ANOTHER FOX NEWS PRODUCER QUITS

Another Fox News producer who quit last week, saying that he had qualms about working for the network over the past three years, has ridiculed his former Fox colleague, Joe Muto, who was fired after it was revealed that he was the Fox “mole” who began moonlighting for the Gawker website. Writing under the banner, […]

ARE YOU READY FOR AN APOLOGY?

Hank Williams Jr., who issued an unapologetic statement following ESPN’s decision to yank his “Are You Ready for Football?” opener from Monday night’s NFL telecast after he compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler, issued a follow-up statement late Tuesday that he took pains to point out was “Not written by some Publicist.” With words in […]

WILL AUDIENCES AT DEBATES SWAY VOTERS?

The reaction of audiences at the upcoming political debates may prove to be as influential as comments made by the candidates themselves. A case in point may have become evident during Thursday night’s Republican debate when Stephen Hill, a brawny soldier serving in Iraq, asked the candidates, presumably in a satellite hookup or pretaped video, […]

NO CHARLIE SHEEN COVERAGE HERE

Editor’s Note: While it is tempting to participate in the media’s rubbernecking of the Charlie Sheen pileup, Studio Briefing has decided to opt out and limit our coverage of it only to its commercial effects. We fully agree with Mediaite.com’s Washington correspondent Tommy Christopher, who wrote Monday that those interviewers who are featuring Sheen on […]

LENO REGARDING STERN ATTACK: “I JUST IGNORE HIM”

Jay Leno has finally gotten around to responding to Howard Stern’s attack on him last January. Appearing during the first week of Piers Morgan’s CNN show, the intrepid shock jock, who had mildly criticized Leno in the past (like calling his performance “horrible”), accused Leno of plagiarism. “Jay is insane. And Jay is a crook. […]

LOW RATINGS FOR PARKER/SPITZER THREATEN MORGAN

Although CNN is sparing no expense to mount a compelling hour to replace Larry King Live at 9:00 p.m. beginning in January — it has hired Piers Morgan to host the new interview show and veteran news producer Jonathan Wald to oversee it — its most worrisome problem would appear to be the continued dismal […]

CNN HIRES EX-NBC NEWS HEAVYWEIGHT TO PRODUCE MORGAN’S SHOW

CNN is mobilizing some heavy hitters to reinvigorate its 9:00 p.m. hour when Larry King departs. Having already announced that Piers Morgan will replace King, the cable news network said Monday that it is bringing aboard veteran news producer Jonathan Wald, who oversaw NBC’s Today show and NBC Nightly News, to exec produce Piers Morgan […]

FOX NEWS TO AIR SPOT FROM LIBERAL WEBSITE

Fox News has agreed to run an ad from the liberal website Media Matters, decrying the $1 million that the news network’s corporate parent, News Corp, donated to the Republican Governors Association, Politico.com reported on Tuesday. The 30-second ad will air during The O’Reilly Factor, whose host, Bill O’Reilly, once described Media Matters as “perhaps […]

GARRETT TO LEAVE FOX NEWS, RETURN TO PRINT

Only weeks after being awarded one of the best seats in the house — the White House briefing room, that is — Major Garrett said Wednesday that he is leaving Fox News to become a congressional correspondent for National Journal. He told Mediaite.com that he was stepping down in order to join a reporting team […]