Broadcasters around the world are shifting into their highest gear to cover Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding Friday.

LONDON -- As the big day draws near, it's not just the bride who may be feeling a little anxious.

With predictions are that it will draw the biggest audience in television history, broadcasters around the world are shifting into their highest gear for the royal wedding, and for the next few days London will become the focus of the world.

"Yes, we're moving to London. Where else would you be?" says Chris Hampson, NBC News' director of international news. "Everybody wants to be here. You can't sit in New York and tell this story. You have to be right in the thick of it."

And the thick of it is exactly where the world's biggest media organizations will be. Take a stroll down London's Mall toward Buckingham Palace, and the bland, tree-lined vista used mainly for bypassing the traffic chaos of Piccadilly has been transformed into a hive of pre-ceremony activity.

The traffic has been shut off, and behind the milling tourists and Japanese camera crews, two huge temporary media studios have been erected opposite either flank of the Queen's London residence. This media zone in Canada Gate will host more than 40 stand-alone studios with full play-out facilities for broadcasters including the BBC, ABC, Sky News, NBC, CBS and Al Jazeera English.

It is just part of a network of locations including Westminster Abbey, the Mall and Trafalgar Square that are host to a raft of specially erected broadcast locations.

"It's our biggest international technical build-out ever," said Hampson, who added that NBC and its sister networks including MSNBC and Telemundo, E! and Bravo began planning wedding coverage even before the royal engagement was announced in November. "We began to focus very early and had a team in London scouting locations and planning for months."

The result is a series of prime locations, including a prestige slot beneath Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square from which NBC will broadcast a special edition of Today on Friday kicking off at 4 am EST as well as four studios in the media village at Buckingham Palace.

It is also bringing over a host of anchors including Meredith Vieira, Matt Lauer, Natalie Morales and Al Roker.

NBC is far from alone in pulling out all the stops; ABC will have live coverage of the ceremony from London anchored by Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters, and the network will air a special edition of Good Morning America from London.

CBS is sending Katie Couric on what could be her swan song for the network. Couric will lead the main wedding coverage and anchor an hourlong news special at 8 p.m. Friday.

CNN will use its London squad as well getting as an insider's take from Piers Morgan, while Fox News is sending over around 50 staff including Shepard Smith and Martha Macullum.

Fox will piggyback on the feed from its sister U.K. network Sky News, which, like all the British broadcasters, is planning wall-to-wall coverage of the event.

Click here to read the entire article: The WEDDING

Whoopi Goldberg slams New York Times for Oscar 'snub'

Academy Awards veteran ... Whoopi Goldberg has presented the Oscars four times. Photograph: WireImage.com

By Ben Childs

guardian.co.uk

Actor furious over article on black Academy Award winners that neglected to mention her 1991 prize for best supporting actress

Hell hath no fury like an Oscar winner scorned. The actor Whoopi Goldberg has attacked the New York Times for failing to mention her in an article about black Academy Award winners.

Last week's extended feature by Manohla Dargis and AO Scott concerned the lack of racial diversity among this year's Oscar nominees in comparison to previous years. It mentioned past winners such as Halle Berry and Denzel Washington, who won the best actress and best actor gongs in 2002, as well as figures such as Hattie McDaniel, awarded best supporting actress in 1940 for her role as Mammy in Gone With the Wind.

There were also mentions for Jamie Foxx and Forest Whitaker, who best actor in 2005 and 2007 respectively, as well as Morgan Freeman (best supporting actor in 2005), Jennifer Hudson and Mo'Nique (best supporting actresses in 2007 and 2010). But there was no mention of Goldberg's win in the same category for 1990's Ghost, in which she played a fake psychic who begins to see real spirits.

"I am embarrassed to tell you it hurt me terribly," Goldberg said during an appearance on US TV show The View yesterday. "When you win an Academy Award, that's part of what you've done, your legacy. I will always be Academy Award-winner Whoopi Goldberg, and [I] have been dismissed and erased by the New York Times film critics, who should know better."

Goldberg added: "I have made over 50 films. I have been nominated twice – once for The Color Purple, once for Ghost. And I won for Ghost."

"This is not hidden information, and to these two critics, who are the head critics of the New York Times ... it's hard not to take it personally. This is sloppy journalism."

"People in Somalia know [about my Oscar win]," Goldberg said. "People in China know."

The New York Times was, however, unapologetic: "The error lies with those who are reading the story incorrectly. The point of the piece was not to name every black actor or actress who has been awarded an Oscar, it was to draw a comparison between the number who won prior to 2002 (the year Halle Berry and Denzel Washington won) and those who have won since. And the story states very clearly that in 73 years, prior to 2002, only seven black actors/actresses won Oscars.

Notes from Nathan: But why Gossip?

he meaning of gossip: 

1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.
2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
3. Trivial, chatty talk or writing.  Now that we know what gossip is, I challenge us to ask ourselves why we individually get caught up in it?
   

 It was Barbara Walters who once said, “Show me someone who never gossips, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t interested in people”

To that effect, gossip has always been about people, about community. It has even been about politics. In short, gossip has consistently been a part of our social lives; regardless if we choose to engage in it or not.

Since "putting myself out there", I have been faced with a considerable amount of scrutiny by people who I considered to be my peers.  What I learned from these notions and accusations is that people need something to talk about.  As humans, we rarely seek truth from it's source.  It's too much work.  We want our information right now, whether it's authentic or not.

Sadly, gossip has the power to sever a relationships for the mere fact that people take what they read or see and create their own interpretations.

Dwight Allen O'Neal and I filmed and posted the January 2010 We Are The Media video on January 1st.  Our goal was to talk about Paparazzi (Dwight's highly anticipated birthday weekend) and to talk about our 2010 outlook .  The video was up for less than 3 days before all hell broke loose.  On day one, I received a phone call from one of my peers questioning inflections and gesturing in the video, things that Dwight and I hadn't noticed ourselves.  Later, we were accused of staging the video to create drama and get hits on Youtube.  Nice concept, but not the case.  The video was raw and unrehearsed, however, gouged into like the seventh grade dissection of a frog in Biology class.

Magazines and gossip shows rate high on people's favorite things to read and watch.   Sadly, it's the thing that fuels our society.  People hunger to know the sordid details of the lives of celebrities, friends and even enemies. One might question what life would be like if we simply minded our own business or went straight to the source for the information we needed instead of believing it from a third party.  But again that's just too much work.

So, I ask you today... How long can YOU go without giving or receiving gossip?  It's very likely that this article will become a source for gossip, depending on who reads it.

Have an amazing Thursday!

REALLY... DL Hughley & Sherri Shepherd REALLY???

Weeks after Perpetuating Falsehoods About African American Gay and Bisexual Men, ABC and The View Still Refuse to Share the Facts

Full Page Variety Advertisement Calls on ABC and The View to Take Responsibility for Spreading Inaccurate Information about HIV/AIDS

In a full-page ad running in today’s Variety Magazine, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Black AIDS Institute and the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) call on the ABC Television Network and The View, its popular morning program, to correct misinformation put forth on the June 22 edition of the show.

The ad reads in part, “On June 22, ABC’s The View aired inaccurate information about HIV, blaming African American gay and bisexual men for increased HIV rates among straight African American women. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has publicly disproved this myth. And since June 22, thousands of people have written to ABC, asking that The View provide correct information to viewers. Unfortunately, those requests have been greeted with silence from both ABC and The View.”

In response to The View’s refusal to address the issue, the National Black Justice Coalition’s Executive Director Sharon J. Lettman made this statement:

“We stand by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) years of research, which concludes that there is no evidence supporting the myth that Black women are disproportionately infected by men who have sex with men, and that there are several factors that contribute to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Black women. Dr. Kevin Fenton, the director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention at the CDC, a well-regarded expert in the study of HIV/AIDS, has repeatedly debunked this myth.

Lettman continued: “We are calling for an informed dialogue around the truths about HIV/AIDS in the Black community, void of stereotypes about Black LGBT people. This means facilitating conversations about safe sex, prevention, education, and living with HIV/AIDS, among other things. Because of the misinformation that The View has irresponsibly promoted about the ways HIV is spread in Black communities, they have a responsibility to broadcast a correction and to then go one step further by featuring HIV/AIDS experts on the show who can better illustrate how deeply this disease is devastating our communities.”

The Variety ad placement comes nearly three weeks after inaccurate comments during The View’s “Hot Topics” segment. That day’s discussion centered on the Food and Drug Administration’s ban that prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

See the segment, view transcript excerpts and read about GLAAD’s Call to Action on this issue here. Over three thousand people have sent letters to ABC urging an apology and correction.

See more information on The View’s fact checking double standard here.

The Variety Magazine ad concludes by saying:

“When The View talks about these kinds of issues, people listen. And there’s a responsibility that comes with that. We want The View to do what it does at its best: Talk about the tough issues with a commitment to honesty, accuracy and fairness. We ask ABC and The View to keep the conversation going by correcting the record and elevating voices that can provide accurate information about HIV/AIDS for African American gay and bisexual men, African American women, and all viewers.”

See the full ad here.

The kind of misinformation espoused on The View fuels stigma and undermines efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in our communities. AIDS is too important an issue to allow myths and isinformation to go unaddressed. According to the Black AIDS Institute, every nine and a half minutes someone in this country is infected with HIV. Nearly 50 percent of the new HIV/AIDS cases, 50 percent of people living with HIV, and 50 percent of the annual AIDS related deaths in the U.S. are Black. AIDS is the third leading cause of death for Black men and women aged 35-44 in the U.S.

About GLAAD:
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

About the Black AIDS Institute:
Founded in May of 1999, the Black AIDS Institute is the only national HIV/AIDS think tank focused exclusively on Black people. The Institute's Mission is to stop the AIDS pandemic in Black communities by engaging and mobilizing Black institutions and individuals in efforts to confront HIV. The Institute interprets public and private sector HIV policies, conducts trainings, offers technical assistance, disseminates information and provides advocacy mobilization from a uniquely and unapologetically Black point of view. Our motto describes a commitment to self-preservation: "Our People, Our Problem, Our Solution." For more information, please visit http://www.blackaids.org/

About NBJC:
Since 2003, The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. NBJC has provided leadership at the intersection of mainstream national civil rights groups and mainstream LGBT organizations, advocating for the unique challenges and needs of the African-American LGBT community that are often relegated to the sidelines. NBJC's mission is to eradicate racism and homophobia. For more information, please visit www.nbjc.org.

Art of Negotiation

This is your world and I am only paying rent in it. Like it or not, life is a giant negotiating trading room floor. As participants, we come into conflicts with others: family members, business partners, sales clerks, competitors, customers or “The MAN” daily. How we handle these encounters can determine not only whether we prosper but whether we can enjoy a full, pleasurable, satisfying life or find business success.

-Photo: Lil Mogul at the NYSE with Ashanti & Nefertiti Strong

Let's Make A Deal. Negotiation is a field of knowledge and endeavors that focuses on gaining the favor of people from whom we want things. It’s as simple as that. We want all sorts of things: prestige, freedom, money, justice, love, security, recognition and/or power. In the past, rewards presumably go to those possessing the greatest talent, dedication and education. But life has disillusioned those who hold the virtue and hard work will triumph in the end. The winners seem to be people who not only are competent but also have the ability to negotiate their way to get what they want.

I remember watching a Barbara Walters Special and she interviewed Sally Jesse Raphael. Barbara asked Sally, “What is the difference between you and Oprah, “and Sally replied, “Nothing; however, Oprah had better attorneys when negotiating her TV show deal. They had a line that included she would own her show.” After hearing that, I started researching the Art of Negotiation. I discovered, when David Robinson was signed to the San Antonio Spurs, he negotiated in his NBA contract that he would ALWAYS be the 2nd highest paid basketball player in the league. The mid to late 90’s basketball players were setting historical salaries. Getting what you want and understanding how to get it.

Negotiation is the use of information and power to affect behavior within a “web of tension.” If you think about this broad definition, you’ll realize that you, in fact, negotiate all the time both on your job and in your personal life. As entrepreneurs, we have to negotiate for survival. I call Sprint every month to extend my pay period to be able to collect invoices from clients; with vendors to pay them for services on 30 or 60 day terms and with bank managers to clear holds on checks or reverse bank fees for overdrawing the account.

To get to the Promised Land you have to negotiate your way through the wilderness. Stay in the Game – Richard E. Pelzer Sr.