- Logo test: Which newspaper brands do consumers trust most? Yikes. Not USA Today!

Despite having the second-highest circulation of any U.S. newspaper, the USA Today was the least trusted brand among both consumers and local service professionals, actually

- Crushing progressive media minds all across the blogosphere: Bill Ayers admits to the Obama fundraiser that the Obama camp had called a “myth.”

- Media inquiries forced forward Cain’s latest accuser.

- Ann Coulter heavily censored on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

- Eliot Spitzer returns to cable news.

- Daily Kos’s Markos Moulitsas “uber moron emeritus“:

When it was reported that Republicans had signaled they might go along with an extension of the payroll tax cuts, Markos jumped on Twitter to declare a victory for Occupy Wall Street. He then cranked out ablog post which comes off like someone who has never done an end zone dance trying to do the Ickey Shuffle for the first time.

In the world where Occupy had never happened, Republicans would’ve held these tax cuts hostage without suffering any ill repercussions. Why would they? The chattering class and Beltway media would be droning on endlessly about deficits and other things that didn’t matter.

See that? “Deficits and other things that didn’t matter.” This is actually mainstream Progressive belief. Remember this the next time a Democrat pretends to care about fiscal responsibility. They don’t care. But I digress.

In this world, Occupy has thrust income inequality to the forefront of the political debate — so much so that typically immovable Republicans are afraid to feed that narrative.

In other words, a ragtag bunch of hippies with supposedly no demands have done what Democrats have never been able to do — get Republicans to cry “uncle”.

Yeah, Markos. That ragtag bunch of hippies have gotten the evil Republicans to say they’ll probably back the extension of a TAX CUT.

The phone hacking scandal that has killed the News of the World will surely engulf the entire Murdoch empire.

Could there by any greater cause for celebration? Could there be any news more gleeful? Is any other news worth reporting?

Let the Geraldos and the Hannitys and the van Susterens keep grasping at the unraveling threads of the Casey Anthony trial. They will not report–but you and I can decide: Fox News is done!

The foot soldiers at Media Matters for America, who did such sterling work in exiling Glenn Beck to the castaway island of Internet television, now have a new mission: to haunt every advertiser on the Fox networks, in every slot.

Do you know that by putting your products and services on Fox, you are subsidizing a global criminal enterprise? (more…)

CNN press release:

Schedule Showcases Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan to Air this Fall

CNN has unveiled a new evening lineup with anchors Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan to launch this fall, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president, CNN/U.S.

Beginning Aug. 8, CNN will broadcast its flagship nightly news program AC360, anchored by Anderson Cooper, live at 8pm and re-air it in its current timeslot of 10pm.

In the fall, CNN will premiere a new general news program with Erin Burnett, which will air at 7pm ET and re-air at 11pm ET. Piers Morgan Tonight will continue to air at 9pm and 12am ET.

John King USA will kick off the evening at 6pm. The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer will continue as a two-hour daily program, airing in a new timeslot of 4-6pm. CNN Newsroom will now air from 9am-4pm. The full programming schedule is provided below.

“The new line-up showcases anchors who are experienced reporters in covering stories that span the globe,” said Jautz. “We created a nightly schedule that brings together the best of CNN’s journalism on a wide range of topics from politics and the economy to global and world events, as well the best newsmaker and celebrity interviews. This line-up ensures viewers access to the best of what CNN has to offer whenever they tune in at night.”

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It was a tale of two media biases:  One make-believe scandal pursued vigorously by the media. One authentic scandal vigorously dismissed by the media.

Earlier this month, the mainstream media released 24,000 pages of former Gov. Sarah Palin’s emails in pursuit of a scandal that did not exist. The Washington Post even asked its readers to sift through the emails themselves and “annotate the documents displayed on the Post website.”

The strategy backfired. Palin’s emails revealed nothing embarrassing or incriminating. No crime. No underwear shots. No yfrog photos in the Alaska gym.

Nothing.

Instead, left-leaning media outlets had to content themselves with fluff stories analyzing Palin’s “level of intellect” based on the unremarkable email cache. For instance, the Huffington Post reported that, “Palin’s emails were written at 8th grade level, an excellent score for a chief executive.” But – wait for it – Post reporters are still investigating a suspicious gap in Palin’s emails. Clearly, for the mainstream media, this was not the best of times.

On Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, Jon Stewart dismissed the idea that the Palin email story was rooted in media bias. “If your contention is that they [the media] are relentlessly partisan, then why haven’t they backed away from Weiner?” asked Stewart, who maintains that Fox News is the only biased media outlet. In his own words, he has characterized Fox as “a relentless agenda-driven, 24-hour news opinion propaganda delivery system.”

But when asked by Wallace whether other media outlets pushed an agenda, Stewart’s own bias became apparent. “Would you say the same thing about them [ABC, CBS, NBC, New York Times, Washington Post] that they are — in your words — a propaganda delivery system relentlessly pushing a liberal agenda?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” said Stewart.

Apparently, when it comes to media bias, Stewart has a faulty memory. The mainsteam media initially dismissed the Weiner story. Some media bought his “hacker” storyline. Early on, some – forgive the pun – poked fun at his underwear photo and dismissed it as harmless.  Others sympathized with Weiner’s dilemma, blaming it on the advent of the new media.

In the end, it was not ABC, NBC, or the Washington Post that broke the Weiner sexting scandal story. That distinction belongs to (now vindicated) conservative blogger and author Andrew Breitbart, who, along with Big Journalism Editor Dana Loesch, had been accused of hacking Weiner’s Twitter and yfrog accounts. However, once Weiner’s pictures hit the Internet, even the unwilling media were forced to cover the story, leading to the embattled congressman’s resignation on Friday.

So much for Stewart’s flimsy claim of mainstream media objectivity, eh?

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From TV Newser:

A TVNewser reader Tweeted at us today:

@tvnewser @HowardKurtz: Did CNN really exclude Spitzer from Malveaux package on Sex Scandals & Politics? Hmm..

The answer: yes it did.

Suzanne Malveaux‘s story, which aired at 2:30pmET, made mention or showed images of politicians ranging from John F. Kennedy to John Edwards; also former Governors James McGreevey and Mark Sanford, and former Sen. Larry Craig and current Sen. David Vitter, former Pres. Bill Clinton, and 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich — their private indiscretions made very public. But no mention of Eliot Spitzer …

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NEW YORK (AP) – CNN’s prime-time talk show “Parker/Spitzer” is no more with the departure of Kathleen Parker. Her partner, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, will remain in the time slot in a new show called “In the Arena,” working with E.D. Hill, Will Cain and others.

CNN described Parker’s exit as a mutual decision. The show that matched the liberal former governor and conservative syndicated columnist debuted last fall and started slowly in the ratings.

Parker said that she wanted to concentrate on her writing and that “with the show moving in a new direction, it was time to move on.”

I didn’t think it was possible, I don’t think anyone did, but it appears that CNN can and has done worse than Sanchez! It’s not like the bar was set that high, I mean really, it was Sanchez. Now we have faux-conservative Kathleen Parker who has an odd paranoia concerning Sarah Palin.

It’s the first night of your big show, your chance to make something happen, to do something newsworthy! What do you talk about? For Parker the answer is simple: Sarah Palin. Okay, okay ,we can give her that for the first night. I mean, Sarah Palin is the only reason that anyone knows Parker’s name. It’s the topic that put her on the map. I get it. But in three separate interviews in two nights the number one question on Parker’s mind is Sarah Palin? Is this going to be a running thing?

Even more repellent than Parker’s unhealthy vitriol toward Palin is the lack of challenge to the most egregious, ill-informed and downright mean comments said about Palin — in the first two nights of the new Parker/Spitzer show. In her first interview, which kicked off the show, Parker asked Andrew Breitbart about Sarah Palin. After Breitbart responded that she is the conservative “Oprah” for the new media, fellow guest Thomas Frank went on to say that Sarah “captures a sense of grievance” that Americans identify with.

Not only was he not challenged on what he said about Sarah Palin, forcing him to give proof beyond the title of a book that someone else wrote about her, but he was never asked to defend his statements about what he implied about the American people. (more…)

All yours:

Following last week’s cable news bloodbath featuring the replacement of network chiefs at both CNN and MSNBC, I had to think,  “What will MSNBC and CNN be doing differently today, effectively the first day of the rest of their newsy lives?”

Well sir, CNN has a boatload of change in the offing.  Next week is the sort-of-anticipated debut of Parker Spitzer, CNN’s almost original idea of pairing a liberal and a conservative together in prime time.  And then in January, once Larry King finishes cleaning out his locker, we can’t wait to see what will happen when Piers Morgan steps into Larry’s time slot.

Not to be outdone, MSNBC has started the week with its finger pressed firmly on the pulse of America.  At 10 p.m. eastern tonight we will be treated to “The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell.”

Vice President Joe Biden (the man who believes he is second in the line of Presidential succession) and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be part of the inaugural program that is replacing a replay of Keith Olbermann’s ratings-challenged show.  Vegas is posting better than 3-1 odds on Keith naming O’Donnell as tonight’s Worst Person in The World. (more…)

How about the RINO/Client No. 9 Show?

Ick. We liked this Spitzer show better: (more…)

Who should replace Larry King? Wow, the question of the decade right there!

The excitement is mounting in CNN Land these days as we ponder who should replace the legendary broadcaster who many say actually left his show years ago.

My first thoughts are either Joy Behar (she could just move across the hall from Headline News) or Michael Moore. It seems like they are on the show almost as often as Larry himself, so it would make the transition for the sensitive viewers much easier. They may not even know there has been a change.

Ahhhh, but before we put Larry to pasture I think of the great moments in Larry King history.

The night he called Andre Agassi “Pancho Gonzales.” Andre was sitting right there next to Larry and Pancho had actually been dead for more than ten years at the time. I was watching the interview live, the look on Andre’s face was priceless. (more…)

And so it ends, not with a bang but a Tweet: Larry King, a fixture at CNN since God Almighty was a pup, has announced he’s ending his show in the fall. According to Variety:

Here’s what he said at the start of Tuesday night’s show:

Before I start the show tonight, I want to share some personal news with you. 25 years ago, I sat across this table from New York Governor Mario Cuomo for the first broadcast of “Larry King Live.”

Now, decades later, I talked to the guys here at CNN and I told them I would like to end “Larry King Live,” the nightly show, this fall and CNN has graciously accepted, giving me more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ little league games.

I’ll still be a part of the CNN family, hosting several Larry King specials on major national and international subjects.

I’m incredibly proud that we recently made the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot. With this chapter closing I’m looking forward to the future and what my next chapter will bring, but for now it’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders.

Over at Mediaite, they’ve got a nice wrapup of King’s announcement: (more…)

No sign of desperation at CNN these days. Nooooooooo. After all, what TV producer wouldn’t jump at the chance to premiere a new prime-time political show this fall with a disgraced former attorney-general/governor-turned-high-end-john?

Yes, that’s right—CNN jumped first. They’ve just announced their new hour-long show with “conservative” 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner Kathleen Parker and 2008 Booby Prize winner Eliot Spitzer. This program has class writ large all over it. It’s low class—but it’s still class.

Once details of his secret life as “Client No. 9” in a haute-poitrine call-girl business emerged back in March 2008 (and after he subsequently resigned as New York’s governor), no doubt the TV offers just poured in for Eliot Spitzer. “The usurer hangs the cozener,” complains King Lear. And in Spitzer’s little tragedy of pimp and prejudice, the john hangs the hooker. (more…)

CNN is already under fire for giving disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer a TV show during family hour; now the network is being targeted by minority journalists for the hire. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) has joined the protest. NABJ sent an open letter (full text below) to all the cable new networks –CNN, FOX and MSNBC- about the lack of racial diversity on their airwaves.

In the letter, the journalist organization specifically attacked CNN for replacing Campbell Brown at 8 p.m. with Eliot Spitzer.  “It just seems that cable news can never find diverse candidates who are good enough to meet their standards. We want to know your standards,” NABJ demands in the letter.

CNN President Jon Klein has been unabashed about hiring the disgraced Spitzer. In the  bizarre statement from the network, Spitzer is described as “a Democrat who resigned as governor in March 2008 after acknowledging visiting a prostitute, is a well respected political mind and a take-no-prisoners prosecutor.”

NABJ jumps on this, asking the cable network in the open letter: “Are you telling us that CNN could find no one better than an ex-politician who quit being New York governor after consorting with prostitutes to grace America’s living rooms each night?” The text of their letter: (more…)

Basement-rated CNN announced yesterday that disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and “conservative” columnist Kathleen Parker will co-host a new political talk show at 8 p.m. Regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, CNN should hold its airways to a higher standard and not give an open platform to an admitted john and sex trafficker.

Eliot Spitzer, aka “Client No. 9,” broke numerous state and federal laws, but has never taken responsibility for his actions, nor shown any real remorse. The once-dreaded “Sheriff of Wall Street” was reduced to droning his resignation in front of a microphone while his long-suffering, grim-lipped wife looked on — a familiar trope for those involved in Democrat politics.

Joe Klein, President of CNN and Spitzer’s close friend, demonstrates an utter lack of morality by putting Spitzer on the national airwaves at all, much less during the family hour at 8 p.m. How can parents teach their children about consequences to their actions when Spitzer breaks laws and gets his own TV show? (more…)

You knew this was coming. From the New York Post:

Ted Turner must be flinging his remote at the wall in despair. CNN, the cable network he founded, is poised to turn its prime-time schedule over to two disgraced public figures, ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and former British tabloid editor Piers Morgan, in its desperate bid to restore lost ratings.

Hooker-loving Spitzer is thisclose to a deal to co-host an 8 p.m. talk show, sources said. Morgan — a former editor of Britain’s Daily Mirror being groomed to replace Larry King — was caught up in a scandal in 2000 after he bought shares in a company before his paper touted them as good buys. He quit in 2004 after printing fake photos of Iraqi prisoners being tortured by British soldiers.

Good grief:

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It looks like Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes is on track to win another endorsement from ACORN!

This week, Hynes announced that “no criminality has been found” after his investigation of the videotapes made by investigative journalists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, which show ACORN employees counseling the pair on getting a mortgage for a house of prostitution.

(They got a choice of government loans: Phat Fannie Mae, Prince Freddie Mac or Barney Fresh Daddy Frank … aka “Sir Fix-A-Lot.”)

I’m just glad to know that Hynes conducted a thorough “investigation” first. Who did he have screen the videotapes, Gov. Paterson?

If his investigators had actually watched the videotapes, they would have found ACORN employees apparently advising a pimp and prostitute on how to defraud mortgage lenders, deposit prostitution money in a bank, hide money from the government and avoid detection while running a whorehouse with teenage girls from El Salvador.

I’m not a lawyer — oh, wait, yes, I am — but I count approximately a half-dozen state law crimes being discussed on those tapes, from money laundering to advancing prostitution.

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