February 28, 2007

Paris the Thought: A.P. Says Au Revoir to Hilton Hottie

On Feb. 13, the Associated Press declared its plans to boldly go where few wire services would dare to go in this day and age: the no–Paris Hilton zone.

“Next week,” entertainment editor Jesse Washington wrote in an e-mail memo, “the print team is planning an unconventional experiment: We are NOT going to cover Paris Hilton.
“Barring any major, major news, we are not going to put a single word about Paris on the wire,” the memo continued. “If something does come up, big or small, we encourage discussions on whether we should write about it.”

The results of the experiment, naturally, will be fodder for a future A.P. story. “Hopefully we will be able to discuss what ‘news’ we missed,” read the memo, which could have used some stern copy-editing, “the repercussions of our blackout for AP both editorially and business-wise, and most importantly the force that cause the world to be fixated on this person who, despite her shallow frivolity, represents an epochal development in our culture.”

Reached for comment, Mr. Washington said, “There was a surprising amount of hand-wringing. A lot of people in the newsroom were saying this was tampering with the news.” One editor’s response was apparently: “This is a great idea—can we add North Korea?”

Mr. Washington said he was inspired by the fact that, in the past year, Ms. Hilton has appeared on the A.P. wire about twice a week.

“We got lucky,” he said. “Totally by accident, her birthday party was the day before we started the experiment. There really weren’t any major news stories involving Paris, so we didn’t have that many really tough decisions to make.” Though “her name did pop up in a couple stories, despite my best efforts.”

February 24, 2007

Canon EOS-1D Mark III: The Fastest SLR


Canon today sets new standards for professional photography with the launch of the EOS-1D Mark III. Delivering 10 frames per second at 10.1 Megapixels for a maximum burst of 110 Large JPEG images (30 in RAW), the EOS-1D Mark III replaces the EOS-1D Mark II N as the world’s fastest digital SLR. Dual “DIGIC III” processors drive the camera’s high speed, high resolution performance, and bring 14-bit image processing to the EOS series for the first time.

A ground-up redesign introduces a host of new features and advancements to Canon’s flagship EOS-1 series, including a 3.0” LCD with Live View mode, EOS Integrated Cleaning System, new auto focus system with 19 cross-type sensors, and 63-zone exposure metering. The camera’s APS-H size (28.1 x 18.7 mm) CMOS sensor enables a wider 100-3200 ISO range as standard, expandable to L:50 and H:6400.

“The EOS-1D Mark III represents a complete reappraisal of everything Canon has learned over the past 20 years of EOS development,” said Tsunemasa Ohara, Senior General Manager, Camera Development Center, Canon Inc. “In building this camera, we started with a blank canvas. Every facet of the photographic process has been refined, every design decision re-evaluated to bring us to this point: a camera that combines familiar EOS ergonomics with a vastly enhanced specification. Our engineers are overjoyed with the result.”

Key features

  • 10.1 Megapixel APS-H CMOS sensor
  • 10 fps continuous shooting for up to 110 frames
  • Dual “DIGIC III” processors
  • New auto focus system with 19 cross type sensors
  • EOS Integrated Cleaning System
  • ISO 3200 (expandable to H:6400)
  • 3.0” LCD with Live View mode
  • Wider, brighter viewfinder
  • Picture Style1

February 22, 2007

Getty To Buy MediaVast, Jupitermedia Confirms Talks

The world's biggest photo agency is about to get bigger.

Getty Images announced Thursday that it will buy MediaVast, the owner of entertainment and sports photo service WireImage, for $200 million.

Also Thursday, Jupitermedia issued a statement saying it is in talks to sell its JupiterImages division to Getty. The statement was issued in response to a story published Wednesday in the New York Post.

February 20, 2007

No MOAN's for ths BLACK SNAKE


BLACK SNAKE MOAN premiere
Chelsea West Cinemas, 6pm

How nice was this premiere?

We had a long arrival area, we all had space to run and double dip on Ricci, and it was all over by 6 pm!

Samuel Jackson was very pleasant and posed up a storm. He was even joking around with the photographers. Christina Ricci shows up in amazing fashion, showing off her svelte figure and posed the entire red carpet, in a sleeveless, backless dress in 20 degree weather. Professional all the way.

February 14, 2007

Heather Mills Goes Nuts on Photog

Heather Mills has had quite enough, thank you, of the paparazzi stalking her every move -- and she finally hit her cracking point yesterday.
Heather Mills goes nuts on photog
Paul McCartney's estranged wife went crazy on a photographer in London yesterday by screaming and yelling -- even going so far as to kick the cameraman -- all while videotaping the incident herself!

It's not clear what set the former model off balance, but her freakout might land her in yet another lawsuit. Rumors have it that she and Paul are close to a $50 million settlement in their nasty split.

February 8, 2007

Final Footage of Anna Nicole Smith Sells for Over $500,000


Footage of the final moments of Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith's life sold for more than $500,000 Thursday after a media bidding war, according to Splash News & Picture Agency, the paparazzi outlet that sold the rights to the tape.

The video shows paramedics working on the unresponsive reality star as she was wheeled from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla. Splash News screened the videotape to potential media buyers at their Los Angeles headquarters just hours after Smith's death Thursday afternoon.

Emergency responders appear to administer CPR on two separate occasions as the TrimSpa spokeswoman was wheeled out of the hotel on a gurney, according to FOX News Channel producer Christopher Spinder, who viewed the tape.

"At one point they kind of started to look like they were going to put the gurney onto the ambulance and they kind of pulled the gurney back out a little bit so they could do a second administering of CPR," Spinder said.

Her companion and lawyer, Howard K. Stern, is not visible in the video.

The two-minute tape, shot from three different angles from a distance of about 50 feet, shows Smith's sheet-covered body, with an oxygen mask over her face, being taken out of the Hard Rock Hotel by a gaggle of emergency responders, including paramedics and police.

"You cannot see her face, you cannot see hair flowing out from underneath the mask," Spinder said. "Again if someone didn't tell me this was Anna Nicole Smith, I totally would not have known it. You can't even tell it's a woman."

The video shows footage of the ambulance driving away from the hotel under a police escort, then cuts to the ambulance at Memorial Regional Hospital just after 2 p.m. ET Thursday.

"You do not see the ambulance pull into the hospital, and you do not see the body come out of the back of the ambulance," Spinder said. "You just see the ambulance sitting there.

"One would assume that the cameraman got there after the body had already been unloaded from the ambulance and was already in the hospital at that point," he said.

Smith died at 2:45 p.m. at the age of 39. She is survived by a 4-month-old daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall. Her only son, Daniel Smith, died in the Bahamas in September, three days after her daughter was born.

Brit's Massive Bodyguard Ices Photogs


Britney Spears' bodyguard loves to pick fights.

For the second time this week, Brit's gargantuan protecter got aggressive with paparazzi; this time splashing photogs with water during a freezing cold night in NYC. As Spears tried to casually ignore the confrontation outside of Zitomer Pharmacy on the Upper East Side, the titanic tough guy menaced waiting photogs.

After the splashing commenced, Brit got into a waiting SUV, sipped her coffee and took off.