By: Estefania Ospina,
on 9/11/2016
If there were an Olympics for making an apology, swimmer Ryan Lochte wouldn’t qualify. After being outed for his fake claim that he was robbed by men identifying themselves as Brazilian police officers, he took to social media for damage control. His Instragram apology on August 19 went this way
The post Ryan Lochte’s “over-exaggerating” appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Kevin Eck,
on 4/23/2013
Brian Stelter, who launched TVNewser almost 10 years ago, is now a published author. “Top of the Morning,” out today, lays bare a tumultuous year for network morning news shows which saw one anchor pack her bags, another face a serious health issue, a ratings leader fall — and lose a quarter of its audience — and an entirely new show launch.
In his first interview for the book, Stelter tells us about the secrecy behind “Top of the Morning,” the access he got, and what he thinks about being called Matt Lauer‘s nemesis.
For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV
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By: Claudette Young,
on 5/24/2012
English: The seconds pendulum, a pendulum with a period of two seconds so each swing takes one second http://weelookang.blogspot.com/2010/06/physical-quantities-and-units.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Most readers here know that I write on occasion in reaction to things in the news. I troll news feeds looking for subject matter for all sorts of things, including poetry. This morning I took my inspiration from my Facebook home page.
A couple of my writer friends had posted links to two stories that left my reactions in a chaotic state of pendulum swing.
The first story reported about a group of 64 high school seniors who were suspended for riding bicycles to school on the same day. You did read that correctly. This Michigan student group merely rode to school on bikes, escorted by police, sanctioned and lauded by the mayor, and then punished for the act.
Can someone point out to me the sanity peeking out of this story? The one official who should have applauded the students’ behavior was the one having conniptions at the other end of it. The principal’s reason for her hysterical reaction? They could have gotten hurt, hit by a car or worse! This with a police escort and the mayor’s approval?
Now you can see the reason for my immediate response. Insanity holds the reins of the school.
Okay, so that’s a bit strong, I admit. The principal’s reaction, however, was far more out of connection with reality than mine. I have my own suspicions as to the real trigger for her reaction.
The point is that just the day before it was reported on Yahoo that a four-year-old girl was kept from inclusion in her class photo because she had her hair up in a bow. Her very neat and tidy hair kept her out of a photo.
Am I the only one who thinks perhaps those presently in charge of schools need a check-up? It seems to me that the irrational responses by school leadership in the past few years are spreading rapidly. But hey, retired teachers can have opinions, too.
When I got to the second story, I could do little but smile. It was about a photographer, Bob Carey, who for the last nine years has traveled around the country taking self-portraits wearing little other than a Pink Tutu. You may have seen the Today Show segment on this man and his inspiration, his wife, Linda.
Bob’s 6 Comments on Rampant Insanity vs. Purpose, last added: 5/25/2012
By: Claudette Young,
on 5/24/2012
English: The seconds pendulum, a pendulum with a period of two seconds so each swing takes one second http://weelookang.blogspot.com/2010/06/physical-quantities-and-units.html (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Most readers here know that I write on occasion in reaction to things in the news. I troll news feeds looking for subject matter for all sorts of things, including poetry. This morning I took my inspiration from my Facebook home page.
A couple of my writer friends had posted links to two stories that left my reactions in a chaotic state of pendulum swing.
The first story reported about a group of 64 high school seniors who were suspended for riding bicycles to school on the same day. You did read that correctly. This Michigan student group merely rode to school on bikes, escorted by police, sanctioned and lauded by the mayor, and then punished for the act.
Can someone point out to me the sanity peeking out of this story? The one official who should have applauded the students’ behavior was the one having conniptions at the other end of it. The principal’s reason for her hysterical reaction? They could have gotten hurt, hit by a car or worse! This with a police escort and the mayor’s approval?
Now you can see the reason for my immediate response. Insanity holds the reins of the school.
Okay, so that’s a bit strong, I admit. The principal’s reaction, however, was far more out of connection with reality than mine. I have my own suspicions as to the real trigger for her reaction.
The point is that just the day before it was reported on Yahoo that a four-year-old girl was kept from inclusion in her class photo because she had her hair up in a bow. Her very neat and tidy hair kept her out of a photo.
Am I the only one who thinks perhaps those presently in charge of schools need a check-up? It seems to me that the irrational responses by school leadership in the past few years are spreading rapidly. But hey, retired teachers can have opinions, too.
When I got to the second story, I could do little but smile. It was about a photographer, Bob Carey, who for the last nine years has traveled around the country taking self-portraits wearing little other than a Pink Tutu. You may have seen the Today Show segment on this man and his inspiration, his wife, Linda.
Bob’s 0 Comments on Rampant Insanity vs. Purpose as of 1/1/1900
By: Andrew Gauthier,
on 11/8/2011
In this week’s episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” Herman Cain sings about sexual harassment, Justin Bieber has a baby with Kate Middleton (I think I have that right), and nobody seems to know the whereabouts of Matt Lauer. Plus, we debut the 1st annual “Where in the World is ‘Five Things You Need to Know This Week?’”
For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 11/2/2010
According to Book Signing Central, former President George W. Bush will make an appearance on November 11th at the National Museum of the US Air Force. Next, Bush will open the Miami Book Fair on November 14th.
The Washington Post reports: “Bush is scheduled to speak at the 27th annual Miami Book Fair International, which runs from Nov. 14-21. The former president will present his memoir ‘Decision Points,’ on Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. Book fair organizers told The Associated Press that tickets to Bush’s presentation are $40. That includes a presigned copy of the book.”
The Drudge Report revealed a few passages from the Bush memoir last week. Matt Lauer will be airing an interview with Bush on November 8th and Oprah Winfrey will interview the former President the next day. (Via Huffington Post)
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By: Maryann Yin,
on 10/25/2010
Although book tour dates have yet to be announced, former President George W. Bush will be interviewed by Matt Lauer and Oprah Winfrey when his memoir arrives next month.
Lauer will air his interview November 8th. Winfrey will air her interview on November 9th, the day of the book’s release. The regular hardcover will cost $35, but 1,000 copies of it will be signed and specially cloth-bound with a $350 price-tag.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair received a reception of shoes, eggs, and protests during his book tour this year. Would you go to a book signing by former President Bush? Let us know in the comments section.
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By: Susanne Gervay,
on 8/30/2009
New York is a surprise. Walked around the corner and ended up in the audience of the Today Show. The hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry were warm and funny, speaking to the crowds while we waved. I waved. Yes, I’m corny.
Did the New York things like the Statue of Liberty, harbour cruise, shopping at Macy’s with Tory. Well, she deserves it after giving me her songs for our book ‘That’s Why I Wrote This Song’.
Had dinner in the University area of Union Square with SCBWI authors Vicky Shiefman, Seta Toroyan, Nancy Lewis and Nancy Castaldo. They shared USA publishing news - there are so many cuts in publishing houses, take over of smaller presses. In fact that’s what happened to my US publisher Tricyle which is now an imprint of Crown which is part of Random House USA. It could be a good thing as Random House’s distribution seems strong and ‘I AM JACK’ is ‘everywhere’ - with announcements that it is coming out 13th October 2009.
There are lots of new literary agents who were editors and publishers. If you want a US agent this is the time to search. However it seems that the USA agents are much more creatively involved than Australian agents. They take a strong editorial role. With the publishing cuts in the USA, the SCBWI authors felt that there was a reliance on the agents doing some of the editorial work before the manuscript was submitted.
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By: Michelle,
on 4/24/2009
Below is another reflection on the life of a publicist from Michelle Rafferty. Rafferty has been a Publicity Assistant at Oxford University Press since September 2008. Prior to Oxford she interned at Norton Publishing and taught 9th & 10th grade Literature. Every Friday she is chronicling her adventures in publishing and New York City, so be sure to visit again next week. Follow Michelle on twitter here. Follow the OUPblog here.
This week the founders of Twitter defended the decreed “viral craze du jour” with responses ranging from tweeting yourself out of natural disasters (see Maureen Dowd’s grilling session) to mending relations between the United States and Iraq (see Jack Dorsey on CNN). It’s a good thing I finally decided to take this social networking craze seriously. I signed up for Twitter about two months ago, but I could never really make myself commit. I came up with a few forced posts, but the whole time I was thinking “I really don’t have the time for this” and “there isn’t enough room” and “what the heck is RT?” I had trouble making myself stay on the thing for more than five minutes. Then I found Perez Hilton.
It began Tuesday morning. I was haphazardly scrolling through my tweets when I noticed that The Today Show tweeted Matt Lauer’s interview with Miss California Carrie Prejean and Perez Hilton. I wanted to know what Hilton thought of all of this, so I went to his Twitter profile and began scrolling through his posts, which essentially gave me a play-by play of his reactions as the Miss America debate swept America. Throughout the day I continued to return to his profile while I pestered Oxford’s fearless blog leader Becca for tweeting tips (how do you retweet? How do you cram a URL into 140 characters? And what does the “@” mean?) By the end of the day I was reading Heidi Montag and Miley Cyrus’s opinions on Perez and Jesus (in case you are wondering, they support both).
After work I came down from my Twitter high and had the same sense of regret I felt in college after spending two hours on Facebook instead of working on a paper that was due the next day. Shel Silverstein’s poem “Jimmy Jet and His TV Set” came to mind: He watched till is eyes were frozen wide,/And his bottom grew into his chair./And his chin turned into a tuning dial,/And antennae grew out of his hair. Silverstein is no doubt rolling in his grave.
I also had a strong sense of déjà vu—hadn’t I seen this on the cover of US Weekly before? I realized that Twitter was doing what blogs had started years before: transform the static, speculative, and photo shopped tabloid duals into real time virtual wars. Although I would argue that this event is a whole lot more complex and substantive than the never ending Jen and Angelina showdown, it is similarly PR driven: in her Today Show interview Prejean admits she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to sit next to Lauer if this all hadn’t happened; Perez comments on how good he looks on Larry King; and is it really a coincidence that notorious celebrity feuder Donald Trump is involved? There are serious issues at hand, but all of these players also have images to uphold, promote, and protect.
I know I shouldn’t be admitting that the Miss USA pageant debate is what finally got me into Twitter, but when I analogize it to the Young Adult novel argument, it don’t think it seems so bad: people who support YA Literature think of it as a stepping stone, a hook for young leaders, Stephanie Meyer will lead them Bram Stoker. In the same way I have moved from “Celebrity Twitter” to “Muck Rack”—an amalgamation of tweets from the most influential members of the news media. This week I’ve learned that I can use Twitter to find out what editors, journalists and bloggers are writing and thinking about (the aforementioned “Muck Rack” makes this especially easy). And while Twitter seems to be the latest and greatest way to get the news, it also shows promise for being the book publicist’s best new tool. I can use tweets to figure out who might want to cover a particular book or interview a certain author. This type of information is especially useful for newbies like myself who are still trying to learn names and personalities in the media industry. Twitter can also be another element of the publicity campaign—I can tweet our Oxford author reviews, interviews, and events—and in a best case scenario get some retweets (that is, after I get some followers). If I make an effort to limit my time on Twitter (no “Twitter head”!), I think it could be something that actually makes me more productive at work.
There does seem to be some cognitive dissonance going on among Twitter users. We laugh at the satirical YouTube shorts and the absurdity of the word “Twitter” and all its variations; I had to mock shame when passing up on a lunch with co-workers after my Twitter rampage ate up all of my morning work time. So, until Twitter starts getting us out of earthquake rubble and initiating world peace, it looks I will need some sort of justification for my tweeting. Luckily it has become my newest job requirement.
You know, when Chloe was in first grade, her teacher set up a class project to depict a nativity scene. Me, an atheist with a child in PUBLIC school, very quietly and gently put a stop to that with a compromise to build a depiction of all sorts of the student’s religious beliefs at Christmastime, making the project one of understanding and acceptance rather than a focus. (I know, anecdote, oh well, I write magazine, (and some newspaper) articles) So I do feel I’m a little responsible for what you read.
What absolutely bizarre people the world has! In my experience there’s nothing worse that a person who doesn’t have enough authority to please himself. They are the ones to push the boundaries and proclaim that what they think is right absolutely must be. Usually this is confined to border guards and passport checkers at the security gate, but it seems like it extends to school principals as well. The trick, I suppose, is sorting out the treasure from the drivel. Hooray for the husband in the pink tutu, yay for the students who biked to school and I hope there were plenty of parents who told the principal to shut up.
PS. I have plenty of friends who let their sons wear pink tutus and other dress-up gear to school. More power to them!
PPS. If my dad were a hairdresser I’d have bows every day. Wasn’t that fantastic?
PPPS. There are signs all over town, this town of 3.5 million people, proclaiming it’s bike to work month and reminding people to get their tyres pumped up.
btw, that pendulum thing is hypnotizing @_@
Whenever I hear stories like that, I wonder what other stressers these people had in their moments at that time. Are they really incompetent (which I honestly don’t think they are), or are they just having a bad day?
I tend to go with the latter.
Veronica, there will always be those who seek to extend their authority, whether it’s their right or not. Humans are like that sometimes. That’s why we get dictators, people at work who much take credit for another’s work/idea/initiative, etc.
I’ve never understood why anyone would want power over others. The energy drain trying to keep that power is exhausting and few, if any, of them ever look happy or satisfied. What a waste of good life.
Cool effect, though, isn’t it?
One can only imagine what drives another’s life. I have enough trouble driving my own without dealing with those of other people.