Today's interesting TV stories to read from TV with Thinus - 24 September 2015

Scream Queens on FOX (DStv 125 / StarSat 131) also a flop.
The second new FOX drama is also a loser and follows Minority Report as a ratings failure.

Meanwhile the new procedural thriller Limitless is solid and it will be available on your DStv Explora from Thursday instantly and later on M-Net (DStv 101) so you can watch it - the show won't go away or be cancelled.

Donald Trump slams FOX News (StarSat 261).
"FOX News has been treating me unfairly," says the Republican Party candidate in America; says he won't be doing any interviews with any FOX News shows in the future.
FOX News hits back and says Donald Trump's attacks are "stale and tiresome".

Egypt's president pardons Al Jazeera journalists.
After months in prison Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed of Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257) are freed from jail. Peter Greste says the fight is not over despite Al Jazeera colleagues' release from prison.

New MultiChoice headquarters in Johannesburg is green.
The new MultiChoice City complex in Randburg - complete with an artificial lawn and 15 real trees in the atrium - is turning heads and showing how corporations can create greener, healthier spaces for employees in South Africa.

The HBO Now account the Emmy's gave out has been deactivated.
Emmy host Andy Samberg told millions of viewers worldwide on TV to log in to the HBO Now streaming service. It has now been deactivated.


Trevor Noah: "There's been an epidemic of blackness on The Daily Show since I took over".
The new South African host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central (DStv 122) tells The New York Times that there was a "racial blindspot" with Jon Stewart at The Daily Show. "Since I've joined, blackness has tremendously increased on the show".


BBC to turn 3 J.K. Rowling novels into a new TV series.
Will adapt The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm and the upcoming thriller Career of Evil into a new crime series called The Cormoran Strike Mysteries.

Netflix knows exactly what episode of what show can trigger binge-viewing.
The global streaming video-on-demand service knows precisely what shows and what episodes of a show will likely trigger binge-watching - and its not necessarily the pilot episode.
Netflix is now offering audio description - which proves that journalism (covering television) can still change the world.

TV's reality craze is over 15 years after Survivor started it.
Viewers are fatigued and tired of reality TV shows of the American kind. The reality genre has become stale and there's been too much reliance on "gimmicks". Of course totally faking things like South Africa's Oulap se Rooi on kykNET (DStv 144) helps to erode and break viewers' trust in the fake TV trash programming.

After that Robert Downey Jr. junket went wrong, yet another press junket interview blows up with Robert De Niro.
Another massive film publicity press junket makes headlines for all the wrong reasons as the difficult and condescending Robert De Niro walks out.

In Cuba there's barely internet - but they watch everything.
Fascinating insight in this article about how Cubans watch all the American TV shows and movies and read The New York Times through a vast underground system of distributing TV shows and publications through the entire country for their "subscribers".

BREAKING. Egypt sentences Al Jazeera journalists to 3 years in prison for operating without a press licence and not being 'registered' journalists.

In a retrial, an Egyptian judge this morning in Cairo sentenced 3 journalists who worked for Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257) to 3 years in court because they were operating without a press licence and were not "registered" as journalists in Egypt.

Interestingly, the SABC's controversial and famously matricless chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng in South Africa is advocating for the same "rules" for media and journalists in South Africa, wanting journalists to be "regulated" and registered.

At the conclusion of the retrial this morning, journalists Mohamed Fahmy from Canada and Baher Mohamed from Egypt were immediately taken into custody.

Australian journalist Peter Greste who was released and deported at the beginning of February this year, was convicted and sentenced by judge Hassan Farid in absentia in the farcical trial.

In the harsh judgment, judge Hassan Farid said that Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste were not journalists because they were operating without a press licence and were never "registered" to practice journalism or to be journalists in Egypt.

Both were sentenced to more time in prison because judge Hassan Farid said they were not journalists.

Al Jazeera said the TV news channel is "sickened" by the "disgusting" conviction of its journalists.

Giles Trendle, Al Jazeera's acting managing director for Al Jazeera English appeared on the channel on Saturday morning, saying he is "shocked, sickened, appalled at today's verdict".

"They were arrested on false charges, they've been convicted without a shred of evidence, they were imprisoned for over a year. And now they're going back to prison. It's disgraceful, it's disgusting. We are shocked," said Giles Trendle.

"The safety and well-being of our staff is of paramount importance," said Giles Trendle.

"The judge said one of the reasons they were there [in prison] is because they were not members of the Egyptian journalists' syndicate. Well, obviously foreign journalists ... the syndicate is for Egyptian journalists," said Giles Trendle.

The three journalists were arrested in December 2013 after a raid on the Marriott Hotel in Cairo and sentenced to seven to 10 years in prison in 2014. International pressure forced a retrial.

This is the second trial in Egypt in the two trials that both had several postponements. The journalists will continue with yet another retrial - the last one allowed.

"Today's verdict defies logic and common sense," says dr. Mostefa Souag, Al Jazeera's acting director-general in a statement issued on Saturday.

"Al Jazeera will continue to call for their freedom and an end to the ordeal for Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy and the six Al Jazeera staff who were sentenced in absentia."

"The support shown for Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy has been loud and unified and has come from every corner of the world, from world leaders, journalists, human rights organisations and the general public."

"Al Jazeera calls on everyone to continue to fight for the freedom of speech, for the right of people to be informed and for the right of journalists around the world to be able to do their job," says dr. Mostefa Souag.

"We will not rest until Baher Mohamed, Peter Greste and Mohamed Fahmy and the six Al Jazeera staff sentenced in absentia are freed and formally and definitely acquitted from the trumped up charges against them."

Mohamed Fahmy has since distances himself from Al Jazeera and blasted the Qatar based 24-hour TV news channel, and accusing Al Jazeera of blatantly placing his life and the lives of his colleagues in grave danger, lying about Al Jazeera's lega status in Egypt.

Mohamed Fahmy who is also suing Al Jazeera for damages in a Candian court, also slammed Al Jazeera for displaying editorial bias in favour of Islamists.

Reporters Without Borders says it "reiterates its call for the acquittal of Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste".

"We urge the Egyptian authorities to terminate the trial by dismissing all charges against the journalists. This judicial sham must end with everyone being acquitted," says Christopher Deloire, secretary-general of  Reporters Without Borders.

With at least 15 journalists detained in connection with their work, Egypt is the world's fourth biggest prison for media personnel (after China, Eritrea and Iran) and is ranked 158th out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Al Jazeera in turmoil: a 'vicious' corporate 'culture of fear' at Al Jazeera America; while journalist Mohamed Fahmy in Egypt sues over 'negligence'.

Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257) remains mired in scandal - rocked by backbiting, massive internal drama, vicious in-fighting and law suits - and don't forget about allegations of sexism and anti-Semitism against the Qatar-based 24-hour TV news channel.

Al Jazeera America is riddled with sexism where workers describe the atmosphere as corporate culture as vindictive.

The former Al Jazeera America video archivist Matthew Luke is suing Al Jazeera America as the news channel is unravelling in America.

The New York Times has a fascinating, must-read expose on the turmoil behind the scenes as the beleaguered TV news channel. where Al Jazeera America's CEO Ehad Al Shahibi was promptly fired from the position last week.

The British Al Anstey who helped to set up Al Jazeera English which is seen on MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's StarSat across Africa is suddenly taking over as CEO of Al Jazeera America.

Al Anstey is now going to try to be "bringing the team together" - read his internal memo to the Al Jazeera America staff.

The New York Times also has the story of respected former Al Jazeera America executive Mary McGinnis who resigned last week in protest, saying Al Jazeera America is permeated "with a culture of fear".

The news channel is "shaken" according to the Financial Times. Al Jazeera which covers others' news doesn't want to be open and tells the media it doesn't "go into personnel issues".

Al Jazeera America is in need of a complete reboot. The news channel has started firing staff, cancelled programming and is filling programming with Al Jazeera English content.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy is now suing Al Jazeera claiming negligence on the part of the TV news channel, saying Al Jazeera's negligent actions contributed to his 400-day detention in Egypt.

Al Jazeera's Mohamed Fahmy slams Al Jazeera for what the journalist calls 'epic negligence'; says Al Jazeera left him unprotected.

Mohamed Fahmy, the Al Jazeera (DStv 406 / StarSat 257) journalist and former Egyptian cellmate of the released d Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste is slamming Al Jazeera for what he calls "epic negligence" and says Al Jazeera left him and his Egyptian-based colleagues unprotected.

Mohamed Fahmy, who is also a former CNN producer and awaiting a retrial after more than a year in an Egyptian prison, told the Associated Press that Al Jazeera had its own political news agenda during the reign of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian, were jailed in June 2014 and were due back in Egytian court today, after the release last month of Peter Greste, but the case was adjourned to 8 March.

Mohamed Fahmy told Sky News (DStv 402) today that "Al Jazeera's shortcomings and the way they dealt with our security situation before our arrest and the epic negligence that they portrayed during the trial has also given the prosecution more firepower, basically."

Mohamed Fahmy said he raised these issues "constructively" through Al Jazeera "hoping that they would respond, and I hope they do".

No statement on any of this from Al Jazeera.