The Daily Loper – March 14, 2007

Edition

Todays links of interest:

• ‘NYT’ Opening TimesSelect to Students and Teachers for Free
  It’s a small step for mankind, but a giant step for those with a .edu address.
• Digital Darling Languishes at NBC
  Just a year ago, we were scratching our collective heads over the acquisition of iVillage. Now you know why.
• The Emoticon Turns 25
  And here it seems like it’s been around forever.
• CW Executive Searches for New Voices
  As the CW desperately seeks talent outside the traditional studio structure, they find themselves foiled by Viacom who wants to sue one of the best outlets out of existence (or, rather, into sharing far too much with the corporate entity rather than the smaller producers who bring in a whole lotta traffic).
• Can Washington Post Style Make Leap?
  Contributors to the Washington Post style section go back to school to learn new-style journalism. There’s no shame in continuing education.
• Two ‘LA Times’ Pulitzer Finalists Nominated Themselves
  Because if you don’t toot your own horn, who will?
• Shaping up as an endless summer
  Showest attendees see the resurgence of theater-going as the big story of the summer.
• Viacom Vs. YouTube a ‘Geological’ Shift in Media Landscape
  One lawyer answers questions about what this means. His conclusion is the same as everyone else’s: Viacom wants a deal.
• O Father, Where Art Thou? Lost on Bad Daddy Island
  All about the fact that most of the Lostaways seem to have terrible fathers. It’s almost like Joss Whedon created it instead of JJ Abrams.
• Copyrighted videos still on YouTube after lawsuit
  Of course they are. What part of "YouTube is too big and wild to control down to the nth degree" doesn’t Viacom understand? Or do they understand it perfectly and are just using it to try to get money from postings that probably helped spur the viewership of properties in the first place?
• Chiquita charged in terror investigation
  At least one Loper has always thought bananas are evil.
• ROTTEN TOMATOES: The Worst of the Worst Pictures
  Their take on the Top 100 Worst Reviewed pictures ever. Which, of course, usually means "since we’ve been online." Be forewarned: this list is done in one of those mega-annoying "let’s only do one per page in order to maximize page views" styles so that there is no way to see the entire list without clicking through every single one. To which we say bollocks.
• Spare the snark — or else?
  Bravo bought Television Without Pity. Which means that, among other things, the site is now a corporate sibling of a lot of the shows that it recaps: "Battlestar," "Heroes," "ER" and others. We can’t say that it doesn’t worry us a little bit, but we also trust that their new corporate overlords understand exactly what makes TWoP so great and won’t frack with them.