Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Steve Jobs is Very Much Alive! Leave Him Alone!

More at MOBODOJO: “I’m periodically amazed at the lengths hackers will go to do something stupid. What they are doing now is hacking MacRumors live blog feed from the MacWorld keynote. The first comment indicated that Steve Jobs had died, which is untrue. ”

-- Yiah! What's the deal with hackers wishing that Steve Jobs was dead? This started with the infamous iReport video and has went from there. Maybe the best thing is for Jobs to walk around the floor of MacWorld just so they all leave him alone.

Or is that wishful thinking?
Have you ever seen that "Army of One" commericial? This is one of them:



Well, according to this email I got from AdAge.com, the organization that created the presentation is being accused of overbilling by The Army:

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Leo Burnett will pay $15.5 million to settle allegations that it overbilled the U.S. Army for work on its "Army of One" campaign, the Justice Department announced today. The suit was a result of whistle-blowing by two former Burnett employees. Among the allegations in the lawsuit, filed in 2004: Burnett was treating the work of its own internet unit as if it was performed by a third-party contractor, as well as inflating the costs of subcontractors it worked with, in order to increase its profits. Read the full story at http://adage.com/article?article_id=133588 -- Jeremy Mullman

Wow, and this from the organization of the Department of Defense, which is known for the $600 toilet!

Monday, January 05, 2009

Stop Twitter Phishing Now!



"Phishing" is the act of sending a "safe" looking email that asks you to give out sensitive information: your username and password. That practice has found it's way to Twitter. Here's what you should do if it happens to you.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

Choked-up Obama leaves Chicago - Chicago Breaking News

More at Chicago Breaking News: “Like many Americans, Barack Obama spent today getting things organized so he could head back to work after an extended holiday vacation.

But the president-elect's departure from Chicago's Midway Airport for a flight to Andrews Air Force Base brought with it some emotion, as he left behind an empty home and the city most associated with his historic political rise.

"I gotta say I choked up a little bit leaving my house today," he told reporters aboard a military aircraft that transported him to Washington.”

Saturday, January 03, 2009

Senator Harry Reid on 'Meet the Press' Sunday - Politics: The Early Line - Las Vegas Sun

More at Las Vegas Sun: “WASHINGTON -- Tune in Sunday morning when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is scheduled to be a guest on “Meet the Press” as the 111th Congress is about to begin.

Reid is expected to discuss the economic stimulus package Congress hopes to have passed and waiting for President-elect Barack Obama shortly after he’s sworn in Jan. 20, his own re-election campaign as well as the escalating drama over Obama’s successor in the Senate.”

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Linda Fiorentino and Mark Rossini: LAST SEDUCTION OF THE G-MAN - New York Post

More at the New York Post: “
The film was "The Last Seduction," but those who know Linda Fiorentino say the character that made her famous isn't far from the actress' own life. And in the real-life story, the "she done him wrong" role is played by her FBI-agent boyfriend, Mark Rossini.

The former G-man, 47, turned in his badge several weeks ago for accessing agency files on the case of private investigator Anthony Pellicano without authorization and pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts.

So far, the only connection between Rossini - who faces jail time but may only receive probation under a plea deal - and Pellicano is Fiorentino, who had an obsession with the Pellicano case, the former agent's friends say.”

-- Art imitates life? I wonder to what degree Fiorentino's roles impacted her real life in this case?

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Caroline Kennedy, in Senate Bid, Asked About Finances

More at SFGate.com: “(12-25) 16:30 PST New York (AP) -- At this time last year, Caroline Kennedy was promoting "A Family Christmas," her collection of essays that featured the memory of her father letting her use the White House switchboard to call Santa.

This year, after warily stepping into the political free-for-all for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's job, Kennedy's activities during the holiday season included fending off requests to disclose financial information.

The calls for Kennedy to release her financial information, required of many public officials including her uncle Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, come after a lifetime of carefully cultivated privacy.

By all accounts a very wealthy woman who could be worth as much as $400 million, Kennedy has said she will not release details of her finances unless Democratic Gov. David Paterson picks her for the Senate seat that will open up if Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state.”

--- If she has to do so, then so do the other candidates. That's only fair. I think there are opponents who are way too zealous in trying to find "something" on Caroline Kennedy.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

ESPN - Minnesota Vikings go for division title with Tarvaris Jackson at QB

Tarvaris Jackson at QB: “EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson will make his second consecutive start Sunday against Atlanta in a move that might portend a permanent return to that role.”

Renetto v. YouTube - Renetto's In YouTube's House




YouTube star Renetto's been at odds with the YouTube execs of late, so I thought I'd chime in with my take on his problem. Basically, he wants to be able to say what he wants when he wants. I'm explaining that YouTube and digital media is too monetized with corporate sponsors who are sensitive to their image, so much so they are fearful of comments left that could lead to embarrassment. Renetto can play their game, what would it harm?




Wednesday, December 17, 2008

"Liza The Wine Chic" Liza Zimmerman On SF "View From The Bay" 1/9/2009




Liza Zimmerman, my friend who's based in San Francisco and locally 
known as "Liza The WIne Chic" just sent this email:

Dear All,
Please join me for my Bay Area TV debut! I was on Captain Kangaroo many years ago, but this will be more fun. The show tapes live on Friday January 9th from 3pm to 4pm, so members of the audience will need to be there by between 2:15 and 2:30pm. Tickets are free and it's going to be fun! Here are the RSVP directions:
Please direct people to our website www.viewfromthebay.com and click on "be in our audience" and fill out a ticket request form. In the request form they would request the date that you will be on the show and under comments they can comment that they are a friend or family member of "Liza who will be on the show that day" or something along those lines. Or they can also call me at 415-954-7733 to request tickets. After requesting tickets, information and tickets will be emailed to your guest.





Thanks and I hope to see you there,
-- 

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Arne Duncan: Obama's Education Secretary - Huff Post

Arne Duncan: Obama's Education Secretary - Huff Post: “CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama announced Arne Duncan, the head of the Chicago school system, as education secretary Tuesday and declared that failing to improve classroom instruction is "morally unacceptable for our children."

"When it comes to school reform, Arne is the most hands-on of hands-on practitioners," Obama said, making the announcement at a school that he said has made remarkable progress under Duncan's leadership.

"He's not beholden to any one ideology, and he's worked tirelessly to improve teacher quality," Obama said.”

Monday, December 15, 2008

Greta Van Susteren Goes Off On CNN Layoffs - Gretawire

Blood Bath at CNN ? No “heroes” in management there! « GretaWire: “They did it again! CNN fires people just in time for Christmas!  Make you sick?

People often ask why I left CNN…..I didn’t like management.  I liked my colleagues in the news gathering but the corporate culture that seized management when AOL came in (Steve Case and Gerry Levin) was disgusting.  Everything changed.  Don’t get me wrong - I like corporate organization and a corporation should make money - what I don’t like is a mean spirited selfish management that, despite not doing its job of efficiently running the company, lines it pockets.  And then the topper? because the management didn’t run the company well,  CNN fires loyal people to meet some bottom line the management failed to meet.  Blame the little guy not the way the company is run?  Go figure! Well….CNN management did not disappoint me yesterday…meaning, it met my low expectations.”

--- This is a crass move by CNN management. It's the timing. Why the holidays?

Tina Brown And "The Daily Beast": Any Black Folks Around There?




The Daily Beast  is a new website along the lines of The Huffington Post from a content standpoint and started by long-time magazine editor Tina Brown and with an investment by Barry Diller. The rumor has been that $18 million was invested in the site and that the company was burning through $1 million or so in a month. Here in the video, Brown dispells those rumors.

In all, The Daily Beast is certainly an interesting "go" in that Brown is not going to have a set of unpaid bloggers, as The Huff Post does, but all paid writers, In other words a news and content staff.


I think that's a terrible idea because it places a high cost template in the business model and causes a higher level of revenue to be reached. Translation: a constant burn rate. But what's even more alarming to me is this staff photo we see: where the hell's the staff diversity? 



Has Tina ever heard of Black folks at all? Indeed, she wasn't a fan of President-Elect Barack Obama, but one of those who knee-jerk pointed to the "media bias against Hillary Clinton " while walking ignorantly past the dark racism that Obama faced during the campaign.


Regardless, assembling an almost-all-white (one Indian) news staff in an era that prizes diversity is massively irresponsible.  


Partly as a result of this "one-think", The Daily Beast is woefully devoid of any original content at present.  It's a cross between the online version of The New York Daily News, and The Huffington Post.  If "news is advertising" as Brown says in the video, The Beast has terrible ad content.


For some reason I can see this lasting two or three years -- tops.  That's not because of the staffing, but the total package.  There's nothing original here.  














Interview: New NYT.com GM Denise Warren: | paidContent.org

Interview: New NYT.com GM Denise Warren: Tip-toeing Into Aggregation With Guarded Optimism | paidContent.org: “As if heading advertising for the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) Media Group wasn’t tough enough in this climate, Denise Warren is taking on the role of GM of NYTimes.com as the site fends off increased challenges from competitors and the economy. Warren has been chief advertising officer of the NYT Media Group for three years and has been with The New York Times Company for 20 years.”

Sunday, December 14, 2008

David Gregory on Meet The Press - White males rule Sunday news shows - SfGate.com

White males rule Sunday news shows: “This is David Gregory's first Sunday as the host of NBC's long-running "Meet the Press," beginning what one of his rivals calls a new, post-Tim Russert era for the network Sunday public affairs shows. But some wonder if anything will really change.

Not only does Gregory's promotion in the aftermath of Russert's death ensure that all the shows will continue to be hosted by white men, roughly 80 percent of the newsmakers and pundits who have appeared on the shows over the past eight years also have been white men, according to an ongoing study by the liberal think tank Media Matters for America. (The organization's latest figures for "Fox News Sunday" are from 2005-06. In that period, 80 percent of the show's guests were male and 82 percent were white.)”

Friday, December 12, 2008

Google's NYC holiday party has Filet mignon on menu

Perks: Filet mignon on menu at Google's NYC holiday party -- I wish I were there!

Detroit Free Press To End Home Delivery - WSJ.com

Detroit Dailies to Curtail Home Delivery - WSJ.com: “The publisher of the Detroit Free Press, the country's 20th largest paper by weekday circulation, is expected to announce next week that it will cease home delivery of the print edition of the newspaper on most days of the week, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking.”

Inaugural Committee Donors - Presidential Inaugural Committee

Presidential Inaugural Committee | Inaugural Committee Donors From the website:
"In keeping with President-elect Obama’s commitment to changing the way business is done in Washington, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is taking unprecedented steps to insure transparency in the public reporting of donors to a Presidential Inaugural Committee. This chart will allow you to view, sort, and search virtually real-time information on all donors contributing over $200 to the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee.

Unlike previous inaugural committees, the 2009 PIC does not accept contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federally-registered lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens and registered foreign agents and does not accept individual contributions in excess of $50,000."

Bush White House Blocks Blair House From Obamas - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

Sorry, We’re Booked, White House Tells Obamas - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com: “CHICAGO—The White House has turned down a request from the family of President-elect Barack Obama to move into Blair House in early January so that his daughters can start school on January 5.

The Obamas were told that Blair House, where incoming presidents usually stay in the five days before Inauguration Day, is booked in early January, a spokesperson to the Obama transition said. “We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,’ the spokesperson said. “But, there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.”

It remained unclear who on Bushes guest list outranked the incoming President.

“It’s not a public schedule,” said Sally McDonough, spokeswoman for First Lady Laura Bush, in refusing to disclose who was staying at Blair House. “It’s not a question of outranking the Obamas. Blair House will be available to them on January 15.””

Fox News - Rahm Emanuel Gave Blagojevich List Of 'Acceptable' Senate Candidates: Report

Rahm Emanuel Gave Blagojevich List Of 'Acceptable' Senate Candidates: ReportHuff Post: “President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had direct conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Obama's replacement in the US Senate, FOX News Chicago reports.

Citing "a source familiar with the investigation," Fox says that Emanuel had "multiple conversations" with Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris, who was also arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges, about the seat and that they we're "likely recorded and in FBI possession."

Fox's source said that Emanuel gave the governor's office a list of "candidates that would be acceptable to President-elect Barack Obama" but no "quid pro quo" or "dealmaking" is suspected.

Meanwhile, an angry Emanuel says he won't go to work because of the media stakeout. He told an ABC News cameraman that has received death threats:”