The Sarah Palin fashion row

Okay, so the Republican National Committee has spent around $150,000 on a new wardrobe for Sarah Palin. And she claims that the row concerning this is sexist, saying that men in her position don't face such scrutiny.

Okay, I'll grant her that. Joe Biden certainly hasn't had that kind of scrutiny, but in all honesty this row isn't about her as a woman, it's about the Republican Party spending serious money on her outfits, the kind of money that some of us can only earn in the space of 10 years or more.

Add to that that most of us in the western world are experiencing a recession and a credit crunch, and the fact that it goes against campaign finance law, and you have all the REAL reasons why this is a story.

I wish I had $150,000 to spend, never mind the ability to spend it on clothes. Mind you, I probably wouldn't spend that much on clothes anyway. I'm just too cash-conscious.

Glenn Beck leaves Headline Prime for Fox News sub prime!

Am I the only one here who thinks that Glenn Beck is making a big mistake?

I can honestly say I dislike the guy's views on a lot of things, but I got a gut feeling in the pit of my stomach that says Glenn Beck just made the biggest mistake in his media career.

Basically,the story is that Glenn Beck is leaving his show on Headline News and going to a new show on Fox News. This story has been reported by my usual sources for US media news, ICN and TV Newser.

But here's the part I don't get.

Glenn Beck has a quite successful show on Headline Prime at 7pm ET and 9pm ET. He stands out amongst the other shows and whilst I often find myself disagreeing with him on a lot of things, he does appear as a stand-out amongst the rest of the Headline Prime output.

Now, put him in the 5pm ET slot that we understand he is to fill at Fox News.

First of all, it's not even a prime time slot, as referenced by the ratings that TV Newser reports. You might call it a sub-prime slot, just like the slots on either side.

Second, you look at the class of anchors and presenters that are going to be all around him. He said it himself...

..."I am thrilled and profoundly humbled to have the chance to bring my program to FOX News. Expanding my audience is exciting, but I'm really looking forward to joining Mr. Ailes and his world-class team."...

It is a world class team, with tons of experience.

Neil Cavuto, Shepherd Smith, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes, Greta Van Susteren. None of these people are broadcast novices. All have years and years of experience not just in broadcasting, but specifically in TV. By contrast, Glenn's TV experience dates back to 2006. And he's not the best host you'll ever watch. Then again in my book, neither is Bill O'Reilly, but the difference there is O'Reilly has worked in the industry for a long time, and has perfected his on-air persona, to such a degree that I have to respect the work that has got him there, even if his views are sometimes if not mostly wrong.

Glenn Beck is going to look like a rank amateur amongst these pros. He's leaving a slot that has seen over 200% growth in his time there, and prime time slots yet, to go to a sub-prime slot where he's gonna look like a rank amateur. His show is going to look like what it is, a bad copy of the work that Bill O'Reilly has done over 12 years.

Professionally, I wish him well in his future endeavours, but I can't help but wonder whether this move to Fox News will end up being a career killer for him, at least when it comes to TV.

Britney has a new video... and she's naked... again!

Well, she has been true to form.

In a previous post, I pointed out that the Daily Star's definition of "new look" was off by quite some margin, and lo and behold, the video for Womanizer has been posted on her official website, and several NBC affiliates, including WNBC New York, have picked up on the fact she is naked throughout most of the video.

Big deal! She was naked before in Everytime, though not for the whole video. This is just Britney following the same path she was before her "meltdown". And whilst the video might appeal on certain levels, the track is quite honestly one of the most awful tracks she has ever done, and she has done some real turkeys before, such as I'm a slave 4 U.

This might be a return to form on some levels, but not on the important one. She needs better tracks than this one before we can really say she's back on form, not just true to form.

If you want to see it, the video is here, as for some daft reason they don't want it embedded. I wonder why...

New Britney Spears photos... back from the brink?

There has been much talk in the tabloids and the entertainment press about Britney Spears since her "meltdown". Much of the talk is just that. Talk. Rumour and suspicion, rather than fact and truth. But now, we have some pictures of Britney, courtesy of The Daily Star, in which they describe her "...horny new look."

Oh please! It's the same as her previous one.

She's wearing PVC clothes, which she did back in Oops! I Did It Again. She's wearing different wigs and outfits, which she did in Toxic, and she's playing a dominant character, as she's done in a lot of her videos.

"...horny new look"? More like business as usual.