MCCAIN CALLS FOR “UNBUNDLING” CABLE CHANNELS

Arizona Senator John McCain on Thursday introduced a bill, the Television Consumer Freedom Act, aimed at allowing consumers to buy cable and broadcast channels on an a la carte basis. In a statement, McCain said that American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka told him, “My next-door neighbor is 74, a widow. She […]

SENATE TO PROBE FILMMAKERS’ ACCESS TO CIA SECRETS

While some conservative lawmakers and commentators have praised the Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers for making a convincing case that the use of torture was justified in tracking down Osama bin Laden, several have also expressed concern that the film may have revealed too much about the inner workings of the CIA. Several liberals have also […]

STRONG LIMITED DEBUT FOR ZERO DARK THIRTY

Opening in limited release, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty was the clear weekend winner on a per-theater basis. The movie, the object of attack by some critics for its suggestion that torture — or “enhanced interrogation” as its supporters euphemistically refer to it — played a valid role in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, […]

MCCAIN SAYS HE WAS SICKENED BY ZERO DARK 30 TORTURE CLAIM

Senator John McCain said on Tuesday that he was sickened by the suggestion in Zero Dark Thirty that waterboarding al-Qaeda’s No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, helped provide information that led to the hiding place of Osama bin Laden. McCain, who himself endured 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese in the […]

RATINGS SLIDE FOR RYAN, ROMNEY

Some 30.3 million people watched Mitt Romney deliver his acceptance speech on the closing night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa on 11 broadcast and cable networks Thursday, according to Nielsen Research. That figure was down 22 percent from the 38.9 million who watched the closing night of the RNC in 2008 when John […]

HBO FILM ABOUT SARAH PALIN A RATINGS HIT

The HBO film Game Change, which focuses on Sarah Palin’s role as John McCain’s running mate in 2008, chalked up the best ratings for the pay-TV channel for an original movie since 2004. Its initial airing on Saturday drew 2.1 million viewers. Three repeats added 1.3 million to the number. The Andrew Breitbart-founded conservative blog […]

HBO’S GAME CHANGE: HISTORY OR PROPAGANDA?

Another controversy is brewing over HBO’s plans to air Game Change, a docudrama about the 2008 Republican campaign in general and the decision by John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate in particular. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, producer Jay Roach said he committed himself to telling a true story […]

TV SHOW ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON’S AUTOPSY POSTPONED

Plans by Britain’s incarnation of the Discovery Channel to air a reenactment of the Michael Jackson autopsy have angered Jackson’s fans and family, who have launched a petition campaign urging the cable channel to cancel it. In a letter sent to Discovery chief David Zaslav on Wednesday, John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the […]