Gov't Spied On Fox Journalist, Too

Of all the news organizations the government could spy on, it chose to tangle with ... Fox News. And this one goes further than the AP . The Justice Department examined Fox News reporter James Rosen's personal emails, phone records, and visits to the State Department, the Washington Post reports. The move...

Gawker Crowdfunding to Buy Mayor Crack Tape

Forget checkbook journalism—welcome to the era of PayPal journalism. Gawker has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $200,000 so it can buy the video that allegedly shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack. "They will give us the video. We will publish the video. You will watch the...

Media Finally Gets It: Obama Is a Joke on Civil Liberties

Look around today, and it's easy to find a news story or column criticizing President Obama and his Justice Department for going after reporters' phone records. (Like these in the Washington Post , Politico , and the New York Times .) To which Glenn Greenwald at the Guardian can only say, it's...

How to Leak to the Media Without Being IDed

What with the Justice Department seizing AP phone records , Nicholas Weaver is thinking about how a modern-day whistleblower can safely leak info to the media without being identified. The sad truth, he writes in Wired , is that "we now live in a world where public servants informing the public about...

Holder: I'm Not Sure How Often We Spy on Journalists

The Justice Department's secret subpoena of AP phone records might not have been a one-time occurrence. Eric Holder tells NPR that he has no idea how many times he'd allowed the department to snoop on journalists. "I'm not sure how many of those cases … I have actually signed off...

Kidnap Coverage Is Cleveland Paper's Swan Song

The Plain Dealer 's coverage of the Cleveland kidnapping case has been nothing short of riveting, but it will be the paper's "last hurrah," writes Justin Peters on Slate . This summer, at least 53 members of its staff are being laid off, and the paper will deliver only three days...

Holder Orders IRS Investigation

Eric Holder today said he has launched a criminal investigation into the IRS scandal , and he also disavowed involvement in the AP snooping scandal . On the latter, the attorney general said he'd recused himself from the related leak investigation. In a press conference at the Justice Department today, Holder explained...

CNN's Sambolin Plans Double Mastectomy

On the heels of Angelina Jolie's revelation about her double mastectomy , CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin—of Early Start —has announced she'll also undergo the procedure. "I struggled for weeks trying to figure out how tell you that I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was leaving to have surgery,...

IRS Also Leaked Info About Conservative Groups

More trouble for the IRS: The same office that singled out conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status also leaked confidential information about conservative groups last year, ProPublica reports. How does ProPublica know? Well, because the nine pending applications were leaked to ProPublica in the first place. The investigative site had...

Stewart to IRS: You Proved Wingnuts Right

A furious Jon Stewart gave the Obama administration a piece of his mind last night, Mediaite reports. Just as he was discussing the groundless nature of the right's Benghazi accusations , the Daily Show played a clip describing the IRS Tea Party-targeting scandal, prompting the host to explode in a flurry...

Journalists Blast 'Chilling' Seizure of AP's Records

News that the government seized two months of phone records from the Associated Press has drawn blistering criticism of the White House from a wide variety of news organizations, Politico reports. Fox's Greta Van Susteren says the Justice Department's action "sounds like a dragnet to intimidate the media" instead of...

Gov't Seized AP Reporters' Phone Records

The government secretly seized two months of phone records from the Associated Press, according to the AP itself. The Justice Department took records for 20 separate phone lines, including incoming and outgoing calls, the length of each call, and reporters' personal phone numbers. "These records potentially reveal communications with confidential...

In Times-Picayune 'Blunder,' Proof Print Isn't Dead

New Orleans' venerable newspaper bet against its print business—and in so doing, shot itself in the foot, writes David Carr in the New York Times . The Times-Picayune infuriated the city when it planned to cut print editions to three days a week; now, it's going to print a paper...

Walters' Legacy: 'Ferocious' or 'Gross'?

In dueling Salon columns, Alex Pareene and Mary Elizabeth Williams debate the career and legacy of retiring journalist Barbara Walters : Journalist? Really? Pareene would disagree with that assessment of Walters, whom he blames for "the ridiculous and sorry state of American television journalism." She was just as likely to vacation...

Barbara Walters Retires After 50 Years

As expected, Barbara Walters today announced the end of a broadcasting career that began during the Truman administration, People reports. "Let me just say I have been on television continuously for over 50 years," Walters said on The View today, adding that she is "perfectly healthy" and this is her...

Seth Meyers to Replace Fallon

Seth Meyers is trading in the "Weekend Update" desk to succeed fellow Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon over at Late Night, reports Entertainment Weekly . “We think Seth is one of the brightest, most insightful comedy writers and performers of his generation,” says NBC's entertainment chief. The switch takes place...

Bloomberg News Caught Snooping on Bankers

Bloomberg LP operates both a multi-platform media organization, Bloomberg News, and a computer system, Bloomberg Terminal, that bankers and traders use to monitor market data. The problem: Bloomberg News reporters can see how and when any customer has been using a terminal, and now it turns out they have been...

Has Your Favorite Show Just Been Axed?

It's been a tense week in Hollywood, as TV networks announce which shows have been canceled, which have been renewed, and which pilots have been picked up for next season. Now the results are (mostly) in. Did your favorite survive the chopping block? Zap2It has been keeping score. Some talking...

How a Pro-Life Film Hooked Pro-Choice Groups

Pro-choice and feminist groups are flocking to It's a Girl , a documentary about sex-selective abortions in China and India. But the film's director actually worked for a pro-life ministry, a fact that appears to have been carefully hidden, writes Sital Kalantry on Slate . Kalantry details how she became suspicious after...

Limbaugh Threatens to Bolt Network Over Ad Slump

Was the advertiser boycott over Rush Limbaugh's "slut" comment last year behind a slump in ad sales at the broadcaster that carries his show? The host is so outraged by the mere suggestion that he's threatening to leave flagship station WABC and its parent company Cumulus Media, sources tell Politico...

Miley Cyrus Spoils Maxim Hot 100 List

For former Disney starlet Miley Cyrus, dreams really do come true—especially if those dreams include being ranked by your hotness in a lad mag. Maxim still hasn't released its annual Hot 100 list for 2013, but Cyrus just couldn't contain the news that she's taken the No. 1 spot...

Howard Kurtz: 'I'm Truly Sorry'

Howard Kurtz took to his own show today to face the music over his Jason Collins flub , turning to the camera and apologizing, reports Politico . “This time the media mistake was mine—a big mistake, more than one in fact," said Kurtz, who denied that he lost his gig at...

Howard Kurtz Will Get Grilled on His Own Show

It's been a rough week for media critic Howard Kurtz, who took a barrage of criticism when he inaccurately accused gay basketball player Jason Collins of not coming clean about his previous engagement to a woman. Kurtz "parted ways" with the Daily Beast after the gaffe, though he says that...

Kurtz Out at Daily Beast After Post on Jason Collins

A media firestorm over a blog post by media critic Howard Kurtz has culminated in this short-and-sweet line from editor Tina Brown to Politico : “The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company." If you missed it, Kurtz accused gay NBA player Jason Collins of failing to mention that he...

How to Grab Obama's Ear: Buy ESPN Airtime

How to woo Barack Obama to your cause? Via ESPN, apparently. Companies and organizations have been buying up ad time on the sports network with the hope of catching the known sports fan's attention, Politico reports. "It's certainly a tactic that’s talked about a lot," says a media strategist who...

Knox's Memoir Contradicts Her Prison Diary

Amanda Knox's new book describes a traumatic , harrowing ordeal as she was imprisoned for four years for a murder she says she didn't commit—but in some cases, the memoir is at odds with earlier accounts she gave, such as letters she wrote and even her own diary, the BBC...

Iraq Shuts 10 TV Channels for Broadcasting 'Hype'

Iraq has ordered al-Jazeera and nine other TV stations off the air, accusing them of causing the sectarian conflict that has killed more than 200 people over the last week. The move came after the stations—all but one of which is Sunni-owned—covered a raid by security forces on...

Obama: 'I'm Not Strapping Muslim Socialist I Used to Be'

This year's White House Correspondents' Dinner saw laughs mixed with reflection on tragedies in Boston and Texas. President Obama took shots at the GOP and the media—not to mention himself. Among his best jokes, via Politico and the Los Angeles Times : "Some folks still don’t think I spend enough...

Kathie Lee Wants Everyone to Like Lauer Again

Things have not been great lately for Matt Lauer. Amid a press onslaught painting him as the bully who ousted Ann Curry from Today and rumors he might be on his way out , he at least has some pretty important people in his corner: his colleagues. Kathie Lee Gifford wrote...

Limbaugh 'Problematic,' Says GOP Consultant in Tape

David Corn of Mother Jones is out with another anti-Republican secret recording, this one of prominent GOP consultant Frank Luntz dissing Rush Limbaugh and others on right-wing talk radio. In a talk at Penn, Luntz took a question on political polarization. After taking pains to try to make sure his...