Rhymes with Frog...

Gothamist: Spitzer Writes Editorial for Washington Post

2008-11-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

Gothamist: Spitzer Writes Editorial for Washington Post

Live From New York, It's New Saturday Nighters - Yahoo! News

2008-11-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

Live From New York, It's New Saturday Nighters - Yahoo! News

ESPN - Five Continental Hockey League players were found to have heart defects after tests

2008-11-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

ESPN - Five Continental Hockey League players were found to have heart defects after tests

Citigroup to help at-risk borrowers stay in homes - BusinessWeek

2008-11-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

Citigroup to help at-risk borrowers stay in homes - BusinessWeek

Crapgadget: how to ruin a gift-giving experience edition - Engadget

2008-11-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Crapgadget: how to ruin a gift-giving experience edition - Engadget

The First One to Fall

2008-10-28T12:07:00.001-07:00

October 29, 2008
Christian Science Monitor to Publish Online Only
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

After a century of continuous publication, The Christian Science Monitor will abandon its weekday print edition and appear online only, its publisher announced Tuesday. The cost-cutting measure makes The Monitor the first national newspaper to essentially give up on print.

The paper is currently published Monday through Friday, and will move to online only in April, although it will also introduce a Sunday magazine. John Yemma, The Monitor’s editor, said that moving to the Web only will mean it can keep its eight foreign bureaus open while still lowering costs.

“We have the luxury — the opportunity — of making a leap that most newspapers will have to make in the next five years,” Mr. Yemma said.

The Monitor is an anachronism in journalism, a nonprofit financed by a church and delivered through the mail. But with seven Pulitzer Prizes and a reputation for thoughtful writing and strong international coverage, it long maintained an outsize influence in the publishing world, which declined as its circulation has slipped to 52,000, from a high of more than 220,000 in 1970.

In an industry that has been conducting layoffs, closing bureaus and shrinking the size of the product, The Monitor’s experiment will be tracked very closely.

“Everybody’s talking about new models,” Mr. Yemma said. “This is a new model.”

Lou Ureneck, the chairman of the journalism department at Boston University, said that it was difficult to interpret what the move meant for other newspapers, because The Monitor was nonprofit, and most newspapers were not. But across the industry, news organizations “are going to simply have to be smaller organizations,” Mr. Ureneck said.

Before The Monitor, a handful of small papers had shifted away from print. Earlier this year, The Capital Times in Madison, Wis. went online only, and The Daily Telegram in Superior, Wis., announced it would publish online except for two days a week.

Dropping the print edition seems to tempt newspaper executives. At a recent conference hosted by the City University of New York’s journalism school, a group of publishing executives discussed what a cost-efficient newsroom should look like. They eventually settled on casting aside paper and starting fresh on the Web.

Still, said Ken Doctor, a newspaper analyst at Outsell Inc., most newspapers cannot give up their paper versions. Print editions still bring in 92 percent of the overall revenue, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

“If that much revenue is tied up in the print product, if tomorrow these companies dropped those editions, they would have 90 percent less revenue,” Mr. Doctor said. While getting rid of costs like printing plants and delivery trucks would help a little, he said, it would not make up for the lost revenue.

Mr. Yemma said that print did bring in money at The Monitor, but most of that was from subscriptions, not advertising. Subscriptions account for about $9 million of The Monitor’s revenue, while print advertising makes up less than $1 million. Web revenue is about $1.3 million, he said. He is projecting that circulation revenue will drop, but he expects the magazine format will appeal to print advertisers. He is planning cuts, too. Mr. Yemma said he was planning some layoffs on both the 100-person editorial side and the 30-person business side. “I’m not sure the same number of people will be needed,” he said, but “there’s certainly nothing like a draconian cut coming.”

Under the new system, reporters will be expected to file stories to the Web and update them a few times a day, along with writing longer pieces for the Sunday magazine.

Mr. Yemma said he hoped to establish CSMonitor.com as an essential place for international news. The site now gets about three million page views a month, according to comScore, and Mr. Yemma said he wanted to increase that to 20 million to 30 million a month in the next five years. Even if he can fill the site only with remnant, cheap ads, he said, if visits grow as he is projecting, “that’s a sustainable model.”

The Sunday magazine, which will have an international focus, is meant to satisfy readers who are attached to print, Mr. Yemma said, but he said he did not expect it to be hugely profitable.

“We certainly know newsmagazines are cratering,” Mr. Yemma said. “We’re under no illusions about it being a growth vehicle.”

The Monitor, which was conceived as an alternative to the yellow journalism of the early 20th century, is financed by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston through contributions and an endowment. The church wanted its publishing division to contribute to the church rather than vice versa, and plans to reduce its subsidy to about $4 million, from about $12 million, within five years. Mr. Yemma said he was worried about how subscribers would react.

Longtime readers “love coffee and a newspaper. So do I,” Mr. Yemma said. “There’s nothing like it. But everyone, sooner or later, is going to have to make the transition, and that’s recognized.”

Well, what happened was...

2008-10-23T11:37:00.001-07:00

Greenspan Concedes to `Flaw' in His Market Ideology (Update2)

By Scott Lanman and Steve Matthews

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said a ``once-in-a-century credit tsunami'' has engulfed financial markets and conceded that his free-market ideology shunning regulation was flawed.

``Yes, I found a flaw,'' Greenspan said in response to grilling from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. ``That is precisely the reason I was shocked because I'd been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.''

Greenspan said he was ``partially'' wrong in opposing regulation of derivatives and acknowledged that financial institutions didn't protect shareholders and investments as well as he expected.

``We cannot expect perfection in any area where forecasting is required,'' he said. ``We have to do our best but not expect infallibility or omniscience.''

Part of the problem was that the Fed's ability to forecast the economy's trajectory is an inexact science, he said.

``If we are right 60 percent of the time in forecasting, we are doing exceptionally well; that means we are wrong 40 percent of the time,'' Greenspan said. ``Forecasting never gets to the point where it is 100 percent accurate.''

Self-Policing

The admission that free markets have their faults was a shift for the former Fed chairman who declared in a May 2005 speech that ``private regulation generally has proved far better at constraining excessive risk-taking than has government regulation.''

Today Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, said Greenspan had ``the authority to prevent irresponsible lending practices that led to the subprime mortgage crisis.''

``You were advised to do so by many others,'' he told Greenspan. ``And now our whole economy is paying the price.''

Waxman and other lawmakers repeatedly interrupted Greenspan as he answered their questions, in contrast to deference to his testimony while he was Fed chairman.

Firms that bundle loans into securities for sale should be required to keep part of those securities, Greenspan said in prepared testimony. Other rules should address fraud and settlement of trades, he said.

Resistant to Regulation

Greenspan opposed increasing financial supervision as Fed chairman from August 1987 to January 2006. Policy makers are now struggling to contain a financial crisis marked by record foreclosures, falling asset prices and almost $660 billion in writedowns and losses tied to U.S. subprime mortgages.

Today, the former Fed chairman asked: ``What went wrong with global economic policies that had worked so effectively for nearly four decades?''

Greenspan reiterated his ``shocked disbelief'' that financial companies failed to execute sufficient ``surveillance'' on their trading counterparties to prevent surging losses. The ``breakdown'' was clearest in the market where securities firms packaged home mortgages into debt sold on to other investors, he said.

``As much as I would prefer it otherwise, in this financial environment I see no choice but to require that all securitizers retain a meaningful part of the securities they issue,'' Greenspan said. That would give the companies an incentive to ensure the assets are properly priced for their risk, advocates say.

Subprime Lending

Greenspan said the Fed didn't know the size of the subprime mortgage market until late 2005.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and former Treasury Secretary John Snow also appeared at the House committee hearing.

Snow said the economy is headed down a ``bad, bad path'' and he endorsed consideration of more fiscal stimulus. For the longer term, Snow said the global financial system should be reorganized by focusing on increasing transparency of ``excessive'' leverage to prevent institutions from creating too much risk.

The U.S. needs ``one strong national regulator'' to oversee firms and fix what Snow called ``a fragmented approach'' to regulation. ``Steps to restore transparency and responsibility in the marketplace will go a long way towards restoring stability and confidence,'' he said.

Addressing the trio that oversaw the U.S. financial markets as the housing bubble developed, Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, characterized them as ``three Bill Buckners,'' referring to the Boston Red Sox first baseman whose fielding error some fans blame for the team's loss in the 1986 World Series.

Well, what happened was...

2008-10-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

The New Model

2008-10-15T17:18:00.001-07:00

Warner Chappell Strikes Gold With Radiohead Deal
October 15, 2008

Just over a year since its release, data on Radiohead's unique "It's Up To You" presentation of In Rainbows has finally been released by Warner Chappell Publishing. At the "You Are In Control" conference in Iceland, the U.K.-based branch of the publishing company revealed the figures. Warner Chappell U.K. held the digital licensing rights to In Rainbows as part of a groundbreaking deal with Radiohead.

According to Music Ally, Warner Chappell was set to reveal at the conference that the digital publishing income from In Rainbows was bigger than all previous Radiohead digital income (though the band's music wasn't on iTunes at the time) and that Radiohead made more money off In Rainbows before its CD release alone than they made in total from 2003's Hail To The Thief.

Between physical CDs, the expanded box sets and digital downloads, In Rainbows has sold approximately 3 million copies in the U.S. and U.K. combined. It sold 30,000 copies its first week on iTunes in the U.S. as well. Roughly 1.75 million physical CDs have been sold, with 100,000 copies of the limited edition box set sold through the band's own W.A.S.T.E. merchandising.

Warner Chappell Head of Business Affairs Jane Dyball notes that the average price paid for the album fell as the die-hard fans purchased it first, then the casual fans followed. Also, BitTorrent downloads of In Rainbows outnumbered the official downloads from Radiohead.com.

Music Ally notes that Warner Chappell held a major, overlooked role in the rollout of In Rainbows, because "by licensing directly (i.e. outside the collecting society network) and by offering a genuine one stop shop for licensing (i.e. combining all the digital rights into one offer from a single entity) the publisher was able to generate far more money for both themselves and the band than would have been possible under the traditional system."

One year later

2008-10-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

Dow Peak: 14,163.53
October 9th, 2007.

...

2008-09-25T15:50:00.001-07:00

Dodd says White House meeting was a disaster
By Greg Robb
Last update: 6:13 p.m. EDT Sept. 25, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sen. Chris Dodd, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Thursday that bipartisan meeting with President Bush at the White House on the mortgage rescue plan was nothing short of a disaster. In an interview on the CNN cable news network, Dodd described a meeting in which Democrats were blindsided by a new core mortgage proposal from House Republicans, with the tacit backing of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. "I am not going to sign on to something I just saw this afternoon," he said. Dodd said Republicans and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had to decide what they wanted to support. The whole meeting "looked like a rescue plan for John McCain," Dodd said. He said he was simply going to pretend that the meeting had never happened. End of Story

Who's to blame?

2008-09-16T23:43:00.001-07:00

Pelosi orders wide Wall Street probe
By: Mike Allen
September 16, 2008 08:33 PM EST

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has ordered a broad, swift investigation of Wall Street and will demand testimony from Bush administration officials and captains of finance, congressional officials said.

House Democrats plan to aggressively look at the administration’s role in the meltdown over the weekend and to explore further regulation and government structures that would be taken up under the new president.

Republican aides accused Democrats of trying to shift blame with a series of “show trials,” but acknowledged that key officials will wind up cooperating.

The hearings will take place over the next few weeks, the officials said. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who regularly appears on Capitol Hill, will be called to testify as part of the investigation.

As the main event, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House oversight committee, wrote to Richard Fuld, chief executive of the imploded Lehman Brothers, to ask him to appear on Capitol Hill on Sept. 25.

“The hearing will examine the regulatory mistakes and financial excesses that led to yesterday's bankruptcy filing by Lehman Brothers,” Waxman wrote. “The committee will also explore the impacts of the Lehman bankruptcy on financial markets and the United States economy.”
See Also

* Historians say McCain camp not sleaziest
* GOP group behind negative Obama poll
* Reid likens McCain to Hoover

Separately, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, plans a forward-looking hearing with economists on Wednesday to “begin a conversation about where we go with the capital markets,” a House aide said.

Frank plans “oversight of what happened this weekend with the Treasury and Federal Reserve,” and will look at “how bad the capital markets are, and what may be needed.”

“The markets are not self-correcting,” the aide said. “If they continue to not self-correct over the next several months, is there a federal response? There might be more federal intervention that’s needed. We’ll proceed cautiously, and that would be next year."

Both chairmen are acting at the direction of Pelosi, who told them to figure out what happened and demonstrate that they are on top of the situation, the officials said.

Pelosi said Tuesday on MSNBC that she expects a “restructuring” of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “in the next Congress with a new president.”

“Are they quasi-governmental organizations, are they quasi-nongovernmental organizations? Should they just be share hold private institutions?” she said. “We have to examine that. And I've asked the chairmen — Chairman Frank and the Chairman Waxman, the chairman of our Oversight and Reform Committee, to take a look at both of those.”

© 2008 Capitol News Company, LLC

Raider Nation under seige

2008-09-11T10:17:00.001-07:00

Dozens of brawls reported at Raiders game
By Angela Hill
Oakland Tribune
Article Launched: 09/09/2008 04:40:52 PM PDT
OAKLAND — The ugliness of Monday night's Oakland Raiders loss to the Denver Broncos at McAfee Coliseum was not limited to the score, as several nasty brawls were reported in the stands and outside the stadium, police said.

One of the most dramatic incidents took place at Gate C before the game had started, police said. Three Oakland police officers were attempting to detain a man who was drunk when another man, who was later discovered to be on parole, walked up and "sucker punched" one of the officers in the face, police said. The man then punched a police sergeant, and others in the crowd began fighting. When it was all over, the sergeant and one of the officers had received significant cuts and bruises on their faces and the third officer suffered a broken finger. They were all treated on the scene.

Three men were taken into custody in that incident.
"Our goal is to make this a family type event," said Oakland police spokesman Roland Holmgren. "But there are some people who want to come just to cause trouble. That kind of behavior will not be tolerated and those individuals will be dealt with."

Police said fans were particularly rowdy in sections 224 and 324, and officers used stun guns on several people to break up fights during the game. Oakland police reported at least 30 arrests for drunkenness, fighting and assault and about as many ejections for more minor offenses, such as sitting in the wrong seat. The Alameda County

Sheriff's Department also made 15 arrests for such things as drunkenness, fighting and some drug charges, and ejected 55 people from the stands.

Oakland police and Alameda County Sheriff's deputies regularly provide back-up security at Raiders games.
One officer, who has worked at numerous Raiders games, said the incidents were not as bad as they could have been considering the game was a Monday Night Football contest against a major rival and the fans were likely upset at the team's performance.

Three More Borat Complaints Tossed

2008-09-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

Three More Borat Complaints Tossed

Natalie FinnTue Sep 9, 4:22 PM ET

Borat continues to have the last laugh.

A New York judge has thrown out several lawsuits brought by some of the unsuspecting citizens who interacted with Sacha Baron Cohen's titular buffoon in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

The Baltimore-based driver's education teacher who gets behind the wheel with Borat and two etiquette coaches (including the one who had to explain that human feces belong in the toilet, not at the dinner table) each sued Cohen and 20th Century Fox for allegedly engaging in fraudulent tactics to get them to appear on film.

But U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska noted in her Sept. 3 ruling that all three plaintiffs consented to participating in a "documentary-style movie" by accepting money for their efforts and signing releases that freed the filmmakers from liability.

These complaints were part of the wave of litigation that washed over Fox in the months after Borat made benefit glorious stardom of Cohen, whose low-budget comedy grossed more than $260 million worldwide. He's currently filming Bruno, based on another of the characters in his mental lockbox, a flamboyant Austrian fashion reporter.

But although a number of ticked-off civilians were angling for a cut of that box office loot, maintaining that they were all suckered into the unflattering portrayals they offered up on camera, the courts have been residing largely in the defendants' camp so far.

Presky also rejected in April a defamation suit brought by the businessman whom Borat tries to hug on the streets of New York, determining that the scene was less reputation-killer and more ironic and newsworthy commentary on social mores.

And in February 2007, a Los Angeles judge granted 20th Century Fox's motion to dismiss a fraud lawsuit brought by two of the boorish-acting fraternity brothers who Borat hitched a ride with in the 2006 film—they claimed that they were plied with booze before signing their release forms—and refused to order the studio to excise their scene from future screenings or DVD editions.

I'll be yours, til the end of time...

2008-09-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

Madonna dedicates "Like a Virgin" to pope in Rome

ROME (Reuters) - Pop star Madonna, once accused by the Vatican of staging one of the most satanic shows in history, dedicated her hit "Like a Virgin" to the pope at a sold-out concert in Rome over the weekend.

"I dedicate this song to the pope, because I'm a child of God. All of you are also children of God," Madonna, 50, told the 60,000 fans that flocked to the Italian stop of her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour on Saturday.

Italian newspapers gushed over the singer's electric performance and called the dedication a surprising provocation.

"At the Roman leg of her tour, Madonna didn't miss the opportunity for a provocation that will certainly be discussed," Italy's top newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a front-page report.

Madonna, who comes from a devout Italian Catholic family, has raised the ire of the Catholic Church in the past with sexually charged antics designed to shock.

In 2006, she staged a mock-crucifixion at a concert in Rome to the backdrop of accusations from the Vatican of blasphemy.

The Vatican also condemned her controversial 1989 video for the song "Like a Prayer" that featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus.

The Vatican later panned a show where she decked the stage out with religious imagery as one of the most "satanic shows in the history of humanity."

(Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Ralph Boulton)

S&H Ball

2008-08-20T17:09:00.001-07:00

New Names, Faces Added to Vegas Strippers & Hustlers Ball

San Francisco Exotic Erotic Ball impresario Perry Mann has announced additions to the talent lineup ...

If you have Gmail...

2008-08-11T17:03:00.001-07:00

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/a-modern-day-blackout/

New NFL rules

2008-08-05T20:17:00.001-07:00

NFL implements new code of conduct for fans at games

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL implemented a new code of fan conduct Tuesday, warning that spectators who misbehave will be ejected from stadiums and barred from coming back.

The policy, first recommended by commissioner Roger Goodell at league meetings in April, is aimed at conduct that the league said "detracts from the gameday experience."

It includes bans on:

-- Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.

-- Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.

-- Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.

-- Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.

-- Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.

-- Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.

"The in-stadium experience is critically important to the NFL, our clubs and our fans and it will be a major focus this season," Goodell said in a statement. "We are committed to improving the fan experience in every way we can -- from the time fans arrive in the parking lot to when they depart the stadium."

The league also left teams the option of adding additional provisions to the code based on local circumstances. It said the guidelines would be contained in mailings to fans and signs posted at stadiums.

Strategery

2008-07-31T08:39:00.001-07:00

DAVID WEIDNER'S WRITING ON THE WALL
The no-loss sell rule
Commentary: What if we tried a new strategy in the next six months?
By David Weidner, MarketWatch
Last update: 12:01 a.m. EDT July 31, 2008
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- What follows is not a real conversation that recently took place in the Oval Office.
The President of the United States: Gentlemen, I've only got a few months left in office, and this banking and credit crisis is not the way I want to go out. The reason I've called you here is to tell me what you've done to get us out of this mess and what strategery we need to make it through the next six months.
Tommy, you're up.
Video: The No-Loss Sale Rule
After the SEC extended a rule against short-selling, Wall Street Columnist David Weidner discusses another plan to help lift stock prices. (July 30)
Timothy Geithner, President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank: Me? (Looks around) Oh. OK, I guess my contribution was putting together the talks that led to the rescue of Bear Stearns Cos. by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM
JPMorgan Chase & Co
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JPM) By doing that, I think we avoided a domino effect on Wall Street that would have led to panic selling and a lot of bank failures. You see, Bear's counterparties heard a rumor ...
POTUS: Not my kind of party. Bor-ing. Is there a Walter Lukken here?
Walt Lukken, Chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission: Yes, Mr. President.
POTUS: Talk turkey, Walt.
Lukken: I think, considering how gas prices have really hurt ordinary Americans, everyone here is in agreement that trading in the oil futures market has been a big issue, especially with the price of oil topping $140 not too long ago. At CFTC we've been cracking down on manipulation in these markets. Just the other day we charged a Dutch trading firm with price manipulation in the oil and gas futures markets. We're also looking into reports that a major Wall Street broker dealer has been driving prices higher by setting sky-high price targets.
POTUS: Agreed, Wilt. There's a lot of future in oil. Big Ben, whatcha got?
Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve: Where to begin? I've cut rates, proposed reforms that would give the Fed greater control over many credit markets. But mostly I've been offering discounts -- the discount window that is. I've kept it open for all financial firms to borrow against should they experience a liquidity crunch like Bear did. Of course, I can't keep the window open forever. It's closing Jan. 30. All sales are final.
POTUS: Double pane or storm? Heh. Don't tell Laura. She can't resist a discount. I'm going broke from all the money she's saving me. Chris, I've heard the only thing that comes out of Connecticut is people on their way to New York or Cape Cod, is that true?
Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee: Very funny, Mr. President and thank you for inviting me here. I can give you my thanks in person for signing the Dodd-Shelby housing bill on Wednesday. By providing mortgage relief for as many as 400,000 Americans and their families, it's a big step toward easing the housing and credit crisis in this country.
POTUS: Housing bill? No worries. I can pay it. I'm not in danger of foreclosure, Chris, but the next tenant might have some trouble. Heh. Heh. Hammerin' Hank, what's going on over there at Treasury? Remember, before I leave office I want to roll around naked in a mountain of money.
Hank Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary: We're working on it. Uh. And I've also been working on Fannie Mae (FNM
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FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE
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FRE) . I've come up with a plan that would back up these companies. That plan will allow Americans to borrow for a home and that will help keep the housing market from collapsing. I guess you could say we're making good on a promise we never really made, but people thought we did.
POTUS: Kind of like Iraq. Coxy, haven't really heard from you. What's shaking at the Securities and Exchange Commission?
Christopher Cox, SEC Chairman: I'm glad you asked. I've just convinced the commission to extend an emergency rule against naked short selling.
POTUS: Hey!
Cox: That's not what I mean. We put the rule in place to stop people from spreading nasty rumors and then trading on that information. And Ben and Hank sent me a list of their 19 favorite banks to put on the list. And would you believe it? It's worked. Most of the stocks are up or haven't fallen as far as they probably would have otherwise on bad news. Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER
MER
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MER) is a good example. I thought about expanding it to all companies, but...
POTUS: But?
Cox: But I was getting a pedicure the other day and I thought, 'Why not just short selling?' What about ALL selling?' Why not make a rule that prohibits selling a stock for a price lower than the last trade. We'd stop losses altogether. Everyone would make a profit. Unlike some of these other measures you've heard today, it wouldn't cost taxpayers a penny. So, what do you think of the Cox No-Loss Sale rule?
Bernanke, Paulson, Geithner, Lukken: Mr. President --
POTUS: (holds his hands up) Hold on. Hmmm. Can we call it the Bush-Cox No-Loss Sale rule?
Cox: I think so.
POTUS: Do it. Effective until Jan. 19. End of Story
David Weidner covers Wall Street for MarketWatch.

Job opp - email me to join my job opp list where I post more of these...

2008-07-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Job Opening at 20th Century Fox Television: Assistant to Head of Marketing and Communications. Email resumes to: gabe.nies@fox.com

Description: excellent opportunity for candidate with interest/experience in marketing and communications to work inside a large and active studio and support department head in broad range of activities including new media, advertising, DVD development, publicity, and events. Candidate should have strong creative and writing skills, must have previous experience on a desk, basic understanding of the entertainment business, be extremely organized, be able to handle broad range of activities in a high-pressure environment and be comfortable dealing directly with executives in other departments, divisions and organizations.

The right decision...

2008-07-21T16:48:00.001-07:00

Court tosses FCC 'wardrobe malfunction' fine

Jul 21 01:15 PM US/Eastern

By JOANN LOVIGLIO

Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court on Monday threw out a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS Corp. for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that ended with Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction."

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity.

The 90 million people watching the Super Bowl, many of them children, heard Justin Timberlake sing, "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song," as he reached for Jackson's bustier.

The court found that the FCC deviated from its nearly 30-year practice of fining indecent broadcast programming only when it was so "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience."

"Like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing," the court said. "But it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure."

The 3rd Circuit judges—Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica, Judge Marjorie O. Rendell and Judge Julio M. Fuentes—also ruled that the FCC deviated from its long-held approach of applying identical standards to words and images when reviewing complaints of indecency.

"The Commission's determination that CBS's broadcast of a nine-sixteenths of one second glimpse of a bare female breast was actionably indecent evidenced the agency's departure from its prior policy," the court found. "Its orders constituted the announcement of a policy change—that fleeting images would no longer be excluded from the scope of actionable indecency."

In a statement Monday, CBS said it hoped the decision "will lead the FCC to return to the policy of restrained indecency enforcement it followed for decades."

"This is an important win for the entire broadcasting industry because it recognizes that there are rare instances, particularly during live programming, when it may not be possible to block unfortunate fleeting material, despite best efforts," the network said.

The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a group of TV writers, directors and producers, said the ruling "is an important advance for preserving creative freedom on the air."

"The court agreed with us: the FCC's inconsistent and unexplained departure from prior decisions leaves artists and journalists confused as to what is, and is not, permissible," Schwartzman said in a statement Monday.

The FCC had argued that Jackson's nudity, albeit fleeting, was graphic and explicit and CBS should have been forewarned. Jackson has said the decision to add a costume reveal—exposing her right breast, which had only a silver sunburst "shield" covering her nipple—came after the final rehearsal.

At the time, broadcasters did not employ a video delay for live events, a policy remedied within a week of the game.

In challenging the fine, CBS said that "fleeting, isolated or unintended" images should not automatically be considered indecent.

But the FCC said Jackson and Timberlake were employees of CBS and that the network should have to pay for their "willful" actions, given its lack of oversight.

The $550,000 fine represents the maximum $27,500 levied against each of the network's 20 owned-and-operated stations.

Shortly after the 2004 Super Bowl, the FCC changed its policy on fleeting indecency following an NBC broadcast of the Golden Globes awards show on which U2 lead singer Bono uttered an unscripted expletive. The FCC said at the time that the "F-word" in any context "inherently has a sexual connotation" and can trigger enforcement.

NBC challenged the decision, but that case has yet to be resolved.

In June 2007, a federal appeals court in New York invalidated the government's policy on fleeting profanities uttered over the airwaves in a case involving remarks by Cher and Nicole Richie on awards shows carried on Fox stations. The Supreme Court will hear the case this fall.

___

On the Net:

http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/063575p.pdf
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Gene Simmons on CBS Early Show

2008-07-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Gene Simmons On His 'Ladies'

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4247508n

CBS News Online

News of the week...

2008-06-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tiger Woods had reconstructive knee surgery Tuesday. His doctors are
expecting a full recovery.

At Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, cops say an 82-year-old
woman drove her car through a security fence and toward a runway. The
woman blamed heavy rain for blocking her view.

A new study says there are now 10 million millionaires in the world.

Saturday Night Live will air its very first episode Saturday night as
a way of honoring the late George Carlin. Carlin was SNL's first host
in 1975.

Summer is roller coaster season. If you can, try to ride Kingda Ka at
Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. At 128 miles per hour, it's
the fastest in the world.

And she's buying...

2008-06-23T16:07:00.001-07:00

Stairway Surprise
by Miriam Datskovsky July 2008 Issue
A back-of-the-napkin analysis of the lifetime worth of the most requested rock tune in history.
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In the big, bad game of rock and roll, “Stairway to Heaven” is undeniably a winner. Released by Led Zeppelin in 1971, the eight-minute song is considered a musical masterpiece and is one of the most-played rock tunes of all time. Proving its longevity, “Stairway” hit the U.K. charts again last fall and was a top download in the U.S., after Zeppelin’s first downloadable album launched on iTunes. But because the band is notoriously protective of its work, “Stairway” hasn’t met its full moneymaking potential. While other artists have made big bucks by licensing songs to Hollywood and Madison Avenue—think of Bob Dylan’s “Love Sick” in that Victoria’s Secret commercial—Zeppelin has shunned most opportunities. We consulted executives in the music, advertising, and entertainment industries to come up with some numbers, real and potential, for the value of “Stairway."

PUBLISHING ROYALTIES
Zeppelin hasn’t licensed “Stairway” for movies or commercials. But songwriters Jimmy Page and Robert Plant and Warner/Chappell, the song’s publisher, make money off royalties from record sales, radio plays, and live performances. Zeppelin has played “Stairway” at every gig since 1971, yielding about $150,000 in royalties. Everyone from Frank Zappa to the London Philharmonic has also performed it, and let’s not forget the hundreds of thousands of proms, weddings, and bar mitzvahs where it’s been played. (D.J.’s and venues pay a small annual fee for the right to play it.) Estimated gain: $400,000. Royalties from album and DVD sales total about $8.6 million. Plus “Stairway” has been played on the radio an estimated 2,985,000 times (equal to more than 45 years of uninterrupted airtime), netting nearly $2 million. It’s also thought to be the bestselling piece of sheet music in rock history, with royalties of $1 million.
ESTIMATED TOTAL: $12 million

THE MASTER RECORDING
In 1972, Zeppelin and its label, Atlantic Records, sparred over the band’s refusal to release “Stairway” as a single. But as a result, the public had to buy the album, known as Led Zeppelin IV, to get the song, snapping it up as if it were a single. All told, “Stairway” has appeared on four Zeppelin albums, sales of which have earned Atlantic and the band $500 million, including $56 million for last year’s downloadable album, Mothership. Sales of 2 million DVDs featuring live performances of “Stairway” have brought the band and the distributor, Warner Bros., $48 million. Last fall, Zeppelin, surprisingly, signed a deal believed to be worth $2 million with Verizon Wireless that made ringtones, alert tones, and full-song downloads of "Stairway" available. The band, publisher, and label will share a 10 percent royalty on every download.
ESTIMATED TOTAL: $550 million

POTENTIAL EARNINGS
Does the Verizon deal signal a change of heart? In 2002, Zeppelin licensed a hit for the first time: “Rock and Roll,” for a Cadillac campaign. If the band licensed “Stairway,” advertising experts say it could net as much as $8 million for just one campaign—and a lot more if Zeppelin does other deals. (Licensing songs for use in TV and movies brings in much less: about $80,000 for one deal.) Royalties from the song’s use on sites like YouTube offer a new potential earnings stream: A YouTube search for “Stairway” brought 11,000 results. But if Zeppelin wants to cash in, it should move before nostalgic baby boomers get too old. “If the target market is 45-plus, the song is extremely valuable,” says Izzy DeBellis, executive creative director at Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners. “It’s associated with every last dance you ever had. Prom—it was the makeout song. If you were still dancing slow at the end of the song, you were in.”
Estimated total: $10 million or more

THE BOTTOM LINE
Nearly 37 years after the release of “Stairway,” there seems to be no end to its revenue stream. But Zeppelin could up the total if it wants to go commercial.

VALUE OF "STAIRWAY" EARNINGS: $562 million
VALUE OF POTENTIAL LICENSING DEALS: $10 million and up
TOTAL VALUE OF "STAIRWAY": $572 million or more

Sources: Todd Brabec, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; Led Zeppelin: The Complete Guide to Their Music, by Dave Lewis; Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems and SoundScan; Recording Industry Association of America; Danny Strick, president, Sony/ATV Music Publishing; Alan Wallis, executive director of valuation and business modeling, Ernst & Young.

A Euro and the heartless will fail us...

2008-06-17T23:08:00.000-07:00

As the 2008 NBA Basketball season draws to a close (thud?), we can look back, as an Angeleno, to a season that almost was. Sure, a year ago, we didn't have a "team". And as Game 6 ended, it felt like it could be said again. It looked as if the members of the squad stood in awe, or dumbstruck, as the greenbacks took care of business. Maybe it was "hey guys, let's all get on his back and watch him score 90 AND play defense." Don't forget, he did earn 3 rings before he could rent a car.

Unlike the sad loss to the Pistons, we can look forward, and see where some heads can be cut off, maybe a little around the ears, and find that next season will be just as good, if not better, than this one. Some youth will blossom, and some edges will be cleaned.

It is always tough to watch a loss, it is harder when it is to a rival, and it is brutal when it brings back childhood memories. Yes, They have the edge, and more victories, and more banners, and they withheld our own history. But fear not, the city of Angels will wake up from the slumber, and, well, look here, it's summer time, and we still live 25 minutes from the Pacific ocean. So congrats to those who claim championship, well done, you do win with defense (like the Giants did). And for those clad in the purple and gold, while we lie down with a numbness in our hearts and souls, we are the city that wakes up to the sunshine in the east, and we know that with a new day brings new energy, and a new hope.

Let the good cleansing begin...