Will President Barack Obama’s third communications director continue to rail against Fox News Channel? Current interim director Anita Dunn, who famously referred to Fox News Channel as “a wing of the Republican Party,” will step down from the position at the end of November, after taking over for Ellen Moran in April. Dunn will be replaced by her deputy, Dan Pfeiffer. There are still some hard feelings. In reporting the news, Fox News anchor Jon Scott put it thusly: “Anita Dunn is the person at the White House who decided it would be a good idea to try to freeze Fox News out of the White House operation, keep the president from doing interviews with Fox News personnel, keep high-level administration officials from doing interviews with Fox News.”
Richard Barry is taking his job international. Nickelodeon has promoted Barry to vice president and on-air creative director for Nickelodeon International, putting him in charge of packaging, branding and on-air promotions. Barry was previously an executive producer at the cable network.
If it wasn’t already, the Jon Gosselin/TLC situation is officially a mess. Gosselin will countersue TLC for $5 million, according to RadarOnline.com, saying he wasn’t represented properly when he signed his original TLC contract for the hit show "Jon & Kate Plus 8." TLC is suing Gosselin on breach of contract claims. The father of eight, who is now estranged from his wife, sent TLC a cease-and-desist notice ordering the network to stop filming his kids after TLC decided to move forward with the show focused on Kate Gosselin, with Jon as an occasional guest star.
Actors Gabrielle Anwar and Craig Sheffer are engaging in a little friendly murder. The pair has joined Hallmark Channel’s “Murder Among Friends,” a movie to air on the network next year. The plot of the picture is described as a bridal shower that evolves into a murder mystery.
Former “Apprentice” contestant Omarosa is out to find a husband. She’s set to star in TV One’s reality series “Omarosa’s Ultimate Merger,” a “Bachelorette”-style competition, to be produced by Donald Trump’s Trump Productions. The show will premiere sometime next spring.
Joey Levin has had a mind spark, or rather Mindspark has him. Levin has joined Mindspark Interactive Network, which runs a series of web sites, as chief executive officer. He was previously senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions and finance at IAC.
Katherine Pushkar has joined Better Homes and Gardens magazine, becoming the title’s lifestyle editor. Pushkar joins from the New York Post, where she was features editor.
Katy Herniman is pulling double duty. She has joined Men’s Health and Women’s Health magazines, where she’ll work as food and beverage director. Herniman was previously food category manager at Gourmet magazine.
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution has made a pair of promotions, moving Roni Patel to vice president of sales for Scandinavia, Benelux and the Middle East and Rita Akkari to director of sales for Central and Eastern Europe. Both will report to senior vice president of Northern Europe Robert Blair.
The gigs keep coming for actor Mitch Ryan. He’s signed with CW for a recurring role on “One Tree Hill,” where he’ll play an entrepreneur. Ryan is also set to appear on the upcoming HBO miniseries “The Pacific.”
ABC has added Sheila Kelley to the cast of “Lost,” where she’ll have a recurring role. The former “L.A. Law” actress will play a character named Kendall, but in “Lost” fashion there aren’t many other details available about her.
Anton Guitano is moving beyond just radio. CBS Corp. has promoted Guitano to chief operating officer for CBS Local Media, where he’ll report to president and chief executive officer Leslie Moonves. Guitano was previously chief financial officer and senior executive vice president of operations at CBS Radio.
Melody Goede has been named director of business development at LA Digital Post, a post-production company. Goede will report to president Gary Migdal.
Sultan Pepper, an Emmy-winning comedy writer, died unexpectedly late last month at age 47. No cause of death has been released. Pepper wrote for “The Ben Stiller Show” and “Mad TV,” and she also produced the reality series “Blind Date” and “Street Smarts.”
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