television personality

17 Stories

Say Hello to NBC News' Latest Political Analyst

Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel will offer her takes on MSNBC as well

(Newser) - If Ronna McDaniel needed a long vacation after stepping down from her seven-year role as the head of the Republican National Committee, she's putting that break off till later. The 51-year-old is starting a new gig as political analyst for both NBC News and MSNBC, with her first appearance...

Bobby Flay's Future With Food Network In Doubt

Contract negotiations have reportedly stalled over financial terms

(Newser) - Bobby Flay has been whipping up scrumptious dishes on the Food Network for the past 27 years, but he might soon be hanging up his apron. Sources tell Variety that the TV chef is expected to jump ship after a breakdown in contract negotiations with the Discovery-owned network on which...

Katie Couric's Big Announcement
 Katie Couric's Big 
 Announcement 
UPDATED

Katie Couric's Big Announcement

NBC made one last run at its old sweetheart

(Newser) - ABC has at long last officially announced that it's signed Katie Couric to host an afternoon talk show , beating out a last-minute push from NBC. In a statement , the network said it had a "multi-year, multi-platform" agreement with the former CBS anchor, that will also include appearances on...

How CNN Can Save Itself
 How CNN Can Save Itself 
OPINION

How CNN Can Save Itself

Insiders pitch plans, from bringing back Crossfire to pulling an MSNBC

(Newser) - With CNN’s primetime viewership off 40% since last year, Michael Calderone at Politico undertakes a survey of news insiders to see what can be done for the “most trusted name in news.”
  • Resurrect Crossfire: CNN could give people the outspoken MSNBC- and Fox-style opinions they appear to
...

ESPN to Steve Phillips: You're Out!

Network fires philandering baseball analyst

(Newser) - Less than a week after the revelation of his affair with a production assistant, ESPN has fired baseball analyst Steve Phillips. "His ability to be an effective representative for ESPN has been significantly and irreparably damaged, and it became evident it was time to part ways," the network...

Clooney Unveils New Gal in Venice

Berlusconi-esque: Elisabetta Canalis is Italian TV presenter

(Newser) - George Clooney has appeared in public for the first time with galpal Elisabetta Canalis at the Venice Film Festival, E! reports. The actor and the Italian TV presenter had been covertly observed frolicking at his Lake Como villa, but the Venice outing makes it official. A costar of Canalis’ says...

Desperate NBC May Move Leno to 10:30: BBC Exec

(Newser) - After months of promoting Jay Leno's move to 10pm, NBC may shake up its prime-time schedule again, moving its late local news to 10 and Leno to 10:30, the network's onetime programming head speculates. Garth Ancier, now chief of BBC America, shared his speculation with critics at the summer...

Tough Times Are Boon for Couric's Ratings
Tough Times
Are Boon for
Couric's Ratings
OPINION

Tough Times Are Boon for Couric's Ratings

Anchor has grown into role at CBS, and more are watching

(Newser) - Katie Couric’s comforting style is perfect for tough times, or so a 5% uptick in the ratings for CBS’ Evening News suggests. In Couric’s hands, economic catastrophe, Mideast violence and terrorism become “news you can warm up to,” Tom Shales writes in the Washington Post. After...

Lively Not Really That Gossipy
 Lively Not Really That Gossipy 
GLOSSIES

Lively Not Really That Gossipy

Gossip Girl star waxes poetic on her career, clothes, co-stars

(Newser) - Blake Lively might be the "hottest senior ever to roam the halls" of hit show Gossip Girl, but the 21-year-old is a far cry from the "boozy party girl she plays on TV," writes Dana Wood in W. "I don't really like to go out,"...

Hannity, Olbermann: On Different Planets
 Hannity, Olbermann:
 On Different Planets 
OPINION

Hannity, Olbermann: On Different Planets

(Newser) - Barack Obama has suggested voters are “seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality”—and he’s right, Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post. "Adored by fans and derided by critics," Fox's Hannity is an unapologetic John McCain booster, while...

Backstage Tour Lays Bare Springer Nation

Campy disasters inspire schadenfreude

(Newser) - A backstage tour of The Jerry Springer Show reveals "fundamental truths about the human condition," Kevin Pang writes in the Chicago Tribune. Philanderers and home-wreckers vetted by the show receive star treatment for a day, and insist their tales are true—for the most part. It's "all...

Court Boots Thai PM Over Cooking Show

Samak forced to resign as protests continue in Bangkok

(Newser) - Thailand's supreme court has ruled that the prime minister and his government must resign, declaring that his participation in a TV cooking show violated the constitution. The unanimous ruling comes as opponents of Samak Sundaravej continue to occupy Government House in Bangkok, reports the AP. While Samak may seek a...

Oprah Won't Host Palin
 Oprah Won't Host Palin

Oprah Won't Host Palin

Moratorium on political guests in effect til presidential election

(Newser) - Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey will not host Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on her program—and some viewers are hopping mad, ABC News reports. “She's doing an injustice to women,” said one likely former fan. The Drudge Report had suggested that the Oprah camp was at...

Office Actor Charged With Possession, DUI

Craig Robinson was on speed, coke, cannabis, police say

(Newser) - The Office actor Craig Robinson has been hit with drug possession and misdemeanor DUI charges, according to a complaint released today. Los Angeles police say they pulled Robinson over for a traffic violation this summer, discovered drugs in his car, and found him high on amphetamines, cocaine, and cannabis. The...

Why Liberals Like Joe Scarborough

Conservative pundit takes relaxed, questioning attitude on new morning show

(Newser) - Joe Scarborough was a conservative Republican congressman who gained office in the 1994 House sweep that launched Newt Gingrich. His MSNBC show Scarborough Country was initially devised as a like-minded answer to Bill O’Reilly. But, as Mark Binelli puts it in New York magazine, "Scarborough never quite mastered...

Another Shock Jock Gets TV Tryout

Opinionated, even bawdy, Wendy Williams makes no excuses

(Newser) - Wendy Williams, the blunt, compulsively personal, sometimes snarky radio host whose syndicated morning show reaches 12 million people, mostly in New York, is about to debut on TV. Next week, Williams launches an hour morning show on Fox stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Detroit, directly competing with...

Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's a Lawsuit!
 Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's a Lawsuit! 

Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's a Lawsuit!

$200K suit adds to McMahon's financial woes

(Newser) - Citibank has filed suit against former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon to recover $200,000 it loaned to the struggling actor, the AP reports. McMahon, 85, who has not worked since falling 18 months ago, also faces foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home. “If you spend more money than...

17 Stories