Backtracking off previous backtracking, the International Olympic Committee says it never reached a deal with China to permit Internet filtering, and says all along it's insisted there must be unrestricted access to the web just as there was in previous host cities. They're blaming the mix up on a miscommunication; IOC president Jacques Rogge made his statement in English, which isn't his first language. So now that the IOC's position on censorship has been cleared up, where does the media's Internet access stand? CONTINUED »
"But the most idiotic of recent idiocies is the Huffington Posts's column "Unearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report," by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Brendan DeMelle. This could be a great service if the column actually "unearthed" anything – which would take some work and perhaps even actual reporting. But, incredibly, nearly every single item they post is based on, and actually links to, a mainstream media story. They cite stories by The New York Times, the Associated Press, CNN, and many other mainstream media outlets as proof that the mainstream media isn't covering those stories.
"It's beyond bizarre. These men are not merely doubting reality — they are using reality itself to cast doubt on reality. Even more disturbing, their audience doesn't even seem to notice. The comments section is full of people lauding the writers' efforts to "unearth" these stories, with many of them decrying the "MSM's" ignoring them." [Romenesko]
ED2010, the magazine industry newsletter for those who don't realize print is dying, is hosting its FIRST-EVER!!! dot-com class later this month. Led by Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar, attendees are asked to fork over $100 for "a very good chance you’ll get a clip on huffingtonpost.com." You will, of course, not be paid for the privilege.
(Sklar writes in to make very clear, should you misconstrue this item as anything but satire, there is no play for play deal here, and she takes her teaching and reporting responsibilities very seriously. Your $100 class fee will not guarantee you a clip on HuffPo. We even offered $200.)
Hilary Rosen may very well be Wonder Woman.
The New Jersey-born activist acted as the Recording Industry Association of America’s chairman for five years, acted lesbian social networking site Ourchart’s president, served as Human Rights Campaign’s interim executive director back in 2004 and currently serves as Huffington Post’s political director, a gig she accepted earlier this year.
With all that experience under her belt, you can be sure Rosen, who previously endorsed Hillary Clinton’s campaign, has scads to say about the current electoral climate, including the increasingly “blurred” lines between press and politics, her feelings on Clinton’s departure, sexism in the press and how the lived experience shapes one’s political views.
Screen grabbing TMZ, Team Arianna kinda forgot they were also exposing the identity of Billy Bob Thornton's 14-year-old son. [HuffPo Media]
Keep up people! Rob Lowe, dreamy star of Brothers & Sisters, is suing three former employees (two nannies and a chef), for violating non-disclosure agreements, theft, defamation, and infliction of emotional distress.
Lowe took to the Huffington Post on Monday before any of this became a headline, where he announced the nanny of kids Matthew and John Owen, Jessica Gibson, tried extorting he and wife Sheryl Berkoff for $1.5 million; if he didn't pay up, she would allege the actor sexually harassed her. So he sued her for $1 million; ex-chef Peter Clements and ex-nanny Laura Boyce were sued separately, for violating non-disclosure agreements.
But much of this sounds quite suspicious. From the allegations on each side to the way the parties are handling the fall out. Is Lowe trying to shape himself into the victim when, theoretically, it's quite the reverse? Quite possibly. Let's look at where the suspicion falls.
First, Lowe is playing a game of aggressive defense. By blogging on HuffPo, he gets to frame the story as he sees fit, before the nanny or other employees can reach out to any of the tabloid press to tell their side. Commanding the direction of the story is crucial, and being first out of the gate, he gets the prize as the sympathetic party. It's a smart PR move, whether he's guilty or innocent.
Second, Lowe claims he's the victim of alleged extortion, but refuses the help of law enforcement officials, who offered to open a criminal investigation. When the police get involved, Lowe could lose control of the situation's press spin. Authorities would also have interview the ex-employees he's accusing, which means their version of events would become public fodder. For now, Lowe gets to maintain the upper hand. But, generally speaking, victims of extortion refuse police help when they want to handle the matter privately, usually by meeting the blackmailer's demands, so nothing reaches the press. But in this instance, Lowe volunteered to make headlines, guaranteeing the details of the scandal would become public, sooner rather than later. That he doesn't want police help after airing the situation publicly rings sketchy. (TMZ says Lowe and his attorney didn't want police help because it would cause the three ex-employees to go silent.)
Third, CONTINUED »
Is Arianna Huffington's group blog getting more traffic than the indefatigable Matt Drudge? Third-party sources who are often completely off base say yes! Nielsen Online says HuffPo snagged 3.7 millino unique visitors in February, to Drudge's mere 3.4m. comScore's numbers are tinier than Nielsen's, but report the same trend: HuffPo's 2.3m to Drudge's 1.6m. Maybe Bill O'Reilly's ambush tactics are working in her favor? [Boomtown]
“EXCLUSIVES” The Huffington Post is more than a fancy RSS of celebrity blogs. It’s also a news source, and don’t you forget it. And they’re running an exclusive that Charlie Kireker succeed Stephen L. Green as owner of Air America. They may be the first with the story, but they may also be the only ones who care. [HuffPo]
Being a designer, philanthropist and part time copyrighter isn’t enough. Kenneth Cole is starting his own blog because “I've always been a frustrated activist.”
Based on his billboards, his issues include dress sizes and shoes. One wonders why KC doesn’t take his brand of celebrity activism to the one-stop blogspot for celebrity activism, the Huffington Post. Maybe Kenneth Cole thinks he better than the Huffington Post.
We’ve been to the midtown store. He’s not.
Bonnie Fuller has real insights into what Britney Spears might really be suffering from, going beyond our diagnosis of just bat-shit crazy.
According to Fuller, Spears has "histrionic" personality disorder and is probably bi-polar, too.
After all, she's speaking with an English accent, wearing a pink wig and according to some sources, her mood and her personality can do a 360° switch in a matter of seconds.
So her personality can make a "360° switch" in a matter of seconds, meaning she acts the exact same way from one moment to the next?
Since we're a marginally better source on usage, trust us, Britney is just bat-shit crazy.
Green might not have been Time magazine’s person of the year, because green is a color, and it was a stupid idea.
But green still is an adjective that comes up a lot. And if the Huffington Post has anything to say about it, it will become synonymous with sexy, which will encourage unsexy people to recycle.
The site just released their “7 Sexiest Green Celebs of 2007” list. Considering it’s January 7, this list is about a week late. And if the Huffington Post really cared about the environment, shouldn’t it be the “7 Greenest Sexy Celebs of 2007”? What’s important here: The environment or sex appeal?
Well, either way, now that stars care about the environment, being green is totally palatable. If Sheryl Crow is conservative with her toilet paper and she’s famous, that means environmentally friendly track marks will get you on the cover of Us Weekly.
The Easiest Job In The World Watching The View and waiting for Sherri Shepard to say something stupid and/or offensive to white people, black people, Christians, Jews, scientists and/or historians. Today it’s about how she would beat her child if she weren’t at a “rich white folks' store.” Don't let the man keep you down, Sherri! Casting department of the View: You’re doing A+ work. [HuffPo]
PET NAMES Rachel Sklar's vernacular so far includes: Brian Williams as "BriWi," Katie Couric as "KaCo," and, as of today, Tom Brokaw as "ToBro." What's next? Diane Sawyer as "DiSaw" and Robin Roberts as "RoRo"?
After the Iowa caucus, many candidates will have to admit their adolescent aspirations for president are both absurd and financially unfeasible. But before they go back to political obscurity, we’re taking a quick look at a few of the wackos who want to rule the free world this week.
Who: Joe Biden
Current Job: Democratic Senator from Delaware.
Currently Polling: 4% [CNN]
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Why does everyone still care about Britney's erratic behavior? Why do magazines with her face on the cover continue to fly off the racks week after week despite bearing near-identical headlines like "Children In Danger!" and "Where's Mommy?" Because, as it turns out, people have found that reading about rich, famous people who just can't seem to get their shit together actually makes them feel better about themselves.
At least, that's how shameless Britney detractor (and HuffPo contributor) Bonnie Fuller sees it. As the Star chieftain writes:
Every time that our girl Brit cluelessly tries to whitestrip her toddler's teeth instead of brushing them or runs a red light with the court-appointed monitor and her two sons all strapped in her car…give yourselves permission to pat yourselves on the back for a change. You may not be the perfect mom, but you ain't Britney.
Thanks for that explanation/rationalization, Bonnie! We feel truly enlightened. After all, who knew muckraking stories about Britney skipping court-ordered drug tests in favor of "major" liposuction on her tummy and upper thighs could be so damn uplifting?
Apparently, those neither related to – or infatuated with – Brian Williams took issue with the glowing review of his acting stint on HuffPo. (You know, the one that called his acting "nuanced, subtle, and wonderful," praised him for taking risks but not crossing any lines and, oh yes, just happened to be written by Williams' own daughter?)
Anyway. We're willing to forgive the outrageous display of nepotism—we are, after all, talking about the Huffington Post—but not the flowery, over-the-top language. As for not crossing any lines? Apparently that's one trait that doesn't run in the family. [Mollygood]
When Huffington Post co-founder Ken Lerer admitted that he had no plans to ever pay his bloggers, there was some outrage from the reporters and pundits who had grown accustomed to getting money for their work.
But the fact is, The Huffington Post offers her bloggers something which can be more valuable than money: Web traffic.
Consider Valerie Wilson’s blog on the Huffington Post. She became a writer on the site literately three hours after her 60 Minutes segment. She’s written three posts on the Huffington Post, mostly about her book, and her experience trying to promote it.
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Yesterday, fresh on the heels of officially announcing CBS defector Betsy Morgan as HuffPo's new CEO, Arianna Huffington delivered the keynote address at The Webby Awards and managed to promote new media (specifically the Huffington Post) as the wave of the future while slamming everything from the New York Times to Bob Schrum ("Schrum lost the Al Gore campaign and he was rehired to lose the the Kerry campaign.") Some of the highlights!
"The Huffington Post has more stringent fact-checking than the New York Times."
"[MSNBC has] become the network of blondes covering missing blondes."
"Every story does not have to have two sides. That's bullshit."
"Political ads still look like the 1950s because the consultants are from the 1950s."
And, of course, our personal favorite, Arianna's thoughts on the meaninglessness of political polls: "It's just bored and lonely Americans who have nothing better to do at dinner than talk to pollsters for no money."
Even crazier? Those bored and lonely Americans also happen to constitute the majority of HuffPo's readership! Or, at least, they used to.
Former general manager of CBSNews.com Betsy Morgan will be announced today as The Huffington Post's new permanent CEO.
"Getting somebody like this to come to our site says a boatload about where the industry is going," said Kenneth Lerer, who has been acting as the chief executive of The Huffington Post and will move up to chairman.
And while Morgan's move arguably solidifies HuffPo's place in the blogosphere, it says even more about the direction CBS News is headed.
The View has always been about presenting a range of opinions. And today, the show appealed to range of fetishists. If you’re into BBW (Big Beautiful Woman), pregnant chicks or grannies, than this SFW clip from The View is for you. [Huffington Post]
Editorial Director
