The disappearance and alleged murder of U.S. student Natalee Holloway during a High School graduation vacation in Aruba has been an unsolved mystery since she was last seen on May 30, 2005. Well, there appears to be a rather enormous break in the case: Dutch suspect Joran van der Sloot has reportedly confessed to disposing of Holloway's body on the night of her disappearance. Since this was a huge story on cable news programs hosted by Nancy Grace and Greta Van Susteren , it's nearly certain to be a lead story tonight. (more...)

While Fox News is headed for its best ratings of all time, and CNN and MSNBC are seeing some of their worst ratings of 2009, where does that leave cable news network #4 - CNN sister network HLN? In a very good place. HLN is also on pace for its best ratings ever, in total day and prime time, in total viewers and the A25-54 demographic. So what's working? (more...)

VIDEO Long before The Daily Show, long before The Colbert Report, Saturday Night Live was making fun of the news in a way that no one had ever seen before. Suddenly, establishment journalists like Barbara Walters were fair game. Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd riffed on the seething hostility between co-anchors. Heck, they even took on the 70s trend of sign language interpreters popping up in newscasts. Oprah, Dateline, Geraldo Rivera... SNL's had distinctive takes on almost every major media presence over the years. And SNL's news spoofs aren't just entertainment: it's arguable that more Americans made up their minds about Sarah Palin based on SNL's Katie Couric/Sarah Palin interview than on the original interview itself. Stephen Colbert and John Stewart have done a lot in the news satire biz, but they still have some catching up to do. In honor of the premiere of season 35 of SNL, we've pulled together 35 of SNL's choicest news anchor spoofs and Weekend Updates, spanning all seasons. Shoot us a comment or a tip if you think we've missed a good one. We're seriously counting on a good Glenn Beck skit... Here it is. (more...)

If you aren't yet familiar with salacious and gruesome tale of the murder-suicide of Ryan Jenkins and Jasmin Fiore, watch about 20 minutes of cable news - you'll quickly get up to speed. But despite the fact that the VH1 program he taped had only aired three episodes before getting pulled, the MSM has consistently portrayed Jenkins as a "reality star."   Was he really a star? (more...)