Baldwin Peppers Media With Friendly Fire

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(April 10) - Alec Baldwin has turned to his online column at HuffingtonPost.com to swat at the mainstream media and to make the case for that which leaves your hands inky: newspapers.

The '30 Rock' star writes that overall, television has lost much of its luster and that most cable news channels dedicate too much time to "salacious crimes and court cases." His favorite network appears to be MSNBC -- no surprise, because of its deep bench of liberal talking heads. But even he has some beefs.

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Alec Baldwin Snapshots

Actors Emma Roberts and Alec Baldwin attends the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City. 14th Annual Gen Art Film Festival - "Lymelife" Premiere Presented By Acura - Arrivals Visual Arts Theatre New York, NY United States April 1, 2009 Photo by Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic.com To license this image (57103524), contact FilmMagic.com

Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic.com

Actor Alec Baldwin attends the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City. 14th Annual Gen Art Film Festival - "Lymelife" Premiere Presented by Acura - Arrivals Visual Arts Theatre New York, NY United States April 1, 2009 Photo by Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic.com To license this image (57103529), contact FilmMagic.com

Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic.com

NEW YORK - APRIL 01: (L-R) Actors Alec Baldwin, Jill Hennessy, Rory Culkin and Kieran Culkin attend the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival presented by Acura, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alec Baldwin;Jill Hennessy;Rory Culkin;Kieran Culkin

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NEW YORK - APRIL 01: (L-R) Derick Martini, Emma Roberts, Jill Hennessy and Alec Baldwin attend the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival presented by Acura, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Derick Martini;Emma Roberts;Jill Hennessy;Alec Baldwin

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NEW YORK - APRIL 01: (L-R) Actors Emma Roberts, Jill Hennessy and Alec Baldwin attend the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival presented by Acura, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Emma Roberts;Jill Hennessy;Alec Baldwin

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NEW YORK - APRIL 01: Actor Alec Baldwin attends the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival presented by Acura, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alec Baldwin

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NEW YORK - APRIL 01: Actor Alec Baldwin speaks to reporters at the New York premiere of "Lymelife," opening selection of the Gen Arts Film Festival presented by Acura, at Visual Arts Theatre on April 1, 2009 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alec Baldwin

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On Keith Olbermann: "He wastes too much time pissing on Bush and his deposed cronies."

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On Rachel Maddow: "She is smart and charming but her writers are dreadful and the less cutesy she is, the better. She did an excellent interview with Colin Powell recently. The next night, I missed that tougher, less avuncular Rachel."

Baldwin laments the downward spiral of the newspaper industry, and recounts sadly how he and many others stopped reading The New York Times after the controversy involving Jayson Blair, a former staffer who fabricated stories.

He writes: "I realized that if the Times couldn't even properly and effectively assess their own, how could they be relied upon to assess public officials and figures?" Adding, "In Manhattan, copies of the New York Times often pile up everywhere."

But alas, he's back to buying the newspaper, and hopes others will do the same.

"I hope that one does not need to own a computer and a high speed connection in order to stay connected with the world of news and opinion. The Times, like many other important journals, is not perfect. Sometimes its writing and its priorities are downright awful. But that is rare."

Go to HuffPo to Read Alec's Whole Post

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FIGHT!

Sharon Osbourne, the wife of metal legend Ozzy, has landed herself in legal trouble thanks to an altercation with a VH1 reality contestant. During a 'Charm School' taping, Osbourne dumped a drink on the head of Megan Hauserman and allegedly hit and scratched her.

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Stephen King vs. Stephenie Meyer
"The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good," said King in February when comparing the 'Twilight' author to the 'Harry Potter' scribe.

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Margaret Cho vs. Miley Cyrus
"I am so upset by Miley Cyrus, I think it warrants a song!" the comic writes on her blog, before unleashing a scathing rebuke on the 'Hannah Montana' star for mocking Asian people in her latest photo dust-up.

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Etta James vs. Beyonce
Note to all future Presidents: If you wish to have the song 'At Last' performed at your function, it's best to use the original. James lashed out at Beyonce and President Barack Obama at a recent concert, saying the younger diva will "get her ass whipped" for playing her signature song for "the one with the big ears."

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Ashley Judd vs. Sarah Palin
The actress calls out the Alaska governor in a video for Defenders of Wildlife that slams the state's practice of killing wolves and bears from airplanes. Palin, in turn, shot back, calling it "reprehensible and hypocritical" that the group would use the state and her administration as a fundraising tool.

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Hilary Duff vs. Faye Dunaway
Dunaway asked the Chicago Sun-Times why the remake of 'Bonnie and Clyde' couldn't star a "real actress" instead of Duff. Duff responded by implying that Dunaway is irrelevant and badly aged. Meow.

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Christian Bale vs. Shane Hurlbut
Actor Christian Bale went ballistic on the set of 'Terminator Salvation' threatening to quit after director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, accidentally ruined a scene by walking onto the set.

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John Landis vs. Michael Jackson: The famed director is suing the king o' pop for "fraudulent, malicious and oppressive conduct" when it comes to paying his share of royalties for their groundbreaking collaboration, 'Thriller.'

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Larry Flynt vs. Jimmy Flynt II and Dustin Flynt: The porn peddler and his porn peddling kin are butting heads over the use of the family name. The elder Flynt is suing his nephews, both ex-Hustler employees, for selling "inferior products" (surprise, it's porn!) under the family name.

Charles Eshelman, FilmMagic

Jay Leno made comments to the New York Times, saying that Howard Stern has lost his influence since moving to satellite radio. Stern returned to the air to boast that he has more listeners than Leno has viewers. "Leno, with all of his horses**t has 5 million viewers ... Even downplaying it, we beat 'The Tonight Show'," says Stern.

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2009-04-10 12:14:28

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