Free Republic

By now everyone reading the Main Stream Media (MSM) knows how biased the reporting was during the election campaign. This bias extended far beyond the editorial page and has been confirmed through independent studies of the press. The reporting has an almost in-your-face attitude, as though we readers have no options and the press can report whatever they want. The St. Louis Post Dispatch, my daily paper, does not even bother to present facts fairly; they simply choose to show those things favorable to Obama with no analysis of the facts. The press captured this election for Obama, and now...

Studio 60" is over. Some news services are reporting that the sets have been struck, others are talking about the new dramas NBC has ordered to replace last May's "sure thing." But this much is known: On Monday, NBC will formally announce the end, thank God, of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." One of the most expensive hours in TV history, "Studio 60" was a goner even before it hit the airwaves. The ill-conceived drama about a comedy sketch show wasn't funny or tense, it was simply annoying. The real back story of "Studio 60" is what will remain...

A senior diplomatic official called the cancellation of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Israel visit unprecedented, Israel Radio reported on Tuesday. According to the official, Washington's decision could be interpreted in the region as meaning that the US believed the peace process could not move forward due to the situation in Israel. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

China cancels troop leave at N. Korea border-report 10 Oct 2006 02:31:03 GMT Source: Reuters By Ben Blanchard DANDONG, China, Oct 10 (Reuters) - China has cancelled leave for troops along at least part of the border with North Korea, a mainland-controlled Hong Kong newspaper reported on Tuesday, a day after the North announced a nuclear test. The Wen Wei Po said Chinese People's Liberation Army troops ranged along the border in northeast China's Jilin province "have had leave totally cancelled" and some forces were conducting "anti-chemical" training exercises. But trains between the two countries appeared to be running as...

/begin my translationKim Jong-il's China Visit Cancelled For Now, But Tried Again Soon"N. Korean advance team still staying in China... N. Korea still wanted the visit" (Seoul=Yonhap News) Hwang Jae-hoon = Kim Jong-il's plan to visit China was leaked prematurely to the outside, and it was cancelled, but they will give it another try soon, according to a (new) claim. Chang Sung-min, head of Peace Forum for World and N.E. Asia, has told Yonhap News on Sept. 6, 'I learned it from a credible source on Kim Jong-il.' He said, "It is true that Kim wanted to visit China between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 and have a meeting with President Hu Jintao. However,...

After lingering on life support for months and fueled by promises that solvency was just around the corner, the Q Television Network officially ended transmission Thursday. Q Television CEO Lloyd Fan announced that funding would not come and that the network would be unable to meet its financial obligations and would commence bankruptcy proceedings. "When I took over control of the network on March 7, 2006, the company was roughly $7 million behind in payments to vendors; numerous lawsuits had been filed against the company and over $600,000 was owed to former employees," Fan said in a prepared statement Thursday....

LOS ANGELES, May 2 (UPI) -- ABC TV has put an abrupt term limit on its freshman drama, "Commander in Chief." The network Tuesday announced it was pulling the Geena Davis series for the rest of May sweeps and running the newsmagazine "Primetime" in its 10 p.m. Thursday slot for the final three weeks of the season, Zap2it.com reported. The series started as one of the most-watched in the fall and Davis won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the first female U.S. president. However, two extended breaks and behind-the-scenes changes as well as a schedule move from Tuesday...

Nothing lasts forever, Lord knows, but multiply that little platitude by a billion and the history of prime-time TV suddenly comes into focus. Shows come. Shows go. Like puffy little clouds drifting on a nice summer day, they all eventually succumb to audience and especially network indifference, then - poof! - no more nice little summer cloud. But come to think of it, there has been this one show that has flirted with immortality. Bound by an ironclad formula that has made it resistant to change, this formula has also made the show resistant to decay. One key actor decides...

ABC is sidelining Commander in Chief and premiering back-to-back episodes of midseason comedy Sons & Daughters in its Tuesday 9 p.m. time slot beginning March 7. The network says Commander will return in the spring and would have been running repeats for most of its hiatus, anyhow. ABC has 12 episodes of Sons & Daughters, so if it runs two every Tuesday. Commander would be off the air for at least six weeks. But the move comes on the heels of ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson addressing the show's ratings challenges, despite star Geena Davis’ recent Golden Globe win for...

ABC news show is down 15 percent in 18-49s The post-Ted Koppel “Nightline” has faced questions about its viability since its debut two months ago, but those questions are hardly new. Koppel faced them for much of the time he anchored the show. What is new is a hefty decline in ratings. Will ABC continue to stand behind the late-night news show, and for how long? The question would seem to gain urgency with the network's improved primetime ratings, making a makever of the 11:30 p.m. timeslot all that more attractive. For the week ended Jan. 15, “Nightline” averaged 3.6...

Book of Daniel's creator asking fans to contact stations The creator of NBC's The Book of Daniel is warning viewers that "bullies" at the American Family Association may succeed in their fight to kill the show unless viewers speak up. Jack Kenny, the creative force behind the prime-time drama about an Episcopal priest and his dysfunctional family, posted his appeal on a blog, www.blogofdaniel.com, whose host is the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. Kenny asked fans to contact stations in support of the show, and thank a dwindling number of sponsors for advertising during the Friday show, which airs at 10...

NBC Cancels Emmy-Winning 'West Wing' After Seven Seasons, Makes Several Midseason Moves PASADENA, Calif. Jan 22, 2006 — The new president on "The West Wing" will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama after seven seasons in May. NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes including the moves of popular dramas "Law & Order" and "Las Vegas." "The West Wing" announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Although this season's story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat...

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Jack Bauer‘s latest marathon workday got off to a good start Sunday, ratings-wise. The Fox drama "24" notched its most-watched episode ever with its fifth-season premiere as the first of two back-to-back episodes got a boost from a primetime overrun (in East Coast and Midwestern markets) of the NFL‘s NFC divisional playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. Airing from about 8:13-9:11 p.m. EST, the first episode of "24" averaged 17 million viewers and a 7.3 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic (demographic share data for Sunday were not available Monday because of...

New low, despite attention over Spencer's death The death of “West Wing” star John Spencer did not spark new interest in the long-fading show when it returned last night from a nearly month-long hiatus. In it first new episode since Spencer’s death in December, “West Wing” tied a season-low with a 1.9 overnight rating among viewers 18-49 last night, 17 percent lower than the 2.3 overnight rating the show had averaged through its first nine episodes of the season. There has been much speculation over what NBC will do with the show now that Spencer, who played vice presidential candidate...

The death on Friday of actor John Spencer, best known for his role as former White House chief of staff and current vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry on NBC’s “The West Wing,” presents a major dilemma for both the series and NBC. Spencer, who died of a heart attack, was a longtime fixture at NBC, also appearing on the drama “LA Law” from 1990 to 1994. Like his “Wing” character, he was a recovering alcoholic, and he was one of the show’s most popular characters for his honest portrayal of that problem. His death could not come at a worse...

On July 18, CBS/Infinity radio affiliate WTIC AM in Hartford was scheduled to begin airing commercials for an upcoming symposium on terrorism hosted by the Peoples’ Truth Forum (PTF). On July 15, a CBS/Infinity sales representative notified PTF’s president, Jeffrey Epstein, that the ads were being cancelled because of a decision by the legal division. According to Frank Salvato’s WorldNetDaily article, "CBS/Infinity Radio blacks out anti-terror conference," their official statement said, "Too many people might be emotionally affected by the subject matter…It’s too controversial to be aired at this time." The cancellation was made a week after the first London...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - With negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic leaders at a halt, both sides are poised to go to political war in a Nov. 8 special election, even as the number of ballot measures dwindle and new calls are made by some to cancel the balloting all together. "We are so deep into it now, I don't see how you can get the toothpaste back into the tube," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles. "We are so far down the path, I think we should have the special election and put the whole issue to rest."...

News Release Contact: Sharon Gamsin MasterCard International +1-914-249-5622 MasterCard Statement on Data Breach Lawsuit Filed in California Purchase, NY, June 29, 2005 - With respect to MasterCard, the lawsuit filed in California on behalf of cardholders and merchants who claim to have been potentially affected by the data breach at CardSystems Solutions, is without merit. The complaint fails to state an adequate claim against MasterCard, which publicly disclosed this situation as soon as we had verified the accounts for which data had been improperly stored in violation of our rules. Moreover, facts already in the public domain make apparent that...

China's Wu Yi cancels meeting with Japan PM KoizumiMon May 23, 2005 08:30 AM ET By Masayuki Kitano TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi cancelled a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday and flew back to China a day earlier than scheduled, saying she had domestic business to attend to. Koizumi said he did not know why Wu was returning to China, and officials in Beijing had no immediate comment on the cancellation of the meeting, which had been seen as another opportunity to improve frayed Sino-Japanese relations. "It would have been a good opportunity...

China Calls Off Democracy Conference By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer Tue May 17, 3:15 AM ET China abruptly called off an international conference on human rights and democracy this week, apparently because it was too close to the June 4 anniversary of Beijing's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, a participant said Tuesday. The three-day conference was to begin Thursday in Beijing, but speakers were told to "assume that it's been canceled," pending official notice, said Bruce Gilley, the author of several books on Chinese politics who was invited to speak at the conference. It would be the second time...

Earthquake, Tidal Waves Crush Korea's Tourism Industry The powerful earthquake that triggered devastating tidal waves off the waters of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean is impacting Korea's travel agencies during a peak holiday season. While on-site rescue efforts are underway, many tourists are bottled up in the region, with delays in flight arrangements as local airports have also been hit by the colossal tidal waves accompanied by the earthquake. Runways are inundated with water and air traffic control systems at key airports have been rendered out of service. Korean travel agencies have been flooded with last-minute...

<p>Thousands of people are expected to turn out Sunday to commemorate San Francisco's 84th annual Veterans Day Parade, filling the same streets that overflowed earlier this year with anti-war protesters trying to avert an invasion of Iraq.</p> <p>But even as organizers prepare for a large turnout, they are threatening to pull the plug after this year if the city doesn't give them more money for future Veterans Day parades.</p>

I finally got around to reading this week's issue of TV Guide. Pg. 46: Left-wing poop drama "Mister Sterling" has not been renewed. Also, Ted Danson (he and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, are major Clinton brown-nosers)'s show "Becker" has not been renewed, but could return in mid-season. With The West Wing's ratings dropping and Sorkin leaving, The West Wing could be the next show gone.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Topic A with Tina Brown," the CNBC talk show hosted by the publishing maven nonpareil started inauspiciously with a distant fourth place finish among cable news channels. The show, which aired at 9 p.m. Wednesday night and featured interviews with media-cum-Internet mogul Barry Diller, chief executive officer of USA Interactive, Sony Corp . of America CEO Howard Stringer and Queen Noor of Jordan, among others, garnered a paltry 74,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. By comparison, Fox News' "Hammity & Colm," which featured former U.S. Senate majority leader Trent Lott and Casper Weinberger, the former...

HEADLINE ON DRUDGE!

RUSSIA has suffered a blow to its lucrative economic relations with Iraq as Baghdad cancelled a multibillion-pound deal to develop the West Qurna oilfield, one of the country’s largest. Lukoil, Russia’s largest oil company, confirmed yesterday that Vagit Alekperov, its president, had been told that the £2.5 billion deal had been ended. Russia has kept close ties with Iraq throughout the past decade of that country’s international isolation, winning extensive oil contracts. Energy Intelligence Briefing, the newsletter that reported the decision, said Iraq had been angered by reports that Mr Alekperov had sought assurances that Lukoil’s deal would be guaranteed...

To All NERO WOLFE Fans: A&E has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with such dedicated and talented professionals as actor/director Tim Hutton, and writer/executive producer Michael Jaffe, the team whose passion and creative vision for NERO WOLFE have made it such a truly distinctive drama series. Mr. Hutton and Mr. Jaffe, along with (Maury Chaykin, Bill Smitrovich, Colin Fox) and the rest of this hardworking and talented cast and crew, were responsible for bringing to life this classic mystery series, each week, to devoted viewers in the U.S. and in Canada. We at A&E remain extremely...