Newsweek Wants Serious Journalism?

When Editor John Meacham announced the revamp of Newsweek a few weeks ago, he basically said that the goal was to become the American version of Economist magazine. Do a search for Economist in my archives and you’ll know that it’s a magazine near and dear to me.
I was a bit skeptical of the ability [...]

Stewart – Guest = Pain

So, Rick Santelli (yes he of CNBC fame and tea party fake ranting) was supposed to be on the Daily Show. Apparently, he cancelled at the last minute leaving Stewart and Co. without a guest. That gave the show about, oh, 9 minutes to fill. Want to guess how they filled it?

via The Big Picture

Scrubs

It’s time for the annual Scrubs rumor mill. Unlike the past few years when the rumor was this was the last year for the best damn show on television, this time Bill Lawrence, producer extraordinaire, is teasing that ABC has been responsive to a revolving cast to keep the show going.
I like that idea. The [...]

Heston’s Legacy

We received word over the weekend that Charlton Heston died in his home after a long battle with a disease similar to Alzheimer’s. The first thing I thought of was his legacy and how it would be different for each generation.
For those of a certain age, they will remember Mr. Heston as the grandiose figure [...]

NBC Releases Fall/Winter Schedule

It’s good news, bad news on the LA Times entertainment blog this morning. First, the NBC schedule for next season was released and Friday Night Lights is coming back for 13 episodes! Woohoo! Being a huge fan of Scrubs, I’m used to the stress of wondering if the show is coming back and only getting [...]

Politico’s Mea Culpa?

Politico has an interesting article up today doing a post-mortem on the New Hampshire coverage that all but pronounced the Clinton campaign dead after Iowa. It gives three primary reasons why the coverage was so favorable to Obama and so negative to Clinton.
However, in the end the article seems to be more about excuses than changes. [...]

Sony Just Doesn’t Get It

Just when it appears that Sony/BMG is getting the picture, they pull off the single worst idea in the history of the company (ok, maybe not).
Sony/BMG has decided to abandon DRM (the software that keeps you from playing files purchased on iTunes on your Zune) like the other three major record labels have done. However, [...]

Business Journalists Don’t Know Any Better Than You

One of my favorite pastimes in college was tuning into CNBC (or CNNFN, remember that?) on random days to see what the reasons were that they were giving for the markets move that day. It was usually some intelligent sounding garbage about this or that, but they always had a reason. Of course, they had [...]

My Own Private Radio

I’ve written in the past on how I’ve largely supplemanted commercial/public radio stations with a combination of my iPod and XM. XM is great, but it’s not free and not available everywhere (I’m lucky I can pick up a signal at my desk, but a lot of buildings don’t get a signal). My iPod has limited batteries and is limited to music I already know. Enter a slew of internet startups that want to fill the gap between my iPod and XM.

Senator Wants XM-Sirius Merger Blocked

Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) has asked the Federal Communications Commission to block the merger of XM and Sirius (see my previous merger coverage here, here, here, here, and here). Senator Kohl may have some sway with the decision because he is the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights and would have the oversight [...]