September 18, 2007

Collected and Edited by Rick Kaempfer







Tribune may throw MLB a curveball
(LA Times) Hiltzik and Shaiken write: "With Major League Baseball entering the final two weeks of the regular season, the bidding for the Chicago Cubs is about to move into the hardball stage. Tribune Co. announced in May that it would sell the marquee franchise after the current season as part of its privatization deal with Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell...But Tribune, which also owns The Times, is now pondering whether it might get more money by selling the pieces separately, according to people close to the Tribune transaction. Among other things, that would limit Commissioner Bud Selig's influence over the deal because Major League Baseball's authority extends only to the team itself. Selig has been accused of steering previous franchise sales toward bidders he favors, even when higher offers have been on the table, and he may have a strong preference this time. A piecemeal transaction would also make the sale more complicated and probably push the timeline for its completion past the end of this year."


Sally Field delivers another memorable acceptance speech
(YAHOO! News) Twenty-two years after her immortal Oscar speech, the Fox network really did NOT like Sally Field. Accepting her Emmy on Sunday night for lead actress in a drama series ("Brothers and Sisters"), Field stumbled halfway through, lost her train of thought, screeched at the audience to stop applauding so she could finish talking — and then was bleeped by Fox censors as she stammered through an anti-war rant. "And, let's face it, if the mothers ruled the war, there would be no (expletive) wars in the first place," Field said, but Fox cut away for much of her comment.


More Emmy Controversy
(Associated Press) Presenter Ray Romano also got attention from the evening's word police. Fox blacked out the show for a few seconds when Romano used a strong word in a joke about his former "Everybody Loves Raymond" wife, Patricia Heaton, sleeping with her new "Back to You" co-star Kelsey Grammer. Supporting dramatic actress winner Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" mouthed another expletive, which Fox unsuccessfully tried to evade by switching camera angles. Ricky Gervais of "Extras" beat out Steve Carell of "The Office" for lead comedy series actor. Gervais originated the buffoonish boss role that Carell fills on the American version of the British sitcom. The biggest laugh of the night was earned by presenters Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, after they announced that Gervais won. "Ricky Gervais could not be here tonight. Instead we're going to give this to our friend, Steve Carell," Stewart said. Carell bounded on stage, sharing a group hug with Stewart and Colbert.

President invites bloggers that already agree with him
(Washington Post) The day after his prime-time speech on Iraq, President Bush sat down for a round-table interview not with traditional White House reporters but with bloggers who focus on military issues, including two participating by video link from Baghdad. Judging from some of the accounts of the Friday meeting, the president offered up little news. Here is what one of the 10 bloggers, Ward Carroll of Military.com, described from his notes as some of Bush's most notable comments:
• "This strategy is my strategy."
• "I'm defining a horizon of peace."
• "I don't mind people attacking me. . . . That's politics . . . but I do mind people impugning the integrity of our generals."


An interview with Jennifer Keiper
(Chicago Radio Spotlight) She is the news director at WLS AM-890, a former news reporter at WBBM News Radio 780 and WLS, and an instructor at Columbia College. Last weekend I talked to Jennifer Keiper about her career, her approach to the news, and other journalists that she admires. I also give her a pop quiz.


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