Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



"The London summit of 1933 marked the moment at which co-operative efforts to manage the Great Depression collapsed. The summit of the Group of 20 countries, in the same city, on April 2, must turn out quite differently. That may seem a simple task. It is not. The usual platitudinous communiqué would be a catastrophe. The world now needs change it can believe in. Only Barack Obama, the US president, can provide the desired leadership: he is untainted, popular and leader of the country that, for good and ill, remains central. The opportunity for Mr Obama is now, as the G20 'sherpas' prepare the draft text. He needs to write urgently to his fellow heads of government. Something like this would be perfect. 'My fellow leaders, Franklin Delano Roosevelt abandoned his London summit. I wish to make ours the moment at which we save ourselves. Let us resolve to bequeath renewed prosperity to posterity, not a collapse of the global economy we inherited.'" (Martin Wolfe/FT)





(images via style)

"Jefferson Hack isn't just a Style.com avatar, he may also be London's salonista supreme. The dinner he threw at the Prada-financed Double Club in honor of Tilda Swinton, the cover girl for his magazine Another's latest issue, managed a 'get' even Miuccia herself would be hard-pressed to pull off. Lucian Freud was sandwiched between erstwhile muse Kate Moss and his daughter Bella, and it was enchanting to see the attention Moss lavished on the man who immortalized her on canvas. The supermodel was sporting a golden tan from a recent safari in South Africa .. If Swinton was the woman of the hour, the man was definitely Stephen Jones, whose exhibition opening at the V&A the previous evening was widely judged party of the year. Tonight he could relax, joining Daphne Guinness, Suzy Menkes, Róisín Murphy, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Jake and Rosemary Chapman, Hussein Chalayan, Jay Jopling, Lily Cole, and, of course, Kanye West as they all tucked into the Congolese family-style dinner." (Style)

"Tiger Woods’ comeback didn’t last too long, but it was long enough for the Golf Channel to rack up record ratings. The cable network averaged 1.7 million total viewers for coverage of the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship Wednesday, the best in its history for any first round. It averaged a 1.8 household rating, 50 percent better than last year’s first round. Viewers were watching on the web as well. Golfchannel.com had 468,000 visitors, who generated 3.3 million page views. Traffic to PGATour.com hit its second-best level ever, with 1 million unique visitors watching Woods’ first-round victory over Brendan Jones." (Medialifemagazine)

"However there is another aspect and a powerful one. The other day I had lunch with three women who, to different degrees, have long been active in charity fundraising here in New York. All three are independently wealthy (with husbands or companions). One woman told us that her charity’s annual gala this year was going to change with the times. Black tie was going to be out. A more relaxed atmosphere, possibly a lower ticket price, possibly low enough to draw a larger crowd and in a new venue and a new approach. They were not downsizing; they were improvising and looking at 'community.' This particular charity focuses on the health and welfare of children. These times are even tougher on those children. So the charity will need to raise even more funds, somehow. So they’re improvising. Vamp till ready, as they say in the theatre, to help your brothers. And sisters. Vamp till ready. This will be the challenge. (NYSocialDiary)



"Writing for Foreign Policy's Axis of Upheaval, Jeffrey Gettleman refers to the "ethereal pan-Somali dream": a long-held national desire to grab back Somali-speaking territory in neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, and Djibouti. 'Pursuit of that goal would internationalize the conflict and surely drag in neighboring countries and their allies,' Gettleman warns. Many fear that the Islamist militia Shabaab, which control an increasingly vast territory in Somalia, might try to live the dream. Today is a very good example of how bad that could turn out. The BBC reported this morning that clashes between a local ethnic group and a Somali one in Ethiopia left 300 dead and as many as 100,000 fleeing the site. This flare-up is just one of Ethiopia's trouble spots -- in fact, it's not even the worst. Miles to the East, an ongoing Somali insurgency by the rebel group Ogaden National Liberation Front has been brutal on both sides. Somalia and Ethiopia have fought civil wars over the territory, and today Ethiopia holds on to it dearly. The State Department's recently released Human Rights report for Ethiopia, for example, describes a campaign to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching civilians in the insurgent region." (ForeignPolicy)

"Yet another person is figuring out how to make decent money off Twitter that isn’t CEO Evan Williams: HarperCollins has commissioned former Valleywag editor Nick Douglas to collect and edit Twitter Wit, a book of ... well, witty tweets. According to Valleywag, Douglas is getting a 'five-figure sum' for the book, which is slated for release this fall; Douglas and HarperCollins editor Kate Hamill set up a submission site that automates the collection of the tweets (from anywhere and everywhere) and gets each user’s permission to republish." (Paidcontent)

"May 18, Hillary's the commencement speaker at Barnard." (Cindy Adams/NYPost)

"Judging from the Emporio Armani show presented only moments ago at Armani HQ on Via Bergognone, Mr. Armani is gloriously continuing last season's winning streak. But enough about the clothes (for now)--let's discuss the front row. As predicted, many top types are arriving on Friday, sparing themselves a few days of Principe and Four Seasons charges in the process. The front-row at Emporio, always a telltale role call, was revealing. The EIC count: Anna Wintour, Glenn O'Brien, Joanna Coles. The rest was filled with the likes of Robin Givhan, Michael Roberts, and Nina Garcia .. Rumor has it that Grace Coddington and André Leon Talley won't be attending Milan this season, while almost every team is downsizing." (Fashionweekdaily)



"Bullion coins used to be bought mainly by collectors and gold bugs, but the financial crisis is leading regular retail investors to embrace them, dealers say. Although the surge in coin demand is a bullish signal for gold prices, the fact that mints cannot match demand means that the potential extra consumption does not push spot prices higher, but just drives premiums above normal levels. The Rand Refinery in Johannesburg, which mints the world’s most popular gold coin, South Africa’s Krugerrand, said demand was above its maximum capacity, even after doubling last month to 20,000 ounces from 10,000 ounces a week. Johan Botha, head of precious metals sales at the Rand Refinery, said there was demand for more from international investors, pointing to strong sales to Switzerland, the UK and Germany. 'If we were able to produce 30,000 ounces, the market would absorb it,' he said." (Examiner)



"What do you think of when you hear 'Dumbo'? .. I was happy to make the Carrot Creative-hosted 2nd ever Digital DUMBO event to investigate the area further .. The L didn't take a millennium to arrive and when I transferred to the F, Andrew Graham appeared across the aisle from me. He's a self proclaimed energy and finance nerd and he too was making the break across the bridge, planning to meet up at the scene with Matt Caldecutt of Trylon PR infamy .. Julia Kaganskiy, Editor at Unigo.com was keeping a corner smart with Andrea Rosen of the L Magazine and Karen Glidden, social media wrangler for Bliss Spa. Couching it towards the back of the room was Billy Parker of Gothamist.com." (Medialifemagazine)

"Alloy Media + Marketing is emerging as an unlikely star in the online teen-popularity contest. The New York company behind the 'Gossip Girl' book-turned-TV series and the 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' book-turned-movie series has become a significant force on the Internet. By one reckoning, the company's Teen.com network is the hottest teen-oriented property on the Web, based on unique visitors. Now, Alloy is moving into Web video. It plans to announce Friday the debut of Teen.com TV. Over the past few years, Alloy has established a reputation on Madison Avenue, in Hollywood and in the publishing world for its savvy in connecting with young people." (WSJ)

"WWE RAW led the week with 6.4 million average viewers. The Closer is winding down to its series finale and was in second with 5.89 million. I’ve seen some talk about how far down The Closer’s ratings are, but considering it’s competing with The Bachelor (which has been on fire ratings-wise this season), 24, Heroes and Two and a Half Men on the broadcast nets, I think the numbers are impressive. Disney’s Dadnapped put a beat down on Nickelodeon’s Spectacular! , it lead Spectacular by about 1.3 million head-to-head (note, because of the way I received the data, only the first hour of Spectacular! is listed in 'other shows, but for the full airing Spectacular averaged 3.3 million, to Dadnapped’s 4.6 million), but even a rebroadcast of Dadnapped beat the first airing of Spectacular!. Monk’s season finale came in third with 5.54 million." (TVByTheNumbers)

"To be sure, the economic contraction is causing pain just about everywhere. In October, less than a month after the financial markets began to melt down, Moody’s Economy.com* published an assessment of recent economic activity within 381 U.S. metropolitan areas. Three hundred and two were already in deep recession, and 64 more were at risk. Only 15 areas were still expanding. Notable among them were the oil- and natural-resource-rich regions of Texas and Oklahoma, buoyed by energy prices that have since fallen; and the Greater Washington, D.C., region, where government bailouts, the nationalization of financial companies, and fiscal expansion are creating work for lawyers, lobbyists, political scientists, and government contractors. No place in the United States is likely to escape a long and deep recession. Nonetheless, as the crisis continues to spread outward from New York, through industrial centers like Detroit, and into the Sun Belt, it will undoubtedly settle much more heavily on some places than on others. Some cities and regions will eventually spring back stronger than before. Others may never come back at all. As the crisis deepens, it will permanently and profoundly alter the country’s economic landscape. I believe it marks the end of a chapter in American economic history, and indeed, the end of a whole way of life." (TheAtlantic)

"Warning Pakistan that it would be the 'next target' if jihadists succeded in Kabul, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has proposed an international Afghan working group, including India, to ensure that the region is 'not a safe haven for terrorists'. 'If the jihadists were to prevail in Afghanistan, Pakistan would surely be the next target -- as is observable by activity already taking place along the existing borders and in the Swat Valley close to Islamabad,' Kissinger said, who was Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977. The group proposed by Kissinger includes neighbouring regions of Afghanistan, India and five Permanent Members of UN Security Council. The five Permanent Members of the council are -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China .. 'The precondition for such a policy is cooperation with Russia and Pakistan. With respect to Russia, it requires a clear definition of priorities, especially a choice between partnership or adversarial conduct insofar as it depends on us,' Kissinger said. 'Afghanistan is almost the archetypal international problem requiring a multilateral solution for a political framework to emerge,' Kissinger said." (TheHindu)