And just like that, it was over. Gawker’s lackluster Fox News Mole has been fired by Fox, and revealed his identity. He is Joe Muto (pictured), a longtime producer for “The O’Reilly Factor.”

Muto revealed himself with a post explaining that he had been brought in by Dianne Brandi, Fox News’ Executive Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs, and questioned about the whole thing. Muto was caught because he had used his work computer to access sources for two videos that were shown on Gawker. Smart!

Of course Muto, attempting to continue to be relevant, says he has much more in store for all of us:

I am a weasel, a traitor, a sell-out and every bad word you can throw at me… but as of today, I am free, and I am ready to tell my story, which I wasn’t able to fully do for the previous 36 hours.

Fantastic. We simply can’t wait to read what’s next. Will it be a scintillating story about the cafeteria tater tots? Or maybe an exposé on Shepard Smith’s socks?

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Gawker has a current Fox News employee writing “regular dispatches from inside the organization,” which is pretty amazing, considering how little you ever hear Fox employees speaking out against the company. However, the debut column is extremely boring.

The biggest “gotcha” moment from the mole is a behind-the-scenes video of Mitt Romney talking about his love for horses. Scandalous! Yes, it shows how Romney clearly appreciates the finer things in life, but doesn’t everyone already know that? The mole clearly thinks it is a big scoop:

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Newsweek’s January 23 cover features President Obama with the accompanying headline:  “Why Are Obama’s Critics So Dumb?”

The piece, written by Andrew Sullivan, examines the middle-of-the-road politics of the President.

Doesn’t really matter though.

It’s the headline that’s got some circles riled up.  Heck, things just wouldn’t be right if Fox News didn’t shoot back on its show The Five with a segment entitled, “Why Are Newsweek Editors So Dumb?

But isn’t attention the purpose of it all? Mission accomplished.

Gawker is bringing Governor Chris Christie to court, alleging that he and Roger Ailes have exchanged emails that go beyond the typical LOLCat forward.

John Cook, a writer for the site, tells The New York Times that he believes those emails (which the governor’s office is refusing to give up) will prove that Ailes is providing political advice to Christie:

Through the lawsuit, Mr. Cook hopes to either obtain the records of contacts between the two men, or, alternatively, to have Mr. Christie’s office explain to a judge why each of the records is confidential. ‘That,’ he said, ‘would be, in and of itself, a newsworthy outcome.’

This is the first time Gawker Media has filed a lawsuit to obtain information, and they sure picked a big target. If it seems like pretty much every News Corp. entity is under attack lately, well, that’s because they are.

If 24 hours a day of Fox News coverage of the world isn’t enough for you, Mashable reports that conservatives’ favorite news network is now launching its very own iPad app, promised to be as fair and balanced as the rest of Roger Ailes‘ empire.

According to Jeremy Steinberg, Fox News VP of digital media ad sales and business development, Fox News waited until now to release its app because it was looking for “the critical mass that would support the app financially.”

What you can expect: the app is divided into two key sections: a “Happening Now” section and a story timeline. Also, lots of ExxonMobil advertising, as Exxon is the exclusive launch partner for Fox News’s iPad app. But no live video so far. So don’t give up the cable channel just yet.

Last night we told you about Fox reporting that journalists in Libya were being used as “human shields,” which lead to an airstrike being called off at the last minute. Later in the evening, on CNN’s The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer asked CNN correspondent Nic Robertson- who was one of the journalists Fox was referencing – about Fox’s claim. He unequivocally denied it, and even added that Fox News chose not to send anyone from their editorial team to the bombing site.

This has now devolved into a “he said” “she said” moment, because no one knows exactly what happened there aside from those present, but there doesn’t seem to be much motivation for Robertson to lie.

You’d think that maybe, in times of war – with human lives at stake – Fox News would tone down the rhetoric. But hey, the article that first started the rumor is probably getting a lot of page views, so to quote George Bush – a Fox News favorite – “Mission accomplished.”

Check out Robertson’s full statement after the jump.

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FishbowlNY’s friend Tonya Garcia, from PRNewser, attended the New York Press Club event at CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism last night, and Bill Keller was one of the featured speakers. Garcia was kind enough to forward us some of his comments, and below are some highlights, followed by what he really meant.

• On fluff in journalism: “I don’t know how many times I’ve urged reporters and editors to get to the goddamn point.” Most writers think they’re smarter than they actually are.
  
• On Frank Rich leaving: “He’s been restless for awhile.” I’ve already contacted Sly Stallone about going on a mission to bring him back.
  
• On if The New York Times is considering something like Wikileaks: “How do you make sure the information hasn’t been massaged?” I have to be honest, I think Assange’s hair is absolutely fantastic.
  
• On Fox News: “If you’re a regular viewer of Fox News, you’re one of the most cynical people on planet Earth.” If you’re a regular viewer of Fox News, you’re one of the most cynical people on planet Earth.

Yesterday morning FishbowlNY picked up on a rumor that Roger Ailes was going to be indicted this week, possibly even today. The rumor was sparked by a blog post by Barry Ritholtz, in which he cited a source telling him that Ailes was in serious, imminent trouble. Naturally, we tweeted about it and waited to hear anything more. Well, Justin Elliott at Salon, has more; or at least more about the specifics behind the rumor.

Apparently the source Ritholtz cited in his post was some random guy he met at an airport. Perfect! Elliot explains:

Here’s what happened, according to Ritholtz, who just got back from a vacation on the tropical island: He was sitting in the Barbados airport waiting for a plane to arrive and he struck up a conversation with an older man sitting next to him.

‘We started chatting and next thing I know, we’re waiting to leave the gate, his phone rings and he tells his wife, ‘yeah Ailes just canceled the event,’ Ritholtz says, describing the man as “obviously annoyed and frustrated.’

The man runs an annual event in March at which Ailes was scheduled to speak, according to Ritholtz, who declined to specify the event. When he asked the man why Ailes canceled, the man said Ailes was about to be indicted. He describes the man, who he would not name, as an ‘Upper East Side Democrat.’

Well, thank god he’s an Upper East Side Democrat and not a Hell’s Kitchen Independent, because then this story would really lack credibiltiy.

Perhaps the guy will end up being right, but maybe, just maybe, Ritholtz should have waited and got another source before starting up the rumor mill.

Can’t wait to see how Fox News spins this:  Judith Regan, formerly with Harper Collins, supposedly has a recording of Roger Ailes telling her to lie to federal investigators back in 2006 about her affair with then city police commissioner Bernie Kerik,  in order to protect Rudy Giuliani and his bid to become president. Imagine, someone at Fox News trying to hide the truth!

Regan, who was fired from Harper Collins – which is owned by News Corporation -  subsequently sued them and received a big settlement. A settlement that might have been sped up by Ailes’ knowledge of the recorded conversation.

The infamous phone call is only now becoming public because of a separate wrongful termination lawsuit filed against Regan by the very lawyers that pursued the charges against News Corp. years ago.

And get this: That call would still be hidden from everyone, but someone forgot to file the proper paperwork with the State Court, so the affidavits with Ailes’ name are now completely out there.

Of course, News Corp.’s Spokesperson Teri Everett told The Times that the company has a letter from Regan, “stating that Mr. Ailes did not intend to influence her with respect to a government investigation.”

If that’s the case then this will die quickly, but if not, things are about to get intense. The mastermind of Fox News, Roger Ailes, and Rudy Giuliani, a man who probably still has presidential aspirations, might both be destroyed by a missed task on someone’s to do list.

It’s snowing in the city again. That should be enough to annoy the hell out of you, but maybe you have an amazing jacket that keeps you warm despite the weather.

For those of you who aren’t annoyed today, this will do the trick: Tom Junod at Esquire has released transcripts that were taken from his talks with Roger Ailes. FishbowlNY had to share because we don’t like being alone in our misery. Some highlights:

He thinks Fox offers a wide array of viewpoints:

You have to be able to allow both points of view. Look at MSNBC. They have nobody on that doesn’t agree with them. Nobody. I never see anybody who disagrees with them. I don’t know whether their egos can’t handle it or whether they’re… I don’t get it.

He thinks CNN can do a slightly better job:

What the hell’s she doing up there? Look at that print on CNN. Look at that board. You can’t see shit… you can’t see anything. You see that? Now that’s just crazy. Director should have cut away from that shot. Bad shot.

His assistant is Jason Bourne:

She can look at a room of people and say, ‘Watch the fourth guy on the left. He hates your guts.’ Oh, she can read a room. She goes in and she’s very friendly and asks if they want coffee or something, and they think she’s the secretary but she’s reading the room before I go in.