TV News LIES

A spiritual visit by the US vice-president, Mike Pence, to Jerusalem’s Western Wall has been overshadowed after female journalists were forced to stand behind their male counterparts in a fenced-off area.

While women and men are separated by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish authority that runs the plaza, both sexes are normally able to look into each other’s section. During previous visits by Donald Trump and Barack Obama, sexes were divided although female reporters and photographers were afforded an unobstructed view.

Former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson said on Monday he would work toward securing the release of two Reuters journalists arrested in Myanmar in his capacity as a member of an international advisory board on the crisis in Rakhine state.

Richardson said he was chosen by Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi to sit on the 10-member board that will advise on how to implement recommendations of an earlier commission headed by former U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan regarding the situation in the state.

MSNBC will not renew a contributor contract with Joan Walsh, a national affairs correspondent for The Nation and former editor-at-large for Salon.

The decision by the network prompted regret from Walsh and open criticism from MSNBC hosts Joy Reid and Chris Hayes.

“Joan Walsh has been a key voice on MSNBC for years and she’s absolutely still welcome. Every year we review our paid contributors list across the ideological spectrum. Unfortunately we couldn’t renew Joan, but she and her distinct perspective will still be invited on our shows," an MSNBC spokesperson told the Hill in a statement on Saturday.

Two former Fox News employees have joined a defamation lawsuit against the network and ex-star host Bill O’Reilly.

Andrea Mackris and Rebecca Gomez Diamond, who both reached settlements with O’Reilly and Fox after accusing the host of sexual harassment, joined the lawsuit filed by former Fox producer and fellow O’Reilly accuser Rachel Wittlieb Bernstein.

“These women were specifically identified in the NY Times article, to which O’Reilly and Fox responded with false and defamatory statements,” the trio’s lawyer said in a statement.

More...

Matt Lauer, a familiar face in morning news as the anchor of "Today" for two decades, was fired by NBC News after a detailed complaint about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace that took place during the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

The accusation also noted that the alleged behavior continued after the games, NBC News confirmed.

"Today" co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb were emotional as they announced Lauer's firing Wednesday, telling viewers at the top of the live broadcast that they were "heartbroken" over his departure but didn't yet know all of the details.