Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, popularly known as Joe the Plumber after he confronted then-presidential candidate Barack Obama about taxes at a 2008 campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. He was 49.
15.08.2023 - 14:33 / variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Sage Steele, the veteran ESPN sportscaster who became better known in recent years for her stances on hot topics like coronavirus vaccinations, has left the Disney sports giant. Steele, who joined ESPN in 2007, said on social media that she had recently settled a lawsuit with her employer after she was suspended in 2021 for comments she made on an outside podcast about getting vaccinated, how women dress and former President Barack Obama’s lineage.
“Having successfully settled my case with ESPN/Disney, I have decided to leave so I can exercise my first amendment rights more freely,” Steele said. “I am grateful for so many wonderful experiences over the past 16 years and am excited for my next chapter!” Steele had alleged in a 2022 lawsuit that Disney and ESPN retaliated against her for the comments she made during the podcast, hosted by Jay Cutler, taking away high-profile assignments.
She charged the companies had breached her contract and violated her free-speech rights. “ESPN and Sage Steele have mutually agreed to part ways.
We thank her for her many contributions over the years,” the network said in a statement. ESPN has been working to cut costs as its parent company grapples with declines in viewership and advertising for its linear businesses.
The company has cut ties with a number of prominent announcers and analysts, including Keyshawn Johnson, Jeff Van Gundy and Jalen Rose. Disney is among the biggest spenders on sports rights — one of the reasons for the success of ESPN over the decades — but will face increasing trouble if it does not keep an eye on costs, particularly as customers to might have once automatically subscribed to ESPN via cable or satellite seek other method
.Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, popularly known as Joe the Plumber after he confronted then-presidential candidate Barack Obama about taxes at a 2008 campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer. He was 49.
The Obama sisters spent a night out with Drake earlier this week.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is back in the hunt for a new executive to oversee CNN. Mark Thompson, the former CEO of New York Times Co.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN+ may not have worked, but perhaps CNN on Max will. Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to launch new original programs from CNN that will stream on its Max streaming service, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor When Amazon’s Prime Video streams a new “Black Friday” NFL game later this year, viewers won’t be greeted solely by a live match. The company plans to offer commercials featuring its talent around the event, according to Danielle Carney, who heads up NFL sales for Amazon. During remarks made at an industry conference, Carney envisioned different “talent” being tapped to talk to viewers about possible buying opportunities.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN anchor Laura Coates has moved to CAA for representation, a move that could signal a new era of influence for the talent-agency giant at the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet. In a broad overhaul of CNN’s schedule, Coates was recently named to anchor a new 11 p.m.
MUNA teamed up with Boygenius for two songs last night (August 20) during the latter’s headline concert in London.Both bands shared vocals on MUNA’s ‘Silk Chiffon’ at the end of their support set at Gunnersbury Park before they teamed up again for ‘Salt In The Wound’, which featured on Boygenius’ 2018 debut EP, at the close of the supergroup’s set. You can view footage of both tracks below.During the former, which featured on their self-titled 2022 album, MUNA kicked off the track before Phoebe Bridgers joined them to sing her vocal part on the song.
Longtime SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele is speaking out after announcing that she was leaving ESPN after settling her lawsuit against the network and Disney.
Sage Steele is opening up about her experience with the late Barbara Walters.
former ESPN anchor who recently left the sports network after settling a lawsuit, claimed that she had a run-in with the late Barbara Walters backstage at “The View” in 2014.“It was Barbara, Whoopi [Goldberg], and myself in the dark green room off to the side,” Steele recalled on Thursday’s episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.” “I was probably about four feet from the wall and the trash can, and Barbara was standing over here in front of me. She just started to back up toward me and looked at me and got close and elbowed me, and it pushed me back into the wall and the trash can,” alleged Steele, 50, of the news icon, who died in December 2022 at age 93.
Ethan Shanfeld Sage Steele, the veteran sportscaster who recently left ESPN after settling a lawsuit with the sports media giant, has accused the late Barbara Walters of assaulting her backstage during an appearance on “The View.” “It was Barbara, Whoopi [Goldberg] and myself in the dark green room off to the side,” Steele said on an episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show” Thursday. “I was probably about four feet from the wall and the trash can, and Barbara was standing over here in front of me. She just started to back up toward me and looked at me and got close and elbowed me, and it pushed me back into the wall and the trash can.
Michelle Obama would stick to a not-so-adventurous meal every morning.During an appearance on the first episode of Michele Norris‘ podcast Your Mama’s Kitchen, which is co-produced by Higher Ground (Barack Obama and Michelle’s media company), the author and philanthropist discussed how she refused to have breakfast unless it was a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.Barack Obama reacts to personal chef Tafari Campbell’s dead near Martha’s Vineyard estateMichelle Obama and Alicia Keys team up to connect mentorship and entertainment for studentsBarack and Michelle Obama share touching posts for chef Tafari Campbell after his tragic death“I was kind of a picky eater. I didn’t like any breakfast-anything.
UPDATED, 7:30 AM: Longtime SportsCenter co-anchor Sage Steele has decided to leave ESPN after settling her lawsuit against ESPN/Disney.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Selina Wang, who served as CNN’s only reporter on the ground during the coronavirus-challenged Beijing Winter Olympics, will soon become one of ABC News’ key personnel in a very different arena: The White House. Wang, who had been with CNN since 2020, was named ABC News’ new senior White House correspondent Tuesday, during the Disney news unit’s daily editorial meeting.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dana Perino has long relied on a panel of experts and trusted sources to help guide her sense of the political landscape. Now she’s going to let some followers listen to her conversations with them. Fox News Audio will launch “Perino on Politics,” a new weekly podcast hosted by the co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Five” and the co-anchor of its “America’s Newsroom.” The program, which will launch on August 21 — the week of the first debate among Republican presidential candidates — will last throughout the 2024 election cycle, Perino says.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The headlines coming out of CBS News will soon be guided by a new executive. Neeraj Khemlani, who arrived at the Paramount Global unit in 2021 to oversee CBS News and local stations along with Wendy McMahon, is leaving his role running the unit that produces “60 Minutes,” “CBS Evening News” and “Face The Nation,” among other programs.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Viet Dinh, the influential general counsel of Fox Corp. who is believed to have played a significant role in the company’s failed legal strategy against a massive defamation suit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems, is leaving his role at the media conglomerate at the end of the year.
Oprah Winfrey is doing what she can to lend a hand after a massive wildfire ripped through Maui, destroying the historic old town area of Lahaina.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor ESPN muscled aside the upstart Barstool Sports and struck a major sports-betting pact with operator Penn Entertainment that will put the Disney-owner sports giant into gaming and wagering in a major way.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Paramount Global is near a deal to sell its Simon & Schuster publishing operations to investment giant KKR for as much as $1.62 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Paramount Global, the owner of CBS, Paramount+ and Nickelodeon, is expected to report its second-quarter earnings Monday afternoon.