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| Banksy's latest prank on New York art world hangs in thrift shop Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:06 PM PDT  By Elizabeth Dilts NEW YORK (Reuters) - The renegade graffiti artist Banksy snubbed the art world again on Tuesday when he dropped off one of his paintings at a New York City thrift store. The Housing Works thrift store, part of a chain that sells donated knickknacks to fund charities for AIDS and the homeless, began auctioning the Banksy original for $74,000 on Tuesday. "It could go for as high as a million dollars or even higher because there's so much buzz about," said Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director at the art appraisal firm Winston Art Group. The auction ends Thursday night and Von Habsburg, who has a client that collects Banksy works, said she expects the painting to sell for $600,000 to $1 million. Full Story | Top |
| FT Chief Ridding: no plans to kill its pink pages Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 01:37 PM PDT By Jennifer Saba NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Financial Times plans to retain its famously salmon-hued print edition even as it aggressively ramps up digital distribution, its chief executive said in an interview. FT Group CEO John Ridding said a "digital first" strategy that will eliminate the paper's current regional editions in favor of a single global one does not sound a death knell for the physical newspaper. "The irony is the right print format has a very good future," Ridding said on Thursday. "The (digital first strategy) is absolutely not a step toward ending the print edition." The FT Group is paring back its portfolio as parent Pearson Plc shakes up its management and restructures. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors Brooks, Coulson had affair, British hacking trial told Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:24 PM PDT By Kate Holton and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, former editors of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid, had a six-year affair at the time their reporters hacked phone messages of politicians and royalty, a London court heard on Thursday. Revealing their close ties, prosecutor Andrew Edis said the intimacy of their relationship indicated both knew as much as the other about the criminal activities of senior journalists on the paper. Brooks and Coulson are on trial accused of conspiring to hack into phones of high-profile public figures or those close to them and also making illegal payments to public officials, charges they deny. What effect did it have?" Edis told the court. Full Story | Top |
| 'After Midnight' brings music of legendary Cotton Club to Broadway Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:55 AM PDT By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - "After Midnight," a Broadway musical featuring original arrangements by jazz great Duke Ellington, melds classic songs from the 1920s and 30s with dance to recreate Harlem's Golden Age and the legendary Cotton Club. The show, which includes a big band of 17 musicians chosen by Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, 25 dancers and singers and rotating guest stars, opens on Sunday. It joins a list of Broadway productions showcasing music - from Motown hits and Beatles classics to 1960s tunes by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and rock'n'roll legend Janis Joplin. "Beautiful," a musical about singer-songwriter Carole King, will open early in 2014 and "The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream," a hybrid concert/Broadway show featuring the '60s group and hits such as "Groovin' and "It's a Beautiful Morning," will return for a limited run later this year. Full Story | Top |
| Pearlstine returns to Time Inc to lead reorganization Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:04 AM PDT Norman Pearlstine is leaving Bloomberg LP to return to Time Inc in the newly created position of executive vice president and chief content officer as the magazine publisher moves to split with Time Warner Inc. The return of Pearlstine to Time Inc is a homecoming for the man who was the company's editor-in-chief from 1994 through 2005. The move is also part of a broader push at the publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time, as it creates a new structure under the leadership of CEO Joe Ripp. Martha Nelson, who currently serves that role, is leaving the company. "Time Inc decentralized to make sure the editors and content creators are very close to the business," Ripp said. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors Brooks and Coulson had affair during hacking period: court Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:49 AM PDT Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, two former editors of Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, were having an affair at the time their reporters are accused of hacking into phones, a court heard on Thursday. Prosecutor Andrew Edis said the closeness of their relationship showed that both knew as much as each other how staff at the tabloid were operating. "What Mr Coulson knew, Mrs Brooks knew too. What Mrs Brooks knew, Mr Coulson knew too," Edis told the court. Full Story | Top |
| Time Warner Cable loses subscribers, says open to deals Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:45 AM PDT  Time Warner Cable Inc reported a steep decline in video and Internet customers, blaming a month-long blackout of No. 1 U.S. broadcaster CBS Corp and said it was open to consolidation if it would make money for shareholders. Merger speculation boosted shares 2.2 percent and overshadowed third-quarter results which one analyst described as "horrible." On his last conference call before he retires, Chief Executive Glenn Britt addressed deal talk that has been swirling in recent months. Britt said "we are focused on making money for you (shareholders), rather than just on some fuzzy notion of industry consolidation." Sources have told Reuters that cable billionaire John Malone has approached Time Warner Cable about a full takeover through an investment in Charter Communications Inc, but has been rebuffed so far. Time Warner Cable management has rejected his overtures because they viewed a deal as not benefiting shareholders, Reuters has previously reported. Full Story | Top |
| New York Times revenue rises on subscriptions Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:59 AM PDT  New York Times Co reported higher third-quarter revenue on Thursday after more readers paid for its flagship newspaper and its digital products. "Circulation is the star performer," said Ed Atornio, an analyst with Benchmark Co. Shares of New York Times Co rose 2 percent to $14.02 in morning trade. Circulation revenue climbed almost 5 percent and accounted for 56 percent of total revenue. Total revenue was up almost 2 percent to $361.7 million but fell short of analysts' average forecast of $417.3 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Advertising revenue declines moderated at the New York Times newspaper, down 2 percent to $138 million, but a persistent slump clings to the industry. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch staff turned to hacking in 'dog-eat-dog' world, court hears Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 05:29 AM PDT By Kate Holton and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Reporters on Rupert Murdoch's News of the World repeatedly hacked the phones of senior politicians and even rival journalists in a desperate bid to get ahead on salacious front-page stories, a London court heard on Thursday. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, two of Britain's most high profile former newspaper editors, are on trial with six others accused of conspiring to intercept voicemail messages and make illegal payments to find exclusives when they ran the now defunct Sunday tabloid and its daily sister tabloid, the Sun. "In the dog-eat-dog world of journalism, in this frenzy to get this huge story, and to try and get something better or at least as good as what everyone else has got, that is what you do if you're Ian Edmondson," said prosecutor Andrew Edis. "You hack the competition." Edmondson, one of those on trial, ran the news gathering desk at the tabloid when Coulson, later Prime Minister David Cameron's media chief, was the editor. Full Story | Top |
| Buddy comedy 'Last Vegas' hits jackpot with senior star wattage Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By Mary Milliken LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman has a conundrum at 76 years of age: he gets plenty of job offers, but the roles tend to be serious and they only beget more serious roles. "I would do anything that got me out of gravitas," said the actor, who has played the likes of a prison inmate in 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption" and Nelson Mandela in 2009's "Invictus" over a prolific career. So when the script for senior buddy comedy "Last Vegas" rolled his way, Freeman snapped it up. And so did three more of Hollywood's top actors - Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas and Kevin Kline - in what turned out to be an embarrassment of casting riches for a film of somewhat modest means. Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain police close art display on pro-democracy uprising Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  Bahraini authorities have shut and dismantled an exhibition on anti-government protests staged by the main Shi'ite opposition group al-Wefaq, saying it violates the law and incites hatred. Unrest has gripped Bahrain, a Western ally which hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, since the 2011 uprising led by majority Shi'ites demanding reforms and more share in running the kingdom ruled by the Sunni Muslim al-Khalifa dynasty. The "Museum of the Revolution" exhibition was closed on Wednesday two days after al-Wefaq opened it at one of its offices, displaying samples of used riot-control munitions, paintings and artifacts depicting the pro-democracy protests. A life-size statue of an armed police officer, personal belongings of protesters killed by security forces and tear gas canisters used at the time were also on display. Full Story | Top |
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