From TV News to R&B Hit

Fox doesn't have rules against campaign donations; MSNBC requires permission

(NEWSER) - OK, so Keith Olbermann donated to three liberal candidates, and he shouldn't have: But the episode underscores exactly how common an occurrence political donations are in the realm of cable news. Politico takes its investigation a step further and finds that Olbermann is far from the only offender: Fox analysts Sean Hannity and Mike Huckabee have given $20,500 this year to GOP candidates, while Olbermann's MSNBC cohort Joe Scarborough made a network-approved $4200 donation to a 2006 congressional race in Oregon, and apparently slipped another candidate $5000 in April. More»

Happy 25th Anniversary!

(NEWSER) - Larry King celebrates the 25th birthday of his CNN show next week, but the 76-year-old may not have many more years with the network. His ratings have plunged to an average 725,000 a night, putting him well behind Sean Hannity and Rachel Maddow, as viewers opt for more partisan programs—and high-profile guests do the same. CNN won't say if it plans to renew King's contract, which is up next year, but according to the New York Times there's a growing sense within the company that it's time to make a succession plan. More»

In January overall, Fox was third most watched cable channel

(NEWSER) - "Fair and balanced" might be cause for lively debate, but Fox News' status as the top dog in cable news isn't—the network scored the top 13 programs in total viewership and the key 25-54 demographic through January. Bill O’Reilly’s show tops the rankings, with Sean Hanitty and Glenn Beck behind him. In the entire cable spectrum, last month found Fox third in viewers, behind USA and ESPN, Mediabistro reports. Its competitors fell far behind: CNN's spot was 24, and MSNBC’s 29. More»

Liberal bloggers' Hannity, Beck clips yanked

(NEWSER) - A YouTube channel that specialized in capturing Fox commentators' most outrageous moments has been shut down after copyright complaints from the channel. News1News was the favorite choice of plenty of left-leaning blogs and news sources seeking to poke fun at Fox, notes Gawker , which has been left with plenty of blank spaces where embedded videos used to be. More»

(NEWSER) - Once again the right-wing radio guys have managed to convince everyone that they are a great and powerful force to be reckoned with. David Brooks revisits the 2007 Republican primaries, when Rush, Hannity, Beck and company were all weak-kneed over Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney, but bashed “unreliable deviationists” John McCain and Mike Huckabee. What happened? Huckabee emerged as a star and McCain won. More»