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Google has won a landmark ruling as a judge threw out a $1bn lawsuit brought by Viacom accusing the internet giant of allowing copyrighted material on its YouTube service without permission. Viacom had accused Google of "massive intentional copyright infringement". But the Manhattan judge said Google and YouTube could not be held liable merely for having a "general awareness" that videos might be posted illegally. Media conglomerate Viacom said it planned to appeal against the decision. Google called the ruling "an important victory". 'Safe harbour' Viacom had claimed that "tens of thousands of videos" based on its copyrighted works had...

Appearing on Monday’s The Colbert Report on Comedy Central to promote his book, "The Promise," MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Alter – also of Newsweek – asserted that President Barack Obama had "prevented another Great Depression," and declared that Obama had it more difficult than Franklin Delano Roosevelt because he had to "sweep up" like a "shovel brigade" after President Bush, as he used a word that had to be bleeped out for airing. Alter: "He proceeded to make history almost right away, not only because he was the first African-American elected President ... we were all living history. This man...

F-bombs and Women Kissing at the MTV Movie Awards By Noel Sheppard Created 06/07/2010 - 12:30 As I walked into the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios Sunday evening, I had no idea the level of vulgarity I was in store for. Attending my first MTV Movie Awards, I was immediately stunned by the number of F-words in the opening video clip of Tom Cruise recreating his movie executive roll in the film "Tropic Thunder." Little did I know that the evening would be filled with F-bombs from a number of Hollywoodans, so much so that the man that accepted the...

NEW YORK--Conservative and religious groups that have long complained about the irreverent treatment of Christianity on Comedy Central have a new target: an animated series about Jesus Christ living in modern-day New York. It's unclear whether the show — one of 28 projects the network listed last month on its slate of potential programs for the coming season — will ever make it out of script development. But that hasn't stopped a coalition of media watchdog groups from launching an effort to persuade advertisers to boycott the project, if it ever comes to fruition. Here's a description of the show...

The 2012 Draft Sarah Committee has produced three videos titled “Summoned” calling for Gov. Palin to run for President in 2012. The videos produced by Randy Highsmith, Chairman 2012 Draft Sarah Committee, and Ron Devito, Publisher, US for Palin, come in 30- and 60-second TV ad spots and 2:51 version

Police in New York are investigating whether a car bomb in Times Square was targeted on the makers of South Park over a controversial depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.The device, which failed to detonate, was left near the offices of Viacom, which owns the irreverent cartoon series. Last month postings on an Islamic website warned the creators of South Park - Matt Stone and Trey Parker - that they could face violent reprisals after an episode of the show featured Muhammad in a bear suit. A posting on the website of a US-based group called Revolution Muslim warned Stone and...

For nearly 13 years, the irreverent -- to put it mildly -- cartoon show "South Park" has ridiculed every sacred convention in the book, from major religions and celebrities to gays and the physically disabled. Nearly every bit of over-the-top satire has outraged someone or some group and prompted calls for the show to be boycotted or even banned. And each time, for better or for worse, the program's network, Comedy Central, has stood firmly behind creator-producers Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Except when it comes to Islam and the prophet Mohammed. This week, to mark its 200th episode, "South...

The “South Park” creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, have issued a statement in response to Comedy Central’s decision to alter an episode after a Muslim group’s warning: In the 14 years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped...

Satirical animated TV show "South Park" beeped out the words Prophet Muhammad and plastered its Wednesday episode with the word "CENSORED" after being issued a grim warning by a U.S. Muslim group. The irreverent comedy show on Comedy Central also substituted a controversial image seen last week of the Prophet Muhammad in a bear outfit with one of Santa Claus in the same costume. It was not immediately clear if the move was a bid to tread carefully following the warning against the "South Park" creators, or if they were poking fun at the fuss.

NEW YORK -- Music videos are still valuable content for MTV, even though viewers' evolving tastes have required an expansion into reality and other shows, Van Toffler, president of Viacom's MTV Networks Music and Logo Group, said here Thursday. Asked about how good a business his firm's "Beatles: Rock Band" video game is, he said: "I believe it will sell forever, and it will be a good deal." The game has so far sold about a couple of million units, he said. Toffler made his comments during a keynote interview at the Billboard Music & Money Symposium here Thursday. Asked...

After six years of legal wrangling and one Supreme Court review of Janet Jackson's infamous Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," CBS argued anew Tuesday that it should not be held responsible for the half-second of nudity. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia had thrown out the FCC's $550,000 fine against CBS as arbitrary, only to have the U.S. Supreme Court kick it back down for review. The Supreme Court pointed to its ruling in a Fox Television-led challenge, when it said the FCC could threaten fines over the use of a single curse word on live TV. ...CBS was...

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- The hit MTV television show "16 and Pregnant" is back for its controversial second season featuring a new slate of pregnant teenage girls and their stories. The network has never been one to shy away from abortion but one pro-abortion blogger says she's upset the show doesn't promote teen abortions. Blogger Jessica Valenti shows just how pro-abortion the pro-choice movement is because she's upset the show isn't promoting teen abortions and, instead, profiles girls who keep their baby."Where are the pregnant teens who choose not to stay pregnant? Where are the abortions?" she complains. "If...

I thought I would be in a better mood in 2010. I mean, you can't do much worse than 2009. But after only 24 days, I'm deeply cranky about several things on the food radar. Watercress-gate: Earlier this month, Food Network aired an episode of "Iron Chef America" starring White House chef Cristeta Comerford competing with Bobby Flay against Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse. The hook: The chefs were to use vegetables harvested from the White House kitchen garden started by Michelle Obama. Only they didn't. Sure, they showed the four chefs tromping through the garden picking and snipping and...

OK Yall. We turned on the Country Music channel and are watching Country at the White House. Brad Paisley is performing and we are enjoying the intamate lil concert and I blab out to KV that this must be an event for GW/Laura and friends. UHG! There the camera goes (60 inch tv) on Obama Close up and the Michelle too. They then cut to an interview with Brad done in the WH driveway and he oozed with Obama Love. How painful! Music so good but the butt kissing Country Love to obama is horrid. The Grand Ole opry just...

September is back-to-school time for VH1, as well. An education-centered special, Get Schooled, is set to debut on VH1 and its sister stations on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 8/7c. Check the details below: Want to know what it’s like to work with Kelly Clarkson, LeBron James and President Obama — and what it takes to get there? Then tune in to Get Schooled: You Have The Right on Tuesday, September 8 at 8PM EST. Airing on VH1 and its sister channels (BET, CMT, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and Spike), this 30-minute special shows how applying oneself during school will greatly...

If you’ve been waiting since the ‘80’s to see an overstuffed talking chair catapult a suit clad man-child into a fantastic like sketch, you’re day has finally come. The Pee-wee Herman Show  is back and this time, Paul Reubens promises to keep it in his gray polyesters. Reubens said, “It’s time…. I've put part of him away for a long time, but part of him has always been here with me. I think it will be like riding a bike - which is not a bad analogy for Pee-wee, by the way." That’s right; the long-awaited return of Pee-wee Herman...

Viacom's second-quarter profit tumbled 32 percent as revenue fell amid a weak advertising market, slower video game sales and fewer movie releases. The media conglomerate controlled by billionaire Sumner Redstone earned $277 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with $407 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Excluding 3 cents per share in severance charges, adjusted earnings were 49 cents in the latest quarter. Revenue slipped 14 percent to $3.3 billion. Analysts projected income of 48 cents per share on sales of $3.5 billion. New York-based Viacom Inc. owns a wide range of media...

MTV Networks is axing around 75 staff Tuesday, executives at the company confirmed. The cuts mainly affect mid-level executives in the program development department, digital division and scheduling at the company's music and logo group which houses channels including MTV, VH1 and Logo. A spokeswoman confirmed the news saying the cuts were a result of the recession. "We have been taking a look at our business and how to position ourselves for future growth. It's pretty much the economy," she said, adding that the cuts accounted for less than 1% of MTV Networks' workforce. The executive couldnt discuss how many...

'New York Times' Spiked Obama Donor Story Congressional Testimony: ‘Game-Changer’ Article Would Have Connected Campaign With ACORN. By Michael P. Tremoglie, The Bulletin Monday, March 30, 2009 A lawyer involved with legal action against Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) told a House Judiciary subcommittee on March 19 The New York Times had killed a story in October that would have shown a close link between ACORN, Project Vote and the Obama campaign because it would have been a "a game changer." Heather Heidelbaugh, who represented the Pennsylvania Republican State Committee in the lawsuit against the group, recounted...

Before he left CNBC's Jim Cramer in the dirt, Jon Stewart had pretty much knocked CNN's "Crossfire" off the air and drawn blood from Chris Matthews and Bill Kristol, among others. But he also played a role in helping to elect Barack Obama. Mainly it was through his show's withering and wicked mockery of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for several years, and much of the same directed at John McCain and Sarah Palin (Stewart suggested that she might be "tagged and released into the wilderness"). Here are just a few of Stewart's highlights for the final year of...