State of the Union Won't Preempt Lost: Gibbs

President Obama schedules speech with health reform still up in the air

(NEWSER) - President Obama has scheduled his first State of the Union address for Wednesday, Jan. 27. The White House had hoped health care reform would be passed before the speech, but the tight timeline makes that unlikely, CBS News reports. The date confirms White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' assurances that the address won't conflict with the eagerly awaited premiere of the final season of Lost, scheduled for Feb. 2. More»

You want lists? These folks have lists!

(NEWSER) - In case you haven't heard, Lost ends its run tonight with a 2½-hour episode that carries six seasons' worth of speculation and the anticipation of pretty much the whole internet. "We feel like Lost deserved a real resolution, not a 'snow globe, waking up in bed, it’s all been a dream, cut to black' kind of ending," co-creator Carlton Cuse tells the Washington Post . To indulge your addiction:

• Watch cats tell the story in 1 minute.

Reporters' gripes about Obama pile up

(NEWSER) - The right likes to say the media is in love with President Obama; if so the affair has gone sour. White House reporters find Obama's administration thin-skinned, vengeful, and unfairly stingy with information, they tell Politico . "The White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap that can be turned on and off at their whim,” the New Yorker's George Packer—one of the few Politico sources willing to be named—said. More»

Source says NBC wants more Obama interviews; network denies it

(NEWSER) - NBC has filed a formal complaint with the White House, saying ABC is getting a disproportionate number of interviews with President Obama. The network cites recent sit-downs with George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Gibson, and alleges that Stephanopoulos’ friendship with Rahm Emanuel is helping the network land the face time, according to TVNewser . NBC denies ever making such a complaint. More»

You're a citizen before you're a couch potato, Roston writes

(NEWSER) - There is perhaps no “greater sign of our civilization’s decline” than the uproar about President Obama’s State of the Union address possibly preempting the season premiere of Lost or an episode of American Idol, Michael Roston writes. “Before we are couch potatoes, we are citizens,” he rants. "The annual address helps remind us of our elected leaders’ solemn obligation to communicate their intentions to a public they so often fail while in office." More»