Talk Shows

We don't shy away from sharing how we feel about certain talk show hosts, and Ellen DeGeneres is one of our favorites. So it's fabulous to hear that the daytime talk show host has won the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' 15^th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

"To get the same award that has been given to people like Bill Cosby, Tina Fey and Will Ferrell, it really makes me wonder ... why didn't I get this sooner?" she said via statement, tongue (presumably) firmly in cheek.

The Mark Twain Prize recognizes people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to novelist and essayist Mark Twain. As a social commentator, satirist and creator of characters, Twain was a fearless observer of society, who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective of social injustice and personal folly. He revealed the great truth of humor when he said "against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."

The award will be presented to DeGeneres on Oct. 22 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, D.C., and later aired on television.

After little more than a year of retirement, talk show host Larry King will return to television in a new talk show this summer.

The talk show, titled Larry King Now, will air on Ora.TV. The digital network, which will air original programming online and on-demand, intended to debut Larry King Now in the fall when the network launched - but King is ready to start now.

According to the Associated Press, King wants to make sure he's in the mix politically, as Republicans and Democrats select their presidential nominees during this summer's conventions.

The show will likely follow a similar format to King's long-running CNN program, Larry King Live. It will run 30 minutes rather than an hour, but because of its online nature can run longer or shorter depending on the guest and interview.

New episodes will be posted on Ora.TV between  5 p.m. and 6 p.m., though they'll be available for viewing whenever the viewer decides.

The bulk of Ora.TV's programming will be talk shows. And you know we'll have more on that as information becomes available!

Fans curious what Katie Couric's new talk show Katie will be like can get a sort of sneak peak this month. Couric is debuting a weekly online talk show titled Katie's Take on Yahoo!

The show - unrelated to her new daytime talk show - focuses on health, nutrition, parenting and wellness. The two- to three-minute show is sponsored by Poland Spring Water.

"I am happy to have found a place in the digital world where I can cut through fads and trends," Couric said in a statement. "I want to introduce people to serious experts who can hopefully help provide real solutions."

Couric's first show, The Skinny on Veggie Chips, takes on snacks and healthy snacking. You can see it here.

It really comes as no surprise that popular radio personality Rush Limbaugh would talk smack about a fellow celebrity. So when the cigar smokin' host recently took aim at daytime talk show host and CNN report Anderson Cooper, the world mostly sighed and moved on.

But not Cooper, which comes as a bit of a surprise. Cooper seems like the last person to respond to such nonsense.

Limbaugh's jibe, while talking about declining ratings at CNN: "That guy is reported more in gossip columns to be at the gym or a bar or a restaurant than he is to be in the studio."

Cooper's retort, in part, delivered earlier in the week on his show's "Ridiculist":

"I can't control what gossip columnists write about me, but I can count on one hand the number of bars I've been to in the last year," he said. "I think Mr. Limbaugh is very talented at what he does. I've never tried to pick a fight with this guy. I really have no interest in doing that now. But because I'm sure Mr. Limbaugh cares about accuracy, I just want to point out to him that I have three jobs. And those jobs do keep me kinda busy. The idea that I'm hanging out in bars and health clubs is, sadly, not true."

Cooper went on to mention that he does regularly go to the gym, however, to keep in shape and stay healthy. Something he encouraged Limbaugh to do as well.

"I'm concerned about heart disease, I've raised money to fight heart disease, my dad died of it. And yeah, I try to take care of myself. Mr. Limbaugh, I can only hope that you're taking care of yourself as well. You might try the gym from time to time. As a matter of fact, most gyms now have TVs. You can prop up reading material on the cardio equipment. So you can put, like, I don't know, <i>The National Enquirer</i> right there on the elliptical, crank up the volume on Access Hollywood, and get your research done, at the same time you're improving your big heart."

Wanna read about some other spectacular talk show feuds? I thought you might!

Last Call host Carson Daly and his longtime girlfriend Siri Pinter are expecting their second child.

Pinter made the announcement on her official website, SIRIously delcicious. The home page features a darling picture of Pinter showing off her belly.

"Look at all those cookies in my belly!" she writes. "O.K., there is a baby in there, too."

Pinter notes that the new babe is five-months along. Whether boy or girl, the new arrival will join Daly, Pinter and three-year-old son Jackson.

Pinter, a former broadcasting professional, is a stay-at-home mom and food blogger.

As this year begins to wind down and we soon reach the new fall season, it seems like the perfect time to reflect back to what daytime talk shows were like 10 or even 20 years ago.

In the fall, new talk shows from hosts like Katie Couric and Steve Harvey will hit the air. Everyone's looking to replace Oprah Winfrey, after all. That includes a young woman by the name of Ricki Lake.

Now we all know that Lake had a super popular daytime talk show in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But do you remember who some of her contemporaries were in those days? And do you remember how crazy daytime TV was? Everyone had a tabloid talk show - everyone was talking about aliens or infidelity or alien infidelity!

Could we be in for another round of craziness?

Here's a look back at some the tabloid talk shows we're spotlighting in May:

• Geraldo
• The Jerry Springer Show
• Maury
• The Montel Williams Show
• Ricki Lake
• The Sally Jesse Raphael Show
• The Steve Wilkos Show

Fans of comedian and actor Zach Galifianakis are familiar with his fake talk show Between Two Ferns from popular website Funny or Die. The show - if you can call it a show - features Galifianakis interviewing celebrities on what looks like a public access television set. It's all in good fun and Galifianakis is always in rare form as a somewhat unsure and completely nervous host.

The show is about to hit the little big screen as a half-hour special on Comedy Central. Title Between Two Ferns: A Fairy Tale of New York, the show will feature Tina Fey, Jon Stewart and Richard Branson.

To get a taste of what Galifianakis has to offer, check out these Between Two Ferns episodes:

• Between Two Ferns, featuring Steve Carrell
• Between Two Ferns, featuring Conan O'Brien & Andy Richter
• Between Two Ferns, featuring Will Farrell

Maybe it's because The Oprah Winfrey Show is off the air. Could be the tumultuous time everyone is having over on The Oprah Winfrey Network. Whatever the reason, one thing is known:

Oprah Winfrey is no longer one of the most influential people in the world.

Well, at least according to Time magazine.

Since 2002, Time has published its list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Since 2002, Oprah has made the list. Until 2012. This year, Oprah's nowhere to be found.

To put things in perspective, however, celebrities like Claire Danes and athletes like Jeremy Lin did make the list.

One talk show host who found himself on the list for the second time is Stephen Colbert. Colbert highlighted the recognition earlier in the week.

Good Morning America is saving a spot for new talk show host Katie Couric this summer.

Right after the Fourth of July, ABC talk show The Revolution will get the boot and GMA in the Afternoon will slide in its spot. That's a tentative title, folks. And no specific information on what the show will feature during its nine-week run. But expect the usual daytime hot topics and entertainment news and interviews.

At the end of its run, Couric's new show, Katie, will debut.

In the meantime, GMA will expand its brand and try to close the gap between rival The Today Show. A scant 190,000 total-viewers fill that gap.

The Colbert Report and host Stephen Colbert snagged its second Peabody Award for its continued satirical spots on political SuperPACs.

The Peabodys recognize excellence in television and radio broadcasting. They are the oldest and most prestigious broadcasting award.

Colbert launched his own SuperPAC, "Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow," earlier this political season. SuperPACs are political action committees that are meant to have no coordination with candidates, but are often organized and managed by people close to the candidates, such as former staffers, business partners and close friends. Donors can fund SuperPACs without limits.

"Launching his own SuperPAC as a satirical protest against megabucks politics, Colbert mixed cerebral comedy with inspired sight gags, interviews and preposterously funny monologues," the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, which administers the awards, said in a statement.

Colbert won his first Peabody in 2008.