July
Inside Dope
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July 2, 2001 5:20 PM
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http://www.inside.com - WALKING THE FINE LINE BETWEEN
CLEVER AND STUPID
Monday, July 02 03:50
p.m.
You learn quickly
reading publications like Slate and the New Republic to
appreciate the counter-intuitive argument. What with
there being a notable surplus of insights these days,
such polemics often have the advantage of being so
hare-brained that they will almost certainly be original.
Presto! Fresh insight. And far more salable in the
marketplace of ideas than a more conventional argument
that is also, say, true. (Stay tuned for my explanation
of why Ringo, in fact, was the greatest Beatle.) Start
with the (debatable) premise that Fox News Channel is
biased. Whoop-de-doo. Then go counter-intuitive: bias is
good and, by gosh, we need more of it. (This is a real
example from Slate, which had this summation: "Hooray for
media bias -- and for Fox, whatever dishonest slogan it
adopts.")
Scaling the Olympian
heights of Hitchensian counter-intuitivity is
conservative essayist Andrew Sullivan, writing this week
in the TRB column for the New Republic. In the too many
words written about monkeyfishing, a discredited piece of
reportage that appeared in Slate recently, nobody, not
the author, not the magazine's editor, not the fisherman
who made up the fantastic idea of trying to catch monkeys
in the Florida Keys by rigging a spear with fruit, has
argued that it doesn't matter that the article is made
up. Nobody, that is, until Sullivan observed, "I assumed
it was probably a tall tale, but it was told so well I
didn't really give a damn. And, since it wasn't
addressing earthshaking matters like Republican-sponsored
tax breaks for shipbuilders or a patients' bill of
rights, I wasn't exactly scouring the prose for evidence
of malfeasance. It was a jolly piece of colorful and
clearly inebriated reminiscence."
Sullivan never exactly
explains why Slate couldn't have published under the
label "Drunken Memories," or the more commonly used
"Fiction." Magazines presumably are edited for the
general public, and once a publication fritters away its
credibility with readers their minds are inclined to
wander to other uncomfortable questions besides is this
piece true or not? Say, asking whether a magazine's
reporting on an antitrust suit against its parent company
can ever really be objective. Or is a conflict of
interest something else readers like Sullivan can
"assume"? -- Noam Cohen
I'M OK, YOU'RE OK. DID
WILLIAM KRISTOL PULL A TIMOTHY LEARY ON GENERATION
Y?
Monday, July 02 09:58
a.m.
Is William Kristol,
the conservative pundit and editor of the Weekly
Standard, responsible for turning Generation Y into
mindless corporate positivists who bend easily to free
market capitalism? That's a theory outlined by Joshua
Glenn in the latest issue of anti-capitalist quarterly,
The Baffler. What's more, Glenn postulates that Kristol
did his voodoo by dosing kids with a specially formulated
soda back in the mid-'90s. Remember OK Cola? Mabye not,
but it was a short-lived product for Coca-Cola intended
to appeal to the kind of slackers who once read David
Eggers's Might magazine. Glenn says the introduction of
the soda in 1994 marks the shift from Generations X to Y,
right around the time Kristol wrote an influential piece
for Commentary which called on young people to "rebel
against rebellion" and take up Republican
values.
Writes Glenn: "The
whole point of the project was to inject a hip
conservative worldview, as expressed by the soda's
advertising, into X'ers who'd been rendered deeply
impressionable by whatever it was Kristol, et al. had put
into the beverage. Once the message had been delivered,
OK could vanish from the 7-Eleven as mysteriously as it
had appeared in the first place." To back up his argument
he notes that Wieden & Kennedy's ad campaign,
strategically introduced in seven cities that were
hotbeds of youth culture, included a "manifesto" that
said, for instance, "Please wake up every morning knowing
that things are going to be OK."
While the 3,300-word
piece reads as satire, Glenn, himself editor of a
philosophy and culture journal called Hermenaut, writes
in an e-mail to Inside.com: "I didn't make up any of the
quotes or information in the article; I just put it all
together in a way that even frightens me! But it's funny,
not crackpot-y, stuff."
Reached by phone,
Kristol tells Inside.com: "It's kind of amusing, but also
a little tedioius. People who are being satirists
shouldn't be too earnest. But I'm flattered and I'm going
to show my kids."
Still, the question
remains: Is it true? Did Kristol brainwash the youth into
being conservative 1950s-style consumers using some
insidious sugar-water?
"I neither confirm nor
deny," he says.
http://www.thebaffler.com/glenn.html
-- Joe
Hagan
NBC'S SHIRLEY POWELL
IS GOIN' SOUTH FOR TURNER
Sunday, July 01 10:58
p.m.
Shirley Powell, head
of publicity for NBC Entertainment, said Friday that she
will leave the network at the end of July to take a job
at Turner Broadcasting's Atlanta headquarters. Powell,
who's been at NBC for the past two years, will be senior
vice president of publicity for Turner Entertainment
Networks, overseeing TNT, Cartoon Network, TBS, Turner
South and Boomerang. Powell, a Turner veteran, said she
was motivated both by the job and the prospect of going
home. She's a native of Atlanta, and said her family has
been clamoring for more time with her six-month-old
daughter. Her only regret: her daughter could grow up
with a Southern lilt. Well, there's always speech
classes. -- T.L. Stanley
WHO LET THE SUN GO
DOWN ON THOSE NYT SHABBOT CANDLES ADS?
Friday, June 29 04:58
p.m.
Every New Yorker knows
-- not just the observant Jews, and not even just the
Jews, but everyone -- that it couldn't be easier to find
out when the sun goes down on Fridays. Just pick up the
New York Times and right there on the front page, in one
of those small-type ads at the bottom, next to the index
and the barcode, will be that reliable ad. "JEWISH
WOMEN/GIRLS LIGHT SHABBOT candles today 18 mins. before
sunset," it proclaims. The message continues, on Friday,
April 20: "In NYC 7:21 P.M. Info 718-774-2060. Outside
NYC 718-774-3000." We single out April 20 because, to our
absolute amazement, the ad, placed nearly each week for
more than eight years by the Lubavitch Women's
Organization, hasn't appeared since. You may not have
noticed this, of course, because no one really needs the
ad: Observant Jews know when sundown is anyway, and other
people don't much care. In an Internet age, when anyone
can find sundown times anywhere in the world, is it
possible the ad is just another obsolete New York
institution, gone the way of the Checker cab, the subway
token and Penn Station? "Not at all," says J.J. Gross,
who handles advertising for the Lubavitchers. "The fact
that people can get the information elsewhere was never a
consideration." What happened, then? "They were all
sponsored by one person, who is no longer in a position
to finance the ads," Gross explains, reminding us of the
famous Fiddler on the Roof dialogue between Reb Nachem
the beggar and Lazar Wolf. (When Wolf decreases his
weekly donation from two kopeks to one, explaining he had
a bad week, Nachem retorts: "So I should suffer?") In
this case, thankfully, the suffering will end. "We're
looking for a new sponsor or sponsors," Gross says. "The
hiatus will be temporary." Amen to that. -- Jesse Oxfeld
TOP STORIES ON INSIDE: July 02, 2001 NAPSTER BROUGHT
TO HEEL, MUSIC AND MOVIE ESTABLISHMENT CONTINUES ALL-OUT
LEGAL EFFORT TO SUBDUE UPSTART AIMSTER
Two new suits --
brought by the seven major film studios and a group of
music publishers -- continues swarm technique for
bringing down the upstart file-swapping application.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33917&pod_id=13
THAT LITTLE OLD LADY FROM THE HALLMARK CARDS WILL ROCK
YOU! DESPERATE TV PRODUCERS, AGENTS PLUMB DEPTHS OF
LICENSING BIZ
With hits harder to
come by, the pressure to find new characters, ideas and
concepts has sent the industry looking in some unlikely
places -- a development deal for the 'Whassup' guys.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33822&pod_id=11
DRINKING THE
VIDEO-ON-DEMAND KOOL AID, COURT TV THINKS IT IS WELL
POSITIONED TO CAPITALIZE ON INTERACTIVE
TELEVISION
Network thinks its
programming is perfectly suited to cable's would-be
next-big-thing. Big bonus: they own all the programming.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33898&pod_id=11
RATINGS PROJECTION: NBC'S SUMMER SERIES FINISH WIN, PLACE
AND SHOW
Fear Factor, The
Weakest Link and Spy TV lead all prime-time competition
for the June 25-July 1 week, as ABC and CBS flirt with
more record-low averages.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33897&pod_id=11
ACTORS AND PRODUCERS RESUME TALKS AFTER FAILURE TO CLOSE
THE DEAL OVER THE WEEKEND
'There is still a lot
of work to be done, but progress is being made,' said one
source shortly after negotiations ended Sunday night.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33878&pod_id=10
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July 3, 2001 5:39 PM
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http://www.inside.com - CHOKE AUTHOR MEETS HIS
MATCH
Tuesday, July 03 03:01
p.m.
God knows that the
downtown Manhattan bar, KGB and the anarchistic writer
Chuck Palahniuk know from weirdness -- but one particular
fan at the Choke author's reading last Sunday night at
KGB's fiction series managed to impress the packed room.
As Palahniuk read from his new novel, a woman appeared in
the audience in traditional dominatrix regalia -- except
that many of her garments were constructed from Palahniuk
promotional material. Along with presumably store-bought
vinyl boots and fishnet stockings, the woman -- who told
attendees she was a recording artist from Houston -- wore
a vinyl outfit into whose panels she had inserted mockups
of the book's cover. But what was most impressive, says
one of the 100+ lit-lovers in attendance was the handbag
she had made of Broadway's promotional postcards. Whether
she was performing in the service of self-promotion or
something else is not quite clear. In addition to making
sure the author also of Fight Club got a copy of her
self-produced CD, Mistress Choke, says an observer, spent
a long time talking to Palahniuk, who was otherwise
inundated with attentions from 20-something "thick-necked
frat boys, people who never show up at the KGB Sunday
night fiction series, because they don't read other
books." -- Sara Nelson HISTORIANS AGREE: THE GOLDEN BOWL
IS MOVIE TO SEE
Tuesday, July 03 03:01
p.m.
What's next: "Moulin
Rouge, fun for the whole family" -- Susan
Sontag.
With the pressure on
studios to find blurbmeisters for their films, some turn
to fictional reviewers in Connecticut, others to
bow-tie-wearing men of letters. Ads for the latest,
immensely tasteful Merchant-Ivory production, The Golden
Bowl, feature the gushing praise of historian Arthur
Schlesinger Jr., who found the adaptation of a Henry
James novel "wonderfully acute and evocative." A former
member of the National Society of Film Critics
Schlesinger reviewed movies throughout the 60's for
magazines like Show and Vogue. He quit the beat a full 30
years ago. "To do it properly it's a full time job," he
told Inside.com today. And just like that he had stopped,
no reviews -- and no blurbs -- for three
decades.
Last October, Ismail
Merchant invited his friend Schlesinger to a screening of
the film. Merchant was traveling from London to Paris
today and couldn't comment but Schlesinger recalls the
scene at the screening: "I fell into a conversation with
Ismail Merchant and I expressed my enthusiasm for the
film. He asked if he could quote me, and I told him he
could." Perhaps Merchant knew what the Washington Post
would discover in November: "He doesn't go out to the
movies -- too much violence, too many cliches," reporter
Linton Weeks wrote. "The last book he read for pleasure
was The Golden Bowl. By Henry James." -- Stephen Totilo
TOP STORIES ON INSIDE: July 03, 2001
AOL THIS YEAR EXPECTED
TO BRING IN 41 PERCENT OF ALL INTERNET
ADVERTISING
The dot-com death
march is continuing, Kagan Media Money is reporting,
thanks to an online ad market that continues to
deteriorate. No worries at America Online, which is
(remember this phrase) a "walled garden."
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33956&pod_id=7
RATINGS REPORT: NBC'S SCRIPT-FREE SHOWS RULE
MONDAY
Fear Factor and
Weakest Link turn in their softest numbers yet in their
fourth try as schedule mates, but still show no mercy to
the hapless competition.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33999&pod_id=11
EDITOR ARGUES: YOU WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT BOOK SALES? YOU
CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
As BookScan gives hard
sales figures more publicity and greater credibility,
Little, Brown executive editor worries what this will
mean for 'small' books and careers that take time to
build.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33997&pod_id=8
IN PRE-HOLIDAY PUSH, NEGOTIATORS AGREE ON A 'FRAMEWORK OF
A DEAL' FOR ACTORS
Talks adjourn at 2
a.m., after more than 16 straight hours of discussion,
and will resume later today. Terms said to include a 3.5
percent increase in minimum salaries and a bump up in
guest-star fees.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33978&pod_id=10
NEW SALES: TWO-BOOK DEAL FOR AWARD-WINNING
NOVELIST DEXTER; MCKIBBEN RETURNS TO NATURE
It was a good week for
serious nonfiction with books about corporate deals and
teen marketing habits, as well as genetic engineering.
Plus: Flags of our Fathers author signs new deal with
Little, Brown.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33937&pod_id=8
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July 5, 2001 6:36 PM
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http://www.inside.com - WHAT DOES AARON SORKIN DO DURING
THOSE RARE BREAKS FROM WRITING SCRIPTS?
Thursday, July 05
06:00 p.m.
Between a
court-imposed drug treatment program, a separation from
his wife, and composing next year's The West Wing
scripts, it's nice to see that Aaron Sorkin still has
time for the fans. On the West Wing bulletin boards of
the TV fan site mightytv.com, the alias "Benjamin" is
actually Sorkin according to Kausfiles.com, which says it
has confirmed the identity with Sorkin's office. Sorkin's
initial post is a public response to a recent New York
Times article suggesting that he has angered Hollywood
scribes when as a cost-cutting measure, the show's
producers asked its writers to not to take scheduled
raises. Among other things, the piece said writers are
upset because Sorkin hogs author credits for every West
Wing episode. In his post, Sorkin claims that unlike
other dramas, which are written by committee, he does all
the heavy lifting himself. "I write the scripts with the
enormous help of a staff that provides research and kicks
ideas around with me as well. It's like a new play being
written every week," he writes. Sorkin also claims that
the New York Times journalist, Bernard Weinraub, "is very
casual about the truth" and attacks a former writer on
his show. Given his hectic lifestyle, shouldn't Sorkin be
working? In words that could chill the NBC brass, Sorkin
alerts the bulletin board, "I have to get back to the
thoroughly incomprehensible season-opener I'm writing -
I'm on page 80 and I haven't written anything yet." -
Warren Cohen
http://www.mightytv.com
TOP STORIES ON
INSIDE: July 05, 2001
FREELANCERS TO SUE NEW
YORK TIMES OVER RELEASES THEY CLAIM ARE
COERCED
The paper says it is
clarifying the originally intended arrangement, but the
lawyer for the writers sees the policy as, 'Unless you
agree to drop any claims, you ain't working here no
more.' Plus: Authors Guild sues Times for past
infringements.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34179&pod_id=7
RATINGS REPORT: GROWTH IS HARD TO COME BY FOR CABLE'S TOP
SERVICES
Six out of the top
eight networks show year-to-year ratings declines in the
second quarter despite overall cable gains versus
broadcast.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34078&pod_id=11
THE GLOSSIES: FORTUNE TAKES CRAVEN ALMIGHTY-PANDERING TO
EIGHTH CIRCLE OF HELL
Dear God, make my rate
base: Normally BS-free mag's latest cover story, "God and
Business," marks a new low in using religion to goose
newsstand sales.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34136&pod_id=7
MSNBC.COM'S BROWN: 'THE INDUSTRY HAS NEVER LIVED THROUGH
A DOWNTURN LIKE THIS'
The Web's first great
synergistic effort is now five years old. Its editor in
chief tricks out the Web/cable business-model analogies,
explains why online media makes sense at a
software/technology company and prescribes a solution for
Salon's woes.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34077&pod_id=7
PRAISE THE LORD: CHRISTIAN-THEMED BOOKS ONCE STUMBLED
INTO THE MAINSTREAM, NOW PUBLISHERS ARE
PLOTTING
Behemoths like Warner
Books are seeing the value in works with religious
themes, while Christian publishers are tailoring their
marketing to pursue crossover dreams. Plus: a guide to
upcoming titles that should break through.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=33542&pod_id=8
ACTORS' NEW THREE-YEAR CONTRACT EXPECTED TO ADD ABOUT
$150 MILLION IN PAYMENTS
Agreement translates
into about a 5 percent annual increase, but true to the
unions' mantra going into the bargaining, 'middle class'
actors should get more and stars less. New cable residual
formula will shrink the gap.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34057&pod_id=10
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INSIDE DOPE AT
INSIDE.COM
Books:
http://www.inside.com/jcs/InsideDope?pod_id=8 Digital:
http://www.inside.com/jcs/InsideDope?pod_id=13 Film:
http://www.inside.com/jcs/InsideDope?pod_id=10 Media:
http://www.inside.com/jcs/InsideDope?pod_id=7
TV:
http://www.inside.com/jcs/InsideDope?pod_id=11
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July 6, 2001 5:12 PM
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http://www.inside.com - THE WIND DONE GONE TO THE NY
TIMES BESTSELLER LIST
Friday, July 06 04:35
p.m.
In case there was any
doubt that any press is good press, consider Alice
Randall's first novel, The Wind Done Gone. First came a
much-publicized lawsuit from the Margaret Mitchell estate
that failed to prevent publication of Randall's
adaptation of Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, then there
was a slew of mediocre -- at best -- reviews. Now the
book debuts at No. 11 on the New York Times hardcover
fiction best sellers list that will appear in the Book
Review section dated July 15.
Danielle Steel's Leap
of Faith has knocked Janet Evanovich's Seven Up from the
top of the list down to No. 3; meanwhile, Sue Grafton's P
Is for Peril took the opportunity to inch up from No. 3
to No. 2. Steve Martini's latest, The Jury, debuts at No.
4. Also new to the list are Elizabeth George's A Traitor
to Memory (No. 8) and Eric Jerome Dickey's Between Lovers
(No. 10).
David McCullough's
John Adams continues to reign over the nonfiction
hardcover list. Melissa Etheridge's The Truth Is . . . is
also holding steady at No. 9 (for the second week in a
row). After a short absence, Michael Pollan's The Botany
of Desire is back on the list, at No. 15, for a second
time. The only fresh title to appear is Dominick Dunne's
new collection, Justice, at No. 4.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=31677&pod_id=8
COSMOGIRL! GIVES MAGAZINE AMPLE REASON TO
BITCH
Friday, July 06 04:08
p.m.
Historically,
magazines about women that don't feature articles about
waxing, tweezing, dyeing or bronzing define themselves in
part by attacking the magazines that do. Which is one
reason why the latest issue of Bitch contains the
shocking memoir "I Was a CosmoGirl!" and the chilling
sidebar "Out of the Mouths of Burberry-Clad Babes." The
former is the sad tale of an idealistic young CosmoGirl!
editor who seems to have believed that the spinoff of
Hearst's money machine would radically break from the
women's magazine formula. The writer accuses CosmoGirl!
editor in chief Atoosa Rubenstein of selling out and
reneging on her promise to carry forward the flag of
feminism. "It was business as usual from the get-go:
wafer-thin models littering the pages, the usual
brainless fluff cramming the table of contents," reads
one sentence.
Bitch editor and
publisher Lisa Miya-Jervis concedes that the anonymous
writer was a little naive, but, she defends the article
as part of the magazine's mission to be a "feminist
response to pop culture. "We are being read by people who
haven't heard it before," she says. In an e-mail,
Rubenstein replies: "It's nothing more than a personal
attack on me and CosmoGIRL! from a disgruntled
ex-employee. The one thing I don't dispute is my passion
for the mission of the magazine and its focus on
empowering our readers."
The sidebar, by a
second anonymous writer, declares open season on all
women's magazines, rounding up anecdotes on how these
editors think. When one writer pitched a story on a pair
of girls in the rural South whose father had been
wrongfully imprisoned, then later freed, the editor,
according to Bitch's anonymous writer, wanted the girls
to FedEx photos of themselves. When told they couldn't,
the editor replied, "So, they're trailer trash. Are they
cute, at least? We can't consider it unless we know what
they look like." The story never ran.
Unfortunately, this
anecdote loses much of its bite because not only is the
writer nameless, so is the magazine and the editor.
Miya-Jervis justifies it by saying that, "the person who
wrote the sidebar is a friend. She's worked at a ton of
magazines; I know she's being straight up with me. That
all sounded pretty par for the course."
WHO IS LOANA? AND WHY
DOES ALL FRANCE HAVE ITS BERET ON CROOKED?
Friday, July 06 02:35
p.m. Remember when French culture was this really weird
thing -- obsessions with mime and Jerry Lewis movies.
Well, we are happy to report the French have joined the
mainstream -- its newest obsession is a 23-year-old,
surgically enhanced former go-go dancer who stars in a
reality-TV series. Tres Las Vegas. Not only that,
according to Google Zeitgeist, a report of search
patterns on its Web site, this sordid business has
dominated the site. The top celebrity search for the
month of May was "Loana," the name of the aforementioned
23-year-old, and the top search was for Loft Story, the
TV series that she won, along with a fellow named
Christophe. There are goofy tribute sites, like Fan de
Loana, which features grainy stills of her riding a
bicycle. The Big Brother-style program -- which debuted
in April on French TV station M6 and is filmed in a loft
north of Paris -- created quiet a ruckus in France where
the communications minister dubbed the program an offense
to human dignity. Whatever.
The show proved to be
a hit, with about 7 to 10 million viewers tuning into the
weekly show, which ended yesterday. "Apparently, our
French searchers are looking for wit, intelligence and
charm," says David Krane, the spokesperson for Google.
According to Google data, about half of its searchers are
from outside of North America, with about 5 percent using
French language. Among the other celebrity searches, Kate
Beckinsale, the star of Pearl harbor, came in at second
place. Jenna Bush also made it to the list at a
"respectable" No. 5. -- Rafat Ali
http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html
http://www.loftstory.fr http://www.fandeloana.com GETTING
REAL EXCITED ABOUT BIG BROTHER 2
Friday, July 06 12:00
p.m.
Excuse RealNetworks
for being a little excited. Near-breathless to announce
that it will stream live video from the CBS show Big
Brother 2 -- the first time an Internet company is
featuring a prime-time show online in a subscription
service -- the company sent out a press release to
reporters this morning with the subject head: NEED TO
BLAST THIS IMMEDIATELY. Less than a half-hour later,
another, mellower, note came: "Some of you may have seen
an odd subject in the message that we mailed a few
moments ago. We apologize, the e-mail was sent with an
errant header included." Big Brother snooping will be
available through RealNetwork's GoldPass subscription
service, which provides music, sports and other
entertainment for about $10 a month. So far, the plan has
about 200,000 subscribers. Big Brother aficionados will
be able to watch the house of contestants 24/7, except
for Thursday nights when CBS airs the show live and a
housemate is evicted. Real will make that hour available
on demand after the show concludes. --Warren Cohen TOP
STORIES ON INSIDE: July 06, 2001
RATINGS REPORT: BIG
BROTHER MAY HAVE CHANGED, BUT ITS RATINGS
HAVEN'T
CBS takes only a minor
bite out of NBC's Spy TV, as the Orwellian reality series
fails to improve on last year's results. UPDATE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34238&pod_id=11
FILLING UP THE $200 MILLION FILM CLUB: SUMMER 2001 IS
SHAPING UP TO BE A BLOCKBUSTER
According to a Kagan
World Media analysis, at least three movies are poised to
take in $200 million -- and as many as five could. In
past summers, no more than two have.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34258&pod_id=10
BOX-OFFICE PREVIEW: Trio of Films, Led by Scary Movie 2,
Look to Unseat A.I.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34198&pod_id=10
NEWSPAPER BIZ'S BIG NEW TREND: FIND OUT WHAT YOUR READERS
ACTUALLY WANT TO READ
One study reveals
'Super Bowl' effect: readers actually like the ads.
Another surprise: sports news doesn't matter. Most
popular? Local news and announcements.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34239&pod_id=7
MEDIA MANEUVERS: VANITY FAIR JOINS IN ON BASHING OF
ALREADY NICELY PUMMELED WEB ANALYST MEEKER
Not only that, says
writer Munk, but media analyst Jessica Reif-Cohen doesn't
dress well. Plus: Fortune continues to be shocked by
conflicts of interest on Wall Street.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34257&pod_id=7
SYNERGY, WHERE ARE YOU? EVEN THOUGH WARNER HAD DIBS ON
STORY THAT INSPIRED A.I., IT PASSED
The fact that the work
is only 11 pages long, combined with the publisher's
last, not-so-great experience with another Kubrick
favorite suggest that the decision to let St. Martin's
step in isn't quite so bizarre.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34137&pod_id=8
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July 9, 2001 5:39 PM
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http://www.inside.com - STEP THIS WAY TO READ ABOUT JACK
WELCH
Monday, July 09 12:30
p.m.
While GE chief Jack
Welch has been a little busy lately, what with his
company's collapsing deal with Honeywell, his book, Jack:
Straight >From the Gut will still land in stores, as
planned, on Sept. 11. While published reports have had
Welch, his co-author John A. Byrne and Warner executives
working around the clock to finish the manuscript, it is
magazine editors who will be hunkering down with it this
week. Within a few days, editors at major publications
will be invited to a conference room, one by one, to look
through the manuscript and decide if and what they'd like
to excerpt. There will be the requisite non-disclosure
agreement, of course, as there always is in the case of
embargoed books -- but this sub-rights-shopping is
unusual in at least one way. First serial rights have
already been snapped up by Vanity Fair for the October
issue -- but given the hot anticipation for the title, a
second set of first serial rights (to different material,
of course) will appear elsewhere. The magazines who
should expect a viewing invitation forthwith: Business
Week (which has employed Byrne), Fortune and Time (both
AOL Time Warner properties) and Newsweek. -- Sara Nelson
THE BAFFLED PUBLISHER'S GUIDE TO LAWSUITS
Monday, July 09 12:18
p.m.
The book series The
Baffled Parent's Guide to (fill in some sport-related
activity) was meant to clear things up for confused
parental consumers. Instead, the publishers seem to be
the ones baffled.
New York-based The
McGraw-Hill Companies and its operating division
Vermont-based Ragged Mountain Press are suing Nomad
Communications for trademark infringement. The plaintiffs
claim that they contracted with Vermont-based Nomad
Communications to supply content for three books in the
series which included The Baffled Parent's Guide to
Coaching Youth Basketball and The Baffled Parent's Guide
to Coaching Youth Baseball.
According to the
complaint filed last week, Nomad granted to Ragged
Mountain all rights to the book worldwide, such as
deciding the title and trademark to be used in connection
with the book. Plaintiffs claim that the spine and cover
of each book in the series bears only Ragged Mountain and
McGraw-Hill names and logos, but Nomad's name appears
only once in a subsidiary position on the title page
under the name of the individual author. "By virtue of
its prior, continuous use Baffled Parent's Guide has
become a trademark association exclusively with
plaintiff," alleges the complaint.
This is where the
confusion ensues. The plaintiffs claim that after Nomad
and Ragged Mountain disagreed over the role Nomad would
play in supplying content for future books in the Ragged
Mountain series, Nomad filed applications for federal
registration of seven books in the series with the US
Patent and Trademark Office. Plaintiffs have Notices of
Opposition against each of Nomad's
applications.
In addition,
plaintiffs are miffed that Nomad intends to publish a
book titled, The Baffled Parent's Guide to Teaching Your
Children Good Manners, leading people to believe the book
was authorized by Ragged Mountain or McGraw-Hill. --
Jessica Ricci WOODWARD MAKES PRESIDENTS GO
STAG
Friday, July 06 08:42
p.m.
It seems only fitting
that a book (well, actually, the dust jacket of a book)
about presidential scandals should itself be the subject
of controversy. The cover of Bob Woodward's Shadow: Five
Presidents and the Legacy of Watergate, published last
year, sports a photograph of the five living presidents,
taken at Richard Nixon's 1994 funeral. The photograph was
taken by John T. Barr, who claims in a lawsuit filed
Monday that his original picture was altered to delete
the images of the former first ladies. Barr claims that
Simon & Schuster, his agent Liaison Agency and Getty
Images violated his property rights by changing the
photograph without his permission. None of the defendants
could be reached after business hours Friday. The Los
Angeles Superior Court lawsuit seeks an unspecified
amount of money for the damages Barr claims was caused to
his reputation as a photographer. Barr is represented by
attorney William W. Sampson. -- Denise Levin HEAD OF
BOXING AT ESPN2 SAYS RECENT DEATHS IN RING WERE BEYOND
ITS CONTROL
Friday, July 06 07:14
p.m.
The death of
26-year-old boxer Beethavean Scottland on Monday from
injuries sustained in a bout aired on ESPN2 was the
second fatal fight the network has shown in the last nine
months. But while there has been some idle discussion
inside the offices about how to change ESPN2's practices,
according to the head of boxing for the network, the
conclusion has been that the best remedy is no remedy.
"It's an incredibly unfortunate tragedy," says the
executive, Bob Yalen. "Because it happened on network TV
it gives more of a platform to people, but accidents
occur in every sport."
Scottland, who trained
out of Baltimore, fought his last match last week aboard
the U.S.S. Intrepid aircraft carrier/museum as part of
the network's new Tuesday night boxing series. In
October, Bobby Tomasello died after being injured in a
bout in Boston that was televised as part of ESPN2's
longer-running Friday Night at the Fights.
Any death in the sport
is followed by a lot of finger-pointing, none of which so
far has been directed at ESPN2. After the Scottland
death, the New York State Athletic Commission has come
under fire in the boxing press, with questions raised
about why the appointed referee and ringside physician
didn't stop the bout early. Yalen, whose network puts up
the money that determines which matches get made and
approved Scottland as a replacement opponent on four
day's notice, said: "We've got to depend on the
commission to say a fighter's in shape and the standards
are in place. We can't administer physicals. That's not
our job." Scottland had passed the tests and had been
training for another fight at the same weight class when
he got the call to fight on TV, he said.
(According to the New
York Times, the commission is reviewing videotapes of the
fight and talking with people involved to see whether the
fight should have been stopped earlier. Dr. Barry Jordan,
the neurologist who works with the commission and treated
Scottland in the ring, told the paper: "Everything was
followed according to our policy and protocol. There was
no negligence involved.")
Yalen concedes that
there's been some discussion over how to prevent a repeat
of the network's first two boxing-related deaths in 17
years. "Basically just bullshitting about if there is
anything we can do," Yalen says. "And I tell everybody
there's nothing we can do."
The Tuesday night
series will continue on, he says, unchanged until its
13-week run trial run expires in August. "Ratings have
been great," Yalen says, although he adds that it's not
in the budget to continue the run beyond that. -- Stephen
Totilo TOP STORIES ON INSIDE: July 09,
2001
CBS NARROWS THE AD
PRICING GAP WITH COMPETITORS
While ad buyers
disagree whether CBS was getting price increases in the
upfront market, they agree the network's rates are now
closer to ABC, NBC and Fox.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34346&pod_id=11
TIME INC.'S WALTER ISAACSON NAMED CHAIRMAN OF CNN NEWS
GROUP
The former managing
editor of Time magazine succeeds the retiring Tom Johnson
and will report to Turner Broadcasting chief Jamie
Kellner. UPDATE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34341&pod_id=11
MSNBC TURNS 5: DOES IT
DREAM OF BEING A CABLE-NEWS POWERHOUSE OR NETWORK LAB
RAT?
While NBC News' cable
network can seem a work in progress at times, some of its
programs, like Headliners and Legends, have made it to
the big network. Can Brian Williams's program be far
behind? An interview with general manager Erik
Sorenson.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34280&pod_id=11
MSNBC.com's Brown:
'The Industry Has Never Lived Through a Downturn Like
This'
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34077&pod_id=7
RATINGS REPORT: NBC'S
NASCAR DRIVES OVER BIG BROTHER NBC
Sports scores with
Daytona coverage Saturday night and a Venus Williams
Wimbledon win Sunday morning. For the week, it's record
lows at ABC and possibly CBS.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34342&pod_id=11
BUZZ BOOKS: HOT SUMMER
BOOK IS ABOUT ... DEPRESSION?
Andrew Solomon's New
Yorker piece writ large is a popular success. Who knew?
Also, a first novel and a book from a veteran British
author begin attracting attention.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34340&pod_id=8
HERE WE GO AGAIN: DEPARTURE OF SAG'S NEW CEO ADDS FUEL TO
THE FACTIONALISM
Each side accuses the
other of playing politics with John Cooke's abrupt
resignation. Nine who questioned his appointment say they
were misunderstood. November election should be
interesting, with Melissa Gilbert considering a run for
president.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34296&pod_id=10
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July 10, 2001 5:14 PM
ET - http://www.inside.com - 'INTERACTIVE' NOVEL FROM
DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF
Tuesday, July 10 11:23
a.m.
Novelist Douglas
Rushkoff admits it upfront: he earns enough money through
his "futurist" books and consulting to give away his new
book for free. And that security, plus his innate ability
to keep ahead of the curve, has produced his latest
creative effort -- the "Internet's first open-source
novel."
The idea from the
omnipresent cyberexpert and the author of various
speculative novels like Free Rides, Cyberia and Ecstasy
Club is to release his latest book, Exit Strategy, as an
"interactive" serialized novel on Yahoo Internet Life's
Web site. The first chapter of the book went online on
Monday and will be serialized over 14 weekly
installments. (The complete novel, Bull, has just been
published in U.K.)
The "open-source"
scenario relates to the book's footnotes -- apparently an
important part of the novel -- which readers will be able
to contribute to. One-hundred of the best footnotes will
be selected and included in the self-published (through
iPublish) U.S. print version of novel. The 100
contributors whose footnotes are selected, according to
Rushkoff, will be sent free autographed copies, and
invited to the book release party in New York City. "If
you want to put a piece of fiction which is native to the
Internet space, you need to give users the ability to
interact with it," Rushkoff said in an interview with
Inside. "I tried to get it published initially on a more
underground site, the RSUB Network (part of Razorfish,
the online ad agency), and then they went down. Then I
approached Plastic, but they weren't interested. That is
when I approached YIL, since they have much more
resources to make it available to a larger
audience."
He said that the
online experiment cost him a conventional print book deal
in U.S., since publishers were not inclined to publish a
book already distributed free on the Internet. On doubts
that the book did not strictly adhere to the open-source
philosophy -- since contributors aren't allowed to
repurpose and then share the modified work -- he said in
a separate e-mail to Metafilter, where such questions can
be all-consuming: "I'll admit that the ability to add
footnotes to a novel is only about as 'open source' as
the Talmud -- which was much more my original vision for
the project. I wanted the commentary to become more
important than the original text, though." -- Rafat
Ali
http://www.yil.com/exitstrategy/
http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/8880
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SORKIN VS. CLEVELAND
ROUND 2
Monday, July 09 11:08
p.m.
The Internet means
never being able to say you're sorry. Just witness the
brouhaha involving The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin.
Last week on the West Wing bulletin boards of the TV fan
site mightybigtv.com, Sorkin wrote under the alias
"Benjamin" to defend himself against charges that he
pissed off his staff writers by asking them to turn down
scheduled raises and that he hasn't shared writing
credits. (Read about it here.) But more specifically,
Sorkin slagged a former staffer named Rick Cleveland, who
had grumbled that Sorkin didn't allow him to speak while
the two collected a shared 2000 Emmy award for
outstanding writing in a drama. In his post, Sorkin said
that's because he threw out Cleveland's script so he
could rewrite it and said that the Emmy producer insisted
that only one person was allowed to speak when collecting
the award. Sorkin also added, "At the end of the first
season, Rick was fired. Not by me and for economic
reasons. It was by John Wells and it was for lack of
performance. He was then hired by Gideon's Crossing,
where he was fired by Paul Attanasio for the same
reason."
Last Friday, ten days
after Sorkin's first post, Cleveland responded, offering
to show his original script to anyone to prove that it
reflected his work. He wrote, "Every script written the
show's first year by staff members was automatically
submitted for arbitration -- at the request of
[producer] John Wells -- as a measure of
protection for us -- to keep Aaron from poaching or
cannibalizing scripts to the point where he wouldn't have
to give credit where credit was/is due." And he said he
didn't get fired from Gideon's Crossing and is now
gainfully employed on HBO's Six Feet Under. Now last
night, Sorkin's mea culpa, which looks pretty hollow
compared to his earlier remarks: "Rick? If you're out
there...? I and everyone else appreciate the contribution
you made to the episode. It was crucial. I was dead wrong
to imply otherwise. I deeply regret not having thanked
you that night. It was nothing more than
nerves....Further, I'm remarkably and stupidly naive
about the internet, and never imagined my response to a
poster would be picked up...the episode we did together
remains one of the proudest moments of this series and of
my career. I enjoyed every day of the year we worked
together. Six Feet Under is a wonderful show, I'm sure
you're proud of it. I wish you nothing less than what you
deserve: Health, Happiness and another Emmy."
Unfortunately for Sorkin, his earlier post remains on the
site. But the intrigue on the West Wing message boards
are getting almost as interesting as the show itself. --
Warren Cohen
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34196&pod_id=12
VAJNA'S CINERGI SUED OVER PLANE CRASH
Monday, July 09 10:08
p.m.
Cinergi Pictures
Entertainment was sued Friday by the parents of a man who
died in March when the Gulfstream III airplane he was on,
believed to be owned in part by the production company,
crashed while approaching the Aspen airport. The plane
was en route from Los Angeles International Airport to
Aspen-Pitkin County/Sardy Field on a snowy night when it
went down, killing all 18 people on board, including
Simonne Edwards and Ronald Standifer's son, Paul Pierre
Standifer. Also named as defendants are Avjet and
Airborne Charter. A call to Cinergi was referred to
chairman, president and CEO Andrew Vajna, whose assistant
said he was out of the country and that this was the
first she had heard of the lawsuit. A publicist for Avjet
also said it was the first he had heard of the suit and
was checking into it. No listing could be found for
Airborne. The lawsuit claims the airplane's crew was
given a notice by the Federal Aviation Administration
that the use of the "instrument approach" procedure to
land at Sardy Field was not authorized at night, but used
it anyway. The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit claims
wrongful death and seeks unspecified compensatory and
punitive damages. -- Denise Levin AFTER DOT-COM FLING,
GODSICK LANDS NEW LINE VP POST
Monday, July 09 08:44
p.m.
Six-months into his
tenure as New Line Cinema production president, Toby
Emmerich continues to build his team, naming producer and
former agent Chris Godsick vice president of production.
The move to New Line marks Godsick's return to film work
after taking a detour into cyberspace as founder of
online wargame start-up Awesim Inc. Previously, Godsick
partnered with director John Woo in production company
WCG Entertainment, where his credits included Replacement
Killers, Broken Arrow (executive producer) and Face Off
(producer). Prior to his production work, Godsick was a
William Morris agent, specializing in helping established
Asian artists find work in Hollywood. His clients
included directors Woo and Chen Kaige (Farewell My
Concubine) and actors Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh.
Godsick, a close friend of Emmerich's, is the brother of
Geoffrey Godsick, 20th Century Fox executive VP of
publicity and promotions. -- Andrew Hindes INDIVIDUAL
INVESTOR CEASES PUBLICATION, SELLS OFF
SUBSCRIBERS
Monday, July 09 07:26
p.m.
Live by the bull, die
by the bull. And thus goes Individual Investor magazine,
the flagship property of Individual Investor Group,
created and run by Jonathan Steinberg, who's more famous
for his financier father Saul and TV star wife Maria
Bartiromo than his own adventures in publishing. His
company announced Monday afternoon it would cease
publishing the magazine and would sell the subscriber
list to The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., which
publishes archrival Kiplinger's Personal Finance
Magazine. Steinberg hired media investment bankers at The
Jordan, Edmiston Group a year ago to explore the sale of
his various properties. Last September, his company sold
off Ticker magazine and Insidertrader.com to help cover
the company's mounting debt. The list for Individual
Investor fetched a generous $3.5 million in cash, plus
the assumption of $2.6 million in debt -- a $6.1 million
deal. Kiplinger's absorbs 430,000 subscribers -- boosting
its September circulation to a mighty 1.43 million. As
for Steinberg, he and five other employees remain from a
staff of 56, and they'll continue to run the company
around its remaining Web sites and stock indexes, both of
which Kiplinger's was uninterested in, despite the
latter's unique value. "That's virtually a pure gross
margining business," says president Greg Barton of the
stock indexes. "It's very different from publishing and
the people interested in magazines tend not to be the
people who understand assets management products." But he
and Steinberg are still hoping that someone may yet be
interested in what's left of the company's media
properties. Jordan, Edmiston is still on the case. --
Greg Lindsay
TOP STORIES ON
INSIDE: July 10, 2001 STANDARD MEDIA IN PLAY,
SOURCES SAY, AS MAJORITY-OWNER IDG CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE
WITH ITS ONCE HIGH-FLYING INVESTMENT
Scenarios include:
purchase by another media company or financial concern.
Or IDG may take its ball and leave sandbox altogether.
Standard confirms only that funding talks are underway.
EXCLUSIVE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34440&pod_id=7
SONY'S MARKETING DEPARTMENT, UNDER FIRE FOR MAKING UP A
KINDLY REVIEWER, HAS NEW CHIEF
Geoffrey Ammer,
currently in charge of marketing at Sony-based Revolution
Studios, will be responsible for a department that's been
hurt by the disclosure it invented a critic and had
employees act like happy audience members. EXCLUSIVE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34438&pod_id=10
JOHN HUEY NAMED TO TIME INC.'S NO. 2 EDITORIAL
POSITION
The editor of Fortune
has a change of heart, accepting corporate role that will
see him take over many duties from editor in chief Norman
Pearlstine. UPDATE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34417&pod_id=7
Memo Announcing Huey's
Appointment
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34420&pod_id=11
Walter Isaacson to
Become Chairman of CNN News Group
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34341&pod_id=11
WHAT'S YAHOO'S MASTER
PLAN? ONLY TERRY SEMEL KNOWS
The newly ensconced
CEO faces his first earnings call tomorrow, and investors
are more interested in hearing where the company's going
than where it's been.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34437&pod_id=13
THE THREE RULES OF SUCCESSFUL AGENTING: LONGEVITY,
LONGEVITY, LONGEVITY
It also helps to be
based in New York and to take on clients you really,
really like.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34421&pod_id=8
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July 12, 2001 6:00 PM
ET - http://www.inside.com - NEW LINE: BROTHER, CAN YOU
SPARE A DEAL?
Thursday, July 12
05:42 p.m.
Under the laid-back
management style of former president Michael De Luca, New
Line Cinema's close-knit film department was sometimes
likened to a big family. But his successor Toby Emmerich
has apparently taken the metaphor one step further. After
six months on the job, Emmerich is about to sign his
brother, actor Noah Emmerich to a production deal with
overhead at the studio. Emmerich, who is probably most
recognizable as Jim Carrey's duplicitous buddy Marlon in
The Truman Show, has a role in John Woo's upcoming World
War II film Wind Talkers and appeared in New Line's
recent drug drama Blow. He also played a supporting part
in New Line's Frequency, which was written by brother
Toby. While Noah Emmerich has no production credits on
his resume, he is hoping to get several projects off the
ground at New Line, including a romantic comedy entitled
The First Boyfriend. A New Line spokesman confirmed only
that a deal was being negotiated. But a one New Line
insider said that Emmerich will be moving into an office
on the fourth floor of the company's Beverly Hills
building that are bigger than those of many staffers. The
new digs are also spitting distance from senior New Line
production executives, making it an unusually cozy
scenario for a fledgling producer. Most producers with
deals at New Line, including Ben Stiller and Brett
Ratner, are housed off the New Line campus. The move is
raising eyebrows among many longtime New Liners, who also
have looked askance at Emmerich's tendency draw from his
inner social circle when making executive hires. Recent
additions to the development ranks include Chris Godsick,
said to be a childhood friend of Noah's, and Ph.D
candidate Michele Weiss, the wife of close friend and
screenwriter Zak Penn. --Andrew Hindes and Elizabeth
Hackett
BET WILL PARTNER WITH
CBS NEWS
Thursday, July 12
12:34 p.m.
It's not the long
rumored deal between CBS News and CNN, but the broadcast
network news division has formed a new partnership with
its Viacom cousin BET (Black Entertainment Television).
The BET flagship newsroom in New York will gain the help
of the CBS technical crew to assist in the production of
BET Nightly News and BET Tonight with Ed Gordon. The
network will also gain access to newsgathering support
from the CBS satellite network and CBS-owned WCBS-TV in
New York. In return, CBS will be able to draw upon the
resources of BET's editorial staff in Washington, New
York and Los Angeles. To prepare for the new alignment,
the BET Nightly News will go on hiatus from now until
October. -- Warren Cohen
INTERNING WITH THE
ENEMY: JENNA BUSH BEGINS BRILLSTEIN-GREY SUMMER
JOB
Thursday, July 12
08:22 a.m.
Two favorite media
topics, Jenna Bush's drinking habits and interns with
presidential connections, have collided in a tabloid wet
dream this week: 19-year-old First Daughter Bush has
started as a summer intern at Los Angeles
management-production outfit Brillstein-Grey
Entertainment. The powerhouse company behind such hits as
The Sopranos, Just Shoot Me, Newsradio and The Larry
Sanders Show, BGE's writer and actor management division
reps clients who include Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston,
John Malkovich and Marcia Gay Harden. BGE employees
reportedly received a company-wide e-mail on Monday
morning informing them of the impending Bush arrival,
with instructions to keep the information discreet. One
unfazed company staffer says he hasn't bumped into Bush
in the halls yet and that everything at the company seems
to be "business as usual" -- aside from the Secret
Service agents camped out in the garage, that is. A
source close to the company expects the internship to
last through July and possibly into August. -- Elizabeth
Hackett
LIVE FROM NEW YORK - A
LORNE MICHAELS TALK SHOW
Wednesday, July 11
08:44 p.m.
Lorne Michaels has
signed a development deal with NBC's syndication arm. The
Saturday Night Live creator and executive producer will
come up with a daily talk show to be launched in 2002.
Marci Klein, head of casting for SNL will serve as
executive producer of the talk show. The program will be
taped in New York. No host has been announced for the
project. But the last time Michaels was in put in charge
of finding a new talk show personality, he came up with
an unknown named Conan O'Brien. Not bad.
TOP STORIES ON
INSIDE: July 12, 2001 CNN'S CONVERGENCE PITCH: STILL
A BIT OF A REACH
The cable news
network's sales staff is out pitching the combined power
of the channel and its Web sites. Will ad agencies
bite?
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34596&pod_id=13
PREMIUM TV CHANNELS PICK UP 1.85 MILLION
SUBSCRIPTIONS
HBO, Showtime and
others drive the net gain of premium TV subscribers up 65
percent in the first quarter over last year.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34436&pod_id=11
'SCREW THE MONEY,'
CONSERVATIVE PUNDIT ANDREW SULLIVAN SAYS, BUT I'M STILL
TAKING DRUG-COMPANY AD
After criticism over
corporate sponsorship of his Web site, Sullivan decided
to return $7,500 contribution. A day later, he says he
won't be 'brow-beaten by the usual combination of gotcha
journalists and left-wing thought police.'
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34617&pod_id=7
Facing Conflict of
Interest Charge, Sullivan Returns Money From
Pharmaceutical Group
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34518&pod_id=7
BOX-OFFICE PREVIEW: ALL HUMANITY WILL BE WATCHING FINAL
FANTASY'S OPENING
Video-game-inspired,
computer-graphic-produced film takes us one step closer
to a world without (human) actors. To many this is a
nightmare, others a dream. Now a mostly young, male
audience will vote with its dollars. Also, The Score and
Legally Blonde debut.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34599&pod_id=10
RATINGS REPORT: FAMILY GUY'S RETURN ANIMATES FOX'S
WEDNESDAY
In a time period that
almost seems designed to bury the third-year comedy, Fox
instead gets competitive numbers. Also, Weakest Link
invigorates NBC's Wednesday dramas.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34600&pod_id=11
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July 13, 2001 5:28 PM
ET - http://www.inside.com - WALL STREET JOURNAL ADVICE
ON LAYOFFS IS IGNORED BY PUBLISHER
Friday, July 13 12:13
p.m.
Just this past
February, The Wall Street Journal ran a story that began
with this prescient warning: "Memo to Corporate America:
Layoffs can be hazardous to your company's health." The
piece, headlined "Many Say Layoffs Hurt Companies More
Than They Help," went on to discuss how "downsizing ...
slammed the morale of surviving workers." That seems to
be exactly what's happened at the Journal, which has laid
off more than 100 employees over the last several weeks.
Grumbling Journal employees have been passing around a
recent column by the paper's publisher, Peter Kann, on
the travails of trying to take a luxury vacation, and
swapping stories about Kann's legendary helicopter
commutes from his manse in tony Princeton, N.J. "When
they ask us to work long hours for no more money, they
tell us this is more than a job," one writer says. "Then
they turn around and get rid of us, saying it's just
business." -- Seth Mnookin TOP STORIES ON
INSIDE: July 13, 2001 THAT 'FRIZZY-HAIRED FART'! LE
TOUT NEW YORK AWAITS BITCHY BIO OF MEDIA COUPLE TINA AND
HARRY
Vanity Fair
contributor offers up oodles of detail on rise and slight
decline of former Vanity Fair editor and Random House
honcho. But will anybody west of the Hudson care?
EXCLUSIVE
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34636&pod_id=8
The Tina & Harry
Index, Part 1: Amis (Martin) to Hirschberg (Lynn)
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34681&pod_id=8
BUMPED FROM AT&T-COMCAST TALKS, HOW WILL MALONE STINK
UP A POSSIBLE DEAL?
Although he quit
AT&T board in a huff, the company's largest
shareholder will have more say than bidder and suitor.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34679&pod_id=11
CANAL PLUS SAYS ARTISAN OWES $9 MILLION OVER CASSETTE AND
DVDS OF STARGATE, RAMBO AND OTHERS
European pay-TV giant
sues distribution company over what it says were
'significant shortfalls and irregularities' in its
accounting. Suit alleges, among other things, that
Artisan gave away $13 million worth of Stargate DVDs
without permission.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34716&pod_id=10
RATINGS REPORT: BIG BROTHER AND MUST-SEE FAIL TO EXCITE
VIEWERS
Despite knife-play on
Big Brother and a reality boost to NBC's Thursday lineup,
ratings are tame at best and record-low (as was the case
for ER) at worst.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34696&pod_id=11
IN KAFKAESQUE TALE, ARCANE WALL STREET JOURNAL UNION
RULES LED TO FIRING OF STAR REPORTER
New York-based
reporter Mark Robichaux didn't know he was technically
part of Chicago bureau. But, amid a directive to trim
heads fast, it was enough to get him fired. Anger in
newsroom as reporter files grievance.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34621&pod_id=7
///
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TVIMagazine.com
I N S I D E D O P E
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July 16, 2001 6:00 PM
ET - http://www.inside.com - BEZOS BARBECUE, FROM YOUR
FRIENDS AT MODERN HUMORIST
Monday, July 16 04:14
p.m.
The wits behind Modern
Humorist have been threatening since April that any money
sent to them via the Amazon Honor System, an online tip
jar, would go toward buying Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a brand
new Weber gas-fired grill. To say thanks Bezos had them
-- and 200 or so of their closest friends in the media --
over for a cookout. Both sides kept up the bargain, and
come Monday Bezos was grilling up cheeseburgers on the
patio at Bowery Bar in Manhattan. The media folk lolled
around asking each other if they planned to cover the
event. ("Are you writing about this?" "No. Are you?"
"No.") In between merrily wielding the spatula for the
benefit of BBC and CNBC camera crews, Bezos read a few
testimonials about the Honor System from the likes of
Andrew Sullivan, Learningpage.com and JokeWallpaper.com,
and reported that dozens of participating sites have rung
up more than $10,000 in donations. But that's just enough
to tide them over until this Web advertising thing works
out. "They want to be profitable Web sites," he said.
"They're no charities." Modern Humorist co-founder John
Aboud used the meeting of the media minds as a chance to
put some of the company's funniest talent up on stage,
and to hand out copies of the new Modern Humorist
magazine -- a digest-sized experiment of how well those
jokes translate to the printed page. Just because Bezos
has taken possession of his grill doesn't mean they're
done tweaking the system. "We're going to continue using
it for all sorts of hi-jinks," Aboud says. -- Greg
Lindsay
LIFETIME GOES
PUBLISHING
Monday, July 16 03:42
p.m.
Call it synergistic
girl-power, but Lifetime, the women's television network
is moving into the world of publishing. The new
Hyperion-spun imprint will feature the standard girly
fare associated with Lifetime brand. Coming soon to a
self-help section near you-- a book of relationship
quizzes from Dr. Pepper Schwartz. Dr. Pepper (a Ph.D, not
to be confused with the soft drink) is a popular
contributor to lifetime.com and a charter member of the
International Academy of Sex Research. The new publisher
also has a book about a wedding planner and a collection
of love letters in the works. The XX-chromosome network
now joins both ESPN Books and ABC Daytime books in the
ranks of Disney-owned television favorites cum
publishers. Coincidentally, Lifetime also announced today
that it will be starting an online book club, to further
"inspire and inform women." Hmmm ... anybody read any
good books lately? -- Lara Cohen TOP STORIES ON INSIDE:
July 16, 2001
PLANET OF THE APES IS
HAVING A BUMPY PATH TO OPENING NIGHT Screening and press
junket of Tim Burton remake have been pushed back
dangerously close to July 27 release date. 'We were in
the lab all weekend long,' says Twentienth Century Fox
vice chairman Bob Harper. 'We've never done a film on
this tight a schedule.'
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34802&pod_id=10
I'M BARRY DILLER, FLY ME -- USA BUYS TRAVEL SITE
EXPEDIA.COM
USA Networks gets
Microsoft's interest in the online travel agency and also
acquires another similar service, National Leisure Group.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34796&pod_id=13
DOGGED BY PESKY NON-COMPETE, FORMER PRIMEDIA CHIEF
LAUNCHES NEW MEDIA COMPANY AIMED AT YOUNG-AT-HEART
William Reilly missed
out on EMAP USA fire sale, but his new company has
ambitious plans to target aging Boomer market. And in
case there's any confusion, he is not -- repeat not --
competing against his old company.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34797&pod_id=7
THE TINA AND HARRY INDEX, PART 2: ISABELL (ROBERT) TO
LIBERMAN (ALEXANDER)
The florist and media
folk who filled out their lives -- and then there's
Calvin Klein and Henry Kissinger. Inside's gloss of Judy
Bachrach's telling of the Tina Brown-Harry Evans story.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34780&pod_id=8
Le Tout New York
Awaits Bitchy Bio of Media Couple
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34636&pod_id=8
The Tina & Harry
Index, Part 1: Amis (Martin) to Hirschberg (Lynn)
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34681&pod_id=8
RATINGS PROJECTION: NBC'S UNSCRIPTED STARS OUTSCORE FOX'S
BASEBALL
adults. And don't look
for a challenge any time soon from CBS, where Big Brother
continues to trail its paltry year-ago
averages.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=34798&pod_id=11
///
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April-May 2001
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