In your vacuous Tuesday media column: the Juan Williams brigade pipes up, Politico launches a paid news operation, Katie Couric might stay at CBS, and Rupert Murdoch's war against Hollywood PR firms.

  • How bad was the public outcry against NPR over Juan Williams' firing? Philadelphia's NPR affiliate reports getting calls from people "saying they would no longer watch NPR." So, not really too bad, all things considered.
  • Internet-based source of minutiae and tomfoolery THE POLITICO is starting a paid online news service, which, for $1,500-$2,500 per year will "provide coverage at the microlevel of what Congress, federal agencies and trade associations are doing." What you've been getting up to this point is just dog shit.
  • After months and months and, actually, years of idle speculation from "media observers" over where Katie Couric's gonna go when her bloated CBS contract expires this year, now Howard Kurtz is reporting that she may be staying on, at least through the end of the 2012 elections. Well, big whoop. She can leave after that, because her stint as a news anchor has been a failure, no disrespect intended, just saying, it's the truth. "Me interviewing a hip-hop rap star may not be that predictable," Katie says. Yea.
  • News Corp has a nifty idea we kind of like: it's urging its various media properties to "deny coverage of movies starring artists who routinely refuse to give interviews to its outlets." Rupert Murdoch will show you god damn Hollywood PR agencies who's boss! Your star won't play media whore? No Fox coverage for you! It raises the interesting question of whether Hollywood PR bosses are more objectionable than News Corp itself. We don't know.

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