Salon.com > Daniel D'Addario

Fake-ish singer shills for fake college

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 22:08:00 +0000

We're nearing the anniversary mark for last winter's great authenticity wars over the life and work of Lana Del Rey. For those who've forgotten, Del Rey is a singer, styled to seem whatever "indie" means in the early 2010s, who burst onto the scene with a "Saturday Night Live" performance last January so wan and disoriented that it prompted endless and wearying debate over whether this person could possibly be putting her audience on. Everything from her possibly medically enhanced face to her authorship of her music came in for questioning online, as documented by Sasha Frere-Jones at the New Yorker. The performance also got her the sort of mainstream attention that viral Internet fame hadn't quite merited. NBC anchor Brian Williams knew who she was — and couldn't stand her!

Al Jazeera different than Fox?

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Qatari network Al Jazeera’s purchase of Al Gore’s Current news channel, revealed yesterday, has already hit a snag: Time Warner Cable promptly dropped Current, denying the forthcoming Al Jazeera America access to Time Warner subscribers.

Though the Time Warner decision had reportedly been threatened due to Current’s low ratings, there’s no denying that at least some segment of the U.S. viewing public has long harbored antipathy toward Al Jazeera. An editorial published today by Fox News runs through the talking points about the network it calls “anti-American terror mouthpiece Al Jazeera.” Among them: “Al Jazeera, known as the network of the Arab Street, is also known for taking anti-American, anti-Israel and pro-terror positions.”

Hillary, coming to a theater near you?

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:49:00 +0000

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to recuperate from a blood clot, there’s some good news for her — presuming she has some Hollywood aspirations. Politico reports today on the screenplay "Rodham," one that ranked on last year’s Black List poll of Hollywood types on the best unproduced scripts.

While there’s no guarantee that "Rodham" will be made (and while its existence isn’t exactly new — Slate reported on Young Il Kim’s screenplay last month), the Politico brief is evidence of a level of public interest in Secretary Clinton that's high even by the usual standard.