punditry

16 Stories

At Heart of InTrade Mystery: $2.6M Paid to Dead Founder

2010-'11 payouts not sufficiently documented

(Newser) - Betting site InTrade has shut down abruptly and its founder might have some tough questions to answer—if he hadn't died during a 2011 attempt to climb Mount Everest. A recent audit found that the Dublin-based company made $2.6 million in "insufficiently documented payments" to founder John...

With 9/11 Bill, Jon Stewart Steps Off the Sidelines

Christopher Beam: Now the question is, will he stay there?

(Newser) - Jon Stewart has always maintained he's a comedian, not a politician or an activist. But his stalwart advocacy of the 9/11 first responders bill—he may have single-handedly saved it—looks different. Stewart labeled the non-passage of the bill “an outrageous abdication of our responsibility” to the 9/11 responders....

Maddow to Stewart: I Could Kill Osama With a Spoon

They also talk about Timothy McVeigh

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow on the Daily Show! That must have been a veritable liberal media wet dream of constant pointedly funny snark! OK, actually, no, it was a pretty staid conversation about Timothy McVeigh—Maddow will host an upcoming special unveiling McVeigh’s final interview tapes. But there were some amusing...

Meet the Right's 14-Year-Old Superstar
Meet the Right's 14-Year-Old Superstar
Interview
Feb 17, 2010 11:09 AM CST

Meet the Right's 14-Year-Old Superstar

Jonathan Krohn thinks most of his pundit peers act like kids

(Newser) - Jonathan Krohn has appeared on Fox News, written a bestselling book, and calls Newt Gingrich a “good friend.” He’s also 14. But when Samuel Jacobs of the Daily Beast sat down with Krohn, he found someone who considers himself not a prodigy, but a pundit more serious...

Palin Hire a Genius Move, Whether or Not She's Good

Ailes knows nobody better defines the America Fox serves

(Newser) - Roger Ailes "is a genius" and hiring Sarah Palin is his latest masterstroke—even if she never says anything interesting on Fox News. Ailes’ rivals at other networks “still hire talent for their abilities,” explains Michael Scherer of Time . “Ailes knows you can also hire talent...

After Beck Flap, Advertisers Leery of Politics

Boycott may go beyond Fox host to other 'inflammatory' shows

(Newser) - Glenn Beck’s antics could just kill the entire political talk show genre, Advertising Age reports. Beck will return to the air tonight 33 advertisers lighter, after calling President Obama a “racist." But the fallout could spread to other talk shows, too—Clorox has already announced it’...

Palin Quits in Fiery Speech
 Palin Quits in Fiery Speech 
Jul 26, 2009 6:25 PM CDT

Palin Quits in Fiery Speech

(Newser) - Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska's governor in a feisty speech today, ducking details about her future but promising to fight for conservative ideals, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right, and for truth. And I have never...

How to Become a Pundit on $7,500 a Day

(Newser) - Socrates and his ilk were deep thinkers, but modern-day pundits had better look good, think in sound bites, and be ready to spend $7,500 per day in training to get on TV, CBS News reports. "We coach people to look their best and sound their best any time...

Soap Box Was No Gift for Meghan McCain
Soap Box
Was No Gift for Meghan McCain
OPINION
May 22, 2009 8:22 AM CDT

Soap Box Was No Gift for Meghan McCain

Unready pundit-in-training is exposing herself too early

(Newser) - Poor Meghan McCain, writes Judith Warner in the New York Times. Nobody’s born a pundit—you have to achieve it. But McCain’s had punditry thrust upon her, and it’s obvious she isn’t ready. “I do feel sorry for Meghan, the 2007 college grad who ought...

Washington Can't Take a Joke
 Washington Can't Take a Joke 
OPINION
May 13, 2009 7:44 AM CDT

Washington Can't Take a Joke

Uproar over Sykes' routine shows we take things too literally

(Newser) - Sure, Wanda Sykes’ controversial jokes at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner were “over the top,” and they weren’t all that funny, writes Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post. But the uproar they sparked just shows “we take ourselves far too seriously—and literally.” Sykes...

Beware the 'Experts'
 Beware the 'Experts' 
OPINION
Mar 26, 2009 6:57 AM CDT

Beware the 'Experts'

Headstrong 'hedgehogs' get the most airtime, but little right

(Newser) - Why did financial experts so spectacularly fail to warn us about the economic crisis? Mostly because “so-called experts turn out to be, in many situations, a stunningly poor source of expertise,” writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Experts of all stripes are enormously influential, but their...

Aide: Mac 'Greatest Closer of All Time'
 Aide: 
 Mac 'Greatest 
 Closer of All Time' 
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Nov 2, 2008 1:41 PM CST

Aide: Mac 'Greatest Closer of All Time'

Davis predicts McCain surprise win

(Newser) - McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told Fox News Sunday that the Republicans will seize Pennsylvania and the Southwestern states for a come-from-behind finish on Tuesday, the Hill reports. “John McCain may be the greatest closer politician of all time,” he said. Other highlights from the talk shows:
  • An
...

Maddow, Set for MSNBC Debut, Aims to Avoid 'Homogenized'

Lefty has own ideas for mainstream medium

(Newser) - Rachel Maddow’s own show debuts at 9 EDT tonight on MSNBC, but the liberal pundit doesn’t sound so much excited as worried. TV has “homogenizing tendencies,” she tells the Boston Globe. “It’s like being put through a meat grinder.” But worried or not,...

Hume to Leave Fox Anchor Role
 Hume to Leave Fox Anchor Role 
Jul 15, 2008 9:06 PM CDT

Hume to Leave Fox Anchor Role

But he plans to stay on part-time as a senior political analyst

(Newser) - Fox News' Brit Hume plans to step down from his role as anchor of the daily Special Report and as Washington managing editor at the end of the year, the Washington Post reports. Hume is near a deal to stay on Fox part-time as a senior political analyst, sources say,...

HRC to FNC: Howard Wolfson Joins Fox News

Hillary adviser will counter Rove with regular commentary

(Newser) - Howard Wolfson, a top strategist for HIllary Clinton's campaign and one of her most visible television surrogates, has found a new employer, and it's not Barack Obama. Wolfson will become a contributor to the Fox News Channel, appearing on multiple programs. His move to Fox echoes a general feeling among...

Tim Russert Dead at 58
 Tim Russert
 Dead at 58 
UPDATED
Jun 13, 2008 4:04 PM CDT

Tim Russert Dead at 58

Meet the Press host, NBC Washington bureau chief was stricken at work

(Newser) - Tim Russert, host of Meet the Press and longtime NBC News Washington bureau chief, died today after collapsing at work and apparently suffering cardiac arrest, MSNBC reports. He was 58. A 24-year NBC veteran, Russert was also the author of two New York Times best-sellers, Big Russ and Me and...

16 Stories