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Oprah Winfrey Will Close Charity as Talk Show Draws Near End

Oprah Winfrey’s charity, the Angel Network, will shut down as its founder’s talk show closes out its final season on broadcast television, the Associated Press reports.  The charity stopped accepting donations this week and announced on its Website that it…

Former Us Weekly Editor Janice Min Joins Venerable Hollwood Trade Publication

In what the New York Times’ Media Decoder blog calls "a surprising move," former Us Weekly editor Janice Min has joined one of the oldest Hollywood trade publications at its editorial director.  Min is now employed by The Hollywood Reporter. After…

As Competitors Draw Higher Ratings and Guests, Larry King Faces Hard Times

As Larry King marks his 25th year on CNN next week, he’s facing some daunting questions, such as whether the network will renew his contract when it ends next year, reports Brian Stelter in the New York Times.  King is…

Disney Killing One Cable Network, Adding a New One

In a surprise move, the Disney/ABC Television Group announced that it will be shuttering one of its cable networks that’s in 75 million homes, and adding a new one to replace it. Disappearing as of 2012 will be SOAPnet, to…

Poll: If the Winner of ‘American Idol’ was Chosen Democratically–One Person, One Vote–the Outcome Would Have Been Different

One of the particular oddities about the audience picking the winner of "American Idol"–or for that matter, who get gets eliminated every week–is that it’s not democratic. If it was democratic, it would be one person, one vote. Of course…

Idle Eyeballs Don’t Watch ‘Idol’: Finale’s Ratings Hit Low Note

According to the New York Times’ Arts Beat blog, "The night’s average of 24.2 million viewers [for Wednesday’s ‘American Idol’ finale] is down about 18 percent from last year’s finale, when Kris Allen won the contest. The audience for the…

Strangest Story of the Day: Man Infects Himself with Computer Virus

Get this: A British scientist has become the first person infected with a computer virus, which he inflicted upon himself, reports PC World. says the article, "Dr. Mark Gasson, a cybernetics expert at the University of Reading, deliberately infected himself (by…

Simon Cowell: He Finally Predicted the Winner of ‘Idol’–Sorta

Simon Cowell, who missed picking the person who would be crown "American Idol" in 2008 and 2009, was somewhat better this year–depending upon when you asked him. As the season was heading to wrap up, he thought Crystal was going…

‘Dancing with the Stars” Finale on Tuesday Took Ratings Hit Vs. Year Ago

According to Medialife, "On an intensely competitive night where all the networks had strong lineups, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” finale took a hit, sliding 27 percent from last spring’s season ender and dipping from Monday night’s final performance show…….

Apple, Riding the Success of Its i-Products–iPhones, iPods, iPads, iTunes–Is Now Worth More Than Microsoft

What a phenomenal turn-around. Apple, for years makers of cult products such that the company wasn’t even close to the market cap of megagiant Microsoft, is now worth more than Microsoft. In the words of the Seattle Times, "It was the day a…