The legitimate-sounding concern: Politicians want to make sure that bailout money extended to banks is being used wisely. How dare, say, Wells Fargo, throw a party in Las Vegas for its best salespeople when it's on the government dole? Never mind that the government all but forced the bailout money on Wells Fargo, or that the bank, which has managed its mortgage business better than most of its wastrel peers, has thrown this annual party for years, in good times and bad.

This is insanity. How many waiters and blackjack dealers and cooks and singers will lose their job because of cancelled Vegas junkets? As John Maynard Keynes, the father of all stimulus packages, once remarked, one might as well bury banknotes in bottles and pay people to dig them up, if the goal is to boost the economy.

Likewise, complaints about sports sponsorships seem increasingly silly, like the embattled Citigroup's $400 million deal for naming rights on the home of the Mets. Is baseball some subprime sport, undeserving of money? Nonsense.

The problem with the quick-fix drug of outrage is that one rapidly gets desensitized, and has to return to a fast-depleting well. Look at how television news has chased the bull market in outrage:

(March figures month to date)

After the offenses of the primary season settled down — anyone remember Rev. Jeremiah Wright? — outrage cooled, even as the economy fell apart. Where was the outrage then? And why is it just picking up now? It just shows how faddish outrage is.

Gaffe-prone Vice President Joe Biden has offended the American natation industry by claiming that the bailout package has "no swimming pools in this money." We tend to think they're right — swimming-pool bailouts which seemed excessive in January will seem like a matter of national importance by July.

A similarly misplaced pool of outrage: TMZ, a newcomer to financial reporting, tapped into this vein by exposing Northern Trust's no-expense-spared party at the House of Blues in West Hollywood, where Sheryl Crow performed and guests walked away with Tiffany gift bags. Would TMZ rather Crow be unemployed, and the stores of Rodeo Drive shuttered? Covering impoverished celebrities does not seem like a sustainable business model for the L.A. gossip site.

Even normally business-friendly publications like the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News are stirring the populist pot, reporting on the PR trouble Citigroup is facing from a remodeling at its headquarters. Never mind that the remodeling is an attempt to squeeze its bigwig quarters from two floors down into one and rent the extra space to save money — it's money being squandered on offices for executives!

Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily shows the desperation of a hopped-up addict in trying to whip up a frenzy over a marketing deal between Bank of America and DreamWorks Animation's Monsters and Aliens. Your tax dollars paying for 3-D movies! (How much did this cost? Kim Masters reports $175,000.) What's next? Are we going to boycott banks which give away toasters?

The other outrage of these increasingly minor outrages: That they distract from real offenses, like the compensation schemes of AIG, Merrill Lynch, and the rest of Wall Street. These need reform, but not the kinds being proposed. Instead of capping bonuses and salaries — a quick hit of populist satisfaction — we should be looking at how these contracts, which pay out in fair weather or foul, ever got signed in the first place. Any contracts which do not tie pay strictly to performance, over the short term and long term, should be strongly discouraged, perhaps with punitive taxes. But limiting businesses' ability to pay people who actually make money for their employers seems silly.

The whole reason why the government is bailing out banks is to make sure they carry on business as usual. And that business involves sales, which requires paying salespeople, and marketing, which requires spending to get one's name out. The whole scenario the government is desperate to avoid is one where the financial sector curls up into the fetal position and stops spending altogether.

We find ourselves agreeing, a bit uncomfortably, with former AOL Time Warner executive Bob Pittman, who has called for a bailout of the advertising industry. With the likes of TMZ and Finke fulminating against the slightest hint of commercial activity, is it any wonder banks are afraid to announce their presence to the world?

The economy is in recession, one that looks like it could last for years. Wasteful spending, per the wisdom of Keynes, is what we need. It's time to stop crucifying banks which throw bashes. Instead, let's hound the ones which don't. Parties for everyone, on the taxpayer's dime! It's the only patriotic thing to do.

On the one hand, a childhood pal — Russell's mom was reportedly best friends with Levy's mom — can do far worse than guiding one to tens of millions of dollars in wealth. And Pilot Group did more than passively watch its investment grow. From what we hear, Pittman's salesmanship was key to growing Daily Candy's advertising base. Such involvement would be in keeping with Pilot Group's focus on taking a "control position" in its investments. After the investment firm acquired Daily Candy, the newsletter's subscriber count grew tenfold to 2.5 million.

But not everyone buys that version of events. Said the tipster, an AOL veteran who followed Daily Candy closely:

For Pittman to brag that subscribers have increased since he made

the investment is just private equity puffery and delusion. That

would be like my grandmother taking credit for the business success of

the stocks she owns.

Perhaps Russell's help was not so selfless. As our source notes, Russell's advice on the deal would have been "highly conflicted," Russell having worked for Pittman for several months before the Daily Candy investment closed in late 2003.

His line to other potential portfolio

companies and strategic partners is that through his friendship with

Dany, HE was responsible for the early success of Daily Candy as a

startup, so he didn't feel compunction about duping the original

shareholders... Whatever the case, Pittman was not a genius to have his

junior guy abuse a family friendship in a predatory deal.

Let this be a lesson to startup founders who are not yet sufficiently cautions about venture capital investment, or who spend too much time worrying about whether their fameball girlfriends really truly love them for the right reasons: If you're not careful, you might have to settle for a paltry $25 mil when the big payday comes. After taxes, you'll barely be able to afford a decent loft!

Bob Pittman's claims to have founded MTV were overstated, but he was closely associated with the cable music channel's gigantic success in the 1980s. It was said of his wife Sandy, who later attempted to conquer Everest, that she gave a new meaning to the term "social climber." And Pittman himself was equally ambitious on the Manhattan circuit, though he scaled the social and business heights with a good deal of charm and grace.

The one-eyed mogul, now 54 years old, came tumbling down after he took over management of revenue-inflating AOL during the bubble. The online access service cashed in on the funds being invested in late 1990s dotcoms, much of which was spent on advertising partnerships which gave the startup brands a place on AOL pages.

The Dulles-based online service was never going to survive unscathed a downturn and the erosion of the dial-up market, and Pittman's reputation would have suffered anyway. But the infamous 2000 merger between AOL and media giant Time Warner ensured he would not merely be despised by investors who bought into AOL at its revenue-inflated peak; he personified to Time Warner veterans the arrogance and empty rhetoric of the AOL upstarts. Pittman managed to sell $94m in stock in the aftermath of the merger, but the dilution of Time Warner shareholders ensured the hatred of a large part of Manhattan's media establishment.

Pittman's contribution to Daily Candy has been more constructive. His salesmanship transformed Dany Levy's cute little newsletter into a marketing machine for fashion and retail brands. Pittman's reputation as a canny internet investor is made by this transaction, by some measure the best return of his fund. To be sure, the web may eclipse email as the preferred online medium for advertisers, and Comcast may have bought a property that's past its peak. But the cable company's bosses are in Philadelphia, a city that Pittman can easily avoid. In terms of Manhattan media, the former wonderboy is back.

Comcast, mind you, also recently bought internet address book Plaxo. Its explanation of the acquisition was mind-numbingly non-sensical:

Comcast’s ambition is to make more and more content available to consumers across all platforms,” said Samuel Schwartz, executive vice president for strategy and development at Comcast Interactive Media, in an interview. “When you add the social dimension to these products, you can navigate through those platforms based on what your friends are doing.”

Uh, right. Whatever. Schwartz went on to say that people would be able to use Plaxo to send an episode of Lost to their friends, which is also bizarre, because the hard part of sending a TV show to a friend (WTF?) is not finding your friend's email address — it's sending the show.

Since Comcast is famous for canceling the service of its most Web-savvy customers and for sneakily disallowing certain programs from connecting to the internet, some (smart) people think the company should maybe focus on fixing those problems instead of spending tens of millions of dollars on awkward internet acquisitions. But where's the glory in that? Being a media company is way more fun than trying to meet the needs of millions and millions of customers!

[IssTumBul]

The venture is called the Zynga Game Network and it's the company behind social network apps such as "casual games" Poker, Attack, and Battleship. So far, Zynga makes all its money by promoting other applications, earning 50 cents each time a user installs one on their profile.

Pincus told the New York Times Zynga has already broken even and has not yet tapped into any of its venture capital. Users click on about 50,000 links to application install pages each day.

Let us know when Coca-Cola buys ad space. Until then, the Facebook application platform will remain a viable economic ecosystem like the Hapsburgs were a model of genetic diversity.

An email list might seem too 1999 for geeks more apt to find a new nightspot via Yelp or Twitter. But even though most of Silicon Valley has written off email for good, delivering its content over the ubiquitous technology seems to work for Thrillist. As Lerer notes, because readers have to sign up for Thrillist, "advertisers value impressions we deliver much differently." By differently, he means more.

We like Lerer — so much so that we're going to help him move into the 21st century. Any number of services allow you to convert email subscriptions into RSS feeds. Valleywag has signed up for Thrillist SF at one such website, Mail2RSS.org. The feed is here.

(Photo by kyle simourd)

Embargoed News
Hold until noon, December 21, 2006

Media and Lifestyle Leaders Invest in Plum

The Kraft Group and James Pallotta's The Raptor Fund Lead $20 Million
Round
Funding Growth of Local Communities Network

Chris Blackwell, Jimmy Buffett, Robert Pittman, Tom Freston,
Andy and Kate Spade, and Barry Sternlicht Among Investors

NEW YORK (December 21, 2006) - Plum, the network of local television
stations produced in, for and about some of America's most dynamic
communities, today announced major investments in the company to fund
expansion into new markets, including Sun Valley and Miami Beach, and
the development of new content offerings.

Private-equity investors The Kraft Group and legendary hedge-fund
manager James Pallotta's The Raptor Fund led the $20 million round of
funding. Ackerley Partners, a privately held media and entertainment
investment group, also participated. The Pilot Group, led by former AOL
president Robert Pittman, invested as well.

Robert Kraft, CEO of The Kraft Group, said, "From our work with the NFL
and other media properties we have a good sense of the value of unique
content and unique audiences. We've been impressed by Plum's ability
to develop both, and we think the company is poised to create a
tremendous amount of value."

Jonathan Kraft and David Kraft will join the Plum board of directors,
as will former music industry executive Kevin Law.

Leaders in lifestyle, media, music and resorts joined the round,
ensuring Plum has both the funding and marketplace expertise required
for rapid growth and sustained relevancy to consumers in Plum's
high-end lifestyle and resort markets. These investors include, among
others:
Chris Blackwell - Founder of Island Records (Bob Marley, U2); Founder
of Palm Pictures and owner of several luxury Jamaican resorts
Jimmy Buffett - World-renowned musician, author, film producer and
entrepreneur
Nick Buoniconti -Football Hall of Fame legend
Jason Flom - Chairman and CEO of Virgin Records U.S.; Founder of Lava
Records
Tom Freston - Former President and CEO of Viacom; Founding member of
MTV
Andy and Kate Spade - Founders of luxury and lifestyle fashion brands
Kate Spade and Jack Spade
Barry Sternlicht - Chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital Group;
Founder of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

— more —

Plum Investment / Add One

Tom Scott, founder and CEO of Plum, said, "It's an exciting time at
Plum. We're psyched that such an inspiring group of investors share our
vision for Plum and where it's going. It's amazing to have the
opportunity to be working with and learning from some of the best in
media, entertainment, sports, fashion, travel and finance. We've got a
great team of people at Plum who really care - that's irreplaceable."
Previously, Tom was the co-CEO and co-founder of Nantucket Nectars.

Plum will expand its local reach and content by using the new funding
to acquire additional stations in Sun Valley, Idaho and has secured
cable distribution for a new Plum channel in Miami Beach, Florida. Plum
has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the television
assets of E-Da-Hoe, Inc., including the KSVX and KSVT television
stations serving Sun Valley. The deal is contingent on FCC approval
that is expected in early 2007. These two new markets will join Plum's
current markets of Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Hamptons, Vail,
Aspen, and Telluride. More than 10 million of the nation's most
influential people visit these markets each year.

In addition to television programming in these markets, Plum has
entered into distribution agreements with AOL video and Tivo broadband.
Plum also is expanding online content at Plumtv.com, including local
events calendars, weather, video, photos, community news and real
estate listings unique to each market. Content uploading and sharing
capabilities, and interests in proprietary content development and
production are also underway.

Chris Glowacki, president of Plum, said, "Plum is developing two
complementary businesses. We have a very effective distribution
business that connects deeply with hard-to-reach influencers. And we
have a lifestyle content business that ensures both viewers and
advertisers find us compelling and relevant. This new investment and
the experts advising us help ensure we can grow both of these very
aggressively."

About Plum
Plum is a new type of media company. Produced in, for and about some of
America's most dynamic communities, Plum programming is honest,
authentic and optimistic. It celebrates the natural beauty and
character of its communities and spirit and intellect of the people who
live and visit there. Plum's current markets are Nantucket, Martha's
Vineyard, the Hamptons, Vail, Aspen and Telluride. Miami Beach and Sun
Valley will become operational Plum stations in the summer of 2007.
While the towns may be small, the reach and influence is not. Plum's
markets are destinations of choice for over 10 million of the nation's
most interesting and influential people each year. They are people who
define the culture in the media, business, arts and politics. They are
Plum's audience as well as its content. Increasingly, Plum is available
to a broader audience beyond its communities through video on demand
and the Inte

• 
  
• Comedy Central rats out YouTube, clips pulled. [NYT]
  
• Time Inc. to invest heavily in the Internet components of its top-tier titles. Not in the top tier: Time. Guess The Ana Log doesn't draw as many eyeballs as People's coverage of Vince and Jen. Also, more job cuts to come. [WSJ]
  
• You can't sell a book by its cover. Unless, you know, Vince and Jen are on it. [WWD]
  
• Just because Katie Couric's dad has Parkinson's and she's donated to Michael J. Fox's foundation doesn't mean she can't deliver a completely impartial interview with Fox. [CBS]
  
• Porn baron Richard Desmond to decimate Express staff. [Guardian]
  
• Scott "Stereogum" Lapatine now owned by joint consortium of Bob Pittman, Jason Hirschorn. [NYP]