Howard Kurtz is kinda the go-to guy when it comes to media criticism.

He is good on TV, engaging in social media and a sharp thinker and writer.

And he's everywhere.

Well, he was everywhere. Mostly seen on CNN's "Reliable Sources," he won't be read anymore at the Daily Beast (and Newsweek) as he was fired after a poorly written commentary on the Jason Collins coming out story that accused the NBA veteran of not disclosing he had been engaged. Collins did address that, not enough for Kurtz to notice.

But the commentary may not have been why he was fired. The criticized commentary spurned a look into Kurtz's other jobs, including writing and promoting a small web site, the Daily Download. Does he like their work, or is he an owner? 

Small issues for most, but big for him. I enjoy listening to and reading his work, but when your job is to criticize, well, it's like painting a target on your own back, especially if you don't disclose your own relationships.

It's an interesting story within the business.

Kudos for the HuffingtonPost.com for its calling out the CNN network on trying to exploit the cruise ship story.

A reporter compared it to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, when interviewing one passenger as he left, and he was quick to put it in proper perspective. We were on a freaking cruise, he said, calling it a disastrous vacation but not a disaster.


Well done, sir.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, contrasting the slow return of the cruise ship, a meteorite exploded over Russia a few hours later. Hopefully, no one dies, but so far, about a thousand suffered some kind of injury as countless windows exploded when the sonic boom occurred.




If it's not deadly, it's certainly a reminder that we can be vulnerable to catastrophe, especially as we are awaiting a near miss with a large asteroid later this afternoon.

Now, those are some big stories, especially if you include the Olympic hero now charged with a domestic violence murder in South Africa.

How large is the CNN international bureau nowadays?

Just gotta say, and Jon Stewart got this one right with this look at CNN.

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Unfortunately, it's only going to get worse.