[Marxism] Progressive bourgeoisie?

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://news.com.com/Mark+Cuban+invests+in+new+journalism+Web+site/2100-1025_3-6083915.html
Mark Cuban invests in new journalism Web site
By Candace Lombardi

Entrepreneur billionaire Mark Cuban has invested in a new journalism site 
focused on exposing corporate fraud.

Sharesleuth.com, the brainchild of veteran St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter 
Chris Carey, is expected to go live next month.

"It will be a blog-style news operation dedicated to exposing securities 
fraud and corporate malfeasance. We're going to identify questionable 
companies and tell compelling, deeply researched stories about the people 
behind them," Carey told CNET News.com in an e-mail on Wednesday. Carey 
will serve as the editor and president of Sharesleuth.com.

But the site could have a twofold purpose.

Cuban told an Associated Press reporter that he would use the knowledge 
garnered by investigators for the site to buy and sell stocks before 
stories are published. The statement raised some eyebrows about 
journalistic ethics, as many publications have strict policies concerning 
investments in the industries they cover. Cuban was an executive producer 
for "Good Night, and Good Luck," a film portraying broadcast journalist 
Edward R. Murrow and his efforts to bring down Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

But Cuban, never a conformist to old-school rules, sees it differently.

"How is it any different than the many commentators on CNBC and FOX News, 
Bloomberg, etc., that buy or short stocks, then regularly go on air and 
discuss their positions and why they took them?" Cuban told CNET News.com 
in an e-mail.

"Isn't the smart investor the one who does their research and then makes a 
buy or sell decision? In our case, we will do the same thing, only we will 
publish why we are doing it," Cuban said.

Carey agreed with Cuban's general sentiment, but gave more details on how 
the setup will work.

"To avoid conflict of interest issues, I've never invested in individual 
stocks, and I don't intend to while running Sharesleuth.com," he said. 
"Mark Cuban and I agreed that he could trade on information that the site 
reports, though not all stories would even offer that possibility."

While not all the details on how the system will work have been determined, 
Carey said that any such trading will be fully disclosed and legal.

The unusual partnership of new-age entrepreneur and veteran journalist 
began over the Internet.

Cuban, perhaps best known as the unconventional owner of the Dallas 
Mavericks, maintains Blog Maverick. In e-mailing the billionaire blogger 
about one of his posts, Carey mentioned the idea for a news organization 
dedicated to covering stock fraud. Cuban expressed an interest in financing 
such a venture, and the relationship grew from there.

As many newspapers look to save money, Carey said, their focus of coverage 
is becoming more local. Sharesleuth.com will give him the opportunity to 
pursue fraud stories in depth, something he believes newspapers are shying 
away from because of the cost and manpower needed to investigate it.

He also hopes to tap into a more national and international audience. The 
site will utilize HDNet and HDNet Films resources to offer original 
investigative reporting with multimedia content. Cuban is co-founder of 
HDNet, a TV provider for high-definition programming.

Cuban was also the founder of Broadcast.com, a multimedia and video 
streaming Internet company, which he sold to Yahoo for $5.7 billion in 
1999. The following year he bought the Dallas Mavericks. Since then, the 
team has gone from an NBA loser to a championship contender. Cuban also 
financed Grokster's defense against MGM in the lawsuit concerning 
peer-to-peer file sharing.

The Sharesleuth.com venture was first reported by PaidContent.org.

===

NY Times, October 23, 2005
A Maverick Draws Fire in Film, Too
By HOWARD BECK

DALLAS, Oct. 21 - Mark Cuban has spent so much time pushing boundaries and 
rattling status-quo thinking that he is nearly numb to the backlash that 
seems to accompany his every move.

In nearly six years as the Dallas Mavericks' owner, Cuban has drawn hefty 
fines from the commissioner's office, curious glances from other owners and 
acerbic broadsides from columnists and talk-show hosts.

For his brash style and his self-indulgent involvement as both owner and 
über-fan, Cuban has been called irresponsible, foolish, crazy, an immature 
imp and a bigmouth.

By now, those labels must sound kind. Cuban has acquired a new passion and 
new critics - mainly in the blogosphere - who have given him a newly 
derogatory description: unpatriotic and un-American.

Those accusations stem from Cuban's role as the executive producer of "The 
War Within," a film that depicts the inner struggle of a would-be 
terrorist. Even for Cuban, who practically breathes controversy, this is 
uncharted territory.

The film has been in limited release across the country. If it is any 
indication, Cuban's nascent moviemaking career will be a lot like his 
endeavors in pro basketball and technology: unconventional and provocative.

One incensed blogger labeled Cuban a "jihadist propaganda producer."

"There was one person, or probably two people, that wrote reviews saying 
this movie should not be made," Cuban said.

"The War Within" tells the story of Hassan, a Pakistani engineer who - 
after being wrongfully imprisoned, and tortured, for three years by 
American forces - becomes an Islamic militant, and is sent to New York as 
part of a plot to blow up Grand Central Terminal. But while living with a 
friend's family in New Jersey, Hassan begins to have doubts about his 
mission. He becomes torn between his religious convictions and his personal 
affections for his friend's family.

The film does not depict Hassan as one-dimensionally evil.

"How are we ever going to understand what's going on right now if we don't 
see these people as human beings?" the director, Joseph Castelo, said on 
the film's Web site.

But in a post-9/11 America, not everyone wants to embrace a suicide bomber 
with a crisis of conscience. Indeed, according to the screenwriters, no one 
wanted to produce the film until Cuban picked it up.

An avowed risk-taker, Cuban was intrigued by the story line. But he said he 
views the film's protagonist through a different lens.

"I don't think this movie necessarily gave him a conscience," Cuban said. 
"I think it really portrayed him as a coward. But I think what it did do 
was say that this guy could be the guy next door, the guy sitting next to 
you on the bus. Just like we hear about friends of the B.T.K. killer who 
say, 'We never knew.' Or Timothy McVeigh's friends. So it wasn't my 
sympathy for the guy. Because there was none. But it was to say terrorists 
don't come in turbans with long beards, talking crazy. They're the person 
next door."

It is the softer depiction of Hassan that makes the movie both compelling 
and controversial, Cuban said.

"You had to catch yourself on what you were thinking about this guy," he 
said. "Some people try to look at it from the terrorist's side. But I look 
at it from the American side. It's a compliment to people who came over 
from the same circumstances, living the American dream, and not wavering at 
all."

Not all of Cuban's productions - through his companies HDNet Films and 2929 
Entertainment - will be so heavy, or so controversial. Among his next 
offerings is a dramatic comedy, "One Last Thing. ... "

But clearly, Cuban is drawn to challenging works. HDNet's first film was 
the critically acclaimed documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the 
Room." His company also co-produced George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good 
Luck."

Cuban first read the "War" script two years ago, while the horror of 9/11 
was still fresh. "I thought it was timely, I thought it was interesting, I 
thought it was scary as hell," Cuban said. "I'm the type that thinks if you 
don't learn from history, you're doomed to repeat it."

Although the movie has not done much business in theaters, Cuban is looking 
forward to its release on DVD in January. Contrary to the views of his 
critics, Cuban said making the film was an act of patriotism.

"The worst thing we can do is bury our heads in the sand and pretend it 
can't happen again," Cuban said. " 'The War Within,' even though it didn't 
do well at the box office, on DVD it's going to be reminding people for 
years to come. Because it's a powerful, powerful movie. If we can make a 
movie that reminds people over and over again that you always have to be 
vigilant or 9/11 can happen again, then it's the most patriotic thing I 
could ever possibly do."

===
From Mark Cuban's blog: http://www.blogmaverick.com/entry/2138237470381124/

Movies that make a difference?from Magnolia Pictures

Vertical integration and the ability to control the supply chain. That?s 
the vision for the entertainment properties that Todd Wagner and I have put 
together. We have acquired great companies like  Rysher Entertainment , 
Landmark Theaters  and Magnolia Pictures We have also created great 
companies like HDNet and HDNet Movies , HDNet Films and 2929 Entertainment, 
with more to come.

The goal in putting all of these companies together is to be able to 
control our own destiny. We want to be able to create films in HDTV format 
via HDNet Films and 2929, acquire them through Magnolia and then distribute 
them digitally to our Landmark Theaters.  We also have the ability 
to  sell, show and distribute them in whatever (DVD, HD, etc) format we 
think consumers want, rather than what Hollywood dictates . Our goal is to 
provide entertainment to consumers, how, where and when they want. As Todd 
says, ?what a concept, give the consumer what they want, rather than have 
someone tell them what they want.?

Things are going great, but there has been a side benefit that I had hoped 
for, but never really expected to happen so quickly. We are making and 
distributing movies that can truly impact peoples lives. HDNet Films is 
completely a documentary about the Enron debacle called Black Magic, which 
should be out this winter. Magnolia has taken the idea of movies that 
change peoples lives to an even greater level with the release of two movies:

Woman Thou Art Loosed and Voices of Iraq

Woman is a movie featuring Bishop TD Jakes and Kimberly Elise that is an 
adaptation of Bishop Jakes? self-help novel, chronicling a woman?s struggle 
to come to terms with her legacy of abuse, addiction and poverty. It has 
had an amazing impact on the African American community and although the 
subject is very difficult, the message is uplifting. It?s a movie that we 
are very proud to have been part of. The movie extends to a very wide 
release across the country on October 22nd, so if you get the chance, check 
it out.

Voices of Iraq is another amazing film. It?s the one film that EVERYONE 
should be required to see before they vote.  Former MTV producers Eric 
Manes and Martin Kunert partnered with actor and Gulf War vet Archie Drury 
to distribute more than 150 digital video
cameras across Iraq.  Beginning amidst the Falluja uprising in April, going 
through the marshlands in the South and Kurdish communities in the North 
and ending less than a month ago, thousands of ordinary Iraqis became 
filmmakers. The 450 hours of tape they created show all the things the 
media never has access to. The real life of Iraqis. Eric, Martin and Archie 
edited those tapes into a powerful view of life that our media has no 
access to.

Honestly, when they sent the first cut of the movie to me, I sat down to 
watch it merely out of curiousity.  Once it started, it was immediately 
obvious that this wasn?t a documentary about Iraqis. It was ?the real 
story? behind all the rhetoric we are receiving from the media and our 
candidates.  As I watched, with each scene and interview, it was if I was 
on a political rollercoaster. Jumping back and forth between ?Bush was 
right for invading?, to ?no he wasn?t. It was a mistake? I won?t tell you 
how I came out, but in watching this movie I felt far more informed and 
ready to vote. You will too. The movie opens in 10 cities October 29th. We 
are also working to get it out on DVD for those who can?t make it to 
theaters before election day. Watch the blog for more details.

Two great movies that I?m very proud of. I hope you will see them and let 
me know what you think.


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