Free Republic

Phil Griffin, head of the MSNBC cable television channel, told Marisa Guthrie of the Hollywood Reporter that he accepts responsibility for recent embarrassments that led Alec Baldwin and Martin Bashir to leave the network and Melissa Harris-Perry to offer a tearful on-air apology. "These were judgment calls made by some of our people. We handled them. We were transparent. That is our philosophy: Be factual, and step up when you make a mistake,” Griffin asserted. “We took responsibility for them and took action. They were unfortunate,” but “I don't think it hurt us in any way.” While known as a...

All I want for Christmas is for black holocaust deniers to eat the crap that comes out of their mouths, Sarah Palin for example. When the acclaimed journalist Martin Bashir was a sports reporter on "The Voice" newspaper 25 years ago, neither I nor any of his colleagues could have tipped him to be one of the most celebrated TV correspondents of his generation. In fact, he was a bit of a tasty geezer in those days with a broad cockney accent that belies his current clipped vowels. All that changed when a certain princess called up the Panorama programme...

Whoops, there it is: Sarah Palin’s fear of enslavement to the Chinese may actually be true. “Don’t wish for something, you just might get it” is a paraphrase of the often-cited Chinese proverb. The former GOP vice presidential nominee had called on MSNBC to cancel Martin Bashir’s talk show. Bashir was, at the time, serving as the conscience of the network, striking fear into those who defied political correctness. Not since King George has a Brit been so brash. Leaving aside Piers what’s-his-name, perhaps. To no one’s surprise, a few weeks ago. Marty found something Ms. Palin said to be...