Filmmaker John Ziegler, who interviewed Jerry Sandusky over the phone and aired some of the excerpts on NBC’s “Today” Monday, isn’t happy with how things turned out. Ziegler told the The Daily Beast:

“I didn’t like the parameters they were setting. Rules were changing as I was getting closer to the studio,” John Ziegler told The Daily Beast during a phone call from his hotel room at the Essex House in New York a few hours later. “They were putting me in an insanely restrictive situation about what I could say…

“Once the [NBC] lawyers got involved everyone’s ass had to be covered,” he said. “In the short attention span theater in which we live, the segment had to include a statement from one of the victim’s lawyers, from Penn State and a statement from the Paterno family. Half of the segment’s time was spent on butt-covering instead of talking about new elements of the story,” he said.

Ziegler was prepared to be disappointed, he wrote a blog post over the weekend outlining the ways in which the media would try to discredit him.

The “interview” with Jerry Sandusky that NBC aired on “Today” this morning turned out to be a dud. We already told you that filmmaker John Ziegler was the one who conducted the interviews, not NBC. This morning, aside a from few brief audio clips of Sandusky over the phone, the bulk of the segment featured Matt Lauer grilling Ziegler about the interviews and his film.

It got heated:

Tomorrow NBC’s “Today” will feature former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky speaking “in his own words.” Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse last year. As we noted when we reported about the interview on Friday, Sandusky has not spoken out since the conviction, and prior to it only gave a phone interview to NBC’s Bob Costas.

However, NBC’s “interview” isn’t really what it seems. Documentary filmmaker John Ziegler–best known for his 2009 film Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected And Palin Was Targeted–is the one who secured the footage of Sandusky, and is using it for a new film “The Framing of Joe Paterno.” Ziegler will be a guest on “Today” tomorrow, where he will reveal some of the footage. In other words, while NBC certainly left the impression that someone from the network would be interviewing Sandusky, it is in fact footage from Ziegler and his team, and NBC had no control or say in it.

“In an exclusive interview airing Monday on TODAY, former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky will speak out for the first time since he went to prison,” the show wrote in an article on Today.com. That probably leaves readers with the impression that NBC journalists were involved, even though it technically never says NBC conducted the interview.

Ziegler, perhaps getting ahead of his “Today” appearance, wrote a blog post called “An Open Letter to the News Media: How to Do a Hit Piece on John Ziegler.”

The Hollywood Reporter took it upon themselves to count how many times each cabler spoke about Sarah Palin last year. The network that ran Palin segments a whopping 512 times in 2010 was Fox News MSNBC.

Since Keith Olbermann‘s departure, the numbers will go down significantly, because the MSNBC host mentioned the mama grizzly 179 times last year on “Countdown.”

However, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews topped Olbermann with 184 times. Rachel Maddow trailed behind with 99 mentions.

Documentary filmmaker John Ziegler explained to THR the appeal of the media’s addiction with Palin:

“Take Sarah Palin, add guests, some hatred, and mix. No other topic can replace her … that would require actual reporting.”

What about Fox News — the network who hired Palin as a contributor a year ago?
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MSNBC had “Media Malpractice” filmmaker John Ziegler on last hour, and it went pretty much as expected. Ziegler was interviewed by Contessa Brewer about the David Letterman Gov. Sarah Palin jokes, and her response on Ziegler’s radio show yesterday.

Here’s how it started: “Thanks for having me, always interesting to go out with the people with Barack Obama‘s official network,” said Ziegler.

Later, Ziegler said Palin showed “far more class than clearly most people on this network have,” and Brewer had enough.

“I’m here to give you an opportunity, I consider myself a common sense thinker, I haven’t attacked you, and for you to come on and use those sort of insults insults me,” she said, before cutting the mic.

Click continued to see the full interview…

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Today on the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu we were joined by filmmaker John Ziegler. He’s currently touring the country (in Boston today) with his film “Media Malpractice,” about the 2008 presidential election.

What does he thinks of media coverage since Pres. Obama has taken office? “I think the answer is pretty clear, especially over the past 24 hours,” he said. “The speech that he gave this morning in Egypt was just flabbergasting, and of course, as always, is being greeted by 80% of the media as another gift from the Messiah.”

Of NBC’s “Inside the Obama White House” special, Ziegler didn’t mince words. “Monica Lewinsky never dreamed of doing to Bill Clinton some of the things Brian Williams did to Barack Obama during that two-part special,” said Ziegler. “It was beyond glowing.”

Also discussed: plans for his next documentary, what he thought was the worst part of the Couric/Palin interview and whether he purposely says provocative things to draw attention to his films.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321.

Click here to receive mediabistro.com’s Daily Newsfeed via email.

We’re on to Day 2 of the Mediabistro Circus today in New York City.

Today on the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu podcast we’re joined by Seamus Condron, Community Manager at mediabistro.com.

We get a preview of the Circus today, from Keith Ferrazzi‘s “Who’s Got Your Back?” to Cirque du Soleil. We also look at yesterday’s highlights, and get some behind-the-scenes info.

Also discussed from the newsfeed: Newsweek’s new editor, Stephen Colbert, and who gets helped from Craigslist’s new stance on adult ads.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321. Tomorrow’s guest: “Media Malpractice” filmmaker John Ziegler.

Click here to receive mediabistro.com’s Daily Newsfeed via email.

“Media Malpractice” filmmaker John Ziegler had a contentious interview last month with David Shuster, and as the documentary is released today, Ziegler was back on the network in a variety of interviews.

The interviews began on the Today show this morning. Ziegler also appeared on Morning Joe and in an interview with Norah O’Donnell on MSNBC. (O’Donnell also reported the lead-in story on Today.) “You guys were in love with Barack Obama from very early on, and it showed in every single element of the news media coverage,” Ziegler told Matt Lauer.

Later in the interview, Lauer said, “I think that you making it personal with me is not going to work in this particular situation.”

At the beginning of his interview with O’Donnell, Ziegler thanked her for “great fodder for my next film, Media Malpractice 2,” and referred to the network he was appearing on as “an advocacy organization.”

“Are you and her (Palin) a little thin-skinned?” asked O’Donnell.

Click continued to see Lauer’s interview…

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When “Media Malpractice” filmmaker John Ziegler appeared on MSNBC to discuss the YouTube clips released yesterday of his interview with Gov. Sarah Palin, some fireworks could be expected. The interview did not disappoint.

David Shuster interviewed Ziegler this afternoon, and the filmmaker took on MSNBC as a whole. “I believe that her character was assassinated, David, and I think this network played an enormous role in that process,” said Ziegler.

Later, Ziegler said: “You’ve clearly seen this through the prejudiced eye of MSNBC, which has had an agenda since the beginning of the campaign, pro Obama, against Palin, it continues today. And it’s very obvious to everybody you’re a joke.”

Shuster responded: “Right, as opposed to the agenda of people like you, to boost Sarah Palin, who is clearly unqualified. Most Americans, 65%, say she’s unqualified. You and your colleagues are trying to circle back and get her ready for 2012.”

• Earlier: The Palin YouTube clips

• More from WebNewser: Is Palin Unhappy Clips Released On YouTube?

Click continued to see the full interview…

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In a YouTube clip from an upcoming documentary, Gov. Sarah Palin blasts the media, and specifically Katie Couric, for the way they treated her during the campaign. The documentary is “Media Malpractice,” by filmmaker John Ziegler.

“I never saw how it came across but my understanding was that so many of the topics brought up were not portrayed as accurately as they could have, should have, been,” said Palin, regarding the Couric interview. She also says she wanted to cancel the remaining portions of the interview after the first day, but the campaign made her “go back for more.”

“Is it political? Is it sexism?” she asked. “What is it that drives someone to believe the worst and perpetuate the worst in terms of gossip and lies?”

After seeing a clip of Couric on the Late Show with David Letterman expressing surprise why other interviewers didn’t question Palin about her non-answers during the CBS interview, Palin said, “Because, Katie, you’re not the center of everybody’s universe.”

Click continued to see the clip…

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