Word: stunting
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...despite his insistence that his move was no stunt, it's important to note that Abbas is not in fact threatening to leave the stage. "This is political theater," says Amman-based Palestinian analyst Mouin Rabani. "The Palestinian Central Election Committee is expected to conclude that the election Abbas called for in January can't be held, because Hamas won't allow them to go ahead in Gaza, and Israel won't allow them to go ahead in East Jerusalem ... So what he did today was announce that he won't be a candidate in an election he knows...
Luckily for speedskating, Colbert's audience tends to adopt his causes. He has raised at least $240,000 for the Yellow Ribbon Fund, which assists injured service members and their families. But even if the economics work out, the Colbert stunt could backfire. After all, if your sport becomes too intertwined with a comedy program, does it become a joke? "We talked about that," says Crowley. "We stressed to the Colbert staff that we have exquisite athletes who have trained their entire lives for that Olympic platform. They can't minimize that. They get it, and they recognize that...
...spotted the New York woman on the course during the race. As witnesses later verified, the 23-year-old had jumped out of a crowd of spectators about a half-mile from the finish line and simply sprinted to the end. An investigation revealed she had pulled a similar stunt in New York's race six months earlier. Unlike in Boston, she started and finished that race - but rode the subway for several miles in the middle...
Sweeps even has its own terminology: "stunt casting", which pulls a high-profile star in for a short cameo or story arc. In 2003, former Superman Christopher Reeve briefly appeared on Smallville in 2003, playing a scientist examining the young Clark Kent. A show "jumps the shark" when its ratings stunts smack of desperation. The phrase was inspired by a a three-part Happy Days special in 1977 in which Fonzie jumped over a shark pen on water skis; fans point to it as the specific moment the show started its decline. (Jumpingtheshark.com is devoted to analyzing ratings stunts...
Advertisers sometimes complain that all the stunts create skewed ratings and more expensive advertising costs. Technology certainly exists to record ratings year round, and it may only be a matter of time until Nielsen is pressured into switching their model. But TV viewers will find no such solace this fall. Networks have planned an extensive slate of stunts to get you to move their dial-Oprah will interview Sarah Palin on Nov. 16, NBC is having another Green Week starting the day before that and shows like 30 Rock and Gossip Girl are loading up on stunt-casting...