information. >> have a great day, everyone. the american media bothered by the side show. >> president obama joining the british and danish prime ministers in a selfie. >> how does this turn into such a circus? what about the pundits on the left and the trying to score partisan points? many news outlets staying away from newtown during the one-year anniversary of the horrifying shooting there. is that the right call?

speaker boehner unloads on the conservative groups that blasted the deal. the media could not get enough. >> the reporter who barely escaped jail for refusing to reveal we confidential services. this this is "media buzz." we begin coverage in south africa where nelson mandela's funeral was underway after ten daze of intensive media college. fox news correspondent is there, greg palkot. is it challenging to find people to interview or capturing the emotions? >> this is one of those stories that is quite unbelievable. everybody you talk to can speak to you and speak intelligently and articulately.

we have been here eight days. we talked to dozens of south africans. though are good at breaking down the dichotomy of the week, there is mourning for the man but celebration for the life. we talked to a young lady and she told us, we could not speak to you right now if apartheid was still there. personal but intelligent analysis. yes, we talked to politicians and they go on the spin just like any other country but here we found it very interesting, very apparent, it is incredible. we went out and talked to five people and they have given a good analysis and we have gotten background other other trip but the people are here speaking clearly, intelligently, and with a lot of passion and emotion. >> quite an amazing story. we will look at the people you have talked to in interviews while in south africa. >> very excited because we are celebrating the life of our icon, our father who led us out of oppression.

>> it shows that south africa is blessed. >> very glad for what he has done for me and i am so glad i saw him and paid my last respects. >> it is my last time to see him and i say may god bless him. >> public interest here in the ten days of celebrating his life could be waning a bit, but is there any sense where you are, this has been, perhaps, over overdone? >> i don't think so, howard. the country here, south africa, is facing real problems, real challenges in a post nelson mandela area and as the people go through their phases of mourning and celebration of nelson mandela, they also are coming to grips with serious big issues we have been dealing with in the past couple of days. that is, is the president zuma's

administration up to the task? are other parties necessary? the folks have been savvy and trying to get a political bounce from the funeral today for zuma and the tuesday memorial, and there was a booing on tuesday at the memorial and some did not like that while others thought it was right on. there is a shift in attitude and the future keeping the story alive for us and for our viewer whose have been watching our report. >> certainly the focus in recent days. thank you, greg palkot, in south africa. >> we have seen a lot of nelson mandela the last ten days whether there is a big public appetite or not. brian williams is the only to go to south africa but giving his undeniable place in history as a man who emerged from 27 years behind bars to lead his country away in the moral horror of apartheid how did so much of the

country wind up being about minor side shows? >> he shook the hand of a cuban president raul castro if the first time in forever that an american has do that. >> president obama finding himself face-to-face with the president of cuba, reaching out and shaking hands with none other than raul castro. >> the handshake with raul castro, the president of cuba we believe was president obama showing respect to nelson mandela and the occasion of today in the spirit of reconciliation. >> look, there are many things which do go after the president. these cheap shots over his alleged we behavior ain't one of them. >> joining us now in washington, is fox news contributor and author of the top twitter column on foxnews.com. and digital politics issue host of "power play," and juan williams analyst who has interviewed nelson mandela. what does it say about our media culture this handshake

overshadows the nelson mandela coverage? >> the focus is on a nonstory. this is low hanging fruit for the media something that is easy to shoot. they do not have to cover the speech or talk to people. all they have to do is focus their lens on an event and then talk about it. we minimize real news no matter the topic because sometimes it is entertaining in the case of the self-y and, two, simply because it is easier. >> now, this is a nonstory but we will stipulate raul castro is a dictator. does that make this a big story? >> certainly it is worth paying attention to. the castro brothers are monsters and have repressed their people for decades the first since bill clinton to do so, this is significant and, also, nelson mandela has been, or, was, near death for many months. his passing from this earth was

an expected event. he was 95. he was very sick. we had done all of that and thought about that so by the time you get to the memorial ceremony you want something new and the president did something that was new and novel. >> juan williams, fox news was driving that, program after program, overplayed or not? >> way overplayed. overplayed and let me say i am someone who thinks like chris that what the castro brothers is done is odious in terms of cuba, i have in tolerance if that but way over played and i think overplayed in the sense that here at home, we have, now, a media universe with twitter and facebook and things that are quickly understood in short burst of terms and they play to the agenda of someone else. conservatives would wented it take a stand, this is an opportunity to raise that issue but raise it in an inappropriate way because it was about knell.

-- about nelson mandela and a last people were uncomfortable about nelson mandela, including the appetite for the story. is it driving rating numbers for the networks? i don't think so. i think this is a simple story, a handshake, a selfie, whatever, people can grab it and that is the topic and drive the numbers. >> that was my point i am not saying it was a nonstory i am saying there are stories that are lighter than exactly what happened. >> speaking of light stories and something that is quickly understood, this selfie was taken president obama and the danish prime minister, the picture went around the world in 3 1/2 seconds and let me read to you what the new york post columnist sad to say, obama, she writes, use 9 occasion to act like a frat boy on a road trip to a strip bar making a fool of himself flirting with the danish hell cot who hiked up her skirt

to expose long legs covered by nothing more substantial --. >> who does they work for, for crying out loudst she lays to the tabloids. you have to admit it went viral for a reason. if you looked at those ten photos in sequence, it was pretty funny to watch her face. >> the photographer who took the picture said it was a celebration mood, why di viral? >> the white house does a fake newscast, the white house weekend review and they highlights the celebration tone and highlighted biden standing by for a selfie but the point is, it illustrates that the careful construction of this president's public image and how

slavishly the white house press corps expects the image to be constrained and how no a.p. access for pictures and nothing else, when we get a candid moment for the president when he is not acting a way that pleased mrs. obama we see why they so tightly control access because it doesn't look good. >> you are saying the unscripted nature of it is more interesting than official press release vigils the white house photographers put out but the white house press corps is protecting... >> no, no, no, the white houseship protects the press corps to protect the president. they are rebelling. they are rebelling. they are starting to rebel. >> that was a whole subnarrative about michelle obama she was tick off, how dare the president flirt with this prime minister but another photo in the sequence, put it up if we have it, showed her smiling.

how do you we? >> there was a controversy about the two of them at a basketball game and when the kiss camera came up she didn't move to kiss him. >> shocking! in the largest context of serious news, conversations about, well, what was policy toward nelson mandela, was he come -- communist? this is all too painful but it is easier to talk about this guy, the president, possibly flirting with a blond, my gosh, everyone gets gossip. >> it said flirting with dang-er. >> so, the larger question is not much rangings and went on for 10 days, did many tune out about nelson mandela and not the self-y or the interpreter who was not an interpreter. there was an amazing skit on

"saturday night live," but it was funny. in local news you rarely see international. on cable and networks international news takes up very few minutes of pie because americans are much more myopic in their views and it doesn't rate. >> in terms of the larger picture today in the media universe there is a niche that your newspaper, magazine, or network occupies. nelson mandela doesn't --. >> i want to get to a couple of soundbites as to what is a niche. there was a lost partisanship after the first couple of daisy of his pass -- couple of days after his passing. >> the mcconnell people on the far right were willing to destroy the constitution to destroy obama and to succeed in a country he loved, he was willing to see it transformed to black rule.

>> mandela had more in common with clarence thomas and a lost conservatives than he has nelson mandela but the left doesn't care. >> juan, you had sick santorum on o'reilly comparing medicare to apartheid. is that analogy getting stretched and overused? >> way overused. for jewish people it would be the holocaust. they are trying to impose this on their agenda and politics and the media universe we focus on, that is what is going on. let me just say, i remember being in south africa at the time of his release and the newspapers could fault print his name until he was released. you could not is a t-shirt with his picture or his name in print.

>> we should remember, nelson mandela was a mission. it is okay to about him in political terms. the edification would not be appropriate, he was remarkable and he did remarkable things. he was the first to say he was no saint. >> it is cool to walk about him and politics and whether you draw the conclusion rightly or wrongly it is okay. >> good time to get a break. >> when we come back, year was the one-year anniversary of the newtown shooting tragedy and most of the media stayed away. was that the right decision?

yesterday was the one-year anniversary of newtown. the people of newtown have asked for time without the media and press. we are respecting that. >> sadly, another school shooting incident in colorado on friday, the 20th since newtown a year ago. it is extraordinarily rare for the national media to stay away because the community leaders ask them. what explains this? >> the advent season, i guess. a late winter or early winter blossoming of human decency. >> which is notably absent most of the time? >> this is not breaking news. can you go and slog your agenda and you can go and say, why won't america pass a law that wouldn't have prevented this, in honor of this or say, president

obama's second term agenda is dead or whatever they want to say but this is the one-year anniversary. that is ghoulish to hang out if they don't want you. >> president obama used this opportunity to talk about gun control but how much does it help our understanding of school safety and gun issue to invade a grieving community with mike folks and camera. >> it is painful think we have all had as rookie experiences, the editor says go to the grieving family and ask how they feel. how they feel? you want to know if the mother will say something bitter, angry, whatever, there are serious legitimate questions that could be answered but i err on the side of respect for people especially in this season of christmas. they lost children. little kids. this is the season of children and it is painful.

i will say i think american media did not abandon the story, but you look at the number of people who have been killed in the year since, and the number of children killed by guns in homes, looking at school shootings, that such. >> but remember back to the actual time, there were anchors and reporters who went up there who cried on the air because it was so emotional for them. necessity knew that they -- it could have been their child. unlike when we were rookie reporters asking on the door how they felt, saying, the way you got people to talk or you can get them to talk, wouldn't you like a memory to exist for your child or show us his picture and talk about him so people really know that person. >> some memorial find that therapeutic and some find it intrusive the.

>> but take 506 those in a small town on wonderful family and it is a horrible invasion of privacy. >> the whole things of the anniversary including 10th of 9/11 or 50th anniversary of john f. kennedy take on a larger significance, but they are news for the media. >> they abused by legislations, also, we say, well, on the 10th anniversary of lend are we safer? if you are a hawk you say we need to be more aggressive. a year after newtown the president will say it is time for gun control and exploit that. >> is that exploiting? >> as juan said about nelson mandela, the problem of cultural brokenness and a defeat the moral core of this country, with gun control helping, in this one, the report revealed if the gun control that was proposed in the wake was in place it wouldn't have done anything to have changed this but these are

larger more difficult questions. >> i think we have to come to terms with the idea beyond the niche there is an issue about guns in america and that is what the news media has the responsibility to deal with. why do we have such a gun culture? is it possible to break through the n.r.a. and why is the congress in gridlock beyond what chris is saying. >> the fact that most people think those of us in the media particularly in television are inwe sensitive and we only care about sticking microphones in people's face will not change because of one active restraint. >> i was surprised that people said no, that net woulds made that decision that we are not going. no, it is nature going to change. the personal heart-tugging stories or what draw people in and what draw ratings. >> absolutely. juan and chris, thank you for stopping by this sunday. she has been spared the prospect of a jail determine for refusing to testify in the aurora

shootings.

jana winter refused to testify in the aurora shooting cases and she was protected in court about not testifying. what was it like, jana, and what has it been like facing the prospect of going to jail? >> it has not been fun. i would not wish that on anybody. i was never going to girlfriend up my sources so jail was really a likely threat.

>> you never thought to your sell, well, i may have to do this. >> no, never. >> explain to people why that has been so important to you. >> confidential sources are so crucial to news gathering in this country. this is why we know things that are not just press releases put out by the government. the fact that albany agreed, it is so important g i make a promise to say i will not publish this information unless i keep your name out of it, i will not change my mind. i said i will keep my sources secret and that is it. end of story. or how would we know anything? >> how did this ordeal affect you, but, affect your job? were other sources reluctant to deal with you? >> good way to have everyone stop talking to you is to be under subpoena. move, they are gone. people say i have trusted you

for years but you are toxic. it dried up most of my sources which was beyond frustrating so i love my job and i just want to go back to doing it. it has been horrible. i am thankful i have had the report of fox and journalists through the world, really, who have reached out and especially my lawyer, a shout out to dory i would not have gotten through it without is much support. it was horrible of the. >> well, this was not the government attempting to first you to testify as happens in man cases, this was james holmes the accused mass murders in the movie theater in aurora, a maneuver, a legal sideshow that did not bear on his guilt or innocence. how did that make you feel being dad by through this by the guy who is accused of killing a number of people? >> guest: he pleaded guilty by reason of insanity of killing 12 and injuring more than 70 so he

said he did it. to be dragged through this whole process particularly when there were victims in the courtroom, it was bizarre. i hope -- i will not have to look at him across the table from me anymore but it seeped unfair. i wasn't the biggest victim of james holmes, to be clear, but it was completely surreal walking into that courtroom four times and then another time and being part of something that you have nothing to do with. >> as i said, you were doing your job. were you surprised that the new york court of appeals used state's shield law to recollect you from colorado proceedings? what is the larger significance of this ruling? >> i was surprised and i was hopeful, too, but it is now when my lawyers woke me up and toileted me i didn't understand

what was going on. the significance is that new york says if you are a reporter and you work here and you live here, you are from new york, you can go around the country and make a promise of confident at to your sources and you can mean it. you cannot be held in contempt. this is really important. i wish more states would do this because this is a reporter in illinois right new who had to, he is under contempt already and is fighting a subpoena that is similar to reveal his confidential sources. >> there are a lot of cases like this and we are so glad you are out of legal jeopardy and you have upheld the principle, confidential principles are art the heart of investigative journalism. >> after sitting on the story for three years at the administration, the associated press relegalled that an american who has been held hostage in iran since 2007 was actually working for the c.i.a. we the "washington post" hired a

former a.p. staffer soon reported their own story, and abe was sitting on the story for years. jake carney ripped that decision. >> we believe that is highly irresponsible to publish which we strongly urgeed the outlet not to publish out of concern for his safety. >> the a.p. said they decided to go ahead because the government did not receive any sign in three years he was alive and the captors almost certainly know about his c.i.a. ties. these are tough decisions but i think the a.p. made the wrong call there is no larger revelation in this beyond one man's work spying for america and it may have endangered his life. send me a tweet as we do each week and we will read the best at the end of the program. >> next, al sharpton and bill o'reilly and a case of

misleading editing is next.

>> gregg: greg hollywood icon peter o'toole has died at the age of 81. the irish actor passed away in london at the hospital yesterday after a long illness. he shot to fame in "lawrence of arabia," and has a successful career serving eight oscar nominations for roles in "my favorite year "and "lion in winter." dead at the age of 81. the miami dolphins made a decision over the recent bullying scandal after a six weeks suspension lineman could listen his fate tomorrow and is eligible to regin tomorrow and the team wants to extend his

suspension but only if he agrees so it. >> i will see you at 7:00 p.m. for the fox report and now back to "media buzz." 95 years old. i spent time in south africa and nelson mandela was a communist. a communist. a communist. >> it wasn't like he was hanging out in soweto, bill o'reilly. >> he was there, and mandela was branchly a communist as south african bureau chief but see what sharpton did on the

program, take a longer look at what o'reilly actually said. >> 95 years old, nelson mandela -- i spent time in south africa. he was a communist, this man. he was a communist. but he was a great man. what he did for his people was stunning. the sacrifices he made. >> a great man, wow, now, nbc fired three people for that disforced editing on the george zimmerman 9-1-1 call. does sharpton apologize? >> no. >> this does not change the context or the fact that on the night of nelson mandela's death, bill o'reilly called him a communist. >> come on, reverend, you stopped the tape at the moment he made the larger point of praising nelson mandela. and msnbc should take action against the producer who

deceived viewers with that tape. ahead forget the budget deal, speaker boehner gets into a brawl with conservatives and the mainstream media cannot get enough.

the house of representatives pass add bipartisan budget, and the conservatives were on it and now the press is relishing this brawl. and now, we have our guests. this is a war of words. does it deserve this media attention? >> yes, we love a conflict and seize upon it. ultimately, i am sorry to shock you with that. it is a great story. the democrats are headed for a nude but the republican party brawl gives and gives. i am not sure it is good for the party. >> glenn beck is calling speaker boehner worthless, and it is escalating. it is a story but is it as big

as the war metaphor? >> it is a big thing because speaker boehner has never done this before so the media loves the conflict. he looked mad. when we interviewed him we he said i don't do angry and he doesn't crime. he doesn't. some of it was landed. he was prepared to say this. but is he angry at them because they have wonst they beat him before now he got a win over them. >> it seems we have not had so much of the republican infighting story since the government shut down and it seems to me we do have two very different views here of how conservatives should conduct themselves as paul ryan says, we have divided government and we have to get things done. going back to the first answer you relished this and laughing and it seems to me you are having a little bit too much of a good time with this. >> are you judging me? >> my take is this is all going to benefit thary.

this is bringing them back to their core mission, their core operative. they is gone off on tangents on social issues. >> talk to me, though, whether the media are promoting this. >> exactly. everyone is getting along and work together and compromise is good news for mechanic but not good in us for the media. >> i see. people are doing their jobs that is as? but fighting is go. the democrats are not exactly unified particularly in the we obamacare roll out with a a number of democrats distancing themselves from the president and the administration. some are saying, well, why isn't that as big a story? they have not used the harsh rhetoric we have seen from speaker boehner and those on the right. >> the bleed is getting tires of the obamacare story because the with sense getting better and there is not the conflict there. >> two months stories of how horrible it is. >> a little deficit health care

fatigue going on and that will change january 1 when obamacare kicks in but right new the media is focus on the budget on the right. >> this barely does everything, slight reduction in the deficits for the budget, and it is just modest. >> there has been nothing if so long. also, it seems like speaker had to go for all those troubles and reporters are rooting for a deal. >> you set up the next question. doesn't the press love a compromise that can be called bipartisan although both parties add my they bumped the tough issues to get the deal and avoid the shutdown. >> this is a small deal, no doubt. but it is new because both the president and republicans in congress have not gotten anything done. so there is a deal there it is small. will people remember this in a year or two? no. it may be a turning point. >> i have this.

>> thank you for stopping by. we appreciate it. >> after the break, twitter changes their policy on blocking other people and the internet erupts in protest.

twitter lets people you block people for whatever reason but after they took that function away, the internet

exploded. >> they changed their mind immediately. >> you would not see them and you would not see what they said if you have problems with a stalker just wear a blindfold. >> it protected the harasser not the person who was being harassed which is why people exploded in anger and they we also have to understand you can't change the rules in the middle and they didn't let people know this was going to happen. they have 200 million users and they had to find out by trial and error. >> it was boom, an emotional eruption. have you seen a company back off so quickly? >> they have to. they are nautical logs -- they are not kelloggs, right? this is a crowd-sourcing company that understands, at its core, idea users are so important. >> i could nut help but notice the people most vociferous about

blocking people were people. >> i have have a tweet from a woman, each person that is okay with twitter's new blocking policy is a white male. i love you at twitter, but, please, fix this. >> that could be harsh but there are a lot of predators and haters and people infatuated with women who do use this as an opportunity to harass. >> there are other kind of people who wish death threats on women who say something on tv they may not like. >> you speak from experience. >> of course. sure. >> and all people on twitter particularly those in the public eye can attract the haters and free speech. twitter when they defended the policy shift said people being blocked were getting mad and they were engaging in an tag --

an an taj onistic behavior. >> it was said they want twitter to be a lean and well lit place which does not allow for that if you have to see all of this hate. >> does twitter deserve credit for reacting quickly to this online revolt? >> sure. if you look at netflixes remember when they said any were going to change and everyone went crazy. it took three weeks to actually reverse that decision and space book, it took a couple of days for them, once there was a beheading video they allowed to show for them to reverse their policy and danger that down. >> this is what has changed. can you no longer wait and have meetings, you have to move quickly because the online world moves so quick limit you can block whoever you want.

>> i have, believe me. >> still to come, megyn kelly enbroiled in a controversy.

way too much focus on obama, and another says, too much on obama and shakeup, tabloid: jerry springer nation. and regarding staying away from newtown, robert says, it is a circus and most do not need a reminder of how terrible it was. pamela, why not? most of the national media has been staying away from the shooting and what it says about

america all year. >> megyn kelly caused a storm reacting to an african-american author saying santa claus should not be depicted as white man anymore. she said, for all the kids watching, santa is white. after strong criticism and mockery, she told viewers she was making an offhand gesture referring to the commercial image of santa as white. >> others suggest i am a racist outraged at the idea of a santa, it would be fund any if it were not so telling about our society, the kneejerk instinct by so many to race bait. >> many misinterpreted the comments she bears part of the responsibility as she acknowledged. >> i also did say jesus was white, as i have learned in the

past two days that is far from settled. >> with santa we are arguing about a fictional character but she touch add nerve in a culture where many pent santa as being the same color they are. i give her the last word. >> race is still an incredibly volatile interest and fox news and yours truly are big targets for many. >> last week, i got chided for being -- saying maybe, we are giving "anchorman 2," too much attention. >> one of the most influential broadcasters in history. >> on camera he is the best the. >> off camera, he is a bit of a [ blank ]. >> come on, next he will announce "this is cnn."

some thought edward snowden should be "time" "spire of the year." but instead it went to pope francis. >> it is go. it helps sell magazines. that is what you will say. >> it is a marketing device. >> but this is a controversial decision as george will said, because he has only been pope for 300 days and maybe it should go to someone else but as a catholic, he is humble, he is engaging, he is willing to reach out to the press. he is a figure who has entranced the world. >> it was a good choice because he is remarkably open to the press and a new interview with the italian newspaper he said marxist ideology is wrong but i have met many marxist whose are government. >> he puts it in a bigger context.

another school shooting. san difficult hook marks one year since a gunman killed 26. >> the students that entered the high school said he was armed with a shut gun and he made no effort to hide. >> a student opens fire at suburban den very high school and on or side of the country newtown marks a sad anniversary. >> it is just another day without my older sister. >> we will talk with carly whose sister gave her life while shielding her first graders. >> with so little action after the national