Obscure Box

A survey found its way to my inbox that makes interesting reading. “How the Press Uses and Values Public Relations and Other Media Resources” is the joint work of the George Washington University in the US and a company called Cision. The Swedish-based company company  (no idea how to pronounce its name) describes itself as [...]

Nice to see Tom Cruise actually sitting on a sofa this time as he chats with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey. But it is not Cruise’s antics that are a cause for concern. It’s Oprah. She’s inventing words as she chats with the actor. The interview was recorded in May 2008 at Cruise’s home [...]

The US media is working itself up over the appointment of Australian actor Hugh Jackman as host of next year’s Oscars. One way is even suggesting smelling salts be issued to all in the audience in case he’s a bore. The American awards ceremony hasn’t done too well of late with ratings on the slide. [...]

Barack Obama is not the first black president of the United States, as has been widely misreported by the world’s media. The president has been black before. Many times in fact. Perhaps the most recent appointment was actor Dennis Haysbert who played the black President David Palmer in the long-running television series 24. “If anything, [...]

An American TV news anchor is facing a possible jail term over allegations he hacked into a co-anchor’s e-mail account. Side by side the pair sat in front of cameras for the evening news in Philadelphia no doubt trading all the usual smiles and frowns as the various TV reports were broadcast. Now it’s claimed [...]