Truth-telling: a noble, dangerous, lonely existential business in a world where people will kill to repress the truth, or in retaliation for those who refuse to be repressed. Such is the brave, sad, infuriating story of Steven Vincent, 49, art critic-turned war correspondent, who was murdered in Basra, Iraq, on …

MTV’s venerable Real World, the paterfamilias of all U.S. reality shows, is still going strong. We, and in particular Regina Avalos, are all over it: TV Review: Real World Austin 10/25/05 An initial cut of the fifteen-minute documentary is put together by Nehemiah, and shown to their three bosses. Posted …

The push is on to save fabled Bowery punk rock cradle CBGB, which opened in December of 1973 and is now in the last month of its lease. “Little” Steven Van Zandt (profile and interview here) has picked up the banner of the club, which is in conflict with its …

Our judicial system is a delicate balancing act between the rights of the defendant (with an eye toward protecting the innocent accused), the victim (justice), and society as a whole (sequestering and/or rehabilitating the dangerous, letting it be known that breaking the law is unacceptable). The media takes it upon …

Model-turned-actress-turned Humphrey Bogart’s young wife-turned legend Lauren Bacall, 81, has been around, and in her ever-deepening voice she spoke with Time magazine in conjunction with Private Screenings: Lauren Bacall, an interview show which debuts tonight on TMC, and a marathon of her films throughout the month on the same channel. …

The sense I get is that the general public is okay with the Michael Jackson “not guilty” verdict, not necessarily because they don’t think he did anything wrong, but because our system favors the accused and given the demonstrably variable character of virtually the entire lot of Jackson accusers, the …

Neither feuds, nor tudes, ludes, dudes, or prudes will keep Paris Hilton, 24, AND Nicole Richie, 23, from The Simple Life. Both have been signed to a fourth season of their fish-out-of-water reality show wherein the pampered progenies encounter the little people and attempt to interact with them without causing …

Cooper Owen, specialists in “Rock Legends” memorabilia auctions, yesterday sold $1.75 million worth of John Lennon items during a sale at London’s Hippodrome nightclub. The Big Tuna of the sale — called by Cooper Owen director Ted Owen “the Holy Grail of Beatles lyrics” — was Lennon’s handwritten lyrics for …

Allegations probed for probity and judicatory ramifications. FoxTV and the producers of American Idol, Fremantle Media and 19 Television, have hired an independent counsel, experienced in “this type of inquiry,” to look into allegations that judge Paula Abdul had an affair with Idol contestant Corey Clark during the show’s second …

Smooth R&B star Gerald Levert — ex lead singer of the group Levert, son of O’Jays leader Eddie Levert, and former Tri-C spokesman — apologized in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday and admitted to charges of assault and attempted obstruction of official business when he pleaded guilty to …