TV Newser Wraps Up the Year

TV Newser provides a terrific recap of the year, including some incidents that I had forgotten about, such as MSNBC's Joe Scarborough telling off ex-MSNBC-er Laura Ingraham.

And of course, the classic artwork from Fox News, showing CNN's Jon Klein whistling past the Nielsen graveyard.

Duckett Family vs. Nancy Grace-less

Update on the case of the family of Melinda Duckett vs. Nancy Grace of CNN Headline News. The family is suing Grace and CNN for wrongful death.

As far as the law is concerned, and the legal case, TCG is of two minds: Some people were hurt, obviously, but there's the important free speech angle to consider.

But moving away from the legal to the realm of the moral, as for Nancy Grace, TCG believes that there can only be one opinion: Grace is a witch, who might well have contributed to the death Melinda Duckett, which in turn has made it infinitely harder to establish the whereabouts of her missing son Trevor.

And Dis-Grace did it for buzz and ratings, and nothing more. That's low, and nothing more.

Keith Olbermann's Top Ten Lies of 2006

"The task of selecting which Olbermann lies are the top ten of 2006 was a daunting one. A preliminary scan of the year's programs turned up 100+ candidates for the list. So to prune down the possibilities, and in the interest of fairness, we tossed out any falsehoods that were specifically acknowledged and corrected by Keith Olbermann. That left 100+ candidates for the list. But now the hours of research and review are completed, and we are pleased to present the official Olbermann Watch list of Keith Olbermann's top ten lies of 2006."

And here they are, Olbermann's Worst Ten, courtesy of Olbermann Watch.

I like this KO picture most of all, because while KO intends for it to be funny, I think that it shows him where he is headed: Toward being either a) a ranter, a la Howard Beale in the movie "Network," or b) simply an outright perv.

Johnny Dollar on Top Ten Lies About FNC

Nobody sez that Fox News is perfect, but a look at these lies--that's the word for them, Keith Olbermann--compiled by the long-suffering-but-thorough Johnny Dollar--is enough to remind us that for every honest mistake Fox makes, its rivals make a lot more dishonest mistakes, especially the "biased bassets."

Johnny Dollar's Top Ten Videos

There is lotsa great stuff here, from the serious to the silly.

As we say at TCG, the news itself is the greatest reality show.

Johnny Dollar Looks Back at 2006

Johnny Dollar, as always, gets the best stuff. Here's his top ten audio excerpts for the year. Be sure to listen, in particular, for Roger Ailes on the late Mike Douglas, and John Gibson on the Clinton team issuing anti-Fox "marching orders" to the Democrats and deconstructing Barbara Boxer, Joe Scarborough, and Andrew, a radio caller.

Kaplan to Rescue Katie in '07? Or to Help Hillary in '08?

The New York Post's "Page Six" reports that Rick Kaplan is being lined up to help save Katie Couric's CBS Evening News show.

Kaplan, of course, has more baggage of his own than Samsonite; he was a failure at CNN or MSNBC, and was widely disliked by underlings to boot.

But he does have one great strength in the eyes of what remains of the liberal MSM: he loves Bill Clinton, as noted right here at TCG. And so if that love can be shifted from Bill to Hillary, then CBS might think it was worth it, to bring him on board. That is, Kaplan might not be able to help the Eye Network with its ratings-challenged newscast, but he could help get Hillary Clinton elected, using his perch as a "newsman." And that exciting electoral prospect might matter more to the liberal dinosaurs in NYC than their own financial well-being. After all, they have plenty of money already; what they need, they might be thinking to themselves, is a friend in the White House. If you're a big rich media mogul, and you already have a place on Park Avenue, as well as out in Beverly Hills, plus and a mansion out in the Hamptons, then all you really need is an invitation to the Lincoln Bedroom.

And of course, Kaplan might be thinking to himself that it would be fun to cap off his career as, say, White House press secretary for President Hillary Clinton.

So what's not to like--unless you don't like media bias, or unless you don't like to see a once-great media property being traduced for partisan goals.

Rick Kaplan Thinks That Bill Clinton Was A "Great" President -- But We All Knew That, From Watching ABC, CNN, and MSNBC

Rick Kaplan, who held top news jobs at ABC News, CNN, and MSNBC, tells The People's Daily of China that Bill Clinton was "a great president ... a smart great caring leader." Kaplan adds of the Arkansan, "I think he did nothing but helping our economy."

Kaplan is entitled to his views, of course, but we are entitled to conclude from his views that maybe some of Kaplan's obvious political bias and favoritism affected the coverage at three different news networks when he was running their programming.

Social Networking Comes to News

Oops! My mistake. The correct headline in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal was "Social Networking Comes to Health Care."

The point of Laura Landro's story is that even the US government has figured out that social networking + virtual reality--a la secondlife.com and other sites--is a great way to communicate information about health care and well-being. I am sure that Uncle Sam is right about that, because let's face it, people don't do much of anything in this world unless they are convinced that it's fun, whatever it is. And s.n. + v.r. is fun.

So now the question is: When will the news be the same way? When will we be able to watch, say, Shepherd Smith, virtually? Or get right in the heat of things with Bill O'Reilly? Or get into the arena with Hannity & Colmes? It's coming to Fox News eventually. I just don't know when, or even if Fox will be first. Fox should be first, because s.n. + v.r. are naturally extensions of myspace.com, but we shall see.

Advertising Comes to a Phone Near You, and so does everything that goes along with advertising, like a network

How does one feel about advertising? A necessary evil, I'd call it. Nobody likes to watch ads--although some, such as the Geico spots, are pretty good--but nobody wants to pay for content, either.

Now, according to Matt Richtel in today's New York Times, looks like advertisers have found a new place to place ads --on your cell phone.

This trend comes as cell phones become more central to the media universe, including The Cable Game. Most cable news channels already offer at least some cell-phone programming, and much more is coming.

Eventually, they will figure out how to turn that little two-inch-by-two-inch cell phone screen into something that at least looks big to the eye. And then Verizon, and others, will have full-blown networks, or at least the chance to create them. What will their content be? Now that's a $64 billion dollar question.

The Cable Game, The Free Speech Gig, and the FCC's Gag

Half the time, TCG thinks about cable news, and where the endless battle between FNC and the ever-increasing number of Dwarfs (Not just CNN and MSNBC, but also CNBC, Headline News, BBC, Al Jazeera, HDNet, etc.).

The other half of the time, TCG likes to think about the future of the news media, and where This is all headed.

But wait! There's a third player in this game, that consumes a lot of somebody's time, although probably mostly lawyers and other DC Beltway powerbrokers and parasites. And that third player is the government, specifically, the Federal Communications Commission. Remember them? They used to be a big deal, back in the days when there only four or five TV stations per market. Now, of course, there are hundreds of TV channels--and if you count streaming on the Internet there are thousands, and soon, millions.

So why is the FCC still trying to censor things? Good question, asked by blogger Nate Anderson, of the website Ars Technica. Uncle Sam is now in the strange situation of censoring about 1 percent of the media content that people can get in their homes--the legacy amount that comes over the airwaves, as opposed to from cable or the Net.

Anderson concludes his pointed post, about the government's harassment of Fox, like this:

"The FCC will eventually need to 1) call 'uncle' and devote its resources to other regulatory problems, 2) start regulating all sorts of new distribution channels, or 3) continue to regulate over-the-air broadcasters even as they lose relevance and simply post objectionable material online. We're going with option three unless the court forces the FCC's hand."

Anderson is a smart fellow, but I wouldn't be surprised to see government move toward option two, as opposed to option three.

That is, Uncle Sam could use his "base" in the regulation of broadcast content as a springboard toward the regulation of all other kinds of content, on all other kinds of media. After all, the legal-red tape infrastructure is there, why not simply use it more? That would be a persuasive argument to me, if I were a power-maximizing bureaucrat.

News? Free Speech? Or Proprietary Content?

Techdirt reports that the NBA wants to pull its fight videos from YouTube. Can't say that I blame the NBA for wanting to yank unflattering material, but the b-ball league's action raises interesting legal questions--What's news? What's free speech? And what's legally protected content?

PS: Techdirt--now there's a name. Cable Gamer thinks that she likes "Cabledirt," except that it's too messy.

Which reminds me--I hope that you like the new look! Ochre is the new black!

Cyworld, Myspace, and Our World

The Financial Times recently reported on a new--actually, it's not so new, it's seven years old, which makes it a grand-daddy in this biz--South Korean social networking portal called Cyworld which is planning to crack the US market.

So Cyworld is likely, then, to go into direct competition with Myspace and Facebook. And that means that Cyworld is likely to be in competition, at least indirectly, with the News Corp., which owns Myspace--and which also owns Fox News.

As argued here on TCG, such "social networking," or participatory media is the future of news, as well as everything else. Yes, people want to learn things, and be informed and entertained, but eventually, they will want to participate, too.

Merry Christmas!

Johnny Dollar digs up some golden (OK, black and white) ghosts from Christmas Past of FNC.

It is, indeed, a Wonderful Life!

"A death struggle for second place" behind Fox

That's a Fox spokeswoman's cutting comment on the battle between CNN and MSNBC to see who can be #2 behind Fox. And while The Baltimore Sun's Nick Madigan might be trying a little too hard to inject drama into his story.

That is, trying too hard to make it sound as if CNN's Anderson Cooper is The Next Big Thing, or that CNN Headline News' Nancy Grace is anything other than a low-rated shrew, it is undeniable that CNN, CNNHN, and MSNBC have all showed changes and progress in the last year or so. Without question, CNNHN's Glenn Beck has scored points by presenting a more conservative angle (and no doubt flummoxing the famously p.c. CNN), while MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has gained Nielsens from the Bush-bashing left (even if Olbermann's principal victim has been the colorless and plastic Paula Zahn). And let's even say that while CNN's Larry King is, well, getting older, Lou Dobbs on the same network has struck a nerve with his Pat Buchanan-ish schtick.

Fox is still decisively #1, reporter Madigan concedes (thereby undercutting the urgency of his story), because of Bill O'Reilly and because Fox still has the best line-up, overall. And O'Reilly, for example, is anything but complacent. His special from Iraq last night was compelling.

Still, I am sure that Roger Ailes has more up his sleeve--and we will see it in the coming year.

Myspace is #1 -- when will Fox be part of it?

As discussed many times here at The Cable Game, in the future, the media will see convergence--all media being one, or at least all media being findable through one medium, such as the computer.

In this Gilderesque future, everyone will have his or her own "TV channel," via his or her own website/blogspace--albeit probably not a TV-sized audience.

The challenge, then, will be to aggregate those viewers into some sort of cohesion. Myspace, owned by The News Corp. parent company of Fox News, is a possible aggregator of this content. Myspace is already a cyber-home to hundreds of millions, maybe in the future it be home to billions.

The future is uncertain, of course, but new data show that Myspace is now beating out Yahoo for the #1 spot.

Joyless Behar

I know that Joy Behar is supposed to be a comedian--she's supposed to make us laugh. Supposed to bring joy, even.

Well, I have never found her to be funny, and she's not funny at all when she equates Don Rumsfeld to the Nazis and suggests that the Republicans somehow plotted to afflict Sen. Tim Johnson, the Democratic Senator from South Dakota. Har har. That's not humor, that's slander.

Most of the MSM loves it, of course. Behar is still on "The View," and nobody minds. But she is receiving some criticism from some quarters, notably Fox News. And now it looks like she's not enjoying the backlash from FNC and a few others who don't aspire to be fawned on during a visit to "The View," as was Hillary Clinton earlier this week.

Which is all the more proof that Behar sure can dish out the criticism--which diehard liberals, burnt-out old hippies and trolls will define as humor--but she can't take it. She's got a thin skin, and no self-awareness.

No wonder she's not funny.

Keith Olbermann: The $4 Million Man?

Glenn Garvin of The Miami Herald updates us on the struggle between Keith Olbermann and NBC.

"MSNBC is balking at Keith Olbermann's demand to quadruple his $1 million a year salary when his contract is up in April. Wonder if anyone at MSNBC has been impolitic enough during negotiations to note that Olbermann, for all his media darlinghood, still gets beaten like a drum -- a 2-to-1 margin or more -- by Bill O'Reilly?"

Also known as the struggle between an irresistible force (Olbermann's ego) and an immovable object (NBC's budget crisis). Or is the other way around?

Carol Lin update

I got this e-mail recently:

So many got this wrong that she took the time to make it right. I wonder who have the courage to admit they followed the CNN bashing crowd??

What follows, attached below, is an e-mail, which is said to be Carol Lin's repudiation of a Variety story about her departure from CNN. OK, fair enough: I am printing the whole thing.

But just two things in the meantime:

First, even CNN agrees that Rick Sanchez has replaced Lin. So the outlines of Variety's story are true--Lin's new status as a "contributor" is a fuzzy status indeed.

Second, as to the specifics of Lin's departure, reported here on Tuesday, Variety and/or Michael Learmonth have yet to print a retraction.

But for now, at least, I'll give CNN the last word:

Lin: "I'm Ready To Try Something New"
In an e-mail to TVNewser, departing CNN anchor Carol Lin responds to this report in Variety:

"I'm in the business of revealing the truth, even when it might seem revealing or rather startling. So here's the truth about me, CNN and how wrong Variety can get a story.

Jon Klein, CNN's president, has never talked to me about leaving the anchor chair. He has nothing but good things to say about me and my time at CNN. And why not. I've done everything there is to do: I've been in three warzones, anchored the impeachment of a president, covered hurricanes, unimaginable personal tragedies, interviewed everyone from prime ministers to local preachers. I can anchor for hours at a time on any story from North Korean Nukes to school shootings.

I have done it all. And now, I'm ready to do something new -- to feel that tickle of fear in my belly because I know I'm about to try yet again in my life, something unforeseen and uncertain. It's as simple, and perhaps boring to some, as that.

I have nothing but love and respect for CNN! They gave me everything I ever wanted during my eight years -- great co-anchors, my own show, a chance to see the world.

And as I do when I'm done with a fabulous feast, I leave the table full and grateful.

Michael Learmonth of Variety called my on my private cell number and wanted to know why I was leaving CNN and what my book and TV project are about. It's books, by the way. I have a vivid imagination, but also a compelling story to tell about my family's war against cancer during the lead up to the war in Iraq. But there are funny stories to tell too, and I look forward to laughing a lot.

Variety reported deeply personal facts about my life, and somehow surmised that's why I'm leaving.

I am a kickass woman who's still figuring things about about a personal life that took a sharp, unexpected turn. That experience will help me help others.

And that's a good thing. I cannot thank CNN more for the opportunity to continue as a contributor in 2007 and the chance to spread my wings. It's time. It's as simple as that.

See you 10pm Saturday Dec. 30 on the most trusted name in news. CNN.

All the best, Carol Lin"

The Olbermann-ification of Joe Scarborough Continues

Joe Scarborough trashes George W. Bush, bigtime, and gets larded with praise by the lefty website Crooks & Liars, which in turn gets a big play on The Huffington Post.

Remember the days when Scarborough was a Republican? Before he joined the left-wing Hive.

Well, sure, those were the days before Joe left Congress under a strange cloud of the accidental death of a staffer, Lori Klausutis--some have even suggest that maybe it was a murder and then got a TV gig at MSNBC. Talk about landing on your feet, Joe!

Scarborough obviously wants to fit in with the new crowd. Since his time slot follows Keith Olbermann's, he figures that he has to inherit Olbermann's audience. And to do that inheriting, he has to stick to the Bush-bashing Olbermann script.

And he's doing fine. So what's next for Joe as he "grows" into a liberal? A guest op-ed in The New York Times? A vacation at Martha's Vineyard? That'll give him a chance to spend time with Teddy Kennedy. And since they both have experience with dead female staffers, they'll have plenty to talk about.

Rathergate, Part II -- And Where's Mark Cuban on this question of journalistic integrity?

As The Cable Game noted on December 4, Dan Rather has been making scurrilous charges against Fox News, that it's in collusion with the White House. He has no proof, of course, and I am sure that none exists. But if I am wrong, then Rather, the "newsman," ought to prove it. But of course, he doesn't, he keeps going around on other channels, such as CNN and HBO, repeating his reckless accusation. Last night on "The Factor," Bill O'Reilly challenged Rather to come on the show to, put up or shut up. Rather won't, of course, because he's a weasel, who was suckled by weasel-liberalism for the past half-century until he finally soiled his own nest in 2004 with those forged "Rathergate" memos.

Well, now Rather is creating a second scandal for himself, through more baseless slurring. We can call it "Rathergate II."

But beyond the sad pathetic case of Rather's decline and fall, here's a question aimed at the future: What about Rather's boss at HDNet, Mark Cuban? Why isn't Cuban taking some responsibility for his own wayward employee? By keeping Rather on, Cuban is destroying the credibility of his new-media news franchise.

Here's what TCG wrote about Cuban on 12/4, and it's still pertinent, since Cuban has not seen fit to rein in Rather:

"But in the meantime, here's a coupla questions for HDNet, including its owner, mogul Mark Cuban. Does HDNet stand by Rather's allegation? Do Rather's corporate bosses expect Rather to produce evidence to back up his charge? Or are they content to let Rather simply say malicious things about others, without even rudimentary checking?

"If HDNet doesn't rein in Rather, then HDNet is no better than he is. If you hire a Big Liar, then eventually you become a Big Liar, too."

Those words were true then, and they are true now. The ball is in Cuban's court.

So maybe Mark Cuban should go on O'Reilly.

Keep an Eye Out for Dobbs Watch!

Who knew that the National Association of Manufacturers would have such a fast-moving New Media presence? A couple of days ago, I noticed--I'm the one who's slow, not them--their blog, shopfloor.org. And now I see that they also have "Dobbs Watch," a cool feature, full of smart 'n' snarky commentary. That's what TCG aspires to be when it grows up--smart and snarky!

Wild & Crazy John Gibson

This won't be everyone's audio cup of tea, but this was some kind of creative radio producing--Fox radio getting both Danny Bonaduce and a nut on the phone. And it certainly was compelling to listen to. Thanks, of course, to Johnny Dollar!

CNN Shows Its Heart--Not!--to Carol Lin

As I read this sad news about Carol Lin being unceremoniously dumped by CNN, I couldn't help but think of the way other networks treat their talent in challenging times.

For example, when Fox News' Catherine Herridge's son needed a new liver, Catherine proved to be the only suitable donor. But of course, Catherine had a demanding job as FNC's homeland security correspondent--how could she take off months from work to be there for her child? So what to do? How to juggle job and personal life? In Catherine's case, happily, there was no conflict, because FNC gave her off all the time she needed. And now, as detailed on
Greta Van Susteren's blog, and confirmed abundantly everywhere else, Catherine and son Peter are both doing fine. So Fox stuck by its employee, after near-tragedy struck.

Now to CNN. Lin is the mother of a toddler, too. And tragedy struck her, as well--her husband, Will Robinson, a CNN employee, died recently. And in the meantime, CNN has decided to rid itself of Lin: As Variety's Michael Learmonth reports the story, "Sources said Lin's contract was up and CNN wanted her to leave the anchor's desk to become a national correspondent." But, Variety continued, "As a single mother to a toddler, she couldn't commit to the travel requirements of that job."

In other words, CNN put Lin in an impossible situation. Evidently, they were glad to see her go. Nice guys down over there in Atlanta.

Michael Eisner, The Best--which is to say, The Worst

The LA Times' Paul Brownfield offers his best and worst for the year. And Michael Eisner gets a "best," which is really a "worst":

"Best use of my television for your personal hobby: CNBC's 'Conversations With Michael Eisner' and Dane Cook's 'Tourgasm' on HBO (a tie). Which was the comedy, and which involved narcissists droning on and on into a camera? We'll let you play around with that one."

TCG confesses that it didn't know for sure that Eisner's show was still on CNBC. Well, now I know that it is, and that at least one person is watching it. Probably not many more than that, however. I had gotten the impression that CNBC was trying to clean up its act, after such notable fiascoes as John McEnroe and Tina Brown. But evidently, CNBC despite its spiffy new website, still has air time to burn.

Remember the days when CNBC was the hot cable channel? When it had what then-chief Roger Ailes called "the all stars of talk"? John McLaughlin? Chris Matthews? Geraldo Rivera? Cal Thomas? You didn't have to like all those characters to appreciate that CNBC was, in the early-to-mid 90s, the hot showcase for new news talent, eclipsing CNN, even then. But then there was the big exodus of Ailes and many key staffers to the new Fox startup in 1995-6, and poor CNBC has never recovered. And the fact that a self-indulgent has-been like Eisner--who is not even a nice guy, even now that he's out of a job--is till on its air is proof that CNBC is still in denial, as opposed to anything that might resemble recovery.

After You to Iraq, Matt Damon--Or, Now We Know Why Chris Matthews Is So Happy

Chris Matthews' show gets a tiny rating, but you gotta hand it to him, as he reliably gets a big buzz. There's a lesson there, and it mostly has to do with good "gets," such as Matt Damon and Robert DeNiro. Matthews may not be much at catching eyeballs at home, but he can get guests. And that ability keeps him and "Hardball" in The Cable Game.

But one point on Matt Damon, who helped Matthews' get still more buzz by saying of the Bush Twins, Jenna and Barbara: "And if you're gonna send people to war ... then that needs to be shared by everybody, you know, and if the president has daughters who are of age then maybe they should go too." The MSNBC-ers were of course ready to spill that out last week, for a show that has yet to air.

OK, fair enough. That's Damon's opinion. But here's something to keep in mind. Damon is 36, which is well below the maximum age for joining the military, which is about 42--although TCG knows patriotic Americans who have joined the armed services at even older ages than that. So there's nothing stopping Matt from joining up--the Army would be glad to have him, and then he'd really show those Bush twins.

But strangely, Matt seems content to limit his combat "experience" to getting paid big bucks to play soldier in "Saving Private Ryan"?

Rating the News Blogs--some of them

The Baltimore Sun offers an interesting feature. The paper pulls together a panel to rate the blogs of four newsers: NBC's Brian Williams, CNN's Anderson Cooper, CBS' Anderson Cooper, and ABC's Charles Gibson.

There's no consideration of of FNC, because, according to The Sun's David Zurawik, "Fox doesn't offer a comparable blog written by its lead news anchor." Well, OK, but I think that Greta Van Susteren's blog --heavy as it is with her commentary, plus lots of e-mails, answered--is a must-read.

Zurawik's panel is most praising of Williams, most critical of Couric.

I look forward to more such reports, including a wider range of on-air talent.

"Dobbs' usual erroneus facts and dark pronouncements"

So everybody's a pundit now, and everybody's a critic. Good!

The National Association of Manufacturers, which plays no small part in keeping America prosperous, features a blog, Shopfloor.org, that has achieved some bite, as well as buzz.

In a recent post, it took on Lou Dobbs of CNN, the friend-of-the-fatcats turned demagogue-for-the-Democrats.

Here's a prediction: Within a year or two, NAM will have a video feature, and it will be, in effect, another cable channel.

You, The Tube, and YouTube

So Time magazine, joined at the corporate hip to CNN, has picked "You" as its "Person of the Year." Well, it will be hard for any of us to dislike that choice, won't it? After all, aren't we all flattered to be accorded this honor, for all "our" hard work in terms of generating and aggregating content for YouTube and Daily Motion and 50 million or more blogs? Which is to say, Time has simply pandered to its readership. In its glory days, decades ago, Time would have scanned the horizon, and looked for the most newsworthy figure, including villains, such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and Kim Jong Il of North Korea. After all, Adolf Hitler was a Time "Man of the Year," twice, and so was Josef Stalin. And the Ayatollah Khomeini. And by any good logic, Osama Bin Laden should've been the "Man of the Year" for 2001--what with 9-11 and all.

But Time has lost its standing with its audience, and so this Norma Desmond of magazines now has to grovel for its closeup with audience. Just give people what they want--and then beg them to take it.

Nothing wrong with the free market, of course, even at its most cynical and craven, but then one must ask: Why bother with magazines at all? Or editors? Why not just let RSS, or Google News be in charge of news-aggregation? Once again, nothing wrong with that, but Google News, or RealClearPolitics, or even the lefty Buzzflash, are free!

Call me old-fashioned, but I sort of like the idea of an editor who simply decides what's important and tells it to us. We have doctors who are expert at what they do, and we rely on them to help us cut through the "noise" of our own physical conditions and tell us what's serious and what isn't, and what's causing symptoms, and so on. So why not the same utilization-of-expertise for news? Nobody makes you watch, of course, but if you come to trust one outlet over another, then outlet ought to be your guide--your virtual Virgil, taking you, Dante-like, through the Inferno, the Purgatorio, and the Paradisio of our reality.

Meanwhile, in a relatedly interesting development, there's lots of corporate wrestling over this self-same issue of content aggregation, and who can aggregate it--what with everyone either suing YouTube, or joining with YouTube, or planning a rival consortium to take on YouTube. As a sign of the changing times, it's indicative that one of the new-media players watching this story is an outlet called Laptop Logic.

So, please keep your seatbelts fastened and your hands in the car--it's going to be a wild ride through the second century of The Cable Game.

New Media Man

Nice writeup of Brian Stelter, blogger-in-chief for TV Newser, in today's Baltimore Sun.

A new book on The Cable Game

Just saw an item on a book, Warheads: Cable News and the Fog of War, by retired Army colonel Ken Allard, now an MSNBC analyst.

The book came out in September, but I guess it slipped past me at the time, what with the campaigns and all.

The title might lead one to think that it's an attack on the news, from the left--that is, an attack on Fox News and, ultimately, the Bush administration--some of the blurbs make me think that maybe it's OK. Here, for example, is what Ralph Peters, another retired Army colonel, and no liberal, blurbs about Allards's book: "A timely and highly informative insider's look at military retirees struggling to educate the American people in the wartime world of 24/7 news. Unique and revealing."

So I am going to get a copy and see for myself.