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Archives for September 2010

Rahm Resigns on Friday

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White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel will resign tomorrow according to MSNBC.

Savannah Guthrie spoke on Andrea Mitchel Reports today and will be confirmed on Friday during a press conference from Robert Gibbs. Of course, today Gibbs refused to speculate as to what the nature of the press conference will cover, but the writing has been on the wall all week.

Politico’s speculated on Rahm’s exit and what could happen next, namely that Pete Rouse could (i.e. will) assume the role

A Emanuel-to-Rouse [sic] swap is less notable for the obvious shift in personalities than it is for the way Rouse would appear to be a better fit for the post-legislative focus of the White House after the Nov. 2 midterms.

In the short term, Emanuel’s absence won’t change the dynamic in the West Wing, where he is a fixture in all major policy discussions. Congress will have finished its business by Thursday or Friday and won’t be in session for the next five weeks, when Obama and fellow Democrats, including those in the White House, will be consumed by the midterms.

While the speculation can now officially run wild for the next 24 hours, we’ll wait for President Obama’s “personal remarks,” per Gibbs, tomorrow.

The Rally To Restore Fear in DC Celebrity

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Republicans in Congress are more upset that a comedian cracked jokes at a hearing than the fact they invited a comedian to crack jokes at a hearing. Just making sure that’s clear before we get into the oddity that is celebrity endorsements.

The AP takes a crack at explaining the true nature of these press ops as those “famous-for-DC” meet with bold face names that grace the supermarket check-out lines.

Colbert’s celebrity is a commodity that California Democrat Zoe Lofgren, who chaired the subcommittee hearing, and the other witnesses that day sought to leverage. Lofgren joked at one point that the last time the hearing room was so crammed with audience members and cameras was for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings a dozen years ago.

Of course, Colbert’s appearance was a joke. He appeared the night prior on The Colbert Report explaining why he was qualified to speak, based on his time as a migrant worker. But the explanation that Congress is now against Colbert is so simple it’s been used in Hollywood for years: ratings and relevance.

At the kicker of the AP article, Carol Swain, a law professor who testified before Colbert, remarked “I have testified before” and credited that because of the high profile star following her, “people heard my testimony.” This is directly what Colbert and Jon Stewart bring to the political world that is mired in otherwise mundane events that just so happen to dictate our government.

Celebrity is intoxicating, but when you have informed satire hiding behind celebrity it becomes a problem for most glad-handing politicos. Even with the upcoming Rally To Restore Sanity now getting a free bus service from New York to DC thanks to Arianna Huffington (complete with Twitter) and even President Obama plugging the rally, according to MSNBC First Read, due to the event’s focus on not foaming at the mouth due to punditry.

Even if Congress bristles at being made fun of, it still secretly swoons over the fact it can say the Dr. Stephen T. Colbert made fun of them for a five-minute viral clip they can show their staffers.

New Twitter Advertising Pays to Follow. No, Really.

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Wondering why certain Twitters are being suggested to follow over the people you know? Thank Twitter’s ingenious advertising plan.

All Things Digital’s Media Memo revealed yesterday that paid suggestions is just one of three advertising plans being put to use by Twitter:

The idea is a simple one, people familiar with the company’s plans tell me: Twitter will try to help corporations and brands increase their Twitter following by inserting them alongside other Twitter users it suggests in its “Who to Follow” feature.

Don’t fret, though. If you’re not a fan of say Greta Van Susteren or Jimmy Carter, you won’t be inundated with their profile pics forever locked in your Who To Follow. Twitter’s algorithm will ensure just because someone pays to promote their Twitter, they won’t spam people who aren’t relevant to your friends and followers.

The official announcement will come shortly. The adoption of this in campaign promotion and outreach will be the thundering noise to follow.

Google & POLITICO Host 2010 Election Preview

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Google and POLITICO host a 2010 Election Preview today at the Newseum.  Last night there was a lot of prep work done to prepare for a panel, interviews with David Axelrod and Ed Gillespie, and some of DC’s favorite journalists Politico’s Mike Allen and Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart who will host the event.

Check out more from Fishbowl DC’s post.

You can also watch LIVE at www.youtube.com/citizentube starting at 2:30 PM Eastern.

CNN's Klein Knew He Was Fired Two Days Ago

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Jon Klein knew he was doomed on a Wednesday.

In his first interview since being taken out from CNN with New York Magazine’s Daily Intel, the former CNN/U.S. president reveals the meeting couldn’t have been more brief:

On Wednesday afternoon, CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton, who was in New York visiting from Atlanta, called a meeting with Klein, but ominously didn’t tell him what it was about. When Klein arrived, Walton cursorily told him he was being removed, to be replaced by HLN chief Ken Jautz. It was a brief conversation.

“People get shot in our business. I got shot,” Klein said in a phone interview.

Going further, Klein seems just as shocked that he was let go before his Piers Morgan-Spitzer gambit could even start:

“I’m a big proponent of accountability. But I thought a judgment would come on three levels: one, quality; two, ratings; three, profitability.”
As for now, Klein’s taking it in stride and, as Intel informs us, will take in the Yankees game since he’s got a whole lot of nothing to do.

Jeff Zucker To Leave NBC

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Jeff Zucker plans to step down from his position as CEO at NBC upon completion of the Comcast merger.

The New York Times’ Media Decoder reports Zucker informed employees via email this morning that he would leave once the takeover is finalized and that it was not exactly his choice.

“We had both gotten to the same place,” Mr. Zucker said. “He made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that.”

Zucker has been a fixture at the company for literally his entire professional career. Regardless, this sure is an action-packed Friday if you’re an executive at a cable channel/news network.

From VHS to VLC: The Rise of Fred Davis' Ads on the Internet

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Fred Davis’ rise started with a giant rat named King Roy and continues today with Mourning in America. Not exactly the plot to a generic blockbuster but more about how ad-man Fred Davis, a GOP media consultant, grew his brand in grand part due to the Internet.

[Read more…]

Haus of Gaga Fails To Beat Senate

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In a tale as old as time, beauty can’t beat the beast with 100 backs–especially when it comes to legislation.

That’s exactly what the Internet learned upon today’s 56-43 vote to not pass $726 billion in defense spending, according to the AP, which also included language to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, or DADT as the official Twitter hashtag.

Lady Gaga gained a bit more steam last week after tweeting a Senate vote should be scheduled against “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” which picked up further press when Harry Reid re-tweeted her to explain there was an upcoming vote according to Politico; Gaga was referencing her recent appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards where her dates were all gay servicemen and women.

Since Gaga has adopted DADT as her rallying point–quite literally yesterday in Maine, as MTV reports. Her rallying speech (video above) called for an end to the practice. But today’s block doesn’t bode well for the repeal anytime soon, as the Times claims:

Congress has approved the annual Pentagon authorization bill for 48 consecutive years, and it seems likely that the measure will be brought up again after the election in the relatively calmer — if somewhat unpredictable — atmosphere of a lame-duck session.  The House has already approved legislation allowing the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” and the provision will likely be easier to pass in the Senate after Dec. 1 when a Pentagon study on the effects of ending the policy is due.

Still, the House has already passed legislation to repeal the act and December 1st is another day. Perhaps the Senate hasn’t heard the last from the Haus or Gaga.