links for 2011-08-11

"The type of goods being looted seems peculiarly relevant: if they were going for bare necessities, I think one might incline towards sympathy. I could be wrong, but I don't get the impression that we're looking at people who are hungry. If they were going for more outlandish luxury, hitting Tiffany's and Gucci, they might seem more political, and thereby more respectable. Their achilles heel was in going for things they demonstrably want."

"Far-right groups have sought to exploit the tensions. The BNP says it will hold its "biggest ever day of action" this weekend and has published a leaflet titled: Looter beware: British defenders protect this area. The EDL claims its supporters are organising across the country and will provide "a strong physical presence, and discourage troublemakers from gathering in our town and city centres".

But Nick Lowles, from anti-racist organisation Hope Not Hate, described it as an attempt to divide communities: "They are trying to use what has happened in London and elsewhere to drum up support for their divisive agenda but the reality is that most communities have come together following these disturbances."

"Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer sure talks as though the company's looking to create a TV channel around Tyler Perry — Tyler TV — even though he says he "can't comment" on a report about it. He told analysts this morning that "we strongly support" the idea of bringing Perry to "exciting new platforms." That could include a "not fully distributed (cable) channel that we could buy" or nesting Perry at "a channel we already have… We have a lot of options if we choose to go down that path." The New York Times says this morning that the company is considering rebranding its struggling TV Guide Network, buying a channel such as Gospel Broadcasting Network, or teaming with Comcast which promised federal officials who approved its acquisition of NBCUniversal that it would beef up programming for minority audiences."

"Here is the official statement from TBS: "TBS has reached the difficult decision not to order a third season of Lopez Tonight. Thursday will be the final episode of the show. We are proud to have partnered with George Lopez, who is an immensely talented comedian and entertainer. TBS has valued its partnership with George and appreciates all of his work on behalf of the network, both on and off the air."

"This has caused Whole Foods an understandable headache that makes it easier to understand why they opted for an online-only Ramadan campaign that lacked in-store displays or print advertising of any sort. Despite the Muslim-American consumer dollar, courting that demographic means corporations are stuck between the Scylla of angry anti-Muslim activists and the Charybdis of uncharted marketing territory.

Mainstream companies have been trying to target the Muslim-American niche market for years due to special buying needs that show parallels with the purchasing habits of Jewish-Americans and Mormons. The headaches of the Whole Foods campaign constitute a setback. Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a prominent Muslim-American advocacy group, tells Fast Company that “it is unfortunate anything to do with Muslims or Islam will come under attack from a cottage industry” of anti-Islamic bloggers and activists."