Boston Herald - Boston Herald

AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:58:52 -0400

WASHINGTON — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Algerian editor accuses government of censorship

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:46:46 -0400

ALGIERS, Algeria — An editor has accused Algeria's government of censorship after it blocked the publication of his two newspapers.

Hicham Aboud, editor of the My Journal and Djaridati newspapers, said that happened after he rejected an order from the Communication Ministry on Saturday night to remove an article from the papers that claimed hospitalized President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had slipped into a coma.

The 76-year-old leader suffered a stroke last month and is being treated in France.

Second Vietnamese TV provider drops CNN and BBC

Associated Press — Sun, 19 May 2013 07:56:05 -0400

HANOI, Vietnam — A popular Vietnamese cable television provider has stopped providing CNN and BBC, saying the channels don't have the licenses needed under a law stipulating that much content on foreign channels must be translated into Vietnamese.

Foreign governments and a leading pay TV trade group have urged the Vietnamese government to modify the decree, saying it is tantamount to allowing it the right to censor.

Last week a small provider cut 21 foreign channels. On Sunday, one of the largest providers, VTV CAB, also cut CNN and BBC.

Journalist found dead in eastern Congo

Associated Press — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:49:15 -0400

GOMA, Congo — The body of a Congolese journalist was found on the bank of the Ngezi River near the provincial capital of Bunia in eastern Congo, the city's mayor said Saturday.

"We found his body yesterday in an advanced state of decay. It showed signed of strangulation according to the doctor who examined him on the scene. We couldn't move him further as it was very decomposed and had to bury him near the river," said Mayor Ferdinand Fimbo.

US Open tennis leaving CBS for ESPN in 2015

Associated Press — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:03:06 -0400

The U.S. Open tennis tournament will leave CBS after nearly a half-century and move all TV coverage to cable starting in 2015 under an 11-year contract with ESPN.

The new deal between the U.S. Tennis Association and ESPN, announced Thursday, also includes the series of North American summer hard-court tournaments leading up to the Open.

Since 2009, ESPN already has shown some matches from the season's last Grand Slam championship, with CBS airing a half-dozen days of coverage during the two weeks, including the men's and women's singles finals.

Obama: Time to revisit enacting media shield law

Associated Press — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:38:36 -0400

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is defending investigations into government leaks, saying they are necessary for national security.

But he also says it's important to balance such inquiries with the need for a free press.

Obama says he has confidence in his attorney general, Eric Holder.

Holder's Justice Department recently obtained two months of telephone records for Associated Press reporters and editors involved in a story that disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen.

Senate Dem revives media shield law

Associated Press — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:32:25 -0400

WASHINGTON — A top Senate Democrat plans to revive legislation that would protect journalists and their employers from revealing their sources, days after it was revealed that the Justice Department secretly obtained Associated Press phone records.

A congressional official said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York plans to reintroduce the 2009 bill. The legislation stalled in Congress in past years.

TV-over-Internet service hits Atlanta next month

Associated Press — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:30:11 -0400

NEW YORK — Aereo, the startup that offers live television broadcasts over the Internet starting at $8 a month, said it will start service in the Atlanta market on June 17, following an expansion to Boston on Wednesday.

Until this week, the service had been available only in the New York City area.

CBS holds onto its ratings lead in prime time

Associated Press — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:20:57 -0400

NEW YORK — With broadcast networks unveiling their new schedules, the television industry is focused on potential ratings hits next season.

But TV programming remained largely status quo last week with CBS maintaining its decisive lead, Nielsen Co. figures showed Tuesday.

CBS' decade-old smash, "NCIS," held onto the No. 1 position, drawing more than 17 million viewers. Right behind was the network's sitcom hit, "The Big Bang Theory," seen by 16 million viewers, followed by spinoff "NCIS: Los Angeles," with 13 million viewers.

Nielsen's top programs for May 6-12

Associated Press — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:08:28 -0400

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co. for May 6-12. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.

1. "NCIS," CBS, 17.56 million.

2. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 16.30 million.

3. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 13.18 million.

4. "Person of Interest," CBS, 13.16 million.

5. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 13.12 million.

6. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 12.83 million.

7. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 12.15 million.

UK: Another editor at The Sun charged over bribery

Associated Press — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:40:12 -0400

LONDON — Britain's prosecutors say that a politics and government editor with The Sun tabloid has been charged over a conspiracy to pay thousands of pounds (dollars) worth of bribes to a press officer working in the British government's tax department.

Prosecutors say The Sun paid bribes to press officer Jonathan Hall in return for information about unannounced spending plans, deficit reduction work, and policy decisions. Hall, 51, was also charged in relation to the payments.

Gov't probe obtains wide swath of AP phone records

Associated Press — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:59:06 -0400

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news.

New Pats receiver bares sole in Foot Locker spot

Ira Kantor — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Newly installed New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola has lent his colorful personality to a new Foot Locker television ad debuting today that pits his recognizability against that of ASICS’ vibrant running shoes.

In the 30-second “Park Run” spot, the 27-year-old shrugs off the notion that ASICS will help him “get some attention” because he’s “kind of a big deal in New England right now.” Amendola can’t convince a female runner who is in the ad.

Bloomberg exec apologizes amid new report of leaks

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:44:23 -0400

LOS ANGELES — Financial data and news service Bloomberg LP moved to repair damage to its reputation Monday as a published report said that more than 10,000 of its clients' private messages containing sensitive pricing data had been leaked online.

The report came the same day Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler apologized for the news service's practice of allowing its journalists to access data about how clients used the company's financial data services.

Good news for NYC newsstands? Price cap could rise

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:44:12 -0400

NEW YORK — The newsstands that dot the city's sidewalks would be able to stock cellphone chargers, offer more batteries and, perhaps most importantly, upgrade their umbrellas under a proposal broached Monday to double a price cap on their wares.

Newsstand operators and supporters say the City Council proposal to lift the more than decade-old limit from $5 to $10 would help the venerable businesses keep up with the times.

Report: German journalist detained in Syria

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:55:39 -0400

BERLIN — Berlin daily Tagesspiegel reports that a German journalist has been detained by Syrian government forces while trying to cover the conflict in the country.

The newspaper says Indonesia-based freelancer Armin Wertz first informed a friend by text message over a week ago that he was being held at a police station in the northwestern city of Aleppo.

Tagesspiegel says the experienced war reporter sent a second message Sunday asking for his detention to be made public.

Walters announces her retirement on 'The View'

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:42:19 -0400

NEW YORK — Barbara Walters said Monday that retirement from her epochal television career is near, but it's not happening right away.

Walters, who began in television news as a "Today" girl in 1961, became the medium's best-known interviewer and invented a daytime talk show at an age many people would be going fishing, said on "The View" that she will step away from the camera next summer.

Before that, her retirement tour will include TV specials looking back at her work.

Ex-Gov. Huntsman launching talk show on SiriusXM

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:24:41 -0400

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Republican Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a 2012 presidential candidate, is helping launch a new monthly radio talk show on SiriusXM satellite radio aimed at promoting bipartisan politics.

The former U.S. ambassador to China and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, will appear Wednesday on the inaugural edition of the call-in show on Sirius XM Radio — "No Labels Radio: A Town Hall with America."

End may near for Calif. evangelical radio network

Associated Press — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:21:13 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO — The end may be near for a California evangelical radio network used by a preacher to predict — incorrectly — the apocalypse.

The Contra Costa Times reports Oakland-based Family Radio has sold its three largest radio stations and laid off longtime staff members. Tax records show Harold Camping's nonprofit network saw its net assets drop to $29.2 million by the end of 2011, from a net worth of $135 million four years earlier.

NBC promotes fall season with Twitter contest

Associated Press — Sun, 12 May 2013 14:17:34 -0400

NEW YORK — NBC is giving the public more than just a new slate of programming. There are prizes to be had, too.

The network said Sunday that it's holding a Twitter-based sweepstakes linked to its fall schedule presentation to advertisers — a social-media twist on the annual TV rite occurring this week.

One of the prizes is a trip to Los Angeles to attend a final taping of Jay Leno's "Tonight Show." The other is a New York visit to see one of the first tapings of the relocated "Tonight" with new host Jimmy Fallon.