Thursday Morning Sarahcuda Bites for April 15, 2010

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Dems' Dumpster Diving Docs Disputed: As we reported last night, the claim by two CSUS students that they found pages from Sarah Palin's contract in a campus dumpster have been disputed by the university's president. Hamid Shirvani says the paperwork was not part of Sarah Palin's speaking contract, but an unsigned copy of an earlier version of the agreement:

"Somebody took pages four to nine of an earlier contract, unsigned, that the vice president for advancement threw in her recycling trash bin," Shirvani said as he spoke on the matter for the first time. "This is not the contract. There's no price on it."

Tuesday, several students opposed to Gov. Palin's June 25 speaking engagement at the school appeared at a news conference with State Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, and a pile of documents, including bank stubs, financial spreadsheets and five pages of what Yee and the students claimed was part of the Palin contract.

Looks to us like another loaded cigar has made some Democrat heads explode. Wyle E. Coyote goes off the cliff again...

Not a Kernell of Truth: The son of a Democrat state Rep. in Tennessee will finally go to trial next week for wire fraud and intentionally accessing Sarah Palin’s e-mail account back in 2008. Gov. Palin will travel to Knoxville to testify for the prosecution. Reports from AP here and Knoxville's WATE here.

What side of the cable are you on? An interesting study of the demographics and political orientation of those who watch cable television finds that viewers of the History Channel, Discovery and TLC are very right-leaning:

Discover magazine's Razib Khan concludes, "It makes more sense now that TLC has Sarah Palin’s new show if they knew their viewer demographics well."

Moonbats Mahr, Matthews Make More Mindless MSNBC Misogynistic Madness: NewsBuster Geoffrey Dickens notes just how low a couple of pieces of human filth can sink in front of televisions cameras. Disgusting.

Palinmania, eh? Sarah Palin's next event is a fundraiser tonight in Hamilton Ontario:

It will benefit the Charity of Hope, an organization that helps children.

[...]

About 9-hundred people are expected to attend tonight's 200-dollar a plate dinner.

The governor has donated some memorabilia to be auctioned off at the event for the children's charity.

Flight of the Imagination: There's quite a media buzz (like flies) over what Gov. Palin said when asked in Boston about teaming up with Mitt Romney for a 2012 White House run. She replied in a manner that was consistent with Reagan's 11th Commandment. People shouldn't try to make too much out of it. As Ed Morrissey commented, "Something tells me Sarah was having some fun with reporters..."

- JP

It's Official: "Sarah Palin's Alaska" will air on TLC

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Numerous entertainment outlets have been buzzing, as we related, that Discovery Communications has acquired “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” the documentary series that the former Alaska governor has proposed about her state. The New York Times "Media Decoder" blog reported this morning that Gov. Palin's project will be cablecast on Discovery Communications' The Learning Channel:

The eight-episode travelogue will “reveal Alaska’s powerful beauty as it has never been filmed, and as told by one of the state’s proudest daughters,” Peter Liguori, Discovery’s chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The channel has not yet specified a premiere date for “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” in part because it has yet to start filming. The title could change.

Discovery's news release characterizes the endeavor as a “documentary series about the remarkable Governor Palin and her home state of Alaska.” The company has acquired both the U.S. and overseas rights to the series.

Eileen O’Neill, the president and general manager of TLC, said in a statement that “TLC is grounded in great storytelling, strong characters, and passionate audiences drawn to extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. We are confident ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ will be another compelling television event.”

Discovery's announcement is here, and the Times' full report is here.

- JP

Source: Palin-Discovery deal is 'in the bag'

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A spokesman for Sarah Palin is referring questions about the much-talked-about pending deal with Discovery networks to cablecast her "Sarah Palin's Alaska" documentary series to producer Mark Burnett's office. But Burnett is not returning requests for comment. Nor are Discovery's spokespersons. So the reports of a deal on the verge of being done remain unconfirmed.

However, People Magazine has a source at the Discovery Channel who says an agreement is "in the bag":

According to everyone from Variety to The Washington Post, the series Sarah Palin's Alaska has been picked up for a reported $1-million-plus per episode.

Variety says Palin's project with reality-TV rainmaker Mark Burnett "will center on interesting characters, traditions and attractions in the 49th state – with the ex-VP candidate as a guide."

Don't touch that dial...

- JP

Discovery said to have the edge for Sarah Palin documentary

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According to The Hoillywood Reporter, Sarah Palin is close to finalizing a deal for her doumentary television series about Alaska:

Sources say Discovery Communications has edged out rival A&E Networks in the bidding for the project, titled "Sarah Palin's Alaska." An agreement could be announced in the next few days.

It's still undecided which network in the Discovery suite would air "Alaska," which is being produced by Mark Burnett Productions.

Although travelogues are on brand for the Discovery flagship, having Palin as a centerpiece also makes the show a fit for mom-friendly TLC. Clearly nature docs are still viable for the company -- Discovery's latest effort in genre, the miniseries "Life," just debuted to 11.8 million viewers on Sunday night.

It is rumored that the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate is asking for $1.2 million per episode. THR says the series will be in high-definition format and will be shot in a style similar to "Life" and "Planet Earth." Sarah Palin will appear as a guide to the Alaskan outdoors and narrator for each episode.

There's been no official confirmation of any of the above yet from Discovery Communications or the Palin inner circle.

- JP

A&E and Discovery bid for Sarah Palin's documentary series

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The television project Sarah Palin recently shopped around when she was in Los Angeles has at least two interested takers, according to Variety's Michael Schneider. A&E and Discovery appear to be the front-runners to land the Alaska-themed series for an estimated $1 million per episode:

For A&E, Palin would fit in with the network's strategy of reality shows with larger-than-life, sometimes polarizing celebrities. The network, after all, has a show set in the other non-continental U.S. state, Hawaii, which stars another maverick of sorts -- Dog the Bounty Hunter. But A&E sister History might also make sense, as one of that channel's signature series, "Ice Road Truckers," already takes place in Alaska.

Discovery could also make a logical home, as the channel's hit "Deadliest Catch" is also shot in Palin Country. And Palin also happened to make a brief appearance on Discovery's 2008 doc "Toughest Race on Earth: Iditarod" -- shot before she became a household name.

According to insiders, a decision could be made in the next day or two.

Schneider says Gov. Palin's star power is fueling the interest in her project. Read his Variety blog post here. 

h/t: Denise Martin

- JP

Fox News: Sarah Palin Presenting Alaska Documentary Idea to Networks

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Fox News reports that Sarah Palin is meeting with television executives this week to present her proposal for a documentary about her home state:

Despite several media reports that the project was a reality show, Fox411 confirms that it is a documentary that will focus on the people, geography and wildlife of Alaska. A source close to Palin says the show has absolutely nothing to do with her personal life or her family.

Palin is teaming up with “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett and Robert Barnett to produce the project, sources tell Fox. The group is in Los Angeles this week meeting with network heads about the documentary, and there is already “great interest” in it. In total, the group will meet with six different networks.

Unlike Vice President Biden, who doesn’t "have to do anything," the former governor adds yet another Palin Project to her busy schedule. After her grand slam appearance on Jay Leno's show Tuesday, Gov. Palin's publisher announced Wednesday that she's started work on writing a second book. She's booked for about twenty-five speaking engagements clear into October and will also campaign for candidates John McCain and Michele Bachmann. And on top of all this, she's a Fox News contributor with a full family life. 

Update: The Hillbuzz guys think Sarah's proposed documentary is a swell idea. A video of Chris Wallace setting the record straight is here, and a AP report which has the story correct is here. 

- JP

Sarah Palin: Don't miss Glenn Beck's "The Revolutionary Holocaust"

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On her Facebook Notes page today, Sarah Palin urged her more than 2.5 million fans to tune in to watch Glenn Beck’s documentary "The Revolutionary Holocaust":

Be sure to watch Beck’s “Revolutionary Holocaust” documentary today

Please be sure to catch Glenn Beck’s documentary today (Friday, January 22nd) at 5pm ET on the Fox News Channel. You can learn more about it and watch a preview of it here. The documentary will trace the history of communism and socialism and continue Beck’s study of the roots of the progressive movement in our country. It promises to be an eye-opener for many of us.

- Sarah Palin

- JP