Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

18 Dec 2011 11:03

tags

World: Piers Morgan’s tabloid past haunting his TV host present

  • So heartwarming that everyone in U.K.’s missing me so much they want me to come home.
  • CNN host Piers Morgan • Joking earlier this year in regards to allegations he faces over possible involvement in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Morgan, a former tabloid newspaper editor who’s built a second life as a TV host, will take part, via video-link, in a judicial inquiry into the alleged practices of “News of the World” and other British tabloids. Morgan’s past could come to haunt him in the future. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2011 12:17

tags

World: Scotland Yard: News of the World scandal much wider than thought

  • 803 victims in News of the World phone-hacking scandal? source
  • » That’s what Scotland Yard says: They’ve investigated over 2,000 cases at length, and think they’ve found hundreds of examples of the same hacking that befell the newspaper earlier this year. “Operation Weeting has been in contact with or been contacted by 2,037 people,” Scotland Yard says, “of which in the region of 803 are ‘victims’, whose names have appeared in the material.” More people are likely to get investigated, but as their personal information is limited, it’s believed they were less likely to be hacked by the newspaper.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2011 14:15

tags

Biz: Phone-hacking scandal: James Murdoch (partially) resigns

  • Down goes Murdoch (sort of): News broke this morning that James Murdoch, the son of media magnate Rupert and the most prominent News Corp figure embroiled in the phone hacking scandal, would resign as director of the board of News International’s UK newspapers. He is not, however, entirely out in the cold. He’s still the deputy COO of the entire News Corp empire, which begs the question — when you have to start resigning jobs due to legal trouble and popular outrage, don’t most normal people lose the highest profile one first? Murdoch ascended to the deputy COO position earlier this year, and was thought to be the looming successor to his father atop the News Corp empire. That certainly can’t happen now, can it? (Photo by Eirik Solheim) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2011 00:03

tags

World: Did the Daily Mail hack Hugh Grant’s phone, too?

  • I cannot for the life of me think of any source for these stories in the Mail on Sunday except my voicemail messages.
  • Hugh Grant • Accusing the Daily Mail of hacking his cell phone. Remember News of the World? Well, the Daily Mail took a page out of their book, according to Grant (who’s built a rep for being a phone-hacking crusader). He is claiming that they hacked into his voicemail for a 2007 story; it may have been done by a private investigator once used by News of the World until his termination in 2006. Of course The Mail “utterly refutes Grant’s claim that they got any story as a result of phone hacking.” Perhaps they’ve cried wolf just too many times. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2011 11:05

tags

World: News Corp. pays off phone-hacking scandal victim’s family

  • $3.2 million the settlement headed to Milly Dowler’s family, via News Corp.
  • $1.6 million the settlement headed to a charity of the Dowler family’s choosing source
  • » The scandal that killed a newspaper: With the News of the World scandal a bit of a low point for the company this year, it’s understandable that they might want to get this dealt with. But the Dowler family has made sure it was to their liking: “Nothing that has been agreed will ever bring back Milly or undo the traumas of her disappearance and the horrendous murder trial earlier this year,” they said. “The only way that a fitting tribute could be agreed was to ensure that a very substantial donation to charity was made in Milly’s memory. We hope that projects will be undertaken so that some good can come from this.” Meanwhile, News Corp. now has a second scandal under its large journalistic umbrella, though this one (the WSJ’s circulation scandal) is fortunately more business-oriented and less invasive on another person’s life.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Oct 2011 11:17

tags

Culture: The Simpsons gets a longer lifespan, but the voice actors lose out

  • whoo-hoo After a few weeks of tense negotiations with the show’s voice actors, “The Simpsons” will have two more full seasons before it finally goes into syndication heaven — making for 25 full years.
  • d’oh The negotiations centered on a fight over giving the voice actors back-end profits, which appears to be something they weren’t able to get. Also, fans of the show may just want to see it end. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Oct 2011 10:53

tags

Politics: Three fairly edgy things Roger Ailes said in his AP interview

  • one On networks that criticize Fox News: “Everybody who’s getting their ass beat vilifies the opponent. This is the first rule of fighting.” Boom.
  • two On an anchor he thinks does it wrong: “Wolf Blitzer is an excellent reporter, but he’s not a star.” He says his back is to the camera too much.
  • three And the coup de grace, on one of his most notable hires: “I hired Sarah Palin because she was hot and got ratings.” Whew. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Oct 2011 10:18

tags

Culture: Will “The Simpsons” end due to a salary fight? Quite possibly, kids.

  • what “The Simpsons” is facing some significant budgetary issues, and Fox is trying to figure out a way to cut costs so the show remains profitable. If it can’t, the 23-year-old show, which predates every other scripted show on the prime-time schedule, will face cancellation.
  • why The big problem is that the voice actors on the show, who fought for higher wages (and won) many times, are being asked to take significant cuts in salary (they make $8 million per year), which they’re fighting. Also, it probably doesn’t help that ratings are down. source
  • » Putting the D’oh out to pasture? The Simpsons is still widely-regarded, but with roughly 500 episodes under its belt, Fox may be ready for the next step in the “Simpsons” phenomenon — its own cable network. It’d be interesting if the salary battle is really an excuse to end “The Simpsons” outright.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 11:14

tags

Biz: Ted Turner: Rupert Murdoch may have to resign from News Corp.

  • From one rich mogul to another: Former Turner Broadcasting owner Ted Turner, who knows a thing or two about running his mouth, says that Murdoch has made tactical errors in his handling of the phone-hacking scandal, including his claim that he didn’t know anything about the hacking. “Well, he should have known,” Turner said. “He was chairman of the board. He’s responsible. I took responsibility when I ran my company. You never heard me say, ‘Well, I didn’t know.’” The two moguls once famously feuded, after Turner claimed Murdoch’s media outlets (including Fox News, a direct rival to the Turner-founded CNN) were largely behind the Iraq war, because it helped his company. Turner says they eventually buried the hatchet, however, after he bought Rupert a bison burger and praised the Wall Street Journal. Well, this may perhaps change that situation once again. Heh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Sep 2011 12:18

tags

Culture: Fox considering creating an all-Simpsons cable network

  • They certainly have enough episodes to pull it off. One of News Corp.’s greatest pieces of entertainment could eventually become a franchise all its own. With the series likely to pass the 500-episode mark with its upcoming 23rd season, Fox is reportedly talking about a long-term plan for the franchise, involving a cable network of its own. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to do this right away — most of the series is embedded in long-term syndication deals — but once those expire, a single network approach might prove to be more financially sound as the series reaches its point of quarter-life crisis. So how would this work, anyway? Let’s do a quick number breakdown:
  • 245 length, in hours, of the series’ current 486 episodes, plus “The Simpsons Movie,” with commercials
  • 10.2 number of days that would manage to fill up, including commercials, before you’d run into a show repeat
  • 35.7 number of times the network would cycle through every single episode, plus a movie, in a single year source
  • » So, what do you guys think? Is a network built around a single show, even one as diverse and far-reaching as “The Simpsons,” something you’d watch? Or would it be like the original MTV — where everyone loved the idea of it, but didn’t necessarily stick with it? We’re not sure, but there are probably some pretty killer OWN Network jokes they could make if Fox did this.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
top tags
older >>