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Jack Mirkinson
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Jack Mirkinson is the Media Editor and The Newsroom recap specialist of The Huffington Post.

Blog Entries by Jack Mirkinson

Jay Carney: 'For Me Personally, It Has Been A Good Week'

(867) Comments | Posted May 17, 2013 | 12:44 PM

White House spokesman Jay Carney insisted on Friday that, despite all appearances, he's had fun these past few days.

"For me personally, it has been a good week," Carney told the New York Times.

It may have been hard to spot Carney "enjoying the hot seat," as the...

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Bob Woodward: Obama Scandals Are Not Watergate, But Benghazi Kind Of Is (VIDEO)

(3131) Comments | Posted May 17, 2013 | 8:41 AM

The Washington Post's Bob Woodward had a somewhat contradictory set of responses on Friday's "Morning Joe" about whether or not President Obama is the new Richard Nixon.

The Obama-Nixon comparisons have been extensive enough that Obama himself was asked about them on Thursday. (He said they were

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Jake Tapper: Obama Is 'Squashing Freedom Of The Press' (VIDEO)

(3708) Comments | Posted May 16, 2013 | 2:04 PM

CNN's Jake Tapper took aim at President Obama's policies towards the media on Thursday.

Obama addressed the scandal surrounding the Justice Department's secret probe into the Associated Press during his press conference with the prime minister of Turkey. Journalists and press watchdogs have been

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AP Scoop That Prompted DOJ Probe Only Ran After CIA Signed Off

(178) Comments | Posted May 16, 2013 | 8:29 AM

Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday that the leak that precipitated the Justice Department's secret probe of the Associated Press had "put the American people at risk."

However, a piece in Thursday's Washington Post questioned that narrative at some length. The Post's Carol D. Leonnig...

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White House's Revival Of Shield Bill Met With Skepticism

(46) Comments | Posted May 15, 2013 | 4:44 PM

Journalists reacted with some skepticism to the White House's announcement on Wednesday that it was seeking to enact a new federal shield law to boost the legal protections for reporters.

The move came at a time when the Obama administration is facing unrelenting criticism from the...

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Eric Holder On AP Probe: 'I Don't Know,' 'I Was Not The Person Involved'

(375) Comments | Posted May 15, 2013 | 12:54 PM

Eric Holder had one answer and one answer only on Wednesday when it came to the Justice Department's investigation into the Associated Press: I don't know.

The Attorney General recused himself from the leak investigation that wound up targeting the AP, so he had a handy...

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DOJ's AP Probe Helps Fuel Obama-Nixon Comparisons

(3211) Comments | Posted May 15, 2013 | 8:49 AM

On Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney batted away the notion that the Obama administration is behaving like Richard Nixon's.

"People who make those kinds of comparisons need to check their history," Carney said.

Try as he might, though, Carney has not been able to tamp...

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AP To DOJ: Explanation For Secret Probe 'Does Not Adequately Address Our Concerns'

(1141) Comments | Posted May 14, 2013 | 5:37 PM

The Associated Press issued a sharp rebuke on Tuesday to the Justice Department's contention that it was careful and measured in its secret probe of the news agency.

Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole, the man who oversaw the investigation into the AP, told the wire service in...

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Condemnation Of DOJ's AP Probe Continues; Carl Bernstein Calls It 'Inexcusable' (VIDEO)

(5238) Comments | Posted May 14, 2013 | 6:53 AM

The Obama administration woke up on Tuesday to another morning of scorching criticism about the Justice Department's decision to secretly obtain months of Associated Press phone records.

The DOJ tracked the incoming and outgoing calls on more than 20 AP phone lines, as well as the home, office...

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Journalists Outraged At DOJ's Secret AP Probe: 'Shocking,' 'Disturbing'

(983) Comments | Posted May 13, 2013 | 5:34 PM

Journalists reacted with shock and outrage at the news that the Justice Department had secretly obtained months of phone records of Associated Press journalists.

The AP broke the news on Monday about what it called an "unprecedented intrusion" into its operation. It said that the DOJ had obtained...

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Cable News Is Just As White And Male As The Rest Of The Media

(393) Comments | Posted May 13, 2013 | 3:09 PM

Why are we not surprised?

On Monday, Media Matters released a study which showed that, just like Sunday talk shows, and newspapers, and basically all of the journalism industry, primetime cable news shows are heavily weighted towards white men.

The liberal group...

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Barbara Walters Announces Retirement: 'This Is What I Want To Do' (VIDEO)

(243) Comments | Posted May 13, 2013 | 10:58 AM

Barbara Walters officially announced her upcoming retirement on Monday's edition of "The View."

Walters said on Sunday that she would be leaving television next year, but the first time people actually saw the word "retire" escape her lips was on Monday's show. After a video package that recapped...

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Barbara Walters Retiring: TV Legend Confirms She Will Step Down In 2014

(1653) Comments | Posted May 12, 2013 | 10:13 PM

Barbara Walters confirmed late Sunday night that she will retire next year.

ABC News said that the legendary journalist and co-host of "The View" will step down "next summer." She will formally announce her decision on Monday's "View." In the intervening year, ABC said she would continue to...

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Brian Williams On 'Rock Center' Cancellation: 'I'm So Proud Of The Work We Did'

(1772) Comments | Posted May 11, 2013 | 9:50 AM

Brian Williams lamented the demise of "Rock Center" on Friday.

The newsmagazine was canceled by NBC after a year of low ratings and constant timeslot changes. The move is a real blow for NBC News, robbing it of a precious hour of primetime, longform broadcast journalism. There is...

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White House Holds Secret Benghazi Briefing, Incensing Some Reporters

(5207) Comments | Posted May 10, 2013 | 3:20 PM

The White House found itself with another press corps controversy on its hands on Friday, after it emerged that it held a secret briefing about the Benghazi attacks with a select group of White House reporters.

Spokesperson Jay Carney was initially supposed to hold a briefing at 12:30 PM on...

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Megyn Kelly Says Media Issued 'Collective Yawn' On Benghazi, Even Though It Was Covered Extensively

(9110) Comments | Posted May 10, 2013 | 7:31 AM

Megyn Kelly claimed on Thursday that the mainstream media issued a "collective yawn" about the Congressional hearings — a contention that drew scrutiny from some media-watchers.

Kelly quoted headlines from outlets like the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and The Huffington Post which she felt underplayed the...

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Nancy Grace Delivers Reliably Bonkers Coverage Of Jodi Arias Trial

(293) Comments | Posted May 8, 2013 | 4:55 PM

With the Jodi Arias trial reaching its climactic moment on Wednesday, the eyes of the nation turned, as they always do, to Nancy Grace.

The HLN anchor has always been controversial for her deeply emotional, over-the-top style, but she is never less than compulsively watchable. As the verdict...

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Cumulus: Nearly All Top Advertisers Have 'Exclude Rush Limbaugh' Orders

(4023) Comments | Posted May 8, 2013 | 10:05 AM

The battle between Rush Limbaugh and the Cumulus radio network continued on Wednesday.

The two camps have been trading accusations for days, ever since anonymous Limbaugh backers told the New York Daily News that the host was thinking of abandoning the network due to CEO Lew Dickey's repeated...

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Oprah In 'The Butler': She Kisses! She Slaps! She Wears Period Clothes! (VIDEO)

(0) Comments | Posted May 8, 2013 | 8:15 AM

So there's this big new movie with Forest Whitaker about a White House butler and sweeping historical change and violins and blah blah blah and -- let's cut to the chase. Oprah's returning to the big screen.

The first trailer for Lee Daniels' "The Butler" was released on...

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Oprah In 'The Butler': She Kisses! She Slaps! She Wears Period Clothes! (VIDEO)

(106) Comments | Posted May 8, 2013 | 8:15 AM

So there's this big new movie with Forest Whitaker about a White House butler and sweeping historical change and violins and blah blah blah and — let's cut to the chase. Oprah's returning to the big screen.

The first trailer for Lee Daniels' "The Butler" was released on...

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