video Howie Kurtz would like the media to apologize to poor, picked on, Gov. David Paterson. On yesterday's Reliable Sources Kurtz highlighted the "rumor-mongering" that followed Paterson around after a tweet from the NYO's John Koblin started the NYT 'bombshell' firestorm. (more...)

video Is Arianna Huffington vs. Glenn Beck the new Keith Olbermann vs. Bill O'Reilly, or perhaps even the new Andrew Breitbart vs. Media Matters (and a whole bunch of other people depending on the day and the Twitter)? Huffington is certainly taking advantage of every available opportunity to direct attention to what she describes as Beck's "dangerous" language. This Sunday on Reliable Sources Huffington described Beck to host Howie Kurtz and fellow panelist Hugh Hewitt thusly: (more...)

video Once again the only aspect of an Obama address that appears to have survived the 24 hour newscycle is an outburst. While much of the rest of the impact (or lack thereof) of Wednesday's State of the Union was swept away by Friday's riveting question and answer period with the House Republicans (so much so, someone suggested to Mike Allen that next year the President merely say "The state of our union is strong...OK, who's first?") much of the talk on the Sunday shows remained focused on the president's harsh remarks to SCOTUS and Justice Alito's reaction. (more...)

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Once the toast of conservative "journalism," feted by Republican members of Congress, obeyed by the US Senate, James O'Keefe now faces scorn in the wake of his arrest for allegedly trying to spy on Senator Mary Landrieu. The pimp-suited crusader who brought the mighty ACORN to its knees has been genuflected by the FBI, and his former supporters are scurrying.

Will no one stand by James in his darkest hour? Who will offer O'Keefe a helping hand out from under that bus? I will. (more...)

Mediaite's Rachel Sklar was a guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources" with Howard Kurtz to discuss NBC's late night imbroglio, Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show and whether Jay Leno is really the bad guy in all this. With The Wrap's Ray Richmond and the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik. (more...)

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"I do think that one thing that is going to be tougher now with Sarah Palin playing such an active role is the slogan 'fair and balanced.' What does that mean, when the two leading Republican candidates, according to polls, Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, are both on your network regularly?"

video Sunday morning on Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz, Mediaite's editor at large Rachel Sklar stopped by to chat about George Stephanopoulos' move to Good Morning America and Charlie Gibson's final week on the ABC News. It's time for Stephanopoulos to "flex a few different muscles," Sklar said, based on his week one performance. "It's time to go online and surf the net!" That, or "they should all just go out for karaoke," she suggested. As for Gibson, Sklar was "surprised to see Muppets in his farewell." See the full clip below:

video Senator Max Baucus' appointment of his girlfriend, Melodee Hanes, to the office of U.S. Attorney has the markings of a bona fide political scandal, yet the media's coverage has been lukewarm. When Howard Kurtz asked why this might be on Reliable Sources, here was the answer he resoundingly got: the scandal wasn't sexy enough.  (more...)

video On this week's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz struck back at CNN cohort Lou Dobbs. Dobbs had claimed earlier in the week that he and his wife had been shot at in their New Jersey home, in part due to the "national liberal media" and its coverage in the immigration debate. Kurtz and guest Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg were skeptical. (more...)

video The balance for Howard Kurtz between his column at the Washington Post and his show at CNN was on display and in question this weekend. While Kurtz can at times appear like an ombudsman on his Reliable Sources Sunday show, the Washington Post's ombudsman was raising the 'conflict of interest' question. (more...)

video This morning on Reliable Sources Howard Kurtz, former Fox News contributor Jane Hall shared her own personal criticisms of Fox News, saying that she wasn't bothered so much by Fox's Republican bent as the network's lack of discussion and debate. She added that she's outright scared of Glenn Beck. (more...)

video ESPN's Michael Wilbon was on Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz this morning to discuss an incident earlier this week where he, like many others in the media, falsely attributed quotes to Rush Limbaugh while reasoning that Limbaugh shouldn't allowed to purchase a minority stake in the St. Louis Rams. (more...)

Someone tweeted the link to this AP story this morning (I don't remember who), and wondered if Fox News would be reporting this. The headline is "Police: ACORN worker in video reported couple."

On C-Span's Washington Journal this morning, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis fielded a call from a viewer asking about the furor surrounding undercover videographer James O'Keefe's recent productions. While she reiterated that the actions of the fired ACORN employees were inexcusable, she went on to say that O'Keefe and his partner were thrown out of "dozens" of ACORN offices: (more...)

VIDEO After Bill O'Reilly's fact-checking of Jon Stewart's Fox News smackdown, the whole exchange got the Reliable Sources treatment today. One of the central questions raised - what is more important for a comedy/news hybrid like The Daily Show: being funny or being accurate? (more...)

Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock, 28, is the youngest member of Congress and a product of the GOP's Young Guns program, which works to get young Republican talent into office. Serving in Abraham Lincoln's district, he's an honest hard-worker who began his IRA at age 14. And, if you ask NPR, he also "has the best abs." But NPR is not the first and certainly won't be the last to cover Schock, or prominently feature his abdominals. The unusual and ongoing media attention began when Huffington Post readers voted Schock the "Hottest Freshman" in the 111th Congress, to which he said, "I appreciate this honor, but my real goal is to have a 'hot' legislative record on behalf of the people I serve." (more...)

Nico Pitney won the clash with Dana Milbank today on "Reliable Sources," but not on the merits - through classic tactics of going on the offensive, changing the subject, and comparing apples to oranges. I'm really surprised that Milbank wasn't ready for it. But though they both scored a few points, I actually feel like this has served to obscure the issue more than clarify it. (more...)

Journalists, if you are going to spout off about Twitter, I beg you: Do some research. This has occurred to me frequently since Twitter hit the big time earlier this year, mostly because there have been frequent glaring errors on the part of "mainstream" journalists who write precious little articles about the microblogging service. On yesterday's Reliable Sources, Howard Kurtz hosted CNN's Rick Sanchez -- an enthusiastic Twitter user and evangelist -- and CBS sports columnist Gregg Doyel to discuss the question, "Too Much Twitter?" I wasn't sure what Doyel's qualification was here, but it soon became clear: He was one of those people who had loudly dissed Twitter in print, without actually bothering to actually understand it. (more...)