Sunday, November 1, 2009

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Facebook Offices Unveiled (PHOTOS) Top
The brand new Facebook offices in Palo Alto, California got the designer treatment from Studio O+A architects. More on Facebook
 
Magda Abu-Fadil: Lebanon's LBC TV Rides Layoffs Wave Ahead of Murdoch Buy-in, Arab Media Market Expansion Top
Lebanese media group LBC (http://www.lbcgroup.tv/LBC/Templates/Index.aspx ) recently sliced 140 jobs, is trimming fat, and repositioning itself for a mega deal involving Rupert Murdoch's purchase of shares in Rotana Media (http://www.rotana.net/default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 ) whose benefactor owns a major stake in LBC operations. "It was long overdue. It was to have happened but was delayed by political events," explained LBC CEO Pierre El Daher of the decision to tighten the company's belt and lay off dozens of staffers, including well known news reporters and anchors. LBC CEO Pierre El Daher (Abu-Fadil) It's part of El Daher's belief that for Lebanese media to evolve and compete in a globalized world, their very culture has to change. "Media are still in transition. Costs have been going up and revenues going down," he said. "If they (media) don't do the exercise (of changing), they don't stand a chance." But El Daher said Lebanese broadcast outlets will not change in the foreseeable future, given their almost government media mentality. "Nobody is market-oriented, except LBC," he said. Enter the heavyweights. In 2007, LBCSAT (the LBC satellite channel mostly owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal) and Rotana, his other media baby, announced a merger that analysts said was a move signaling "the onset of a large scale media consolidation in the region and creation of a new Middle East media powerhouse." The other regional powerhouse is the Saudi-owned MBC TV group of news and entertainment channels. In 2003, El Daher started selling LBCSAT shares to Prince Alwaleed, a nephew of Saudi King Abdallah. While Rotana enjoyed high market share with its bouquet of entertainment satellite channels, it's also been a financial drag of late. The company has broken contracts with several Arab pop stars whose sales receipts haven't made the cut. So, the interlaced News Corp , Rotana, LBC ties have invariably raised eyebrows. The yet-to-be-announced complex arrangement, details of which have been leaked to various media, involves dumping unprofitable operations, synergy, and a strategy targeting growing markets in the Arab world. The Wall Street Journal reported that magnate Rupert Murdoch was buying a 20% stake in Prince Alwaleed's Rotana Media that hosts Fox channels in Saudi Arabia and owns rights to 2,000 Arabic movies and a large music library. In 1997, Prince Alwaleed's Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) plowed $400 million to acquire non-voting preferred shares, or 3% of Murdoch's News Corp's capital, and pumped an additional $200 million in 1999 to turn it into a 5.5% take in voting common stock to thwart a potential hostile bid from Liberty Media (http://www.libertymedia.com/), according to KHC. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal "KHC (http://www.kingdom.com.sa/en/mng_ExecChairman.asp) is currently exploring the potential for media ventures with News Corporation in the Middle East to capitalize on continuing liberalization of the entertainment industry in the region," an undated announcement on the KHC website said. In January, pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported that KHC was rebalancing and redirecting its investments after the company announced an $8.26 billion net loss in assets, including a large stake in Citigroup, for 2008's fourth quarter. Industry insiders who declined to be identified said Alwaleed's overall losses had adversely affected Rotana Media and trickled down to his LBC holdings, where the pinch has been nasty. "That's why he's been seeking another buyer for his LBC shares," the sources said, adding that any buyer would look at the bottom line and demand a return to profits. The LBC boss (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pierre-El-Daher/12577104225) is a sharp, American-educated visionary who introduced private TV to Lebanon in the 1980s, in line with international professional standards. LBC's newscasts, while facing stiff competition from a plethora of local and regional TV channels, have sizeable audiences. While wielding considerable power, El Daher said he stayed clear of the news, unless it's something major, adding that Lebanese journalists were not truly converged because the problem was at the leadership level. LBC Newsroom (Abu-Fadil) Lebanon boasts private TV channels that were launched during its 1975-90 civil war, mostly by militia leaders, politicians and religious groups. Only one station is state-owned and run. The go-getter El-Daher is a tough negotiator, but deceptively laid-back when he receives guests in sweat suits and sneakers at his spacious company office north of Beirut. The layoffs come at a bad time for Lebanese media, many of which have been going through major cutbacks attributed to slumping advertising revenues, the international recession, the ubiquitous Internet, and, arcane internal Lebanese politics. "When you're doing internal restructuring, you don't sack experienced and competent people," said a statement by dismissed staffers, arguing that politics was behind their layoffs. Denise Rahme Fakhri, a key news reporter at LBC, said she was targeted because of her political leanings - a reference to her support for the then outlawed Lebanese Forces (LF) militia that has since been mainstreamed and has members in Lebanon's parliament. She's taken her case to court. Denise Rahme Fakhri (Assafir) Not so, according to El Daher. "The head count (of laid off workers) was based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We trimmed where there was fat." Consulting firm Booz-Allen Hamilton (http://www.boozallen.com/about) was brought in this year to help advise LBC on the restructuring. But the process had already begun in 2005, when LBC's internal strategy team developed rough guidelines on which the downsizing was based, El Daher said. Critics claim the station was being used as a platform to promote LF (http://www.lebanese-forces.org/) politics. But staffers of different political leanings were also let go in the recent shakeup. LBC TV logo LBC, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation founded by the LF during Lebanon's 15-year civil war, is considered the country's leading TV group of terrestrial and satellite channels. Its footprint covers the globe, catering to millions of Lebanese expatriates and Arabs with a mix of popular entertainment, public affairs and news shows. It's a major draw for advertising revenue from the oil-rich Arab Gulf region. But setbacks, including a tug-of-war fought in court between El Daher and LF leader Samir Geagea over control of the company, notably the terrestrial channel, have hurt. Geagea, jailed on criminal charges and later released, has been trying to wrest the company back from El Daher, whose primary interest is running a profitable, non-partisan operation. Geagea claims he handed control to El Daher after his incarceration in 1994 but that the latter veered it off its intended course. Their legal battle has been public and debilitating. A more recent mishap was the airing of a controversial prime time show, Bold Red Line , featuring a Saudi man boasting on camera of his sexual escapades from his ultraconservative homeland where such public behavior is anathema. Bold Red Line talk show host Malek Maktabi (Abu-Fadil) The show's ratings skyrocketed but the man was dragged to court, LBC's offices in Saudi Arabia were shut, the show was suspended for four months, and ad revenues took a direct hit. Asked about the resultant losses from Saudi Arabia and their impact on LBC finances, El Daher said: "During August and September, ad revenue did not come as expected. We're now talking again with advertisers." Which means the road ahead is still rocky for all concerned. On where he sees himself five years from now, El Daher said: "We don't know yet where the business model will stabilize." More on Saudi Arabia
 
Can Citigroup Carry Its Own Weight? Top
OVER the past 80 years, the United States government has engineered not one, not two, not three, but at least four rescues of the institution now known as Citigroup. In previous instances, the bank came back from the crisis and prospered. Will Citigroup rise again from its recent near-death experience? More on Banks
 
Abdullah Withdraws From Afghan Election Top
President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced that he is withdrawing from the poll. More on Afghan Election
 
Obama's Weekend Wear: When The President Takes His Tie Off...Which Style Do You Prefer? (PHOTOS, POLL) Top
Between Barack Obama's tailored power suits and his dorky dad style lies sartorial middle ground: the president's working weekend wear. Whether he's headed for Camp David, talking on the phone, or giving an interview, Obama sticks to his Saturday/Sunday uniform: khakis, a buttoned-down or polo shirt, a digital watch, a brown belt and a relaxed smile. Take a look at his leisurely threads: What do you think? Who Is The Ultimate Game Changer In Style? VOTE NOW! And follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook while you're at it. More on Barack Obama
 
David Axelrod On H1N1 Vaccines: 'We Overpromised' Top
David Axelrod, President Obama's senior adviser, says the administration based its predictions about how many doses of the H1N1 vaccine would be available by mid-October on bad information. More on Swine Flu
 
Manu Ginobili Catches Bat (VIDEO): Spurs Player Swats Bat, Captures Animal On Basketball Court Top
SAN ANTONIO (AP)--The Spurs' Manu Ginobili showed off his quick hands-- capturing a bat. "That was amazing," teammate Tony Parker said after the San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 113-94 on Saturday night. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. ... He's always doing crazy stuff." Late in the first period a bat swooped into the AT&T Center and descended onto the court. Players scattered and officials stopped play. The bat circled and left only to return--briefly. That's when Ginobili performed his Halloween trick, swatting the bat out of the air with a bare hand. He then carried the creature off the court to thunderous cheers. As the theme song to "Batman" played, a few Sacramento players applauded, too. A trainer emerged to squirt sanitizer on Ginobilil's hand. "When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," Ginobili said. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal." On the court, Parker led the Spurs with 24 points and seven assists, and Ginobili scored 13 points in a reserve role. He ended the first period with a driving layup at the buzzer. Richard Jefferson added 21 points for San Antonio. San Antonio beat Sacramento 113-94. The only performance anyone wanted to talk about was Ginobili's. WATCH: More on NBA
 
The Secrets To Goldman Sachs' Success: Contrary Bets, Predatory Lending, Government Connections, Offshore Tax Havens Top
WASHINGTON -- In 2006 and 2007, Goldman Sachs Group peddled more than $40 billion in securities backed by at least 200,000 risky home mortgages, but never told the buyers it was secretly betting that a sharp drop in U.S. housing prices would send the value of those securities plummeting. More on Banks
 
Report: More Americans Gaining Weight, Eating Poorly During Recession Top
In an online survey this summer of 1,200 people about food affordability, conducted by food-industry research firm Technomic, 70% of respondents said healthier foods are increasingly difficult to afford. More on Food
 
Ethan Hawke Praises Madonna For Supporting Gypsies Top
BUCHAREST, Romania — Actor Ethan Hawke on Saturday praised Madonna for her boldness in speaking out against discrimination against Gypsies, words that provoked boos from thousands of fans at her concert in Romania. Hawke, visiting Romania to help promote his mother's charity supporting education for Gypsy children, placed the pop superstar alongside Bob Marley and John Lennon as part of a tradition of artists speaking out against racism. "She transcended being a pop star," he told reporters. "She drew international attention and shone the spotlight on a level of racism and the need for greater education," Hawke said. At an August concert in Bucharest on her "Sticky & Sweet" tour, Madonna called for an end to widespread discrimination against Eastern Europe's Gypsies, also known as Roma. Thousands of fans responded by booing her. "I don't have an agenda, Madonna doesn't have an agenda. We aren't politicians," Hawke said. Hawke, 38, was to speak later Saturday at the Ovidiu Rom charity Halloween ball. He and his mother, Leslie Hawke, the charity's president, were already dressed in costume: the actor in top hat and tails and his mother in a Japanese-style kimono, black wig and geisha-like makeup. A pair of Madonna's Christian Dior shoes with autographed skyscraper gold heels are to be raffled off at the ball, which is to be held in the giant palace of the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Among the other prizes is a gold chain provided by actress Vanessa Redgrave. Hawke has been coming to Romania to support his mother's work since 2000, he said. "I feel I can do something," he told reporters, "instead of being part of the problem." Romania has the largest number of Roma in Europe, numbering officially half a million, but whose population is believed to be as high as 2 million. The European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency has said Gypsies face "overt discrimination" in housing, health care and education. Romania, home to the Dracula legend, may have influenced two-time Academy Award nominee Hawke's latest movie, "Daybreakers," in which he plays a researcher in the year 2019 facing a plague that has transformed the world's population into vampires. The movie comes out in 2010. Prince Vlad the Impaler, the Romanian warlord whose cruelty inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula" has spawned dozens of Hollywood movies about vampires in the Transylvania region. More on Madonna
 
Madonna Leaves Malawi After A Week Top
LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna has left Malawi after a nearly weeklong visit with her family, airport and charity officials said Saturday. Officials said Madonna flew out of the southern African country on Friday. The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished country on Sunday accompanied by her four children – daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David. Mercy and David were adopted from Malawi. While in Malawi, she broke ground for her $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls and visited the orphanage that cared for her son David before she adopted him. Madonna's Raising Malawi, a charity founded in 2006 when she first visited the country, helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi's orphans. Malawi, a nation of 12 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 500,000 children have lost a parent to AIDS. More on Madonna
 
FBI Watch List Includes 400,000 People Top
During a 12-month period ended in March this year, for example, the U.S. intelligence community suggested on a daily basis that 1,600 people qualified for the list because they presented a "reasonable suspicion," according to data... More on Terrorism
 
Supreme Court To Hear Case About Excessive Pay; Parallels Seen In Executive Compensation Top
The Supreme Court this week will hear a case that raises bedrock questions about the ability of the market to set "reasonable" corporate compensation, and experts say its outcome could hold important clues about the judiciary's view of extraordinary interventions in the economy by the executive branch and Congress. More on Supreme Court
 

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