May 15, 2015: How Cannes Enforced Its Selfie Ban, Blog Calls Out All-Male Panels at Events, Stephanopoulos Will Not Moderate G.O.P. Debate

1. HOW CANNES ENFORCED ITS SELFIE BAN: A new trend at exclusive events, from the Met Gala to the Cannes Film Festival, is to ban selfies. Here’s how Cannes, which opened Wednesday night, enforced its ban on red-carpet selfies. Vanity Fair: “Whenever guests withdrew their smart phones, men in black tie placed their gloved hand on the offender’s elbow, smiled, and offered a kind, 'S'il vous plaît.' Please, they said, leaving the French words for 'put your hideous vanity device away' unspoken. Although the Cannes Film Festival’s new protocol will not curb modern culture’s selfie-craving ways, it is refreshing to see someone trying to preserve red-carpet gentility and, even better, the old-school celebrity system.” http://vnty.fr/1Forl6A

2. BLOG CALLS OUT ALL-MALE PANELS AT EVENTS: Conferences that lack gender diversity on their panels are being called out in a Tumblr blog called “Congrats, You Have an All Male Panel!” It posts event photos, posters, and rosters that feature men only. Mashable: “Each example comes with a faux ‘stamp’ of approval from the apparent patron saint of all-male gatherings: the actor David Hasselhoff.  It's a joke that plays well, but becomes less funny the more you scroll through the many examples of events where women weren't included as speakers or presenters at all, or represented a small fraction of the participants.” http://on.mash.to/1A5XEVw

3. STEPHANOPOULOS WILL NOT MODERATE G.O.P. DEBATE: George Stephanopoulos of ABC News will step down as moderator of a planned Republican presidential debate after he revealed three donations to the Clinton Foundation in recent years. Politico: The ‘Good Morning America’ co-anchor and host of ‘This Week’ said that he would not moderate ABC's GOP debate, which is scheduled to take place in February in New Hampshire. Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that Stephanopoulos should be prohibited from moderating any debates during the 2016 presidential campaign.” http://politi.co/1cAQXQs

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  The Taste of Somerville will take place on June 3, offering samples from some 60 local restaurants and breweries.

CHICAGO:  Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago will host its annual “Veterans in Need” dinner at Union League Club on May 29.

LOS ANGELES:  BET Networks and AEG have announced additions to the BET Experience at L.A. Live, slated for June 25-28. New announcements include a star-packed lineup for the Sprite celebrity basketball game (Snoop Dogg, Nick Cannon) as well as BETX Stage appearances.

B. Riley & Company and the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation co-hosted the sixth annual “Big Fighters, Big Cause” charity boxing night on Wednesday at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Center.

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  “Do at the Zoo,” the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society’s annual spring fund-raiser, raised a $121,000.

NEW YORK:  The fourth annual “New York Ideas,” presented by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute, takes place Wednesday at Center548. Among the speakers are New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, Fun Home’s Alison Bechdel, Tinder Founder Sean Rad, HBO’s Sheila Nevins, and Kickstarter C.E.O. Yancey Strickler.

AMNY: “The site for the New York Comic Con tickets experienced severe technical difficulties during the first day of sales for the show that takes place between Oct. 8-11 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. ReedPop, which organizes the annual event, said it was working with the ticketing vendor Show Clix, to get the system back in order.” http://bit.ly/1K9ZvvX

Local event listings from Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO:  The Global Business Travel Association announced today that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will be a featured speaker at its GBTA Convention, which takes place July 25-29 at the Orange County Convention Center.

TORONTO:  Madison House Inc., a booking and management company, has opened a new office in Toronto. The company has a roster of some 140 musical acts.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Actor Gary Sinise will receive the 2015 Service to America Leadership Award from the NAB Education Foundation for his ongoing commitment to raising awareness and support for veterans. Sinise will receive the award at the foundation’s Celebration of Service to America Gala on June 16 at the National Building Museum.

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With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Anna Sekula in New York.

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