“Rushdie as a literary performer suffers, I think, from being not just an author but a cause célèbre and a free-speech martyr, thanks to the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in the wake of “The Satanic Verses” (1988), a playful work that precipitated riots in India and Pakistan, and gave American and English publishers and booksellers an early taste of heightened security. The fatwa, which invited any good Muslim to kill Rushdie, was withdrawn in 1998, but a decade of living in hiding deepened this previously gregarious author’s expertise on two subjects: celebrity and human cruelty. His fascination with fame and theatricality, movies and rock music predated the fatwa, and gives his fiction a distracting glitter, like shaken tinsel.”
Tag: 08.29.05
Poll: Canadians Don’t Miss CBC
In Canada, the BCB has been on strike for three weeks. And a new poll says most Canadians aren’t missing the public broadcaster. “About 61 per cent of those polled said they felt no impact at all from the lockout, which began on Aug. 15, Canadian Press reports. Only 10 per cent of 1,000 surveyed by phone between Aug. 18 and 21 said it was a major inconvenience to them, while 27 per cent said it was a minor inconvenience.”
Where Are The African-American Idea Magazines?
“There’s the feel-good, middle-class black mirror most vividly embodied by Ebony and Jet, and the post-modern, hyper-acquisitive “bling” aesthetic found in hip-hop magazines such as Vibe and XXL. But there’s no idea-driven publication aimed at black Americans — at least none that has achieved equivalent success. Why?”
Nielsen Defends Electronic Viewership Tracking
A year after the American TV ratings company Nielsen was attacked by critics of a new counting system that some feared would shortchange counting of African Americans, Nielsen says “black people are watching more television in all six cities that are using the new electronic meters. Its critics remain unsatisfied, and the Senate held a hearing last month on a bill that would require greater oversight of the company that has a monopoly over measuring TV audiences.”
Half Way Around The World, Two Dancers Reunite
Two Chinese dancers who studied together as children in China, then parted on their seperate careers, reunite in Pittsburgh, of all places…
Pssst… Need A Ticket? (Oh Yeah, we Don’t Need To Do That Anymore)
It used to be that ticket scalping was a shady illegal transaction that had to be carried out on street corners. But increasingly, “secondary ticket selling” has become respectable as it moved online and established a thriving business. Now AOL has joined the act…
Coming Soon To A DVD Near You?
Why do movies have to be released in theatres first? “The tradition of major films debuting first in theaters, then across staggered release “windows,” including pay-per-view, home video, cable and, finally, broadcast TV, is being openly questioned. The millions of dollars that studios spend marketing first-run movies would serve double duty promoting the more profitable DVDs, making for a faster and more efficient return on investment.”
Study: We’re Not Going To Movies Because They’re Bad
Why are fewer people going to the movie theatre? A new study says it comes down to quality. “Even when moviegoers cite other reasons for going to theaters less often than they used to, they still circle back to the quality of films as the root cause for their disaffection. For example, potential moviegoers who cited the ease and selection offered by Netflix as one reason why they visit the multiplex less, then said they were driven to try Netflix because of the dearth of decent theatrical releases.”
Protest Groups Whine That BBC Ignored Them
The Christian group that protested the BBC’s showing of Jerry Springer, The Opera is upset that the broadcaster didn’t pay attention to its protests. “We all might cause offence through ignorance but I am worried that there are people working in television who know something is going to be offensive and then just go ahead and show it.”
A Test “Elvis”
A satellite radio service adds an all-Elvis all-the-time format. “Elvis Radio, one of more than 130 channels on Sirius, may be the first station to transform what is normally a short-lived publicity stunt into a full-time dial fixture. As such, the all-Elvis station is widely viewed as an early litmus test for the ultra-niching that may lie ahead in satellite and digital radio, which offers listeners hundreds of channel choices.”