It is impossible to imagine being confined for our entire lives

More reality TV coming to you, on a cheaper budget

...as Americans are clipping coupons, eating at home more and doing whatever it takes to cut their budgets, they can turn on their sets and find that TV is being frugal too...Paris Hilton and a camera crew behind her wait for shooting to commence on the set of the reality show "Paris Hilton's My New BFF," in Beverly Hills, Calif., Monday, March 23, 2009. Even in the luxury world of celebutante Paris Hilton, the economy is tamping down the glam. As networks grapple with smaller budgets and cash-strapped marketers are looking for free exposure, a popular solution has emerged in the downturn: Even cheaper reality TV..."The economy's a mess, so all of us have to work more efficiently. ... We have a reality show that is 40 percent cheaper than this show that just got green-lit."...The economics of reality shows benefit from cost-saving "trade-outs" from sponsors, like free helicopter rides, air travel and dinners at fancy restaurants. And the shows are more malleable to advertisers who are pushing harder to integrate their brands directly into shows, as a way to get in front of consumers who can skip commercials with digital video recorders. Garnier Fructis sponsors a beauty makeover segment on "American Idol Extra," and Charmin gives toilet paper to contestants in remote places on "Survivor."..."It's a great platform for me, because I can show a lot of my products," she said. "All the kids have my perfume. They're all wearing the clothing line, they're all wearing my shoe line, they're all wearing my purse line, my belts, my accessories, Paris Hilton sunglasses. It's kind of like having a free commercial."


Wal-Mart Got Millions From Workers' Life Insurance Policies

Poll: Americans still planning vacations

Caribbean Villa Rentals raise bar on vacation experience

Caribbean villa rental guests have become a valuable mainstay of the current travel scene. Their continued devotion to the ultimate vacation experience has been a saving grace to many Caribbean destinations...Nancy feels that the villa rental industry survives because it provides value, luxury, and the opportunity to see island culture in an upfront and personal way...Villas pull their collective weight by providing multiple layers of financial support to communities by creating local jobs in maintenance, painting, plumbing and electrical, housekeeping, extermination, landscaping, and pool care, to name but several. In addition, island utilities such as power and water, telephone, and the Internet receive income.


Guest luxuries seen as recession remedy, Hotel hopes decor creates ‘sense of arrival’

“As soon as you come in, you know you’ve escaped,” he said..."People are always attracted to what’s new, and the brand’s fans will be able to take advantage of St. Regis hallmarks such as high tea".

Workers Assail Night Lock-Ins by Wal-Mart

The Sam's Club, a Wal-Mart subsidiary, had locked its overnight workers in, as it always did, to keep robbers out and, as some managers say, to prevent employee theft. As usual, there was no manager with a key to let Mr. Rodriguez out. The fire exit, he said, was hardly an option and management had drummed into the overnight workers that if they ever used that exit for anything but a fire, they would lose their jobs.

"My ankle was crushed," Mr. Rodriguez said, explaining he had been struck by an electronic cart driven by an employee moving stacks of merchandise. "I was yelling and running around like a hurt dog that had been hit by a car. Another worker made some phone calls to reach a manager, and it took an hour for someone to get there and unlock the door."

Magazines Blur Line Between Ad and Article

The April issue of Scholastic Parent & Child, scheduled to come out on Monday, will carry an ad on the front cover for the first time in the 16-year history of the magazine. The ad, for a company called Smilebox, will appear in the lower right corner of the cover and carry the label “advertisement” in small type...“We’re certainly conscious of industry standards, and in retrospect, did we push the envelope a little bit on this one? Maybe,” said Gary Hoenig, the general manager and editorial director of ESPN Publishing. “But we keep looking for ways to help our advertisers out, so we’re not going to be unwilling to listen if there’s an interesting idea.”... mix of editorial content and advertising. Entertainment Weekly and Time included editorial photos and coverage of the DreamWorks Animation movie “Monsters vs. Aliens,” mixed with ads from Hewlett-Packard, McDonald’s, Intel and RealD. The advertisers were all “Monsters vs. Aliens” sponsors, and some of their ads included the same movie characters that were shown in the editorial material. Time, Entertainment Weekly and People ran cover lines promoting the section. And the ads and some editorial content were produced in 3-D (glasses were included with the issues).

Battle boredom by planning vacation now

The next month or so is going to be tough for local outdoorsmen. There will be rain and snow, blustery winds, bitter cold days with little to do but look out the window and wish spring was really here. There's one thing you can do during the coming days, and that's plan for a spring or summer vacation.

Zoos: Boredom behind bars

It is impossible to imagine being confined for our entire lives, as captive animals are. The very essence of freedom is being able to come and go as we please, decide when and what to eat, hang out with people we like and avoid those we don't, choose and court our mates and decide whether or not to have children.