The Southern Voice has been shut down; other pubs to come?

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Nov 16, 2009 at 09:45:00 AM EST

~~Autumn~~

It's hard to tell what is going on at the moment, but Project Q Atlanta reports that employees of Southern Voice arrived to a note taped to the window of the office and the door locks had been changed. It's not clear at this time what has happened to flagship sister pub the Washington Blade.

The publishers of Southern Voice and David Atlanta magazine-along with a handful of other gay publications-abruptly closed its doors over the weekend, ending a months-long battle with a federal receivership that has imperiled the gay media company.

A three-sentence notice was posted to the front door of the Window Media office in Atlanta before employees arrived Monday morning. It was signed by Publisher Steve Myers and longtime Window executive Mike Kitchens.

It is with GREAT regret that we must inform you that effective immediately, the operations of Window Media, LLC and Unite Media, LLC have closed down.

Please return to this office on WEDNESDAY, November 18th, 2009 at 11:00 AM to collect personal belongings and to receive information on your separation stipulations. Please bring boxes and/or containers that will allow you to collect all your personal belongings at one time.

Regretfully,

Steve Myers
Mike Kitchens

Creative Loafing noted that change was in the air when this trouble emerged earlier in the year:

In February, the NYC-based Gay City News reported that the Avalon Equity Fund, a parent company shareholder in SoVo, Washington Blade and several other gay publications' parent company Unite Media, had been forced into liquidation and faced federal receivership. People familiar with the matter recently told CL they were unaware of the company's fate.

WaPo cancels event selling powerbrokers, lobbyists access to its reporters for $25K and up

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 06:28:47 AM EDT

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" - Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper's own reporters and editors.

   The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it's a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its "health care reporting and editorial staff."

   The offer - which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters - is a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival.

You see, the WaPo is thirsty for cash (the paper lost $19.5 million in the first quarter). Look at this incredible naked pitch that went out:

"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate...Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. ... Bring your organization's CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders."

The face of the LGBT movement and the mainstream media: tackling the diversity problem

by: Pam Spaulding

Sun Jun 21, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

What I believe hurts our case a bit, from a PR (and strategic) perspective, is that we've seen few LGBT people of color on-air as the movement faces off against the first black President and his administration. If you think this shouldn't matter, well you're right. But in reality, do you really think it isn't an issue? You only need to read some of my posts on race and LGBT issues (see "Black, Gay and Reclaiming 'Civil Rights'" at Huff Post) for a prime example of blowback, and I'm black, for god's sake.

One of the problems with this is it allows the inaccurate impression that if you're black and gay, these things aren't on your radar, or worse, that it's only white gays who are angry at this President, a black man, something that doesn't go unnoticed in communities of color. This impression was somewhat exacerbated in a CNN debate between Dan Savage and Stampp Corbin (co-chair of the Obama LGBT Leadership Council during the 2008 campaign). They disagreed on-air about the logistics of DADT repeal in a segment host Campbell Brown framed as "President Obama selling out the gay community" (transcript here).

But what did people see in that segment? It was a black man defending the President (asking the gay community to stop asking Obama to move more quickly on DADT). It's not that simple of course, since Stampp worked for the Obama campaign. But we're talking about the visual medium and cultural shorthand/bias telegraphed to viewers not keenly attuned to our community and its issues. It's easy to imagine someone walking away from the TV and thinking "well black gays are defending Obama, so it's just these white whining gay men again." You know what I'm talking about.

BTW, Stampp, who agreed on-air with Dan about the DOMA debacle, later announced he wasn't going to attend the fundraiser, writing "The DOMA brief ruined everything." The reality is that one can disagree on one aspect of policy but not another, and support the President overall. Those who are unhappy (enraged, pick your word), usually argue that "oh we'd be better off with the Republicans in power" or some such, but honestly, I can't see how that's a useful tack to take. That said, overall support for this President does not equal criticism-free governance, something the apologist set seems to forget; Obama himself said to hold him accountable. His administration's behavior regarding our issues has been abominable and there are a variety of ways to hold him accountable. As a movement we'll never all be on the same page.

But back to the matter at hand -- I'm grateful, that Rachel Maddow, an out lesbian, is on the air discussing these topics (have we seen any lesbian talking head guests of any color?) and that Daniel Choi has been very visible re: DADT. It's pretty clear that we have a shallow, pale bench to make our cases on the air and it reinforces the stereotype of what "gay" looks like.

The bottom line is that this image problem gives the Obama administration racial and cultural cover it shouldn't have and doesn't deserve. When you have POC on the air to represent the grave anger at this administration's inaction, it shatters the ingrained perceptions of people -- and that includes some of our straight progressive "friends", not just the pols and admin drones -- that discussion of these issues affects a broader spectrum of our community. It's sad that this is the case, but you know we've had to deal with this image problem for a long time. Unless it's right in front of their faces -- and that's the power of the visual medium, for good or ill, people will lean toward their implicit biases.

I don't have an easy solution for this, mind you, since the MSM is lazy and goes to its rolodexes and picks out people they've had on before; it's not a conspiracy. Oh, and for the skeptics out there eager to think this is self-serving, let's just quash that straight out -- this isn't a bid on my part to go on-air. I hated the experience the two times I did appear on CNN:
1) I had to do it by satellite, so you cannot see who you're speaking with, and it's an art to do it well;
2) I do not live in a major media center like NY, LA or DC - I had to drive all the way to Raleigh to a contract studio;
3) I'm not available at the drop of a hat to do it anyway since I have a full-time, unrelated-to-politics day job;
4) I'm not sufficiently telegenic for the MSM; let's get real; it's a cruel medium for non-svelte women .

Radio is a lot easier, though the scheduling problems remain the same. I've done Skype before -- that is still junior-league broadcasting and is still rife enough with technical problems to be unreliable for live TV.

So let's get back to building a vibrant, diverse media bench -- certainly we need to add more women, T-folk and minorities to be effective on-air advocates (and people from outside gay metro areas of the country, another perception problem out there, but there are the above logistical problems to reckon with). It strengthens our game. If the media would ring up POC LGBT orgs, they certainly would find people to put on the air. If the MSM called up the Women's Media Center for example, an organization that actually holds training for women to build on-air skills, they might net new guests.

However, as I said, the MSM is lazy and has to be spoonfed. I think one of the things the LGBT movement could do, in terms of boosting its effectiveness, is to build that bench and give the MSM an information guide filled with a slew of people they can bring on air to discuss our issues, including the usual people we see. I do, however, see internal political problems ahead, particularly with our organizations, which will have a hard time with the idea of messaging for the community coming from those not affiliated with the "professional gay" sphere.

What none of us can ignore, however, is that on-air media messaging and advocacy can reach the greatest number of people less well-versed in the issues being discussed, and it can have the greatest impact in a single shot. We need our issues represented by a wide range of well-trained members of the community of all stripes to throw down on the air to counteract the stereotypical image of what it looks like to be LGBT.

Qs of the day...

* Do you think that on-air diversity is a problem? If not, why not?
* If so, what can or should be done to help build a deeper bench?

Is it me or have morning MSM shows dumbed down significantly?

by: Pam Spaulding

Thu May 21, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM EDT

While getting ready for work in the AM, the TV is usually on and I can hear it from the bathroom. I don't know what channel it was on (this time it may have been on NBC or CNN, and the host was discussing the story of a woman who gave birth to twins, each by a different father.

Of course they had some medical expert on to explain how this rare event could occur (two separate eggs were released and she had sex with two different men -- pretty elementary, but whatever), but then the conversation turned bizarre in the extreme.

The female host then asks the dumbest question I've ever heard -- "Do you think these two babies will have the same emotional bond as regular fraternal twins?"

WTF -- not identical, mind you, but as fraternal twins. The medical expert kindly didn't point out the ridiculous question and simply answered that they would know each other just as any pair of siblings. Oh, god. I don't know which is worse, the thought that the host needed to ask a question that basic, thinking the audience is that clueless, or that the host herself is that out to lunch.

Panel discussion on intellectual freedom at Columbia College Chicago 4/13/09

by: vitaminC

Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 13:51:49 PM EST

Offensive, Transphobic Commentary In MSN's Best Life

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 12:30:00 PM EST

3. Thomas Beatie
Teaching kids about sex is tough enough. But when this bearded, deep-voiced transgendered Oregon man popped out a bundle of joy earlier this year, our jobs as fathers became even more complicated: "Sit down, son. I need to talk to you about the birds, the bees...and the trannies." Oof.

So, imagine if Thomas Beatie were African-American, and Daley would have written:

"Sit down, son. I need to talk to you about the birds, the bees...and the Negros."

So Jason Daley of MSN went there with trans people, and used an anti-transgender pejorative to make a comment not only about Thomas Beatie, but about the his personal discomfort with and prejudices against all transgender parents.

At the bottom of the article's webpage is a "feedback" link. I sent the following feedback in on the article:

Reference the article "Pop Go the Weasels" by Jason Daley: Item number three on Thomas Beatie is incredibly offensive to me, as a transgender woman.  

1.) Use of the word trannie - see GLAAD's page on offensive terminology for trans people: http://tinyurl.com/23sl84 .

2.) Offensive message connected to an offensive term - if the author used the term negro (for African-Americans), gimpy (for disabled), etc., and tied it together with a comment on the parenting of these groups, it would be no less offensive.

3.) Perhaps the Jason Daley should be introduced to Megan Wallent, the transgender Microsoft Executive -- who is also a parent -- specifically so he could tell her to her face what a terrible parent she is for being "a trannie."

Yeah, sometimes coverage of trans people by people in the professional media gets to me. This one particularly angered me, probably because I'd just spent time with my 22 year-old son this past week, and probably because I've participated in an interview of Megan Wallent.

Anyway, if anyone else decides to send in feedback to MSN because of that article by Daley, please don't use profanity; please don't answer Daley's hate speech with hate speech of your own. It's not productive at all to use profanity, pejoratives, or hate speech towards a person or organization when complaining about their use of pejoratives and/or hate speech.

Someone (Else) is Missing

by: TerranceDC

Wed Jul 23, 2008 at 13:41:48 PM EDT

I guess I have to admit that I have been drawn in by the Washington Post's series on the 2001 disappearance/death of Chandra Levy. I've been reading each installment as they are published. It's likeI can't help it. Before Natalie Holloway, before Elizabeth Smart, before Kristin Smart, before Laci Peterson, before Laurie Hacking, before the Runaway Bride, there was — at least here in D.C. (I don't know how the story played elsewhere)— there was Chandra Levy.

It's long since turned into a syndrome. It has several names, and one rather of them popular. I have my own name from it, taken from a scene in Scary Movie.

White Woman in Trouble!

A pretty high school student, knowing the killer is close to breaking through her bedroom door, calls 911 on her PC. Her eyes wide and her heart pounding, she types in her message: "White woman in trouble!" In an instant, her suburban driveway is crowded with cruisers, sirens shrieking and lights flashing, and her wouldabeen slayer is beating a hasty retreat.

And Eugene Robinson has the best working definition.

Someday historians will look back at America in the decade bracketing the turn of the 21st century and identify the era's major themes: Religious fundamentalism. Terrorism. War in Iraq. Economic dislocation. Bioengineering. Information technology. Nuclear proliferation. Globalization. The rise of superpower China.

And, of course, Damsels in Distress.

But of course the damsels have much in common besides being female. You probably have some idea of where I'm headed here.

A damsel must be white. This requirement is nonnegotiable. It helps if her frame is of dimensions that breathless cable television reporters can credibly describe as "petite," and it also helps if she's the kind of woman who wouldn't really mind being called "petite," a woman with a good deal of princess in her personality. She must be attractive -- also nonnegotiable. Her economic status should be middle class or higher, but an exception can be made in the case of wartime (see: Lynch).

Put all this together, and you get 24-7 coverage. The disappearance of a man, or of a woman of color, can generate a brief flurry, but never the full damsel treatment. Since the Holloway story broke we've had more news reports from Aruba this past week, I'd wager, than in the preceding 10 years.

The damsel— the "White Woman in Trouble" — thanks to the Post, is back.

Bad Economy Affecting Pets

by: Autumn Sandeen

Fri Jun 13, 2008 at 05:00:00 AM EDT

But, in this economy where more is being spent on fuel and food, pets are becoming a luxury many can no longer afford. The San Diego Union Tribune reported on June 9th that animal shelters are "Full To The Brim" -- that the Sinking Economy Forces Owners To Give Up, Abandon Pets At Shelters.

From the article:

Rising costs for fuel, groceries and health care along with the housing crunch leave four-legged family members with cheaper food, fewer physicals and, sometimes, just out in the cold -- on the side of the road or in backyards and houses their owners have left or lost.

"We are up 1,700 animals more than this time last year," said Dawn Danielson, director of the county's Department of Animal Services, which serves San Diego, six other cities and unincorporated areas. "There had been a steady decline over five years, and this is the first year we now have an increase. We attribute that to a lot of people losing their homes."

..."Some owners are coming in with animals and calling them strays, but they really own them and are embarrassed to tell us," Danielson said. "People are upset, they're grieving. They don't want to give up their pets, but, basically, they're pushed into a corner; they see no other option."

Ouch.

I can't imagine the horror of having to give up Bon-Bon or Maggie because of the current economy. I guess my kats should feel pretty lucky I'm in no danger of having to give them up for any reason -- but they're just kats, not super genuises.

I had some crab meat in the frige that I'd bought to put on the salads I eat daily, so I fed my kats some of it Thursday morning. I'm sure my kats have no idea of the "why" behind giving them the treat, but I'll know why.

And it's because I love them; and it's because they afford me a lot of comfort. Their seafood treat was my way of thanking them for all of their welcome affection.

~~~~~
Related:
* LGBT Families Have Cats At A Higher Rate Than Het Families

Reality Bites

by: Lev Raphael

Mon May 19, 2008 at 15:33:39 PM EDT

The mainstream media's love affair with John McCain

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Apr 21, 2008 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

The curious treatment of McCain by the MSM is explored in Free Ride: John McCain and the Media, by David Brock and Paul Waldman of Media Matters. What the presumptive GOP nominee has learned is how to crack the code of buddying up with reporters to ensure soft treatment. The formula is quite simple, actually. See below the fold.

An election cycle that breaks all the rules - and the establishment is in knots

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Feb 08, 2008 at 17:30:00 PM EST

Well-paid pundits pull "analysis" out of their posteriors during these primaries and caucuses and have nothing to back up their predictions (which usually end up wrong anyway). Political experts both in the campaigns, the pollsters and in the MSM really don't know WTF they are chattering about, but they simply cannot admit it. You get the feeling when you watch that they think they know more than you do and want to project that all-knowing gravitas, but as we've seen, all that some of them have managed to do is look like jackasses over and over.

Why? This is an presidential election with so many firsts -- a black man and a woman at the precipice of being a party's nominee, a Mormon candidate, a former president campaigning for his wife -- all the rules and standard operating procedures have gone out the window and you see serious on-air and in-print fumbling. There are desperate attempts to make sense of wide margins of victory that were not predicted (for Clinton or Obama), why John McCain's campaign rose from the dead, or what role did anti-Mormonism play in Romney's defeat. No one knows, and they cannot claim to know. There are no "experts" on this. Part of the mystery is that the voters are not behaving in predictable fashion, and the establishment doesn't like unpredictability.  

I think it's refreshing to see the chaos, as it provides ample entertainment to see pundits self-immolate on live TV. There's so much freelancing and free association going on that is actually foot-in-mouth disease, as cultural and gender biases just tumble out. It's fascinating, if painful. If only opportunities like these would turn into more self-reflection on the role of subjects that are avoided in polite company because it makes people uncomfortable. We have another example today...

South Carolina primary day - fashionistas, fundies, and LGBT organizing

by: Pam Spaulding

Sat Jan 26, 2008 at 16:15:00 PM EST

3:55:  I was out most of the early afternoon, and Kate and I came in and flipped on the TV to see how the cable news channels were covering the primary, and, well, apparently issues aren't on the agenda over at MSNBC.

Chris Jansing of MSNBC:
"What kind of message does a candidate send with what they wear?"

The fashion editor for the Washington Post, Robin Givhan:
"I think fundamentally the message is something that has to do with authenticity, comfort, confidenceand a sense that the voter can relate to the person standing there."

It devolved from there into a discussion about the "ubiquitous Hillary Clinton pantsuit" and the "manipulation" of wardrobe. Mitt Romney's fashion style ("polished") was declared to be too perfect, and referenced Huckabee's comment that Romney "looks like the guy who would lay you off."

Boy, I feel well-informed now about the issues that matter.

***

Huckabee defends his faith

4:00: Kate just flipped over to CNN and look who's on...(she just exclaimed "Suckabee"!). It was a replay of an earlier statement from the rapist/murderer-releasing, Christian Reconstructionist-supported, Man-On-Dog wannabe and former Arkansas governor.

He was making a plea for people not to hold his personal faith against him, and that it was a sad day in America when a person holding or running for office says faith is important to him is denigrated.

What?! No one made him bleat any of the following fundie faith-based nonsense:

"[Some of my opponents] do not want to change the Constitution, but I believe it's a lot easier to change the constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that'swhat we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards."

"My faith is my life - it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. For example, when it comes to the environment, I believe in being a good steward of the earth. I don't separate my faith from my personal and professional lives."
-- Huck, on his web site

"The perfection of God is seen in a marriage in which one man, one woman live together as a couple committed to each other as life partners.  Now, even married couples don't do that perfectly, so sin is not some act of equating people with being murderers or rapists..."
-- on Meet the Press, December 30, 2007

"[The ruling] dismantles the structure of constitutional law that has permitted a distinction to be made between heterosexual and homosexual unions, insofar as formal recognition in marriage is concerned. If moral disapprobation of homosexual conduct is 'no legitimate state interest' for purposes of proscribing that conduct, ...what justification could there possibly be for denying the benefits of marriage to homosexual couples exercising 'the liberty protected by the Constitution'?"
-- Huckabee's response to Ann Coulter to butch up his anti-gay stance by stating his opposition to the outcome of Lawrence v. Texas

"There's never been a civilization that has rewritten what marriage and family means and survived."
-- to GQ magazine

Matthews: "It's not obsession." Really?

by: David Brock

Tue Jan 15, 2008 at 16:58:56 PM EST

Sen. Hillary Clinton: "I don't know what to do with men who are obsessed with me. I honestly have never understood it."

[…]

Chris Matthews: "It's not obsession."

If you have ever watched an episode of Hardball on MSNBC, you may find Chris Matthews' above statement a bit suspect...

Mervgate: writer Richmond sets the record 'straight'

by: Pam Spaulding

Thu Aug 23, 2007 at 08:30:00 AM EDT

* the timing of the piece, which fell on the day of Griffin's memorial service, was not intentional slight of some kind on Richmond's part, that's when the column publishes.

* the column was pulled briefly from both The Hollywood Reporter and his blog (also owned by the Reporter) after movers and shakers were angered. It was later restored after about an hour.

* Richmond says that there were not radical edits to the piece, but that there were two different headlines -- the original, "Griffin Never Revealed Man Behind the Curtain," and what Reuters used -- "Merv Griffin Died a Closeted Homosexual."

More after the jump.

Mervgate continues -- article restored, but altered

by: Pam Spaulding

Sat Aug 18, 2007 at 10:16:24 AM EDT

Yesterday the editors at the Hollywood Reporter spent a lot of energy fretting over a piece about Merv Griffin by Ray Richmond that confirmed the impresario was gay -- as Richmond worked with the man and it was common knowledge.This obviously raised the ire of industry heavy hitters (and likely advertisers, which would scare any publication) and the Hollywood Reporter pulled the piece, without explanation, and it disappeared from Richmond's site.

Reuters, by the way, ran it as well, but it was also pressured, later adding a disclaimer tag to the story:

"This was a story from The Hollywood Reporter that ran as part of a Reuters news feed. We have dropped the story from our entertainment news feed as it did not meet our standards for news. GBU Editor"

The article later reappeared later the same day, again without explanation on both the Reporter site and at Richmond's blog (which is owned by the Hollywood Reporter).

Shane at Queer Two Cents took a look at the article once it reappeared, and, doing a side-by-side comparison of the piece as it originally appeared and what's up now. There has been some selective editing of the piece, clearly to soothe some fragile egos out there. Shane has highlighted the additions and deletions to the piece at Queer Two Cents, noting last night:

In his interview with Kevin Allman this afternoon, Ray Richmond gave no indication that he had made changes to his article. At this time it is unclear who is responsible for the editorial changes to Richmond's original text. It's evident that the alterations were most likely made to appease either Merv Griffin's family, The Hollywood Reporter legal department, or both.

...Issues of possible legal action and text additions/deletions aside, the The Hollywood Reporter could have censored Ray Richmond's article, but they didn't. Instead, The Hollywood Reporter's restoration of Mr. Richmond's Merv Griffin article, even its altered form, is a watershed moment for mainstream media - the intent and purpose of the article remains clear; Merv Griffin was not open about about his sexuality - which was his choice, and lived his life in a 'glass' closet, also his choice. Today he was buried, in a 'glass' coffin.

Catch up on Mervgate:
* The Blend/Pandagon:
-- The dangerous closet of 'The Mogul
-- Hollywood trade mag discusses Merv's closet
-- Merv Griffin passes away at 82

* Mike Signorile:
-- Merv Griffin's Dangerous Closet
-- Tom Shales speaks out on Merv
-- The Truth on Merv Bubbles Up
--  Hollywood Reporter Pulls Merv Griffin column!

* Joe.My.God:  Rethinking Merv Griffin

Pew poll: most disliked institution - the GOP

by: Pam Spaulding

Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 20:00:00 PM EDT

After six years of George Bush, right-wing control of Congress, neoconservative dominance, endless liberty-infringement and lawbreaking at home, and the Iraq War, what is the most disliked institution in America? According to the new Pew Poll:

Notably, there is an erosion in the favorability of virtually every political and media institution in the United States, but the Republican Party is at the very bottom -- lower than the press, the judges, the liberals, the Congress and all of its other Evil bogeymen. Yet the Democrats continue to give them whatever they want, dreadfully fearful of their great power and popularity.

Fully 63% of Americans who count Fox as their main news source say news stories are often inaccurate - a view held by fewer than half of those who cite CNN (46%) or network news (41%) as their main source.

...Further analysis of the data shows that being a Republican and a Fox viewer are related to negative opinions of the mainstream media. The overlapping impact of these two factors can most clearly be seen in the favorability ratings of network TV news, major national newspapers, and the daily newspapers that respondents are most familiar with. For all three, Republicans who count Fox as their main news source are considerably more critical than Republicans who rely on other sources.

Merv Griffin passes away at 82

by: Pam Spaulding

Sun Aug 12, 2007 at 15:00:00 PM EDT

I guess we may never know for certain whether the late entertainer and TV mogul was gay/bi. The buzzing has gone on for years, but to my knowledge the Merv himself never actually came out. (MSNBC):

Merv Griffin, the entertainer turned impresario who parlayed his "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" game shows into a multimillion-dollar empire, has died. He was 82.

Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.

...Griffin and Julann Elizabeth Wright were married in 1958, and a son, Anthony, was born the following year. The couple divorced in 1973 because of "irreconcilable differences."

"It was a pivotal time in my career, one of uncertainty and constant doubt," he wrote in the autobiography. "So much attention was being focused on me that my marriage felt the strain." He never remarried.

In a Rolling Stone piece about Griffin in 2006, it notes that Merv was sued twice in 1991, the first a "palimony" lawsuit by a former employee, the second a charge from "Dance Fever" host Deney Terrio that the impresario made a pass at him then fired him for not complying. Both suits were tossed out. However:

Merv does not refute the underlying implication in both cases: that he is gay. Nor does he admit to it. Instead, he mentions the high-profile relationship that he began with actress Eva Gabor at the time of his legal troubles. They were photographed everywhere: Atlantic City, La Quinta, Hollywood premieres. Merv says that they discussed marriage, and he parries any direct questions about his sexual orientation. ''You're asking an eighty-year-old man about his sexuality right now!'' he cries. ''Get a life!''

Interview on Air America

by: Pam Spaulding

Mon Aug 06, 2007 at 23:30:00 PM EDT

Hilarious O'Reilly video

by: Pam Spaulding

Sun Aug 05, 2007 at 10:00:00 AM EDT

Left wing mafia...smear web sites...assassins...radical left...

O'Reilly hurling these terms about a progressive bloggercon is absurd. He's jumped the shark big time.

Chris Dodd torches O'Reilly over insane attacks on YK

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Aug 03, 2007 at 07:00:00 AM EDT

Dodd called out O'Reilly for one of the outrageous statement bleated on Billo's radio show. O'Reilly then tries to lie his way out it by parsing that he didn't say it on "this program" (meaning the TV show). Too bad for him that Media Matters keeps track of the crap that comes out of O'Reilly's piehole.

"[I]f Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off-limits to you, except San Francisco."