NEWS
10 THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ENTERTAINMENT
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2006
PEOPLE
Plea bargain possible in phone assault case
Mustel Nami Campbell is escorted by a court officer to her waiting vehicle following her hearing at Manhattan criminal court stemming from an alleged assault on her maid,Tuesday, June 27, 2006, in New York. The defense agreed to an adjournment pending a possible plea deal, and the judge ordered everyone back in court on Sept. 27.
BY SAMUEL MAULL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Naomi Campbell appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday where prosecutors said a plea bargain was possible in her cell phone assault case. She did not speak during the brief proceeding.
The real action came outside the lower Manhattan courthouse, where some 50 photographers and camera crews waited for a shot of the 36-year-old supermodel after her appearance before Criminal Court Judge Evelyn Laporte.
Campbell, attorney David Breitbart and Campbell's small retinue were forced to hide inside the courthouse for about five minutes until a car arrived to take them away from the media horde.
When Campbell's case was called, prosecutor Shanda Strain told the judge that no grand jury action had been taken in the case. The defense then agreed to an adjournment pending a possible plea deal, and Laporte ordered everyone to return to court on Sept. 27.
return to court on April 10 Campbell, wearing a tight black dress with 4 inch heels, her long hair flowing down the length of her back, was silent in the courtroom. She was arrested March 31 for allegedly throwing a cell phone at one of her employees in a dispute over a missing pair of jeans.
She has called the allegations "completely untrue." But the housekeeper, Ana Scolavino, was treated at Lenox Hill Hospital for an injury to the back of her head after the incident.
The volatile Campbell has a history of problems with her employees. In 2003, she was sued by a former administrative assistant who said Campbell had thrown a phone at her during a tantrum two years earlier.
In August 2004, in the same apartment.
Campbell and her maid battled it out, with the worker claiming the supermodel slapped her across the face. Campbell accused maid Millicent Burton of instigating the fight.
cent button of integrating On Monday, in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, another maid, Gaby Gibson,
filed a lawsuit accusing Campbell of "personal injuries," "employment discrimination," "civil assault,""civil battery" and other complaints.
The court document does not detail alleged acts by Campbell, but in a published
interview in April, Gibson said the catwalker hit her on Jan.17, called her names and threatened to have her arrested. Gibson told the New York Post that Campbell got upset after being unable to find a specific pair of jeans.
BUSCH ADDS NBC TO LIST OF SPONSORSHIPS
BY JIM SALTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST.LOUIS - Anheuser-Busch Cos.
Inc. will be the exclusive alcohol sponsor for the Super Bowl through 2012, and the world's largest brewer is adding other sports to its long list of sponsorships.
The St. Louis-based maker of Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob and other beers announced on Monday it agreed a deal with NBC, which will televise the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2012. Anheuser-Busch announced in March agreements with CBS for the 2007 and 2010 games and Fox for the 2008 and 2011 Super Bowls.
Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc./THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
This undated released by Anheuser-Busch Cos. inc. shows Bud Bowl bottles that were part of the 1989 Anheuser-Busch Cos. exclusive sponsorship for the Super Bowl. The world's largest brewer will continue as the sponsor for the Super Bowl through 2012.
Anheuser-Busch has been the Super Bowl's exclusive alcohol sponsor since 1989.
The deal with NBC also calls for An-
heuser-Busch to serve as exclusive alcohol advertiser for airing of the Ryder
Cup and the President's Cup from next year through 2011. Anheuser-Busch
will sponsor the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness through 2010.
Anheuser-Busch's 48.8-percent share of the domestic beer market is partly due to years of saturating sporting events with marketing and advertising. The company was the exclusive beer sponsor for this year's Winter Olympics and is the same for soccer's World Cup. It sponsors the Daytona 500 and other NASCAR events, major league baseball, golf's PGA Championship, the NCAA basketball tourney and college football's prominent games.
Anheuser-Busch won't say how much it spends on sports advertising, but the figure has been estimated at $300 million.
"We still believe live sports are very much on target to our adult beer consumer," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch. "At least in the beer category, there's nothing that can beat a major live sporting event."
Advertising on sports remains the crucial tool for reaching the brewery's most sought-after demographic — men ages 21 to 34 — said Eric Shepard, executive editor of the industry publication Beer Marketer's Insights.
"It's clearly a priority for them," Shepard said, though he noted that as Anheuser-Busch expands into other types of alcoholic drinks to offset a stagnation of beer sales in recent years, it is finding new ways to market its products.
"They're adding other drinks, using other media," Shepard said. "In the last couple of years, they've become more flexible."
Anheuser-Busch shares slipped 12 cents to close at $45.30 on the New York Stock Exchange.