Television

Ed Whelan, who works for the Ethics and Public Policy Center, spoke about the Obama administration’s decision requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control on C-SPAN this morning. During his appearance, he answered calls and electronic communications and encountered a fair amount of grief from a number of emotional callers. One in particular stands out: “John” a “Democrat” in Angola, Indiana injects “shit” into the conversation. Listen to John at 25:41 here. The host didn’t miss a beat, and Whelan responded to the viewer’s comments.

The upside: At least Whelan wasn’t subjected to the infamous question that has been plaguing C-SPAN as of late: “How big is Mitt Romney’s penis?”

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

Current TV sub and radio host David Shuster is no coward when it comes to using the p-word. “This is the first time in nearly four years that I’ve used the word ‘pimp’ (or any derivation of it) on-air,” he wrote on Facebook over the weekend, referencing the infamous program that initially got him suspended from MSNBC when he said then-presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton was pimping her daughter, Chelsea, on the campaign trail.  “Anyway, the segment we did tonight was the funniest of the week,” he continued. “Pay particular attention, if you like, to the double entendres. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

This use of pimping didn’t involve Chelsea Clinton, now a special correspondent for NBC’s “Rock Center.” This involved prostitutes pimping for GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul.

‘Pimpin’ for Paul’: David Shuster reveals Nevada prostitutes who have the hots for Ron Paul – Countd current.com. “The working girls at the Moonlite Ranch, who reportedly love a good caucus, met and decided to endorse Paul’s candidacy.”

Our favorite reaction comes from a Shuster Facebook friend who writes, “Love ya D….but really?”

Political reporters and pundits take note. If Fox News finds you worthy (and we already know they tend to waver on Politico reporters) you may wind up being asked to appear on a new online talk show they have in the works.

FishbowlDC has learned that the program in development is called The Greene Room, to be hosted by Jehmu Greene. Greene joined FNC in 2010 as a contributor. The format will be similar to the “The Five” focusing mainly on politics but also other topics du jour. All women co-hosts… Margaret Hoover, Alicia Menendez, Dee Dee Benkie, and Kirsten Powers are the names being considered with Jehmu as main host.

We’re told that it will start off as an online http://live.foxnews.com/ program. But if successful, it may be a new weekend program on FNC. Online producer Maria Karlsson has been tasked with running it. While the details of the show are in “heavy discussion” right now, a start date is unknown at this time.

Last night, Stephen Colbert welcomed the “Available Panel” on his show. But truth be told, it would have been better had they been unavailable. The host’s odd collection of newsies in town  included CNBC’s John Hardwood, The Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel and – whoa! – singer David Cassidy.

Colbert immediately turned to Harwood for thoughts on the Florida primary and who will win. Harwood said he’s “in an open marriage with my political predictions right now.” Maybe in my lifetime, reporters will learn that it’s almost NEVER wise to go on comedy shows and try to be funny. First of all, thanks for bringing us to the cutting edge of 10-day-old-humor, John. Secondly, what does that even mean? It’s a shoddy attempt at a cheap laugh and the joke doesn’t even make sense.

Sensing the air of hilarity around her, Vanden Heuvel tries to wedge in some laughs. When asked about Newt’s chances in the primary, she said, “The Republican party has been screwing this country for too long. It’s not just Newt Gingrich. It’s basically just screw and shaft.” Even a comedian as seasoned as Colbert was taken aback. “A screw AND a shaft,” he exclaimed. “So, it’s double teaming the American people.” Even vanden Heuval then looked perplexed by her own avalanche of dick metaphors.

Believe it or not, the most restrained guest was David Cassidy. When talking about the amount of money Mitt has raised for his Presidential campaign, he lets us know that he’s a capitalist. Vanden Heuvel remarked, “I’m glad I didn’t know that you were that kind of capitalist when I kissed your poster on my wall.”

To get the full effect, the entire video is below. Just try not to make out with your computer when Cassidy comes on, Katrina.

 

 

(A Sprinkling of Very Gross Things we Think you Ought to Know…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Edition of Fish Food takes a look at some of the grosser parts of the news. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Bloody Mitt Romney – Yahoo‘s Dylan Stableford reports on what might have been if Bloomberg Business Week had gone through with their original idea for the Jan. 13 issue. The magazine actually went through the process of creating the cover on the right, featuring a bloody Mitt Romney, but decided to run a cover with Microsoft’s Steve Balmer instead. Bloomberg Editor Josh Tyrangiel says the decision was based on their perception that “the Romney story seemed to have already hit its peak.”

Barbara Bathroom Habits – Bravo TV’s “Watch What Happens” welcomed on Sherri Shepherd, co-host of the view this past weekend. Host Andy Cohen puts Shepherd through her paces and asks her a series of uncomfortable questions. When asked to say something embarrassing about ABC’s Barbara Walters, we braced ourselves. Considering Walters’ past, this could have gotten ugly. Walters has already admitted that she had an affair with Sen. Edward Brooke back in the 70′s. Fortunately, we were spared from any mental images of Walters doing the nasty, but what we did hear wasn’t much better. Shepherd says that Walters “never goes to the bathroom.” Here’s the video if you want to watch it, weirdo.

Shep Smith Just Ruined Lunch - POTUS welcomed various TV anchors to dine with him before his State of the Union Address on Tuesday. It’s a long-observed tradition in which the sitting President invites the pretty faces to join him for lunch. This year, the invite list included CBS’s Scott Pelley, ABC’s Diane Sawyer, NBC’s Brian Williams, and several others. HuffPost reports that one member of the media who was present was FNC’s Shep Smith. Smith confirmed this to his audience on Tuesday afternoon by bringing us the menu and how great it was. We honestly couldn’t tell you what was served, though. We were too busy trying not to get sick watching Shep’s sickly hacking cough and gaunt cheekbones as he described the menu. If you think you can stomach it, check out the video of a skeleton wearing a poorly made Shep Smith mask Shep describing the cuisine.

 

As CBS beefs up its coverage of the 2012 presidential election, they’re adding a producer to Washington’s “CBS This Morning” team. Jenna Gibson is not just any producer, she was most recently supervisor of Fox News’ Washington booking unit. At CBS she will handle booking guests and interviews. At Fox News she was apparently pivotal in the network’s Royal Wedding coverage. And last year she landed in the number four spot of The Hill‘s 50 Most Beautiful People of Capitol Hill. They described her as a “formidable” football player, a book club member, chocolate lover and avid movie watcher.

See the internal memo from Mosheh Oinounou…

Read more

Host of NPR’s Fresh Air, Terry Gross, will be tonight’s guest on The Colbert Report.

Terry had Stephen Colbert in the hot seat last year, so this is his chance for blood. Though no one can know what precisely will come from this epic meeting — Will Stephen get any interview tips? Does Terry like answering questions as much as asking them? – we think it’ll be entertaining.

For behind the scenes details, check out @npr and @nprfreshair on Twitter and search the hash tag #freshaironcolbert.

Mr. Norah O’Donnell (aka husband Chef Geoff Tracy) is heading up the 14th Annual St. Judes Gourmet Gala on Feb. 21. It’s an annual gathering of Washington’s best chefs to raise money for the children’s hospital.

More than 40 local chefs will join the event, with each creating a special dish. Attendees will vote on their favorite dish at the end of the evening. “It’s an honor to share our talents at an event that will help St. Jude find answers to save the lives of countless children,” the canned Tracy says in a statement. “On a lighter note [because there is always a lighter note in stories like this] the gala presents the perfect setting for collaboration among some of the industry’s best and a friendly competition to produce the perfect dish.”

For the bargain price of $350, you could help eliminate childhood cancers with ingredients like locally raised essence of aromatic wild mushroom foam or whatever passes for fancy food these days. For tickets and more information, visit here.

 

 

At last week’s CNN Debate in South Carolina, when John King asked Newt Gingrich about recent allegations from his first wife saying that he wanted an “open marriage”, Gingrich gave a legendary answer blistering the newsman.

The crowd roared for Gingrich.

It wasn’t the first time. Newt has made a habit out of squeezing in a pointed jab at the “mainstream” and “elite” media in each debate, and each time, his applause gets louder. So imagine Gingrich’s frustration when NBC’s Brian Williams requested that the audience refrain from any cheering and clapping. The result? It was one of Newt’s weaker debates.

But today, Gingrich is fighting back. He told Fox and Friends this morning that he wishes he had protested NBC’s rules about applause and that the reason the audience was told to stay quiet is that the “media is terrified that the audience is going to side with the candidates against the media.” Gingrich says putting debate organizers on notice that he won’t participate in any future debates unless the audience is welcomed back into the mix, saying, “Media doesn’t control free speech. View the video below.

 

There’s another CNN Debate Thursday night, so we will see if anyone tries to muzzle the audience and how Newt reacts if it happens.

In other Newt News… the visual comparisons of Newt to Schrute (Dwight, from NBC’s “The Office”) have been making the viral rounds. Rainn Wilson, who plays Schrute, acknowledged the similarities via Twitter, according to Chris Moody of Yahoo. Wilson has changed his Twitter avatar to the picture on the right.

The New York Daily News published a new account this morning on CBS’ Lara Logan a year after her sexual assault in Egypt’s Tahrir Square. Logan says she is suffering from latent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The profile goes through the painful details and aftermath of what it’s like to be a rape victim. While the publication takes a sympathetic view, some commenters attack Logan, making claims that she is exaggerating, lying or that she was asking to be raped. Some suggest that she’s not a real victim of rape: “Nice try, CBS. Next time ask a REAL victim of rape what it feels like.” Another says Logan has no business covering a story like this because she’s a woman: “Stay home, watch your kids, make sandwiches, and leave work like this to men.” Still another calls her a “liberal beyotch.”

The New York Daily News has no plans to remove the comments. They are fair game as far as the newspaper’s policy goes. A spokesperson for the web desk tells FishbowlDC, “It depends on the nature of the comment. If it gives away personal information or things of that nature, we definitely flag them. If it’s just something mean-spirited, it’s not our policy to delete them.”

Late last year, we reported on The Hill and how they planned to change their comments section for this very reason. Editor-in-chief Hugo Gurdon told us, “We have been testing a new comment system for a few weeks on the Washington Scene and we’ll be introducing it to our main site in the next couple of weeks. Up until now, comment boards have been entirely open access and this has led to some problems. We sometimes do feel the need to take down comments that are offensive and the new system will alert us to those more efficiently. We want our comment boards to be open forums for debate, but obviously there need to be limits.”

They aren’t the only ones. More and more publications such as Politico and Mediaite to name a few are keeping a more watchful eye over comments being left on their pages.