ABC BRAGS ABOUT GORE REPORTS: The night after the Columbine shooting ABC News in a press release bragged about its high ratings of the coverage. Title: ABC News 20/20 Wednesday is highest-rated program of the night on any network. It then went on to say, "With the exception of the Monica Lewinsky interview, the broadcast delivered its highest ratings since premiering on September 16,1998 easily outrating both Wednesday news magazines on other networks." - Dahlia Roemer, ABC News Media Relations . Musea says this is no time to brag ABC News, our CHUMP OF THE MONTH. (Drudge Report)

MORE ABC (Disney is the Corp. Art overlord). On Feb. 5, The popular daytime show The View with Barbara Walters, Starr Jones, etc. talked up their hot gift picks for Valentine's Day. Conveniently ALL THEIR CHOICES happened to be available for sale - CD's and books, etc. - at ABC.com. Musea conveniently thinks they stink! and are our CHUMP OF THE MONTH twice (Newsweek)

CBS signed a deal with Reader's Digest to make movies and miniseries based on the magazine's articles. "The Reader's Digest name alone immediately conjures the idea of relatable and compelling personal dramas" - Nancy Tellem, President of CBS Entertainment. CBS is already totally out of touch. You multiply it by an equal amount of boredom and you get this equation CBS squared! (or should I say "cube-city!" though I am looking forward to the vocabulary building miniseries! - Yahoo News)

IN THE ALMOST ADMITTING IT DEPT. Newsweek actually said that 4-letter word that is virtually nonexistent in the media "... the big 5 record companies" 4/26/99 Oh my, the destruction to humanity if it ever got out that only 5 record co's control all the music!

SILENT MOVIE COLLECTION TO BE AUCTIONED Lawrence Austin, 74 who operated the nation's only cinema devoted only to silent films (opened in 1942 long after talkies had begun) and had the largest private collection of silent movies, plus posters, clippings, portraits, etc.; was murdered by a greedy relative in 1997. On May 23-24 his collection was (? I'm writing this on May 17) auctioned off. It included 1,500 16mm and 35mm silent films including Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera and 13,000 stills. Musea thinks it's a massive treasure of our culture! (Reuters)

BEVERLY HILLS VOTES ON FUR LABELING In fashion news Beverly Hills, CA is split over the issue of labeling their furs on how the animal was killed. Vote was in May. (Outcome unknown at this date). If the fur is over $50 and the store cannot verify that the animal was killed in a humane fashion (now that in itself is a weird phrase)- the garment tag would have to say, "This product is made with fur from animals that may have been killed by electrocution, gassing, neck breaking, poisoning, clubbing, stomping or drowning, and may have been trapped in steel-jaw, leg-hold traps." Furriers think Stars like Jack Lemmon and Larry King are doing it all to put the industry out of business. LA Times Columnist Al Martinez said the proposal epitomized the image of self-conscious silliness for which the city is renowned. Musea doesn't think it's silly and we'd vote for it! (Reuters)

ART NEWS FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE TRACK Last month, in the Sotheby's auction of the Whitney Estate, a Cezanne, Still Life With Curtain, Pitcher and Bowl of Fruit was sold for a record price for the artist of $60.5 million dollars.( He was ridiculed in his own day for his crazy art.) In Detroit, the city council in their effort to win the MOST PROVINCIAL award, set bulldozers to tear down the work of celebrated local artist, Tyree Guyton, that was on city property. He is known for taking ghetto type structures and using found objects like shoes, dolls, etc. to turn them into architectural wonders. And he's good at it! Now let me get this straight. Instead of charging admission to great art done by a celebrated local artist on public property, they're on a mission to destroy his 13 year-old work. 3 houses and several lots filled with Guyton's work will remain, but the block long expanse of his art is gone forever. Detroit City Council, you are fools! (Detroit Free Press)

SEARS SETTLES U.S. CHILD LABOR CHARGES The US Labor Dept. said that an investigation of 71 of the company's 845 full-line stores, 44 of them permitted 16 and 17 year old workers to operate power machinery in violation of child labor regulations. About 230 minors were involved. The fine was a measly $325,000 and Sears admitted no wrong. (Reuters)

Reports gathered in Musea are by Alden Scott Crow and Musea. Back to Contents