Can PBS Provide "Reality Check" on "Selma"?

Greg Anthony Called Too Much of a Liability After Arrest

"Around dinner time on Friday night, the upper management for CBS Sports and Turner Sports learned that basketball broadcaster Greg Anthonyhad been arrested inside a room at a hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., as part of an undercover operation targeting prostitution,"Richard Deitsch reported Monday for Sports Illustrated.

"Obviously, it was shocking news for both networks. According to the Washington Post, Anthony will be arraigned in court for the misdemeanor charge Feb. 3 and the maximum penalty, if convicted, is 180 days in jail. Working quickly and in conjunction with each another, executives at both places agreed on what they had to do heading forward. The following morning, Anthony was suspended indefinitely from his college basketball and NBA analyst jobs. . . ."

Deitsch also wrote, "There are some who would argue the punishment is too harsh and perhaps it is. But Anthony forced the hand of his bosses and CBS and Turner Sports brass could not afford to have him as part of its college coverage during the NCAA tournament. In addition to calling games, CBS Sports and Turner Sports announcers perform high-profile public appearances at these events. Having Anthony there with solicitation charges over him is a PR headache few networks are going to endure.

"There's also the advertiser element. Some brands would be very uncomfortable with Anthony calling games in the near-term. There was very little debate between the top executives at both networks regarding the decision: Anthony is a talented broadcaster and well-liked at both places but he is not indispensable. . . ."

Fox News Apologizes for False Reports on Muslims

"Fox News took time out of four broadcasts on Saturday to apologize for four separate instances of incorrect information that portrayed Muslims in a negative light,"Brian Stelter reported Sunday for CNN.

"Several of the cases involved incendiary comments about 'no-go zones' in Europe, where Islamic law supposedly supersedes local law and where non-Muslims fear to go. Other media outlets have accused Fox of exaggerations and falsehoods, and even British Prime Minister David Cameron mocked one of the assertions. On Saturday, Fox apologized morning, noon and night.

"Jeanine Pirro issued the final correction of the day, at 9:10 p.m., for something her guest Steve Emerson said a week earlier: that Birmingham, England is a 'totally Muslim city where non-Muslims don't go in.' Emerson was ridiculed for his comments, and he subsequently apologized. . . ."

• Wayne Bennett, the Field Negro: FOX NEWS is a "no-go zone".
  
  
• Editorial, New York Times: An Inclusive French Republic
  
  
• Thomas Grove, Reuters: Thousands Rally Against Charlie Hebdo Cartoons In Russia's Chechnya Region
  
  
• Phillip Morris, Plain Dealer, Cleveland: Killing in the name of God and religion must stop
  
  
• Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald: Religion not exempt from free speech
  
  
• Sara Smyth, Daily Mail: Murders and rapes going unreported in no-go zones for police as minority communities launch own justice systems 
  
  
• Poh Si Teng and Ben Laffin, "Lens" blog, New York Times:The Jihadist in Our Family (video)
  
  
• Matt Wilstein, Mediaite: CNN Reporter Confronts Jindal for 'Exaggerating' Muslim 'No-Go Zones' 
  
  
• DeWayne Wickham, USA Today: 'Charlie Hebdo' crosses the line

It's "Safe to Say" NBC Is Through With Cosby

"The Bill Cosby chapter appears to be officially over at NBC,"Cherie Saunders reported Friday for EURweb.com.

"NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt delivered the final nail in the coffin Friday morning at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour. Asked if it's safe to say that NBC will never do another project with Bill Cosby, he answered, 'Yes, that’s safe to say.' 

"NBC had been developing a multi-generational family sitcom with Cosby at the center, but the project was pulled after multiple women came forward with sexual assault allegations against the actor. Netflix also pulled its planned Cosby standup special and TV Land stopped airing reruns of 'The Cosby Show.'

"The good news is — if there is any good news — unlike Netflix which had a special to run, or the 'Cosby' episodes that were running on a network, we were developing a script that we never even got a first draft of. So it wasn't something that was imminently going forward or even into production. I guess I can only say that I'm glad that we’re out from under that. . . . ."

• Serge F. Kovaleski and Colin Moynihan, New York Times: Well Before Scandals, Cosby’s Wife Faulted Media Treatment of Blacks (Jan. 20)