Following Super Bowl XLVI CNN commentator Roland Martin sent off some offensive homophobic tweets that have landed him in a suspended position with the cable news network.

Following the game Roland was tweeting about David Beckham’s underwear commercial when he wrote:

“If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”

Roland then made a few more homophobic statements, here’s a screen grab of those comments as posted on the commentators personal Twitter account.

In their response to the incident CNN jumped into the conversation:

“Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive.  Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated.

We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”

Here’s a screen capture of Roland’s tweets:

Following his messages Roland Martin released this apology:

Fam, let me address the issue that some in the LGBT community have raised regarding some of my Super Bowl tweets yesterday.

I made several cracks about soccer as I do all the time. I was not referring to sexuality directly or indirectly regarding the David Beckham ad, and I’m sorry folks took it otherwise.

It was meant to be a deliberately over the top and sarcastic crack about soccer; I do not advocate violence of any kind against anyone gay, or not. As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, anytime soccer comes up during football season it’s another chance for me to take a playful shot at soccer, nothing more.

The length and terms of his suspension have not been revealed.

Roland Martin Suspended By CNN Over Offensive Tweets is a post from: The Inquisitr

According to The Hollywood Reporter, As part of its bankruptcy filling, Kodak has asked the courts for its name to be removed from the ceremony. The deal was struck in 2000 for Kodak to be a big presence for Oscar night but now it seems as though their presence might change.

The court documents states that Kodak currently has the rights to the theater in the Hollywood & Highland building where the ceremony has been held since 2002. Kodak says that they have asked the CIM Group which owns the mall where the complex is locating if they can get out of their contract earlier than anticipated.

The deal was worth $75 million over the span of 20 years, and the next annual payment is for $4 million. So far Kodak has been up to par on its payments, but the problems the photography business has been experiencing in lieu of digital cameras is heavily documented. The CIM Group and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will also be partying ways after the 2013 ceremony, which means a change of venue for the ceremony.

It is assumed that the academy was anticipating this move by Kodak and that’s the reason why they’re parting with the CIM Group, and felt CIM would have an easier time in getting leverage to find another company for the naming rights deal.

It is said that the academy will take a few months to decide whether or not it wants to say with Kodak for the ceremonies after 2013, or if they will move elsewhere. One popular venue mentioned for a possible place to house the awards is the downtown Nokia Theater in L.A. live.

Kodak Asks To Be Removed From Oscars is a post from: The Inquisitr

The New York Times Corporation lost more than $39 Million dollars in 2011. The company has not been profitable for more than a year at this point. The company reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter profits fell by 12.2 percent compared to the same period in 2010, and that its net loss for the whole of 2011 was $39.7 million.

The New York Times blames the losses on the decline in print advertising and huge loses from their stake in About.com.

The New York Times is the third largest read paper in the United States with a readership of around 390,000 people.  The paper has been struggling since the removal of its long time CEO, Janet Robinson.  Robinson has a multimillion dollar golden parachute and their were several other high profile staff buyouts this year limiting profitability .

The New York Times Corporation said it may lessen its stake in the Boston Red Sox to free up some more cash.

The ongoing slouch in the advertising market continues to weigh upon The New York Times Company, the publisher of The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe and 15 other daily newspapers. While the papers continue to cover their operating costs the company has hinted that it expects drops to continue as advertising dollars decrease and internet readership continues to grow.

Do you fear for the New York Times?

New York Times Loses $39 Million in 2011 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Anonymous as a collective has always said they are protecting the rights of internet users and rallying against big business and the 1% that keeps big business on top, yet this week following the shutdown of Megaupload the hacktivist group has rallied behind Kim Dotcom, the company’s sleazy CEO with a penchant for million dollar purchases, a jet setting lifestyle and a penchant for illegal activities that extend beyond the company’s file sharing roots.

Kim Dotcom (Kim Schmitz) was arrested this week after police in New Zealand raided his home and found the playboy wannabe cowering in a panic room with a sawed off shotgun.

Of course the moment the site was taken down and Kim Dotcom was arrested groups such as anonymous immediately declared war on the likes of the RIAA, MPAA, CBS.com and others in the name of “freedom” to choose what files they download and from where. The hackers didn’t bother to use their collective internet abilities to search for information about the MegaUpload.com founder, if they had they would have learned that his business wasn’t based on simple “file sharing” but rather built on copyright infringement, embezzlement, insider trading and various other illegal practices.

Anonymous on various occasions have railed against company CEOs who take from their users to live a lavish lifestyle, yet Dotcom was among the worst, his MegaUpload enterprise has raked in more than $175 million while he has used that money, typically collected from the streaming of illegal TV shows and Movies to purchase $4.8 million in vehicles including a recent 2010 Maserati. Of his three main cars his licenses plates include “Guilty”, “Evil,” and “Mafia.”

Not only has he operated in a “Grey area” of the law he has also outright broken it, in the past Kim Dotcom has been found guilty of insider trading, embezzlement and criminal hacking.

When he’s not hacking he’s often seen hanging out in grand marble tubs on YouTube or sun bathing his obese body aboard his yachts.

But at the heart of the government’s shutdown of the site was the web properties blatant refusal to abide by copyright laws. Yes Megaupload would occasionally shut down a video at the request of a copyright owner however at the same time the company’s own employees were exposed trading links to TV shows among themselves, fully acknowledging through their actions that they were willing to trade in and allow copyrighted material to remain on the website.

So there sits Anonymous attacking various corporate websites over a company that shouldn’t be allowed to exist. The group went from trying to stop big studios from charging $20 for a DVD to rallying in support of a greedy German hacker who has made millions by peddling (for profit) the same movies the group has rallied against for making millions of dollars.

I’ve heard the argument a million times from people engaging in illegal downloads who want to feel better about themselves and there actions, it usually goes something like this “I should be able to download Hollywood movies all I want, they charge too much and the industry needs to change and I’m helping it change.” My other personal favorite is “people who pirate movies and music weren’t going to buy those movies or music anyways.”

If that’s the case I would love to know why the music industry has lost half it’s wealth since the advent of P2p networks, specifically Napster? For the music industry there has been change of recent, for example Spotify now pays per song. Yes that amount is equal to only a fraction per cent per song but when you consider that many listeners may hear the same song 500-1000 times over their lifetime that small amount adds up and the song has a chance to pay for itself many times over (perhaps except for indie artists who are currently being screwed by Spotify with many Indie Labels dropping out of the Spotify program). Then again for the movie industry it’s not that simple, a few fractions of a cent for a movie means nothing when a person might watch a movie one, maybe two times over their lifetime. If you want cheap movies you’ll watch once try Vudu at $4 a pop or wait for the movie to possibly arrive on Amazon Prime or Netflix services. Here’s a thought, go rent it at your local video store or buy it for $5 out of the previously viewed bin.

With that being said, MegaUpload isn’t a website that was bent on simple file sharing, through through its own actions the company has proven time and time again that it wants you to download illegal material, that it wants its employees to engage in that material and that it wants to continue to operate outside of DMCA rules and regulations.

Anonymous can claim all they want that they are rallying against “greedy corporations” but they fail to acknowledge that it’s a free market economy and corporations have the right to choose whatever pricing they want for items that do not directly interfere with the day-to-day lives of citizens. Warner Bros. selling a DVD or Blu-ray for $20 isn’t affecting your ability to survive one bit. And when did “greedy corporations” that create movies and music become such a concern in the United States? Anonymous sits around attacking the Sony Network, CBS.com, the RIAA and others in the name of “activism” while their “fans” sit around and watch. How about getting off your lazy butts and actually producing something? How about opening a small studio with other piracy loving supporters and creating indie films you claim Hollywood isn’t making anymore. By the way, they don’t make them because they can’t earn money off them when you’re pirating them all the time so they hedge their bets on blockbusters that fail or earn massive amounts of money to pay off debt from their failures.

When I worked at Blockbuster video in 1998 we purchased some movies such as the Titanic for $85 per movie, that gave us the right to rent the movie to customers, for customers looking to buy Titanic on VHS we sold copies for $19.99. That means in 14 years DVD prices are still in line and sometimes cheaper than 1998 pricing while the newer technology of Blu-ray is just a few dollars more expensive and in many cases matches VHS pricing from more than a decade ago. That pricing has remained in place even as the cost of movie production has skyrockets by five, sometimes 10 fold. It’s funny how the “pricing of movies” has become such a big concern once movies were made readily available for illegal download when they are in many cases cheaper then 14 years ago when inflation is taken into consideration.

Anonymous is whining, it’s that plain and simple, they don’t want company’s to make money in a free market, they don’t even want customers to enjoy the products they are willing to pay for, a fact proven by their takedown of the Playstation Network which forced paying customers to lose service and they don’t want to admit that they are more worried about their own ability to download illegal movies and music more than they are concerned against fighting against “greedy corporations.”

Megaupload deserved to be shut down, when a P2P network that has a strong policy against copyrighted material comes along however I’ll more than support their efforts, I’ll write about their service and support their right to share content content openly.

[Op-Ed] Why Is Anonymous Backing A Sleezy Web CEO And Attacking The Wrong Companies? is a post from: The Inquisitr

After NewsCorp’s infamous caught-with-your-pants-down scandal and resulting investigation, Rupert Murdoch’s News International (the umbrella under which 20th Century Fox comfortably rests) is paying the piper.

Specifically, they are reaching into Papa Murdoch’s deep pockets to settle scores (read: lawsuits) against the company by high profile celebrities and victims of crime. In case you were comatose, News Corp got a very public pie in the face several months ago when it was leaked that the company had been allegedly hacking into private voice mail accounts for juicy, personal bits of information that they would then use in their publications. Accusers explain:

“They are now saying they are satisfied with the settlement. It isn’t just about the money. It’s also about an acknowledgement of wrongdoing. They wanted the apology. They wanted the facts to come out into the open.”

One of the biggest names in Newscorp v. Hollywood is actor Jude Law, who reportedly walked away with a cool $200,000 for his troubles. He explained:

“I owed it to my friends and family as well as myself to do this. I believe in a free press but what News Group did was an abuse of its freedoms. … They were prepared to do anything to sell their newspapers and to make money, irrespective of the impact it had on people’s lives.”

The civil suits against the news conglomerate are mostly settled by now, but the criminal investigation is still on the horizon. British Labour MP Chris Bryant, who received a settlement of over 46,000 dollars, says trial isn’t the goal:

“The whole aim of bringing these cases in the first place was to try and get to the truth. The truth will now come out either in court when the criminal investigations are completed or in the Leveson inquiry.”

Full video story from our pals at Newsy:

Do you think that NewsCorp is picking from the buffet of just desserts?

NewsCorp Settles Civil Suits with Celebrity Victims is a post from: The Inquisitr

I pay just under $60 per month for internet service, compared to some users in other parts of the country that price would be fair for 12Mbps download speed, unfortunately my ISP provider (Mediacom – http://mediacomcc.com) could possibly be one of the worst providers for internet service in the United States.

Let me explain, over the last several months I have called/tweeted the company (they are better help on Twitter then over the phone) on at least two dozen occasions, typically around Midnight to report outages. Unfortunately the company finds midnight to be a relatively “off-peak” time and often shuts down its network to make changes. Strangely enough during “off-peak” hours when I try to call the company I’m often met with the message “our lines are full please call back later.”

When the network isn’t completely shot to hell my average download speed ranges from .87Mbps to just over 5.3mbps. When I do get a hold of a customer service rep on the phone or through @MediacomSupport (Twitter), I am told “we are aware of the issue and are working on it” a message that has rang false for the last 6 months.

In the good old days of DSL and even traditional landline phones if I wasn’t happy with the service I could simply choose a different provider. As many of you may recall when Ma Bell was split apart the telephone lines running to homes were easily accessible to other providers, if you were for example sick of Verizon home phone service you could pick up AT&T or Fairpoint or any number of other providers in your area. Unfortunately for cable users that isn’t the case for cable service, that’s because cable companies own the lines that run to your home and therefore own your business. In my little town of 2800 people (we are 14 miles from a larger set of twin cities) our only choice is Mediacom or the much slower and expensive DSL service provided by Fairpoint Communications.

Yet there are no laws in my state (or others that I am aware of) that would allow me to simply call another company (Comcast is located 14 miles away) and switch to their service.

The problem is that cable companies have traditionally been franchises or “leased” by local government or utilities commissions, this has typically meant that you have one provider in your area (this fact has begun to change in larger cities and suburbs). Sure you can change to a satellite provider however broadband internet is not yet a reality with satellite systems.

What that essentially means is that local governments can create “mini-monopolies” in which one cable provider is given free reign over the network. You may have noticed on your cable bill a “franchise fee” that part of your bill is going directly into the city’s bank account. Essentially your local government is reaping the benefits regardless of what provider they allow. There is a federal guideline created by the FCC that states a local cable company is subject to “effective competition” in the area, however with the advent of satellite providers it’s easy to call something “effective competition” even when it doesn’t offer basic tenants of that competition including high speed internet.

In fact the FCC on its own website states:

If you are not satisfied with your cable rates, look for alternative multichannel video programming services that may be available in your area, such as competitive cable services, satellite television services and open video system services.

Furthering the dilemma is the fact that the FCC does very little in the way of regulating “customer service” in fact in the FCC’s cable television regulations they specifically state:

The FCC has developed general guidelines for customer service that deal with, for example, how quickly a cable operator must answer its phone or respond to requests for service, and how a cable bill should be written. It is up to your local franchising authority to enforce the guidelines in your community. Therefore, complaints about customer service and billing disputes should be directed to your local franchising authority. (this guidelines dates back to 1994 and can be found here: http://transition.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/nrcb4009.txt)

Essentially your local franchising authority is responsible for your satisfaction with your cable provider. This is often why cable rate increasing, basic cable pricing and other issues are heard during city council meetings.

Unfortunately because the cable provider is not necessarily answering directly to the FCC on all issues regarding the operation of its network and because cities are often ill-equipped to deal with complaints customers in areas with only one cable network franchise are for better lack of a word screwed.

From a business standpoint running cable/fiber optic is not cheap and franchise owners have long argue that they can only recuperate their expenses for service lines by controlling territories, however the company’s have done a fine job of dealing with expenses by charging for everything from DVR and HDDVR boxes to early termination fees. In fact after more than 12 months of incorrect billing in which Mediacom was charging me for options that were listed on my contract as free I was only able to remove my cable TV service (I now use Netflix and Hulu Plus) after paying half the early termination fee, they decided to eat the other part out of “respect for my situation” which is ironic because they created the situation.

When all is said and done I was overcharged by Mediacom by more than $100 because of the services incompetence, I was forced to pay half the termination fee to end cable service even though they fully acknowledged the issues were related to problems on their service and I was left with cable service that under delivers by 60% of it’s promised 12Mbps download speeds.

My anger over Mediacom has quelled in recent weeks as I near the decision to contact a representative willing to go after the company for failing to meet their advertised speeds. Whether my journey ends with the start of a class action lawsuit or other measures being taken against the company, what I do know however is that increased competition in my area would have saved Mediacom and myself over 100 hours of phone calls, troubleshooting and other issues if I could have simply said goodbye to a worthless service provider and picked up Comcast (by all means not perfect either) which is just 14 miles away from my tiny little town on the outskirts of a much bigger city.

Have you had similar issues with your ISP/Cable Provider? Share your comments below and feel free to reach out in frustration through my Twitter handle: @Techobsessed.

[Op-Ed] When Your ISP Fails You And There Are No Other Choices is a post from: The Inquisitr

Online hacktivist group Anonymous has begun hacking and taking down various US and Industry websites after popular file hosting site Megauploaded was shut down on Thursday by U.S. officials.

In the groups Twitter messages they touted the ability to take down websites from the U.S. Department of Justice, Universal Music, and the Motion Picture Association of America (Tweet pictured above).

The Anonymous Twitter account then goes on to note:

“The Largest Attack Ever by Anonymous – 5,635 People Confirmed Using #LOIC Bring Down Sites!”

LOIC refers to Low Orbit Ion Cannon, a tool Anonymous and its supports user to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks on websites.

Later into the campaign Anonymous tweeted about their “largest attack ever.”

In IRC chats surrounding the groups activities include various website such as the:

Recording Industry of America (RIAA), the White House, the FBI, BMI.com, Copyright.com, Viacom, Anti-piracy.be/nl, Vivendi.fr, Hadopi.fr, and ChrisDodd.com (who now heads the RIAA).

In the meantime the arrival of SOPA and PIPA protesters have seemed to push hacktivists further then they have done in the past on such a scale, noting on the Anonymous account:

“Seems like some friendly ships are launching torpedos justice.gov as we speak. The site seems down to us! (via @AnonOpsSweden).”

While the group AnonOps adds:

“Tango down! universalmusic.com & justice.gov// #Megaupload.”

“Anonymous/Megaupload backlash update: http://RIAA.ORG is now Tango Down | #OpPayback #OpMegaupload #SOPA #PIPA,” another tweet from that account said.

There is still no official word from MegaUpload and it’s unknown as this time what will happen to user fees that were paid to use the service with a premium membership.

Are you surprised by the outrage felt by Anonymous and its hacktivist followers or do you believe MegaUpload should have been allowed to remain in business?

Anonymous Attacks US Government And Business Websites After MegaUpload Gets Shutdown is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chances are as you do your internet rounds this morning, you’ve run up against at least one site that is participating in the internet blackout currently going on right now.

If a site that’s participating hasn’t gone completely dark, like Wikipedia, then perhaps it is obscured entirely or in part by a “this site has been blocked by SOPA/PIPA” graphic. Perhaps one of your favorite Facebook pages has gone offline for the day in solidarity. We have remained online to bring you news- which today largely centers around these damaging bills and the havoc they could cause worldwide- but the Inquisitr is one of many smaller sites that struggle with far less dangerous laws in the same vein every day.

Sure, we’re no Wikipedia. Every day, we try to find the hottest stories, pics, videos and gossip across many categories to streamline your web experience. But what any site like the Inquisitr can tell you is that even under the “piracy” laws of today, smaller sites like us are threatened all the time by those who seek to intimidate or otherwise silence web voices.

Sometimes it’s confusion under what constitutes fair use- we’ve had massive media companies who know the law well enough to know they’re wrong threaten suit under information we’ve posted that is legal. And in the past, we have removed things it’s perfectly legal to use because we can’t always go up against a massive entertainment company, movie studio or publisher and keep bringing you fresh content.

Other times it’s the same provisions used because someone doesn’t like what we have to say. And even if we believe strongly in the First Amendment, we don’t always have the ability to defend ourselves against massive legal action. What you need to know is that this happens all the time. Companies already have legal protection against piracy, and SOPA and PIPA do nothing constructive in this regard.

What SOPA and PIPA do do, however, is place a lot of the onus to prove innocence on the accused party. You see where this is going. In a future where SOPA and PIPA has passed, such a great number of the sites you enjoy every day could be removed instantly- blocked from search engines and yanked by their hosts- without due process. Like gossip? Any site that carries any gossip will be a massive target because the powerful people being gossiped about may not like what is being said.

Sites like Reddit? They would be deluged by potential “copyright owners,” or people with an interest in removing content from the web for any reason. Facebook is a “haven” for sharing potentially copyrighted material, and forget uploading a karaoke clip to YouTube. You’d be a felon. And us? We would almost certainly fall prey to an errant copyright claim or other spurious allegation rapidly because there is no disincentive for anyone who disagrees with something we might say. For the Inquisitr and similar sites, simply a mix of content from various sources makes us a massive target.

Look, no one likes the idea of movie-makers out of work or artists deprived of revenue by counterfeited SpongeBob books or figurines. But SOPA and PIPA are not the answer. It’s like burning a city down because a suspected criminal is hiding in a house somewhere in that city. It kills opportunities for many in the pursuit of protecting profits for the few.

If you love the internet- not just the Inquisitr- and you want to protect it, today is the best time to contact your local lawmaker and vociferously oppose SOPA and PIPA. We deserve better, and if these dangerous bills ever pass, how will we even organize to fight them?

If you wish to contact your representative to voice your dissent, go over to Wikipedia. The current site has a one-step way to get all the information you need to make a quick phone call and add to the growing cry to save the internet. Step up before it’s too late!

What SOPA and PIPA Would Do to The Inquisitr is a post from: The Inquisitr

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales took some time out of his busy schedule on Tuesday to talk with CNN’s Erin Burnett about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) both of which threaten a great deal of harm to various internet properties and personal rights regarding censorship and first amendment protections.

In his interview he talks about the burdens placed on community sites such as Wikipedia which would be required under the law to police their communities with absolute authority at every turn.

Burnett asks Jimmy Wales about Pirate Bay, asking if he supports sites setup for piracy.

“For me I think that site is a problem and I think the right way to fix it is to not place censorship on the internet, not to force Google to stop listing them, not to force Wikipedia to stop talking about them, the right answer is too follow the money, if you got large scale piracy going on it’s a trade issue and I think that’s the right approach.”

When asked how the bill would affect Wikipedia he states:

“In the worst versions of the bill Wikipedia would be considered a search engine and we would not be able to even link to something like the Pirate Bay even in our encyclopedic description of what Pirate Bay is. I think that’s a real problem, that raises really serious first amendment issues.

Here’s the full video of the conversation:

Wales’ interview comes at the same time that Wikipedia has went dark for 24-hours in protest of the internet crippling acts.

Do you side with Jimmy Wales and Wikipedia or do you think Congress needs to pass the SOPA and PIPA bills?

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Talks To CNN About SOPA and PIPA Faults [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Google has went dark in protest of SOPA and PIPA, two internet bills that threaten to slow the U.S. Economy and destroy the very foundations the internet was built on. No the company has not suspended searches  but rather they have placed a black censor bar over the search engines Logo at Google.com.

Users who click on the logo are then taken to a page where more information about the threats caused by SOPA and PIPA can be found along with an online petition that demands the immediately removal of both acts from the floors of Congress.

On the website Google states:

Two bills before Congress, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House, would censor the Web and impose harmful regulations on American business. Millions of Internet users and entrepreneurs already oppose SOPA and PIPA.

The Senate will begin voting on January 24th. Please let them know how you feel. Sign this petition urging Congress to vote NO on PIPA and SOPA before it is too late.

Joining Google in the fight against SOPA and PIPA are various websites including social community Reddit and knowledge website Wikipedia, both of which receive billions of monthly pageviews.

Have you signed the petition to end SOPA and PIPA talks? Why or why not?

Google Protests SOPA And PIPA By Censoring Logo, Offering Information And A Petition is a post from: The Inquisitr

As promised Wikipedia has went dark. The world’s largest repository of knowledge announced at the start of this week that they would protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) by turning off access to their English based websites for a 24 hour period.

Users to the site are now greeted with the following message:

Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge

Wikipedia Has Gone Dark In Protest Of SOPA/PIPA Acts is a post from: The Inquisitr

News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch may have just recently joined Twitter but his attacks against the British and now President Obama and Google have quickly become top trending topics on the social network.

Murdoch might be the only media based CEO is the world who doesn’t realize that internet users are turning away from companies that back the “Stop Online Piracy Act” known as SOPA. In his first Tweet he stated:

“So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy, plain thievery,”

He then called Google a “piracy leader” since the site’s search engine can lead users to illegal downloading. In his Google attack Murdoch wrote:

“Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying.”

In response to the Tweet a Google spokesperson lashed back at the ridiculousness of Murdoch’s tweet:

“This is just nonsense,” said a Google spokesperson. “Like many other tech companies, we believe that there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking US companies to censor the Internet.”

For those not familiar with SOPA the bill would allow sites to be shut down completely if a copyright owner makes even simple complaints against any part of a websites content. Websites including Wikipedia, Craigslist and others have claimed that had SOPA existed when they were first founded they wouldn’t exist today.

It should be noted that Fox News receives millions of visitors from Google’s search engine and Google News platform.

Do you think Rupert Murdoch simply wants SOPA to be passed so his News Corp. can gain more control in the online space?

Rupert Murdoch Attacks Obama And Google In Weekend Twitter Attacks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Most people were shocked when they saw the video of United States marines urinated on a group of dead Taliban soldiers. White House Spokesman Jay Carney said that the actions were “regrettable.” Defense Secretary Leon Panneta called the video “deplorable.” CNN contribute Dana Loesch stood up and applauded.

Loesch said:

“Come on people, this is a war. Do I have a problem with that as a citizen of the United States? No, I don’t… Can someone explain to me if there’s supposed to be a scandal that someone pees on the corpse of a Taliban fighter? Someone who, as part of an organization, murdered over 3,000 Americans? I’d drop trou and do it, too. That’s me, though. I want a million cool points for these guys.”

Loesch made the comments on her St. Louis radio show “The Dana Show.” Here’s the video of Dana Loesch’s comments.

The Huffington Post reports that Loesch is also the editor-in-chief of Big Journalism and is the co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party.

CNN released a statement, saying that Loesch is a commentator and CNN has a wide range of contributors with differing opinions. CNN said:

“CNN contributors are commentators who express a wide range of viewpoints—on and off of CNN—that often provoke strong agreement or disagreement. Their viewpoints are their own.”

The Washington Post praises CNN for their “well phrased corporate statement,” but wonders if Loesch’s willingness to urinate on dead Taliban soldiers is really a “viewpoint…”

Loesch later released a statement on Big Journalism, saying:

“There is a difference in advocating for the Marines to break the law, which I didn’t do, and defending them from overly-dramatic hysteria.”

Do you think Dana Loesch’s comments about dropping trou were made to quiet the media storm surrounding the video?

Dana Loesch Defends Marine Video, Says She’d Urinate on Dead Taliban Soldiers Too is a post from: The Inquisitr

Comcast XFinity TV and Disney-ABC customers will be gaining access to much more content, as the two companies have entered into a very wide-ranging deal.

Notable for being Disney-ABC’s first authentication deal, the agreement covers more than 70 channels under that particular corporate umbrella. It also bears mentioning that at this point, ten years is a very, very long commitment in streaming, at a time when many companies feel that the value of such deals might still be very fluid and subject to large fluctuations.

In addition to local affiliates and some HD versions of many of the channels, the deal will allow customers to view content from ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN 3D, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FullCourt and ESPN3 across several types of devices.

Both sides issued statements trumpeting the massive deal, and Comcast’s president and CEO Neil Smit said:

“We are very pleased to have reached this unprecedented and innovative, long-term agreement with Disney which embraces the future of entertainment and allows Comcast to continue to bring our vision of TV Everywhere to Xfinity customers whether at home or on the go.”

Smit added:

“Comcast was the first video provider to create technology that enabled us to deliver content to customers where and when they want it across any viewing experience.”

Co-chair of Disney, Anne Sweeney, commented:

“This landmark deal is a great example of what can be achieved when programmers and distributors collaborate and innovate together to meet the ever-evolving needs of consumers and enhance the viewing experience.”

Have you been waiting for more Disney-ABC content to be available on your mobile device? Are you a Comcast subscriber with an iPad or other mobile streaming device?

Comcast, Disney Hammer Out Ten-Year Deal For Multi-Platform Viewing is a post from: The Inquisitr

If Hollywood.com estimates are correct Hollywood box office in 2011 declined by 4.5 percent from 2010, raking in $10.1 billion.

While the drop in box office totals could be attributed to a lack of blockbuster movies (Avatar in 2009 for example) it could also be the fault of Hollywood’s advertising practices which push more expensive 3D movies on customers during a cash strapped economy. In some areas cities charge as much to visit a theater in 3D as they charge to buy the same movie on DVD or Blu-ray just several months later.

One of the most likely culprits comes from digital streaming which has eaten up a growing chunk of the interactive video market. Company’s like Netflix charge a smaller price for movie rights which in turn means less revenue for studios.

In the meantime the gaming industry has also shifted more consumer spending its way, for example Modern Warfare 3 earned $400 million in one day while beating Avatar to the $1 billion gross mark by a full 24 hours. While games are more expensive then movies they also have a longer “shelf life” and have therefore become a favorite of many people who want the most bang for the buck.

At this time drawing any conclusive analysis from current numbers would be a guessing game, however with various blockbuster expected movies due out in 2012 including Men In Black 3 (MIB III), The Amazing Spiderman, The Avengers and others we may soon be able to determine if the 2011 downturn was simply a matter of bad movies released in unison.

Have you forgone movies recently because of their high price of admittance?

Hollywood Sees Rare Yearly Box Office Decline As Digital Media and Gaming Soars is a post from: The Inquisitr

There was plenty of news to report in 2011, from the BP Oil Spill to the successful assassination of Osama bin Laden, unfortunately for some news agencies their own gaffes made it hard to remember the news story and easier to remember the mistakes they made in reporting them.

Among one of the most talked about Gaffes was conservative news reporting agency Fox News’ incorrect news ticker following the assassination of Osama bin Laden in which they reported “Obama bin Laden” dead. The agency received a lot of negative publicity from the mistaken which may people believed was intentional after years of Fox News reporters referring to President Obama as “Barack Hussein Obama” in an attempt to attach his middle name to Islamic extremist groups.

Right behind Fox News was NPR’s Twitter account and other agencies who mistakenly reported that Gabrielle Giffords was killed from a gunshot wound to the head. Giffords is currently at home with her astronaut husband Mark E. Kelly and she has since promised a return to politics as her progress continues to improve.

In Ireland the Irish Daily Mail reported that a missing university student had been found dead in a river, it turns out that their report was false and because it undermined search efforts they were banned from the University.

One of the most hateful mistakes, which was intended as a positive sentiment came from Lilith Magazine (An Independent Jewish Women’s Magazine). A writer for the publication meant to write “I wish the world would stop hating Jews” but instead wrote “I wish the world would stop having Jews.” The publication of course apologized right after they wiped the egg from their faces.

In another “oops” moment against President Obama Mark Halperin (A top Editor at Time) was suspended from MSNBC when he outright called President Obama a “dick” during a live airing of “Morning Joe.” Here’s the Halprin video:

In yet another Fox News slipup the network included a picture of Barack Obama above the Mitt Romney name, claiming he had 17.2% of the Iowa GOP Caucus vote for the 2012 primary election. Here’s a shot of that video (I personally like that they then called it “real clear politics”):

Local paper the Greenville News also have an unfortunate mistake when an Associated Press article published in the paper had the word “Fuck” added to the article. It should be noted that the four letter word did not appear in the original article and must have been added by someone at the paper.

In one of the silliest and dirties gaffe’s of 2011 the Willoughby News-Herald sent out a friendly reminder to their readers to prepare for daylight saving time by remember to “turn your cocks back.” As my wife points out they may all live on farms with roosters who need to be quite for an extra hour each day.

In another attack against President Obama Hank Williams Jr. was appearing on the Fox News morning show Fox and Friends when he compared President Obama to Hitler. Williams was reflecting on a golf match between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner when he said, ”It would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.” ESPN suspended the singers popular Monday Night Football song and then dropped Hank Williams Jr. and his song all together.

Finally, Sarah Palin just months before Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head showed a map of Giffords district with a guns crosshairs over Giffords’ congressional district. While some liberal journalists blamed Sarah Palin for the shooting she quickly pointed out that there it was ridiculous and there was absolutely no evidence linking her to the crime,she then called out the media for “blood libel.” Unfortunately Palin didn’t realize that “blood libel” is a common anti-Semitic slur referring to Jews murdering Christians. Palin has never fully recovered from that round of ignorance.

In some cases it’s a simple slip of the tongue, in other instances it’s a frustrated politician, anchor or reporter, whatever the case may be we found media gaffes all over the place in 2011 and if you continue to look around you’ll find dozens, perhaps hundreds of more examples. It’s human to error, some of those errors are just funnier or more shocking than others.

What is your favorite media gaffe of 2011?

Fox News Confuses Osama bin Laden and President Barack Obama, Plus Other News Gaffes Of 2011 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is largely responsible for the company’s loss of more than 800,000 video subscribers and now he’s being slapped on the wrist for his actions with a $1.5 million reduction in his 2012 stock options, exactly 50% of his $3 million allowance for 2011.

Hastings will continue to receive his $500,000 salary which is being paid at a time when the company’s stock has been pulverized after the company decided to raise subscription prices on DVD and video streaming services by 60% while also losing their contract with Starz after the company demanded exceedingly higher costs to do business with rumors of a tiered pricing system for their service.

During 2012 Hasting’s also attempted to spin off Netflix DVD rentals into a business called Qwikster, a decision that was critically panned and quickly abandoned over fear of consumer confusion and abandonment.

Because of his decisions Netflix will record a net loss in 2012, the first time the company has ever recorded a loss in over a decade of doing business.  In 2011 Netflix stock plunged by 75% since mid-July, wiping out $12 billion in shareholder wealth.

Even Hastings was surprised by the company’s turn in fortune, announcing at a shareholder meeting last month that he had suspected the company’s stock would hit $1,000 one day. Netflix stock is now trading at $73.84 (up 4% on Thursday), down from it’s July high of $305.

To his credit Hastings has apologized, taken full responsibility and offered no excuses regarding bad business decisions made by the company throughout 2011.

Not all employees are receiving cuts however, chief content officer Ted Sarandos will see his salary increase from $903,362 to $1 million in 2012 while his stock options will increase from $1.4 million to $1.8 million.

In the meantime while some analysts have suggested that Netflix needs to rescind at least part of their price increases Hastings has so far denied that call to action, instead focusing on new contracts with the likes of Pixar animation and the Discovery Network.

What would Netflix need to do in order to win your business back if you recently left their network over all the fumbles they provided in 2011?

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Slapped On Wrist With $1.5 Million Stock Option Reduction is a post from: The Inquisitr

BUDAPEST, Hungary – The rumored statue of late Apple C.E.O. and famed technological innovator Steve Jobs was unveiled today in a Budapest science park, two months after his death.

Though many memorials have been fashioned and presented in the wake of Jobs’ death on October 5, this is the first statue. The larger-than-life piece stands at two meters, depicting Jobs wearing his trademark jeans and turtleneck, holding onto what appears to be an iPhone, with one hand raised.

Gabor Bojar, the founder of software company GRAPHISOFT is the man (or rather the wallet) behind the six-and-a-half-foot bronze statue sculpted by Hungarian artist Erno Toth. Of the late-great technological monolith, Gabor said:

“He was one of the greatest (personalities) in our era, that’s what we wanted to express with this sculpture here. … In some ways, Apple was a religion. We have felt his spirit every day and now it is embodied. We hope that we can deserve with our entrepreneurial culture in Hungary what this sculpture expresses as a message.”

Doting on Jobs further, Gabor has said that, “Steve Jobs made technology available to the masses first over the desktop, then in our pockets,” and that Jobs “was the creator of technology with a human face.” Gabor also considers Jobs as a “mentor of sorts.”

The science park in which the statue stands is home to several technology companies including Gabor’s GRAPHISOFT which has been supported by Jobs who stumbled across it at a CEBIT international trade fair in Germany in 1984.

I feel mass pilgrimages coming on. Like photographs in the Chicago Bean or ones of tourists straining to hold up the Leaning Tower of Piza, more pictures of people snapping a photo of the statue with their iPhones and iPads are certainly on their way, says I.

What do you think of all this statue business? Is that thing horrifying or inspiring?

First Steve Jobs Statue Unveiled is a post from: The Inquisitr

Only hours after they dropped their false advertising lawsuit against Verizon the team at Cablevision revealed access to HBO Go and MAX Go streaming applications.

Available on Android, iPhone and iPad devices the program allows Cablevision subscribers to watch past episodes from the “best” shows on HBO and Cinemax.

In order to use the new systems users need to download one of the free mobile applications and then authenticate their Optimum account.

With Cablevision joining Time Warner and other cable companies the HBO Go service now allows 98 percent of American cable TV subscribers to watch their favorite HBO shows outside of traditional TV or through pay-per-show digital services such as Amazon and iTunes.

The move also deals another blow to streaming service Netflix who recently lost their contract to Starz, a contract that will expire in February and leave the streaming service with almost no worthwhile new movies until new deals kick in with Pixar and other studios.

Do you plan on taking advantage of either the HBO Go or MAX Go streaming services through your Cablevision account?

Cablevision Adds HBO Go And MAX Go Access is a post from: The Inquisitr

They are boldly predicting that within the next five years, all but four major daily papers will have completely left the printed newspaper market.  That’s right, only four!  Those making the cut are The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.  The Center also found it worthy to point out that two of these dailies already charge for online content, and that would be the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.  USA Today is planning to start charging within the next year.  As of now the Washington Post plans to still keep its online content free.

The issue at hand, is really a wide question.  What will happen if all content is really only available online?

For a lot of us, the idea that the printed newspaper is going the way of the dodo has already been long accepted. The increased online focus of many papers offers real time news and constant breaking updates, but the  lingering questions remain about what the loss of print papers will mean for the news itself.  Will online journalism, if it is the only medium, replace in depth investigative journalism?  For that we have to wait and see.

The Bell Tolls For Newspapers? Think Tank Says The Day Is Almost Here is a post from: The Inquisitr