Datasets:
Recag
/
C4_1

Dataset card Data Studio Files Community
1
text
stringlengths
10
56.7k
"We have not even been served with the complaint in this matter, and so have no comment," said ABC spokeswoman Annie Fort.
The suit also names FremantleMedia North America, producer of FOX's "American Idol" and proposed producer of ABC's "The Million Dollar Idea." (Note the slightly different title.) FremantleMedia does not comment on pending litigation, spokesman Brian Reinert said.
"Million Dollar Idea" first aired on KSTC-TV in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market in 2003. The series was recently syndicated to more than 125 stations nationwide and its creators registered for both copyright and trademark for the show's name and premise, according to their statement.
The show is taped before an audience and judges at the Mall of America. New product inventors and marketers from across the country compete for a prize package to help launch their product and place it for sale with a Mall of America retailer.
The syndicated series has received newspaper, magazine and TV coverage, including on NBC's "Today" show, the suit says.
"It is incredibly ironic that our show, the premise of which is to promote, protect and reward small-town American ingenuity, was itself the victim of corporate theft and greed," Golden said.
Her partner, Walker, pitched a deal for the show to ABC in early 2004 and provided copies of their presentation to CAA, according to the suit. That's the same agency identified in a recent ABC press release as having "packaged" "The Million Dollar Idea" with Cowell.
Besides the alleged theft of the title, every major concept connected to the show also was copied, the suit claims.
In the July 13 news release announcing "The Million Dollar Idea," ABC described the series as "a nationwide search for America's greatest entrepreneur with the best business idea or new product," with the prize to be $1 million "worth of business support," including cash and other resources.
The idea was conceived by Cowell and British entrepreneur Peter Jones, according to the ABC release.
Are stoners now a target advertising demographic for fast food companies?
Ever since Harold and Kumar went to White Castle, fast-food companies have become increasingly blatant about targeting to stoners in their advertisements.
July 31, 2012, 1:48 a.m.
Between Taco Bell's "Fourthmeal" advertisements and Jack in the Box commercials featuring slow-talking stoners, it's hardly a secret anymore that fast-food companies are shamelessly targeting potheads with their ads. But have they crossed a line?
Once considered a taboo marketing approach, the fast-food industry today appears to have brazenly embraced the late-night munchies, according to The Fix. Although advertisements never blatantly refer to pot smoking, subliminal messaging has become more obvious.
Take, for instance, this recent Jack in the Box advertisement. And Taco Bell has created a jingle to go with its latest string of advertisements, which sings of the "late-night munchies." Of course, drive-thru windows open well into the morning hours also cater to the average midnight snacker, but there's little denying who the real target is given the choice of terminology.
"If you're targeting that heavy fast-food user, you need to speak their language," said Denise Yohn, a brand consultant who's worked with restaurants for 25 years, to The Fix. "One way to do that is to talk about partying and munchies. To the mainstream audience it may just sound like late nights and drinking, but to a certain audience they're talking about getting stoned."
It's not the same thing as flagrantly endorsing the use of marijuana, of course. But the fast-food industry no longer appears to think the pothead subculture is off limits either. Perhaps they're just embracing a market force, but the strategy also runs perilously close to catering directly to a drug-induced appetite that drives people to consume their product.
Of course, this wouldn't be the first time that the fast-food industry was accused of catering to addiction. Not only has fast food been proven to be highly addictive, but the industry actually hires scientists to design its food for exactly that purpose.
Whether marketing to stoners crosses an ethical line or not, it certainly seems to be working. Taco Bell has seen its sales spike by 6 percent since launching its "late-night munchies" advertisements. The marketing has been so successful that at least one new upstart fast-food enterprise has decided to sell its line of frozen burritos directly to potheads. Drive-thrus of nearly every major fast-food chain now typically stay open past midnight, undoubtedly due to a steady profit margin.
So long as it works, it's not likely to change. In fact, without any backlash, it may not be long before advertisers compete explicitly for the stoner demographic.
"A lot of companies are skipping the innuendo," said Yohn. "They think it's more effective to be overt. It creates more buzz. I think that's why you see a lot of advertising that seems unapologetically targeted to pot smokers."
Ever since Harold and Kumar went to White Castle, fast food companies seem increasingly blatant about targeting to stoners in their advertisements.
Seren Rayne Frank Sutherland, a six lb., eight oz., girl, was born Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Donell Sutherland and Adam Frank of Prescott.
Alexander Velasco, a six lb., 12 oz., boy, was born Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Erika Avitia Villalobos and Eduardo Velasco of Prescott Valley.
Teagan Mikelynn Scotia Walls, a seven lb., 11 oz., boy, was born Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Jamie Ashlyn and Michael Scott Walls of Prescott Valley.
Owen Matthew Wederski, an eight lb., two oz., boy, was born Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Kayla Greseth and Joshua Wederski of Prescott Valley.
Rorik Isaiah Wilson, a eight lb., three oz., boy, was born Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Marina Wilson and Colton McKeever of Prescott Valley.
Sayge Elijah Anthony Zamora Gheiler, a seven lb.,two oz., boy, was born Friday, Dec. 23, 2016, at Yavapai Regional Medical Center to Nicollette Gheiler of Prescott.
Due to Hurricane Irene, parts of New Jersey were declared a federal disaster area this week. Federal funding is available to people in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Somerset Counties.
More than 150,000 homes and businesses in the state remained without electricity Wednesday afternoon, with utilities predicting restoration by the weekend or early next week.
The old Reading Viaduct, becoming a city park? Talks have been going on for eight years to get city officials on board with the idea. Now, the city is in talks with Reading International Co. to take control of the larger section of the viaduct to transform it into an elevated public park.
Meanwhile, the Center City District is working with SEPTA on a legal agreement to create a park on the shorter section of the viaduct owned by the transit agency.
Adventist HealthCare seeks to hire a Med Surg Registered Nurse who will embrace our mission to extend God's care through the ministry of physical, mental and spiritual healing. If you want to make a difference in someone's life every day, consider a position with a team of professionals who are doing just that, making a difference.
• One year of current nursing experience within in a hospital environment, prior Med Surg or Oncology experience preferred. Chemo certification required and provided by the organization at no cost.
As many British visitors to France have learnt to their dismay, if you ask a local, “Parlez-vous anglais?”, the answer is often “Non”.
Such a response, perhaps accompanied by a dismissive Gallic shrug, may prompt the appearance on the traveller’s face of what the author PG Wodehouse described as “the shifty hangdog look that announces that an Englishman is about to speak French”.
Britons have never been renowned for their mastery of French — or indeed any other foreign language — but a new ranking shows that our historical rivals and closest neighbours have little to crow about when it comes to their command of English.
The English Proficiency Index, a survey of countries without English as a national language, puts France in 35th place – behind the Philippines, South Korea and Lebanon.
The index, compiled by Education First, a language training company, ranks the French as the worst English speakers in western Europe while Sweden comes out top.
Christian Monlord, a Frenchman and conference interpreter, said the results did not surprise him. “French used to be the language of diplomacy, and it is still a big international language, so many French people still take the attitude that others should speak their language,” said Mr Monlord, 75.
Another reason why the French are lagging behind in learning English may be a feeling that the world’s lingua franca is creeping into daily life in France, threatening the very survival of the language of Voltaire.
English expressions are increasingly used by French speakers, even if their overall level of spoken English may not be good.
Parisians speak the best English in France, according to the survey, but it places the capital 25th among international cities behind Shanghai, Buenos Aires and Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.
Many French people also blame foreign language teaching in schools.
Teachers say they are trying to place more emphasis on conversational English, but they are often limited by a lack of resources, especially in small towns and rural areas.
Damien Gabriel, 29, said children and their parents were also to blame. “I think there are many kids in school who don’t understand how important it is to speak English,” he said.
According to a Eurobarometer report in 2012, 39 per cent of France’s population speak English. Another survey published by the European Commission indicated that 38 per cent of Britons speak a foreign language.
Check out the Charleston Parks Conservancy's newest glow-up project at their inaugural Hampton Park culinary event, Shucked + Sauced, Sat. Jan. 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.
The event will take place at the newly renovated Rose Pavilion, a previously unused concession stand that has been "re-envisioned and refurbished through the collaborative efforts of the Charleston Parks Conservancy and the City of Charleston." This space will serve as a gathering spot for community events and park programs.
Conventional wisdom says that oysters are best enjoyed during those months containing the letter "r," making September through April prime oyster season.
Shucked + Sauced was curated by chef Mike Lata of FIG and The Ordinary and will feature bites from The Ordinary, Nico, 167 Raw, Chubby Fish, Rodney Scott's BBQ, Lewis Barbecue, and The Obstinate Daughter in addition to local oysters from Lowcountry Oyster Co., Clammer Dave, Barrier Island Oyster Co., and Lady's Island Oysters. There will be wine, and beer from Holy City Brewing Co., plus beachy Lowcountry tunes from Dallas Baker and Friends.
Lata said in a press release, "This event connects two of my favorite things: oysters and Charleston. Having been here for 20 years, I've seen many changes in Charleston. As the city has grown, development has put a lot of stress on the fishing community. Our local oyster farmers are helping to revitalize our working waterfront, just as the Parks Conservancy works to rejuvenate and preserve our city's public green spaces."
Tickets are $85 and include all food and beverages. All proceeds from this event support the Conservancy and their work renovating and beautifying public parks and green spaces.
More photos from our visit to Lowcountry Oyster Co.
For professors, publishing in elite journals is an unavoidable part of university life. The grueling process of subjecting work to the up-or-down judgment of credentialed scholarly peers has been a cornerstone of academic culture since at least the mid-20th century.
Now some humanities scholars have begun to challenge the monopoly that peer review has on admission to career-making journals and, as a consequence, to the charmed circle of tenured academe. They argue that in an era of digital media there is a better way to assess the quality of work. Instead of relying on a few experts selected by leading publications, they advocate using the Internet to expose scholarly thinking to the swift collective judgment of a much broader interested audience.
That transformation was behind the recent decision by the prestigious 60-year-old Shakespeare Quarterly to embark on an uncharacteristic experiment in the forthcoming fall issue — one that will make it, Ms. Rowe says, the first traditional humanities journal to open its reviewing to the World Wide Web.
Mixing traditional and new methods, the journal posted online four essays not yet accepted for publication, and a core group of experts — what Ms. Rowe called “our crowd sourcing” — were invited to post their signed comments on the Web site MediaCommons, a scholarly digital network. Others could add their thoughts as well, after registering with their own names. In the end 41 people made more than 350 comments, many of which elicited responses from the authors. The revised essays were then reviewed by the quarterly’s editors, who made the final decision to include them in the printed journal, due out Sept. 17.
The Shakespeare Quarterly trial, along with a handful of other trailblazing digital experiments, goes to the very nature of the scholarly enterprise. Traditional peer review has shaped the way new research has been screened for quality and then how it is communicated; it has defined the border between the public and an exclusive group of specialized experts.
Today a small vanguard of digitally adept scholars is rethinking how knowledge is understood and judged by inviting online readers to comment on books in progress, compiling journals from blog posts and sometimes successfully petitioning their universities to grant promotions and tenure on the basis of non-peer-reviewed projects.
The quarterly’s experiment has so far inspired at least one other journal — Postmedieval — to plan a similar trial for next year.
Just a few years ago these sorts of developments would have been unthinkable, said Dan Cohen, director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. “Serious scholars are asking whether the institutions of the academy — as they have existed for decades, even centuries — aren’t becoming obsolete,” he said.
Each type of review has benefits and drawbacks.
The traditional method, in which independent experts evaluate a submission, often under a veil of anonymity, can take months, even years.
Clubby exclusiveness, sloppy editing and fraud have all marred peer review on occasion. Anonymity can help prevent personal bias, but it can also make reviewers less accountable; exclusiveness can help ensure quality control but can also narrow the range of feedback and participants. Open review more closely resembles Wikipedia behind the scenes, where anyone with an interest can post a comment. This open-door policy has made Wikipedia, on balance, a crucial reference resource.
Ms. Rowe said the goal is not necessarily to replace peer review but to use other, more open methods as well.
In some respects scientists and economists who have created online repositories for unpublished working papers, like repec.org, have more quickly adapted to digital life. Just this month, mathematicians used blogs and wikis to evaluate a supposed mathematical proof in the space of a week — the scholarly equivalent of warp speed.
In the humanities, in which the monograph has been king, there is more inertia. “We have never done it that way before,” should be academia’s motto, said Kathleen Fitzpatrick, a professor of media studies at Pomona College.
Ms. Fitzpatrick was a founder of the MediaCommons network in 2007. She posted chapters of her own book “Planned Obsolescence” on the site, and she used the comments readers provided to revise the manuscript for NYU Press. She also included the project in the package she presented to the committee that promoted her to full professor this year.
Many professors, of course, are wary of turning peer review into an “American Idol”-like competition. They question whether people would be as frank in public, and they worry that comments would be short and episodic, rather than comprehensive and conceptual, and that know-nothings would predominate.
After all, the development of peer review was an outgrowth of the professionalization of disciplines from mathematics to history — a way of keeping eager but uninformed amateurs out.
“Knowledge is not democratic,” said Michèle Lamont, a Harvard sociologist who analyzes peer review in her 2009 book, “How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment.” Evaluating originality and intellectual significance, she said, can be done only by those who are expert in a field.
The most daunting obstacle to opening up the process is that peer-review publishing is the path to a job and tenure, and no would-be professor wants to be the academic canary in the coal mine.
Although initially cautious, Mr. Galey said he is now “entirely won over by the open peer review model.” The comments were more extensive and more insightful, he said, than he otherwise would have received on his essay, which discusses Shakespeare in the context of information theory.
Advocates of more open reviewing, like Mr. Cohen at George Mason argue that other important scholarly values besides quality control — for example, generating discussion, improving works in progress and sharing information rapidly — are given short shrift under the current system.
“There is an ethical imperative to share information,” said Mr. Cohen, who regularly posts his work online, where he said thousands read it. Engaging people in different disciplines and from outside academia has made his scholarship better, he said.
Adweek: So what’s a digital-media tyro like you doing at a fusty old-media company like CBS?
Jim Lanzone: I don’t really think of it that way at all. People think the Internet will supercede TV, but it’s really been more additive than anything else, largely because it’s so portable. It’s not taking anything away from linear television; if anything, it’s encouraged people to spend even more time watching video.
AW: The fact that we can watch TV on a telephone: is this doing something insidious to the parts of our brain that process narrative?
JL: Think about the very early days of TV—the first shows were structured just like radio broadcasts or Broadway shows. You start with the familiar and you expand from there. Creative people haven’t taken advantage of the new media platforms; we’re still in this brackish time between two eras.
AW: You still watch TV?
JL: I’m a binge watcher. I have DirecTV, so I have a ton of shows on the DVR: The Daily Show, [Real Time With] Bill Maher, SNL. I’ve been watching How I Met Your Mother for six years. There are definitely more shows out there that I want to watch that I don’t have time to watch, which I suppose is a great sign of where programming is headed.
AW: Why did CBS issue a fatwa against Hulu?
AW: Can you write code?
JL: I never got into programming when I was a kid. I was too busy playing Pitfall and Kaboom! on Atari to write code. But then again, I don’t think Les Moonves knows how to make a television set either.
AW: So there’s no disconnect between the old media centers—New York, L.A.—and Silicon Valley?
JL: Well, you’re looking at it from a geographic standpoint and that really isn’t relevant any longer. I think Silicon Valley is the third leg of the media stool; I mean, there’s a reason why all the animated features are made in Silicon Valley now. Engineers are the new artists of this generation of media.
AW: Are you from Silicon Valley?
JL: I grew up in San Carlos, where Oracle now stands. In fact, they built Oracle on the old Marine World site. George Lucas used some of the elephants from Marine World in Star Wars, and after it came out—I must have seen it 25 times that summer—they started offering Bantha rides at Marine World.
AW: Speaking of which, what the hell happened to George Lucas? Those three Star Wars prequels were just god-awful.
JL: I know what happened to George Lucas: the ‘80s. If movies peaked in the ‘70s, then it’s fair to say that the 2000s is the Renaissance period for TV. The new Battlestar [Galactica] was at least a thousand times better than the old one. And I almost didn’t watch it at first because I was afraid it was going to ruin my childhood memories of the original.
After rebranding from beverages to a blockchain company, Long Blockchain says it is refocusing yet again and launching operations related to gift cards, as well as naming a new CEO.
The Farmingdale-based firm said it has formed a new subsidiary, Stran Loyalty Group, focused on providing loyalty, incentive, reward and gift card programs to corporate and consumer brands.
The firm also appointed Andy Shape as chairman and CEO, focusing on the loyalty business. He succeeds Shamyl Malik who will step down.
The company said that Shape, the founder and president of Stran Promotional Solutions, has more than 25 years of merchandising, marketing, branding, licensing and management experience.
Prior to forming Stran Promotional Solutions, he worked at Copithorne & Bellows Public Relations, a Porter Novelli company, as an account executive covering the technology industry.
The company said its goal is to “implement disruptive technology solutions, including distributed ledger technology,” in the loyalty industry.
“At this time, however, the company has not taken any steps toward developing any such technology and does not employ personnel with the relevant technology expertise,” the firm said.
Long Island Iced Tea, a beverage company, rebranded as a firm with blockchain in its name, announcing various plans that did not develop as initially described.