TV Weather Anchor Hiring Decisions Are Acts in Furtherance of Free Speech

Thanks to a California intermediate appellate court’s recent reversal of a Los Angeles County trial court, CBS is halfway towards the early dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit filed by a man CBS declined to hire for a weather anchor position.  The case is Hunter v. CBS Broadcasting Inc.

The plaintiff, Kyle Hunter, filed a gender and age discrimination complaint against CBS Broadcasting Inc. asserting that CBS violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.  He alleges that two local CBS television stations in Los Angeles …

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Will It Soon Be Lights Out for the Black Out Rule?

Exciting news was announced for sports fans living in towns with fluctuating home game attendance this week.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it is reviewing the need for the “blackout” rule.

The nearly 40 year old rule prevents satellite and cable companies from televising NFL Events in a team’s home market if the game does not sell out.  The blackout rule was developed when teams earned a significant portion of their revenue from ticket sales.  The idea was implemented in 1975 to encourage fans …

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‘Saturday Night Live’s’ Lack of Diversity No Laughing Matter

Saturday Night Live kicked off its 39th season last month with host Tina Fey and musical guest Arcade Fire, along with six new castmembers. However, according to the website Zap2It, the new additions showed that SNL producer Lorne Michaels “has a diversity problem” — the six are all white, with only one woman. This criticism has been voiced before; during SNL’s nearly four decades on air, only four black women have been included as cast members. But the controversy took on new …

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NY Judge Says Dr. Oz’s Viewers Are Not His Patients

A New York State court judge declined to view Dr. Mehmet Oz’s audience as patients.  As a result, the judge dismissed one viewer’s claim against Dr. Oz for providing negligent medical advice on his TV show.

In March 2013, Frank Dietl filed suit against Dr. Oz claiming he suffered second and third-degree burns on his feet by following the doctor’s advice.  After viewing an episode on insomnia, Dietl tried the suggested remedy to cure sleeplessness caused by cold feet.

Dr. Oz recommended putting uncooked rice …

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FX facing mark’s F-X-Xtinction?

The name seemed silly from the moment those commercials started to run. You know them — the ones with the cast members of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia speaking to each other in what sounds, to the naked ear, like Swedish. The ad spots changed as the summer season rolled out on FX, but the punchline of each promo was always the same, with one cast member saying the name of the channel that the great comedy show was moving to. Repeat after Danny DeVito: …

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Godzilla vs. Mechahopzilla

Beer Advocate, the Godzilla of beer reviewers, gave Mechahopzilla, the newest IPA entry from the New Orleans Lager & Ale Brewing Company (NOLA) a score of 89 percent and an overall rating of “very good.” But there was at least one company that was not overjoyed with the summer success of a beer known as Mechahopzilla and, as a result, NOLA appears to have gotten itself in some hop-filled, boiling water. This week, the popular brewer was dragged into federal court, in the Eastern …

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Parents Television Council Wishes MTV & Miley Really Would Stop

The Parents Television Council (PTC) was not impressed with MTV’s annual Video Music Awards show (VMAs). The conservative watchdog group, known for its protests against various television programs, blasted the Viacom-owned cable network for its raunchy telecast on that premiered on August 25, 2013. This time, the PTC is protesting former child star Miley Cyrus’ performance on the 2013 VMAs that included sexually suggestive conduct. The one-time Disney star repeatedly grabbed her crotch and “dry-humped” singer Robin Thicke, as he sang his hit song “Blurred …

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Advantage, Williams Sisters?

As Serena Williams effortlessly marched on to the third round of the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadow yesterday, it was a recent victory for the Open’s number-one seed on (or in) another court that caught the Sports Law Insiders attention in the last couple of weeks. On August 13, in the case entitled United States Tennis Association Incorporated v. VSW Productions LLC, M& M Films, Inc., Maiken Baird and Michelle Major, 13 CV 4124, District Judge Nelson Roman of the Southern District of New …

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Former Producer Sues the WWE Over Big Show’s Aggressive Interview That Was All Too Real

Former WWW Producer Andrew Green has filed suit against World Wrestling Entertainment (the “WWE”) and professional wrestler Paul Wight Jr. a/k/a “Big Show” over a messy backstage interview.  Part of Green’s job responsibilities as a producer was to interview wrestlers following their bouts.  Green was asked to interview Big Show after his World Heavyweight Championship bout vs. Alberto Del Rio during January’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event.  Big Show initially refused to do the interview until he was informed that it was ordered by a high …

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Al Gore Currently in Court over Al Jazeera Sale

Former Vice President Al Gore, Current TV LLC and others were recently sued in California state court by John Terenzio, an entertainment consultant from the Los Angeles consulting firm TAP, Inc.  Terenzio accuses Gore and the other defendants of selling Current TV to the Al Jazeera Media Network two months ago without providing Terenzio the compensation he claims he is owed for setting up the terms of the transaction with the Qatar-based media giant.  The suit for breach of implied agreement seeks at least $5 …

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