Trials of Dan Rather
A CBS News spokeswoman says Dan Rather has not been subpoenaed to testify in the trial of Shawn Allen Berry, contrary to an Associated Press report.
“The report is wrong,” she said. “Dan has not been subpoenaed, has not been given a piece of paper and has not been contacted by anybody.”
The AP reported late yesterday that Rather has been subpoenaed because he interviewed Berry for a “60 Minutes II” report on the horrific death of James Byrd Jr., a black man dragged to death by a pickup truck belonging to the white Berry.
Howard’s beached
Muzzle the whispers: It had nothing to do with “the breakup.”
Howard Stern’s bad cold forced the cancellation of his radio show yesterday – just two days after Stern talked about his shocking separation from wife Alison.
Instead, K-Rock (92.3 FM) listeners heard an old “Best Of” show.
Howard is expected back this morning (6-10 a.m.).
MTV’s new ‘Lyricist’
MTV is set to announce “The Lyricist Lounge,” which will debut in January 2000.
The half-hour show, described as “urban sketch comedy,” will air on “The 10 Spot” and will feature skits by actors, comedians and hip hop artists.
“We’ll also have lyrical sketches, which will be comedy and drama done in rhyme,” said show co-creators Perry Landesberg and Jake Septimus.
The White stuff
Ch.11 has snagged an exclusive interview with U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, who talks with Jonathan Dienst tonight (10 p.m.) about Amadou Diallo, John “Junior” Gotti and Osama Bin Laden.
“Since the Diallo case we’ve been calling and asking her for comment,” Dienst said. “I finally wrote her a letter saying that these are important public issues she should talk about . . . and she agreed.”
Maury’s dilemma
Maury Povich is having trouble explaining Nickelodeon’s “CatDog” character to son Matthew, 4.
CatDog, for the uninitiated, is half cat, half dog. The people at Nick even sent Maury a Cat Dog hand puppet – one hand for the cat, one hand for the dog.
“I’m gonna take the puppet out and try to explain what it is,” Maury said. “I have kids in their 30s and I never had to do this!”