April 6, 2016: AOL to Open NewFront to the Public, Documentary Film Festivals Feel Pressure to Curate Accurate Films, Twitter Scores N.F.L. Streaming Rights

1. AOL TO OPEN NEWFRONT TO THE PUBLIC: AOL will open its NewFront to consumers for the first time this year with an event called "Access," which will bring brand activations and experiences to South Street Seaport in New York. According to AOL's chief marketing officer Allie Kline, the event will be designed to imitate how people consume content. Advertising Age: "Instead of a one-size-fits-all presentation, attendees will receive a curated experience based on their audience targets and interest, Ms. Kline said. So if you are a technology brand, for example, you may want to spend more time at AOL's technology and autos activation, where you will be able to view content, meet talent, and interact directly with brands like TechCrunch and Egadget. AOL will feature spaces dedicated to news, technology and autos, entertainment, sports, and music. Within each space, there will be anywhere from three to six brands showcasing their content." http://bit.ly/1XeYZ3c

2. DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVALS FEEL PRESSURE TO CURATE ACCURATE FILMS: The recent removal of the anti-vaccine documentary Vaxxed from the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival has highlighted the anxiety many festival programmers feel in terms of making sure they include quality yet truthful documentary films in a festival lineup. Toronto International Film Festival documentary programmer Thom Powers notes that more programmers worry about what they present as documentaries get more ambitious. The New York Times: “But filmmakers and programmers are also split about what their responsibilities are, and how active they should be in policing what is onscreen. Should they be fact checkers? And should there be guidelines about how much of a film must be verifiable? These questions are not necessarily new, said Patricia Aufderheide, a professor at the Center for Media & Social Impact at American University, who has studied documentaries. But with the expansion of the field and a growing number of outlets for programming, from streaming services to small festivals, ‘the volume is way up,’ she said. … Though most organizers say festivals do not have the resources or the mission to fully investigate everything, Mr. Powers does consider, for example, whether films have all the legal rights to their material.” http://nyti.ms/22bYtEq

3. TWITTER SCORES N.F.L. STREAMING RIGHTS: Twitter has won a deal to stream 10 Thursday-night National Football League games this year. The move, which will cost the company around $10 million, is a content expansion for the social media outlet and is expected to attract new users. Bloomberg: "Twitter will probably package the games alongside a live feed of curated tweets and stream all of it on its site and mobile app … Other websites will also be able to embed Twitter’s live stream, which gives the company and the N.F.L. a much wider digital reach than the 66 million Americans who currently use the service. They will also be broadcast on NBC, CBS and the NFL Network, the N.F.L. said in a statement Tuesday. … 'We did not take the highest bidder on the table,' said Brian Rolapp, the N.F.L.’s executive vice president of media, of the Twitter deal. 'The platform is built around live events already. We want to see how they use the unique platform, and syndicated tweets all over the Internet is going to be interesting.'" http://bloom.bg/25Iw4uf

* LOCAL NEWS *

BOSTON:  The Boston Marathon will take place on April 18.

LAS VEGAS:  Wynn Las Vegas’ Encore Beach Club and XS Nightclub have announced the final dates of Avicii’s residency, which runs through June.

LOS ANGELES:  The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles announced it will honor Ang Lee at the Britannia Awards on October 28 at the Beverly Hilton.

Pechanga Resort & Casino has appointed John Flaherty as vice president of facilities and engineering.

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

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  The third annual ColorComm conference—a business conference and retreat for women of color in communications—will be held July 20-22 at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne. Speakers include Arianna Huffington; Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications; and Monica Talan, executive vice president of corporate communications and public relations for Univision.

NEW YORK:  The 7th annual New York City Independent Film Festival will take place April 27-May 1.

Ariana Grande will perform at the 10th annual Delete Blood Cancer DKMS Gala on May 5 at Cipriani Wall Street.

The 34th annual Fred & Adele Astaire Awards will take place May 16 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. The event will honor Judith Jamison, artistic director emerita at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Nigel Lythgoe, creator and executive producer of So You Think You Can Dance.

Baby Buggy, a nonprofit that combats family poverty, has changed its name to Good+ Foundation.

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

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Orlando's first-ever drone festival, Drones on the Horizon, will take place April 9 at the Central Florida Fairground. Orlando Business Journal: http://bit.ly/25JtOmt

PHILADELPHIA:  Philadelphia will throw a parade in Center City for N.C.A.A. Championship winner Villanova on April 8. The parade will end with a rally at Dillworth Park. Philadelphia magazine: http://bit.ly/238JwbZ

SAN FRANCISCO:  Wesburger N’ More opens today in the Mission District. The venue will serve burgers, fried chicken, tots, and queso.

TORONTO:  Aveda will host its annual Walk for Water on April 25. The event raises funds for WaterAid.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Lansdowne Resort and Spa has a new managing director, Michael Stephens. The property, located in Leesburg, Virginia, is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation.

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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