The Hollywood Liberal

WellPoint CEO receives a 51 percent increase in compensation.
Angela Braly, CEO of health insurance giant WellPoint, saw her compensation jump 51 percent to $13.1 million in 2009. The LA Times adds, “At least three other WellPoint executives got compensation increases of as much as 75%.” Braly’s boost comes as “WellPoint’s California subsidiary, Anthem Blue Cross in Woodland Hills, seeks double-digit rate increases […]

Angela Braly, CEO of health insurance giant WellPoint, saw her compensation jump 51 percent to $13.1 million in 2009. The LA Times adds, “At least three other WellPoint executives got compensation increases of as much as 75%.” Braly’s boost comes as “WellPoint’s California subsidiary, Anthem Blue Cross in Woodland Hills, seeks double-digit rate increases for many of its 800,000 members who buy individual policies.” During the health care debate, WellPoint became the poster child for the abuses of the health insurance industry, pressuring lawmakers to support drastic reform and pushing Obama to add stronger cost control provisions into his health care blueprint. A Center for American Progress analysis from February found that “double-digit hikes have been implemented or are pending in at least 11 other states among the 14 where WellPoint’s Blue Cross Blue Shield companies are active.” WellPoint spokesman Jon Mills justified Braly’s compensation by saying that the company “wants to attract and retain top talent.”

Palin?s talk show debut garners weak reviews, lower-than-expected ratings.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R) lack of policy knowledge and gaffes on the 2008 campaign led many to conclude that she may be better cut out to host a talk show than stay in politics. But her first foray into the genre, “Real American Stories,” which debuted on Fox News Thursday night, […]

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s (R) lack of policy knowledge and gaffes on the 2008 campaign led many to conclude that she may be better cut out to host a talk show than stay in politics. But her first foray into the genre, “Real American Stories,” which debuted on Fox News Thursday night, was beset with controversy before it even aired. Rapper LL Cool J and country music star Toby Keith both expressed disapproval that Fox was using canned interviews they had recorded with different people for Palin’s show, leading the network to pull LL Cool J’s interview. Following the show’s airing, critics gave middling reviews, calling it “canned,” “innocuous, flat,” and a “letdown.” It appears viewers weren’t thrilled either, as Mediaite notes that the show’s ratings didn’t even beat those of the program it replaced:

Sarah Palin’s much-hyped LL Cool J-less Fox News special last night didn’t bring in the huge ratings some (ok, we) predicted. Greta Van Susteren’s On The Record which normally airs at 10pmET beat the program the previous three nights in the A25-54 demographic and two out of three nights in total viewers.

Moreover, the show “shed viewers from start to finish,” losing 18 percent of viewers over the course of the program.

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