Clay Aiken & media games
Clay did an interview with Newsweek apparently to promote his upcoming role in Spamalot. According to Popdirt.com Clay blasted the reporter while Popcrunch.com says he walked out. Neither site was there so not only do they not know the facts, they are doing some creative editing with the original article. Newsweek's reporter Ramin Setoodeh wrote "Clay Aiken is sore from rehearsing for 'Spamalot,' and now he's sore at us."
Celebrity bloggers are now adding their own spin by pulling out a few excerpts of the interview excerpts. One says he's feisty, another says he's a diva. The games these media wannabees play would be funny if they weren't so blatantly biased. But then, they are very aware that using the name Clay Aiken gets them hits and hits translate to money in their pockets. So they play their games.
There have been some very good interviews with Clay the past few weeks that were done with journalists that have integrity and take their jobs seriously. Too bad the sensationalist tabloid type journalists and gossip bloggers don't see any thing worthwhile in practicing serious journalism and reporting real news.
ETA: 01/14/08
I'm thrilled to see that the legitimate media, Associated Press, CNN, etc. are reporting on Clay's Spamalot roll and have left the trash out of their stories.
Celebrity bloggers are now adding their own spin by pulling out a few excerpts of the interview excerpts. One says he's feisty, another says he's a diva. The games these media wannabees play would be funny if they weren't so blatantly biased. But then, they are very aware that using the name Clay Aiken gets them hits and hits translate to money in their pockets. So they play their games.
There have been some very good interviews with Clay the past few weeks that were done with journalists that have integrity and take their jobs seriously. Too bad the sensationalist tabloid type journalists and gossip bloggers don't see any thing worthwhile in practicing serious journalism and reporting real news.
ETA: 01/14/08
I'm thrilled to see that the legitimate media, Associated Press, CNN, etc. are reporting on Clay's Spamalot roll and have left the trash out of their stories.
Labels: Clay Aiken, gossip, Newsweek, tabloids
posted by Truth Rules | 1:33 PM
6 Comments:
Considering the qualifications this Newsweek reporter seems to have I have to wonder what happened to him. Here's a similar interview he did with Kevin Spacey.
"April 16, 2007 issue - Q&A: Kevin Spacey
Spacey opens on Broadway this week in "A Moon for the Misbegotten." He spoke to Ramin Setoodeh.
Hello. This is Ramin Setoodeh from NEWSWEEK.
Hey. It’s Kevin Spacey from "A Moon for the Misbegotten." If you get a title, I figure I could get one.
I saw the play when it was in London. The performances are excellent.
I think it’s grown in the time off. It’s been a pleasure, because New York audiences have been fantastically welcoming.
Since you’re onstage every night, when do you have time to watch "American Idol"?
What the f— kind of question are you asking? What kind of column is this?
I sent some examples. Didn’t they get to you?
No, obviously they didn’t.
Do movie stars have to dip into their savings to do Broadway?
I don’t want to talk about my finances with you. I feel like I’ve done all the silly questions I can do this morning. Asking me if I want to watch "American Idol" does seem to go down the road of a different interview than I thought it was going to be.
Why don’t you pick a topic?
The upside to doing theater is you create a family. You have a shape, you have a foundation, you have a trust. It’s a little bit like—do you play sports?
Only Ping-Pong.
Ping-Pong is one of the greatest games ever! I’m a Ping-Pong nut.
Do you have time to play?
Constantly. I have a Ping-Pong table in my apartment in London. I love Ping-Pong.
Do you play alone?
No, no. I’ve got friends to play.
They come over just to play Ping-Pong?
Well, not just to play Ping-Pong. I have tournaments. Whenever I’m on location, that’s the one thing I always want, a Ping-Pong table. Here’s my point. Why is Ping-Pong so much fun? It doesn’t matter the rules are the same, it’s always a different game. That’s what doing a play is like. "
Sadly I think this reporter is representative of what is wrong with the media in today's society. A lot of them don't care about the person they are interviewing they only care about the 'story' and the more sensational the better because it garners more attention....and that in turn reflects on society because if those in society didn't read or show an interest in the trash, it wouldn't get produced. I'm thrilled to see celebrities fighting back for their right to not be dumped on. I wish more of them would take a stand such as Clay did with Ramin Dumbwit.
Like exploiting Britney Spears' problems for their own gain. Last year it was Anna Nichol Smith. A sad commentary on our media.
The media have long been infiltrated by many who have an agenda, IMO.
The so-called "entertainment" shows -- Inside Edition, ET and their ilk -- and the everpresent tabloid rags learned early on that crossing the line to report all the lurid, tittilating trash they could discover/manufacture garnered big bucks, while American society gradually lost its moral compass along the way. Now we have TMZ and Prickez Hilton. It's only going to get worse, I fear.
This "reporter", a Stanford grad ferchrissakes, is but another brick (read: prick) in the wall of shameless attention-mongers, journalism be damned.
Apparently, employing ethics in the field of journalism is just too freakin' hard.
Congratulations, Clay Aiken, for standing tall, standing up to an obvious baiter, and standing up for the right to privacy for all.
I respect you more than ever.
Maybe if more artists/entertainers took this stand, maybe just maybe these so called journalists would start doing their research and stop doing the copy/paste that seem to dominate their articles. They may then have something that is worth reading.
More than likely this "writer" wanted to sensationalize with Clay and get the "story". Clay was very savy and didn't play his game.
Good for Clay!
Clay Aiken has proven how stupid these types of reporters are and what tabloid type media will do when they get hold of stuff like this. It's an expose' if you ask me!
I would love to see the " View Girls" give him a platform to talk about how stupid these idiots really are!
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