TCA-E!'s Fluff Draws a Crowd

Poor E!, their press tour fluff always following a newsy panel – last press  tour they were stuck presenting after Al Gore, and this time they followed Dan Rather, trying to make bubblegum pop stars the Carters as newsworthy to critics as the former CBS newsman.

Don’t feel too sorry for them, though – their panel was well attended and consummate host E! Networks President/CEO Ted Harbert won laughs with his playful observations – he realized it was his 2-year anniversary, to the day, of joining E! and credited the network’s success to the fact that "Britney Spears has been pregnant every day of my tenure." After a preview of Style Network’s new hairstylist reality show Split Ends, he joked "next year on Style, look for our first heterosexual."

E! Networks really won points for its party – a Style spa soiree at the pool with healthy salads (often a rarity at these trapped-in-a-hotel events), massages, mani/pedis, makeovers and fashion advice with Top Model guru Jay Manuel, who has a new show Style Her Famous (he’s very tall and VERY nice – the guy was losing his voice after dispensing fashion advice for three hours straight and was still very friendly). The critics partied down until the thing closed at 10, happy to mingle with the Ryan Seacrest, the posse of Carter kids and the Girls Next Door chicks.

By Anne Becker