Gregory Gets the Gig

"You're a promotional genius. This kind of publicity can only help raise your visibility and possibly even goose your ratings at MSNBC.

"Let's face it. It appears that you have lost some of your luster at the all-news cable network. Lately, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow -- who are pretty much, respectively, blunter and wittier versions of you at their best -- have now become the twin faces of the General Electric cable unit.

"Clearly you've needed something hot to stay relevant, keep your mug in the news and boost your ratings. Eureka! Irony! Publicity!"

A very different take from John Brabender in National Review:

"Chris Matthews running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania is an absolutely marvelous idea. That is, if you are Arlen Specter. If the Specter campaign could design their perfect opponent, it would look remarkably like Chris Matthews . . .

"A Matthews candidacy does for Specter what he has trouble doing for himself: It solidifies his support among conservatives."

But wait! Politico: says that "Chris Matthews is expected to sign a long-term contract to remain as host of MSNBC's 'Hardball.' "

Obama seems to be disarming some conservative critics, but as the Chicago Tribune's Eric Zorn points out, not all:

"Silly me. Here I had been thinking that the wild-eyed foamers at the mouth who were driven nearly to madness by the prospect of Barack Obama's election to the presidency were going to wait until Obama actually did something to offend them before going nuts again. But no. Those who spent most of the 1990s seething that Bill and Hillary Clinton were serial murderers and who devoted the entire 2008 campaign cycle to painting Obama as a mysterious radical aren't relaxing during the transition. Much of their energy these days is devoted to the effort to block Obama from assuming the presidency on the grounds that he's not a "natural-born citizen" of the United States, as the Constitution requires. . . .

"Many of these zealots claim to be mere defenders of the Constitution. But poke them, as I did in some instances, and out rushes the gassy blast of Bill-Ayers-Reverend-Wright-Tony-Rezko-Rashid-Khalidi-Occidental-College-Records and other points of concern that did not, to their dismay, turn the electorate against Obama."

For those who may have missed Jeremiah Wright, he's ba-a-ack:

"For the first time since his retirement last spring, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. returned to the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ this morning with two goals: glorifying God and vilifying the media . . .

"Wright said no amount of media coverage could dampen Trinity spirit. 'Jesus said upon this rock I will build -- listen to the promise -- my church,' he said. 'And the gates of Hell -- listen to the promise -- the gates of Hell -- neither ABC nor CNN -- the gates of Hell -- neither Hannity nor O'Reilly -- the gates of Hell -- neither Time, Time magazine, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune . . . the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. Nothing will be impossible with God.' " I'd venture to say that Fox's prime-time lineup for tomorrow night is all set.

You may recall the New York Times, in a front-page story, accusing People magazine of promising Angelina Jolie favorable coverage in a $14 million deal for pictures of her newborn twins. People flatly denied the allegation. Now Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt basically sides with the magazine:

"I have read the seven-page contract for the photos and interview. It made no mention of positive coverage, an editorial plan, a road map for a layout or any other editorial conditions. It said the magazine was buying the North American rights to 10 photographs and that Jolie and Pitt would answer e-mailed questions . . .

"There is no question that Jolie has a history of trying to manipulate coverage of her, and it is frustrating to [Brooks] Barnes and his editor, Bruce Headlam, that some of the people speaking to me would not speak to him when he was reporting the story. But I think that unless one of his sources is willing to come forward -- on the record -- and state firsthand knowledge . . . the paper needs to correct the impression it left of a deal it cannot prove."

Howard Kurtz hosts CNN's weekly media program, "Reliable Sources."