Linking to a great blog, and a bit of editorializing

The person who runs cdd.blogstop has had it with the media! Read this great blog: Media, this one is for you. I thought about writing on this topic, but the writer of this blog has all the points are covered, including some examples of the kind of crap that ended up being "reported" by some media outlets about the Great Airline Debacle of '07.

The only thing I have to add is a link to a blog I wrote last August when Clay's presidential appointment was announced: Is it asking too much?

I understand that celebrity gossip is big business these days, and scandal draws hits, but whatever happened to reporting? You know, fact-checking and stuff? Working to get the information right? OK, so Clay's only a celebrity, and who cares about being fair to them? So what if he's assaulted in his sleep on a plane and ends up getting slammed in the media for it because AP deliberately chose to leave out an integral part of the story, sensationalizing it and creating the impression that the incident was his fault. So what? He's just a celebrity and he's icky and probably gay anyway, right? So who cares?

Well, the same distorted kinds of misinformation are being published about politics, wars, and other vital national and international issues every day. Sure, I care about what the media has done to a pop star with humanitarian ideals and a big heart because I'm a fan, but it's about much more than that. It bugs the hell out of me to see the truth manipulated for the sake of hits, rating, and attention. As someone who used to idolize Bernstein and Woodward back in the day, who felt that journalism succeeded where other checks on government corruption had failed, I find the state of the media today appalling. Back then we had Bernstein and Woodward, today we've got Perez Hilton. 'Nuff said.

Clay speaks up about airline incident

From ET online:

Now, in an exclusive statement to ET, the singer tells his side of the story, saying, "While sleeping on a plane over the weekend, my foot evidently found a home on the arm rest of the passenger seated directly in front of me. I didn't realize I was causing the woman any distress until she woke me up with a quick hit to the chest.

"Unfortunately, being that this happened on a plane, the FBI was called in to investigate and eventually we were all sent on our way. I'd like to thank everyone for their concern; I am fine and have taken steps to prevent any foot wandering in the future."

Clay cleverly implies that there are far greater sources of distress in the world. "Now that I have your attention," he continues, "if you'd like to learn more about how you can help the world's children, please visit www.unicefusa.org."

and the Insider online:

Can I get a witness?

An eye-witness account of the now fabled airline incident reported by cdd.blogspot.com here:

I was sitting across the aisle from Clay Aiken and the woman who hit him. I looked over at him at one point and he appeared to be sleeping. I would have loved an autograph, but didn’t want to bother him. I was reading a magazine when suddenly I heard the woman across the aisle shouting, and I saw her hitting at Clay. He looked startled, apparently just woke up, and tried to talk to her and calm her down but she kept hitting at him. At that point a flight attendant came over and blocked my view so I couldn’t see anymore. Later on I signed a statement as a witness to her attack. I don’t know if Clay pressed charges against her or not.

See other eyewitness reports here and here .

Slow news day, huh?

Well, as expected, the news of Clay's "altercation on a plane" is all over the news today, with no mention of the fact that he was sleeping when it started. This blog, ClaySpots includes his version of the story:

I was in a meet and greet with him tonight before the concert......Clay told us exactly what happened and he was asleep...He didnt even hear her talking to him until she began screaming at him, at which point he pulled up his visor and she started swinging

This one, Excuse Me While I Take a Moment, takes a humorous approach, suggesting that the woman was taking a measure of the man.

There's a YouTube up now of his joking about the incident, but he didn't give it a lot of time. Lots of other funny stuff though:

Clay Aiken in trouble for sleeping on a plane

Earlier today a "breaking news" item was posted in the Tulsa paper, regarding an incident in which a sleeping Clay Aiken was smacked awake by a woman who was unhappy about his foot being on her armrest. Here's how the story read:

Aiken apparently questioned after airplane incident


By World Staff
7/7/2007 5:52 PM


Former "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken was apparently involved in a disturbance with another passenger Saturday while on an airplane headed to Tulsa International Airport.

The dispute occurred on a Continental Airlines flight between a woman and a man, whom FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson confirmed was a former "American Idol" contestant.

Aiken, who was a runner-up on the TV talent show in 2003, was headed to Tulsa Saturday for a performance at the Brady Theater. His management could not be reached for comment Saturday afternoon.

Johnson said he was told the dispute was over one passenger's feet resting on another passenger's armrest.

Apparently, a former "American Idol" contestant was asleep in his seat and a woman roused him to get him to move his foot, Johnson confirmed. An argument then followed.

There was an allegation that the woman gave the contestant a "minor shove" during the argument, Johnson said.

"At that point the flight crew was able to resolve the situation," he said.

The disturbance occurred Saturday morning, said Tulsa Airport Authority spokeswoman Alexis Higgins.

Higgins said the passengers were held until FBI agents arrived to question them.

No injuries were reported and no arrests were made. The disturbance did not interfere with the flight of the aircraft, Johnson said.

As Aiken was travelling from Houston where he had performed with the Houston Symphony to another night's concert in Tulsa, there were several fans on the commuter flight with him, and the eye-witness reports came in quickly. Here's what was soon posted on one of his message boards:

One of the organizers of the pre-concert event was on the flight and witnessed the kerfuffle. She was questioned and had to sign a witness statement and everything.

According to the people who witnessed it, Clay was asleep with one leg crossed over the other (kind of parallel to floor) and his foot was apparently touching the armrest. The woman hit at his foot and told him to get his foot off her arm. Clay slept through that apparently and she got pissed and started swatting at him and smacking him. He woke up to the woman hitting him.

According to the witness, they were all questioned by authorities after the flight touched down and the woman was "led away" by authorities. They think she was arrested but don't know for sure, just that she was in custody.

Next thing you know, it's on the AP wire, and here's the version they're telling:

Clay Aiken involved in airplane spat

08:46 PM CDT on Saturday, July 7, 2007
Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. – Former American Idol singer Clay Aiken was apparently involved in an airplane disturbance with another passenger Saturday while headed to Tulsa International Airport.

The dispute on a Continental Airlines flight occurred between a woman and a man, whom FBI Special Agent Gary Johnson confirmed was a former American Idol contestant.

Aiken, runner-up on the TV talent show in 2003, was headed to Tulsa for a Saturday performance at the Brady Theater. His management could not be reached for comment on the alleged incident.

Johnson said he was told the dispute was over the male passenger's foot resting on another passenger's armrest. He said the disturbance minor.

There was an allegation that the woman gave the male passenger a "minor shove" during the argument, Johnson said.

"At that point the flight crew was able to resolve the situation," he said.

The disturbance occurred Saturday morning, said Tulsa Airport Authority spokeswoman Alexis Higgins. Higgins said the passengers were held until FBI agents arrived to interview them.

No injuries were reported and no arrests were made. The disturbance did not interfere with the flight of the aircraft, Johnson said.

Agents forwarded the results of their investigation to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which declined to file charges, he said.

Later in the evening, the Tulsa paper had rewritten their version to remove the part about Aiken being asleep, to correspond with the AP story.

Meanwhile, Aiken regaled the Tulsa audience with his version of the story, and was mocked by his backup singers for being "beaten up by a woman." Unfortunately, the fabled video-gathering capacities of the Clay Nation were no match for the eagle-eyed Tulsa security watch, so there will be no You Tube tonight, but the jist of it was that he was asleep and woke up to this woman smacking him. Only Clay could manage to get embroiled in a scandal while sleeping on a plane--or rather, I should say, only the media could manage to get Clay embroiled in a scandal for sleeping on a plane.

Something completely different

Clay's take on top 40 radio:




Video by spotlightlover, 07/06/07

Tags: Clay Aiken Houston Symphony radio classics

There are no words

Just listen...




Video by SecretlyLovesClay, 07/06/07

Tags: Clay Aiken Tulsa Lover All Alone