covenant artists management: the i PHONE app that will kill print ????

The iPhone App That Will Kill Print

A great little service that gives readers everything they want from newspapers.

New Wrap contributor Ray Richmond takes you inside the moment he knew it was all over for print journalism.

For a one-time payment of 99 cents, iPhone app News Fuse supplies users with content from 27 news outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today.

[TheWrap]

LBN-OVERHEARD:

*** Ed McMahon, the loyal Tonight Show sidekick who bolstered boss Johnny Carson with guffaws and a resounding H-e-e-e-e-e-eres Johnny! for 30 years, died early Tuesday.

He was 86.

*** Less than 24 hours after Jon and Kate Gosselins bombshell announcement about their decision to split up, TLC said Jon & Kate Plus 8 will be going on hiatus.

Following a retrospective of Jon and Kate's first 10 years, which will air on June 29, the show will be on hiatus until Aug 3.

*** Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are proud parents to a new set of twin girls.

The surrogate mother carrying the couples new children gave birth on Tuesday, Barbara Walters announced on The View on Tuesday morning.

*** Glitz, glamour and bronze trophies will be on hand during the Associated Press Television and Radio Associations (APTRA) 57th Annual Mark Twain Broadcast Journalism Awards at The Globe Theatre inside Universal Studios Hollywood on Saturday, June 27.

Hollywood celebrities will walk the red carpet, then honor more than 80 journalistic superstars during APTRAs formal black-tie gala featuring musical performances by Freddy Boom Boom Cannon and The Ohio Express.

LBN HISTORICAL COMMENTARY By JOHN LENNON:

Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives.

I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that.

That's what's insane about it.

1976

LBN-RECOMMENDS by

WILLIAM S. Cohen (Former Secretary of Defense):

The ability to win the hearts and minds of a people rarely comes at the end of a bomb or bullet.

Those who reach us through the magic of movies and multimedia technologies have far greater power to capture our ideas and attitudes than does any army.

Nathan Gardels and Mike Medavoy have produced an important book, American Idol After Iraq (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102619932251&s=9702&e=001SOf8qrOMqVNCTa6Awoqc9aKJG2TjW-cOy8S9EKQ6gf0jIAZestnIpPuRjw1euaduu9oyXH2zb0U1JDdSZHp_rhSDVmPCsB1UIh7NLB04OgFfvtanPBEPJQ==) that reviews the history of filmmaking and

the forces of globalization and illuminates the path that America needs to follow if we hope to restore our nation to a place of global prominence and moral influence.

LBN-NOTICED:

***Nicole Richie, going on a toy shopping spree with 17-month-old daughter Harlow at Acorn in Santa Monica.

***Chace Crawford, partying at a birthday bash for talent manager Eric Podwall at L.A. club Jane's House.

The Gossip Girl star who wore a black blazer with a gray T-shirt underneath held court at a back table but also bounced around the club talking to partygoers.

At one point, he had a lengthy chat with fellow CW star Chad Michael Murray.

And while waiting on line for the VIP bathroom, the future Footloose star even busted out some dance moves when Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" started playing.

Also making the scene: Lauren Conrad and boyfriend Kyle Howard, Jamie-Lynn Sigler and beau Jerry Ferrara, Amanda Bynes and Leona Lewis.

***Hugh Jackman, picking up takeout at West Hollywood eatery Talesai.

LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:

***Stats on Arianna Huffington's L.A. based site from Ad Age story pegged to new CEO:

-Three rounds of financing: $5 million, $4.5 million and, most recently, $25 million.

-Money spent so far: About $12 million as of February.

-Ad revenue from January through April: $3.4 million, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

-Full-time, paid staffers: 61, including 35 in editorial, of whom five are reporters.

-Visitors: 5.3 million uniques in May, up 106% from May 2008 and up 5% from its election-season peak in October, according to ComScore.

LBN-THINK AGAIN:

Irving Azoff Gets "Golden Coffin" And More

Irving Azoff has long been derided in Hollywood as the "Poison Dwarf" because of his size and demeanor.

But Ticketmaster sure likes its CEO in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s.

Even as his company laid off 5% of its employees last year, cash just pours into Azoff's pockets.

So says the preliminary proxy made public for his company’s proposed take-over of Live Nation.

First, Azoff’s management company Front Line – which handles more than 200 acts including the Eagles and Christina Aguilera, and which Ticketmaster bought last October --

paid him his guaranteed annual $2 million in salary and $2 million bonus last year.

Then “in light of Front Line’s exceptional performance in 2008,” Ticketmaster Chairman Barry Diller persuaded the board to give Azoff an additional $1 million.

Azoff-owned ATC Aviation got another $229,542 from Ticketmaster for the two months last year when he used an ATC plane.

But the most jaw-dropping numbers show up when you see what happens if Azoff dies, becomes disabled, resigns for “good reason,” or gets terminated without cause. Then he gets to vest stock with a market value of $77.9 million plus $13.1 million to make up for his tax payments.

(Disney's Bob Iger also has one of these Golden Coffins, whereby CEOs get paid even after they die. And it stinks like a rotting corpse.)

While he's still alive, Azoff takes good care of his family:

His daughter, Allison, got $225,000 in cash and bonus, plus $21,964 in auto expenses, last year for being a non-executive officer at Front Line.

Her husband Richard Statter is a non-executive officer at Ticketmaster, and Azoff’s son, Jeffrey, has a similar position at Front Line although they don’t make enough to be included in the public filing.

So, how much will Azoff make if the deal with Live Nation closes?

According to the filing, Ticketmaster and Azoff are “currently discussing” that.

MAIL.COM MEDIA CORPORATION ACQUIRES DEADLINEHOLLYWOODDAILY.COM

Signs Agreement With Award-Winning Entertainment Business Journalist Nikki Finke;

MMC To Distribute Nikki Finke’s Content Exclusively Across Its Digital Media Platform

June 23, 2009 (LOS ANGELES)

-- Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC), the digital media company that owns and operates the Mail.com portal and email service as well as a growing portfolio of lifestyle brands, including HollywoodLife.com,

MovieLine.com and OnCars.com, announced today its acquisition of the Internet’s highly respected and widely read website for original content about the infotainment industry DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com.

MMC also begins a long-term partnership with former Newsweek and Los Angeles Times and New York Magazine writer/reporter Nikki Finke, the founder and writer of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com and one of the foremost entertainment business journalists in the world.

Deadline Hollywood Daily is Nikki Finke’s uniquely candid, informed and authoritative source for breaking news in the entertainment industry.

She started DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com with the purpose of creating a 24/7 Internet version of her must-read “Deadline Hollywood” column in LA Weekly, to provide up-to-the-minute coverage of insider news and fast-breaking scoops about the entertainment industry before anybody else in town, often as the story is still unfolding, and often to the very people she’s writing about.

Instead of the “show”, Nikki Finke is more interested in the “business” – in the story behind the story, in the truth beyond the press release, in the details that the people in power don’t want journalists to know and which only she can uncover and deliver with speed, accuracy, and regularity.

In a recent 2009 article on Hollywood business coverage, the Financial Times called Nikki Finke "the reigning queen of Hollywood news" because of her "unrivalled network of high-level industry contacts.

Since launching her Deadline Hollywood Daily site three years ago, she has earned a reputation as the best connected reporter in the industry.

" The New York Times wrote that the screenwriters’ strike “solidified her position as a Hollywood power broker.

Executive producers, writers and agents attest to her influence."

The New York Observer named her its "Media Mensch Of The Year” and said “she’s demonstrated that one determined reporter — with none of the support or backing of a media outfit, but also none of the entangling alliances — can, in fact, beat the big guys at their own game.”

And Elle magazine, before placing her on its 25 most influential women in Hollywood list, wrote, "Out West, where movies, moguls, and millions are made, Nikki Finke is the sheriff in town.

From her perch as the LA Weekly "Deadline Hollywood" columnist and queen of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com, she has been going after the juicy business dramas of film [and television] moguls and agents."

Nikki Finke has been the “Deadline Hollywood” columnist for LA Weekly since 2002, writing about the business, politics and culture of the infotainment industry.

Together, her print column and her Deadline HollywoodDaily.com have won first place in almost every major entertainment journalism contest, both print and online, including the Southern California Journalism Awards' Entertainment Journalist Of The Year and a multiple winner of the National Entertainment Journalism Awards in which she swept every online category.

The insatiable appetite for the latest entertainment news and increased fascination with everything Hollywood are both a worldwide phenomenon, making MMC's global digital reach a perfect platform to scale the impact of Nikki Finke's singular editorial voice.

Within the first 90 days, DHD will become bicoastal with the hiring of a New York City-based senior journalist who will report to Finke.

The addition of DHD to MMC's expanding portfolio of lifestyle brands strengthens the company's position as an important player in the entertainment space.

With more than 10 million unique visitors per month prior to this acquisition, MMC will continue its rapid growth as one of the most dynamic companies to watch in the digital media arena

“We're thrilled to be working with Nikki.

As a world-class journalist, she is unequivocally recognized by the entertainment and business community as a unique voice and leading authority on news coverage of major media, especially Hollywood.

With this acquisition and partnership now complete, her DeadlineHollyoodDaily.com can continue to extend its reach and influence and finally have the web platform it deserves,” said Jay Penske, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of MMC.

"Ever since the first scoop of Nikki’s that I read, I quickly realized that she has raised the bar on – if not changed the game of – entertainment journalism; and her work perfectly embodies our mission at MMC: to provide the most original and most authoritative content on the web.”

"I was fortunate to have had much interest and many offers from major corporations and media companies to consider over the past 18 months,” said Nikki Finke, whose title will now become General Manager, Editor in Chief, and Founder of DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com.

"First, I had to ensure that my DeadlineHollywood Daily.com would continue to be an independent editorial voice – and I would retain complete control over everything reported on the website -- so that DHD’s credibility with its readers could remain intact.

Second, I needed to make certain that an advanced infrastructure and capable team were in place, to bring DHD to the next level.

FinaIly, I wanted to join a major Internet player that was ambitious, up-and-coming, and far-sighted.

Jay Penske and MMC gave me all those assurances and more.

This deal was worth waiting for.”

About Nikki Finke

The native New Yorker and Wellesley College graduate has been reporting from Los Angeles since 1986.

Nikki Finke’s journalism career has included years as an AP foreign correspondent in Moscow and London, Newsweek correspondent in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, and Los Angeles Times staff writer covering entertainment and features.

From 1995 through 2000, she was West Coast Editor and Hollywood columnist first for the New York Observer and then for New York Magazine.

She joined LA Weekly as its "Deadline Hollywood" columnist in 2002 and started DeadlineHollywood Daily.com on March 3, 2006.

She was recently named among "100 Leaders You Can Learn From On Twitter" in the journalists category, and included among the 2008 Time Magazine ”Time 100” finalists.

She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and Esquire.
About DeadlineHollywoodDaily.comDeadline Hollywood Daily is the 24/7 Internet version of Nikki Finke's LA Weekly “Deadline Hollywood” print column.

She daily uses DHD as a forum to break news about the infotainment industry, which is why The Drudge Report, The Huffington Post, Gawker, Defamer, Hollywood Wiretap, MediaBistro, Jim Romenesko's Media News, TV Tattle, USA Today's Pop Candy, IMDB and other blogs and websites regularly link to her many scoops.

“She never pulls her punches.

So come for her cynicism.

And stay for the subversion,” has been DHD’s motto from its inception.

DHD is regularly included on lists of top entertainment websites, most recently the "50 Best Websites For Moviemakers 2009".

About Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC)

Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC) is a leading digital media company founded by Jay Penske in 2004.

The company owns and operates the Mail.com portal, a global multi-media platform.

In addition, MMC owns a unique portfolio of lifestyle brands that provide the web's best original content in categories including entertainment, sports, news, finance, health, shopping, fashion, and automotive.

Mail.com, HollywoodLife.com, OnCars.com, MovieLine.com, DeadlineHollywoodDaily.com, Fan.com, Young Hollywood Awards, and Style Awards, are all part of the expanding MMC portfolio.

For more information about MMC, please visit http://corp.mail.com/.---

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mail.com Media CorporationLos Angeles, Californiamailto:Californiapress@corp.mail.com

Nikki Finke General Manager, Editor in Chief,

FounderDeadlineHollywoodDaily.commailto:FounderDeadlineHollywoodDaily.comdeadlinehollywood@gmail.com

LBN-COMMENTARY By MITCH KAPLAN (Prominent Lawyer):

Do I believe English should be the official language of the U.S.?

I think there should be no official language of the USA.

Why?

Our nation has gone 239 years successfully without one and the only reason it is an issue is to divide us.

Let's remember that we are the UNITED States of America.

***To reply directly to Mitch Kaplan, e-mail LBNElert@TimeWire.net