Entertaining Posts: 01/24/11

Monday, January 24, 2011

Former MSNBC anchor Olbermann says career not dead

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:17pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, who abruptly left his top-rated show at the U.S. cable news network last week, said on Monday that "reports of the death of my career are greatly exaggerated."

In his first comments since his departure, the liberal broadcaster, who often butted heads with MSNBC management, took to Twitter to share his thoughts with fans.

"My humble thanks to all Friends of Keith for the many kind words," he wrote on the social network, before paraphrasing a quote from Mark Twain. "The reports of the death of my career are greatly exaggerated."

It was not immediately clear how Olbermann planned to revive his career. He had two years left on his contract, when he signed off for the last time on his "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" political affairs program on Friday.

Neither Olbermann nor MSNBC gave a reason for the move, which came as Comcast Corp is finalizing a deal to acquire a 51 percent stake in MSNBC's NBC Universal parent from General Electric Co. A Comcast spokesman said his company had nothing to do with Olbermann's departure.

Olbermann left just over two months after he was briefly suspended by MSNBC for giving money to three Democratic politicians during the congressional election campaign, including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who recently survived an assassination attempt in Arizona.

Olbermann's program helped define MSNBC as a liberal voice in cable television and a counterpoint to the conservative thrust of News Corp-owned Fox News, the ratings leader. MSNBC is now second in the ratings, ahead of Time Warner Inc's CNN.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Yinka Adegoke)

Kardashian sisters continue to draw high TV ratings

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Oprah Winfrey says speechless at news of half-sister

LOS ANGELES | Mon Jan 24, 2011 7:20pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey on Monday revealed that she had a half-sister that she only found out about late last year, saying the news left her speechless.

Welcoming single mother of two Patricia to an emotional reunion on her daytime talk show, Winfrey said her mother Vernita Lee kept the birth in 1963 a secret and gave the baby up for adoption.

Winfrey, 56, said she was only nine years old and living with her father when her mother became pregnant.

"Imagine my shock just a few months ago, at the end of October, when I found out I have another sister living just 90 minutes away," Winfrey said.

"For the most part my life has been an open book and on the show I think I've seen about everything. And I thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but let me tell you I was wrong," she told viewers.

Patricia, whose last name was not revealed, said she had been raised in foster homes since age 7.

Patricia said she first learned she was Winfrey's half sister in 2007, but kept it a secret because she knew it would create a media frenzy.

"She (Patricia) never once thought to go to the press. She never even thought to sell her story," Winfrey said.

Winfrey's personal life has been well documented. She was born in Mississippi to unmarried parents and raised by her grandmother early in her childhood. During her teen years she was shuttled between parents and was the victim of abuse. She became pregnant at the age of 14 but her son died shortly after birth.

But Winfrey went on to become the most influential woman on U.S. television, hosting a talk show that is in its 25th year, and launching her own television network on January 1.

Patricia, who now lives in Milwaukee, and Winfrey met the first time at Thanksgiving last November, they said.

Asked by Winfrey why she had given Patricia up for adoption and kept the baby a secret for so long, Vernita Lee said that she had felt unable to take care of her.

"I thought it was a terrible thing for me to do," Lee said.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte, Editing by Patricia Reaney)

Christina Aguilera to sing Super Bowl national anthem

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Music mood muted despite Lady Gaga, more big albums

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON | Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:06am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - When even Lady Gaga can't lift the gloom, you know the music industry is in the doldrums.

Despite a release schedule that includes the reigning queen of pop, Britney Spears, R.E.M., U2 and Coldplay, record labels are bracing themselves for another tough year.

Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI -- the market leaders -- struggled in 2010 as they have for a decade, hampered by online piracy, shrinking retail space and an inability to adapt to technological change.

Global recorded music sales overall slumped by nine percent last year, and figures out last week estimated that some 19 of 20 tracks downloaded from the Internet were illegal.

The scale of piracy and other challenges suggest that no matter which artists are competing for chart supremacy, 2011 sales are virtually guaranteed to extend their long slide.

"I don't see any indication that record sales are going to improve, because it's got nothing to do with the quality of the music," said U.S. music critic Robert Christgau in a blunt assessment of the business prospects.

That does not make release schedules irrelevant, with companies still hopeful their artists will rise to the top and repay their time and investment.

Top of the pile is widely tipped to be "pop provocateur" Lady Gaga with "Born This Way," due out on May 23. Not one to shy away from the hype, the singer has called it "my absolute greatest work I've ever done."

Combined sales of her "The Fame," "The Fame Monster" and a remix album have reached 15 million, a hefty figure even in pre-crisis days, and with more touring planned, Forbes predicts the 24-year-old could earn over $100 million this year.

"She's just hitting her stride artistically and commercially now," entertainment attorney Bernie Resnick told Forbes. "We're only seeing the beginning."

ROCK'S SHOT IN THE ARM

Other established solo female artists vying for attention include 29-year-old Spears, who releases a new album in March. Lead single "Hold It Against Me" has just debuted atop the U.S. singles chart with impressive sales.

Canada's Avril Lavigne is back on March 8 with "Goodbye Lullaby," and there are hopes of new material at last from Amy Winehouse, whose troubled personal life has overshadowed the success of Grammy-winning 2006 hit "Back to Black."

The struggling rock genre is set to get a welcome shot in the arm in 2011 with the first album from The Strokes since 2006's "First Impressions of Earth."

The acclaimed New Yorkers tentatively titled "Angles" is due to hit stores on March 22, and, according to NME magazine's Jamie Fullerton "it's almost make or break time for Julian (Casablancas) and co. with album four" after so long away.