Here Comes Jindal; 'Oh, God,' Says MSNBC

MSNBC host's 'sizzling free-associations' provided some hot air in chilly DC

(NEWSER) - It's a good thing Chris Matthews didn't run for the Senate after all, Jack Shafer writes for Slate, after listening to the MSNBC star let his mouth run wild Inauguration Day. "Drawing from a larder filled with old anecdotes, unreliable metaphors, wacky intuition, and superficial observations, the always-animated Matthews steers whatever's handy into the hot wok that is his brain," Shafer writes, parsing offending comments about everything from Muhammad Ali to Ted Kennedy's hat. More»

'Keith sees himself as the star,' says an insider

(NEWSER) - As Keith Olbermann prepares to return to MSNBC tomorrow, it’s the network, not the host, that’s reportedly apologizing. Olbermann “insisted that MSNBC bosses apologize to him before he would agree to return,” a network insider tells PopEater . “Keith sees himself as the star of MSNBC, the person who put them on the map and discovered fellow network anchors Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell. To be treated like this by the network he helped shape, he considers disgusting.” More»

'Countdown' host appears to breach NBC ethics rules

(NEWSER) - Keith Olbermann donated $2,400—the maximum individual contribution—apiece to three Democrats before Election Day, apparently breaking NBC rules, Politico reports. The MSNBC host, who has acknowledged the contributions, gave to two Arizona representatives the day one of them, Raul Grijalva, stopped by his show (the other was Gabrielle Giffords); he also gave to failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. Like many news outlets, NBC bans its employees from giving to campaigns. More»

Vin Diesel, Linkin Park have a lot more friends than you do

(NEWSER) - We know Lady Gaga and President Obama have plenty of fans (more than 10 million, though the leader of the free world actually trails the singer). Here are some other surprising social media mavens, singled out by Time , along with their number of fans (as of Thursday) and a taste of the tidbits they disseminate:

1. Vin Diesel, second to Gaga with 10.7 million fans (seriously): "I got a sexy feeling about this summer... GRRR... "

MSNBC host slammed for State of the Union gaffe

(NEWSER) - Chris Matthews is taking heat for a gaffe on live TV after President Obama's State of the Union address last night. The Hardball host told Keith Olbermann that he "forgot the president was black." The remark came while Matthews was discussing race and the presidency, and the line quickly spread on Twitter and the Internet, along with plenty of criticism of the MSNBC host, Politico reports. More»