By now you probably know that Donna Brazile is out at CNN for doing something really stupid and improper. The Democratic heavyweight and former CNN political contributor, it was revealed in one of the most recent troves of stolen e-mails to hit the internet -- because everything ...read more
Let's try this one more time. It will again be a frustrating exercise in futility, but as someone who actually expects the media to be responsible and who cares, believe it or not, about the CNN brand, it's an uphill battle worth waging. CNN has to fire Nancy Grace. It has to ...read more
"We’re not going to be shamed into it by others who have political beliefs that want to try to have temper tantrums to shame other news organizations into covering something. If it’s of real news value, we’ll cover it." -- CNN President Jeff Zucker to Bill Carter of The New ...read more
Some would argue that it's actually been a slow, sad downward spiral, but it still feels like CNN went from being a serious news network to a national laughingstock almost overnight. The reason for this, of course, is that the final nail in the network's coffin was so ...read more
Big, "breaking," non-missing plane-related developments out of CNN today. As part of network chief Jeff Zucker's continuing mission to "broaden the definition of news" until it's not actually news anymore, CNN has announced that three new -- though not really very new -- faces ...read more
"It makes you wonder what direction CNN is going in. For 24 years there was nowhere else I wanted to be because of the 24-hour platform we had at CNN. I would hate for other programming to get in front of that." -- Former CNN producer Kim Segal Segal's been based out of ...read more
As you no doubt know by now because it's getting the kind of national coverage that was once traditionally reserved for political assassinations, Justin Bieber was busted last night in Miami Beach on DUI and street racing charges. If you're reading this, there's a pretty good ...read more
If you've ever watched Fox News and thought to yourself, "Wow, Roger Ailes must be a sociopath or something," now you've got your confirmation. Interestingly enough, it's not coming from some tenuously sourced, barely newsworthy piece of bullshit reactionary agitprop splashed ...read more
Here's your quote of the day and you should read it a couple of times so that it's seared into your memory: "Just because Jon Stewart makes fun of it doesn’t mean he’s right." That's CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, at a meeting of the Atlanta Press Club earlier this week. ...read more
It probably seems like I write quite a bit about NBC and its problems. In fact, I do, and there's a reason for this. I spent a good portion of my career in television news working for NBC, at both the national and local level, and that time with the network always represented ...read more
It looks like Jimmy Fallon will be the next challenger to step up and try to knock Jay Leno off his throne on The Tonight Show. If you believe Bill Carter over at The New York Times, and there's no reason not to given Carter's unparalleledexpertise on the subject, NBC is ...read more
Let's get right into it. Yes, CNN's coverage of the verdict in the Steubenville rape trial, whether entirely intentional or not, came off as more than a little biased in favor of the teenagers who were on trial for the crime rather than either extending the same courtesy to ...read more
I get that as in every other field of modern entertainment, when it comes to TV news, a rumor is just a rumor. I also get that a rumor generated by The New York Post is often even less than a rumor. But given what we've seen lately, particularly what we witnessed last week ...read more
First there was the news that may have come as a surprise to most reasonable people, but which honestly was all-but-assured to those who understand how the corporate world works: the hiring of Jeff Zucker as the new head of CNN Worldwide. Sure, pretty much everyone with a pair ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: I used to have a motto that I lived by when it came to the notion of job security in the TV news business -- it's one I'd pass along to the various rising stars coming up through the ranks whenever the winds of change were gathering in the corner offices of ...read more
This week at The Daily Banter, we looked at Mitt Romney's bold plan to tax the poor, and looked at a disturbing reason why Republicans believe in doing this. We asked why the GOP Presidential candidate wants to cut jobs for Fireman, teachers and the police, and unfortunately ...read more
By Chez Pazienza: Here's a little something just about everyone in the television business knows: Once you become a high-powered executive, it's almost impossible to fuck yourself and your reputation so badly that you'll never work again. Let's say you're some poor mid-level ...read more
