Ainsley: F&F Weekend “Will Announce Changes”

Once again a Fox & Friends co-host has saved the day for the suits at FNC. The beautiful, fun, and increasingly flirty Ainsley Earhardt responded to a missive from me today. In answer to my query as to the status of her and Clayton Morris on Fox & Friends Weekend, she said, “No word yet on what will happen with the show; I’m just filling in until I hear otherwise; [and] we will announce changes when they are final.” Thank you, Ainsley!

FNC has some of the most loyal viewers ever: it should reward them with keeping them in the loop. Even if the viewers do not like the personnel changes, they should, at least, know. Please rethink your policy, FNC: you report, we decide.

Spiders Play Possum 4 Sex

According to a recent study by Trine Bilde of the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the male spiders of the species Pisaura mirabilis who play dead are allowed to have sex longer than ones that do not. All of the male spiders held bribes of food in their mouths but the ones who remained flat and motionless (as the females latched onto the food) were the most successful. The prolonged copulation allows more eggs to be fertilized. Males play possum for sex while females play possum not to have sex: Mars versus Venus?

Cf. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080227181655.7ypqks33&show_article=1

William F. Buckley, Jr. R.I.P.

Today the inimitable William Frank Buckley, Jr. died, less than a year after his beloved wife, Patricia A. A. Taylor Buckley. The right’s premier philosopher laid the intellectual foundation for the Reagan Revolution which engendered the recrudescence of America economically, militarily, and morally. In 1951 the “Scull & Bones” Eli published his seminal work, “God and Man at Yale,” and served notice that he was more than ready to compete and prevail against the then reigning liberal intellectual elites. This extraordinary polymath founded the National Review, authored over 50 books, hosted Firing Line (from 1966-1999), ran for mayor of New York, served in the U.S. army, worked in the C.I.A., and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President George W. Bush praised Buckley today, saying that he “brought conservative thought into the political mainstream, and helped lay the intellectual foundation for America’s victory in the Cold War.” At his death, Buckley was working on a memoir of President Ronald Reagan. (Buckley’s book on Barry Goldwater is scheduled to come out this spring.) R.I.P. Great Philosoper/Warrior Bon Vivant!

Cf. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/business/media/27cnd-buckley.html?ref=arts

F&F Weekend Juggles Co-hosts

Fox & Friends Weekend for the second consecutive weekend is apparently rejiggering their cast of co-anchors. Ainsley Earhardt and Clayton Morris returned but Adam Housley did not: in Housley’s place, was Greg Kelly, a member of the Page Hopkins and Kelly boys F&F Weekend team. Once again the co-hosts introduced themselves but failed to state their status, i.e., substitutes or replacements. Since they failed to mention Kelly Wright and Page Hopkins’ absence once again, it seems rather reasonable to assume that Fox & Friends Weekend has ousted the two. (Kelly Wright’s co-hosting of FNC’s Saturday 2008 You Decide two hours later today is further evidence of his removal from the F&F Weekend roster.)

When Fox News lost Kiran Chetry to CNN, F&F Weekend lost its morning magic and it has been struggling ever since to regain its footing. Courtney Friel, entertainment correspondent and masculine Maxim girl, was brought in on an apparent trial basis without success. (Aimsley Earhart even made an appearance with the old team that did not quite work.) When Page Hopkins joined the ensemble, it then had a preaching singer (Kelly Wright), a sexpot wannabe (Page), and an uncomfortable Scud Stud II (Greg Kelly). The interaction seemed more than a bit forced and they failed to adequately solicit input from the viewers.

Now it appears that their New Yorker G.I. Ken is now surrounded by a sexy, Southern belle and a witty West Coast wag. With its current monopoly on comparable cable weekend morning news programs, F&F Weekend probably feels safe to restructure its program without admitting it to its most loyal viewers. However, it cannot count on more casual or TiVo viewers who may turn away or fastforward without a more personal connection to its co-hosts.

Lindsay: The Last Standing

Lindsay Lohan appears to be the last member of the ruling pop tart trio standing. As to her two partners in party, Paris Hilton suffers from media fatigue and Britney Spears suffers from mental fatigue. The thrice rehabbed Lohan has come back from the brink of struggles with alcohol and drugs and has scored the ultimate American cheesecake photo shoot. She stars in Bert Stern’s recreation of his memorable “The Last Sitting” with Marilyn Monroe which is featured in New York magazine. (Marilyn’s iconic photos were shot six weeks before her death: some displayed a nude, doe-eyed demimondaine draped on a bed of white linen and others show the cine siren hiding coyly behind diaphanous scarfs.) Stern raved, “It was very similar, deja vu…like revisiting an old street.” Lohan said that she wanted to recreate the famous session: “I wanted to…get it point-on as much as I could.” Of her interpretation, she stated, “Here is a woman who is giving herself to the public.” Lohan added, “She’s saying, ‘Look, you’ve taken a lot from me, so why don’t I give it to you myself’: She’s taking control back.”

Cf. http://media.nymag.com/fashion/08/spring/44247

Shreveport Cop Canned

Police video was vital in the canning of a Shreveport, LA, officer by the chief of police. The big, burly young copper allegedly beat a female prisoner who requested an attorney after the officer asked her to take the D.U.I. test. According to FNC, he then placed the woman in handcuffs and beat her while shackled. During this episode, the camera was either turned off or the lens was blocked: when the video resumed the arrestee, lying in her own blood, was on the ground with cuts, bruises, two blackened eyes, a broken nose, and broken teeth. The officer denied beating her and claimed that she fell down. According to FNC, federal and state officials are investigating possible charges against him.

Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331240,00.html

Obama (Ba)Rocks Hillary

The black avatar of JFK cleaned the clock of the erstwhile inevitable Democratic nominee yesterday. Obama stunned Hillary as he took Wisconsin by 17 percentage points and Hawaii by 51 percentage points. Obama continued his running of the table with ten consecutive primary/caucus wins after Super Tuesday. He has closed the Texas race and continues to tighten the Ohio one. James Carville, Clinton friend extraordinaire and CNN pundit, said that Hillary has to win Texas and/or Ohio or the race is over. Bill Kristol of the NYT added that she must win both to continue. Surprisingly, Bill Clinton agreed in an appearance in TX. Hillary looks desperate as stories surface that her campaign is trying to not only woo superdelegates but Obama-pledged delegates. Will her March 4 firewalls in TX and OH go up in flames like her fellow New Yorker Rudy’s did in FL or will she be the Comeback Clinton II?

F&F Weekend Adrift

Who is captaining the ship at Fox & Friends Weekend? This past weekend, Ainsley Earhardt, Adam Housley; and Clayton Morris introduced themselves to the viewers. (They are respectively a sweet, Southern blond beauty; a smart, subdued West Coast chap, and an energetic, overly familiar Philly fellow.) However, they failed to announce whether they were the latest co-hosts or substitutes.

This is not an unfamiliar tack for FNC. When, mercifully, “that face, that face” Linda Vester was shipped out, this faithful viewer found out over the Internet (MediaBistro, I think). When Julian Philips, the “Bryant Gumbel” of cable news, left F&F Weekend and was replaced by Kelly Wright, one simply had to wait to see if the replacement was permanent. When the gorgeous, gammy Kiran Chetry was ignobly shown the door, FNC neglected once again to inform the viewer. (Perhaps, they feared a mass defection to CNN: Kiran is now a co-host on American Morning in direct competition with Fox & Friends.)

Who knows if this past weekend’s co-anchors are new or temporary? The usual lineup of Kelly Wright, Greg Kelly, and Page Hopkins is seldom engaging: they lack a natural rapport among themselves and the viewers. Formerly, Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy, a dynamic duo that imbued the news with a racy, fun flavor, hosted the show: the popular couple moved to parent FOX network’s morning show as co-hosts. Then Kiran Chetry, Alisyn Camerota, and Julian Phillips, a trio of two sexy, flirty femme fatales and a smug egocentric, took over. If Ainsley et al have replaced the latest team of Hopkins and the Kelly boys, they will have to work to return the show to its former must-see status. A weekend news show cannot take itself too seriously nor exclude its viewers from the table.