KatieCouric-related stories
Posted Oct 1st 2009 11:00AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: News, Video, Web, Reality-Free
Every time I watch a TV talking head like Glenn Beck, I usually walk away with the same thought I had every time I walked out of my economics class in college: "What the hell were they talking about?"
That's because there isn't anything journalistic or scientific about their pontifications. It's all "gut talk," particularly Beck who throws around more wild and unfocused theories about the ongoing war between "us vs. them" than a homeless preacher in a bus station. Chances are if you actually sat down and simply asked him "what did you mean by (x)", he would give you a 1,700 word answer that answered everything but the question you asked him.
Continue reading Beck can't explain his own explanation about Obama
Posted Jul 26th 2009 11:03AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: News, OpEd, The Daily Show, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Walter Cronkite is a tougher act to follow than letting Metallica open for William Hung.
But now that the news legend and former most trusted man in America has passed on to that big newsroom in the great beyond, America needs someone else to trust. They need someone they can depend on to get the hard, cold facts about the important stories that truly affect their lives. They need someone to cut through the political haze of misdirection and mediocrity that cloud almost every major news story like a lingering beer fart.
That man is ...
Jon Stewart. Don't like it? Blame the rest of the news media for not doing a better job.
Continue reading Blame Jon Stewart's trustiness on the news media clusterf#*$
Posted Jul 20th 2009 6:30PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: News, TV Royalty, OpEd, Reality-Free
Right after
Walter Cronkite died,
CBS decided to stop using his voice over in the intro of the
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, mainly figuring it was inappropriate to have a ghostly voice introduce their current anchor.
It seemed like a respectful decision, but it felt a bit wrong to me. The voice over was a simple sentence: "This is the
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." That's it. It felt like a good way to pay tribute to his immense contributions to television news and to bridge the years between his era and the current one. And, shockingly enough, it wouldn't have felt creepy at all, just comforting.
Cronkite's family must have felt the same way, as they've given CBS permission to
keep using his voice at the top of the broadcast. How long CBS will keep doing it is anyone's guess. But if
Billy Mays can keep selling Oxi Clean from the Great Beyond, why can't Uncle Walter keep introducing the news?
Continue reading Cronkite will keep introducing Katie Couric
Posted Jan 25th 2009 9:26AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: News, Programming, Ratings, Reality-Free
CBS has had a rocky relationship with their new evening news anchor. The move to hire her after journalist Dan Rather went down in flames like a phoenix blasted out of the sky was heralded as a new dawn without realizing that it sets just as quick.
Couric has earned some respect for her work since Sarah Palin let her stick her brain in a Newton's Cradle and knock it back and forth until her "You betchas" became her "Okie dokies".
But the news broadcast is still third in the ratings war and the egg hasn't completely been washed from CBS' face.
So until Palin announces her bid to run for head of Alaska's border patrol to keep those pesky Russians at bay, CBS hopes they can keep what little momentum they have going by doing for Couric
what NBC just did for Jay Leno.
Continue reading CBS giving Couric some primetime specials
Posted Dec 22nd 2008 5:02PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, Video, Watercooler Talk, Festivus, Celebrities, Reality-Free
...Ew, not like that, you guys. Although, I'm sure if you did just a few minutes of Googling, you could find that too, in one form or another. What I'm talking about is
Tina Fey's brilliant impression of vice-presidential candidate
Sarah Palin. How good was the impression? It was so good that the episodes featuring Fey, and the one that featured Palin herself, were some of
SNL's highest-rated episodes in years. Tina Fey's brilliant but ratings-challenged sitcom,
30 Rock received a ratings bump, she scored a
multi-million dollar book deal, and
newspapers sometimes forgot that they were actually two different people.Not bad for a funny lady who had never been known for her impressions and a governor from a small town no one had ever heard of.
Obama may have been our first celebrity candidate, but Palin was our first beauty queen. Whether you loved her or hated her, it's hard to argue that she was a captivating figure.
Continue reading Top TV Stories of 2008: Fey does Palin - VIDEOS
Posted Dec 6th 2008 2:31PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Earlier this week, I was watching the
CBS Evening News while I was at the keyboard. That means I wasn't really watching the TV screen; I was listening to the tube while working on the Mac. Therefore, I didn't even notice that
Katie Couric had a new haircut. Then, from the other room, my husband called to me and asked what I thought. "Thought about what?" I answered.
That was how I heard the "big" news that
CBS anchor Katie Couric has a new look. Really, what does it matter? Why should it matter? She's presenting the news, not selling hair gel or mousse, right?
Continue reading Katie's got a new haircut; does it matter?
Posted Nov 27th 2008 2:29PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
As I think about the past year, in both my life and in the world of TV, there's plenty I have to be thankful for. The life stuff is obvious: health, family, my girlfriend, a roof over my head, food on my plate, and a job that I enjoy. But the TV stuff isn't quite as obvious. So, as the balloons float over midtown Manhattan and people get ready to gorge themselves, here are a few things that made me happy to be a television watcher this year:
The election - Yes, it was too long. And, yes, it was exasperating at times. But it was the source of a lot of entertaining television. Of course,
The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and
SNL were in top form (Tina Fey became a huge star, thanks to Sarah Palin). But entertainment came in many forms this election season, from Katie Couric's skewering of Palin to David Letterman's spat with McCain to just about anything that came out of Joe Biden's mouth. Finally, I have three words of infinite entertainment for you: Chuck Todd's goatee.
Continue reading What Joel is thankful for
Posted Oct 13th 2008 3:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Late Night, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Now that Senator John McCain is doing the most important thing in his campaign to become the 44th president of the United States,
agreeing to appear The Late Show with David Letterman, I think we can say that the Straight Talk Express is on the way to being back on track.
It was inevitable, and really, really necessary, for McCain to fix this problem with Dave. McCain was the butt of the joke for nearly three weeks and it hasn't helped his campaign. Appearing Thursday should do a lot to ameliorate his image and in every way it can only be a win-win for McCain and Letterman.
Continue reading McCain gets his priorities straight: Letterman first, then the economy
Posted Oct 10th 2008 6:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Saturday Night Live, Celebrities, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
Since emerging on the national stage about six weeks ago, Alaska Governor and Republican Vice Presidential nominee
Sarah Palin has become a superstar. Like her or loathe her, she is a celebrity. It's ironic, really, that McCain's so psyched about her high-powered appeal, because that's what his campaign was knocking Obama for just this past summer. Still, the crowds have showed that Palin's appeal to the Republican base, at least, is fervent.
On the other hand, thanks to Palin's poor performance in interview segments with CBS anchor Katie Couric, and
Tina Fey's spot-on impression of her on
Saturday Night Live, the Governor's image has taken a hit. There have been questions about how smart she is, as well as how qualified she is to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Continue reading Five other TV shows where Sarah Palin should appear
Posted Oct 4th 2008 8:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: News, Saturday Night Live, Ratings, Reality-Free
Conventional wisdom says that vice presidents don't matter much when it comes time to vote, that people ultimately make their choice based on who's running for president. However, when it comes to debates, VEEPs are the main event.
The Nielsen numbers are in for last night's debate between Vice Presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin and they're huge --
69.9 million viewers watched the VEEP debate. That's a whopping 17.5 million more viewers than Barack Obama and John McCain drew for their first debate last Friday night.
Why were so many more people tuned in for Biden-Palin? There are a few reasons, starting with the curiosity about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Continue reading VP debate scores blockbuster ratings
Posted Aug 18th 2008 8:02AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: News, OpEd, Ratings, Reality-Free
Pew Research Center's biannual survey on
how Americans get their news revealed significant shifts underway from print to new media, and even from television to the internet. But it looks like that idiot box remains our number one source for just what's going on in the world around us. The article shows the demographics to be pretty much where you'd expect them to be as far as who goes where for their news. The younger, more affluent and/or more educated you are the more likely you are to go online for your news. The older, poorer and less educated you are the more likely you are to rely on the TV.
I live in a pretty small town that's chock full of poor, uneducated people and I can assure you that most of those citizens still think of computers as that fancy technology they use in them colleges and whatnot. And the Internets, well that's where you go for
sin! But the young people, who have grown up with computers and the web are more savvy than their parents and if they can afford a computer, then they're online. Most are playing
World of Warcraft, but they're still on there.
Continue reading Where do you get your news?
Posted Aug 5th 2008 8:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free
On
Two and a Half Men, Charlie Sheen plays a vulgar playboy, a shallow guy who's more interested in booze, women and having a good time than being responsible and working hard. The role has earned him a couple of Emmy nominations and a lot of money. A lot of money. In fact, in
a new poll from TV Guide, Charlie Sheen is the highest paid actor on TV, making $825,000 per episode; in a season of 23 shows, that comes out to nearly $20 million.
That's more than he could make in the movies, and unlike films, Charlie can keep on raking it in on
Two and a Half Men for years. The show is a huge hit in syndication, so more episodes will simply mean more money down the road.
Right behind Charlie on the list is fellow CBS leading man,
CSI's William Petersen. He's making $600,000 an episode. He's only doing ten episodes this season, but since he's also an executive producer on the series, he's probably making even more.
Continue reading TV's highest paid stars, starting with Charlie Sheen
Posted Jun 22nd 2008 6:23PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: News, Industry, Casting, Reality-Free
There's been
speculation about who will replace Tim Russert on NBC's
Meet the Press. David Gregory, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Katie Couric were a few of the rumored possibilities. Jovie Baclayon of E! Online reports that
Tom Brokaw will be temporarily replacing the tragically-lost news anchor. NBC announced today that the former
Nightly News anchor and South Dakota native would take over moderating responsibilities on Sunday mornings. He will guide discussions through the November presidential elections.
Steve Capus, NBC News President, made this statement about Brokaw's decision to step in: "To have someone of Tom's stature step up and dedicate himself to ensuring its ongoing success is not only a testament to his loyalty to Tim, but his enduring commitment to NBC News and our viewers."
After 21 years helming the program, Tom Brokaw retired from
NBC Nightly News in 2004.
Tim Russert
died of a heart attack last week on June 13th. He was 58.
[via
Yahoo TV]
Posted Jun 17th 2008 1:02PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: News, OpEd, Video, Reality-Free
Lately, the only Katie Couric most people have been seeing is the one that's depicted in the picture to the right: serious, sober, possessing whatever gravitas she can muster in her role as anchor of the
CBS Evening News. But where can you see the goofy Katie, the one that people came to know -- and some got sick of -- for fifteen years on the
Today show?
Why, on YouTube, of course! In fact,
Katie has her very own page on the leading video sharing site, where she posts extended
Evening News interviews and behind-the-scene footage. The behind-the-scenes stuff is where you see Katie at her most impish, doing things like snapping Larry King's suspenders as he leads her to the set of his show,
singing with Bette Midler, and
meeting with mommy bloggers in her office (check out the huge Warhol-esque portrait of herself she has hanging near her desk!).
Continue reading Katie Couric has her own YouTube channel - VIDEO
Posted Jun 16th 2008 12:01PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: News, Industry, OpEd, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
I'm sure a lot of you were scratching your heads over the weekend, wondering how
Tim Russert's passing merited the all-encompassing, presidential-like coverage it got, especially on his home network of NBC. He's only a reporter, right? Why the wall-to-wall coverage? Well, first of all, it seems that by all accounts, Russert was one of the most well-liked people in the news business, so the outpouring might have been a function of people mourning a friend who was taken from them too soon. But, I have another, more off-beat theory as to why NBC did a broadcast version of sitting shiva for Russert: it was because they have no idea how to replace him.
Think about it: he wasn't only the longtime moderator of
Meet The Press, where he took the venerable show and rejiggered its format, making him the face of the show. He was also NBC News' Washington bureau chief and the main political voice for the network. "It's going to take four or five people to replace Tim," CBS' Bob Schieffer told
The New York Times.
For now, though, the immediate question is who will replace him on
Meet The Press.
Speculation is already underway.Continue reading Who's replacing Tim Russert?
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