EWTN News Nightly

On Tuesday evening, anchor Colleen Carroll Campbell signed on to the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) live at 6pm EDT to launch the latest, and perhaps most ambitious and necessary, Catholic television since the network began over three decades ago.

For one night in each of the next few weeks, and then ultimately on an as-advertised nightly basis later in the fall, the world will begin receiving coverage of the stop news stories of the day with a Catholic Christian perspective on "EWTN News Nightly."

Colleen, a fellow at the Ethics & Public Policy Center is a particularly astute choice to become the first "face" of this type of program on the largest religious media network in the world. She is a respected journalist, author, broadcaster, and also the lone female speech writer to President George W. Bush. She has published a pair of books: 2002's "The New Faithful" and her new release "My Sisters the Saints" published last year.

Colleen has experience with EWTN previously, where she has become noted for her interview program "Faith & Culture" since 2006, which is still airing regularly. In it, she goes one-on-one each episode with a leading Catholic intellectual leader on a wide variety of important issues.

She is also the exact type of woman that far-left liberals love to hate: an attractive, articulate, intelligent female who is an unashamed spokesperson for her faith. Her style is far more accommodating than attacking. She presents her opinions with a soft, easy clarity that can be disarming to modern television viewers and radio listeners who have become used to the ravenous and bitter tone in much of today's media talking heads and pundits.

On the first night of broadcasting, "News Nightly" began and highlighted it's coverage with an in-depth and multi-faceted coverage of the current crisis in Lybia. True to its Catholic mission, EWTN not only covered the news story straight, but also discussed effects of the crisis on the Christian community in the area.

It was fairly obvious that this was a dipping of the network's collective feet in the water, production wise. My guess is there will be some tweaks to the set and the style as the show does indeed move to true nightly status. But it was all-in-all an exciting opening night for anyone looking for something different in the way our news stories are presented.

I am personally looking forward to becoming a regular viewer of this program as it grows, already having set my DVR to record the next episode. I would encourage not only all Catholics and other Christians, but anyone interested in a somewhat different but no less important take on top news stories to give "EWTN News Nightly" a try.

Mendte's Muse-Gone-Wrong

First, for those who may be from out-of-town and don't know the players, Larry Mendte is a former local TV news anchor, a typical middle-aged white male.

Alycia Lane is a younger, very attractive former co-anchor of Mendte's.

Dawn Stensland is an attractive, popular local news anchor and married to Mendte, mother to his two youngest children.

Mendte and Lane have been fired in the last few months for controversial incidents.

Lane was involved in a late-night dust up with undercover cops in New York, one of a string of controversies surrounding the nubile news beauty.

Mendte was canned for tapping into Lane's email accounts and leaking negative stories about her to the press. Mendte subsequently faced federal charges for the privacy violations, and pled guilty to those yesterday and now awaits sentencing in the matter. Stensland is steadfastly and classily standing by her man.

Dhue Do That Voodoo So Well

Some of the best, most informative television is put on each night on the Fox News network. Shepard Smith does an outstanding job presenting the news, and then the real fireworks begin. 

Bill O'Reilly comes first with his "The O'Reilly Factor". He is followed by the ultra-conservative, ultra-liberal duo of Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes on "Hannity & Colmes". Finally, Greta keeps us up to date on Natalie Holloway...it's all Aruba, all the time with Greta Van Susteren. 

One young woman that I personally hope never turns up missing is the real star of the night, however. 

During the brief "Fox News Breaks" which come on both during and between each show, the updates and highlights are presented by Fox News resident brains and beauty combo Laurie Dhue. This young woman may be the single most attractive newswoman that I have ever seen on television. 

Here's to the current official "babe" of this blog, Laurie Dhue - that she will keep on doing that voodoo that she do so well on FNC for many years to come!