In the early hours of yesterday Fox’s Twitter feed on Politics reported that President Obama was assassinated in a New York Restaurant and died 45-minutes later in a nearby ER.

Joe Biden was then sworn in as his replacement while the killer was hunted by Secret Service agents.

And this news remained on their feed for almost six hours.

To say most Fox reporters couldn’t locate Roger Ayles’ butt with both hands and GPS would be almost understatement, but this is Olympian stupidity beyond even them.

One can only wonder what might be next…

One of the best, most widely loved [and one of very few actually memorable] movies in modern Hollywood history is getting a sequel. Oliver Stone’s glorious 1987 hymn of praise to the joys and pains of unquenchable avarice, “Wall Street,” is being fast-tracked by Fox for what some might say is a long-overdue second verse.

The movie, currently titled, “Money Never Sleeps” will focus on the life of Gordon Gekko as he emerges from prison, having served his time for past indiscretions. Michael Douglas has made it known he’s interested in reprising the role that deservedly secured him an Oscar, but he’s waiting for a script before actually inking the deal.

On the surface, this is wonderful news. The first movie had a viable plot, tangible characters and an overall premise you could actually believe; Which makes it depressingly rare. And with an eleven-year gap since its iconic parent, Fox can hardly be accused of ‘cashing-in’ with a quick, trashy sequel.  Even the script is being crafted by Allan Loeb who’s a former Wall Street trader, so the bloodline on this project is looking superb. The only sour note is that Charlie Sheen is not currently due to return.

You certainly can’t fault the timing. The King of Wall Street is released from jail, only to find his former kingdom imploding in inexorable meltdown. The story potential is right off the charts! As a  rule I hate sequels as they’re often no more than a shallow exploitation of the public’s affection for the original film, but it sounds like we can make an exception?

I don’t know about you, folks, but I’m booking my seat. Money never sleeps. And if this film’s performance  displays even half of its pedigree, until it actually opens I may not be doing much either.

Photo by Tony the Misfit

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Mr Bocho accuses the Networks of devolving into purveyors of programming he has no interest in providing. In other words, “Reality” series. He also tells Forbes that the Nets are obsessed with micromanaging every detail of a production…which comes as no surprise at all.

From the man who was largely responsible for “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue,” and a string of other top-rated shows that earned the very same networks millions in ad revenues, this is a damming indictment of the state of America’s broadcast media. The sad part, however, is: 1) How unarguably right his view is, and 2) The total absence of anyone in a similar position with the courage to agree, or even speak out at all.

I mean, when was the last time you watched a quality program on a broadcast network?

Let’s say it: American television is about money. First, last and only. Not shows, not quality, and certainly not the audience – Just the dollars. And as Mr. Bochco has proven, it shows. They make intellectual chewing gum for an audience they believe possess the IQ of wool, crush any spark of originality or creativity out of it with obsessive over-management, then infest it with commercials to make as much cash as possible.

…Then they wonder why people don’t watch??

The Summer hiatus is over and so are the Games. The ‘Fall’ season could be the Nets’ chance to repent and refocus their priorities. What do you think — Will they recant and finally show us – the audience – some respect, or will they just go on as before?

Leave a comment and let’s take a poll…

They’re paying an average of $500,000 each for missing the pre-agreed ratings levels. This is the first time a Network has needed to do this in years, and it’s a sad comment that it comes as little surprise to find the Net in question is NBC.

Networks usually offer free commercial runs, called ‘make-goods,’ to repay any viewer shortfalls, but NBC has no free time left as they [in common with every other Network] are cramming as many commercials as they can get on the air in order to exploit the viewers and the Season as much as possible.

CBS, ABC and Fox also are having to reimburse their advertisers by giving ad space for free. With the kind of disingenuous spin you’d expect, they’re all blaming their failure on the use of a new ratings formula, but experts disagree. It’s the strke. People are sick of all the repeats and they’re switching off. Thousands of them!

The Nets had enough new shows to last until late November, and repeats won’t really take over until mid-January – And that’s when a certain, repugnant material will make significant contact with the air conditioning. At that point the ratings and the profits will start heading downhill….Fast!

And what do the intellectual midgets in charge plan to do to reverse this hemorrhage? They’re going to play wall-to-wall Reality – what else?! A format which every member of their audience blessed with an IQ in excess of that found in a door-knob has already made it abundantly clear they can’t stand.

‘American Gladiators’ and “Celebrity Apprentice’ and upcoming debuts like ‘Knight Rider,’ are all re-makes, being dusted off to avoid creating new shows.

And this, according to the suits, is a policy that will make their ratings go up ??

If proof were even needed that the average American TV executive has the creative capacity of navel fluff, here it is. They drive the Writers onto the picket lines to avoid paying them a decent share of the infeasible profits their creativity generates, then they re-hash shows from three-decades ago to fill the resulting scheduling gaps they’re too intellectually shallow to enhance any other way.

Wouldn’t it be simpler to pay the people with talent to do their jobs? Then the ratings would recover, the Advertiser rebates won’t bankrupt them and they’d all keep their jobs.

…Or do you think that might be too complex to grasp?

Carson – who is not a member of the WGA – will start taping shows on Wednesday, to be aired next week. No guest list is available – and I’d hate to be the Agent for anyone self-absorbed enough to volunteer for it. The Writer’s Guild has made no comment about this Network-wrangled treachery so far — but you can all imagine what their reaction might be.

And Carson’s not in good company – Ellen’s been in production since day two of the strike. And she’s a WGA member! The other late-night hosts have [so far] relied on repeats rather than undermine the strikers, so who’ll be the next to return? NBC isn’t saying. A similar enquiry at CBS was met with the sound of crickets…and no formal word on the future.

The WGA and their Network bosses resumed talks yesterday – the first serious gathering since this whole, sordid mess started on November 5th. The news that one network has coerced a show to resume is hardly going to make the discussions more friendly. You can expect news that they broke down any time now. And once they do, it could be weeks before a return.

If “Last Call” truly is to resume, that provokes a simple question — Who do you think will be next?

The WGA has a hugely popular channel on YouTube that shows interviews, celebrity supporters, information videos and other items to clarify why so much of television is now even worse than usual. The sad part is, most people don’t even know it’s there. The vast majority of the audience form their view of the situation based on the big 3′s TV “news” shows, and consequently garner a very one-sided perspective. But the message is still reaching a significant audience. And it’s growing. The Screen Actors Guild and the Teamsters are already on their side. And it’s pretty hard to make any television without those people in your team.

During the last strike in ’88 the Internet was a glimmer. Now it’s a fire. And the irony that the very medium at the core of the Strike is now turning the entire viewing audience inexorably against their case cannot have escaped the attentions of those at the Nets; Even people imbued with the intellectual simplicity of the AMPTP must be awake and inhaling a little Cappuccino by now??

They have bullied, prevaricated and spread hearsay, and are now resorting to contractual fine print to give hundreds of staff – and soon the Writers themselves – the Christmas present of a brand new pink slip. The one act in which they are seemingly unwilling to indulge is discussion.

This strike must end; And to enable that, positions must change. If the Nets spent half the time talking to the Guild that they do lying to the viewers about its cause, this dispute would already be history. It must be obvious, even to people of the limited cognitive capacity so amply demonstrated by those in charge that your reputations are dropping, as are your ratings; And with those go your precious profits. One of these things must matter to you, so stop spreading rumors and start resolving this ignorantly self-inflicted crisis.

Update: The two sides are now scheduled to meet again on Nov. 26th.

* Winston Churchill

But when they talk to the Shareholders, these same corporate suits are claiming profits in millions and gleefully assuring them that tons more easy money is on the way.

…Did I miss a memo or is somebody here getting lied to?

Anyone who’s run a major business will tell you the first rule is to keep your Shareholders happy, but this smacks of malfeasance. They tell the Shareholders there’s so much profit they can’t spend it all, while at the same time donning sackcloth and ashes to tell the Writers they’re broke and couldn’t possibly find another dime.

This to the people who make the whole industry – and their own fat salaries – possible?!

As I see it, the Nets can’t win: Lie to the Writers and the strike continues, and your precious profits land in the toilet…Fast! But lying to the Shareholders? That’s fraud. And that wins you a bespoke orange jumpsuit.

Either way, they’re trapped; If the Internet and cellphone markets are the vast ocean of green of which they’re assuring the Shareholders this entire strike was caused by boundless, disingenuous greed, perpetrated to steal from the Writers to pad the bottom line and inflate their own related bonuses.

If, however – and I severely doubt this could be the case — the claims of poverty are the truth, the Shareholders are backing a group of such staggering collective stupidity they remain utterly unable to define a single way to profit from the greatest technological advance in the medium since the arrival of Satellite.

Once this inexorable truth was revealed, of course, the Shareholders would leave, their investment would leave and the Networks would collapse overnight.

The bosses have no honorable choice but to apologize for this premeditated deceit, and either the Writers or the Investors need to get the truth. Now.

Would any of you care to bet on how soon that’s likely to happen??