News of the tragic death of singing legend Whitney Houston has dominated the airwaves since it broke Saturday night, quite naturally, it would seem. On CNN’s Reliable Sources Sunday morning, however, host Howard Kurtz wasn’t so sure the coverage matched the import of the story, as he noted the intensity of the coverage, and asked panelists Eric Deggans and Rachel Sklar “Is the Whitney Houston story worth that kind of coverage?”

It’s with mixed emotions that I bid farewell to the thrilling role of Managing Editor at Mediaite. While I am very excited about my new opportunity on the digital side of corporate media behemoth Clear Channel (the details of which will be forthcoming in the next week or so), I am sad to walk away from this labor of love, overseeing an influential and successful site and playing the part of post-modern disc jockey to the daily political news narratives that makes up the media zeitgeist.

On CNN’s Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz lauded The Daily Show as being perhaps the most important program for political satire on television. “Is there another program out there that’s not quite news but not quite just a comedy show –that has had more impact on politics through laughter and ridicule? Did it long ago eclipse Saturday Night Live?” Kurtz pondered. “The 2012 campaign is prime time for Jon Stewart as he pokes not just the pols but the pundits for being so absurdly fickle.”

This Monday will see TechCrunch Disrupt kick off once again in San Francisco. Leaving aside the recent brouhaha about TechCrunch (get yourself caught up , here and here here), it remains one of the most important and influential tech conferences around, lining up top-notch speakers, panels and attendees, making news and generating an epic number [...]

Piers Morgan isn’t making any qualms about the fact that his aborted interview with Christine O’Donnell has left a mark. In fact, he dedicated an entire segment of his program last night to understanding what had happened and, more importantly, whether he himself was sexist. Fortunately for Morgan, his panel– attorney Gloria Allred, Mediaite Editor-At-Large Rachel Sklar, and Time‘s James Poniewozik– seemed to agree that, for once, this wasn’t his fault.

Between his Tumblr followers and his Twitter audience, more people see Anthony De Rosa‘s updates than attended that Mets game. That’s what you call a platform. Who is this once and future king of social media, and why should you be following him on Twitter?

Mediaite’s own Rachel Sklar visited Joy Behar‘s HLN show to discuss, among other things, Keith Olbermann‘s move to Current TV.

Despite earlier reports that he would end the segment, Keith Olbermann announced Monday night that Countdown‘s “Worst Person in the World” segment will continue in some form, but under a different name.

He explained the fact that the segment was rooted in satire, but that some still thought he was literally claiming that these were the actual worst people in the world, and “there’s potential danger in that.”

On CNN‘s Reliable Sources, Mediaite’s Rachel Sklar and conservative radio host Steve Malzberg debated whether excited rhetoric from politicians and media personalities helped to contribute to a climate where the Arizona shooting could take place. Malzberg was quick to point out that aggressive language is used by both sides of the political spectrum while Sklar was in favor of everyone no longer using violent imagery.

The tragic shooting in a Tuscon area Safeway that killed 6 individuals and put Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition has caused significant ripples in the political media. Amid fingerpointing about “violent rhetoric,” Countdown host Keith Olbermann led the charge with a “Special Comment” calling for an end to such discourse. According to one report, it appears that Olbermann is putting his money where his mouth is, and permanently ending his “Worst Person in the World” segment, but MSNBC tells Mediaite that no decision has been made.

In a special Saturday episode of Countdown, spurred by the mass shooting that claimed six lives and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords clinging to life, host Keith Olbermann declared an end to violent political rhetoric. In doing so, he ran through a laundry list of conservative examples of same, plus one of his own, and while critics may paint this as merely an opportunistic attempt to bludgeon those with whom he disagrees, his overarching theme is worth serious consideration.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, but ’tis also the season to fill dead news space. Luckily, you’re also probably looking for something to do after you sleep off the eggnog, glance nervously at your now-bone-dry tree, and try to remember if you really just paid twelve bucks to see Little Fockers. Whether you celebrate [...]

Earlier this week I was invited to join Joy Behar on her eponymous show to discuss some of the more pressing issues of the day: Was the TSA pushing it too far? Were Prince William and Kate Middleton headed for a rocky road? What did we really think of Bristol on “Dancing With The Stars?” I was joined by Laura Bennett, “Project Runway” designer and author of “Didn’t I Feed You Yesterday?: A Mother’s Guide To Sanity in Stilettos,” and comedian Jamie Kilstein, co-host of Citizen Radio.

I was on CNN on Thursday to discuss the recent ruling by the National Labor Board, which ruled that an employee’s use of Facebook counts as legally protected free speech where discussing work-related issues, even where it disparages the employer or the employee’s supervisors. Still, as I told Ali Velshi, that does not mean you should rush to trash your employer on social media.

Mediaite’s Editor-at-Large Rachel Sklar appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources this morning with the New York Times‘ David Carr and host Howard Kurtz to discuss the impact of last week’s Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally and cable news — and the recent suspension of Keith Olbermann by MSNBC.

Mediaite Office Hours is has a great show and a new time today from Livestream.com – at 2:30pmET, with MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, Ashley Madison President and CEO Noel Biderman and author Dan Fost. And a special surprise for Glynnis’ last show!

There were over 200,000 people at yesterday’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, and a whole lot of them had signs. Tommy Christopher covered the beat from the perspective of someone who arrived earlier and was much closer to the front; I covered the late-to-the-party-gee-it’s-crowded-can-you-hear-anything?-they-clearly-weren’t-expecting-this-many-people shift, who came equally bedecked and be-placarded, because apparently that’s how you take your country back. There were bears, puns, twins, Hitler mustaches but ironic Hitler mustaches,

This morning, Rachel Sklar, editor at large of our sister siteMediaite, joined plus-size model and icon Emme on The Today Show to talk about the brouhaha surrounding Maura Kelly’s size-ist “Should Fatties Get A Room?” post for Marie Claire.

Mediaite Office Hours is back today with a great show from Livestream.com at 3:15pmET – with CNN’s Candy Crowley, CNBC’s Darren Rovell and more!

There is a well accepted axiom to any Top 100 list that the most important spots are not numbers 1 through 10, but rather numbers 74 and 94 truly hold the most power, charm and dashing good looks. And nowhere is this more obvious than this year’s version of Silicon Alley Insider 100, a monthly list of the top movers and shakers from the New York city tech scene. Clocking in at number 74 is Mediaite founder Dan Abrams, followed closely at 94 by Mediaite Editor-at-Large Rachel Sklar. That’s right, 2% of the 100 most important tech people in the city are on Team Mediaite!

Mediaite Office Hours is back today with a great show from Livestream.com at 3pmET – with NBC’s Hoda Kotb, author Paul David Pope, Jose Simian talking Chilean miners and a surprise guest!

After a couple month hiatus, Mediaite Office Hours is back today! We’ll be coming to you from Livestream.com at 3pmET – with FNC’s Greta Van Susteren, MSNBC’s Willie Geist and Time magazine’s James Poniewozik. There’s certainly a lot to talk about.

Carl Paladino is not a fan of Joy Behar not being a fan of Carl Paladino. Last week, on The View, Behar joked that NY gubernatorial Tea Party candidate Paladino, who had a child out of wedlock (while he was wedlocked to his wife), could win the election “if all his illegitimate children vote.” Oof, Paladino and his people did not like that one.

For most media consumers, yesterday’s Rick Sanchez Spectacular was a bewilderingly stupid (but fun!) way for the perceived-to-be dumbest news anchor on television to make his exit. For Cuban-Americans, the group Sanchez seemed to have been trying to defend (?) in his ill-advised rant, it was a disgrace from which it will be difficult to recover.

Last Wednesday, Sept. 15th, a website called Kommons went live – and is sort of brilliant. It’s basically Formspring meets Twitter meets “Meet The Press,” or something: A community that seeks smart, conversation-furthering answers prompted by smart, probing questions — publicly. Here are a whole bunch, and they’re good — smart questions of smart people [...]