Kathie Lee Gifford Joins Today's Fourth Hour

Like so many TV programming changes, news about Kathie Lee Gifford's return to morning TV leaked a while ago.

Still, NBC made Gifford's move to join its venerated Today show franchise official this morning, setting an April 7 debut for the former Regis and Kathie Lee co-host. This isn't the first time NBC's tried bringing an experienced showbiz woman to its morning franchise; Florence Henderson was a game co-host with Jodi Applegate when the Peacock Network first tried a Today show extension in 1999, the ill-fated Later Today.

But Gifford has an advantage, because Today's fourth hour is already up and running, even if critics haven't given it much love. (Locally, it airs at noon after WFLA-Ch. 8's 10 a.m. show Daytime and the station's 11 a.m. midday newscast. The standard airtime is 10 a.m.)

Her other advantage: She's undisputably the big name here. When she left Regis in 2000 after 15 years, rumors bubbled that the two couldn't get along, though they maintained a happy face in public. On Today's fourth hour, backed NBC News anchor/reporter Hoda Kotb, she'll be the Barbara Walters of the pack -- bringing a connection to daytime TV's older female viewers and loads of showbiz experience.

We'll see if she can rein in the big showbiz ego -- and get used to working on a show which is still considered an extension of NBC News.

Here's the announcement, aired on the Today show at 7:30 a.m. this morning:

Click below to read the press release:   

Can Linda Bloodworth Embarrass HBO Into Airing 12 Miles of Bad Road?

  It's got to be one of the oddest packages I've ever received as a TV critic.

Non-descript and sent overnight, the envelope contained seven DVDs and a plea from producers Linda Bloodworth (left) and Harry Thomason, creators of the classic sitcoms Designing Women and Evening Shade.

Seems HBO had spent more than $20-million creating 12 Miles of Bad Road, a sprawling comedy poking fun at the Bush-era, Enron-style Republicans, and now the premium cable channel had decided not to air it -- basically, spending the most money it ever has to NOT air a TV series.

I have a story in today's Floridian detailing the showbiz Hara-Kiri Bloodworth and Thomason seem to be committing, embarrassing one of Hollywood's major players by sending critics copies of six completed episodes in hopes our stories can accomplish what their negotiations did not.

Charging forward like a character from one of her Southern-baked sitcoms, Bloodworth assured me that she'd go on the Home Shopping Network to sell this show, which offers inspired performances from Lily Tomlin, Mary Kay Place, Gary Cole and blue collar comic Ron White. See more about the show here.

Obviously, HBO believed in the show at one time, because it's listed here at the back of an old promo reel from 2007. Check it out -- this brief glimpse may be all you'll see of the best (or, at least, the most expensive) show HBO never aired.

Deggans PunditWatch: NPR's Barbershop and Florida This Week

As if bloviating on CNN weren't enough, I'm flapping my gums in two more places this week, which you can enjoy at the comfort of your own computer screen through the magic of the Internet (sounds like some late '90s instructional film, I know).

Click here to check out my first-ever participation in The Barbershop, a regular feature on former ABC News reporter Michel Martin's National Public Radio show Tell Me More. Every Friday, a group of brothers gets together to razz each other and talk about the week's events. I was a last-minute addition, but I had been wanting to join this crew for a while, so this was fun (for those of you who know, it's one step below the hang late night in the hotel lounge at an NABJ convention. Nuff said).

As Michel describes it: "The guys in this week's Barbershop — Arsalan Iftikhar, Nick Charles (VP of BET.com), Roy S. Johnson (Editor-in-Chief of Mens Fitness magazine) and Eric Deggans (Media Critic for St. Petersburg Times) — have a lot to say about Sen. Hillary Clinton's conflicted account of a trip to Bosnia, Chelsea Clinton's snappy response to a question about Monica Lewinsky during a recent campaign stop, the latest song release by the "Obama Girl" and the NCAA's March Madness.

If THAT weren't enough, you can also catch me on Rob Lorei's public affairs show for WEDU, Florida This Week. This time, I'm appearing with former Florida Senate president Tom Lee, Democratic consultant Vic DiMaio and leadership director at USF Sarasota, David Klement. What do I know about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the state's apology for slavery and the teaching of intelligent design in the state's schools? Tune in at 8 p.m. tonight or 12:30 p.m. Sunday to find out!

Hillary Clinton Can Make Insensitive Racial Remarks, Too

I almost hate to put this up, because I really don't want to contribute to the sound bite culture that has gotten a stranglehold on our political process these days.

But I was rooting around on a different story today, and stumbled on this YouTube clip of Hillary Clinton making a joke four years ago, comparing noted east Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandi to a gas station owner. This a remark for which Senator Clinton has already apologized.

This wasn't something said by a pastor or a friend. This was a scripted joke she delivered while introducing someone at a public event. I don't think it's evidence of some closet racism on her part. But I do think it's evidence that anyone can say something racially insensitive in public, and the sensible thing to do is find out whether it reflects their consistent feelings about these issues or if they are just errors in judgement.

And its also evidence that we all should be careful about judging people too harshly on these issues.

Why Did It Take Sinbad to Expose Hillary Clinton's Bosnia "Misstatement"?

As I've been watching coverage of Hillary Clinton's attempt to explain why she characterized a visit to Bosnia years ago as much more dangerous than it actually was, I've been struck by network reporters' attempts to insert themselves into the story.

Both CBS's Sharyl Attkisson and NBC's Andrea Mitchell have pointed out during their reports that they were actually with Clinton on that Bosnia trip and recalled no sniper fire, rushing crowds or exagerrated danger. Since headlines have been filled with the news, other journalists who took that trip 12 years ago -- including former MTV News reporter Tabitha Soren -- have weighed in.

So why did it take comic Sinbad to blow the lid on the whole deal?

The idea that Clinton may have been fudging the truth about her Bosnia story first came from a March 11 interview Sinbad gave to The Sleuth, a behind-the-scenes Washington blog produced by WashingtonPost.com writer Mary Ann Akers. The former Jingle All the Way co-star, last in the news denying widespread rumors he was dead (just the career folks, rimshot!) accompanied Clinton on the 1996 trip with singer Sheryl Crow and said it wasn't so dangerous.

His best line: "What kind of president would say, 'Hey, man, I can't go 'cause I might get shot so I'm going to send my wife...oh, and take a guitar player and a comedian with you.'"

Unfortunately, Sinbad also declared himself an Obama supporter during the interview, which probably   cost him credibility. And Akers basically presented the story as a he said, she said, with a Clinton spokesman providing quotes from stories published at the time noting the danger. Journalists acknowledge Clinton has told the Bosnia story at least since December on the stump; relating it so many times, reporters who regularly cover her had begun to joke about how often she'd drag out this old chestnut.

The Post ran a snarky blog item on Clinton's use of the story Dec. 29 and the conservative media watchdog site Newsbusters noted March 18 that no reporter covering the Bosnia trip in 1996 mentioned sniper fire.

But the truth of the Bosnia visit didn't resonate in the mainstream press until Attkisson's story this week (what's funny, is that Attkisson's original report plays up the danger of the visit a lot more than her latest story).

But shouldn't Mitchell and Attkisson, who have filed more than a few election stories this year, have remembered the truth before now?

Lunsford Lawsuit Questions Remain: Was Agreement with Bubba the Love Sponge a Publicity Stunt?

I knew last week there might be trouble in the effort to resolve Mark Lunsford's intent to file a lawsuit against the Citrus County Sheriff.

First, Lunsford's lawyer last Thursday went to the lair of his biggest critic, shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, to announce an agreement. But the lawyer for the sheriff's office wasn't there, and afterwards lawyers for Lunsford and Clem didn't seem to agree on what they'd agreed to.

Clem's lawyer Stephen Diaco said this on air: "We were able to come up with a tentative agreement and that's the big announcement...They're going to iron out an understanding where all sides release each other, the notice is withdrawn, the case is dismissed with prejudice, but with the understanding that Sheriff Dawsy has agreed to sit down with Mark Lunsford...and go over Jessica Lunsford's case with a critical eye."

But when I called Lunsford's lawyer Eric Block after the radio appearance was done, he said this: "It’s nothing new here. We said from day one, that if the sheriff (Jeff Dawsy) admitted he made mistakes, there won’t be a lawsuit. If you take his words to mean that we have settled and agreed to do anything, then that’s inaccurate."

But if there was nothing new here, why did both lawyers go on the radio and say there had been a agreement, however tentative?

I spent 12 hours working this story last week, shuttling back and forth between Diaco and Block, sometimes on the same conference call, trying to understand why they were insisting that a deal was imminent when they also admitted they hadn't resolved the biggest question.

Namely, Block insists the sheriff admit someone made a mistake while investigating the 2005 disappearance of Lunsford's mudered 9-year-old daughter Jessica before he will withdraw his notice to file a lawsuit. But the sheriff insists the notice be withdrawn before he will sit down with Lunsford (no one who knows this case really expects Dawsy to admit he or his office made any mistakes). And because Clem decided to insert himself into this soap opera by repeatedly attacking Lunsford on his show, now he's become part of this sad display.

Last week, Clem promsed to "crank it up so f***ing hard" against Lunsford if the deal fell through,insisting "Mr. Block said X on my show and then got out of my studio and said Y....maybe he bamboozled me."

Clem is on vacation this week, and was hoping to wrap up the Lunsford agreement before he left. That might explain why Clem and Lunsford's lawyers went on the air last Thursday, when the attorney for the sheriff's office was out of the country on his own vacation. (Curiously, when I begged public relations people from the sheriff's office to call their lawyer on his cellphone and verify that this tentative agreement was valid, they refused. So I was never able to determine whether he cut a deal the sheriff's office wasn't aware of.)

Clem's also worried about overexposure in the media. The lawsuit filed by his rival MJ came out of the blue, garnering more headlines, and Clem is smart enough to know that the public will soon tire of seeing his name attached to bizarre media food fights, if he doesn't resolve some of them.

So big question left: What will Bubba say on air, now that a resolution of this lawsuit seems unlikely? And do Lunsford's lawyers really have the gumption to pursue a lawsuit against Dawsy's office and Clem's Cox Radio employers at the same time?

American Idol's Anti-R&B Attitude Claims Chikezie

Up until Ryan Seacrest called his name, I don't think Chikezie believed he was going home tonight.

But I worried about it. Because last night he took the easy way out and sang the soul ballad he'd been dying to belt out since the show started -- placing himself square in the crosshairs of American Idol's severe anti R&B bias.

Over its history, the most successful artists to emerge from Fox's blockbuster talent show have been in country (Carrie Underwood) power pop (Kelly Clarkson) and rock (Chris Daughtry). R&B tinged winners such as Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Taylor Hicks and Jordin Sparks have had a tougher time, with quick success that fades quickly (Studdard and Hicks for example, have already lost their record deals, and Studdard was always overshadowed by the success of the guy he beat, Clay Aiken).

But R&B singers on Idol always had an edge: They were usually also the BEST singers. Not so this year. Idol's 2008 edition is the first in recent memory where R&B-influenced singers -- and, indeed, singers of color -- are not among the best singers or performers. And the show's only real judge, record label owner Simon Cowell, is clearly jonesing to work with the rockers onstage, especially Michael Johns.

So this is the first Idol where straight-up R&B singing is a clear ticket to ejection-ville. I hope Syesha takes the hint; the only way she's going to stay in the hunt is to stay away from the soul stuff and seriously re-invent herself.

Kind of odd that a competition which has two R&B and dance artists among its three judges and a host of R&B players in its backing band, is working so hard to keep an artist like that from actually winning. 

Now it Can Be Told: Cheney Would Rather Spread Democracy Than Practice It

Jon Stewart said it best on The Daily Show, when he lampooned Dick Cheney as a "dealer, not a user" of democracy. But it is interesting to see how the Bush administration is dropping many of its past pretenses as its lame duck status advances.

In this interview, with ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Cheney admits he couldn't care less about the nation's opinion of his five-years-and-counting war...

Stumbles By American Idol Frontrunners Place My Predictions in Doubt

The easiest way for me to ensure someone fails on a reality show, is to predict their victory.

At least it seems that way after last night's American Idol episode, in which the two singers I gave the best odds of winning gave the some of shakiest performances of their time on the show.

Already, you're on cheesy ground when the theme is songs from the year of your birth (does it hurt that the oldest contestant was born during my freshman year of high school -- yes it does!) And who told David Archuleta to choose a hit by some guy from Australia we've never heard of? Did Carly Smithson really think she was going to win with a Bonnie Tyler song?

And how long did it take you to figure out that David Cook was singing a Michael Jackson tune?

So far, there's Cook and then there's everybody else in this competition. Listening to his take on MJ's Billie Jean, redone as a slow, grungy rock ballad, actually brought a few goosebumps. He raises the bar every week with daring musical chances, and every week he manages a new way to top himself. Regardless of how the votes go, Simon Cowell better have a contract waiting for this dude when the dust clears.

And I'm still having trouble understanding the phenomenon that is Michael Johns. Chikezie does a faithful rendition of a Luther Vandross hit and he gets disrespected in the worst way; Johns basically offers a faithful version of Queen's We are the Champions, and he's the second coming of the Lizard King?

Basically, I'm assuming Paula and Simon both want to sleep with him. It's the only sensible explanation.

ON ABC's Dancing with the Stars, executives are probably just hoping somebody clicked over during Idol's commercial breaks. I was surprised to see illusionist big mouth Penn Jillete get his walking papers so early -- I must have underestimated the leverage a radio personality like Adam Carolla, who deserved the walk of shame last night, can generate (or the animosity a relentless motormouth like Jillette produces). The failure of Monica Seles, a neophyte dancer with no personality or fan base, was no surprise.

Considering that I picked footballer Jason Taylor to win, I'm expecting him to actually break a leg by next week's competition. One way or another, my predictions are going to come true....

Chris Rock on Why a Black Woman Can't Be President, Among Other Things

Leave it to Chris Rock to jam his fist down the throat of America's zeitgeist and pull its beating heart forth, still pulsating. Rolling Stone was smart enough to send celebrity profiler extraordinaire Bill Zehme out to capture Rock in the middle of a stand up tour he's taking while a white woman and black man are fighting for a serious chance to be the next President.

It sounds an awful lot like one of Rock's last starring movies, Head of State, and he knows it. Here's an amazing excerpt from that profile, courtesy of Rolling Stone Online:

"Bush has f%**ed up so bad," (Rock) will posit to any and all congregants in braying loops of oratory, "that he's made it hard for a white man to run for president. 'Gimme anything but another white man, please! Black man, white woman, giraffe, anything!' A white man's had that job for hundreds of years — and one guy f****ed it up for all of ya!"

And: "Each candidate tells you how humble they are. No, you're not humble! Do you know how big your ego has to be to say you wanna be president of the United States? Do you know how much Puff Daddy juice you have to drink? How many Kanye injections you have to take?"

And: "I actually think America is ready for a woman president. But does it have to be that woman? . . . She's gonna work in the office where her husband got blow jobs?! There ain't enough redecorating in the world she can do to change that! . . . There's one thing Hillary Clinton's better at than everybody else, and one thing only — and that's forgiveness! Hillary Clinton is the greatest forgiver in the history of the world. Even Jesus knows: 'You really good at fo'giveness. I mean, I talk the talk, but you walk the walk!'"

And: "Barack Obama — he's a black man with two black names! Barack. Obama. He doesn't let his blackness sneak up on you. As soon as you hear Barack Obama you wonder, 'Does he have a spear?' . . . He's so cool, too, man. I don't think he realizes he's a black candidate! When you're the only black guy doing something, people expect you to take it up a notch. If you're the only black playing basketball with a bunch of white guys — they expect you to dunk! . . . Barack has a handicap the other candidates don't have: Barack Obama has a black wife. And I don't think a black woman can be first lady of the United States. Yeah, I said it! A black woman can be president, no problem. First lady? Can't do it. You know why? Because a black woman cannot play the  background of a relationship. Just imagine telling your black wife that you're president? 'Honey, I did it! I won! I'm the president.' 'No, we the president! And I want my girlfriends in the Cabinet! I want Kiki to be secretary of state! She can fight!' "

Think I can guess what magazine I'll be hunting down at Barnes & Noble tomorrow morning....Here's another cool Rock interview

Rev. Wright Debate on CNN But Not in Tampa

I was disappointed to hear that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was not coming to Tampa. I was hoping his appearance here might bring the debate over his words to the Tampa Bay area in a way which might help broaden the debate a bit.

I've been pretty disappointed in how media outlets have been unable to present a quality debate about some of the issues Wright's speeches have raised. Instead, we're stuck in soundbites and snarky comments, with longtime closet racists such as Pat Buchanan using the controversy as an excuse to air their awful comments in the guise of serving as elder statesmen.

I wonder how it is a guy like Buchanan can write books and columns admiringly quoting white supremacist William Pierce and the white supremacist organiztion the New Century Foundation without any rebuke from mainstream media. And yet his he is indignant that journalists haven't hammered Obama harder for his ties to Wright?

Here is a video of my vain attempt to bring some perspective to this debate on Howard Kurtz's Reliable Sources show. The video is provided by left-leaning media watchdogs Media Matters, which have also criticized CNN's Kurtz for not covering the excesses of conservative pastors more:

The Times David Adams Judges Dan Rather's Look at Cuba on HD Net Tonight

I'm turning over the blog for moment to an amazing guest blogger: The St. Pete Times' Latin america correspondent, David Adams, who has a look at a new report from former CBS anchor Dan Rather:

David writes: If you are one of the few who have access to HDNet, and are in the mood for an hour-long "in depth" look at what's going on in Cuba, you might tune in tonight at 8pm to Dan Rather Reports.

Rather was in Cuba in January to look at economic change under the new Raul Castro government. "We had access at the top levels of government," he tells me. But he didn't get the interview everyone wants with Fidel. Nor did he get to see Raul either.

Even so, it sounds as though he has put together an interesting show. He offers no exclusive revelations, and most of what he reports has been well covered in the major US newspapers, including the St Petersburg Times. Still, there's a lot you can show in one hour, and when it's on HD many viewers might find that more appealing that reading about Cuba in newspapers.

Rather says his aim is to provide the kind of nuanced look at Cuba that he says is sadly lacking in US policy towards the island. "What's lacking in Cuba debate is a recognition of the nuances and complexity of the situation," he says. "It tends to be black hats and white hats, and it's a much more complex picture there. In this country we tend to be fixated on Fidel and Raul. This is a transition period, and likely to remain that way from a long time."

Working for HDNet, Rather says, allows him to do the kind of foreign stories that the big news networks don't do any more, with the exception of CBS 60 Minutes, where Rather was a contributor.

Rather is well positioned to judge how Cuba has changed. He says he's been there more than a dozen times since the 1970s, and has interviewed Fidel maybe five times. He's also met Raul in the past. But it had been a decade since his last trip.

"When the Soviet Union dissolved Cuba was in as bad a shape as I have ever seen. They were hanging by their finger nails," he says. But things are looking a little bit better now. "Things have improved because they are getting oil and gas from Venezuela and selling nickel to the Chinese."

On this occasion he says he took his cameras to the countryside outside Havana to look at how change is coming to agriculture. This is a key area of reform proposed by Raul.

Rather's timing is good. Reuters reported yesterday that Cuba has begun decentralizing its state-dominated agriculture sector. Farmers are being told they can now make decisions about what crops to plant and where to sell them. Rather says he spoke to farmers precisely about these changes. He explains that unlike in the past they will now be able to opt to sell to private markets rather than directly to the state.

Rather will likely get hammered in some quarters for not dwelling more on Cuba's human rights situation as well as the lack of other freedoms. But that wouldn't be news either. And I don't suppose HDNet will mind it they attract some controversy.

Instead, it sounds to me like he has made a useful contribution to the better awareness of what is going on Cuba. Whether that makes for good TV we shall have to wait and find out. HDNet still has a small audience and is only available in 9 million homes. But it has been winning praise for some of its investigative and feature reporting.

Three Episodes In, and This Year's Dancing With the Stars Results are Already Written

I'll be the first to admit I'm no Dancing with the Stars expert.

But even with my limited knowledge, I feel I've seen every one of these dancers before in previous editions -- and I know how they're going to fare two episodes in.

Clearly R&B star Mario and skater Kristi Yamaguchi are the best actual dancers on the floor. Yamaguchi's ice skater's perfectionism has translated into spookily perfect dance performances -- this woman who claims she's never danced professionally in her life looks bred for the art. And Mario seems to make up for a lack of formal training with raw talent and hard work.

But if past Dancing cycles are any indication, they both will be eclipsed by Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who is my pick to win this thing. He is male and an athlete, which Dancing voters love, but he's also a good dancer who is getting better on the show, which Dancing fans REALLY love. DWTS winners are often a Cinderella story, and there's no better tale than the brawny athlete who molds himself into a suave, dancing phenom.

Other observations three shows in:

Adam Carolla gets the Tucker Carlson Award for most miscast participant. Fortunately, his (and our) pain won't last long.

Priscilla Presley gets the Marie Osmond, spunky older gal who might get within spitting distance of winning award. Though I think her overly surgeried face -- which reminds me WAY too much of Jack Nicholson's turn as The Joker -- will weird out the public enough that she won't last long as Dancing's Fainting Queen did last season.

Deaf star Marlee Matlin gets the Heather Mills we can't even believe you're on the dance floor award. But, like Mills, she's only going to need one awkward performance to send her to the showers. and unless the front runners trip up she's not got a chance of actually winning.

Marissa Janet Winokur gets the Sabrina Bryan spunky young girl who hasn't got a chance award. Cute as a button, Winokur isn't even as sharp a dancer as Bryan, who got skunked from the competition last season because nobody knew who she was -- a problem the young Hairspray star also faces. 

Steve Guttenberg gets the older guy with two left feet who remains a good sport about it award -- otherwise known as the Jerry Springer Memorial Cup. That selfless spirit will keep him in the running at least a week or two longer than he deserves to be.

My pick for who's leaving tonight: Carolla and Monica Seles.   

Can Watching a Fictional Black or Female President Help Americans Elect the Real Thing?

Since Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama began making waves in their quest for the presidency, it’s a question us pop culture critics have asked with growing frequency:

Can watching a fictional person of color or woman serve as president prepare people to elect the real thing?

Turns out, TV and film have been presenting us with a diversity of fictional presidents long before we were ever poised to elect an actual non-white or non-male. But even Hollywood had trouble believing America could look past its own prejudices to choose such people, with many of these presidents achieving the job by accident or presented as jokey punchlines (even Ernie Hudson, the black guy from Ghostbusters, has played a President).

I put together a story for today's Floridian looking at the various minority and female commanders in chief, with a indication on our Inspiration-scale™ just how much each portrayal might have prompted us to accept the candidates we see today. Here's an excerpt, with some clips so you can judge yourself:

BLACK PRESIDENTS

James Earl Jones as Douglass Dilman in The Man (1972)

How did he get the job? A little-known congressman made president pro tempore of the Senate when the vice president has a stroke, he becomes president when the incumbent and the speaker of the House are killed in a building collapse. Inspiration scale: 3 out of 10. Could there be a more outlandish way to become president? Based on Irving Wallace's 1964 book, the movie seems tailor-made to assure '70s audiences it could never actually happen.

Morgan Freeman as Tom Beck in Deep Impact (1998)

How did he get the job? Presumably elected. Freeman shines in the same grandfatherly sidekick mode he worked in The Shawshank Redemption and Bruce Almighty, helping white folks work out their problems before an asteroid destroys the eastern seaboard. Inspiration scale: 6. He's the coolest president on film. Of course, he's leading a country facing extinction.

Dennis Haysbert as David Palmer in 24 (2002)

How did he get the job? Elected. Palmer then overcomes a mutinous vice president and Cabinet to avoid a needless war in the Middle East started by greedy multinational businessmen. The similarity to real life these days is inescapable. Inspiration scale: 9. If only our real-life president could have been this prescient.

FEMALE PRESIDENTS

Patty Duke as Julia Mansfield in Hail to the Chief (1985)

How did she get the job? Presumably elected. Duke was a particularly harried president in this ABC sitcom, saddled with a cheating husband, a sassy black secretary of state and wacky plots. Inspiration scale: 5. Fortunately, the pain lasted only seven episodes.

Glenn Close as Kathryn Bennett in Air Force One (1997)

How did she get the job? OK, technically, Vice President Bennett never becomes president; she refuses to sign a document giving her the power when Harrison Ford's President James Marshall is taken captive by terrorists on Air Force One. Still, she rallies the military and Cabinet, looking serious and barking into telephones many times. Inspiration scale: 4. Not only does she refuse power when the president is forced to release a terrorist with a gun to his head, she really doesn't come up with any plan for saving him. Good thing the president used to be Indiana Jones.

Geena Davis as Mackenzie Allen in Commander in Chief (2005)

How did she get the job? Tragedy strikes again! Incumbent Teddy Bridge dies of a sudden brain aneurysm, leaving Vice President Allen in the driver's seat. Inspiration scale: 8. Allen successfully reins in male power brokers determined to marginalize her. But producers wound up focusing more on male characters to save the show, which was canceled in its first season. The price you pay for being three years ahead of your time.

Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Sermon in Context

When the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons first came under fire, I didn't even want to bother arguing about them. I was raised in a black church. I knew how good preachers would use hyperbole and aggressive statements to make their point during sermons aimed at teaching bold lessons to parishioners.

But then, of all people, Bubba the Love Sponge hipped me to some postings on YouTube, where an enterprising videographer found larger clips of the most notorious sermons quoted by TV news outlets in the stories which kicked off the controversy about his speeches. And I was ashamed.

Because Rev. Wright deserved a better defender than I -- or, frankly Barack Obama -- have been during this nonsense. A look at these clips, which present much larger excerpts of Wright's speeches, shows that his seemingly damning statements came during passionate speeches about America's history of racial oppression and America's history of killing innocents while exacting military revenge against enemies.

One of Rev. Wright's most controversial comments -- the statements about "chickens coming home to roost" after 9/11 -- was his quote of a white ambassador speaking on Fox News Channel. Why didn't the TV news reporters tell us this?

It is true that Wright has also made some strident charges which aren't true. In a phrase within his GD America speech, he says the government injected black men with syphillis. Presumably, he is referring to the legendary Tuskegee Experiment, in which nearly 400 black men who already had syphillis were led to believe they were being treated for it when they were really being observed by government physicians noting the effects of the disease's advancement. (ironically, the story was broken in 1972 by Jean Heller, a former St. Pete Times reporter who was working for the Associated Press at the time)

He's also said the government has given drugs to black people, a possible reference to a widely discredited theory that the CIA helped establish the drug pipeline which first brought crack cocaine to Los Angeles, as a method of funding the Nicaraguan Contra rebels. This theory was the subject of a 1996 three-part series in the San Jose Mercury News and a book. But the newspaper backed off the story after it was published and the reporter, Gary Webb, eventually killed himself in 2004.

What is clear here, is that Wright is articulating the suspicions and cynicism of many black people about the motives of a government led mostly by white people. I think his characterizations can sometimes be simplistic and off base, but I don't think he's the raving racist some pundits have made him out to be.

Check these two excerpts of his speeches from YouTube and see if they don't make you think twice:

Deggans on CNN Sunday Talking Obama's Race Speech

Howie Kurtz must be desperate on an Easter Sunday.

How else to explain the Washington Post media critic's invitation for your truly to join him on his CNN show Reliable Sources at 10 a.m. Sunday to discuss media coverage of Barack Obama's speech on race?

I was unfortunately sidelined by the whole wisdom tooth thing when he actually gave the speech -- though watching it through a haze of Novocaine and Oxycodone was a novel experience -- and in the days since, I've been struck by a few things.

TV, of course, manages to trivialize everything. so it is no surprise that much of the TV coverage I've seen has trivialized this landmark speech. Still, much as I hate to agree with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough on anything, I do think he's right when he says this particular issue turns on anger. (Here's a great piece on that issue)

Until now, Obama has found success with many types of white voters by avoiding the Angry Black Man Syndrome. But when I think scares some white people about Obama's ties to Jeremiah Wright isn't the specifics of what he's said -- white and black preachers have said similar things about America since the days of Elmer Gantry. What scared some white voters is Obama link to a typically angry black man.

Until now, Obama has always met talk about race issues with the same kind of cool reserve William F. Buckley brought to discussions of conservative values. This is the communication mode much of America accepts best. It's the way Dick Cheney sold us all on the Iraq War; big ideas presented calmly and with an air of authority.

But Wright is all the things which scare some white voters and anger others. He's aggressive, angry, wild-eyed, full of conspiracy theories about race and loud contempt for the institutional racism which dogs our political system. If you were to bloodlessly list all of his arguments, more folks white and black would likely agree with many of his points. But it's all in the presentation, these days.

Ironically, Hillary Clinton has often suffered from Angry White Woman Syndrome in her run for the White House, disregarded and marginalized by some commentators as emasculating, shrill, shrewish or an example of the b-word because she is a powerful woman expressing opinions powerfully. Now, she's benefiting a bit from seeing that show shoved on Obama's foot.

Given that no one has suggested any of Wright's rhetoric has influenced Obama's policies or initiatives, I'm not sure what all this has to do with the job he'll do as chief executive. Instead, it says much more about our own tangled dysfunctional attitudes on race and anger than anything either Democratic candidate actually stands for.

Watching me try to fit all this commentary into a two-minute segment on CNN is bound to be entertaining. Here's an interesting clip where Chris Wallace actually takes Fox & Friends to task for its unfortunate and distorted discussion of Obama's speech on race.

   

Mark Lunsford May Not File Lawsuit in a Deal Brokered By Bubba the Love Sponge

  For weeks, the two have traded insults, criticisms and threats of litigation: the activist father whose daughter was killed by a pedophile and the shock jock who suspects him of exploiting his child's death.

But this morning, Mark Lunsford and radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem seemed to bury their respective hatchets, as Lunsford's attorneys announced plans, brokered by Clem's lawyers, to sit down with representatives of the Citrus County sheriff's office next week. The hope: that they can negotiate changes to the department's procedure for investigating missing children cases in exchange for dropping plans to sue the sheriff's office over its handling of Lunsford's case.

The plan, announced on Clem's show at 7:50 a.m. this morning, could also end weeks of on air sniping in which the shock jock accused Lunsford of using his 9-year-old daughter Jessica's 2005 rape and murder to build his own personal fame.

"Mark Lunsford has already proven what he's about...all of a sudden he files notice of a lawsuit and he's an awful person?" said Lunsford's attorney, Eric "Rick" Block, who criticized Clem's producers for spreading misinformation about their efforts and not speaking with him directly about facts related to the case. Lunsford was not present in Clem's radio studio this morning, represented instead by his Jacksonville attorneys.

"I don't want to get into Mark Lunsford as a person," said Clem, who agreed to stop insulting Lunsford on air as part of the settlement. "I got 700 emails we can go through talking about what he has done and not done...(but) that would be counter-productive."

The truce seemed in danger of dissolving on air this morning as Lunsford's attorneys insisted on correcting statements Clem and his fans have made about the case, including claims that Lunsford was at a bar drinking on the night convicted sex offender John Couey kidnapped Jessica -- a claim Lunsford's attorneys denied.

Block said Lunsford waited until the last possible to day to file notice with law enforcement of his intent to sue, noting citizens have three years to file such notice or give up their right to bring suit forever. Block said that Lunsford has always maintained he would not file a lawsuit if the Citrus County sheriff would admit they made mistakes in investigating Lunsford's case and help educate other law enforcement agencies on how to handle such cases better.

Lunsford's attorneys also said they have retained the services of noted pathologist Michael Baden, who appeared on HBO's series Autopsy, in an effort to prove that Jessica was alive for days after assailant John Couey kidnapped her -- indicating that a comprehensive police search might have discovered her.

Clem began airing pointed commentary about Lunsford in February, after he revealed plans to sue the Citrus Country Sheriff's Office over its handling of Jessica's case. The conflict came to a head Feb. 27 when Lunsford appeared on Clem's show and the shock jock let go a startling statement: ""You have to wait for your daughter to die before you can start raping money from people — I understand."

Later, Clem aired a slew of parody songs criticizing Lunsford and calls from fans raising questions about his efforts to raise funds for a charitable foundation established in Jessica's name. Lunsford and his attorneys accused Clem of feeding the controversy to build his show's ratings.

This morning, Clem apologized for any insults he may have leveled at Lunsford's attorneys -- though he drew the line on comments he made about Lunsford personally. Clem credited his attorney Steve Diaco with talking to Block last week, developing discussions which let to this agreement.   

"Maybe...all of us talking, we can all take a step back," said Clem. "Let's just all agree to disagree. I'm going to shut up, you're not going to file against the sheriff...for a common goal, so this doesn't happen again."

Assessing American Idol: It's the Songs, Stupid

This is the definition of dedication: One day after getting three wisdom teeth removed, I'm keeping the blog active with a note about the little TV show that could, American Idol.

It's mostly because, even through my oxycodone-induced recovery haze, I could barely believe what I was seeing last night. How could an evening devoted to the work of pop music's best band wind up stocked with so many stinkers?

A 1.5-minute version of A Day in the Life? Chikezie playing harmonica for the first time on I Just Saw a Face? You Got to Hide Your Love Away? Michelle? One thing is obvious this year: the contestants are close enough in ability that survival comes down to two things -- choosing the perfect song and singing it well.

That's why Syesha Mercado's Yesterday stood out -- sentimental, powerful with lots of room for her amazing voice. David Archuleta scored to a lesser degree with The Long and Winding Road for the same reason. And although the judges sniped at it, I thought David Cook's squawk-box flavored version of Day Tripper was fun, creative and a welcome change from all the downer songs everyone else was picking.

Entertainment Weekly handicapped all the Idols last week, but I think they got it wrong. So here's my odds on the top contestants so far.

Carly Smithson - 2 to 1:

She's got a powerful voice, a great look and a knack for nailing every song she tries. Her biggest problem is that she hasn't yet had a transcendent moment on the show, and doesn't seem quite sure what kind of artist she is.

David Archuleta - 3 to 1:

He's cute, has a strong voice and has a charm that works on both mothers and daughters -- kinda like a Sanjaya who can sing. His biggest problem is his inconsistency; the pressure of the gig (along with rumors that he's got an overbearing stage dad who screams at him after bad performances) may force the kind of error that gets him booted off the show.

David Cook - 5 to 1:

He's obviously the most musically talented of this year's crop, with a knack for bending any song to work with his Nickelback-meets-Daughtry rock sound. But his look isn't quite Idol-ready and his onstage arrogance is even turning off the king of 'tude, Simon Cowell.

Brooke White - 8 to 1:

She's got a earnest openness that's engaging and adds impact to songs that can tap that energy. Her unspoiled bohemian approach is something new for Idol, and she's got a voice good enough to impress, when employed on the right tunes. But that earnest vibe can be a little too tentative at times. I mean, if she doesn't believe in herself, why should America?

As far as who's leaving tonight, I'm betting Chikezie is in trouble, along with Kristy Lee Cook. Though, if there's any justice, viewers will send Amanda Overmyer back to the bar band from whence she came. Even she knows shes in over her head, and it shows on her face every time she steps onstage. 

 

Bubba the Love Sponge vs. MJ Round One: Todd "MJ" Schnitt Plans Lawsuit Against His Shock Jock Rival

The rivalry between area radio personalities Todd "MJ" Schnitt and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem may rise to a new level, following news that Schnitt has prepared a lawsuit seeking damages of more than $15,000 from Clem and Cox Radio for "highly offensive, insulting or fighting words and defamatory statements" broadcast about Schnitt and his wife Michelle.

Clem has talked about the action for much of his show today. Messages left with Schnitt and his attorney C. Phillip Campbell have not yet been returned. See the lawsuit's allegations for yourself here: Download mj-lawsuit-bubba.pdf

From the moment Clem worked out a deal to return to free commercial "terrestrial" radio earlier this year, he's criticized Schnitt and his wife repeatedly on air -- pointedly telling the press that he planned to unseat his rival as the morning's top-rated broadcaster.

Initially, Schnitt shrugged off the insults, telling me that responding to Clem's taunts would just lend the competing show added publicity. But a copy of Schnitt's lawsuit obtained by the Times now asserts that Clem's "false, highly offensive and defamatory statements about Mrs. and Mrs. Schnitt have in fact influenced listeners' opinions about them and prompted them to lash out against Mr. and Mrs. Schnitt." As an example, the suit cites emails from anonymous listeners stating "your wife is a w----." (I'm assuming it's the w-word for prostitute) and that Schnitt is a "weak little psychologically screwed up narcissistic little bald man."

The lawsuit also asserts that Clem has falsely claimed that Schnitt is a snitch (a reference, I'm assuming, to allegations that he turned in a former parter with an addiction problem to Clear Channel executives), that Schnitt "has been stealing money for years" and that Schnitt's wife, a former assistant state's attorney, influenced Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober to charge Clem with animal cruelty in connection with a live on air killing of a boar.

The complaint also alleges Clem urged listeners to go to a Schnitt appearance at the Gasparilla Day Parade, "bring your loud mouths and grease that midget." And, the suit alleges, another member of Clem's team said Schnitt should not babysit children because he "has the same initials as Michael Jackson."

Schnitt's challenge: the law sets a high hurdle in proving defamation or slander of public people such as radio personalities. He must prove, essentially, that Clem either made up his allegations entirely or made statements he knew to be false. The lawsuit also claims that Schnitt's wife is not a public person -- which may be a tough case to make because she has appeared on her husband's show, and Schnitt has spoken about her on air.

Schnitt also runs the risk of looking like a poor sport; in the bare knuckle world of radio talk, personalities often let their rivalries spill into tough words on air. But with no examples provided of specific business lost or specific personal threats beyond anonymous emails, Schnitt may have a tough time proving specific damage done.

And all the while, the legal action will spark a fresh round of taunts and trash talk on the airwaves which may benefit both their shows.   

The State of the News Media in 2008: More Unraveling Ahead

The Project for Excellence in Journalism yesterday released its latest, comprehensive survey/analysis of the news media. And like most news about big institutions these days, it's mostly frightening.

The big headline: Many things we thought we knew about how digital media is unraveling traditional news media outlets aren't really true. More individuals aren't really creating meaningful news content, the diversity of news platforms (online, podcast, web video, etc.) isn't really translating into a diversity of subjects covered. And while newspaper newsrooms in particular are trying hard to experiment and reinvent, the advertising and marketing department which are expected to generate the revenue which pays for their efforts are lagging behind.

The scariest part of their analysis: news and advertising are decoupling.

Many people don't realize it, but modern news consumers almost never directly pay what it costs to gather the information they absorb. TV, radio and newspapers make most of their money selling their audiences to advertisers, allowing them to offer the news product which creates the audience for free or almost free to the public.

Digital technology is pulling that model apart, like an insistent child tugging on a woven sweater's loose thread. Cynical critic that I am, I think the hidden truth here is that digital media removes a lot of doubt about who is consuming what; on a newspaper website, for example, you can see how many users are reading each story and whether they are local consumers. So advertisers have much more information to lower and target their advertising dollars, which limits revenues for publishers.

Other high points from the PEJ study:

* News is less a finished product and more a continuing service. This is something I've only noticed in part of our work -- namely, the breaking news stuff we do on the Web. But our most popular stuff tells people something they didn't know, or helps them do something they couldn't before.

* Citizen journalism and blog sites are nearly as resistant as old school media in allowing public posting. The hidden truth here is that creating media content is tougher than it looks, especially in news. Most sites are recreating the "gatekeeper" model, where a relatively small circle of contributors create content.

* While newsrooms are working hard to innovate, advertising and marketing departments are having trouble changing their game. This is something I've seen locally; as the established adversing model unravels, business side departments are having a tough time finding new methods to earn the same dollars.

* Story subjects have narrowed in American news media. This is something else I've seen up close. We have more platforms than even here at the Times, but we're chasing a harder-to-reach audience. So our efforts are focused on subjects and approaches which we know our audience finds compelling. Nationally, the PEJ found that more 25 percent of news coverage in 2007 focused on two stories: Iraq and the presidential election.      

Bill Carey's Farewell Letter to Staff

From:   Bill Carey
To:       WFTS-TV Staff,  Scripps TV Group, Ken Lowe, Rich Boehne, Bill Peterson
Date:   Friday, March 14, 2008


Please forgive this formal email but it is the quickest way to reach most of you and try to offer a personalized note regarding news about me.

Two headlines:  after waiting six months, I am cleared of any/all charges.  I’m grateful to the prosecutor’s office for their careful review and conclusion.  I have always believed it was the right one, and it is very satisfying to have their undeniable confirmation.  The case is closed, and thankfully, that chapter of my life ends.

The second headline comes with heavier heart, and that is that I’m also announcing my resignation from my position as vice president and general manager of WFTS-TV in Tampa, effective March 31st, but my duties and responsibilities end today.

The two are of course related, but related because of how long this took to come to a conclusion, not because a resignation announcement was ever considered to be concurrent with news from the prosecutor.  I state that because I am well aware of appearances and perception, and appearances and perception do matter, and I want to take the time to explain.

In case you don't know the background on this, six months ago, Donna and I were involved in a bumper-to-bumper auto accident.   I'm purposefully skimming over the details here because charges stemming from the accident will not be filed and no summonses will be issued.  And because finally, it is the proper time for me to speak.  After first wanting to issue summonses, Tampa police chose to pursue more charges against me.  I was placed on paid administrative leave.   That the Company and so many of you offered unqualified supported is appreciated and always will be appreciated by me and my family.  It is a great source of comfort for me, for after sampling some reports and blogs, I don’t know if I would support  me!  Your support can only come from the heart, not the brain, in times like that, and I will be forever grateful that I was once a colleague of so many good hearts.

Much time has passed.  Too much.  And to answer a question I anticipate many of you have, there is no specific timetable, and you have no specific control, when you are faced with this.  As a process, it tends to linger and take its time… and its toll.  To the extent it has been unsettling in the station I am painfully aware of the distractions it caused and assure you I did what can be done to move it along.  Yesterday came the prosecutor's decision to not file any charges in the case, not even the original summons.  And while I'm grateful, it is a bittersweet ending.

A few weeks ago Bill Peterson and I began discussions regarding the unfortunate fact that the length of my absence had passed the tipping point, and that it would be best for the station for me to step down.  Too much time had gone by, and the waiting was wearing everyone down, interfering with business.  I'm trusting of Bill Peterson’s judgment, and have accepted this perspective much the way a starting player never likes to ride the bench: reluctantly.  I want back in, still do, but as a leader, I also want what is best for the team.  Make no mistake, you have made me feel that if this were open to popular vote, I’d be welcomed back by the team.  But I want to appeal to your sense of what it takes to run a business, how difficult it is to have not just the station absorb this event, but how to squar