CEO Emilio Sanchez

Even though the journalism industry has been pummeled the past few years, with tremendous layoffs and profit declines (and the shuttering of some of our favorite titles), that hasn't stopped some foolish brave, optimistic people from wading into the new-media fray.

If you crave your news with a Latin flair (but not quite so Latin as to have it delivered in the Spanish language) and CNN's Soledad O'Brien isn't quite doing it for ya, then you may want to check out Voxxi.com, a new, Miami-based website that covers news, politics, sports, entertainment, and more. More »

Keeping America safe -- from men without testicles.

​On April 22, Allen West gave a now-famous speech to a group called Women Impacting the Nation explaining that the most pressing duty of strong, American women is to breed and support strong, American men. I reported on this fascinating contention, and the story traveled a goodly ways -- even getting a mention in the New York Times. At length, the folks at Andrew Breitbart's Big Journalism got a hold of it and answered my original essay with this rebuttal: "Telling Us Who They Fear: Left Wing Journo Attacks Rep. Allen West," by Warner Todd Huston.

Note: I have just linked to Huston's story. Even though Huston spent 750 words grousing about my horribleness, he never linked to mine. This lapse is very nearly an admission of defeat. So's his first line:

Brandon K. Thorp, a gay activist from the alternative newsweekly Broward-Palm Beach New Times newspaper, is only the latest left-winger to launch a verbal assault on Lt. Col. Allen West...

Thus does Huston edge dangerously close to ad hominem twice before even explaining what he's on about. A logician Huston isn't. (And a gay activist, I'm not. Nor am I merely the "latest" person to criticize West; I was also among the first, and I'm certainly the most constant.) A serious critique can withstand open comparison with the object of criticism and can be made without reference to anybody's sexual proclivities.

More »

Working on a minibombshell that cuts to the heart of Broward Town -- also an interesting Rothstein political scoop. Reporting it now, so in lieu of actual news, I thought I'd share the latest gaffe from South Florida's own Rick Sanchez. This time, he reads an embarrassing bit from the TelePrompTer, reading "ad lib... tease." He was, of course, supposed to ad lib and tease an upcoming interview (with Keith Urban, it turns out). At the 21-second mark, you can see Sanchez freeze in what football coach Bill Curry used to call the "brook trout stare." He totally zones out for an instant. 

After the jump, check out the video of a similar moment in U.S. broadcasting history.

More »

You know, I'm really getting sick and tired of JAABlog getting all the credit for rude and insulting comments about judges around here.

Campbell

​It happened today at the Tower Club, where Mike Mayo moderated one of their hoity-toity luncheons. From the Sun-Sentinel coverage:

---------------------------

Contributing to the tumult, [Attorney and former state Sen. Skip] Campbell said, was the Internet and people who post anonymous comments railing against judges.

He did not refer to specific Internet sites or blogs, but JAABLOG, a courthouse gossip blog that highlights judicial missteps and encourages lawyers to run for judge, has become a popular forum for anonymous, critical - sometimes racist - comments about judges.

"We have people using the Internet as a means of communication to force humiliation on people they may disagree with," Campbell said. "We cannot allow this humiliation to

More »

The venerable Nikki Finke over at the NT's sister paper in L.A. has an interesting take on the Zell purchase of the Tribune Co., likening it to a mob takeover, with Zell as Tony Soprano and Tribune CEO Dennis J. FitzSimons playing the role of his new consigliere. She notes that his nickname is the "Grave Dancer," because he made his fortune buying up seemingly dead properties. You know, like Tribune Co. Here's an excerpt:

Someone asked FitzSimons what's "the vision" for the Trib's newspapers under Zell. "Basically, we never got around to discussing a vision for the papers," FitzSimons replied. I'm told a palpable shivver went through the Los Angeles Times newsroom among reporters and editors listening to those words. In all the news about Zell buying Tribune Co., I find this the most troubling. The reason is clear: this was a deal all about money, not about journalism or television or sports or any of the infotainment product that the Trib owns. FitzSimons alone is supposed to pocket $21+ mil. I told ya -- these guys are no better than Tony et al.

Finke made some phone calls to the offices of the Tribune-owned L.A. Times:

Talking to LA Times staff today, I'm hearing

More »

So a lawyer representing Buddy Nevins sent a letter to me and New Times Friday regarding the Philip Busey article posts. Yeah, Buddy's playing that way now, which I guess means he's definitely retiring from the Sun-Sentinel. His lawyer, by the way, is none other than Christopher Fertig, who is married to Mary Fertig, who is a close friend and co-conspirator of ...

Well, now's not the time or place for that. The point is that in the letter Buddy denied that lobbyist Ali Waldman was the source of the Busey article or had any influence on the writing of it. Well, I have to take him at his word for that, at least for now. And the fact is that I was beginning to have

More »

Remember that exchange between Daily Business Review Law Editor Harris Meyer and Chicago Tribune national correspondent Tim Jones ? Well, the Trib responded appropriately (this actually ran a few days ago, but I missed it):

"A main section story Tuesday on the possibility that serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer may have been involved in the 1981 murder of Adam Walsh neglected to mention that the Miami Daily Business Review published a story on Dec. 4 by Arthur Jay Harris, author of a book that raised questions about the Walsh murder investigation."