Longtime readers of FrontBurner will know the name Bethany Anderson (or, simply, Bethany). Back before we shut off comments, she was the most commenterest of all commenters (in my estimation). She left us for several reasons, one of which was the vitriol in our comments section. That vitriol led us to shut down our comments — and now moderate them.
I don’t know why this took us so long. But we finally up and invited Bethany to be a regular contributor. Her first post went up a few hours ago. Please join me in welcoming her.
If you haven’t read the GQ interview with former presidential candidate John Edwards mistress Rielle Hunter, meh, not that illuminating. But the interview does bring up the late Fred Baron once again, since she explains the vast amounts of cash she received from him as “a gift.”
Says Hunter:
It was never hush money. Ever. Fred gave me the money as a gift with no strings attached. And Johnny always said to me I could talk to the media whenever I wanted, and whatever I did would never affect his relationship with Quinn. Me not talking to the press was my own personal choice based on what I felt was best for me and my daughter and based upon my feelings for how the media operates.
Fred was a very kind and generous man. He even paid for a security guard when he was concerned about our safety. And in May ‘08, Fred and Lisa [Blue, his wife] came to visit me in Santa Barbara and to meet Quinn, and Fred just flat out asked me, “How can I help you, and what do you need?” because Fred knew I needed to get away from the Youngs. I’d just given birth to a baby, the tabloids were stalking me, and he wanted to help.
But now for a public service announcement: Until they make a Silkwood shower for your brain, for the love of God don’t go read the description of the sex tape found on The Daily Beast.
Was talking to some alt-weekly industry bigwigs yesterday, and they kind of saw this coming. (No doubt because of stories like this, which you’ll want to read for background.) Long story short: Village Voice Media, which owns the Dallas Observer and the SF Weekly in San Francisco, was sued by its competitor, the Bay Guardian, for predatory pricing. The Bay Guardian won. The case is on appeal, but in the meantime, because VVM couldn’t pay a $25 million note (spare me the legal details, I know I’m skimming), the judge has ordered that the BG can start taking half of SF Weekly’s advertising revenue. Meanwhile, back in Montreal, the bank that in effect owns VVM says, “WAIHT! ZEES MONEY EEZ OURS!” and has … well, just read the stories. It’s incredibly juicy media catfight kinda stuff.
Two footnotes: One, you’ll want to read VVM’s official take here, which explains this was legally necessary but they’re in no danger of going under, and two, yes, I used to work at the Observer and even interviewed to be its editor a few years ago (and was told, um, that will never happen), but if those circumstances kept me from commenting on local media companies, I’d have to stop altogether.
Since Tim is splitting for spring break (whooooooooo!) and I’ll be headed down to Austin for SXSW tomorrow, posting will be on the light side over the next few days. And, as you can see, it already is, since we’re preparing to skedaddle.
I will, however, be posting about SXSW on FrontRow, as well as on my Twitter feed. Or you can just take the rest of the week off. Whatever. No pressure.
You’ll find our group, called The Kunklers, right here. Winner gets a $150 gift certificate to Ocean Prime. Here are my favorite bracket names thus far:
Chalking to the Sky
Squirrel Chaser
Ghost of Adam McGill
You guys can do better. Last year’s bracket craziness, it seems, featured funnier names. Get to it.
1. Kids who cut school also don’t tend to show for court dates stemming from their cutting school. “That is stunning,” said an imaginary person who is easily shocked and overly emphatic.
2. Everyone is talking about Oncor’s smart meters vs. old meters. Everyone, that is, except for Robert Preston. He’s talking about trouble, with a capital T, that rhymes with P, and that stands for “pool.”
3. Mountain View College President Felix A. Zamora received a vote of “no confidence” from the faculty association. Word of caution: based on the amount of times I’ve watched The Phantom Menace with my son, I know first it’s a simple “no confidence” vote in your leader, and next thing you know, you’re dealing with a galactic empire run by a villainous Sith lord. Slippery slope. IJS.