'Dancing with the Stars': Gladys Knight reacts to
elimination

post from Matt Carter's feed on 25 April 2012 09:55:49 AM. © Matt Carter's feed

Despite it being Motown Week and a time when many predicted she would thrive, Gladys Knight ended up being the contestant to leave on "Dancing with the Stars" Monday. However, she chose to be rather positive and upbeat...

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imination

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Dan Renzi: The 8 Nastiest Reality TV Villains

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 25 April 2012 09:53:19 AM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

The end justifies the means, said philosopher Machiavelli in his composition The Prince, suggesting that morals have no value in the quest for victory. While this may have worked for 16th-century authoritarian rulers who were aided by a certain level of secrecy, these tactics have a way of coming back to haunt people who have TV cameras filming their every move.

Welcome to the era of Machiavelli 2.0, when entering a TV competition program gives contestants the excuse to be as despicable as they like, because the public will witness the horrors that unfold and understand that it was all just part of "the game." Covert tactics are expected on shows like Survivor and Big Brother, where backstabbing and deception are necessary steps in manipulating the competition, and some of the sneakiest players have been the best (Russell Franz from Survivor could teach officials at the Pentagon how to deploy psychological warfare against the enemy). Then there have been contestants who seemed to spend less time playing the game and more time turning on each other, perhaps in desperate attempts to thin out the competition, or just for the thrill of the kill.

Here are the best of the worst, the most dangerous of villains, the nastiest players whose tactics would make even Machiavelli himself blush.

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'Dancing With The Stars': Motown Diva Gladys
Knight Makes Her Exit

post from Starpulse Entertainment News - TV News on 25 April 2012 09:48:29 AM. © Starpulse Entertainment News - TV News

Motown week continued last night, and what another amazing evening. The night included a very powerful and inspiring AT&T spotlight performance by a young ballerina from Sierra Leone who beat the o...

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Buzzing About COUGAR TOWN

post from the TV addict on 25 April 2012 09:47:51 AM. © the TV addict

Miss last night?s episode? Here?s what you need to know about COUGAR TOWN’s “Money[...]

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Daniel Souweine: The Discovery Channel's Shameful
Self-Censorship

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 25 April 2012 09:46:33 AM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

Last Sunday (Earth Day, no less), the Discovery Channel aired the final episode of its Frozen Planet series. Titled "On Thin Ice," the episode captures the staggering changes in our polar regions being wrought by global warming -- shrinking glaciers, rising seas, and disappearing habitats. But there was one thing missing: in 45 minutes, not a word was uttered about why all that Arctic ice is melting. In an impressive feat of journalistic malpractice, Discovery completely avoided the fact that the burning of fossil fuels causes climate change, and thanks to a New York Times article, now we know why. Discovery has admitted to censoring itself because it wanted to avoid criticism from climate change deniers. This was a shameful decision, which is why thousands of people have joined Forecast the Facts in demanding an immediate apology and an explicit commitment from Discovery to make sure it never happens again.

For those keeping score at home, this is the second instance of self-censorship for Discovery's climate change compendium. Discovery was not even planning to run the "On Thin Ice" episode in the United States at all (it was broadcast in Europe), but the channel reversed course after activists cried foul. This looked like a victory for accurate reporting of climate change, until it became clear that the episode doesn't, you know, explain why the climate is changing.

So what's the big deal? In some ways, the content of "On Thin Ice" requires no additional context: the glaciers are receding, the animals are suffering, and the lives of people in the polar regions are dramatically changing. Surely any sensible person would look at these images and realize -- this is global warming, pure and simple. But of course we know that the climate conversation in the United States is anything but sensible, and in that light the omissions are glaring. An uninformed viewer would have walked away from the program without even a hint as to what was actually going on.

But the issue here goes way beyond the content that was omitted. The bigger problem by far is the rationale that Discovery offered. According to series producer Vanessa Berlowitz, talking about climate change "would have undermined the strength of an objective documentary." She added that, "we didn't want people saying 'Don't watch this show because it has a slant on climate change.'" Yes, you read that correctly. She said that mentioning climate science would make the piece less objective, and that she was worried that Discovery would be accused of having a "slant" on something that every major scientific association in the entire world has already agreed on.

Putting aside what a sad statement this is for Discovery's journalistic standards, what's really dangerous is the message its decision sends to media outlets everywhere, which translates as: "it's better to censor yourself than risk upsetting conspiracy theorists and propagandists who deny climate science."

Of course, for climate change deniers, this is what victory looks like. As Yale Project on Climate Change Communication director Anthony Leiserowitz explained to the NYT, Discovery is saying that they are "more afraid of being criticized by climate change 'dismissives' than they are willing to provide information about climate change to the large majority of Americans who want to know more about it." Conservative blog RedState put a more gleeful spin on the same conclusion, writing, "Happy Earth Day 2012, everyone! One day we may look back on this as the time when the tide began to recede -- that being the tide of Anthropogenic Global Warming hysteria..." It's a good bet that if you make the folks at RedState chortle with glee, you have done something terribly wrong.

The Discovery Channel's parent company -- Discovery Communications -- lauds itself as the "world's No. 1 nonfiction media company," and regularly trumpets its commitment to "educating" viewers. Running a documentary about climate change impacts and avoiding any discussion of fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses falls far short of their stated ideals. Which is why, if Discovery wants to maintain its credibility, it needs to immediately recognize its mistake and take steps to make sure it never happens again.

Perhaps the saddest thing in this whole affair is the high-minded rhetoric of the Frozen Planet producers, who said they "felt a sort of moral imperative to go and document the polar regions before they change forever." I have no doubt that their impetus was heartfelt. And I believe they convinced themselves that avoiding any mention of global warming's causes would make a bigger difference in the world, allowing them to "educate mass audiences and get children involved." Unfortunately, they were earth-shatteringly wrong in that calculation. As long as climate change is treated as an unutterable "scientific controversy," our society will be incapable of facing up to the problem and figuring out how to solve it. So the main effect of their self-censorship is to reaffirm the idea that the science of climate change is somehow in doubt.

I also believe, though, that the Discovery Channel will listen to the concerns of thousands of viewers, recognize its error in judgment, and take steps to avoid such missteps in the future. If nothing else, doing so would give the channel a much greater chance of seeing ice in the Arctic whenever they return.

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NBC's 'The Voice': Cee Lo Green shares advice for
James Massone, Chessa

post from Matt Carter's feed on 25 April 2012 09:37:00 AM. © Matt Carter's feed

On this week's double-header of "The Voice," Cee Lo Green ended up having to say goodbye to two of his most-valued team members in James Massone and Chessa. So what sort of advice is...

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mes-massone-chessa

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Another Unhappy Camper On The Voice - 'Livid'

post from TV on HuffingtonPost.com on 25 April 2012 09:29:56 AM. © TV on HuffingtonPost.com

The Voice singer Vince Freeman has said he is "livid" about losing out to aristocrat Bo Bruce on the BBC One show after he was told to "rein in" his performance.

Coach Danny O'Donoghue decided not to take the singing hopeful to the live shows, after viewers watched him tell Vince to tone down his vocals.

Vince, who performs barefoot, told the Gloucestershire Echo: "I am livid about it.

"I was put in a difficult situation - I could go against my mentor, knowing that I would not go through, or I could do as I was told knowing I was having my hands tied behind my back.

"I don't have a problem with Bo but I'm not happy about how the situation was manoeuvred."

Despite failing to make it, the singer said that he has no regrets about taking part in the show.

"For me, The Voice has been a fantastic experience for getting my name out there," he added.

MORE: All The Latest News From The Voice
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The Voice Bingo! Play Along At Home - Every Time You Hear Smash It, A Sip Of Ribena...

His comments come after another of the show's rejects J Marie Cooper blasted the programme, claiming she was kicked off because of her age.

"The fact that I am 27 should not have even been a factor. It's called 'The Voice' not 'The Age'. I'm stating facts here," she said.

Here are all The Voice's surviving contestants - along with the ones kicked to the kerb (a bit paler)...

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_n_1451858.html

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'Gossip Girl' exec Josh Safran joins NBC's
'Smash' as showrunner

The search for a showrunner for season 2 of "Smash" has come to a rather abrupt end. After a search that took several weeks following the announcement that Theresa Rebeck was stepping down, sources have confirmed that &quot...

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Obama: Jon Stewart Is 'Brilliant'

President Obama revealed some details of his media diet in an interview with Rolling Stone.

Speaking to editor Jann Wenner, Obama shared that he doesn't watch cable but watches "The Daily Show" occasion. "I like 'The Daily Show,' so sometimes if I'm home late at night, I'll catch snippets of that," he said. "I think Jon Stewart's brilliant. It's amazing to me the degree to which he's able to cut through a bunch of the nonsense â€

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'Real Housewives of New Jersey': Dina Manza,
Teresa Giudice spread the love

Despite the fact that Dina Manzo is Caroline's little sister, she is not necessarily going to be taking her side on "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" this season. Despite leaving the show during season 2...

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http://www.examiner.com/article/real-housewives-of-new-jersey-dina-manza-teresa-g
iudice-spread-the-love