TVSquad

You know, I thought we didn't have Charles Logan to kick around anymore. You know, the Nixonian disgraced President from 24? Well, I was wrong. 24 has cast Gregory Itzin to reprise Charles Logan in the upcoming new season.

Itzin -- who's currently been a semi-regular on The Mentalist -- was Emmy-nominated for President Logan, and he really gave it all the shadings and complexities of a dark, corrupt politician. He was a guy you loved to hate, but he had a soft spot and that was his love for his wife. His unbalanced spouse, Martha. When last seen on the show, Martha had stabbed Charles.

Stephen Colbert may have made big news recently when he took his show on the road for a second time and performed for the troops in Iraq, but don't forget the other guy bringing fake news to the Middle East! Daily Show has been airing correspondent Jason Jones's reports from Iran, which were taped over the past month or so. Check out how many pockets are on that vest. He clearly means journalistic business.

Paris Hilton really needs to rename her show. Brittany Flickinger was her "best friend forever" after the first season, but they don't talk anymore. Then she filmed a season in the UK to find her "British best friend," at least keeping "forever" out of that title. She's got a second season starting tonight in the US, and now we're going to get a new season of My New BFF in the United Arab Emirates as well. Though, apparently UAE officials are making sure Paris' wild ways don't make it through customs.

She's also interested in having BFFs in other parts of the world, so really she's just building an international posse. Plus, with her track record so far, it's more likely that these are just BFFN "best friend for now," or perhaps PITFTPBRIJDTFTMAFAIDTTSIGAC "people I'll tolerate for the press but really I'm just doing this for the money and fame and I'll drop them the second I get a chance." So check out the second season of Paris Hilton's My New PITFTPBRIJDTFTMAFAIDTTSIGAC premiering on MTV tonight at 10 Eastern, and see who she'll drop next.

Larry Charles, director of Borat and a writer and producer for Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, is teaming up with comedian Bill Maher (HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher) for a new film about God and religion. Their goal: make it funny.

To quote Variety, quoting Maher: "this movie will make you laugh so hard you'll pray for it to stop."

Maher and Charles traveled throughout the Middle East, interviewing people to try and find humor amongst the tragedy. It was undoubtedly a rough undertaking, but the result was hundreds of hours of footage that Maher and Charles are currently paring down to a feature-length film.

I've written for newspapers and magazines, but I've always been apprehensive about calling myself a journalist because it was never my major in college. In fact, my college didn't even have that as a major. I've always been fascinated by the career itself, however, and learning about all the obstacles that go along with getting a story.

If you share my interest in anything having to do with the media, and independent media especially, you'll probably enjoy Democracy on Deadline, which appears as part of the PBS series Independent Lens on November 21 at 10 pm. The documentary looks at independent journalists in several parts of the world, from right here in the United States to places like Russia and the Middle East. In the US, the problem for journalists is breaking through the wall of secrecy put up by the Bush White House during the days leading up to the Iraq war, and during the war itself. The documentary does not, however, place all blame on the government, it also points out how shoddy journalistic standards and a disinterested public have played a significant role in slowing down the flow of information.

The BBC is making plans to launch a Farsi language television channel in Iran starting in early 2008. The channel will air for eight hours a day, though the BBC hopes to expand that eventually. Currently, the BBC has an online and radio presence in the region, although the Web site has been occasionally blocked by authorities in Iran. The BBC claims Iranians are turning to television more and more to get their news, and that the editorial content of the new channel will not be dictated by the UK government. As I mentioned a year ago, the BBC also plans to launch an Arabic channel in the Middle East around the same time.