| | | | MEDIA WINNER:
Kimberly Godwin Kimberly Godwin is the executive vice president of news at CBS News -- already a noteworthy accomplishment for any journalist -- but the buzz at the metaphorical water cooler is that she's on the verge of a major promotion.
ABC News President James Goldston announced back in January that he would be stepping down at the end of March, and Godwin is reportedly set to take his place. Goldston spent 17 years at ABC and seven as president.
According to a report by NBC's Dylan Byers, Godwin is in the "final stages of negotiations" with ABC parent company Disney for the job. She would be the first Black woman to lead an American broadcast news division.
Godwin's work has been recognized with numerous journalism awards, including six Emmys, two Edward R. Murrow awards, an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia award, and a Sigma Delta Chi award.
She graduated from Florida A&M University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, later returning to her alma mater to serve as an adjunct faculty member and the interim director of journalism for the college. After a 20 year career at top local stations around the U.S., Godwin joined CBS in 2007 and played a lead role in relaunching CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell.
The promotion for Godwin to take the wheel at ABC is well-deserved. |
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| | MEDIA LOSER:
Michael Savage Presidents and governors get to make a lot of honorary appointments that are generally intended to be, well, an honor for the appointee, who helps the cause by bringing their skills and name recognition to the organization. One of former President Donald Trump's appointments, however, seems to have brought chaos and controversy to the board of a federal park and museum.
Conservative radio host Michael Savage was appointed by Trump to the the board of directors of San Francisco’s Presidio Trust, a federal corporation that controls the roughly 1,200-acre urban park at the base of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, which also includes historic sites and the Presidio’s museum, known as the Heritage Gallery.
The museum has an exhibition titled “The Presidio’s Role in World War II Japanese American Incarceration,” which is dedicated to remembering the “dark chapter in American history” and the specific role Presidio played in that history.
According to new reporting, there were multiple vitriolic emails from Savage arguing that while it was "regrettable that the Japanese were interned," but "the reason is more nuanced than the ‘racist’ one they will give you," complaining that the internment was FDR's fault and he was a "far left liberal," and refusing to comply with a financial disclosure form.
Whine elsewhere, Mr. Savage. No one forced you to take the appointment. |
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| | Gaetzgate gets weirder and wilder Not too long ago in one of those "be careful what you wish for" moments, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) jokingly tweeted that if he ever got a noteworthy scandal of his own, he hoped it would be named "Gaetzgate." The firebrand Republican from the Florida Panhandle has seen his name in headlines enough these past few weeks to last a lifetime for most people, and it's showing no signs of slowing.
Gaetz's pal, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg, is facing a 33-counts-and-counting federal indictment that keeps growing as the feds dig up more info about various alleged schemes to harass a political opponent, misappropriate government funds, and sex trafficking of underage girls. Many of those federal charges are stackable -- meaning if convicted, the sentences are all added up to be served one at a time, not concurrently, and Greenberg can apparently do math and is working out a plea deal with prosecutors.
That's viewed by many observers as really bad news for Gaetz, especially after reporters digging into their social media accounts found the literal receipts potentially implicating Gaetz -- Venmo, ApplePay, and CashApp records showing payments allegedly to various women for sex. At least one of the women was confirmed to be 18 at the time, making whatever happened most likely legal, but it's still not a great look.
Several women in Gaetz's congressional office wrote a letter to defend him, but none of them felt strongly enough about it to actually sign their names. And a second top staffer resigned this week.
The calls for Gaetz himself to resign are starting, including the first from a fellow Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) told MSNBC's Chris Hayes she felt "betrayed" by Gaetz's actions, and slammed the "double standards" judging their scandals.
Late night host Stephen Colbert ripped the congressman for several minutes on his show last night, mocking the ballooning scandal as "almost too Florida," and a liberal PAC put up a billboard that said "Matt Gaetz Wants to Date Your Child."
All press is good press? We're not so sure if that's still true for Matt Gaetz.
In Other News... • 'Tucker Must Go': Anti-Defamation League Chief Slams Tucker Carlson For Embracing 'Antisemitic, Racist' Replacement Theory • Fox News, Hunter Biden, and an Alleged Sex Tape: Here’s Why 'Squirtle' Trended on Twitter Under ‘Politics’ • Pulmonary Expert Delivers Detailed Testimony at Chauvin Trial: 'Mr. Floyd Died From a Low Level of Oxygen' • Manchin Says 'January 6 Changed Me' as He Defends Bipartisanship Push: We Need to 'Hit the Pause Button'
• JUST IN: Britain's Prince Philip Has Died at Age 99 6.5.0 |
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| "Be free. Be cool. Get the vaccine." Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) is not afraid to put himself out there. He is well known in political media circles for his homespun folksiness and sometimes mean assessments of his political rivals, which can cause embarrassment for anyone nostalgic for a more civil political discourse.
But in this instance, Kennedy is using his powers to embarrass himself to good use, as he sang the ’70s theme song to Born Free in a humorous video meant to gain attention for his pro-Covid vaccine message that follows.
Recent polling has shown dangerous levels of reticence to get the Covid-19 vaccine, particularly among Republican men. So if Kennedy’s self-effacing crooning can get the attention of a few of his constituents to get vaccinated? Two thumbs up!
Watch and sing along here. |
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