Free Republic

. . .Breitbart is adding to his network of vertical blogs. The newest site to join the Breitbart network is “Big Journalism,” which will launch in January of next year. His target is much bigger than HuffPo — or any other website for that matter. Breitbart is gunning for the institution of mainstream media, or what he calls “the Democratic-media complex.” In an exclusive interview with Mediaite, Breitbart shares his vision for his expanding network of “Big” right-of-center sites . . . Breitbart: “If these traditional media outlets can’t be shamed into telling the truth, diverted for doing the wrong...

Steve Kroft interviews Pres. Obama for Sunday's "60 Minutes." It's Pres. Obama's first extensive interview since announcing the troop build-up in Afghanistan. Kroft will also ask about the economy, job creation and the security breach at his first state dinner.

Adult-Themed ‘Frosty’ Videos Stir Outrage CBS melds iconic cartoon clips with risque quotes from sitcoms Tues., Dec . 8, 2009 Jolly Frosty the Snowman bragging about his porn collection, discussing breast size and bullwhips, and then soaring off in Santa's sleigh announcing that he's off to an execution? CBS promotions staff apparently thought that two mashups of the iconic cartoon character spliced to look as if he were uttering adult lines from "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" were just harmless fun. But the resulting videos, available on CBS' Web site and on YouTube, have...

CBS is canceling the soap opera "As the World Turns" after more than a half-century on the air. CBS says the final episode will air next September, in its 54th year. Daytime dramas have been in a long-term ratings decline, and CBS ended the daytime soap "Guiding Light" earlier this year. [Snip] The cancellation will leave CBS with only two daytime dramas: "The Young and the Restless" and "Bold and Beautiful."

Here is a story on how CBS tried to cancel the Charlie Brown Christmas Story. Some stories just need reporting…so we don’t forget some of the heroes of our past. I have paid attention to anything Charles Schultz since I played hockey with his grandson years ago. I was listening to KTKZ am radio on the way to work the other day when Mike Gallagher, the morning host, told this amazing story about CBS, Charlie Brown's Christmas and Mr. Schultz. So I did a little fact checking to confirm it and here is what I discovered. Here are some notes...

In a perverse advertisement currently on the its Web site, CBS is trying to cross market the crass television show "How I Met Your Mother" with the children's holiday classics "Frosty the Snowman" and "Frosty Returns." The disgusting result was the video "Frosty the Inappropriate Snowman," in which Neil Patrick Harris's voice (in character from the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother") was dubbed over Frosty footage. Harris' Frosty said things like, "We've got to have a bros' night at a strip club" because it's "healthy" and "harmless." He also discussed his "porn collection" and "the Dominator 8000 - the...

It’s really comical at this point! Despite all of the important events happening in the world today – the president’s speech tonight on the strategy in Afghanistan, the Senate debate over health care reform, the disturbing details of the “Climategate” scandal, the continuing challenges facing the world economy – the media is concerned about my travel and lodging arrangements on my book tour?! Does this sound familiar? It should. The media showed the same out-of-proportion obsession with my personal arrangements, clothes, and hairstyles last year instead of focusing on the crucial issues involving the election. So what is this news...

What should Diedre Scozzafava want to accomplish by Sunday's appearance on Face the Nation on CBS? Is it just another post-election 'poor poor pitiful me' about being beat up by tea party thugs led by Dick Armey, who will be on the same show? Well, I hope not. Ms. Scozzafava knows politics aint bean bag and there is something for all to learn from the NY23 GOP meltdown. In retrospect, which is a lot like hindsight, Ms. Scozzafava was not the best hope for North Country Republicans and her selection by a handful of county chairs was another example of...

When CBS News anchor Katie Couric isn't asking Sarah Palin gotcha questions, she's doin' Da Butt, or the Lambada, or whatever white ladies do when the Black Eyed Peas are on the sound system. More unbelievable images after the jump. UPDATE: We've learned that these are from the after-party celebrating Couric's debut as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Oh, lord. A tipster sent us these photos after finding them in a Facebook photo album called "Four Martini Mimimum" and says they were shot in 2006. We've asked CBS News for information about where, when, and why they were taken—we...

Wondering if anyone else saw the 60 Minutes piece on the cost of Dying. If you missed it, the only thing missing was "My name is Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and I approve this message. A brief synopsis was that they had 2 doctors on and a "taxpayer advocate" that said the answer to America's woes in healthcare costs were to go ahead and let terminally ill patients die, and give them less treatments and services. Rationing, it was explained, wasn't a dirty word, but in fact was the right path to not bankrupting ourselves. We must, as...

Did anybody else catch the NFL Promo for this weekends games during survivor last night? They showed Brett Favre in his Jets uniform, and the voice over said watch the undefeated jets play the titans this weekend!

Before Sarah Palin's highly-anticipated book, "Going Rogue," goes on sale this week, it has already generated controversy, skepticism and blowback. In portions that have been leaked in advance, and in interviews Palin has given in advance of the book's debut Tuesday, the former Alaska governor criticized senior aides to her 2008 running mate John McCain, which prompted retaliation from McCain's campaign staff — some speaking on the record, some anonymously. Of Palin's book, Steven Schmidt, McCain's chief strategist, told CBS News, "It's fiction, and it's not true." "This is Sarah Palin's turn to get even, as it were," said CBS...

This is my first attempt at a post so everyone be nice:) Earlier this week I was interviewed for a segment on the CBS Early Show. It will air tomorrow morning (Monday the 16th) at about 7:40am Eastern time. They invited me to do it because of my deal, coupon, frugal living blog, www.mylitter.com. I teach classes and help people learn how to coupon and save money in all areas of their lives. Kelly Wallace, the reporter, asked some questions about the economy and I tried to mention FreeRepublic! It will be interesting to see how it was edited, what...

News that President Barack Obama is demanding new Afghanistan options and answers, after months and eight meetings with top officials on General Stanley McChrystal's request for more troops, led ABC anchor Charles Gibson to express exasperation Thursday night: “What new questions are there to be asked after all this time?” CBS and NBC, however, weren't so dubious. Though Katie Couric painted “a long, drawn out process,” Chip Reid assigned gravitas to Obama as he asserted Obama “has been agonizing over this decision” and “recently immersed himself in the agony of war.” Reid touted: “That the President is so thoroughly researching...

Sources tells CBS News that investigators are continuing to look for any possible ties between the alleged Fort Hood shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, and terrorist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, an affiliate of Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood operates behind the scenes in the United States and seeks to subtly place individuals into influential positions in the academic, legal or medical professions to further their cause of undermining the United States. So far all investigations of Hasan have indicated that he acted alone, without support or direction from any outside group. Stories published this week indicated that Hasan had been...

David Letterman was having an affair with his former personal assistant way more recently than David's rep had us believing -- according to documents filed by the alleged extortionist's lawyer. According to legal papers filed today by the defense, Robert Halderman confronted Stephanie Birkitt in December 2008 with evidence of the affair and she promised to end it. But Gerald Shargel, Halderman's lawyer, claims the relationship continued "unabated" into this past summer. Letterman's rep has said the affair ended before Letterman's marriage in March. Dave blew the whistle on the alleged extortion plot in early September.

31 years ago, in 1978, the television program 60 Minutes put on an episode about the awful threat of "video piracy" to the movie industry. Featuring the MPAA's Jack Valenti, the episode focused on how the VCR was going to destroy the movie business because anyone could copy and watch a movie in the privacy of their own home. Of course, in retrospect, that episode is hilariously wrong. You would think that, given how wrong they got it thirty years ago on this particular subject, 60 Minutes would be a bit more careful taking on the same subject again. No...

Rush Limbaugh's tough criticisms of President Barack Obama on Fox News Sunday “broke” the White House's truce with Fox News, Bob Schieffer suggested during an interview with Obama's Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, on Face the Nation. After playing a clip of Limbaugh dismissing as “a photo-op” Obama's trip to Dover Air Force Base to witness returning casualties from Afghanistan and quoting Limbaugh's characterizations of Obama as “narcissistic,” “immature, inexperienced” and “in over his head,” Schieffer, seemingly referring to Limbaugh's remarks -- or, at least the decision by Fox News to feature Limbaugh on its Sunday interview show -- forwarded: Last...

After months of taking incoming fire from the prime-time stars of Fox News, the Obama White House is firing back, "FOX News often operates almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican party," said Anita Dunn, White House communications director. "If media is operating basically as a talk radio format, then that's one thing, and if it's operating as a news outlet, then that's another," Mr. Obama said. Last Sept. 20, the president went on every Sunday news show - except Chris Wallace's show on FOX. And on Thursday, the Treasury Department tried to exclude...

How long before we hear from Team Lightbringer that CBS isn't really a credible news organization? The latest bedtime story from the Obama administration was released today and, darn it, they just can't bring themselves to tell the truth. "Jobs saved" is no more measurable than "hugs hoped for" but when you have the smartest president in the history of EVER he's probably privy to some super-secret genius metrics that we Earth-bound beings couldn't handle. We're moving into new territory here. The formerly unquestioning MSM is showing signs of realizing that they might still need work one day after Barack...

When Katie Couric and the folks at CBS start doubting what the Administration says about how effective February's economic stimulus package was, you know President Obama is in trouble. "Well, Katie, that report is going to claim that the stimulus has already created or saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, but if the administration`s first effort at counting stimulus jobs is any guide, tomorrow`s numbers could be hard to believe."

Here is video of a CBS News report questioning the truthfulness of the number of jobs the White House is reporting that have been "saved or created" as a result of Obama's Stimulus Plan. CBS News reporter Chip Reid shows some shocking examples of jobs Obama's report claims were created, but turned out to be totally untrue. It calls into question the honesty of any numbers on the economy being put out by Obama's White House. CBS News might need to get ready for the "Fox News" treatment with reporting like this! . . . (VIDEO)

In August 2009, CBS News made a simple request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for public documents, e-mails and other materials CDC used to communicate to states the decision to stop testing individual cases of Novel H1N1, or “swine flu.” When the public affairs folks at CDC refused to produce the documents and quit responding to my queries altogether, I filed a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request for the materials. Members of the news media are entitled to expedited access, which I requested, since this was for a pending news report and on an issue of...

A former Letterman writer claims Dave's show was a "hostile, sexually charged atmosphere" -- and "sexual politics" played a role in why she eventually quit the job. The woman making the claim is Nell Scovell -- who spent roughly 5 months working for Dave back in 1990. In an article for Vanity Fair, Scovell claims during her employment, she was well aware that Dave and other high-level male employees were having sexual relations with female staffers.

    Feinberg interviews turn networks against Obama administrationAP Photo/Kevin Wolf The Obama administration now claims it did not try to exclude Fox News from Thursday's round of network interviews with pay czar Ken Feinberg.   A treasury department spokesperson claimed, "There was no plot to exclude Fox News, and they had the same interview that their competitors did. Much ado about absolutely nothing".  Unfortunately for the Obama administration, four other networks are fully aware of the situation and have proof that the treasury department is lying.  Fox did have the same interview as their competitors, only because the other networks came...

There was a bit of development late today that maybe Fox was making the whole "they tried to exlude us from the Pay Czar interview" story up. But here, CBS confirms the story and states that the administration "crossed the line" when they tried to exclude Fox. Share and enjoy.

Dispatch from the Department of Pot-Meet-Kettle . . . Katie Couric has demanded "humility" from Wall Streeters making seven-figure incomes. This from a woman pulling down . . . eight figures [an estimated $15 million/year] from CBS while cementing the Evening News' caboose status. Couric made her hypocritical plea in her "Notebook" segment yesterday, commenting on Pres. Obama's pay czar's plan to cut compensation for employees of financial firms that have received bail-out bucks [emphasis added]:

TALK-SHOW host David Letterman has been recorded on tape having sex with a female staff member - and he is worried that the footage will eventually be leaked, it's reported today. Letterman, 62, recently admitted to having a series of sexual relationships with some of the women that work for him. The chat show host and a much-younger female co-worker have apparently been captured on a studio surveillance tape in a compromising position. “If the tape makes its way into the criminal case, it’ll explode his marriage to smithereens,” a source told the National Enquirer magazine.

Do the major media outlets in the U.S. have a liberal bias? Few questions evoke stronger opinions, and we cannot think of a more important question to which objective statistical techniques can lend their service. So far, the debate has largely been one of anecdotes (“How can CBS News be balanced when it calls Steve Forbes’ tax plan ‘wacky’?”) and untested theories (“if the news industry is a competitive market, then how can media outlets be systematically biased?”). Few studies provide an objective measure of the slant of news, and none has provided a way to link such a measure...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Metro Nashville Police Department is standing by its investigation into the deaths of former Titans' quarterback Steve McNair and girlfriend Sahel Kazemi after a national report case study out Monday raises questions about the murder-suicide. Metro police have maintained almost from the start that McNair was shot by 20-year-old Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself. In a story aired Monday on CBS's The Early Show, reporter Armen Keteyian interviewed friends and a former boyfriend of Kazemi, who claimed they did not believe that she killed McNair and then herself. The report shows never before...

Even though Robi Boscarino lives a world away, the 17-year-old Australian still manages to tune into CBS' "NCIS" seven nights a week. Earlier this month, the Perth resident visited the hit crime procedural's sound stages in Valencia and caught his favorite character, DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), in action. "Back home, everybody likes him," said Boscarino, who has Hodgkin's lymphoma and whose big dream to visit the set was made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "He's one of the most popular TV actors, for sure. This is more than I expected, to be honest. I didn't expect him to be like he...

As heard on Glenn Becks show today this is video of Anita Dunn discussing the tactics to be used in controlling the media and press. For Example: She talks about how they would use David Pluths videos to bypass having to talk to reporters. "We'd put those out and make them write what Pluth had said as opposed to Pluth doing an interview.." Here is the video Here is the video of Anita Dunn.

Back on October 7, when the Congressional Budget Office reported that the federal deficit had ballooned to a massive $1.4 trillion during President Obama’s first year on the job, Katie Couric’s CBS Evening News did not tell viewers. But Couric finally caught up to the bad news after the Obama White House put out its final numbers on Friday afternoon. Couric disclosed the news in a brief item on the October 16 Evening News that never mentioned Obama by name: “It’s the biggest IOU Uncle Sam has ever written. Government figures out today show for the last fiscal year, which...

Recently I revisited The Visual Craft of William Golden, a book published in the early-Sixties about the legendary CBS creative director. There is an essay in the book by CBS exec John Cowden that sheds light on Golden’s artistic integrity, and helps to explain why the advertising work created under his guidance remains to this day the strongest body of advertising ever created for a TV network. Golden’s world revolved around graphic design, illustration and advertising, but I find his experiences to be relevant to creative people working in any commercial field, and especially animation. For example, Cowden recounted how...

If there was any question which side of the ideological blogosphere a lot of the inside-the-beltway media establishment go to regularly, Politico may have just cleared that up. In an Oct. 11 Politico story headlined "Think Progress makes its mark," which was the top story on its Web site that evening, Daniel Libit paid reverence to the left-wing Center for American Progress' Think Progress blog. "Can a liberal blog launched in the midst of the Bush era - a blog that once obsessed over Alberto Gonzales, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove and the outing of Valerie Plame - still make its...

Legit broadcast journalism, so important yet nearly dead, last week took another hit when CBS News’ “48 Hours” presented an “exclusive” with the Gotti Family. Three days later, Victoria Gotti’s tell-all was released by Simon & Schuster, the publishing division of CBS.

The Marine Corps unit of a Lorain native killed in Afghanistan will be featured as part of a CBS News "60 Minutes" segment about the war there. USMC Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, who was killed in action Aug. 31, was serving with a force that became part of the research for the "60 Minutes" program scheduled to run this Sunday. ...It appears the television crew has footage from Helmand Province, the same place where Hall spent his final days. The reporters were a kilometer away when a bomb took Hall's life and may have footage of the helicopter...

David Letterman's sensational sex scandal has triggered a $300 million divorce war between the 62-year-old talk-show host and his outraged wife Regina, say sources close to the star. The couple - who lived together for years before marrying March 19 - are fighting over everything from his extensive property holdings to custody of their son Harry, 6, according to insiders. "It's become a real battle," revealed a Late Show insider. "Regina is humiliated, and she wants to get even with David for his public admission he cheated on her repeatedly during their 23-year relationship." The ENQUIRER was told the kinky...

MIDI - BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL Working on the Late Show is a wonderful job, it's one I don't want to lose Dave told me there was just one way to advance...I had to do certain things I must be paying my dues So be nice to your boss or, girls, you may well get tossed Keep putting out more or you are out the door Be nice to your boss Got a "Letterman Jacket" 'cause of how I performed...Dave had a smile on his face He had been using us but I wondered what we would see...

Well, it's not the renowned and, as it turns out, downright horny host of CBS' "Late Night With David Letterman" show. It's probably Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, former vice-presidential candidate and current full-time mom who, back in June, showed Letterman the wrath of an angry mom. Letterman, who probably needs better joke writers as well as some kind of male chastity belt, wisecracked that New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez "knocked up" Palin's daughter during a seventh-inning stretch. Palin went ballistic, figuring Letterman was referring to her 14-year-old daughter Willow. Letterman countered by saying he was referring to...

Through a secret source at the show, I was able to get this before TMZ. Here is the official Letterman Jacket of The Late Show. It is only available through Dave and not included in the official CBS merchandise catalogue.

The National Organization for Women has sharply criticized comedian David Letterman, accusing him of promoting a hostile, uncomfortable work environment. "The latest Letterman controversy sheds new light on the widespread objectification of women in the workplace," NOW said in a statement Tuesday. "Most women can attest to the fact that many workplaces are plagued with inappropriate behavior by men in power." The "Late Show With David Letterman" host admitted last week on his CBS program that he had sex with unnamed employees and had testified about those liaisons before a New York grand jury as part of an alleged extortion...

Two weeks ago, we noted that CBS had been pinpointed by Audit Integrity as one of 10 big companies at risk of bankruptcy. This prompted an outraged denial by CBS. As the banking collapse illustrated, any time a company denies that it's about to go bankrupt, it makes sense to assume that the company is indeed about to go bankrupt--and then analyze the situation for yourself. We've now done that for CBS. Here's the bottom line: CBS is not on the verge of bankruptcy. The company is, however, highly leveraged, and its cash flows have been deteriorating rapidly. So if...

On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith promoted a new book and documentary about a New York City couple that spent a year without modern amenities, such as toilet paper and electricity, to limit their impact on the environment: “This is an amazing saga....when the lights were switched back on, Colin and Michelle clearly saw a year that meant so much more than living without toilet paper.” Smith asked Colin and Michelle Beavan what their “inspiration” was, to which Colin replied: “Concern for the planet. I mean, we were reading so much about global warming happening and we were...

CBS has got to dump David Letterman. Right now. If the Tiffany Network continues to coddle the crotchety king of late night, it will rightly be known as the destination of choice for any girl who jiggles, giggles and puts out repeatedly for a man old enough to be her father. Dave must go. If not, CBS will have lost any remaining shred of credibility, not to mention common decency. By his own admission, the married Letterman has bedded any number of women working under His Highness. Problem is, he doesn't seem to know precisely how many. And brass has...

Long before Stephanie Birkitt was revealed as David Letterman's squeeze, the funnyman was known to surround himself with beautiful young staffers who ministered to his daily needs -- and favored women when it came to promotions. Holly Hester, who interned for Letterman in the early '90s while she was a student at NYU, said yesterday the two had a steamy, secret affair for a year. She said Letterman called her one day and asked her to the movies, and they soon began seeing each other on the sly. "I was madly in love with him at the time," Hester told...

MIDI - TAXMAN (click on arrow to download to your player) If you have sought a job with Dave...he's the sex man He'll tell you how you must behave...he's the sex man Yeah, Dave's the sex man...oh, my, he's the sex man Harassment is at CBS...he's the sex man Dave's really caused them quite a mess...he's the sex man Yeah, Dave's the sex man...oh, my, he's the sex man Be nice because he's your boss...or your job may soon be lost Out on your ear you'll be tossed...if you say "no" there's a cost Sex man (musical break) Yeah,...

Keeping quiet about an apparent extortion attempt against David Letterman and “The Late Show,” CBS worked over the weekend to stamp out unauthorized copies of the late-night host’s televised explanation. The network did not post official copies of the segment on CBS.com or on YouTube, proving that while media companies are now generally eager to distribute their material on the Web, there are still some TV moments they would rather not spread widely. In a remarkable 10-minute segment Thursday night, Mr. Letterman told viewers of a Connecticut man’s suspected $2 million extortion attempt, predicated on evidence of Mr. Letterman’s sexual...

Sources: ‘Late Show’ staffers were unaware of Letterman’s bombshell Fri Oct 2, 4:29 pm ET Much of the buzz around David Letterman’s late-night revelation keeps circling back to one question: Why was the studio audience laughing? Viewers who watched it on TV or online immediately took to Twitter to express everything from bewilderment to outrage over the audience's reaction. Shawn Ryan, creator of the FX show "The Shield," opined, "What a fascinating confession/comedy act from Letterman. Audience didn't know how to respond at parts." Another Twitter user going by the handle "Brain" stated, "Letterman audience clapped when he said he...

There is panic at Black Rock Last evening, at an executive-level party attended by some of the Senior Suits from CBS, (and others,) Letterman was the ONLY topic of conversation. There was clearly panic in the air. And old friend/fiend who was there said it was more delicious than the cold Hors’ Dourves and watered down Scotch. There was no concern for the moral implications of Letterman’s actions, of course. The big worry was about the huge cost of litigation from all the victims of Letterman’s slippery zipper. When the news of the trouble was first announced, there was about...