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.

Another apology I'm not buying came from the Australian DJs who pranked a hospital and its nurse, mocking England's queen as the world and Matt Lauer wondered how the pregnant princess was doing.

OK, I shouldn't gripe about Lauer's show and its almost unpatriotic love of everything royal. I've got nine months of that ahead of me.

But the apologies offered by the now-canned DJs whose prank may have proven fatal rings very hallow. Of course, they are sorry that the person they pranked may have committed suicide. They never intended that.

A gap in their story: They never expected to get through. But if they taped the segment and they got through, why air the segment if that was not what the attended.

(Further bullshit from the station, they said they tried to call the hospital five times after the prank and before it aired. Hmm. They get through when pranking but can't get through to alert hospital to impending airing....right.)

Their apology included phrases like, "this has happened" to nurse Jacintha Saldanha. No, not what happened, but what "we did."

However, they weren't to blame for the death.  One cannot know that someone may commit suicide over an action. What about laying people off from their jobs? What about a bad grade?

Now, impersonating someone could be a fraud, so perhaps there is a crime; but to say this prank or impersonation caused a suicide is going too far. Sure, fire the DJs. Sure, hate and stop listening to the station. Write an angry letter. But they can't be charged with a crime or, I think, even sued. Someone committing suicide is making their own decision to end their life. It's too bad it happened. And it was a stupid prank, but these pranks go on all the time, and we can't legislate good taste.

And they've tried and tried over history to do so.

One man died in one of the most horrific ways I could imagine: pushed into the path of a subway and unable to climb out to safety in time. Image the terror.

Another man took pictures.

The freelance photographer for the New York Post says he took the pictures (one of which ended up on the front of the NY Post) as a way to alert the train's conductor to the plight of the victim, using the flash to signal the driver.

Yeah, I don't quite believe that.

HOWEVER, I'm not one to argue the man should have risked his own life to save the victim. Running or jumping into the path of danger is not easy to do and it's not my place to say what someone should have done. I likely would have hesitated. I also likely would have hesitated to take a picture.

Here is an update to the case from the NYT, looking at the various ethical implications and reflections that this case has on our society.

No one helped the victim. I don't know how far away people were but some reports say the victim had about 20 seconds. I would like to think someone close enough could have reached down to grab his arm and help him up. I wasn't there though, and my guess is that no one did because no one could.

While I don't believe the photographer's excuse, I don't begrudge the photographer. Too many people nowadays like to jump on someone from afar. I'm amazed at the calls to fire people, jail them, or shoot  them by people who simply see a post of Facebook or read an online story. Yes, we all have opinions, and I share mine here sometimes. But people are too quick to condemn.

Why isn't there more outrage for the man who pushed this poor guy? That guy, I could say, should burn in hell after finishing his life in a nasty New York prison. I don't know what led him to push the victim, but my first thought is he shouldn't be, to use the popular phrase, walking the streets, or in this case, taking the subway.

Leave the photographer alone. If people really cared, the newspaper would fold for its insensitivity, but hey, it was a big story, a great photo and a true snapshot into what happened in that instance.

Ok, I'm back, as Oprah has gone quietly into the night.

So a while back I wondered about the next big media explosion, and it turned out to be a couple of slowburners. Neither the flooding of the Mississippi nor Oprah Winfrey's final episode completely dominated the news, but combined they kept the newscasters and bloggers busy for a week or two, as the water slowed moved southbound and Oprah moved her army of wellwishers through the couches and chairs.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunning double life and admitted affair almost surpassed the royal wedding....oh, nevermind, nothing came close to covering that affair, but Arnold gave it a good go. What's so amazing about that story is how the media MISSED it for more than a decade. It was a juicy story before the political career started but both Hollywood paparazzi and the nation's political reporters had no clue about the love child. How did Arnold get the free pass? Perhaps because he played with the media and didn't run from them, so they had little reason to dig.

How impressive that he kept the child and affair hidden. It almost came out because he (or really, his wife) decided it was time to come out with the separation.

The comments came in fast and furious and they were informative, informed, sharp and pretty much on target. Two postings on our Facebook page results in about 20 comments, and two versions of the AP story on Obama's release of his long-form birth certificate brought another 20 comments.

I liked the variety of comments from the community, a real highlight to my day.

Kenya? No. It looks like it's Hawaii.
Readers were split on Wednesday's release of the president's birth certificate, a hot button topic in the cable news political arena.
Barack Obama said he hopes the "silliness" of this debate ends so he and other leaders can focus on real problems, such as jobs, the economy, and the national debt.
But others believe that the subject of Obama’s Hawaiian birth, and subsequently his nationality, are real issues. Even Donald Trump, the possible Republican candidate and NBC reality TV star, claimed victory, pronouncing his pleasure at having finally convinced the president to release the long version of his birth certificate.
Here, though, is some of what you had to say, both on our story page and on our Facebook page:
- Liz Scott Waters: "Trump is a joke."
n Maria Christina Gusmano-Tomasino: "Nothing more important going on than this silly issue? I'm embarrassed and saddened by our priorities today."
n Venus Long: "It's a shame that we can not take the word of our president and he has to show proof!"
- Mark Steven: "Obama’s Dad was born in Kenya ... so Obama is not a natural born citizen. People don't even know what the Constitution says."
- Vq Videos: "Trump is NOT part of the political establishment and doesn't give a rat's behind what the media wants to say about him, AND HE GOT IT DONE ... FINALLY someone who's willing to stand up to the "get-along" political establishment."
- Vq Videos again: "How come "Mr. Transparency" has fought this simple, trifling matter for this long in the first place? Because he and other politicians think they don't REALLY answer to anyone?"
- Melissa Behm Marra: "It's really a shame when the president has to tell the politicians to stop being so immature."
n Diana Clark Davis: "If he wasn't hiding anything he shouldn't have had a problem with it."
- Ed Fisher: "I just wonder how many presidents have been harassed regarding their birth certificates? Is it because he is bi-racial, admitting to his father being from another country? Just curious is all."
- Joan G. Berndt: "I don't know what took him so long, but the whole matter is irrelevant. Let's get the economy solved and the dollar shored up. Since his mother is a native born American, the whole debate is absurd."
- rd rge: "To me it is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of. Why he would have waited so long? Let's just hope no more taxpayer dollars are WASTED!"
- Big Boss: "If there was no doubt, it would have taken just a few days at best to produce, not a few years. Why did it take so long to show a birth certificate if the Obama camp knew this was going to be an issue?"
- Jim: "It's just more proof that Obama is a wimp who caves to right-wing idiots and extremists at every opportunity. He needs to grow a pair and fight instead of constantly begging the GOP to stop hurting him. "
- gg10: "I would rather see Donald Trump's tax statement and see how much money he hides in overseas banks or how many of his businesses have overseas addresses."
Stephen Frye is online editor at TheOaklandPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevefrye or @TheOaklandPress. Email him at steve.frye@oakpress.com. He also writes this blog.

I must say I'm sick of the 'dramatic return' to Augusta story about Tiger Woods. Yes, he took a little time off from golf. Yes, he's had some headaches.
But let's get real; he wasn't gone that long. In baseball, he missed spring training. In football, he missed camp.
No biggie.
He only plays the Majors anyway (well, ok, he's out there more, but he skips a lot of tournaments to focus on the big ones; and that' s fine, because he is THE STAR).
But it was sickening to watch him fight the media as his sex scandal grew and it was pathetic watching him grovel and snivel his way through the apologies and lame press conferences. Even the first two five-minute interviews were a sham, it appeared.
But then he took questions at Augusta. And he was back. He looked natural. He looked comfortable. (And by back, I mean, back to his old self when it comes to interacting with the public, which was never touchy feely or very personable.)
There's a difference between being back in the public eye and back on the golf course. He was never gone from golf. It's not like he took a year or two off. Numerous sports figures have left and returned, missing significant time for injuries or premature retirements. (Or, they've returned from retirements they should have stayed in).
Tiger is back from a few months off -- mostly the off season. Big deal.
But he is back from being a wimpy whiny pampered star and it back to being a fierce athlete who is comfortable with who he is.
And no matter my opinion of his personal life, it's good to see the best golfer playing his game.