New 'Idol' judge ready to freshen formula

LOS ANGELES -- Kara DioGuardi was fretting about being the new face of "American Idol," and she put the blame on hungry mosquitoes.

"Here I am in Hawaii and I wake up yesterday and I'm covered in mosquito bites, 15 to 20, and it looks like I have the chicken pox," the songwriter-producer said on Tuesday.

DioGuardi represents a big change for the hit Fox series, which is adding a new voice to those of veteran judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul in an eighth-season effort to freshen its familiar formula.

"I hope people find I bring something to the show that's different, and I can help these contestants learn something, whether they win or not," she said.

Alan Colmes is Colbert's sidekick for a day

NEW YORK -- Divorced from his longtime co-host Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes was adopted by Stephen Colbert -- for a day, at least.

On Monday's "The Colbert Report," Colbert introduced the Fox News commentator as his new co-host.

It was the first episode of the Comedy Central show following the holiday break, and Colbert unveiled a completely new format, dubbing the show "Colbert & Colmes." The new design featured a "C & C" graphic and a chair behind the desk for Colmes (albeit one a foot or two shorter than Colbert's).

Coulter and CBS don't meet in the middle

NEW YORK -- Conservative author Ann Coulter initially seemed pleased Tuesday to appear on CBS's "The Early Show," especially after an interview she was set to do on NBC's "Today" the same morning was canceled.

But by the end of the segment, she was no longer lavishing compliments on Smith, who aggressively confronted the writer about the allegations in her latest book, "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America."

CBS anchor Harry Smith said afterward that he hadn't planned for the interview to get contentious, noting that Coulter devotes much of her book to challenging the mainstream media.

The AP, Los Angeles Times