A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via bbc)

In: Michael Jackson. No, not that Michael Jackson. InterActiveCorp's creative honcho Michael Jackson -- the one who doesn't carry about him a luminous nimbus of "the freak" -- seems to get the possibilities of marshalling the untapped talent on the web. Kate Lee, at ICM, similarly gets it. The are so many undiscovered superstars, gleaming gems, and cosmoses of talent out there that have not yet been "discovered" by the Masters of the Universe. IAC is going after that potential synergy. From TheGuardian:

"Michael Jackson, the former head of Channel 4 turned US media executive, has predicted a leading role for the internet in plugging a "creative deficit" in American broadcasting.

"In his new role role as president of programming at Barry Diller's $9bn web empire, InterActiveCorp, Jackson is charged with finding text and video content to sit alongside IAC websites, which include the Ask.com search service, dating portal match.com and Ticketmaster.

"Jackson said the US TV industry had suffered from the dominance of media conglomerates such as Disney and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, but the sector was entering a new era as the web undermined the advertising-based business model.

"A new generation of content makers is emerging, he said, able to screen shows on the web, bypassing Comcast's cable system or DirecTV's satellites. 'Broadband will enable content to get around the old aggregators. That to me is the most exciting thing. In the US you cannot launch a TV show without Brian Roberts [chairman of Comcast] or Rupert Murdoch [owner of DirecTV] on your side.'

"... Although IAC's new programming venture has yet to make a statement of intent with a site launch or acquisition, its benchmarks are the Huffington blog - Huffingtonpost.com, which has become a lightning rod for liberal debate in the US within a year of its launch as a collection of contributions from people such as Warren Beatty and Tina Brown - and the blog empire Gawker Media, created by former journalist Nick Denton and described by Jackson as a 'Web2.0 version' of the Cond� Nast magazine group.

"'There is going to be potential for new channels, new programming and new creative ideas,' Jackson said."

More here.



Out: The Kim Mathers-Eminem Divorce. You knew that this was going to go from zero to insane-crazy in a matter of seconds, correct? That's how trailer trash rolls, ladies and gentlemen. We're dealing here with two lowgrade pieces of ass, that's all. It must be something in the possum and the strawberry wine. In fact, if someone doesn't catch a bullet in the ass by the end of the procedings then we know that Em has finally jumped the shark. From Yahoomusic via Tabloidwhore:

"'He's having problems with, you know, his problem that he had. I was hoping we could get counseling and work it out, you know? ... Right after he came home from his rehab, we started to have a few problems, and I thought it was going to be in our best interest to delay the wedding. But he really pushed it and I thought it was really going to be something that worked this time,' she said.

"Eminem, however, has not spoken with her in about six weeks, she said, and surprised her by having her served with divorce papers. 'I don't really necessarily want to get divorced,' said Mathers, whose first marriage to Eminem lasted from 1999 to 2001. 'I was hoping he was going to come home and say, `I got us a counselor, let's go.' But you know it didn't work out that way. I got an attorney at the door instead.'"

You know? (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment) That's what happens when your family tree is a wreath.



(image via nndb)

In: Judas Iscariot. Perfectly timed between the liberation of "The DaVinci Code" from questions of plagerism and the Holy Week's annual Christianity covers of the newsweeklies is the re-evaluation of Judas Iscariot. There is a tradition that always held the belief that Judas Iscariot turned Jesus over to the Romans in an act of obedience. According to the Old Gray Lady:

"The Gospel of Judas is only the latest crumbling parchment to surface in the sands of Egypt like an ancient time capsule. Even before its formal introduction at a National Geographic Society news conference yesterday, scholars have been part of a debate that will soon be echoing in churches, on the Web and in Christian publishing.

"The real debate is whether the text says anything historically legitimate about Jesus and Judas.

"Some of the scholars on National Geographic's advisory committee said the text should prompt a reassessment of Judas. In it, Jesus speaks privately to Judas, telling him he will share with Judas alone 'the mysteries of the kingdom.' Jesus asks Judas to turn him over to the Roman authorities so that his body can be sacrificed."

Out: