• Friends have suggested he run in 2012. Ailes has influence and knowledge so strong that he could realistically have a shot if he took his political knowledge to the polls. “I have known Roger Ailes for 29 years,” says well-known Republican pollster Frank Luntz. “No one knows how to win better than Roger.” Ailes denies such claims, but the option’s always open just in case. source

• Great job guys. You freaked out everyone at Heathrow. Robert Fowles of Dover, England, was charged yesterday with making a bomb threat and being drunk on a plane headed for Dubai. His buddy, Alexander McGinn, was also charged. Maybe the stewards misinterpreted what Fowles said – i.e. “I just got BOMBED at a T.G.I. Friday’s airport bar while waiting for this flight!” They have T.G.I. Friday’s in Britain, right? source

• 1. It’s strange to listen to this and realize that Sade, the band (led by Sade, the singer) has been around three decades, and their lack of output in two of those decades hasn’t significantly hurt their popularity or their quality. Their last studio album – from 2000 – sold 3 million copies, as did the album before that – which hit in 1992. But the downtempo “Soldier of Love” is pretty much timeless, built from elements that sound modern.
• 2. Banjos and video game blips have never fit together so well as they do in the uniquely dense world of the Freelance Whales (who have the best name, ever). The lyrics on “Hannah” carry a sort of cleverness that pokes, but doesn’t prod.
• 3. Lucero (one of our recent one-word album reviews) mines a territory midway between The Hold Steady, the Drive-By Truckers (more Mike Cooley than Patterson Hood) and The Gaslight Anthem, but – having been around since 1998 – already has a long history already behind them. On “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble,” they earn their Springsteen chops.
• 4. “What We Do Matters” is a pretty bold name for any song by any band releasing their debut album, but lo-fi rock rattlers The Mantles at least make a good argument for it in under three minutes. It’s no Girls, but that’s OK, because it’s not trying to be.
• 5. Speaking of Girls, the band’s “Album” is certainly proving its value beyond 4th quarter ’09 into 1st quarter ’10. Beyond the well-loved “Hellhole Ratrace,” “Laura” has one of the most piercing Roy Orbison-esque choruses this side of … well, Roy Orbison.

• The Task: Turn Michael Cera – Canada’s greatest nerd export – into a Guido. The solution: Loads of hair gel, lots of bronzing, and the cast of “Jersey Shore.” The result: The greatest thing Michael Cera’s done since “Arrested Development.” Yeah, we called it.

• He’s asking about ‘Duke Nukem Forever,’ let me go ahead and tell you right now that I’m not allowed to talk about ‘Duke Nukem Forever.’ No, no, don’t be disappointed, read between the lines… why am I not allowed to talk about it?
• “Duke Nukem” voice actor Jon St. John • Speaking at some nerd convention last week about whether or not “Duke Nukem Forever” still has a pulse. As the game has been on the brink of release for over a decade, the fact that this bastard is attempting to give hope to gamers means that we hate him. Hope is something that should have died long ago, you freaking jerk! source

• 50+ Arabs and Jews united by crushing chickpeas source