Politics Archives - Page 8 of 10

HBO’s “Hard Times: Lost on Long Island” takes a sobering look at the job crisis

July 6, 2012 Lori Acken

In the opening moments of HBO’s disquieting new documentary Hard Times: Lost on Long Island, balding, bespectacled Alan Fromm — an unemployed corporate trainer — catalogs the catastrophes he survived prior to losing his job a year earlier: struck by lightning at 15; heart trouble at 21; in the World Trade Center during the 1993 bombing; on the Long Island Rail Road when Colin Ferguson gunned down 25 passengers nine months later; and in the north tower on 9/11. By comparison, he says, unemployment doesn’t seem so bad. But it’s getting there. Fromm often gathers with a rotating crew of […]

Russell Brand fits FX with “Brand X”

June 21, 2012 StayTuned Staff

For anyone who’s ever watched the news and wondered, “What would Russell Brand think of all this?,” FX has got your answer. Brand X With Russell Brand will present the outrageous, unnervingly erudite Brit commenting on current events in front of a late-night audience. The six half-hour specials — Thursdays beginning June 28 at 11pm — will be taped just days in advance, allowing Brand’s perspective on topics ranging from politics to gossip as much immediacy as possible, and his interactions with the audience are being sold as an integral part of the entertainment value. Much will be made of […]

Obama and Romney open tonight’s 2012 CMT Music Awards

June 6, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

‘Tis the season for political pandering! On Sunday night, the Barack Obama campaign debuted a commercial during the MTV Movie Awards, probably to attract the attention of young voters, and tonight, the Democratic incumbent and his competitor for the presidency, Republican Mitt Romney, both seem to be aiming for mainly Red State audiences. The two political rivals will appear in a pre-taped comedic opening segment of the 2012 CMT Music Awards, hosted by Toby Keith and Kristen Bell. The awards air live tonight, June 6, at 8pm ET on CMT and CMT.com. “The President and Gov. Romney each understand the […]

Cory Booker to appear on Sunday’s “Oprah’s Next Chapter”

May 24, 2012 Lori Acken

Newark, New Jersey, mayor Cory Booker — a much-loved figure in the Democratic party who came under fire when his strong remarks about the negative tone about the presidential campaign on last Sunday’s Meet The Press were interpreted as disparaging to President Obama — visits with Oprah Winfrey on this Sunday’s Oprah’s Next Chapter. Winfrey traveled to Newark just days after Booker — long regarded as a hero in his community for making his home in the inner city and patrolling its most dangerous streets to encourage young men and women to rise above their circumstances — made headlines when he risked […]

The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur on “fake neutrality” in TV news

May 11, 2012 Lori Acken

Though the official general election season is still months away, your television is likely overrun with incendiary ads and partisan discourse that drive you nuts. But before you turn on that “news” program that makes you feel so much better, Cenk Uygur [say it Jenk YOU-gur], host of Current TV’s gleefully unvarnished nightly news staple The Young Turks, wants you to consider whether it’s really giving you challenging, fact-based analysis — or just snuggling your conviction that the other guy’s a dolt. “I don’t like the partisanship where people on different cable news outlets play on Team Republican or Team […]

NBC takes viewers “Inside the Situation Room” to recall bin Laden’s death

May 2, 2012 Tom Comi

Most Americans recall vividly where they where a year ago when they heard the news that Osama bin Laden — the man behind the 9/11 attacks on the United States — was killed, but none of us were privy to what actually occurred to pull off what President Barack Obama called “the longest 40 minutes of my life.” NBC News will take viewers behind the scenes tonight at 9pm ET with a special edition of Rock Center With Brian Williams called “Inside the Situation Room.” Williams and NBC were granted unprecedented access to the Situation Room where Obama and his […]

Where to watch (and who to watch for): White House Correspondents’ Dinner 2012

April 27, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Jimmy Kimmel is headlining the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this Saturday, the 98th installment of the venerable event that is traditionally attended by the President and First Lady, as well as many other senior government officials and members of the press corps. Proceeds from the dinner go toward scholarships and awards aimed at supporting aspiring journalists and recognizing excellence in the profession. Last year’s event was notably headlined by Saturday Night Live‘s Seth Meyers, and also featured President Obama getting in a few tweaks at Donald Trump, who at the time was mulling a presidential run while making […]

Food Network doc “Hunger Hits Home” addresses childhood hunger in America

April 13, 2012 Lori Acken

Did you know that more than 16 million children right here in the United States regularly go hungry? This Saturday, Food Network and Share Our Strength‘s No Kid Hungry campaign team up for the new documentary, Hunger Hits Home, which premieres on the network at 8pm ET/7CT. Narrated by Oscar-winning actor and national Share Our Strength spokesman Jeff Bridges, the hourlong film takes a first-hand look at the crisis of childhood hunger in America via the stories of three hardworking American families struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. The film also gives firsthand accounts of ongoing […]

TCA News: Keith Olbermann will helm election coverage on Current

January 14, 2012 Lori Acken

Sure, he’s had a few dust-ups with his new network home, but the countdown to Keith Olbermann’s election coverage is on at the Al Gore/David Bohrman-helmed Current TV. “Keith has told us that he will do our special election coverage moving forward, which we desperately want him to do,” Bohrman told a capacity crowd at Friday’s Current TCA session. Asked why Olbermann was not there to deliver the news himself, Bohrman said he was “on vacation,” leaving reporters to speculate if that actually meant vacation from the network in the wake of his criticisms over stuff like low-tech sets and […]

HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” returns amidst Tim Tebow controversy

January 13, 2012 Tom Comi

Season 10 Tease For those who love controversy, it seems only fitting that Real Time With Bill Maher is returning the same weekend that Tim Tebow’s Denver Broncos are appearing in the playoffs. Maher has been on hiatus the last several weeks, but that didn’t stop the outspoken atheist from making the news. His unprovoked jabs on Twitter at the devoutly religious Tebow not only upset Christians and football fans, but it has led some to call for a boycott of his HBO show. Of course that just means more people will likely tune in tonight (10pm ET) to see if Maher […]