Post banned from Conan's publicity visit

[Flightful]

he Toronto organizer for U.S. late-night television host Conan O'Brien's much-hyped visit to Toronto next month has banned the National Post from access to the star after the newspaper ran an article that raised questions about taxpayer-funding of the event.

Peter Soumalias, Toronto organizer for "Conan in Toronto," wrote a letter to the Post yesterday stating: "The Post will not be given any access to this event nor the people involved.

"We will review this only after receiving a logical explanation," of the coverage from the Post's editor-in-chief, Matthew Fraser.

The ban, which Mr. Soumalias said took effect immediately when called for comment yesterday, means Post reporters will miss out on behind-the-scenes preparation for such popular segments of the talk show as "If they mated," "Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog," and "The Masturbating Bear."

http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=6735cfc7-d25d-4a50-abab-bbb1e1787b18

I know showbiz types are petty but this is ridiculous.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

1. Why do you care what happens to that neo-con rag?

For those of you who do not know the story, the NP did a front-page story on Conan's show taping in Toronto. The story claimed that the taping would cost between 750k and 1m. The tourism and media benefits for a city still recovering from SARS are likely to be over $50m dollars. This is a good deal. The Post is a neo-con rag that was set up by Conrad Black so there would be somewhere for his and his friends tirades to find a home. They regularly run an Ann Coulter column, and will criticise any action by the Canadian Government. The Post is not a newspaper, it is a bully pulpit.

[HEyHEY]

2. Yes, but it is laid out quite beautifully

;-)

That's the only nice thing about it.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

3. Ah, the old art vs propoganda theory

it is noxious, but does look good. Kind of like Jennifer Lopez. Don't like those little line drawings of the journos, though.