Sunday, February 18, 2018

CBS Sunday Morning on February 18, 2018 does puffery


The February 18 show continued the slide into puff over substance.

The Almanac feature celebrated the birthday of Vanna White, born as Vanna Marie Rosich on February 18, 1957. Not mentioned in the clip was White's foray into intellectual property. From the case:

In running a particular advertisement without Vanna White's permission, defendants Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung) and David Deutsch Associates, Inc. (Deutsch) attempted to capitalize on White's fame to enhance their fortune. White sued, alleging infringement of various intellectual property rights, but the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

California state law and the Midler case arose: White first argues that the district court erred in rejecting her claim under section 3344. Section 3344(a) provides, in pertinent part, that "[a]ny person who knowingly uses another's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner, ... for purposes of advertising or selling, ... without such person's prior consent ... shall be liable for any damages sustained by the person or persons injured as a result thereof."

White argues that the Samsung advertisement used her "likeness" in contravention of section 3344. In Midler v. Ford Motor Co., 849 F.2d 460 (9th Cir.1988), this court rejected Bette Midler's section 3344 claim concerning a Ford television commercial in which a Midler "sound-alike" sang a song which Midler had made famous.
White's loss on summary judgment was affirmed by CA9. White obtained reversal of adverse SJ decisions on right of publicity and Lanham Act claims.

Mo Rocca did a piece supposedly picking the worst president. On the internet this piece begins:


A question on this Presidents' Day weekend: Which of our former Chief Executives was the worst ever? Presidential historians have been making a list ... and our Mo Rocca may have the winner:

No survey of forgotten presidents (such as James Buchanan, Chester A. Arthur or Millard Fillmore) would be complete without our 17th president, Andrew Johnson.



On the broadcast, Warren Harding, rather than Arthur, was the second "candidate" mentioned. It appears that CBS transcripts are not really reproductions of what is broadcast.
Furthermore, whether there is an agreement that Johnson was the worst president remains to be seen.

Adding further puff to the broadcast was the Tracy Smith piece Jimmy Buffett and "Margaritaville" come to Broadway

The cover story, Infidelity: Why the oldest taboo continues to be broken by Tony Dokoupil [of Katy Tur and George Washington University, where the marketing major earned a 3.87 GPA and was named to GW's Dean's Honor List ] included favorable discussion of Ashley Madison.


The broadcast included an opinion piece by Stoneman Douglas high school senior David Hogg; for some reason, it was followed by a piece by Faith Salie, as if Hogg's thoughts needed re-enforcement. [One notes that Hogg appeared on "Face the Nation" and thereon asserted President Trump controlled the Senate and House. There was discussion of a march on March 24.]

The "moment of nature," on Everglades National Park, included a reference to Marjory Stoneman Douglas. As to "who" pushed for creation of the park, consider text from wikipedia:


The [Tropical Everglades National Park ] commission was also tasked with proposing a method to raise the money to purchase the land.[74] The search coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression in the United States, and money for land purchase was scarce.[75] The U.S. House of Representatives authorized the creation of the new national park on May 30, 1934, but it passed only with a rider that ensured no money would be allotted to the project for at least five years.[74] Coe's passion and U.S. Senator Spessard Holland's politicking helped to fully establish the park, after Holland was able to negotiate 1,300,000 acres (5,300 km2) of the park, leaving out Big Cypress, Key Largo, the Turner River area, and a 22,000-acre (89 km2) tract of land called "The Hole in the Donut" that was too highly valued for agriculture. Miami Herald editor John Pennekamp was instrumental in pushing the Florida Legislature to raise $2 million to purchase the private land inside the park boundaries.[76] It was dedicated by President Harry Truman on December 6, 1947, one month after Marjorie Stoneman Douglas' book; "The Everglades: River of Grass" was released.[77]



One notes the existence of Garald G. "Jerry" Parker, Sr. (1905–2000) who was a B.S. level hydrologist and is known as the "Father of Florida groundwater hydrology."


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