Current News and Media Videos

The Smoking Gun reports that Paris Hilton is an overpaid media whore. Well, they didn’t exactly use those words, but they might as well have. The issue is that Hilton, an over-sexed, over-hyped billionaire heiress who can make it through life on her name alone (she doesn’t even need that body she’s got!), pulled in a full $1 million on a video movie dud. That money represents 1/3 of the production budget for the film. And she’s being sued by the film’s producers for not adequately promoting the movie. Well, imagine that. Would you?

Think about it. If you are guaranteed $1 million for just showing up and putting on next to nothing, would you do any more than you had to? The company’s contract, under the subparagraph titled “Promotion; Publicity Restrictions:”, states that Hilton shall perform “reasonable promotion and publicity services” at the company’s request “subject to Artist’s professional availability” and “Artist’s reasonable approval of behind the scenes interviews.” OK, that’s real simple. What is considered “reasonable?” And, just for the record, if promotion is subject to the artist’s professional availability, all it would take to get out of the obligation is to arrange for the artist to not be available. “Sorry, I was filming a porn flick in the jungles of the Amazon. Couldn’t make it out that night.”

It looks to me like Paris Hilton got the better end of a sucky deal. That’s a National Lampoon story in itself.

I noticed the headline of a recent news story on The Smoking Gun website. It lambasted my eyes with repetitive Ps. Now, as a poet, I have no problem with alliteration. I use it often. But what about news stories trying to tell the news and attract advertisers?

The story is about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie hanging out (just how much hanging out was going on was not detailed) at their home when a member of the dastardly paparazzi snapped their photo. Now, the Pitts are suing. It seems journalists can’t use high-powered equipment to capture the news from afar any more. At least, that’s the argument the Pitt attorney is making. Since his clients were on private property they deserve some privacy. Makes sense to me.

But what about that headline? Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Pitt Peeved Over Paparazzi Pix

Nice play on words. Pitt (pet) Peeved is followed by another double-P phrase - Paparazzi Pix - to show how photographers exploit celebrities for a few cheap shots. Well, I guess that’s a good reason to be peeved. But you don’t have to bop us over the head with it, do ya?

Happy Birthday Disneyland! 53 years old.

Located in Anaheim, California, Disneyland has attracted millions of people from all around the world and is one of the largest amusement parks in history. It opened on July 17, 1955, at the height of the Leave It To Beaver era. That’s no small wonder since, to many people, Disneyland represents just that: A throwback to the halcyon days of innocents and puritanism.

Disneyland was renamed Disneyland Park in 1998. The company now has three other locations worldwide: Disneyland Resort Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and Tokyo Disneyland.

Disneyland has been called Magic Kingdom and has been instrumental in turning fantasy into reality for millions of tourists from every corner of the globe. The park cost $17 million to build and was operational within one year of its groundbreaking. It is now a regular part of the American conscience and an embed of U.S. culture. Go Disney!

Here’s an interesting blog post that brings up some ethical questions regarding contemporary news practices at the local level. Maybe ethics isn’t the right word, but propriety.

The real question, though, is not so much what the media did, but what parade organizers allowed. Didn’t someone approve the floats? Who was in charge of this parade? Didn’t someone tell these folks to leave that mess at home?

In order for these floats to have made it into the parade someone had to pay an entry fee (I’m guessing) and someone had to line them up in the right order and give them the go ahead to march. Who did that?

The interesting thing about this parade is its 100-year-old traditions. According to one community member:

The floats were part of the parade which has “been in existence for over 100 years and a portion of the parade is designed to poke fun at local and national events,” the committee said.

So if the parade is designed to poke fun at local and national events, does that include teen pregnancy? Does it include a particular act by a particular individual even if it is a teenager? Should the local media “report” on such an event and show the video footage of the “tasteless” acts by those in the parade?

These are all legitimate questions, but it seems to me that if this is a community event and it is designed to poke fun of the culture at large then it has done precisely what its objective is. Offensive? Sure, considering the nature of the culture, how could we expect otherwise?

It’s easy to see why Time Magazine likes high gas prices. They spell it out pretty clearly in an article about it. The top 10 reasons to like $4 gas, according to Time Magazine:

• Jobs once outsourced overseas come back to the States
• Urban sprawl slows down
• Four day work weeks (give me a break!)
• Less pollution leading to more lives saved
• People are more frugal
• Fewer traffic deaths as motorists drive slower
• Driving less leads to cheaper insurance
• Less traffic and more public transportation usage
• Police officers drive less and walk their beats more, making neighborhoods safer
• People are getting slimmer due to less driving and more walking and biking

I’ve been seeing more and more SUVs parked with For Sale signs on them. That’s good. And when gas hits $5 per gallon the world will be a better place.

Lawyers for The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times and The Associated Press filed a motion requesting the Supreme Court to order the Cook County Circuit Court to unseal court records and transcripts related to R. Kelly’s pornography case.

The R&B icon pleaded not guilty to charges that he videotaped himself having sex with an underage girl. Judge Vincent Gaughan (GAWN) has said he’s “trying to protect Kelly’s rights and prevent information from influencing prospective jurors”.

R. Kelly’s trial is scheduled to start May 9th in Chicago. This isn’t the first time R. Kelly has been charged with allegations that he has sexual relations with a minor.

Wired is one weird media company. But then so is Second Life.

This article in Wired’s online magazine brought up some interesting philosophical points regarding fantasy media games. I’ve never played Second Life and probably never will because I consider fantasy role-playing games a waste of time. If I can’t make money doing it then I’d rather be doing it as a hobby - and frankly, role playing games aren’t a hobby of mine, though, I must confess, I have enjoyed a game of D&D or two in my day.

Here are my responses to the most enlightening parts of the article:

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A smiling Paris Hilton walked out of a Los Angeles County jail early Tuesday, officially ending a bizarre, three-week stay that ignited furious debate over celebrity treatment in the jail system.

The 26-year-old celebutante was greeted by an enormous gathering of cameras and reporters upon leaving the all-women’s facility in Lynwood about 15 minutes past midnight. She had checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility late June 3, largely avoiding the spotlight, after a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards.

Hilton, who was wearing a sage jacket with white trim over a white shirt and skinny jeans, did not respond to reporters’ questions.

Photographers sprinted after Hilton’s vehicle as she left. When the SUV hit a red light during the ride, photographers jumped out of their cars and swarmed it.

During her stay at the Lynwood facility, Hilton was mostly confined to a solitary cell in the special needs unit away from the other 2,200 inmates.

Hilton’s stay there cost taxpayers $1,109.78 a day, more than 10 times the cost of housing inmates in the general population.

The Paris Hilton story is just one more example of justice gone awry. A rich socialite who can’t control herself gets jail time. Her adoring fans cry on her behalf. The heiress wails about how unfair the system is because rich, white beauties like her must pay for their crimes. Ah! But get her behind bars and it costs more to jail her than it does to jail someone from a different background and then we give her special treatment by letting her have her own cell “away from” everyone else. Of course there is special treatment for the wealthy. Why should anyone question it?

From serving in the military to going to jail, our society is eat up with celebrity and wealth. If you are rich or famous - or rich and famous - then you are sure to get red carpet treatment no matter where you go or what you’ve done. The rest of society must pay the price. And the media feeds off of the illusions of celebrity as is evidenced by the swarm around Paris Hilton’s vehicle at the traffic light. Americans have nothing better to do than peer into the sordid, broken lives of young celebrities who are having difficulty coping with their fame and with their lives. This is what TV has done to America. We’re all spoiled rich kids now.

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The “Simple Life” star will be housed in the “special needs” unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates.

Paris Hilton checks herself into jail and ends up in a “special needs” cell. I guess that means she gets a cell with sheer curtains and a vanity. It suits her just fine. Special needs for celebrities must mean something different than it does for everyone else. But we can all rest easy now knowing that her breakfast consists of bread, cereal, and juice - just like the rest of us when we go to jail.

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Can you say cheesedick?

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