| NEWS 06.24.09 3:00 PM |
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In the News: Radio and TV Correspondents Love John Hodgeman, Sundance Still Bringing in Bucks for Utah
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John Hodgeman Wins Over Correspondents' Crowd: The White House Correspondents' Association Dinner may suffer from an annual inability to not offend some party with its divisive M.C.s, but that doesn't seem to be the case at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner. Host John Hodgeman—of Apple commercial and Daily Show fame—won over the audience at Friday's event by skirting an actual roast and opting to label Barack Obama the country's first geek president. Obama seemed to please the crowd with his own speech, and come Monday morning, nobody was licking wounded egos on cable news. [Wired]
Fests Like Sundance Still Boosting the Economy: Festival-town locals might bemoan the congestion and hullabaloo associated with their annual events, but they sure do benefit from them. Despite an 11 percent drop in attendance this year, a study by a group at the University of Utah calculated that the Sundance Film Festival brought in $92.1 million to the state this year. The numbers broke down to $34,579,698 on accommodations, $14,976,306 on food, $4,693,682 on transportation, and $4,015,870 on "discretionary items"—which we'll assume includes booze. [NYT]
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White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, Radio and Television Correspondents' Dinner, Barack Obama, John Hodgeman, Sundance, Apple, iPhone, Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson, Kate Moss |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.20.09 1:11 PM |
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Signs of the Times: Coachella Returns With a Layaway Plan and an iPhone App
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 | A fire-breathing serpent art installation at Coachella
Photo: BizBash |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
Here’s the thing about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival: It’s completely implausible. The Empire Polo Field venue in Indio is more than 100 miles from metropolitan Los Angeles—in a place where temperatures can soar above 100 degrees in April. Plus, at a time when other concerts are cutting prices to lure crowds, the cost of Coachella has not decreased: The three-day festival now costs $269, not including service fees, or $300 at the door, which means the cost for an average attendee’s weekend with lodging and food could easily hover around $1,000. And that’s in a recession.
Nevertheless, the tenth annual incarnation of the festival—which began on Friday with a sold-out program headlined by Paul McCartney that appealed to an older crowd on a mild-for-the-desert day and wrapped Sunday—drew thousands of its faithful into the desert, where acts including the Cure, the Killers, M.I.A., and Morrissey also got top billing among about 150 acts. To encourage attendance, festival organizer Goldenvoice—led by Paul Tollett—offered fans the opportunity to purchase their tickets on a layaway plan for the first time, paying either with 50 percent down or in three installments. Goldenvoice also offered camping passes on layaway. (Goldenvoice does not release official attendance numbers until after the show concludes and the official figure is tallied.)
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Coachella, Goldenvoice, Going Green, Global Inheritance, AT&T, iPhone |
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| NEWS 06.26.07 12:18 PM |
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Has Apple Created Too Much Buzz for the iPhone Launch?
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The long-anticipated release of Apple's iPhone occurs Friday night, and the hype, which Apple has been building for six months, is huge. Now some are wondering if the buzz is too big. Chris Hazelton, an analyst with market researcher IDC, told the Associated Press that it is "almost dangerous to the success of the device. God knows what's going to happen when the reviews come out."
Excitement began at the Macworld Conference and Expo in January, when Apple C.E.O. Steve Jobs unveiled the prototype to a standing ovation from thousands. A successful PR campaign fed a hungry media, and the now-settled trademark lawsuit with Cisco and consistent news releases have kept the phone in the public eye ever since.
Overnight lines are expected as Apple fans fight to get one of the "first-come, first-serve" iPhones, but Apple should also anticipate intense scrutiny as control of the conversation moves into the hands of reviewers. —Leslie Koren
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Apple, iPhone |
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