Comcast Acquires NBC Universal?
"COMCAST DENIES A DEAL IS DONE, BUT DOES NOT DENY TALKS." Are you really fucking kidding me, Sharon?So this is the way it's going to be? Semantics.
Everyone in the world with a blog could report anything (anything) and find a way to call it a true story.
My five-year-old daughter could tell me she knows where Iran is hiding a nuclear bomb and I could report: "A trusted source tells me that Iran is hiding a nuclear bomb in a closet in La Canada." I do consider my daughter to be "trusted". She's the "source". Iran would come out immediately and call the story "inaccurate" - but I wouldn't be a liar.
I'm stunned that nobody calls bullshit on a story that mentions quite a few details about a deal that is far from complete.
Yet nobody calls Sharon Waxman at TheWrap.com a liar. Semantics. Or... I suppose, because nobody really cares. TheWrap.com got everything it needed from this story. National exposure. Who cares if it's "inaccurate"? That's not the point. Comcast and GE get everything they want out of the story - a test of the market to see what the rumor, if true, would do to their stock prices.
Even so, it's absolutely ridiculous.
"Comcast is in talks to buy the entertainment giant NBC Universal from General Electric... ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGEABLE INDIVIDUALS." WTF does that mean? I consider myself to be a "knowledgeable individual" - does that mean I could have been a source even if I didn't know about the meeting?
"Deal points were hammered out...EXECUTIVES FAMILIAR WITH THE MEETING SAID."
Who are these "Knowledgeable Individuals" and "Executives Familiar With The Meeting" - and why the fuck are they talking to TheWrap.com?
Are "Sources" protected in online journalism? What kind of a crazy-fucking world is it when Nikki Finke is the reserved one in a big entertainment business story like this? Maybe it's because she didn't break the story and would love to see it discredited. Actually, not "maybe" - I'm sure she wants to see it discredited.
The biggest surprise of all is that nobody is calling bullshit or lies lies lies. In today's journalistic environment, that means the story is, most likely, true. And if I had the chance and "sources" to break this story, I would have done the same thing.
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About Jill Kennedy
Jill Kennedy is an Ivy League MBA / refugee from Lehman Brothers.
Manka Bros. (and the Manka Business Channel) hired her (for a very low sum) to cover the world of media (not the world of Medea) in her own words without corporate inteference.
About Medea
Medea was a real bitch from classical mythology - as most famously dramatized by Euripides.
She was a sorceress and wife of Jason, whom she assisted in obtaining the Golden Fleece. When Jason deserted her, she chopped up their children. One could say, Medea acted as rationally as a major media company.
Tips, Scoops and Smoking Guns
Excellent points, Jill. Agreed. last night there were nothing but rumurs, today there is nothing but denials and now there are no updates.
CNBC is now reporting that Comcast is negotiating to buy 51% of NBCU. I can't imagine that price would be $35 billion.
Waxman is getting all the heat she deserves. It should have been her day of glory and now it's a disaster. Huffington Post has come out with a story highlighting all the anger at her inaccurate reporting.
Once those sources really f-ed Sharon good.
Now it's all starting to make more sense. No thanks to Sharon Waxman and thewrap.com
GE will spin off NBC Universal and Comcast will buy 51% of the new company...
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33123120
Sharon "Retraction" Waxman is a fake, phony. This isn't the first inaccurate, unethical, one-sided, badly reported article (haha investigative story) she's published since launching thewrap in January in her efforts to get her site on the public's radar. She's defamed her competitors in an effort to crush their business, and she's been all over her publicist to land her interviews and articles wherein she can claim to be taking over the Internet as the #1 entertainment site in order to gain advertisers. MEMO TO SHARON: "90% of Hollywood hates your guts and are not, as you claim, flocking to your site. If they are watching, it's only in anticipation of your fall." I laughed out loud at her Ad Age interview yesterday in which she states she strives to be accurate, fair and have both sides supported. What a load of crap.
I seriously hope this puts a big fat spotlight on Ms. Waxman and becomes the beginning of the end for thewrap.com
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
Yes, Polprav. Go ahead and quote a post with link. Send it to me once it's up just so I can see if it's anything crazy or inappropriate.