Global Grind, the news website owned by hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, posted an article claiming that Fox News host Sean Hannity offered to pay for the legal defense fund of George Zimmerman, the man accused of shooting and killing Trayvon Martin earlier this year.

The article is based on transcripts of jailhouse phone calls in which Zimmerman is speaking in coded language to friends and family.

An FNC spokesperson tells TVNewser “Sean Hannity has never offered to pay any legal fees or any fee associated with George Zimmerman.”

In one of the transcripts highlighted by Global Grind, Zimmerman explains that an “SH” has offered money for his defense fund, and later explains to his friend how to reach him. Global Grind says that it confirmed with a “rock solid source” that the email address referenced in the call is one used by Hannity. FNC’s statement refutes that claim.

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Never forget. Anything you read on the Internet on April 1 is probably fake. Trust no one.

A pair of TV news related pranks have been making the rounds online, and as funny as they are, we cannot sit idly by while they continue to propagate across the Internet.

Russell Simmons‘ Global Grind website announced that Keith Olbermann would be taking over as CEO. Over at NewscastStudio, they “revealed” that CNN would be adding a supercomputer anchor to its election coverage.

Funny, and fake.

Also, Sarah Palin to co-host NBC’s “Today”? Hilarious. What? That isn’t a joke? Oh. Ok then.

If you see any other TV news-related pranks today, drop us a line.

Rap, fashion and media mogul Russell Simmons is a friend of Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes (don’t believe us? See him talk about Ailes in a clip from our Media Beat interview last year). He is also a friend of Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera. Unfortunately, he can only take that friendship so far.

In a blog post on his Global Grind website, Simmons takes issue with Rivera’s apology yesterday over the “hoodie” comments he made last week. He holds back nothing:

Geraldo, your apology is bullshit!  Your apology is nothing but a defense of a racist, backward thing you already said. And I am yogi, so I never say anything like this, but I have to say it like it is. It is a non-apology apology that continues to blame the victim for their appearance.

…

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CNN special correspondent Soledad O’Brien and her husband Brad Raymond launched their Foundation at a star-studded event Friday night in Bridgehampton, New York.

Since Hurricane Katrina — which O’Brien covered extensively for CNN — the couple has quietly helped underprivileged young women with the resources to attend school. The foundation will now enable them to provide more scholarships to the victims of the storm, and beyond.

In attendance, Star Jones and her new beau; Russell Simmons with actress Melissa George; and gospel singer Kirk Franklin and jazz star Ron Carter. In all, $250,000 was raised.

Event chairs Cicely Tyson and Pharrell Williams and host committee members such as CNN’s Alina Cho (pictured) and Jason Binn were also on hand, enjoying the “New Orleans in the Hamptons” themed event.

As we found at earlier this year, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons is a complex man. He is an unabashed progressive, but he also counts Fox News chairman CEO Roger Ailes as a friend. In a blog post on Huffington Post, Simmons recalls arguing with a pair of staffers on the FNC show “Huckabee” as well as calling up Sean Hannity to debate politics.

The post starts out with Simmons criticizing Hannity, calling him homophobic and racist, but ends with the Def Jam pioneer calling for liberals to seek out common ground with the Hannity’s of the world.

A few weeks ago, I phoned Sean Hannity after I called him a gangster in the news and the first thing he asked me was why did I believe he was more gangster than any rapper? Let’s see…

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During our 50-minute interview with Russell Simmons last week — for an upcoming MediaBeat interview — the music, media and fashion mogul talked about his friendship with politically polar opposite FoxNewsers including Rogers Ailes, Sean Hannity and Mike Huckabee. So what does he think about MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann? ”They think he’s nutty on the left, I’m far to the left of him.”

The full interview will run on the mediabistro blog network and MediaBeat.com beginning Jan. 31.

Earlier this week Russell Simmons talked with Fox News chairman and co-founder Roger Ailes on Simmons’ GlobalGrind.com. The two talked about the shootings in Arizona and about whether heightened rhetoric from the media — including his own hosts on Fox News Channel — were in any way to blame. It’s clear now — and most Americans agree — that it wasn’t.

But we wanted to know what’s behind this relationship between the politically polar opposite media moguls, Simmons and Ailes. Mediabistro managing editor Donya Blaze asked Simmons about it yesterday when he stopped by the mediabistro studios. Simmons also has some thoughts about FoxNewsers Sean Hannity and Mike Huckabee.

Simmons also gives us his thoughts on Keith Olbermann. We’ll have that for you Monday on TVNewser, with the entire Media Beat interview with Russell Simmons running later this month.

The cable opinion shows all came out last night, after Saturday’s events in Tucson, and put the blame for the shooting spree squarely on Jared Lee Loughner — but some also pointed fingers at each other for inflaming harsh political rhetoric that has become the bread and butter of cable news.

On “The O’Reilly Factor” last night, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly called out the left for pointing fingers at the right:

Decent people simply do not ascribe motivation to a psychopath like Loughner unless that motivation is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. I can’t tell you how angry this makes me. Far-left loons have attacked me in vile way for years. I have to have security around the clock. Has the “New York Times” ever said a word about that?

The Fox News personality spent most of his time last night on his usual targets:  New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, the National Organization for Women, and of course, MSNBC:

NBC News allows vicious personal attacks on anyone who doesn’t toe the far-left MSNBC line. The hatred spewed on that cable network is unprecedented in the media.

The #1 story on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” was “denouncing violence,” which was a continuation of his special comment he made over the weekend over the violent hyperbolic rhetoric that has become the staple of cable news reporting — especially in primetime. Olbermann — like O’Reilly — said there were recent threats to his life.

More on the cablers views and video after the jump…

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Fox News Channel CEO Roger Ailes has weighed in on the talk of toning down political rhetoric in the wake of the tragedy in Tucson.

Ailes spoke to hip hop legend Russell Simmons (!!) for the blog GlobalGrind.com.

“I told all of our guys, shut up, tone it down, make your argument intellectually,” Ailes told Simmons. ” You don’t have to do it with bombast. I hope the other side does that.”

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TVNewser stopped by the book party for CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien Friday night at Russell Simmons‘ lower Manhattan apartment .

In The Next Big Story, co-authored by CNN producer Rose Arce, O’Brien takes a page from her award-winning …In America series, and other reporting experiences, and blends her personal story and mixed-race background (Cuban, Irish, Scottish, Long Island-ish) crafting an inspiring story of hope amidst the tragedies that are a staple of the TV news stories she covers.

The party was a mix itself, of hip-hop stars and tvnewsers: Katie Couric, HLN anchor Jane Velez-Mitchell, CNN correspondents Alina Cho, Susan Candiotti; CNN SVP Bart Feder, …In America EP  Geraldine Moriba, New York bureau chief Darius Walker, development EP David Doss and newly appointed EP of Piers Morgan‘s show Jonathan Wald were all in attendance.

O’Brien mingled with guests all while getting around with a cane. “It’s a step up from the crutches,” O’Brien told us. She’s still nursing a knee injury after being thrown from a horse in early October. O’Brien will continue the book tour with a stop in New Orleans. That event will be a fundraiser as residents continue to recover from Hurricane Katrina, a story O’Brien covered extensively.

Also at the party:

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