The ten worst media disasters of 2011 include a politician who lost his place, a country singer who lost his job, and a celebrity who lost his show. The list was published December 14 on the Mr. Media Training Blog, the world’s most visited media training website.

The media spokespersons were selected based on the impact of their gaffes. All ten people reinforced an existing narrative about their lack of preparedness for office, their lack of discipline, or their lack of compassion. Videos of all ten media disasters are available at http://www.mrmediatraining.com/index.php/2011/12/14/the-ten-worst-media-disasters-of-2011/.

10. Hank Williams, Jr. Compares President Obama to Adolf Hitler

In October, country singer Hank Williams, Jr. was fired up during an appearance on Fox and Friends. While reflecting on a golf match between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, Mr. Williams quipped, “It would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu.” ESPN promptly dropped his theme song as its Monday Night Football opener.

9. Sarah Palin’s “Blood Libel”

Months before Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in Tucson, Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) released a “crosshairs map,” which placed a target over Ms. Giffords’ congressional district. In the days after the shooting, Ms. Palin was blamed by some journalists for the shooting.

Palin was upset by media stories connecting her to the crime; she was right that no evidence linked the shooter to her map. But she over-reacted, gracelessly blaming the media for committing “blood libel.” That term is most commonly used as an anti-Semitic slur referring to Jews murdering Christians. Her poll numbers immediately plummeted among Independents and Republicans.

8. NPR Fundraiser Ron Schiller Blasts The Tea Party

National Public Radio’s chief fundraiser, Ron Schiller, went to lunch with a couple of men claiming to be Muslim donors in March. It turned out they were Republican activists with a hidden camera. During the meal, Schiller called members of the Tea Party, “seriously racist, racist people.”

That he made those comments was bad enough; that he made them while NPR was already in the midst of a heated debate about its public funding was flabbergasting. His comments led to his immediate resignation and the resignation of NPR’s CEO. The House of Representatives voted to strip NPR of its federal funding; the Senate prevented that from happening – for now.

7. Rupert Murdoch Channels Tony Hayward

While testifying before the British Parliament in July, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch was asked whether he accepted the ultimate responsibility for his company’s phone hacking scandal. Not only did he say “no,” but he delivered his answer without even a hint of humility. By delivering such an indifferent answer, he gave former BP Executive Tony “I’d like my life back” Hayward competition as the world’s most clueless corporate executive.

6. Rick Perry’s “Oops” Moment

During a Republican presidential debate in November, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) confidently declared he would eliminate three government agencies – and promptly forgot what they were. For 47 painful seconds, Mr. Perry tried to recall the third agency he would eliminate. He finally gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and lamely said, “Oops.” That one moment likely sank any remaining chances Mr. Perry had of winning the nomination.

5. President Obama Jokes About Joblessness

With the nation’s unemployment rate above nine percent and millions of Americans desperate to find work, President Obama cracked a joke in June that few people found funny. When a questioner asked a serious question about the nation’s inefficient permitting process, Mr. Obama cracked wise about his two-year-old pledge to create shovel-ready jobs, joking, “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.” Many people blasted the President for displaying an insensitive political tin ear.

4. Charlie Sheen’s Downward Spiral

There’s little funny about addiction, and Charlie Sheen’s dangerous spiral was sad to watch. Sheen stayed in the news for months, but it was his out-of-touch interview with sycophantic radio host Alex Jones in February that led to his dismissal from his top-rated sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

In that interview, Sheen made vaguely anti-Semitic comments about “Men” creator Chuck Lorre, called Alcoholics Anonymous a “bootleg cult,” and labeled Thomas Jefferson a “pussy.”

3. The Herman Cain Affair

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was caught flat-footed in October when numerous women accused him of sexual harassment (another woman later asserted she had had a long-term affair with him).

Mr. Cain changed his story on an almost-hourly basis, even arguing that a “settlement” meant something different than an “agreement.” Mr. Cain dropped out of the race in December, maintaining his innocence to a public that no longer believed him.

2. (Alleged) Penn State Child Rapist Jerry Sandusky Speaks

When former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky spoke to NBC’s Bob Costas in November about horrific allegations that he raped numerous boys, no one was prepared for his jaw-dropping answer to this direct question: “Are you sexually attracted to young boys?” It took Sandusky 16 seconds to say “no.”

Instead, he began by saying how much he “enjoyed” young people and loves to be around them. Sandusky’s alleged actions, combined with Penn State’s ineffectual response, led to the firings of the University president and legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

1. Anthony Weiner’s Twitter Scandal

Self-immolations rarely come in more spectacular fashion than when Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) was caught tweeting naughty photos to strangers in June.

His approach to crisis management was to deny the charges and claim his Twitter account had been hacked; call a reporter a “jackass;” say that although he hadn’t sent the photos, he couldn’t rule out “with certitude” that the erect undies shot was of him; hold a tearful press conference to admit he had actually tweeted the photos himself; watch helplessly as a nude photo of his penis was released; and resign in shame.

After Mr. Weiner resigned, a Republican won his seat, costing Democrats a critical seat in the House of Representatives.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanprogressaction/

The article US Worst Media Disasters of 2011 appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The upcoming Fall season ushers in many new, must see television series debuting in upcoming weeks. The major television networks of ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX will be introducing a wave of new shows in hopes of becoming the next big hit. Many successful television shows will also be going through major changes as popular celebrities leave shows and are replaced by fresh faces.

NBC welcomes Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph and Will Arnett in “Up All Night”, a new comedy series that highlights the struggles of parents with young children. The series preview aired on September 14. “Up All Night” is the brainchild of Emily Spivey and produced by Lorne Michaels, both from “Saturday Night Live.”

Juggling careers, daily responsibilities, and sleep deprived life with a baby is the foundation of this new comedy. With strong ties to humor and wit, the cast and creators of “Up All Night” are set on showcasing a hilarious perspective on parenthood. Simon Cowell’s departure from American Idol has come and gone, but the British superstar will now return to television with a new reality competition.

His UK hit show, “The X-Factor” will debut on September 21 on FOX. The singing competition has been #1 in the UK for years, and Cowell hopes to have the same success with the show in the United States. Raising the stakes from prizes in the past, the grand prize of a $5 million record deal is something people have not yet seen in reality competitions.

Judges for the show include music mogul L.A. Reid and Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger. The highly anticipated reunion of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as judges will be one to watch. Along with many new up and coming series, many fan favorites are coming back with a new season of episodes.

Hilariously written and performed “Modern Family” will be back for new laughs and jokes on ABC starting September 21. With last season’s mention of couple Cameron and Mitchell wanting to have son, viewers can look out for this story line as well as the usual ups and downs that make up this family’s lives.

Changes are also coming to a solid television series on NBC. “Law & Order: SVU”, which has been on air since 1999, will no longer have Christopher Meloni playing widely popular detective Elliot Stabler. Marishka Hargitay, who plays Olivia Benson as Stabler’s partner will stay for season 13.

The fan favorite duo of Benson and Stabler will no longer be shown each week, leaving loyal fans at a loss. “Law & Order: SVU” has been the most successful series of the Law & Order brand. Time and ratings will tell if the show will continue on as a mainstream hit without the reliable detectives headlining the show. “Law & Order: SVU” will premiere its new seasons on September 21.

Change is also occurring on NBC’s hit comedy, “The Office”. With the departure of comedian Steve Carell as Michael Scott of Dunder Mifflin, critics have questioned if the show can retain its signature comedy. Viewers will soon find out who the new manager of the company will be. The new season of “The Office” starts September 22.

After the much publicized Charlie Sheen scandal, “Two and a Half” men will premiere on September 19, with front man Ashton Kutcher replacing Sheen. Kutcher will also take the coveted title of highest paid actor on television, receiving $700,000 per episode. The comedy will surely be watched under scrutinizing eyes as viewers see the transition of the show from Sheen to Kutcher.

There are plenty of new and exciting television shows to watch for the upcoming Fall 2011 season. With new additions to already successful shows, it will be interesting to see which shows come out on top and which may not deliver.

The article Must-See TV Series This Fall appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Brooke Mueller is out of rehab, and is reportedly doing much better after her 45 day program. She entered the program during the filming of Paris Hilton’s new reality show, ”The World According to Paris.”

Sources are saying that being on this show made Brooke want to change her life. While she was filming this show, Brooke entered into rehab, and now she’ll be going back to work now that she’s out. During one scene of the show, Brooke can be heard saying, ‘I’m having really bad cravings, really bad urges… I feel embarrassed… I feel like I’m going to do something stupid… I think I need to go back to rehab.” It would make more sense for her to take some extra time off, but if the show is keeping her head straight, then that might be a good medicine for her.

Brooke is also known as Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife. It would seem that being married to Charlie Sheen would cause anyone to go to rehab. He’s been sucking air out of the headlines and the entire media so his family would undergo problems as well. Although Denise Richards managed to keep her life in order after her marriage to Charlie.

But things got difficult for Brooke. She got into drugs, which led her to receive treatment. She’s out now, and can start living her life again although it’s going to take some time to get her life back in order. She just needs to be thinking of her sons at this point. A source said that Brooke is doing splendidly when she goes to AA meetings, and she knows how the whole system works since she’s had some trouble like this in the past.

Maybe that’s why she connected to Charlie so well.

But since rehab, she’s also in a possible position of suing Comedy Central. Charlie is going to have a roast on this channel with a lot to be said about him. Brooke said that if she’s mentioned at all, she’ll be taking the hilarious channel to court.

This shows that Brooke is really trying to break away from Charlie. Odds are, she has nothing to worry about, but hopefully she won’t be mentioned because she has more important things going on right now.

Right now, everyone is just wishing the best for her. From here, she has potential to get her life back to the way it should be. She can work on being a good mom, and keeping her work life in order. She can forget about courts or any other random matters. Right now, it’s just about taking one step at a time.

Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

The article Brooke Mueller- Doing Well After Rehab appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.