October 23, 2007

Collected and Edited by Rick Kaempfer







News Corp passes Time Warner as world's most valuable media company
(Hollywood Reporter) Paul Bond writes: "About the same time that Rupert Murdoch was telling shareholders that his beloved News Corp. had become the world's most valuable media conglomerate, the company's worth was in the midst of sinking by $1.53 billion. But Friday's massive stock market sell-off didn't alter Murdoch's message. By the end of Friday trading, News Corp. sported a market capitalization of $67.79 billion, larger than Time Warner, the former biggest media company in the world."


Rupert Murdoch praised by Franciscan monk
(news.com.au) Mr Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corp and four other board members were easily re-elected, with all receiving more than 98.6 per cent support from shareholders. During question time one shareholder took the microphone and asked if Mr Murdoch would sign a copy of the latest edition of Fortune magazine, where the 76-year-old graces the cover. ”OK,'' Mr Murdoch, granting his fan's request, replied. Another shareholder described Murdoch as having a “magic, Midas, touch''. Even a Franciscan monk had nice things to say about the mogul. The monk, Father Michael Crosby, who in the past has taken American entertainment corporations to task for depicting smoking in movies they produce, congratulated News Corp's movie studio, Twentieth Century Fox, for its impressive anti-smoking policy in its films."


Writers Guild votes overwhelmingly to authorize a strike
(LA Times) Richard Verrier writes: "Hollywood's film and TV writers are ready to trade their pens for picket signs if they can't reach a deal with their employers by Halloween. Members of the Writers Guild of America voted by an overwhelming margin to authorize their leaders to call a strike if they can't negotiate a three-year contract with the major studios to replace one that expires Oct. 31. Of 5,507 members who voted, 90% favored granting a strike authorization. Guild officials said the turnout was a record for the union, which has nearly 12,000 members. 'Writers do not want a strike, but they are resolute and prepared to take strong, united action to defend our interest,' said Patric M. Verrone, the guild's president. 'What we must have is a contract that gives us the ability to keep up with the financial success of this ever-expanding global industry.'"


The Gospel according to Colbert
(New York Times) David Carr writes: "Last week, Stephen Colbert, in his eponymous avatar as a nincompoop right-wing talk show host, went on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Amid a hail of blow kisses, he said he was mulling a run for leader of the free world and 15 minutes later on The Colbert Report, he declared, 'I am doing it!' A trip to the altar of the Sunday morning talk show seemed like the next beat in the joke, which arrived on schedule yesterday when Mr. Colbert appeared on Meet the Press. 'I’m doing it, Tim, because I think that our country is facing unprecedented challenges in the future,' Mr. Colbert said. 'I think the junctures that we face are both critical and unforeseen, and the real challenge is how we will respond to these junctures, be they critical, or God help us, unforeseen.'”
VIDEO: Colbert on Meet the Press, Part 1
VIDEO: Colbert on Meet the Press, Part 2


Clinton finds a way to play along with Drudge
(NY Times) Jim Rutenberg writes: "Mrs. Clinton is learning to play nice with the Drudge Report and the powerful, elusive and conservative-leaning man behind it. That man, Matt Drudge, came to national prominence a decade ago as a nemesis of the Clintons who used the Web to peddle, gleefully, the latest news and rumor generated by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. That people in Mrs. Clinton’s campaign orbit would tip off the Drudge Report to its fund-raising numbers is in part a reflection of her pragmatic approach to dealing with potential enemies, like Newt Gingrich or Rupert Murdoch. But it also speaks to the enduring power of the Drudge Report, which mixes original reporting with links to newspaper, Internet or television reports far and wide."


Bill Maher helps security toss heckler during live show
(NY Daily News) Maher on Friday night helped security remove a rowdy protester from the studio during his weekly HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher" - and it was all captured on live television. Maher was talking science during one of his weekly panel discussions when a protester in his audience stood up, held up a smuggled-in sign reading "9/11 is a cover up fraud" and shouted comments to the same effect. The host tried to shout down the audience member, who only became more agitated. "Do we have some [expletive] security in this building?" Maher yelled, "or do I have to come down there and kick his [expletive]?"
VIDEO: Maher tosses heckler


An interview with Ian Case Punnett
(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Ian Punnett is the host of Coast to Coast AM, the co-host of a Minneapolis morning show "The Ian and Margery Show," and a former talk show host on WGN Radio. I talk to Ian about all of those gigs and more.



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