The AP’s Beth Harris writes about Keith Olbermann’s appearance at the Television Critics Association meeting today and the subject of Bill O’Reilly came up. Keith also tossed out an accusation at FNC that he better be able to back up…

Olbermann said his phone number has been distributed at Fox and his e-mail hacked into.

“They’re annoying things, and that’s about it. That’s the price you pay,” he said. “Nothing that you do in putting yourself in the public eye is for free. I can live with it.”

Olbermann opened his session by whipping out a mask of O’Reilly - a poke at Fox asking journalists to accept handout photos of TCA news conferences from photographers the network had hired.

“We thought we’d help you out, those of you who needed a good photograph of,” Olbermann said, pausing to hold up O’Reilly’s photo glued to a stick as reporters laughed.

UPDATE: Broadcasting & Cable’s Ben Grossman has the story too…

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann used a Saturday morning breakfast session at the Television Critics Association press tour to fire yet another shot at Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly, holding up an O’Reilly mask while raising his right arm in a Nazi salute to mock his on-air rival.

UPDATE 2: TVNewser dug up this picture of the scene…
(more…)

TV Squad’s Bob Sassone goes off on the MSNBC control room gimmick…

Who cares what the producers say and how the show runs? When I watch a 24 hour news channel (or many types of shows, actually), I don’t want to see the inner workings of the machine. Do they think it’s hip or revealing or innovative? It’s not.

I think it might be hip or revealing if it took a different form; if it wasn’t staged which it is most of the time (I haven’t seen every one of these so I can’t say it always is). And what’s been bugging me lately is I keep hearing the producers saying they’re monitoring this or that but sometimes MSNBC doesn’t go to the this or that they’re monitoring. So why tell me about it if it’s not important enough for you to go to?

What do you think the cable nets are under reporting on the Middle East Crisis?

Earlier Friday, Shepard Smith interviewed the father of one of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Transcript follows…

Smith Voiceover: It was the end of last month, a young high school student, just out, had made the decision that he was going to go in and join the Israeli army. As most here do. His country needed him, and he was ready and willing for the challenge. Now he’s gone, and has been for the better part of the month. Imagine, your family in that situation. Your family in the middle of a world turmoil, that no one could have ever have even predicted a month ago. Well, that’s the situation for the Shalit family who lives just to the north of us here. Today, there is one reality, to which they firmly claim.

Mr. Shalit: He’s alive.

Smith Voiceover: That is this Father’s prayer. Noam Shalit’s youngest son, Gilad, taken by terrorists. His family devastated.

Mr. Shalit: His mother, my wife, she suffers very much from this period. It’s a nightmare for her . . .

Smith Voiceover: The nightmare began on a sweltering still morning, Gilad Shalit, with three others on a tank crew, running surveillance on the border with Gaza when suddenly a rocket propeller grenade, and explosion, two comrades dead, another and Shalit injured, the young soldier just out of high school captured, dragged away.

Mr. Shalit: We’d like it to end as soon as possible.
(more…)