Genseric
Ruler of the Vandal Kingdom
Siliqua of Genseric
Reign	428-477
Born	c. 389
Birthplace	Lake Balaton, Hungary
Died	January 25, 477 (aged 88)
Place of death	Carthage, Tunisia
Predecessor	Gunderic
Successor	Huneric
Father	Godigisel
Religious beliefs	Arianism

Genseric (c. 389 – January 25, 477), also spelled as Geiseric or Gaiseric, was King of the Vandals and Alans (428–477) and was one of the key players in the troubles of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. During his nearly 50 years of rule, he raised a relatively insignificant Germanic tribe to the status of a major Mediterranean power — which, after he died, entered a swift decline and eventual collapse.

Succeeding his brother Gunderic at a time when the Vandals were settled in Baetica (modern Andalusia, Spain), Gaiseric transported all his people, around 80,000, to to Northern Africa in 428. He might have been invited by the Roman governor Bonifacius, who wished to use the military strength of the Vandals in his struggle against the imperial government.

Gaiseric caused great devastation as he moved eastward from the Strait of Gibraltar across Africa. He turned on Bonifacius, defeated his army in 430, and then crushed the joint forces of the Eastern and Western empires that had been sent against him. In 435 Gaiseric concluded a treaty with the Romans under which the Vandals retained Mauretania and part of Numidia as federates (allies under special treaty) of Rome. In a surprise move on October 19, 439, Gaiseric captured Carthage, striking a devastating blow at imperial power. In a 442 treaty with Rome the Vandals were recognized as the independent rulers of Byzacena, and part of Numidia. Gaiseric’s fleet soon came to control much of the western Mediterranean, and he annexed the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta and Sicily.

His most famous exploit, however, was the capture and plundering of Rome in June 455. Subsequently the King defeated two major efforts of the Romans to overthrow him, that of the emperor Majorian in 460, and that led by Basiliscus at the Battle of Cape Bon in 468. After dying in Carthage at the great age of 88, Gaiseric was succeeded by his son Huneric.

Early life and accession[link]

Genseric, whose name means "spear-king", was an illegitimate son of King Godigisel; he is assumed to have been born near Lake Balaton (Hungary) around 389. After his father's death, Genseric was the second most powerful man among the Vandals, after the new king, his half-brother Gunderic.

After Gunderic's death in 428, Genseric was elected king. He immediately began to seek ways of increasing the power and wealth of his people, who then resided in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica in southern Hispania. The Vandals had suffered greatly from attacks from the more numerous Visigoths, and not long after taking power, Genseric decided to leave Hispania to this rival Germanic tribe. In fact, he seems to have started building a Vandal fleet even before he became king.

Africa[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011)

Genseric Sacking Rome, a painting by Karl Briullov

Taking advantage of a dispute between Boniface, Roman governor of North Africa, and Aetius, Genseric ferried all 80,000 of his people across to Africa in 429. Once there, he won many battles over the weak and divided Roman defenders and quickly overran the territory now comprising modern Morocco and northern Algeria. His Vandal army laid siege to the city of Hippo Regius (where Augustine had recently been bishop — he died during the siege), taking it after 14 months of bitter fighting. A peace between Gaiseric and the Roman Emperor Valentinian III was concluded 11 February 435, and in return for recognizing Genseric as king of the lands he and his men had conquered the Vandals would desist from attacks on Carthage, pay a tribute to the Empire, and send his son Huneric as a hostage to Rome.^[1]

On October 19 439, noting that the forces of the Western Empire were heavily involved in Gaul, Geiseric took possession of Carthage, probably through some treachery. Stewart Oost observes, "Thus he undoubtedly achieved what had been his purpose since he first crossed to Africa."^[2] The Romans were caught unaware, and Genseric captured a large part of the western Roman navy docked in the port of Carthage. The Catholic bishop of the city, Quodvultdeus, was exiled to Naples, since Genseric demanded that all his close advisors follow the Arian form of Christianity. Nevertheless, Genseric gave freedom of religion to the Catholics, while insisting that the regime's elite follow Arianism. The common folk had low taxes under his reign, as most of the tax pressure was on the rich Roman families and the Catholic clergy.

Added to his own burgeoning fleet, the Kingdom of the Vandals now threatened the Empire for mastery of the western Mediterranean Sea. Carthage, meanwhile, became the new Vandal capital and an enemy of Rome for the first time since the Punic Wars.

With the help of their fleet, the Vandals soon subdued Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands. Genseric strengthened the Vandal defenses and fleet and regulated the positions of Arians and Catholics. In 442, the Romans acknowledged the Carthaginian conquests, and recognized the Vandal kingdom as an independent country rather than subsidiary to Roman rule. The area in Algeria that had remained for the larger part independent of the Vandals turned from a Roman province into an ally.

For the next 30 years, Genseric and his soldiers sailed up and down the Mediterranean, living as pirates and raiders. One legend has it that Genseric was unable to vault upon a horse because of a fall he had taken as a young man; so he assuaged his desire for military glory on the sea.

Consolidation and later life[link]

Pope Leo the Great attempts to persuade Genseric, prince of Vandals, to abstain from sacking Rome. (miniature ca. 1475)

In 455, Roman emperor Valentinian III was murdered on orders of Petronius Maximus, who usurped the throne. Genseric was of the opinion that these acts voided his 442 peace treaty with Valentinian, and on May 31, he and his men landed on Italian soil and marched on Rome, where Pope Leo I implored him not to destroy the ancient city or murder its inhabitants. Genseric agreed and the gates of Rome were thrown open to him and his men.^[3]

Maximus, who fled rather than fight the Vandal warlord, was killed by a Roman mob outside the city. Although history remembers the Vandal sack of Rome as extremely brutal — making the word vandalism a term for any wantonly destructive act — in actuality the Vandals did not wreak great destruction in the city; they did, however, take gold, silver and many other things of value. He also took with him Empress Licinia Eudoxia, Valentinian's widow, and her daughters, Eudocia and Placidia. Many important people were taken hostage for even more riches.^[3] Eudocia married Genseric's son Huneric after arriving in Carthage. They had been betrothed earlier as an act of solidifying the treaty of 442.

In 468, Genseric's kingdom was the target of the last concerted effort by the two halves of the Roman Empire. They wished to subdue the Vandals and end their pirate raids. Genseric, against long odds, defeated the eastern Roman fleet commanded by Basiliscus off Cap Bon. According to Procopius, the total invasion force consisted of 100,000 men with a fleet drawn from the whole of the eastern Mediterranean.^[4] Genseric sent a fleet of 500 Vandal ships against the Romans, losing 340 ships in the first engagement, but succeeded in destroying 600 Roman ships in the second. The Romans abandoned the campaign and Genseric remained master of the western Mediterranean until his death, ruling from the Strait of Gibraltar all the way to Tripolitania.^[5]

Following up the Byzantine defeat, the Vandals tried to invade the Peloponnese but were driven back by the Maniots at Kenipolis with heavy losses.^[6] In retaliation, the Vandals took 500 hostages at Zakynthos, hacked them to pieces, and threw the pieces overboard on the way to Carthage.^[6]

In 474, Genseric made peace with the Eastern Roman Empire. Finally, on January 25, 477, he died at Carthage.

In popular culture[link]

• Genseric was played by Götz Otto in the 2010 miniseries Augustine: The Decline of the Roman Empire.
• The character Skull Knight in the manga Berserk is based upon Genseric.
• The 19th century American Socialist leader Daniel De Leon named his youngest son "Genseric". According to an older son, Solon De Leon, this was "because the Vandal King had made the Pope kiss his toes".^[7]

References[link]

• Diesner, Hans-Joachim (1966). Das Vandalenreich. Aufstieg und Untergang. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. 
• Antiquité Tardive - L'Afrique vandale et byzantine. Turnhout: Brepols. 2002–2003. 
• Medieval Lands Project on Genseric

Footnotes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bigelow, Poultney (1918). Genseric, King of the Vandals and First Prussian Kaiser. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL7201791M/Genseric_king_of_the_Vandals_and_first_Prussian_Kaiser. 
• Gibbon, Edward (1896-1902). The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. New York: Macmillan. 
• Goffart, Walter (1980). Barbarians and Romans, A.D. 418-584 : the Techniques of Accommodation. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-05303-0. 
• Gwatkin, H.; Whitney, J., eds. (1957). The Cambridge Medieval History. Cambridge: Macmillan. 
• O'Donnell, James J. (1985). Augustine. Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-6609-X. 

"A Whiter Shade of Pale" is the debut song by the British band Procol Harum, released 12 May 1967. The single reached number one in the UK Singles Chart^[1] on 8 June 1967, and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, it reached #5 on the US charts, as well. It is one of the fewer than 30 all-time singles to have sold 10 million (or more) copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

With its haunting Bach-flavoured instrumental melody, soulful vocals, and unusual lyrics—by the song's co-authors Gary Brooker, Keith Reid,^[2] and Matthew Fisher-- "A Whiter Shade of Pale" reached #1 in several countries when released in 1967. In the years since, it has become an enduring classic. It was the most played song in the last 75 years in public places in the UK (as of 2009),^[3] and the United Kingdom performing rights group Phonographic Performance Limited in 2004 recognised it as the most-played record by British broadcasting of the past 70 years.^[4] Also in 2004, Rolling Stone placed "A Whiter Shade of Pale" #57 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

More than 1000 recorded cover versions by other artists are known.^[5] The song has been included in many music compilations over the decades and has also been used in the soundtracks of numerous films, including The Big Chill, Purple Haze, Breaking the Waves, The Boat That Rocked and notably in Martin Scorsese's segment of New York Stories. Cover versions of the song have also been featured in many films, for example by King Curtis in Withnail and I and by Annie Lennox in The Net.

The original writing credits were for Brooker and Reid only. On 30 July 2009, Matthew Fisher won co-writing credit for the music in a unanimous ruling from the Law Lords.

Recording and personnel[link]

The song was performed and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, England with Gary Brooker providing the vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on a Hammond M-102 organ, David Knights on bass and Ray Royer on guitar. Drums were by session drummer Bill Eyden. A few days later, the song was re-recorded with the band's then newly-recruited drummer Bobby Harrison. That version, though, was considered inferior^{[citation needed]} and one of the original mono recordings was chosen for release.

Producer for the record was Denny Cordell and Keith Grant was the sound engineer.^[6]

The song was included on the original U.S. release of the Procol Harum album, but not on the UK version.

Lyrics[link]

Reid got the title and the starting point for the song at a party. He overheard someone at the party saying to a woman, "You've turned a whiter shade of pale," and the phrase stuck in his mind.^[7][8] The original lyrics had four verses, of which only two are heard on the original recording. The third verse has been heard in live performances by Procol Harum, and more seldom also the fourth.^[9] The author of Procol Harum: beyond the pale, Claes Johansen, suggests that the song "deals in metaphorical form with a male/female relationship which after some negotiation ends in a sexual act."^[8] This is supported by Tim de Lisle in Lives of the Great Songs, who remarks that the lyrics concern a drunken seduction, which is described through references to sex as a form of travel, usually nautical, using mythical and literary journeys.^[10] Other observers have also commented that the lyrics concern a sexual relationship.^[7]

Structurally and thematically, the song is unusual in many respects. While the recorded version is 4:03 long, it is composed of only two verses, each with chorus. The piece is also more instrument-driven than most songs of the period, and with a much looser rhyme scheme. Its unusually allusive and referential lyrics are much more complex than most lyrics of the time (for example, the chorus focuses on Chaucer's The Miller's Tale). Thus, this piece can be thought of as a forerunner to the progressive rock that would reach its zenith about ten years later.

The phrase a whiter shade of pale has since gained widespread use in the English language, noticed by several dictionaries.^[11][12][13] As such, the phrase is today often used in contexts independent of any consideration of the song. (See ^[14] for many annotated examples complete with links to original sources.) It has also been heavily paraphrased, in forms like an Xer shade of Y--this to the extent that it has been recognised^[15][16] as a snowclone – a type of cliché and phrasal template.

Composition[link]

The song is in moderate time, in C major, and is characterised by the bassline moving stepwise downwards in a repeated pattern throughout. In classical music this is known as a ground bass. The harmonic structure is identical for the organ melody, the verse and the chorus, except that the chorus finishes with a cadence. The main organ melody appears at the beginning and after each verse/chorus. But it is also heard throughout, playing variations of its theme and counterpointing the vocal line. Both the vocal and the organ accompaniment reach a crescendo at the beginning of the chorus "And so it was, and later ..."; where the organist rapidly runs his finger down and up the entire keyboard. The final instrumental fades out to silence - a common device in pop music of the time.

The Hammond organ line of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's "Sleepers, Wake!" and "Air on the G String" - both of which use a similar stepwise bass motion. But contrary to popular belief, the song is not a direct copy or paraphrase of any music by Bach,^[17] although it makes clear references to both pieces. This similarity is referred to in the 1982 play The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard and the 1991 film The Commitments. A yet closer melodic influence that is seldom cited can arguably^{[weasel words]} be found in the organ choral prelude "O Mensch bewein dein' Sünde groß" (O Man, Lament Your Sin So Great), BWV 622, from Bach's Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book). The music also borrows ideas from "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge.^[18]

Reception[link]

The single was released on 12 May 1967 by Deram Records and entered the UK charts on 25 May. In two weeks it reached number one where it stayed for six weeks, and on the UK chart for a total of 15 weeks. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records stayed in the UK charts for a total of 12 weeks, and reached number 13 as highest. In the US, it reached #5 and sold over one million copies. In the Netherlands it entered the chart at number one in June 1967 and again reached number one in July 1972.

Chart positions: # 1 (UK), # 1 (the Netherlands), # 1 (Germany), # 1 (Ireland), # 1 (Australia), # 1 (World), # 3 (Norway VG-lista), # 5 (USA Hot 100). "A Whiter Shade of Pale" also managed to peak at number twenty-two on the soul charts in the U.S.^[19]

Over time, "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has earned extensive critical acclaim:

• John Lennon was a great fan of the song and was known to have played it repeatedly in his Rolls Royce. When it was released in England, Lennon (and friends in his circle) reportedly confused Brooker's soulful vocals with Steve Winwood, who had popularity at the time with The Spencer Davis Group.
• It was named joint winner (along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which also uses the word 'fandango') of the Best British Pop Single 1952–1977 at the BRIT Awards, part of Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.
• #57 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
• British TV station Channel 4 placed the song at #19 in its chart of the 100 greatest number one singles.^[20]

Authorship lawsuit[link]

In 2005, former Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher filed suit in the High Court against Gary Brooker and his publisher, claiming that he co-wrote the music for the song.^[21]

Fisher won the case on 20 December 2006 but was awarded 40% of the composers' share of the music copyright, rather than the 50% he was seeking and was not granted royalties prior to 2005.^[22]

Gary Brooker and publisher Onward Music were granted leave to appeal, and a hearing on the matter was held before a panel of three judges during the week of 1 October 2007. The decision, on 4 April 2008, by Lord Justice Mummery, in the Court of Appeal upheld Fisher's co-authorship^[23] but ruled that he should receive no royalties as he had taken too long (38 years) to bring his claim to litigation. Full royalty rights were returned to Brooker.^[24]

On 5 November 2008, Matthew Fisher was granted permission to appeal this decision to the House of Lords.^[25] Lawyers say it is the first time the Law Lords have been asked to rule on a copyright dispute involving a song.^[26] The appeal was heard in the House of Lords on 22–23 April 2009.^[27]

On 30 July 2009 the Law Lords unanimously ruled in Fisher's favour. They noted that the delay in bringing the case had not caused any harm to the other party; on the contrary they had benefited financially from it. They also pointed out that there were no time limits to copyright claims under English law. The right to future royalties was therefore returned to Fisher.^[28][29] The musicological basis of the judgment, and its effect on the rights of musicians who contribute composition to future works, has drawn some attention in the music world.^[30]

Video[link]

The first video for the song was shot in the ruins of Witley Court in Worcestershire, England.^[31] The Witley Court video features four of the five musicians who played on the hit single: Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher, David Knights and Ray Royer, in performance and walking through the ruins. Only the drummer in the video isn't on the record: early band member Bobby Harrison is seen miming to session man Bill Eyden's drumming. According to Shindig! Magazine's Procol Harum cover story by Alan Robinson (November–December 2009 issue – page 55), the video was directed by Peter Clifton whose insertion of Vietnam War newsreel footage caused it to be banned from airplay on the "Top of the Pops" TV show. The band subsequently made another video using "Scopitone" technology, but by this time, Robin Trower and B.J. Wilson had replaced Royer and Harrison in the band, so only three of the five musicians on the recording are represented, and no performance footage included – only the five musicians cavorting around London, running across fields, etc. This lineup, with Fisher in a monk's cowl, also mimed to the song on Top of the Pops, (though Gary Brooker sang live) and black and white footage of this performance has been shown online, perhaps constituting the third video of the song from 1967. (See also its inclusion on the 'Top of the Pops 40th Anniversary 1964–2004 DVD'.)

There was also a video shot as part of Joel Gallen's Deja-View music video series.^[32] Originally airing on various networks in late 1985 through 1986, this video starred Harry Dean Stanton and Bernie Taupin, but featured no member of the band. It has also aired on VH1 Classic, and has recently surfaced online.^[33][34]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Bill Eyden Obituary
• Procol Harum — A Whiter Shade Of Pale, live video from Eagle Rock Entertainment's official channel on YouTube
• A Whiter Shade of Pale: authorised lyrics of all four verses

Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart speaking at CPAC on February 10, 2012.
Born	(1969-02-01)February 1, 1969 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	March 1, 2012(2012-03-01) (aged 43) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Residence	Westwood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Tulane University (B.A.)
Occupation	Writer, Columnist, Publisher
Spouse	Susannah Bean (m. 1997–2012); 4 children

Andrew Breitbart (pronounced /ˈbraɪtbɑrt/ (February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American publisher,^[1] commentator for The Washington Times, author,^[2] and occasional guest commentator on various news programs, who served as an editor for the Drudge Report website. He was a researcher for Arianna Huffington, and helped launch her web publication The Huffington Post.^[3]

He ran his own news aggregation site, Breitbart.com, and five other websites: Breitbart.tv, Big Hollywood, Big Government, Big Journalism, and Big Peace. He played key roles in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, the resignation of Shirley Sherrod, and the ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy.

Early life[link]

Breitbart was the adopted son of Gerald and Arlene Breitbart, a restaurant owner and banker respectively, and grew up in upscale Brentwood, Los Angeles. He was raised Jewish (his adoptive mother had converted to Judaism when marrying his adoptive father).^[4][5] He had explained that his birth certificate indicated his biological father was a folk singer. He was ethnically Irish by birth, and his adopted sister is Hispanic.^[4] He changed his political views after experiencing an "epiphany" during the Clarence Thomas hearings, and later described himself as "a Reagan conservative" with libertarian sympathies.^[1]

While in high school, Breitbart was a pizza delivery driver; he sometimes delivered to celebrities such as Judge Reinhold.^[6] He earned a B.A. in American studies from Tulane University in 1991, graduating with "no sense of [his] future whatsoever".^[7] His early jobs included a stint at cable channel E! Entertainment Television, working for the company's online magazine, and some time in film production.^[5]

Public life[link]

Authorship, research and reporting[link]

In 1995 Breitbart saw the Drudge Report and was so impressed that he emailed Matt Drudge. Breitbart said, "I thought what he was doing was by far the coolest thing on the Internet. And I still do."^[3] Breitbart described himself as "Matt Drudge's bitch"^[8] and selected and posted links to other news wire sources. Later Matt Drudge introduced him to Arianna Huffington (when she was still a Republican)^[5] and Breitbart subsequently assisted her in creating her website.

Breitbart's work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, National Review Online and the Weekly Standard Online, among others. He wrote a weekly column for The Washington Times, which also appeared at Real Clear Politics. Breitbart also co-wrote the book Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon with Mark Ebner, a book that is highly critical of U.S. celebrity culture.^[9] On January 19, 2011, the conservative gay rights group GOProud announced Breitbart had joined its Advisory Council.^[10]

In April 2011 Grand Central Publishing released Breitbart's book, Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World, in which he discussed his own political evolution and the part he took in the rise of new media, most notably at the Drudge Report and The Huffington Post.

In June 2011 Breitbart was involved in the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal when his websites broke the story that Weiner was sending women revealing photographs of himself.^[11]

Commentaries[link]

Breitbart appeared as a commentator on Real Time with Bill Maher and Dennis Miller. In 2004 he was a guest commentator on Fox News Channel's morning show and frequently appeared as a guest panelist on Fox News's late night program, Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. Breitbart also appeared as a commentator in the 2004 documentary Michael Moore Hates America.^[12]

On October 22, 2009, Breitbart appeared on the C-SPAN program Washington Journal. He gave his opinions on the mainstream media, Hollywood, the Obama Administration and his personal political views, having heated debates with several callers.^[1]

In the hours immediately following Senator Ted Kennedy's death, Breitbart called Kennedy a "villain", a "duplicitous bastard", a "prick"^[13] and "a special pile of human excrement".^[14][15]

In February 2010 Breitbart received the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. During his acceptance speech, he responded directly to accusations by New York Times reporter Kate Zernike that Jason Mattera, a young conservative activist, had been using "racial tones" in his allusions to President Barack Obama, and had spoken in a "Chris Rock voice". From the podium, Breitbart called Zernike "a despicable human being" for having made such allegations about Mattera's New York accent.^[16] At the same conference, Breitbart was also filmed saying to journalist Max Blumenthal that he found him to be "a jerk", and "a despicable human being" due to a blog entry posted by Blumenthal.^[17]

Activism[link]

Breitbart often appeared as a speaker at Tea Party movement events across the U.S. For example, Breitbart was a keynote speaker at the first National Tea Party Convention at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville on February 6, 2010.^[18] Breitbart later involved himself in a controversy over homophobic and alleged racial slurs being used at a March 20, 2010, rally at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., by asserting that slurs were never used, and that "It was a set-up" by Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party. Breitbart offered to donate $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund "for any audio/video footage of the N-word being hurled", claiming that the several Congressmen made it up. Breitbart insisted Congressman John Lewis and several other witnesses were forced to lie, concluding that "Nancy Pelosi did a great disservice to a great civil rights icon by thrusting him out there to perform this mischievous task. His reputation is now on the line as a result of her desperation to take down the Tea Party movement."^[19][20]

Websites[link]

Breitbart launched a number of websites, including Breitbart.com,^[22] BigHollywood.com,^[23] BigGovernment.com,^[24] BigJournalism.com,^[25] and BigPeace.com.^[26]

Breitbart launched his first website as a news site; it is sometimes linked to by the Drudge Report and other websites. It has wire stories from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Fox News, PR Newswire, and U.S. Newswire, as well as direct links to a number of major international newspapers. Its Blog & "Network" links tend to run to the right within the U.S. political spectrum (e.g., National Review and Townhall.com). The site also has a search engine powered by Lingospot and a finance channel powered by FinancialContent. In 2007, Breitbart launched a video blog, Breitbart.tv.^[27]

In 2008 Breitbart launched the website "Big Hollywood," a "group blog" driven by some who work within Los Angeles, with contributions from a variety of writers, including politically conservative entertainment-industry professionals.^{[citation needed]} The site was an outgrowth of the Breitbart's Washington Times "Big Hollywood" column included issues conservatives faced working in Hollywood.^[28] In 2009, the site used audio from a secretly recorded conference call to accuse the National Endowment of the Arts of encouraging artists to create work in support of Barack Obama's domestic policy agenda.^[29][30]

Breitbart launched BigGovernment.com on September 10, 2009.^[31] He hired Mike Flynn, a former government affairs specialist at Reason Foundation,^[32] as Editor-in-Chief of Big Government.^[33] The site premiered with hidden camera video footage taken by Hannah Giles and James O'Keefe at Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now offices in various cities, attracting nationwide attention resulting in the ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy.

In January 2010, Breitbart launched Big Journalism. He told Mediaite:^[34] "Our goal at Big Journalism is to hold the mainstream media's feet to the fire. There are a lot of stories that they simply don't cover, either because it doesn't fit their world view, or because they're literally innocent of any knowledge that the story even exists, or because they are a dying organization, short-staffed, and thus can't cover stuff like they did before." Big Journalism was edited by Michael A. Walsh, a former journalism professor and Time magazine music critic.^[34] It is now currently edited by Dana Loesch. The site has a fictional contributor named "Retracto, the Correction Alpaca" who posts items requesting corrections from the traditional media.^[35]

BigPeace.com debuted July 4, 2010. The site covers topics such as international issues and foreign policy, the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorism, Islamic extremism, espionage, border security, and energy issues.

Controversies[link]

Anthony Weiner[link]

On May 28, 2011, Breitbart posted a sexually explicit photo on his BigJournalism website of New York Representative Anthony Weiner obtained through Weiner's Twitter account.^[36] Weiner initially denied that he had sent a 21-year-old female college student the link to the photograph, but after questions developed, he admitted to inappropriate online relationships. On June 6, 2011, Breitbart reported other photos Weiner had sent, including one that was sexually graphic. On June 8, 2011, the sexually graphic photo was leaked after Breitbart participated in a radio interview with hosts Opie and Anthony, though Breitbart stated that the photo was published without his permission.^[37] Weiner subsequently resigned from his congressional seat on June 21, 2011.

Shirley Sherrod[link]

In July 2010 Breitbart was accused of smearing USDA official Shirley Sherrod with the viral video "Proof NAACP Awards Racism". Breitbart's video showed Sherrod speaking at a NAACP fundraising dinner in March 2010 admitting to a racial reluctance to help a white farmer get government aid. The NAACP condemned Sherrod video comments and approved her July 19 dismissal from government service. After being criticized for presenting Sherrod out of context, Breitbart posted the full 40-minute video of the speech.^{[38][39][40][41]} In the full video Sherrod said the reluctance to help a white man was wrong, and she had ended up assisting him. Following the release of the full video, the NAACP also reversed their rebuke of Sherrod,^[39][40], and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized and offered Sherrod a new government position.^[42] In 2011, Sherrod sued Breitbart for defamation,^[43] Breibart said that the point of the piece was not to target Sherrod, but said the NAACP audience's reception of the parts of the speech demonstrated the same racism the NAACP's President had accused The Tea Party of harboring.^[44]

ACORN undercover videos[link]

Breitbart was also involved in the 2009 ACORN video controversy. Hannah Giles^[45][46] posed as a prostitute seeking assistance while James O'Keefe portrayed her boyfriend, and clandestinely videotaped meetings with ACORN staff.^[47] Subsequent criminal investigations by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office and the California Attorney General found the videos were heavily edited in an attempt to make ACORN's responses "appear more sinister",^[48][49][50] and contributed to the group's demise.^[51][52]

GOProud[link]