Richard Blakeley, the Gawker Media cameraman whose antics for Gizmodo drew widespread attention, is selling his press badge — the last one he’ll ever get, he says — for $100 on Craigslist. Why is it a collector’s item? Because CES has banned him from attending future events after he filmed himself using a remote control to turn off TV screens on the show floor. (Gizmodo, like Valleywag, is owned by Gawker Media, and Blakeley does video work for both sites.)

Star Wonkette commenter FlakJack listed additional punishments the Consumer Electronics Show people should mete out to Gizmodo’s TV-remote prankster Edited version:

• No protective sleeve for press room coffee cup.
• Photo credential only allows you to take pics of booth dudes, not babes.
• Shocks from a designer Taser anytime you roll your eyes at a vendor’s use of jargon.
• Mandatory lunch with Scoble and Calacanis.

Source:Valleywag

Richard Blakeley, the scamp behind Gizmodo’s TV-turnoff stunt at CES, has been banned from attending the show. Here’s the CEA’s official response to the Gizmodo TV-B-Gone prank:

We have been informed of inappropriate behavior on the show floor by a credentialed media attendee from the Web site Gizmodo, owned by Gawker Media. Specifically, the Gizmodo staffer interfered with the exhibitor booth operations of numerous companies, including disrupting at least one press event. The Gizmodo staffer violated the terms of CES media credentials and caused harm to CES exhibitors. This Gizmodo staffer has been identified and will be barred from attending any future CES events. Additional sanctions against Gizmodo and Gawker Media are under discussion.

The employee in question, Richard Blakeley, is clearly credited, so it shouldn’t be difficult to “identify” him, though both Portfolio and Silicon Alley Insider failed to get that essential detail right. Blakeley tells us that he has received “no notice at all” from CES about the banning. Though, seeing as how CES is over, we’ve got a year for this to all blow over. And Blakeley has a year to think up another stunt.

Star Wonkette commenter FlakJack listed additional punishments the Consumer Electronics Show people should mete out to Gizmodo’s TV-remote prankster Edited version:

• No protective sleeve for press room coffee cup.
• Photo credential only allows you to take pics of booth dudes, not babes.
• Shocks from a designer Taser anytime you roll your eyes at a vendor’s use of jargon.
• Mandatory lunch with Scoble and Calacanis.

What a week! On my first trip to Vegas and the Consumer Electronics Show, I survived harassment by bulldog aficionado Jason Calacanis, discovered that HP adman Jay-Z uses a Mac, and laughed at Richard Blakeley’s TV-B-Gone prank. Now we hear that he’s been banned from the show. It could be worse. He could be behind bars…

… like this pair of adorably cute bulldogs!(WORLD EXCLUSIVE bulldog photo courtesy of Jason Calacanis)

Are Microsoft’s second-tier executives all second-rate? Apparently. Microsoft has just tapped Stephen Elop, the COO of Juniper Networks, to run its Business division, which includes the highly profitable Office suite. Elop, the former CEO of Macromedia, is a good fit. But his hire sends an unwelcome message to up-and-comers within Redmond: Keep toiling away, but don’t aspire to run one of Microsoft’s great franchises. Bill Gates can find someone better than you elsewhere. Which should be as good a signal as any for them to start leaving.

Source:Valleywag

What’s the difference between a blogger and a journalist? Nothing, says CNET’s Rafe Needleman. But he’s concerned that Gizmodo’s sophomoric prank, using a TV remote control to turn off video screens at the CES 2008 gadgetfest, will get bloggers disinvited to the event next year. After all, CES only grudgingly started accrediting bloggers to the show. The only problem with Needleman’s thesis?

Gizmodo attended the event — and pulled their silly stunt — with full press credentials, not second-class blogger badges. And people say the difference between journalists and bloggers is that bloggers don’t factcheck. Needleman is right: There is no difference.

I will geek out a bit after the jump, but the bottom line is that Wednesday’s brief broadband cruise provided public proof […]

Along with having excellent food and guests, the All Things Digital party at the Venetian in Las Vegas had very nice throw pillows. Jason Calacanis may have twittered about stealing one, but I actually did it. Score one for the bullycub!

Source:Valleywag

A tipster spotted the female half of Gawker’s favorite ex-couple, Julia Allison, leaving a CES party in Las Vegas with venture capitalist Mark Kvamme of Sequoia Capital. Kvamme, who was a frequent target of Valleywag emeritus Nick Denton, is responsible for Sequoia’s investments in a number of promising companies including LinkedIn and AdBrite.

Commenter Beng asked the question about CES’ two-tier journalist passes that I wondered, too: “What is the difference between the blogger badge and the press badge, and does that mean that even Engadget and Gizmodo get blogger badges?” Gizmodo editor Brian Lam is toting a Press badge, just like Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis. Our own Jordan Golson has been tagged a “Blogger.” Hey Jordan: Besides a separate lounge with espresso and cookies, what other perks does a Press pass get you that a Blogger badge doesn’t? Just login and let Calacanis answer again, that was hilarious.

Always the charmer, Jason Calacanis has announced plans to visit the press lounge at CES. His barking continues to amuse. But here’s something that’s no laughing matter: Why is the CEO of a search engine, a legitimate object of news coverage, allowed access to the private press lounge at CES?

Sure, Calacanis has a blog. But so does Jonathan Schwartz, the CEO of Sun Microsystems, and I don’t think he’d be allowed in the press lounge, where he could overhear reporters’ confidential plans for coverage of his business rivals and partners. I trust my peers in attendance at CES will make their views known when Calacanis shows up — hopefully in Brooklyn language he might understand.