News Junkie - Live Wire

ROBERT FEDER’S GIMMICK

It’s a subject I’ve left mostly alone, not because I’ve been told not to address it but because I’m hesitant to give airtime or blog space to a man who still calls Web traffic ‘hits‘ and has an unhealthy obsession with WGN Radio. Tonight, on the podcast, I’ll dive into the mud on this one. Stay tuned.

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FOX/CNN/MSNBC DISSECTED

Some great analysis of the current cable media landscape from CJR today. I disagree with a few points (especially the bit about MSNBC offering a rainbow of opinons) but this quote is interesting:

From personal experience covering news around the world, you almost always run into a CNN crew or stringer. You almost never run into a Fox reporter, and never one from MSNBC.

Read the whole thing at CJR’s website.

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ROY ASHBURN: “I’M GAY”

California State Senator Roy Ashburn admits to being a homosexual in an interview today on KERN. You can listen to the interview in this post and read the details here. Ashburn vows to carry on.

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BETTY WHITE TO SNL

After a massive online movement to draft her into the hosting duties at Saturday Night Live, Betty White confirms she will appear on the show.

But will she host?

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PETA TARGETS SEAWORLD

PETA sees a wounded opponent in SeaWorld after last month’s killer whale attack. Their latest mantra: “Let whales and dolphins ‘out of prison.’

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ADAM GADAHN CAPTURED

HUGE news out of Pakistan: American-born al-Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn has been arrested.

Update: It’s not him?

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NYT ON SCIENTOLOGY

‘Breaking With Scientology’ won’t hit print until tomorrow but you can read the New York Times assault on Scientology online right now.

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PHOTOS: TOYOTA HEARINGS

Executives from Toyota Motor Corp made the journey to Washington D.C. this morning to face down angry customers seething over their company’s recall follies. Take a look at these pictures from today’s event.

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THE BLOOM BOX

I can’t decide if the Bloom Box is the greatest invention ever or if I’m a bit like an old lady being conned by a slimy auto mechanic. Regardless, you have to watch this video. [Video]

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SCOTTY LAGO PHOTOS

Snowboarder Scotty Lago leaves the Olympic village in Vancouver after sexually suggestive photos of the bronze medalist and his trophy surfaced online. Lago says he’s in a ‘blackout’ and can’t talk about the event until next month. [View The Photos]

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RAY GOSLING ARRESTED

What happens when you admit to a murder on British public television? Well, you get arrested, of course. BBC presenter Ray Gosling arrested on suspicion of murder. [Details]

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TIGER WOODS PRESSER

Tiger Woods will finally reemerge from the shadows this Friday. The golf pro and reported sex addict is planning on holding a press conference at the PGA headquarters at 11AM Eastern. [Details]

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Meghan McCain Wants Attention, She Gets It

I know what you’re thinking… I can’t read the title of that book! It’s backwards!

Wait, was I wrong? Meghan McCain, daughter of Presidential second-placer John McCain, posted the above photo on her Twitter stream (she currently has 60k followers) last night around 8PM. She followed up about 30 minutes later with a series of ‘tweets’ (jesus, I hate the language of Twitter) suggesting she was getting evil responses to her…


Craigslist Drops ‘Erotic Services’ Section

In the wake of the Craigslist Murders, the anything-goes website has decided to drop a controversial ‘erotic services’ section. This section was essentially filled with blatant as well as masked prostitution offers. When I talked to Craig Newmark, the founder of the website, last week he didn’t seem comfortable with budging on this section. Newmark always falls back on an ‘enter at your own risk’ argument.

The section will disappear entirely in the…


More Topless Miss California Photos Leak Before Trump Presser – Update: Fakes?

TMZ took what may be a parting shot at Miss California, Carrie Prejan, this morning. The website, which has mocked other websites for releasing topless photos of the ‘opposite marriage’ contestant. Donald Trump is speaking right now, I’ll follow up with his final judgment in minutes…

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Rihanna’s Risque Pics? – Did Chris Brown’s Camp Release These?

There’s an inside the ballpark chance that these are fake but I’m going to run with this anyhow. Could these just leaked photos, possibly of pop star Rihanna posing in a sexually suggestive manner, have been released by Chris Brown’s camp to defame her? Assuming these are real (and they may not be) this could be the next layer in a complicated Los Angeles-based abuse case against Chris Brown.

rihanna4

*Warning: Some of…


Miss California Topless Photos May Take Beauty Queen Down + (PICTURE)

The campaign to discredit Miss California rolls on. This ‘leaked’ photo of the Carrie Prejean topless was surely meant to shut the beauty queen up. Scroll down below the photo for more…

miss california carrie prejean topless

This hit the Net late last night with a threat of more (and worse) photos to follow. The picture was leaked to a website called theDirty.com and another higher-res version was sent to celebrity blogger and Miss California-hater Perez Hilton.…


Spirit Airlines Ads Spur Controversy

MIAMI — Flight attendants and pilots for Spirit Airlines Inc. want the company to pull a series of sexually suggestive advertisements, along with a new requirement they wear a Bud Light patch on service aprons.
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Some of Spirit’s ads invite customers to enjoy its DD’s (deep discounts) and “MILF” (many islands, low fare) specials _ double entendres that also refer to large breasts and a crude acronym popularized in


“Why I’m Selling My Virginity”

dylan1

They say you should value having sex for the first time. That’s why I’m auctioning my virginity online—and the bidding is up to $3.8 million.

When I put my virginity up for auction in September, it was in part a sociological experiment—I wanted to study the public’s response. Now it seems that the tables have turned, and the public is studying me.

I’m a 22-year-old woman who recently earned her Bachelor’s Degree


‘Busty’ Virgin Mary Controversy

CHILE-RELIGION/VIRGINMARY

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A prominent fashion designer has sparked outrage in Chile by dressing up models like the Virgin Mary — in some cases with ample, near-naked breasts.

The Roman Catholic Church condemned Ricardo Oyarzun’s plans for a show featuring the models, and a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block it in court.

Oyarzun said he had received telephone threats and had excrement smeared on his doorstep.

“There is no pornography here,


Inauguration Watch: Prostitution Free

prostfree

Portions of downtown have been declared a “Prostitution Free Zone” for the Inaugural celebration period. The best part? It has an expiration date, as though at all other times, hookers have free reign over downtown Washington — hey, at least the MPD is honest.

Tens of thousands of political bigwigs in town and not a single hooker? This couldn’t possibly end well. Maybe some of these ‘ladies of the night’ will venture into the PFZ.


Iranian Cleric In Secret Sex Tape

A video scandal has hit the Iranian Internet scene. Like many online scandals in the West, it involves a model. Not Paris Hilton, but a supposed model of virtue: a cleric.

In the video—for weeks voted the top story on Balatarin.com (an Iranian version of Digg.com)—a robed cleric is caught on a hidden camera in a private room. He walks to the door to let a chador-clad woman enter.

“Nobody saw you


Porn Kings Call For Bailout

sexindustry

Joe Francis and Larry Flynt claim the economy has made America’s sexual appetite go limp, so they’re going to the one place where sex is always rampant — Congress.

Flynt (the “Hustler” guy) and Francis (the “Girls Gone Wild” dude) are asking the government for a $5 billion bailout, claiming the adult entertainment industry has taken a huge shot to the face because of the downturn — citing the fact that XXX


Need Another Reason To Vote?

Doughnuts, ice cream and even sex toys could be yours if you vote tomorrow


Laura Logan Sex Scandal Update II

As CBS’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, she regularly risked her life by accompanying American forces in combat. But there were more personal strains as well: Her mother had died after a lengthy coma, she and her husband had long ago agreed to a separation, and, last November, she broke off an intense relationship with another journalist in Baghdad. Soon afterward, Logan started dating Joseph Burkett, a federal contractor stationed in Iraq who


Nevada Gov Busted With Playmate

The photo that accompanies this column is exactly what it appears to be — your governor embracing a woman in a dark parking lot.

For some of you, this photo, taken last Saturday at the Reno Rodeo, is legitimate news because you believe it may call into question the judgment and moral character of Gov. Jim Gibbons, the most public of our public officials. For others it’s the lowest form of


Lara Logan Sex Scandal Update

Burkett’s wife, Kimberly, also accuses Logan of teaming up with him to take her 3-year-old daughter away, according to the source.

A close pal of Logan, who confirmed the allegations to The Post, said Burkett’s marriage to Kimberly was already finished six months before they sparked up a relationship.

“She is not the cause of their divorce,” the friend told The Post yesterday.

“It was going to happen.”

The pal also