Posts by Danny Shea

Danny Shea is a writer for The Huffington Post

Fox News Denies Network Forced Ensign to Admit Adultery
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on June 20, 2009 at 9:13 AM.

Fox New is denying claims that Doug Hampton — whose wife Cynthia is the other woman in Senator John Ensign's sex scandal — sent the network a letter pleading for help exposing the affair five days before the Senator announced it in a press conference and that Ensign came forward with the affair because he knew Fox was working on the story.

The Las Vegas Sun reported Friday that Hampton sent Fox News' Megyn Kelly a two-page, single-spaced letter dated June 11 detailing the affair and asking for help in exposing the Senator. The Senator came forward with the affair on June 16 — in part, a spokesman told the Sun, because his office had learned that Hampton approached "a major television news channel."

"We learned of this fact before the news conference," the spokesman told the Sun.

Tom Lowell, senior producer of "America's Newsroom," hosted by Kelly and Bill Hemmer, says no one at Fox News ever received a printed letter, but that a booker on the show received an email from Hampton with the letter attached on June 15 — the day before the Senator's press conference.

"We never received any letter from Mr. Hampton," Lowell told the Huffington Post.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Ouch! The Daily Show Decimates The New York Times
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on June 11, 2009 at 3:38 PM.

"The Daily Show" correspondent Jason Jones visited the New York Times offices on Wednesday night's show for a hysterical segment titled "End Times."

Jones got access to Executive Editor Bill Keller as well as Times Assistant Managing Editor Rick Berke and Communications Coordinator Kristin Mason.

At one point, walking through the office with Mason, he picks up a landline phone and asks, "What's this?"

When told that it's a phone, he jokes, "A landline phone? I'm a reporter from the '80s, making sure everything's factual. You guys are like a walking colonial Williamsburg!"

Later, walking past a stack of newspapers, Jones picks one up and says, "You know who would love this? My grandma."

Watch:

"Even today there are some who still think there's merit in publishing the news 24 hours after it's happened," he said.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Glenn Beck Guest Passes Out Live on the Air
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on April 13, 2009 at 3:02 PM.

David Buckner, professor of organizational leadership at Columbia University, passed out live on Glenn Beck's Fox News show Monday afternoon.

"You all right?" Beck asked Buckner in the middle of a discussion on government investments.

"I'm passing out," Buckner told Beck.

"Want to sit down?" he asked, before the guest fell to the floor. "We'll be back in just a second," he said, and then the show cut to commercial.

Stephen Colbert Rips Glenn Beck to Shreds: Building His Career On 9/11
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on April 1, 2009 at 9:25 AM.

[Editor's note: watch the full clip on the flip side.]

Stephen Colbert ripped apart Fox News host (and New York Times cover boy) Glenn Beck Tuesday night, mocking his 9-12 project, meant to conjure the spirit of compassion and camaraderie Americans felt on September 12, 2001.

"We weren't told how to behave that day after 9/11, we just knew," Beck says to describe the project. "It was right, it was the opposite of what we feel today. Are you ready to be the person you were that day after 9/11, on 9/12?"

"Ready!" Colbert shouted, decked out in a gas mask, holding a gun, and wearing adult diapers.

Colbert then used a classic "Daily Show," exposing the hypocrisy of Beck's 9-12 project by highlighting comments he made on September 9, 2005.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Don Imus: I Have Prostate Cancer
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on March 17, 2009 at 4:34 AM.

Controversial radio host Don Imus announced Monday morning on his radio show that he has been diagnosed with Stage II Prostate Cancer.

Imus, 68, said he believes that his doctors "will beat it," reports WABC TV (Imus' radio show airs on WABC radio):

"The day you find out is fine," he said. "But the next morning when you get up, your knees are shaking. I didn't think I could make it to work."

Wearing black sunglasses and slumped behind his microphone, Imus speculated that the cancer may have come from stress.

WebMD describes Stage II Prostate Cancer as follows:

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Bailed Out Citigroup Buys New $50 Million Jet
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on January 26, 2009 at 10:35 AM.

The New York Post's Jennifer Keil and Chuck Bennett reported in Monday's paper that Citigroup, which has received $45 billion in government bailout funds, is about to upgrade to a new $50 million, twelve-seat corporate jet.

The plane, the Dassault Falcon 7X, is a luxurious jet with a range of 5,950 nautical miles (meaning it can fly from New York to all of Europe and South America, as far east as Riyadh, and as far west as Honolulu or Petropavlovsk, Russia). The Post reports it has "plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center."

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Rachel Maddow on 'Daily Show': 'Insulted,' 'Embarrassed' By Bush
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on January 8, 2009 at 10:36 AM.

Rachel Maddow appeared on "The Daily Show" Wednesday night, where she and Jon Stewart discussed the MSNBC family, President-elect Barack Obama's policy knowledge and George W. Bush's Blair House snub of the incoming first family.

Stewart opened the interview by telling Maddow hers is "a lovely voice to have out there on the air," and then he compared MSNBC anchors to the Munster family.

"Ever see 'The Munsters?' " he asked. "Here's what I think when I watch MSNBC: You're Marilyn ... " referring to the only normal member of a family of monsters. "But everyone else over there is **** nuts. I'm not gonna tell you who Herman Munster is, but I will tell you I believe Chris Matthews is the dragon who lives under the stairs."

"You know, I'm new there!" Maddow shot back.

Watch:

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Andy Samberg: The Hilarious King of YouTube
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on December 16, 2008 at 10:24 AM.

AdAge's Michael Learmonth declares Andy Samberg King of YouTube as he reports that SNL's digital short "Jizz in My Pants" is the most-watched YouTube video of the past month, clocking in thus far at 6.7 million views. Of course, what makes this interesting is that "Jizz in My Pants" is one of the rare SNL clips available on the Google-owned YouTube:

NBC has a tortured relationship with YouTube, and takes a hard line toward enforcing copyright. The video's presence on YouTube likely has something to do with the fact that the song is the first single from Universal Music Group's upcoming release, "Incredibad," and the label has some interest in building an audience for it. The video was uploaded by Samberg's production company, The Lonely Island.

NBC is trying to make a buck from the short on its own site via advertising from Nissan and Wrigley's, where the video is receiving far fewer views (561,000). NBC also gets 70%-80% of the ad revenue from sales on Hulu.com, which doesn't disclose views but is running the video with an Absolute Vodka ad.

Last month, Ars Technica speculated that Samberg's viral hit "Lazy Sunday" was responsible for YouTube's $1.5 billion sale. The video, which debuted in December 2005, is widely credited with introducing YouTube to America, but NBC had it removed from the site so it could host it exclusively in its own player.

Watch Samberg's hit clips below:

The latest, Jizz in My Pants:

The first, Lazy Sunday:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

The View's Sherri Shepherd Doesn't Get That Whole BC Thing, Insists "Jesus Came First" [VIDEO]
Posted by Danny Shea, Huffington Post on December 5, 2007 at 7:13 AM.

This post, written by Danny Shea, originally appeared on The Huffington Post

For whatever reason, the ladies on "The View" were discussing ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus this morning. Naturally, talk soon migrated to the topic of religion, and Sherri "I don't know if the world is flat" Shepherd came out to play. More specifically, to spew ignorance and a complete lack of understanding of basic world history! Discussing whether Christians were around during Epicurus' time (Epicurus lived from 341-270 B.C.), Sherri chimed in, "[The Greeks] had Christians 'cause they threw them to the lions."

When Whoopi tried to cautiously navigate her through the timeline of basic world events, saying, "I think this might predate that," Sherri responded, "I don't think anything predated Christians." Joy's attempt to explain the Greek-Roman-Christian chronology was futile, as Sherri insisted, "Jesus came first before them." Sherri's argument was all the more powerful due to her convincing "use your finger to write on the table" trick, but she can't fight the facts. Perhaps if Barbara were on today she would have explained THAT WHOLE B.C. THING (you know, as in, Before Christ).

UPDATE For more Sherri Shepherd insanity, click here.