“Are you looking for yourself?” Clooney asked. “Lara, let me tell you what’s happening. The reason that Charlie keeps talking about Ides of March…is because he’s in it.”

“Is he?” Logan asked.

“You played–and this is a stretch,” Clooney reminded Rose, “you played ‘Charlie Rose.’”

After a clip of Rose’s spot in the movie played, the host asked, “And how well did I do?”

“Honestly,” Clooney said, “you were the second best to audition for the part.”

Watch a clip of the exchange below, courtesy of CBS:

Report: Charlie Rose And Gayle King Set To Join CBS’ Early Show

The new ensemble cast of Charlie Rose, Gayle King, and Erica Hill performed ably together, but the tagline “the news is back in morning news” felt a little insincere, as lengthy segments were done on Princess Kate Middleton‘s 30th birthday and Beyonce‘s baby. It was surreal, for instance, to hear Rose refer to the pop star and Jay-Z as “American Royalty.”

To his credit, earlier in the program, the anchor had a stellar interview with Newt Gingrich, in which the Republican candidate flattered the morning host by saying he was running “almost a Charlie Rose-style campaign.”

However, as the show wore on, viewers began to notice his eyes were beginning to look a little irritated. “Someone hand Charlie Rose some Visine!” one Twitter critic chirped.

Rose’s serious, workman-like newsreading and King’s bubbly persona made for an odd pairing, with one person in the Twitter peanut gallery comparing their combination to Elton John and Eminem.

When the three gave a round-table interview of The Good Wife‘s Julianna Margulies, it offered a foreboding window into the future. Will Rose be able to mesh with King’s more pop-culturally savvy stylings, and will Hill be boxed out?

With their first show in the history books, I’m not quite sure how the three anchors will ultimately pull it off; they obviously have the talent, but whether that will be enough for successful morning news chemistry is another question.

Watch the three interview Julianna Margulies below via CBS:

The show is being given a complete makeover, with a brand-new set and a focus on hard news rather than the fluffier fare normally associated with morning talk shows. In addition, as The New York Times reports, the show will be “employing a conversational approach like Morning Joe on MSNBC and The View on ABC.”

RELATED: Cynics Beware: OWN Works As A Concept and Network

The two will make their debuts with the show early next year, joining current co-hosts Erica Hill and Jeff Glor.

The plan, according to the NYT, is to have the show forge its own way rather than repeatedly attempt, and fail, to replicate the success of its early morning rivals:

Privately, executives say that because the network has forever failed to beat NBC’s “Today” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” by imitating those shows, it is instead going to try something wholly different.

The plan is already the talk of the tight-knit, gossipy New York television news industry. But will it be talked about anywhere else?

Some speculate that Rose will appeal mostly to an older crowd, while King — whose name has been closely linked to that of best friend Oprah Winfrey — may do well with female viewers. While neither name is a proven ratings draw, their contributions to the show and it’s new, newsier format are sure to at least draw in some initial viewers curious to see whether such a formula and format will translate into ratings.

h/t NYT

The party was held at the Gramercy Park Hotel, which, while fancy, also possesses an undeniable schmanciness as well. When you walk in, there’s no sterile check-in counter, just one guy behind a low antiquey table with a guest book on it. I thought he was just waiting for someone to bring him a latte. I got there an hour-and-a-half early, not so I could secure on-street parking, but for some other good, strategic reason.

Luckily, the Gramercy Park Terrace (or The ‘Rrace, as I like to call it) was open to the unfashionably early, so I went up to get the lay of the land. There, I was met by an MSNBC PR staffer, who showed me around, and got me a copy of Chris Matthews‘ Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero to peruse while I waited. I also finally got to meet some of the MSNBC PR staff, whom I’d only ever spoken to via phone or email. In fact, it looked like MSNBC’s entire PR staff was there. If they were cops, I’d have been out robbing a bank.

The ‘Rrace is a lush, zen-like space with two open bars (!), lots of plants everywhere, and a muted, nature-themed decor. I took a few pictures, grabbed a Diet Coke (the bartender informed me that it takes more skill to pour one of those than any other drink), and sat down to read Matthews’ book until the partygoers arrived.

One of the first to arrive was MSNBC President Phil Griffin, followed closely by Mediaite Managing Editor Colby Hall (also a Project: In Vino operative), both of whom headed straight for the bar. That was my cue to grab a glass of champagne, just to blend in, you see. Michael Calderone was another early arrival, whom I hadn’t seen since the last media-elite book party I’d infiltrated, for Bill Press‘ Toxic Talk, so we spent some time catching up. Since then, Mike has gone from Yahoo! News over to The Huffington Post.

Also in attendance was the lovely and talented Ann Curry, who was also at the Mediaite launch party. In fact, there were quote a few Mediaite launch party alums, including Willie Geist (who claimed to read Mediaite every morning, and passed a quiz to prove it), and broadcasting giant Dan Rather and his wife, Jean (who really like the vibe of the ‘Rrace). In that way, these things are kind of like summer camp, but with better S’mores and booze.

Other luminaries in attendance included comedy legend Jerry Stiller, New York Times media wunderkind Brian Stelter, Game Change co-author John Heilemann, MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall (no relation to Colby), Andrew Ross Sorkin, PBS’ Charlie Rose, and a couple of my White House comrades, Renegade author Richard Wolffe and newly-minted MSNBC dayside star Alex Wagner.

Wolffe asked after my bum ticker, but I caught the subtext. He was obviously trying to enlist me in some sort of scheme to promote socialized medicine, so I played along. I congratulated Alex on her new show, and after my second glass of champagne with no food, corralled Phil Griffin to let him know that whoever decided to give Alex her own show ought to be promoted. Any idiot can see her megawatt TV appeal, but she was also one of the hardest-working reporters on the White House beat for Politics Daily.

In conversations with the denizens of this media ivory tower, there were a few consistent themes. Herman Cain’s recent troubles came up a lot, with the general consensus being that he could probably survive the scandal absent a flesh-and-blood accuser coming forward, but that his campaign needed to learn how to handle it better. James O’Keefe‘s recent activity was also the subject of some buzz, with requisite outrage over his treatment of Sam Stein, but also disappointment that his expose´s weren’t more interesting.

A few people even expressed some positive feelings about the burgeoning prime-time slate at Current TV, the feeling being that there’s room enough in the sky for two forward-leaning lineups to succeed.

Chris Matthews was there, of course, and though I missed his remarks due to an ill-timed smoke break, I did manage to hear his shout-out to Willie Geist as “the most influential man in America at 5:30 AM.”

Matthews worked the party tirelessly for several hours, rarely sitting, and as the crowd began to thin out, I approached him to see if he’d sit for a brief interview, “whenever you’re ready.”

“Sure,” he said, “let me just say good-bye to a few people.”

I set up my camcorder (which cleverly decided to ignore the fact that I had plugged a microphone into it), and antsily waited for Matthews to return. With a three hour drive ahead of me, I guess impatience got the better of me, and after a few minutes, I started angrily composing tweets in my head about how Chris Matthews had ditched me at his book party. Fortunately for me, he showed up shortly thereafter, and even though it was probably the last thing he felt like doing, answered all of my questions at length.

All in all, it was a very good night. True, nobody got hammered (although I did feel a little lightheaded after my 2nd champagne on an empty stomach, and had to snarf down 3 emergency Wagyu beef skewers), and I didn’t get the smoking gun footage on these elites that I’d hoped for, but as I boarded the elevator to head back to Jersey, I felt pretty good about the whole thing. As the doors closed, a tall, strikingly beautiful woman hopped into the elevator. As we descended, she eyed my tripod, smiled, and asked, “Were you the photographer at the Victoria’s Secret party?”

No. No, I was not.

Take a look at are some photos from the event, via my crummy camcorder and MSNBC:

NEXT>>>> Photos from Chris Matthews’ Book Party

The folks giving Romney the win last night aren’t thinking like Republican primary voters, who are watching Herman Cain blast through Romney like a high-fiber pizza crust. It’s true that Romney looked more presidential than his rivals last night, but that’s nothing new, and is the thing that has kept him around 20% in the polls for months. The best example of this was when he shushed a flummoxed Rick Perry back onto his nap mat, but Mitt’s strongest moment came during his defense of the hated Romneycare, during which he implied that opponents of his health care law are heartless, telling Perry, “I care about people.”

The exchange most certainly damaged Perry, but it didn’t help Romney, at least not with the voters who are deserting Perry and lower-tier red meaters like Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum. If they wanted someone who looked presidential, they’d already be supporting Romney.

Cain, on the other hand, did exactly what he needed to do to maintain his planetary momentum, introducing his 9-9-9 plan early and often. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman‘s “price of pizza” quip might have scored with a general audience (with an affinity for obvious, overdone jokes), but with conservative base voters, it surely registered as the kind of snobbish, dismissive attitude they’ve come to expect from elites.

The 9-9-9 plan even got its own showcase question, which allowed Cain the chance to respond to criticisms of the plan. The video clip that Charlie Rose used to introduce the question got uproarious applause from the audience, and Cain deflected moderator Julianna Goldman‘s question about the plan’s revenue neutrality like a Jedi master. Goldman cited a Bloomberg Government analysis that found a significant revenue shortfall in the 9-9-9 plan.

Cain responded, “The problem with that analysis is that it is incorrect,” to huge laughter and applause from the debate audience. He went on to vaguely challenge the assumptions in the Bloomberg analysis, then added, “We have had an outside firm, independent firm dynamically score it.  And so our numbers will make it revenue neutral.”

Goldman missed the opportunity to follow up on that scoring, which was apparently done by the conservative Heritage Foundation, and has not been released yet. Instead, she asked Cain to “explain why, under your plan, all Americans should be paying more for milk, for a loaf of bread, and beer?”

Cain quipped, “Pizza, I don’t buy beer,” and weirdly (for a question about milk and bread) pointed out that “there is no tax on used goods.”

Before you could say “Herman Cain is in the pocket of Big Yard Sale,” Goldman pivoted to Rep. Michele Bachmann, who zeroed in on the one criticism of 9-9-9 that might resonate with the base, the fact that it gives the government a new revenue stream (the sales tax), and with it, a slippery slope. (Conservatives love slippery slope arguments. I suggest skiing lessons.)

Unfortunately, she pretty much canceled that out by jokingly implying that Cain is The Antichrist. “When you take the 999 plan and you turn it upside down,” Bachmann quipped, “I think the devil is in the details.”

The line got a laugh, but to the kinds of conservative who support Cain, it was likely an eye-roller that reinforced stereotypes of the GOP base as religious zealots, even if jokingly.

Here’s the clip, from Bloomberg TV:

Several other candidates took whacks at Cain’s sales tax, but the real victory for Cain was that they were talking about it. That’s the key to Cain’s surge in the polls, there’s an energy around him that Romney can’t seem to capture. He summed up his appeal well in his response to a process-heavy attack from Rick Santorum on his “naive” plan. “Therein lies the difference between me, the non- politician, and all of the politicians,” Cain said. “They want to pass what they think they can get passed rather than what we need, which is a bold solution.  9-9-9 is bold, and the American people want a bold solution, not just what’s going to kick the can down the table — down the road.”

Cain will surely run into trouble in future debates, where the subject matter won’t be so tightly-controlled and the glare of the top-tier spotlight is on him, but at last night’s debate, at least in the eyes of its key audience, he outshone the rest of the field. The media, and Mitt Romney, dismiss him at their peril.

RELATED: Cain of Terror: Herman Cain Leads Mitt Romney Among Likely GOP Caucusgoers

It was the second joke for Huntsman of the night, the first earning only an uncomfortable sidelong glance from Rick Perry. Making the obvious “9-9-9″ pizza joke and dismissing it as a “catchy phrase” did elicit laughter from the crowd, but not from Cain, who delivered a fiery response. “9-9-9 will pass– it is not the price of a pizza– because it is well studied and well developed,” Cain responded, arguing that the key to the plan was that it would “throw out the old tax code.”

The exchange via Bloomberg TV below:

Gergen detailed his surreal recreational activity with Clooney to Parade Magazine: “Out of nowhere, Clooney jumps out of his chair and starts climbing a fence that overlooks the lake below. From the top, fully clothed, he counted, One… two… and jumped. I heard three just before hit the water. Within seconds, he was challenging our masculinity. Okay, guys, let’s see your stuff. One other guest was next up and jumped. Hell, I thought, I have an early morning plane and I don’t want wet clothes. So… what choice did I have? I stripped down to my skivvies, climbed that darn fence…. And whoa, it seemed like I was 30 feet above the water. One… two… I was in the water by three. It was very dark, a little cold, but terrific.”

“What the hell is going on, Clooney?” Colbert demanded to the Academy Award winner. “David here gets to go to Lake Como and dip his Gergen and not me? I get it, George, you’re a middle-age pundit chaser! Well, I’m 47. Challenge my masculinity! I will drop trou and scramble over any fence. There doesn’t even have to be any water. There i could be at the airport in half an hour. I won’t even wear a belt. Just call me. Right now the only invitation I’m getting is for another loofah at O’Reilly‘s and I’m the only person who ever shows up.”

Watch the segment below:

Buffett first went over the basic premise of his op-ed, arguing that wealthy business owners are not paying the same proportion of taxes as the people working for them, and added that he also believes spending cuts are crucial to fix the economy. But on the issue of taxes, he stressed that a vast majority of Americans would not even feel the effects of his proposal.

What I propose, incidentally, would not touch the taxes of 99.7 percent, I’m talking about three-tenths of one percent of the American public. But the people from a million dollars on up should be asked to share in a little of the sacrifice we’re all being asked to share.

He also addressed the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates incredibly low over the next two years.

“When they say ‘We’re going to keep rates low until 2013,’ they’re really saying the economy’s not going to be very good until then… I think there’s a chance they’re wrong. I think [the U.S. economy] may pick up before then.”

But it was his comments on the Republican party that have attracted the most media attention today. Buffett did not react well to seeing all of the GOP candidates saying they would not accept a deal that put spending cuts and tax increases at a 10-1 ratio.

“That was pathetic… I mean, listen, I like Republicans. If you got Democrats on some core issue to them, they’d probably do something just as silly. But when they take that attitude, they are really saying, you know, “I want to win this primary.” They are saying, “The country be damned, I want to win this primary.”

Click here to watch the full interview.

h/t The Wall Street Journal

With the story now rapidly reaching a turning point, sources tell Mediaite Charlie Rose is on the ground for Bloomberg in Egypt, and will host a special program on Bloomberg TV at midnight.

Bloomberg anchor Margaret Brennan is en route or about to leave for Cairo.

The network’s unique take on Egypt has focused on covering the economic implications of the crisis with guests including Mohamed El-Erian, CEO of the world’s largest bond fund PIMCO and the Egyptian finance minister, and political angles with guests include Jamie Rubin, who worked at the State Department under President Clinton.

Watch Mohamed El-Erian’s take on the outlook for Egypt’s economy once the nation’s political situation begins to stabilize, from Bloomberg TV:

Sullivan touched on a number of topics which will be familiar to Dish readers, including his anger and frustration with the Catholic Church following a series of pedophilia scandals, and gay marriage (‘it’s not a liberal or conservative issue’). He also declared that the “greatest mistake of my life as a journalist” was supporting the Iraq war. A mistake he partly attributed to being a bit of a “almost romantic about America…I think one’s sense of outrage and grief about that flooded my frontal cortex and I wanted to do something that would rectify it somehow, that would make it whole again.”

Sullivan saved some of his harsher words for Fox News: “I personally think Fox News and a certain propaganda apparatus have set out to whip these people [the Tea Party] in to a frenzy and it’s called demagoguery and populism and it has nothing to do with conservatism.”

He went on to note that “this whole conflation of Obama with Islam and Islam with terrorism is subliminally and subconsciously tapping into the same currents that McCarthyism tapped into.”

He was notably less harsh about the Tea Party itself saying that while he is unsure what they are about he thinks there is a “cultural panic” and “they feel besieged.” Moreover he agrees that “they’re right that the Government is too big and the deficit is too big, but no one will be honest with them” about how to reduce it.

Sullivan, however, remains supporter of President Barack Obama (as ‘unfashionable’ as that may be) in part because Obama is “the only adult in the room.” The Republicans, meanwhile, have “taken a moment of great crisis in this country and seen nothing but short term political advantage. It has done nothing for the common good and hasn’t place the country’s interest above it’s own. They did not rise to the occasion in fact they have sunk to the occasion.”

The one subject Rose and Sullivan did not talk about, or even mention once, was Sarah Palin, which I think in the context of how much time Sullivan spends criticizing Palin and additionally (questionably) focusing on her son Trig, is a rather glaring omission on Rose’s part.

Watch a clip from the interview where Sullivan reflects on Fox News and the Tea Party below and the full interview here.

Officially, they aren’t going to cheer on their country’s team in a football match, but rather to discuss business, economic, and social opportunities in developing nations at the 11th annual FORTUNE/TIME/CNN Global Forum in Cape Town. The forum, dubbed “The New Global Opportunity,” runs from June 26 to 28, during which time attendees will explore the “extraordinary promise of the developing world” with special emphasis on Africa.

The guest list is actually remarkably impressive, including some of the world’s greatest leaders and thinkers (so get ready for some name dropping): Former President Bill Clinton will be there, along with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz. Beyond world leaders, chairmen and CEOs of multinational companies like Coca-Cola, AstraZeneca, and Motorola will also be in attendance.

Being organized by FORTUNE, TIME, and CNN, media personalities – including Katie Couric and Charlie Rose – will be involved, with FORTUNE managing editor Andy Serwer, TIME managing editor Richard Stengel, and CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer acting as moderators and presenters. 17 members of the FORTUNE 500 list and 20 TIME 100 honorees will speak at the forum.

According to Stengel:

“The New Global Opportunity represents the idea that global economic power is shifting to the developing world and that these markets are more than just frontiers of growth; they are the sources of new ideas and models that can be applied everywhere. Growth must be inclusive and sustainable. And the role and potential of those who have been marginalized in the past-the poor, especially women and girls-will only grow.”

With the whole world currently watching South Africa, this forum is in the right place at the right time. We might not see Katie Couric score on a penalty kick against Bill Clinton, but hopefully some good comes out of this.

Oh yes, and the president was there, too. Good times.

THE DINNER

This collection of way too many photos is divided into two sections: The Dinner, and Everything Else (Brunches, Pre-Parties, Awkward Walks of Shame). It’s loosely chronological, contains many boldfaced names, and a few tidbits from my memory of the evening. Of course, if you need more the #nerdprom hashtag is always there for you. But you won’t need more.

Greta van Susteren and Kim Kardashian. I heard about no celebrity at the WHCD more than I heard about Kim Kardashian. And judging from the swarms of people jockeying for photos, she was probably the one most captured on film. Er.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner, alone and defenseless walking down the ramp into the Atlantic/National Journal party, just waiting to be accosted by partygoers who have a yen to talk economic policy (or, the Yen, har har). I stand by my previous assertions that he sort of looks like a Klingon. (Hey, they don’t call it NerdProm for nothing.)

Donatella!

This may be my favorite photo from the WHCD: Larry King with Rachelle Hruska, while quietly over their shoulder Jason Binn looks on, Cheshire Cat-like. Later that night Binn would host the Capitol File party at which I would see Dennis Quaid and eat many salted caramels. Both were delicious. As for Larry King and Rachelle….they look great. What, you were expecting another caption?

I didn’t take this photo, I just like looking at it. Just kidding. Mostly. At any rate, if you don’t already know: That’s Justin Bieber, and you will never be as accomplished as his hair. (Photo courtesy Guest of a Guest)

>>>NEXT: Maddy Albright Shows Some Leg, Bloomberg Shows Off His Press Conference Attire, And The Dreamy, Dreamy Dreamy Scott Brown

]]> http://www.mediaite.com/online/o-nerdprom-my-nerdprom-highlights-from-the-whcd/feed/ 3 http://www.mediaite.com/online/rahm-emanuel-beck-and-limbaugh-helping-exacerbate-tensions/ http://www.mediaite.com/online/rahm-emanuel-beck-and-limbaugh-helping-exacerbate-tensions/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:23:20 +0000 Glynnis MacNicol http://www.mediaite.com/?p=113413 Perhaps you’ve heard that Rahm Emanuel is interested in being the mayor of Chicago (a disclosure which, Ben Smith points out, kills all that Secretary of State buzz) . This was one of a number of things discussed during the chief of staff’s hour-long appearance on Charlie Rose last. Another one is that despite what people who spend a lot of time on the blogosphere and/or cable television may have led you to believe — or for that matter, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, whom Rahm notes by name — the country is not actually as crazy as is being reported.

Near the tail end of the interview, which mostly focused on financial reform with some auto industry and health care thrown in (and provided a bit of a preview of the platform Obama is likely going to campaign on in 2012) Charlie asks “how deep do you think the anger is in the country?” Says Rahm:

I think it’s deep, because there’s a lot of factors that go into it. Principally in the area of the economic anxiety that’s out there. We’re in the middle of a severe economic transition…there’s legitimate reasons for the anger out there…[however!] That doesn’t take elected leaders off the hook. When you have that role of leadership you have the responsibility to make sure we have a proper debate and don’t encourage that anger to drift off into something that’s ugly as we saw on this the 15th anniversary of Oklahoma. Everybody, in elected position, regardless of party, has a responsibility…Everybody’s accountable…including the media… I think sometimes the media doesn’t act with the full responsibility that comes with their position. They play a role in exacerbating the sense that America’s pulled apart, and it’s not as pulled apart as being reported.

Emanuel went on to say he “wouldn’t limit” those contributing to this sense of anger to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck: “they have their differences and that’s okay, but they do play a role in exacerbating tensions. It could also be said about some on the left, but there’s not question they do.” Video below.

Without question, Kitty Kelley is a throw back to a more interesting (and perhaps less litigious) era of celebrity obsessed media. Her biographies have cared little for greasing the palms and egos of the subjects she covers (and some critics have also claimed that she has cared less about the truth as well.) That said, her books almost always make news because she’s unafraid to write and report the things that she believes to be true. Her past subjects have included Nancy Reagan, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, and even the British Royal and Bush families.

Well in her new book entitled Oprah there are some interesting tidbits about the media mogul, daytime talk show megastar that have previously gone under reported, perhaps in deference to Oprah’s personal life. But to hear Kelley tell it, its more likely that the media stars are afraid to anger the very powerful subject of her new book.

For the most part it actually made for an interesting interview — it’s a breath of fresh air to hear the partisan cable shoutfest taken down (and raised up) to the level of civil conversation. But even Charlie Rose could not resist a few jaw-dropping head shakes when he asked Armey to justify describing President Obama as a “shallow intellectual” and declaring nearly every important office in Washington is occupied by someone with an aggressive dislike for our heritage, our freedom, our history, or Constitution.”

“You cannot believe that,” says Charlie, aghast and eventually sort of infuriated. “I do,” says Armey, quite calmly.

Rose should have more guests like this on his show. If only to counter the hyperbolic shoutfest that is currently cable news and much of the blogosphere. I look forward to the day Glenn Beck shows up. Video clip below. To watch the whole segment, go here. Elizabeth Warren was also on, and quite fascinating in an entirely different way).

And for good reason; Beck’s 5pm Fox show routinely clocks the highest ratings on the network next to Bill O’Reilly. At five o’clock. If ratings are the coin of the realm than Beck is close to being king and that alone warrants some serious exploration, which didn’t necessarily happen in this interview, though interesting nonetheless. According to Beck “our footprint in a month”—the number of people he reaches in all media—”is about 30 million.” That’s a lot of people tuning in to hear about what Beck refers to as “the guy who debunked conspiracy theory.”

“There are limits to debasement of this country, aren’t there? I mean, it’s one thing to believe that our politicians are capable of being Bernie Madoff. It’s another to think that they are willing to kill 3,000 Americans. Once you cross that line, you’re in a whole new territory…I believe the conspiracies, quote-unquote, that are happening now are happening all out in the open. All you have to do is track their actions. Their actions speak louder than their words. It’s easy to throw out, ‘Well, he’s a conspiracy theorist.’ Why do you say that? ‘Well, because they say they’re not doing that.’ But their actions show that they are.

Also, apparently he takes his lead from Immanuel Kant:

Now I’ve made a vow to myself—it actually comes from Immanuel Kant, the philosopher: ‘There are many things that I believe that I shall never say. But I shall never say the things that I do not believe.’ . . . The minute I violate that, I’m back to the old drunk Glenn.

As for the Howard Beale comparisons Beck welcomes them but only to a certain extent.

The part of Howard Beale that I liken myself to is the moment when he was in the raincoat, where he figures everything out, and he’s like, ‘Whoa, whoa, wait a minute! Why the hell aren’t you up at the window shouting outside?’” Mr. Beck adds, “What the media wants to make me is the Howard Beale at the end, the crazy showman that’s doing anything for money. That I don’t liken myself to.”

As for his competition? Well I’m not sure anyone would include Charlie Rose in that group for reasons having little to do with ratings (though I once suggested the two would make for a very interesting interview), regardless Beck doesn’t seem too phased.

“You name the conservative that can do a full hour—a full hour—on Woodrow Wilson and the roots of modern liberalism—for an hour—and have high ratings with it. . . . I had like three really big eggheads on the show, and people watched it. Now, you could be Charlie Rose all you want, but nobody’s watching Charlie Rose.”

Actually a lot of people watch Charlie Rose, including myself (he may be the last bastion of the long interview), but, alas, point taken. Read the full interview here.

Still, perhaps the strangest thing about the interview (and the same could be said for the much better one Beck did with Katie Couric) is seeing Beck out in the real world, outside the vacuum of his nightly show, interacting with other mainstream media types. It would be nice to see more of it, and longer and better. Next up: Beck does Jay Leno on Friday. Can Charlie Rose (or, dare to dream, Jon Stewart!) be far behind.

But as much energy as I spend turning off my TV in disgust these days, I’m equally in awe of those who use the airwaves for good, building our understanding of a topic and sometimes even, sorry, advocacy. Good TV, as rare and oxymoronic as that may sound, can produce some of the best narrative to our world. And no matter how much more I consume online, in magazines or books, I’m still a boob tube kid.

So with the holiday festivities bringing us all around TV sets (sorry, Hulu and video streaming) in the coming weeks, this is a good time to celebrate some of the best and brightest we have at camera one. In no particular order, my 2009 media heroes:

RACHEL MADDOW — Maddow is not a new face to diehard MSNBC viewers, having been a frequent guest before she got her own high profile show. Not allowing a poorly researched or factually porous statement—by the Right or Left—to waft by without getting swatted down, Maddow was a formidable pundit but an unlikely nightly host. But that was then, and with her popularity, original wit and anti-TV persona, she’s making it easy to tune out Olbermann’s sorely repetitive Bush Fox News bashing. A tough lesbian liberal thoughtfully dismantling conservative hypocrisy and dogma during prime time? For the Right, that’s got to sting a bit. (@Maddow)

BILL MOYERS — To me, Moyers epitomizes the journalistic hero who takes his powerful role of informing the public to heart. His gray hair and kindly southern demeanor is comforting and his storyteller style is perfect for his hour-long PBS format of Bill Moyers Journal. I can’t imagine who’d replace him if he decided to retire one day (he’s 75). For a dose of what you get with Moyers, just watch his recent report on the LBJ tapes and escalation of the Vietnam War (hint: here we go again). Clearly with a progressive mindset, Moyers is not shy about where he wants you to end up after he’s finished laying out his impassioned case. But you never get the idea that you’ve been convinced–simply informed and illuminated. (Moyers: To Twitter or not to Twitter)

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON — She’s not technically my boss since she doesn’t pay me, nor does she care if I show up for work each day. But I have been a blogger on the HuffPo since early 2008. If you don’t mind sifting through a ton of daily content, there is no deeper archive of current event news, opinion, aggregated content and citizen journalism around. Decry the titillating nipple slip shots and political star fucking if you want, but AH represents, in many ways, the future of journalism. (@HuffingtonPost)

>>>NEXT: Gwen Ifill, Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert

But while Fox Business Network is adding new, and controversial, faces to the channel, Bloomberg TV is beefing up as it prepares for Fall as well, on-air and beyond.

“I think we’re moving on a number of fronts,” U.S. head of Bloomberg TV operations David Rhodes told Mediaite earlier this week. “We have a number of new people in here on and off the air. We’re building a team, and I think we’re going to continue building it.”

The newest member of the larger team is BusinessWeek. “We’re very excited about the possibilities from having such a great brand within Bloomberg,” he said

The young exec knows about great brands – before joining Bloomberg TV late last year he was a high level executive at Fox News. Since he’s come over, the network has added on-air talent, like former CNBC anchor Margaret Brennan, off-air talent, and the network debuted a modernized look last week.

Also new is the channel’s prime time, which features repeats of Charlie Rose’s show at 8pm and 10pmET.

>>> NEXT: Which big interview does Bloomberg TV have tomorrow?

Some hints:

• He was one of Salon’s “Sexiest Men Living” in 2008.
• He’s been on 60 Minutes and Charlie Rose
• He’s from New Hampshire.
• He looks like someone who used to date Jennifer Garner who is not Ben Affleck — though he has worked with both of those people for his day job, which is actually a night job.
• That job requires him to wear a suit.
• It’s not Glenn Beck.

Who is it?

Reports indicate he is in negotiations for his radio show to be simulcast on the Fox Business Network, possibly beginning as early as September. And Sean Hannity just aired a very glowing “behind-the-scenes” at the Imus Ranch. So how would this move benefit Imus, or FBN?

The story was first reported by AllYourTV.com Friday, and expanded on today by Matea Gold of the Los Angeles Times.

According to Gold:

Fox Business is in talks with shock jock Don Imus about simulcasting his radio show, more than two years after derogatory comments he made about a group of African American female basketball players got him kicked off MSNBC and CBS Radio.

The provocative and popular radio host is in final negotiations with the financial news network, which plans to simulcast his syndicated early-morning radio show.

Imus is currently simulcast on RFD-TV, which does not have as much distribution as FBN, and more importantly, not in the #1 market of New York. But still – he is under contract there. That would have to be worked out before any deal with Fox goes through.

The ability to get New Yorkers to see Imus once again would certainly benefit Imus, but what does FBN get out of it? Imus may be a popular radio host, but he certainly does not host a business-focused show. Maybe that’s okay for Fox Business Network as it continues its quest to gain viewers – but a business network that has a non-business morning show can’t be a longterm solution. (An insider tells us the show would “incorporate more business elements” if it was simulcast on FBN.)

Also, the move echoes another made recently by a B-level biz net – when Bloomberg announced it would work in a re-air of Charlie Rose‘s PBS show into its fall schedule. Rose is 67-years-old, Imus is 69. The moves will not realistically be bringing in viewers in the all-important A25-54 demographic.

But one way it does benefit FBN is simply by bringing Imus into the Fox fold. He can now conceivably contribute on other Fox News program, and although he may be past his prime, Imus still has an interested following.

And he was on Fox News recently – just last week he was featured in a lengthy three-part interview with Sean Hannity. Here’s part 1:

Apatow takes the cover disappointment in stride — after all, he’s already a member of the Time 100 — but he does seem a tad disappointed that Obama stole his big moment. “How much publicity does this guy need?” asked Apatow. “He doesn’t have a movie coming out!” Said Stewart: “Can I tell you something? Time magazine is like O magazine — Obama has to be on the cover…I think he’s been on about 30 times at this point.” Apatow’s non-cover is also the subject of a pretty funny video on Time.com, featuring Apatow and interviewer (and fellow funny-person) Joel Stein.

Other highlights from the interview: Apatow volunteering that he’d masturbated to Stewart’s interview with Bill Kristol earlier this week (of all the things on cable at 11 p.m…) and a funny exchange about “passing” (Apatow: “Apparently there are some people who have Jewish names and they change them so they don’t sound Jewish!). Worth watching, which we’ve conveniently arranged for you to do below:

As for Apatow, he’s a pretty charming mofo, as Natasha Vargas-Cooper points out on Defamer, noting that “Judd has been everywhere” (he’s on Charlie Rose tonight with Adam Sandler, too). We liked this, pulled by Cooper from Apatow’s MTV guest blog:

How many times should I see “Funny People”?

Three. Once for the laughs. The second time to notice the details you missed when you laughed. And the third time just to make sure we beat “Transformers” at the box office. We must not let robots rule the world.

In descending order of sexiness: Funny people, robots, Bill Kristol.