Dan Rather
Stephen Colbert and Dan Rather Talk Vampires and Zombies (VIDEO)
Patrick Rodgers of Philadelphia gained some notoriety when he successfully sued Wells Fargo. But as far as Stephen Colbert is concerned, the real story went untold by the likes of CNN's Don Lemon.'The Colbert Report' (Weeknights, 11:30PM ET on Comedy Central) showed Colbert mock-fiercely grilling Lemon about the Rodgers story.
"Did you not notice that he was a vampire?" Colbert asked Lemon. "At no point did your journalistic instincts click in and say, 'Hey, maybe that's a more interesting story'?"
Lemon admitted that he had noticed Rodgers' sharp incisors but that that wasn't the real story. So Colbert asked veteran newsman Dan Rather what he would have done in that situation.
Katie Couric Quits 'CBS Evening News' to Host Daytime Talk Show
Rumors have been swirling for weeks about what Katie Couric will do when her CBS contract expires this summer. Now, The Associated Press reports that she is heading to fill the Oprah-sized hole in the daytime talk show lineup.According to The AP, Couric will step down from her role as anchor of the 'CBS Evening News' after almost five years in the job. The AP says a network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move Sunday night.
No departure date has been set, but Couric's contract expires June 4th. She is now expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012, and several companies -- including CBS -- are reportedly vying for her services.
Sundays with Seth: Knight of Payne
Bringing in fresh voices from time to time on a veteran series can really energize things. That's what happened this week, as Seth MacFarlane's former writing assistant, Spencer Porter, stepped up to the big leagues and scripted one of the most unique episodes of 'Family Guy' in a very long time. In fact, in thinking about it now, I'm not even sure if there were any of the show's trademark cutaways.Instead, we got tons and tons of surreal adventure right there in the main script. Stewie found Brian's script in order to set up Brian's adventure, and then spent the rest of the episode with a massive head wound. Considering Stewie's popularity, it was a brave move to remove him from the episode for so long.
Brian Williams on Tiger coverage, his funny self, and what's on his iPod
When NBC was promoting Brian Williams' fifth anniversary as anchor of the NBC Nightly News, I figured it was a good opportunity to ask him a few questions. After all, with two wars, a lousy economy, the health care debate, and Tiger Woods, there's lots of news going on right now. And, in such a relatively short period of time, the news landscape has changed on both the broadcast and the cable fronts, including the fact that on Monday, when Diane Sawyer takes over ABC's World News, he'll be the only male evening news anchor left.
Williams (or as he's been called lately, BriWi) was nice enough to answer some questions via e-mail about his new competition and how he lets his famous sense of humor come through during a serious newscast. Finally, he gives me some insight into what he's listening to right now (if you've seen previous interviews with him, he leans more towards the college radio side).
What You Missed Last Night: Dan Rather with an afro
Bob Schieffer sticking with CBS News a little bit longer
For once the info coming from CBS News is not about whether Katie Couric's job is in jeopardy. Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer has decided not to retire after all; he's staying with CBS News indefinitely.The veteran newsman, who'll be 72 this year, had announced his retirement. He was going to leave the Black Rock as of the January presidential inauguration. Now he's decided to postpone the rocking chair. According to TV Week, the network didn't have to twist his arm; the deal was easily and simply done. All Schieffer had to do was get his wife Pat's approval and he was able to tell CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus asked him not to step down as planned with the inauguration of a new president that he would remain.
Rather re-sues CBS, claims his "baggage" kept him from jobs
After a New York court dismissed most of the claims in Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against his former employer, CBS, he was told he could resubmit the suit. So Rather, never one to back down from a fight, did just that. He filed an amended suit that now claims that he met with other broadcast and cable networks, but didn't get offered jobs by them because, as the suit claims, he had "too much baggage" after the Bush / National Guard incident that eventually led to his departure from CBS.CBS's lawyers are pretty confident that the suit will be dismissed a second time, but all Rather wants to do is get to the bottom of what happened with the story about the president's Guard record, which he still stands behind.
"I've never lost sight of the fact that this is a long, hard, expensive road and the odds are against," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I knew that going in. I've known that every hour I've been in it. I'm in this alone. I bear the whole, total expense, which comes out of my pocket.
The Simpsons: E. Pluribus Wiggum
(
S19E10) "To Springfield!"
"Which one?"
"The one where The Simpsons live."
My oh my, was this a jam-packed episode of The Simpsons or what? I haven't seen this many sight gags in one installment of the show for the longest time. Not only that, but this was probably the first episode of the season where Homer and the rest of the family took a back seat to the rest of Springfield's citizens.
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Wiggum for President in 2008
We are just days away from the presidential primary season (Thank God!) and there seems to be a late entry into the race for the White House. No, it's not Michael Bloomberg (although they say he wants to), Al Gore (although they really want him to) or Rosie O'Donnell (they really say nothing about her). It's actually nose-picking, glue-eating, bed-wetting, slightly mis-educated Ralph Wiggum.
Gosh, he'll fit right in, won't he?
Ralph will announce his candidacy on the January 6th episode of The Simpsons. Actually, he isn't the one who announces it; rather, the voters of Springfield, who reject all of the other candidates in their first primary, write the young Wiggum in as a candidate. He quickly becomes an independent presidential front-runner that party leaders for both the Republicans and the Democrats want to have in their court.
TV Squad Daily with Brigitte - VIDEO
- CBS says they aren't out to get Dan Rather.
- Please watch out for trucks. Don't be like Dr. Phil, who just got hit by one.
Katie Couric: this tart's ready to go! - VIDEO
Simpsons star Harry Shearer has been exposing the behind the scenes faux pas and foibles of the national media for years. His video and audio of such things as Tom Brokaw's off-camera remarks are classic. Earlier this year he posted a video on his My Damn Channel channel of Dan Rather going on and on about whether or not to wear a trenchcoat. Now it's Katie's turn.
In the video after the jump, we see Katie prepping to go live during The CBS Evening News' recent trip to Nashville. We see her talking about her hair and whether or not to button the top button of her coat. Personally, I don't see what's so shocking or even "embarassing" about this video. All network reporters do this before the cameras roll - all of them, male and female. In fact, it makes me like Couric more, because she's self-deprecating (combing her hair: "This tart's ready to go!") and seems to be getting along with everyone on the crew.
Katie Couric to talk about everything on Tuesday
Much has been said about Katie Couric and her year behind the anchor's desk on The CBS Evening News (some of it by Couric herself in a controversial New York interview). But now a journalist is going to interview Couric and she's going to talk about everything that's going on with her and with the news biz in general.
Veteran newsman Marvin Kalb is going to interview Couric as part of the Kalb Report Series, which is produced by George Washington University, Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center, and The National Press Club. The interview will take place live on stage next Tuesday at The National Press Club, in front of students and members of the NPC.
TV Squad Daily with Brigitte - VIDEO
Today: on TV Squad Daily:
- Dan Rather is feistier than I expected. He's suing CBS and Viacom for 70 million dollars.
- Who knew Klingon jokes were such hot property? Stephen Colbert is accused of stealing one from Cenk Uygur.
Dan Rather suing CBS for $70 million
What, Eddie Haskell suing someone isn't enough for you today? OK, how about this: former CBS anchor Dan Rather is suing CBS for $70 million. Also named in the suit are CBS CEO Les Moonves, Sumner Redstone, and former CBS news chief Andrew Heyward.
The lawsuit claims that the network forced him to step down from The CBS Evening News and did not give him enough time on 60 Minutes. He also claims that because of all this, the network aired a "biased" and "incomplete" investigation into the National Guard story and seriously hurt his reputation. New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg broke the story earlier this afternoon. Rather is currently an anchor on HDNet.
Now let's see if Katie Couric (or Harry Smith, if he's still filling in) reports this story on tonight's show.
TV Squad Daily with Brigitte - VIDEO
Today on TV Squad Daily:
- Dan Rather said the word "tart," and suddenly everybody's talking about the evening news.
- Donald Trump's has a new reality show in the works, Lady or a Tramp.
- Are we being punished? Veronica Mars fans won't get a new season, but they might get a comic book instead.
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