Infomercials and the decline of civilization

Article Abstract:

The popularity of infomercials seems to reflect the extent to which America's collective intelligence has declined. These long-form commercials appear to be based on the premise that a product or service, no matter how idiotic or implausible it is, will look indispensable after half an hour of heaping praises on it. Incredibly, there are actually plenty of people who appear to enjoy watching 30-minute commercials despite their poorly disguised formats and overly enthusiastic personalities gushing over knives, stain removers, garbage bags and other similarly mundane products. In fact, a number of these personalities, called 'infomercialities,' have attracted a devoted following. Mike Levy is one such infomerciality who has gained superstar status.

Evaluation, Infomercials

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France breeds its own mogul

Article Abstract:

French pay television Canal+ Chairman Pierre Lescure is in charge of an operation with a pre-profit turnover of 652 million pounds sterling for the first half of 1997. After the purchase of NetHold pay television in September 1996 for 1.24 million pounds sterling, end of year profit for 1997 is predicted to be 316 million pounds sterling. In France, subscriptions are up 41% to 536,000, and Canal+ hopes to expand into Scandinavia, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands. Canal+ has also taken over Compagnie Generale de Videocommunication (CGV), hoping to break into the market of interactive networks.

Management, Interview, Canal Plus S.A., Pay-per-view television, Lescure, Pierre

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30-minute main courses

Article Abstract:

Recipes that are based on at least one supermarket ingredient are presented. These include quick shrimp bisque; Creole chicken and okra gumbo; smoked sausage, kale and potato soup; white bean, pasta and roasted pepper soup; and rosemary toasts.

Cooking, Soups, Quick and easy cookery, Quick and easy cooking, Cookery (Shrimp), Shrimp (Food product), Cookery (Sausages), Sausage, Cookery (Chicken), Chicken (Meat), Cookery, Creole, Creole cooking

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