Rants and raves: Amid a shortage of MSM reporting about the epic legal battle between eBay and Craigslist, political junkies wanting to track Meg Whitman’s role in the messy litigation can rely on Jerry DiColo’s coverage in the Wall Street Journal.
Unlike a batch of niche sites covering the eMeg vs. Craig Newmark online titan cage match staged back in Delaware, DiColo does a fine job of fulfilling the basic duty of journalism, to make the complex clear. For starters, his stuff doesn’t read like it’s been translated from the Swedish, and he does nice work boiling down the dry-as-dust issues involved in a suit that’s all about, heaven help us, corporate governance. (Punishment gluttons who just can’t get enough should check in on Corporate Counsel while total hardcore types can catch the live webcast at Courtroom View TV – who says we have no life?)
As a political matter, however, the one and only issue at stake is what the trial and testimony offer in the way of insight and evidence about the integrity of the corporate record of Whitman, who proved to be somewhat veracity challenged in the recent set-to about her voting failures.
With eMeg pointing to her CEO experience as her prime qualification to be governor, her words and actions in eBay’s acquisition of 28 percent of Craiglist, and the messy falling out that followed, will be closely examined by her political rivals. Based on this week’s testimony by Newmark, whose idealistic, Golden Rule values define the online classified company’s brand, it’s a fair bet eMeg’s campaign won’t be micro-targeting the craiglists voting bloc (no worries – there are only 50 million users a day in the U.S. ).
Reporting on Newmark’s appearance on the stand, DiColo wrote:
Mr. Newmark said former eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman assured him that eBay was content not to try and gain control of Craigslist during a “courtship period” of three years.
“eBay told us that we were ‘the play’ in classifieds, the definite article indicating exclusivity,” Mr. Newmark said. During a meeting in 2004, Ms. Whitman, he said, told him, “that they would be comfortable with a courtship period, where eBay would be completely happy with 28%.”
“eBay, specifically Meg Whitman, made commitments, and broke them,” Mr. Newmark said.
Huh. Maybe she is ready to be governor.
Meg Whitman Dinner Watch, Day 100: As Calbuzz waits patiently if expectantly by the phone for eMeg’s call to join her for dinner, we’re always eager for that thrilling shiver of schadenfreude we get each time we hear about Her Megness stiffing other members of the media too.
So we were surprised to learn only belatedly of how Whitman put the screws to conservative talk jocks Inga Barks and Scott Cox, who host a show on KERN-AM in Bakersfield. It seems that Queen Midas refused to grant them permission to speak to her unless she was provided questions in advance and allowed to pre-tape the interview.
During a live interview with GOP rival Steve Poizner, who dropped by the studio a few weeks back while in town to speak to Bakersfield’s Chamber of Commerce, the two yakkers spilled the beans about eMeg’s shyness, after a few warm-up yuks about how much dough she is pouring into radio ads.
Cox: And you need to spend a lot more money advertising on this station, I just want to put that in there one more time. Meg is way outspending you here at American General Media. You can’t have that. It’s détente man, the race is on.
Barks: There you go. All right.
Poizner: Well fortunately you are all giving me equal access here. So thank you very much.
Barks: I give her equal access, but it has to be pre-arranged, they have to know the questions, and–
Cox: She doesn’t want to talk to me at all.
Barks: –it has to be pre-recorded. She won’t take calls.
I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL eMEG! (Pay no attention to that woman behind the curtain).
You can check the You Tube version here
Press Clips: We’re bummed as hell at the news that Editor and Publisher, the bible of news about newspapers, is folding. In recent years E&P has been aggressive, smart and scoopy in covering the demise of the industry and, let’s face it, where else will you find the story about 56 papers in 45 countries joining together to run the same editorial about climate change on the same day?
Why voters hate Sacramento, Chapter 871: The ridiculous spectacle played out this week over “Race to the Top” legislation, aimed at getting $700 million from the feds for education, had little to do with schools and 
students, and much to do with special interest Capitol palace intrigue completely disconnected from the real lives of real people. Amid an endless stream of booorrrring MSM process stories and a package of press releases from Speaker Karen Bass big enough to choke a horse, Dan Walters cut to the chase, exposing the whole fuss as nothing but a clown show staged by Assembly Democrats dancing to the tune called by the CTA.
Talk about your hat tricks: The Calbuzz Ross Douthat Fan Club went crazy this week when our favorite MSM conservative columnist pulled off an extraordinary feat, by getting the Treaty of Lisbon, polygamy in Sweden and the word “dhimmitude” all into one piece. It’s Milla’ Time!
Today’s sign the end of civilization is near: If you keep using that internets, you’ll go blind and get warts on your hands.
