The historic victory of the New Orleans Saints at the Super Bowl was the most-watched program in television history. That translated into a lot people watching one of the most buzzed about TV ads from the broadcast: the secret gathering of Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman in a memorable 15 second spot.
It may be the biggest game of the year, but Ben Hoffman wants no part of it.
He explains why in this week's infoMania Editorial.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Bryan Safi and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.It may be the biggest game of the year, but Ben Hoffman wants no part of it.
He... more
Scott Pelley Reports on Why More NFL Players Come from This Tiny Group of Islands Than from Any Other Place in AmericaScott Pelley Reports on Why More NFL Players Come from This Tiny Group of Islands Than... more
CBS has always had standards for what kind of advertisements it will show -- especially during the Superbowl. The network has rejected ads from MoveOn.org, PETA, and the United Church of Christ among others on the grounds that their content is "too controversial."
But there's something wrong with CBS's definition of "controversial." This year, the network approved an ad produced by the ultra-conservative group Focus on the Family attacking a woman's right to choose.
Demand that CBS pull this incredibly controversial and insensitive ad from the Superbowl line-up.
The Superbowl is the most-watched television program in the country, giving anti-choice voices an enormous audience to broadcast their idea that a woman doesn't have the right to make decisions about her own body. To top it off, CBS has no plans to run a pro-choice ad to balance the two sides of the issue.
Stand up for a woman's right to decide what she does with her own body. Tell CBS to axe the Superbowl ad from Focus on the Family.
Abortion and gays: CBS plays politics with Super Bowl. After recently breaking their own policy by allowing a conservative Christian anti abortion ad to run during the Super Bowl, CBS is now refusing to run an ad from Mancrunch.com, a gay dating service.
After years of beer, broads and other symbols of bro' life, a gay dating web site submitted its first Super Bowl ad. Guess what? CBS flat out rejected the spot, which is now sparking a media storm of controversy. Is it homophobia or did ManCrunch.com skillfully maneuver its way to national attention without ever having the ad air on network television?
Tune in February 7 for the Social Values Super Bowl -- likely to get as much air time as Colts and Saints -- and see whose advertising cuts the mustard with host network CBS for family "appropriate" game time suitablity.
The media love to talk about transparency and accountability when it comes to politicians and the government -- they should, it's an important subject. They, too, have such an obligation of transparency to the American people, particularly when it comes to who can and cannot advertise on their coveted airwaves. On that account, they continue to fail miserably.http://mediamatters.org/columns/201001260021
The media love to talk about... more
You won't believe who may be a confirmed 'Glee-k' this spring. Add Neil Patrick Harris to the hot wish list of stars that may be facing off with the coolest kids at McKinley High this spring. It's a grand time for singing as media reports hit a few more revealing high notes about the future of the hit series.
The controversy surrounding White House information czar and Harvard Professor Cass Sunstein’s blueprint for the government to infiltrate political activist groups has deepened, with the revelation that in the same 2008 dossier he also called for the government to tax or even ban outright political opinions of which it disapproved.
Sunstein was appointed by President Obama to head up the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an agency within the Executive Office of the President.
On page 14 of Sunstein’s January 2008 white paper entitled “Conspiracy Theories,” the man who is now Obama’s head of information technology in the White House proposed that each of the following measures “will have a place under imaginable conditions” according to the strategy detailed in the essay.
1) Government might ban conspiracy theorizing.
2) Government might impose some kind of tax, financial or otherwise, on those who disseminate such theories.
That’s right, Obama’s information czar wants to tax or ban outright, as in make illegal, political opinions that the government doesn’t approve of. To where would this be extended? A tax or a shut down order on newspapers that print stories critical of our illustrious leaders?
And what does Sunstein define as “conspiracy theories” that should potentially be taxed or outlawed by the government? Opinions held by the majority of Americans, no less.
The notion that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in killing JFK, a view shared by the vast majority of Americans in every major poll over the last ten years, is an example of a “conspiracy theory” that the federal government should consider censoring, according to Sunstein.
A 1998 CBS poll found that just 10 per cent of Americans believed that Oswald acted alone, so apparently the other 90 per cent of Americans could be committing some form of thought crime by thinking otherwise under Sunstein’s definition.
Sunstein also cites the belief that “global warming is a deliberate fraud” as another marginal conspiracy theory to be countered by government action. In reality, the majority of Americans now believe that the man-made explanation of global warming is not true, and that global warming is natural, according to the latest polls.
But Sunstein saves his most ludicrous example until last. On page 5 he characterizes as “false and dangerous” the idea that exposure to sunlight is healthy, despite the fact that top medical experts agree prolonged exposure to sunlight reduces the risk of developing certain cancers.
To claim that encouraging people to get out in the sun is to peddle a dangerous conspiracy theory is like saying that promoting the breathing of fresh air is also a thought crime. One can only presume that Sunstein is deliberately framing the debate by going to such absurd extremes so as to make any belief whatsoever into a conspiracy theory unless it’s specifically approved by the kind of government thought police system he is pushing for.
Despite highlighting the fact that repressive societies go hand in hand with an increase in “conspiracy theories,” Sunstein’s ’solution’ to stamp out such thought crimes is to ban free speech, fulfilling the precise characteristic of the “repressive society” he warns against elsewhere in the paper.
“We could imagine circumstances in which a conspiracy theory became so pervasive, and so dangerous, that censorship would be thinkable,” he writes on page 20. Remember that Sunstein is not just talking about censoring Holocaust denial or anything that’s even debatable in the context of free speech, he’s talking about widely accepted beliefs shared by the majority of Americans but ones viewed as distasteful by the government, which would seek to either marginalize by means of taxation or outright censor such views.
More at the link:The controversy surrounding White House information czar and Harvard Professor Cass... more
It was On July 16th 2009 At 8:PM On The "Eric Stien Stage" At Oakdale Park In salina,kansas USA That Made The Salina Community Realize That This band"Zafaja" was Deffinitly Ready For World Wide Musicical Success, With More Than 3000 Fans There To watch & Hear The Band Perform Live, On hand Were All Of the Right Connections Like News reporters from KSN TV Ch 3 , CATV,KWCK TV,APNEWS,And several national New reporters. Even The Local "salina Journal Newpaper" Ran A Full"Front Page" Cover Story On This band. It was Like A Night At The Grammys", And During The Concert,There was A Song That The Band Wrote On The Spot called"Must be Something In The Water" That featured Lead Guitarist & Blues Lover" Amos Vega" That Brought The House Down, people were Raving" Over That Kool but Screammin Blues Guitar Lick" That Amos vega' Seem to capture Them With,Along With The Original Song Written By The zafaja Bands Bassist Joseph alan Fears(BMI) called "Picture Of Love" & That Southern Soulfull Song" Called "Something's Wrong"(part 1 & 2) It Just Added More Entensity To The Night, The zafaja Band is Known For There Live Shows & High Energy" But On That Night The band Took The Crowd Of Fans Way beyound The Norm" With A Real Deal" Kind Of Blues & Soul" Show That Any Concert promoter Would Love To have Had A Hand In on. With The Aid Of Mythias Lee",Clifton Clark,tevin Townsend & Matt Mathews, The Zafaja Band" Could Not have Been More Ready, The Groove Of Soulfull Funk Seasoned with A taste of Blues" Topped Off With That Chirch styled Vocal harmony & delivery" The Zafaja band was"Smokin" Celebrating The 14th Year Anniversary As A Band Was The "Icing on The Cake" Backstage During The Break" CATV Caught The band Members In There "Rawmix"
Jokin" Talking" And being So "down to earth-Untill You would Have Thought They were Like A group Of Youngsters Gathering To have a Party. well? It was A party Alright" A Night To remember" A Quote from The "salina Journal" Cover Article "said" They were Like a "Band Of Brothers" Mostly Friends For More That 40 Years. Matt "Quoted" It's Not easy trying To Hold It Togather"people see Us Up here and say" Anybody can Do That" So I say Ok them get up here and Do It" Tey try and Just fall apart", because it takes Time And Committment," Thats Not Something That You Just get On The sopt" It has To grow To That level"(end quote). Now The zafaja Band Has released There New DVD/CD called" The Zafaja Band Live"-Retroperspectives" It Features A Live Concert Performance Of The Band, And A Backstage reveiw Of The Band Members Disscussing There Goals As The Zafaja Band is The Musical Knowlege For The young R&B Music Lover, from Hip mHop To Rockin Blues, The band Has More To Offer,As You watch & Listen To There New DVD/CD try To imagine what You Were Doing The First time You Went to A Live Concert, Or To hear One Of Your Most favorite Bands Perform In Your City. All Of The World-class Musicians Are ready-from The Local To The National music Scene, But it takes YOU The fans & music Lovers To Let them Know, Thats Not To Much To Ask For In A world Where Love & peace has seemed to take a second Chair to War" "Something's wrong" We Need A "picture Of Love" And With All Of The TragitiesThere" Must Be Something In The Water" To us Loving One To another, think about it" Godbless You All
"Bassist & Lead Vocalist" of The Zafaja Band" Joseph alan Fears(BMI) 2010It was On July 16th 2009 At 8:PM On The "Eric Stien Stage" At Oakdale Park... more
Terror and terrorism are all the rage today in online magazines. Lets start with Time online. Today's article entitled Amid the Hysteria, A Look at What al-Qaeda Can't Do sets the tone for our research into terrorism as it exists today.
Essentially we see that our continued over-reaction to 9/11 gives these people incredible power that they would not have otherwise. That is the over-riding lesson to be learned here today.
Then we move onto Newseek online and Fareed Zakaria's article entitled Don’t Panic: How our frenzied response to terrorism only feeds it. It is good advice from someone who has lived through it.
Here is the opening paragraph from his sage advice:
"In responding to the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day, Sen. Dianne Feinstein voiced the feelings of many when she said that to prevent such situations, "I'd rather…overreact than underreact." This now appears to be the consensus view in Washington, but it is quite wrong. In fact, precisely the opposite is true. The purpose of terrorism is to provoke an overreaction. Its real aim is not to kill the hundreds of people directly targeted but to sow fear in the rest of the population. Terrorism is an unusual military tactic in that it depends on the response of the onlookers. If we are not terrorized, then the attack didn't work. Alas, this one worked very well."
And again from Newsweek online we read a piece entitled Anatomy of a Double-Cross: How a Jordanian jihadist turned CIA operative—and back again. We are unfortunately learning that things are never quite simple in the often misty and foggy world of international terror.
From CBS News online we read a piece entitled CIA Bomber in Video With Taliban Leader: Tape Surfaces Showing Jordanian Who Killed CIA Operatives in Afghanistan Vowing Revenge for Killing of Taliban Figure .
Now we have taped evidence that this man was a double agent with intent to kill Western intelligence people. I wonder if we knew this before he killed seven American and one Jordanian operative?
And from CNN World News online we read a piece entitled 30 injured in Hong Kong acid attack in what may or may not be an act of terrorism. We don't know yet.
One thing is for sure from even a cursory reading of today's news. Terrorism and terrorist-like actions are here to stay. Can we afford to militarize our response to all of it? Or does it make more sense to send responsibility for handling it back to the international police and intelligence communities where it belongs?
Just asking.
CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)Terror and terrorism are all the rage today in online magazines. Lets start with Time... more
Catch the first NEW Hot Mess for 2010. It's the "Swine" Flu, Fried Butter, Monday Night Wars? between WWE & TNA (what about ROH, SAW, & PWU?), & The Battle for Late Night.Catch the first NEW Hot Mess for 2010. It's the "Swine" Flu, Fried... more
On Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010, The 36th Annual People’s Choice Awards 2010 were awarded and broadcast live from the Nokia Theater, L.A. Live. from (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.
The PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS 2010 was hosted by Queen Latifah and produced by Mark Burnett.
This is the 3rd of 4 articles I wrote for smartplanet, a CBS website. For full disclosure, I have consulted for CBS Corporation in the sustainability space.
Evan Kopelson is president of Green Media Consulting Inc and founder of Green Media News.;col1
This is the 3rd of 4 articles I wrote for smartplanet, a CBS website. For... more
Maryland farmer John Helmstetter thought his life was ruined after a fire, until he regained the "American Spirit" when his neighbors and local Amish banded together to help. Jim Axelrod reports.Maryland farmer John Helmstetter thought his life was ruined after a fire, until he... more
NEW YORK – For more than 60 years, TV stations have broadcast news, sports and entertainment for free and made their money by showing commercials. That might not work much longer.
The business model is unraveling at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox and the local stations that carry the networks' programming. Cable TV and the Web have fractured the audience for free TV and siphoned its ad dollars. The recession has squeezed advertising further, forcing broadcasters to accelerate their push for new revenue to pay for programming.
That will play out in living rooms across the country. The changes could mean higher cable or satellite TV bills, as the networks and local stations squeeze more fees from pay-TV providers such as Comcast and DirecTV for the right to show broadcast TV channels in their lineups. The networks might even ditch free broadcast signals in the next few years. Instead, they could operate as cable channels — a move that could spell the end of free TV as Americans have known it since the 1940s.
"Good programing is expensive," Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox, told a shareholder meeting this fall. "It can no longer be supported solely by advertising revenues."
Fox is pursuing its strategy in public, warning that its broadcasts — including college football bowl games — could go dark Friday for subscribers of Time Warner Cable, unless...
Does anyone even watch the regular channels anymore for anything OTHER than football?NEW YORK – For more than 60 years, TV stations have broadcast news, sports and... more
Harry Smith enchanted with the poetic stylings of former Vice President Al Gore. This video was featured on the CBS News web site, but has not aired on a broadcast of "The Early Show.Harry Smith enchanted with the poetic stylings of former Vice President Al Gore. This... more
A public service message to our community for the holidays season.
2009 - 2010 Esteban "Steven" Escobar, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR Public Service Announcement.
Recorded and Edited By Steven Escobar, Diversity News
(C) 2009 - 2010 By Diversity News Productions, Diversity News Publications & E.E.Enterprises. All Rights Are Reserved. Violation may be punishable by law.
