jason nevader and wireimage investment banker

Jason Nevader
http://twitter.com/jnevader
http://10021nysocialites.blogspot.com/2007/06/getty-images-buy-wireimage-who-will.html
http://www.facebook.com/jasonnevader

Entrepreneur, Former Investment Banker
Miami/Fort Lauderdale Area

past:
* CEO, CFO, & Co-Founder at MediaVast, Inc. (a/k/a WireImage, FilmMagic, Contour Photos)
* M&A Associate at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette
* M&A Financial Analyst at Solomon Brothers

(specializing in mergers and acquisitions,capital raising, contract negotiation, product development, and overall business development strategy.)

education:
University of California, Berkeley - Walter A. Haas School of Business

Jason Nevader’s

*
CEO, CFO, & Co-Founder
MediaVast, Inc. (a/k/a WireImage, FilmMagic, Contour Photos)

(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Online Media industry)

September 1999 — April 2007 (7 years 8 months)

Gettiy Images will now pay you for User-created-mobile-cam pictures. Exclusive photos are more important than quality, and can make the front page.

In 2005, LG started promoting a 5 megapixel mobile-cam phone. With every year, the technology gets better, and the quality of the mobile-cam photos get better.

What are the best quality phones on the market now? If you know, write me.
Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.

5-megapixel camera phone (LP5500)
The 5-megapixel handset, a super-slim handheld at just 18mm, adopts an innovative Twist & Slim design that features a real digital camera.
It incorporates an auto focus CCD camera and a 2-inch QVGA LCD screen - supporting VGA-level video at 30 fps (frame per second).
Strengthening this camera function is a strobe flash, half-shutter and lens cover.

Rob Tencer public relations have always told their clients to carry a mobile-cam phone and to have the highest quality yet discreet digital camera that they can take with them at all times. This is a necessary accessory to make you famous. Being able to take photos when no one else is around, or no one else will shoot, is the key. I have devoted a section to getting the right camera phone, and the rest to details of Getty Images new plans to buy your photo.


Paris Hilton used a stolen phone scam to circulate these mobile-cam photos for free.

She actually said someone hacked into her cell phone account and retrieved contact details and all her mobile-cam photos.

This helped her tremendously, as people thought they were getting a peek into Paris Hilton's private life. The peek was well thought out and the results were very successfull and a big boost to her career.

Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.



Vida Guerra tried the same strategy of releasing mobile-cam photos to the public and claiming they were stolen. Her photos were very graphic, and revealed everything about Vida's beautiful body. This worked to her advantage, and she graced many magazine covers since.




Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.



Vida Guerra makes the magazine cover's
It wasn't enough for Vida to get into the magazines, and the mobile-cam photos helped her get on the covers of many magazine. She really is a beautiful girl, but who would know it if she didn't release the mobile-cam photos?



Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.

What does it mean when Getty Images starts paying regular citizens to be its new source for candid and exclusive photographs from your mobile-cam phone?

It means they recognize the power of being at the right place at the right time, and that one of their photographers won't always be there. Until, now that is.

They are seeking our “user created content”, and they will pay well for it and exclusively distribute it for us globally.

How will Getty Images who just acquired Wireimage, keep their editorial standards?

Will this start a turn to paparazzi for a quality press agency with very high standards for its content? What were the standards of Scoopt, before Getty purchased them.




In Getty’s press release they address this issue with “Both Getty Images and Scoopt encouraging contributors to be respectful and follow a code of ethics for image capture.”



“Being the first on the scene is valuable,” said McRae of Scoopt. ”It’s thousands of times more valuable than the quality.”

There are some people who think this will be successful because of the number of people with digital cameras these days, and there are others who think the quality of the photos will be so poor and the banality of the “news” events so great that the agency will quickly sink. I’m going to have to sit on the fence on this one, I think it’s about 50:50 and depends on a number of factors, including the skill of the agent.

Scoopt was started in 2005, mainly to collect and represent the sale of camera phone pictures from citizens, and was among the first such efforts in this nascent field. Since then others like Sypmedia and Cell Journalist and others have cropped up. German tabloid Bild is paying 500-1,000 euros for a picture taken with a camera phone that they use, and has already tussled with the lawyers of celebrities.

Also, the Scoopt team will continue to operate out of the site’s base in Glasgow, Scotland.


Here is more details of the acquisitionin a pres release:

Getty Images Acquires Scoopt With the Vision of Making Citizen Photojournalism More Accessible to the Mainstream Media
Amateur Photographers Who Find Themselves in the Right Place at the Right Time Will Soon Have Exposure to a Worldwide Audience
SEATTLE, March 12 / -- Getty Images, Inc. (NYSE: GYI) today announced its acquisition of Scoopt, an emerging source for user- generated editorial content. Scoopt is an aggregator and distributor of photographs and videos captured by eyewitnesses who have an accidental front row seat to headline-making moments.
In the coming months, news, sport and entertainment imagery from Scoopt that meets Getty Images' stringent editorial quality standards will be released exclusively athttp://www.gettyimages.com/editorial , where it will benefit from worldwide visibility and promotional support. Additionally, Getty Images will invest in technology upgrades and other enhancements to Scoopt in order to make the site more accessible to customers, and to better position it for future growth.
"New technology has made it easier to capture and distribute imagery, leading to citizen photojournalism that is increasingly relevant to the news cycle," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. "While this genre will never replace the award-winning photojournalism for which we're known, it's a highly complementary offering that enables us to meet the evolving imagery needs of a broad customer base."
Since the founding of Scoopt in 2005, the site has supplied the media with arresting imagery from major world events, including:
-- The tragic Manhattan plane crash that killed New York Yankees pitcher
Cory Lidle and his flight instructor in October 2006; digital images
captured by a bystander were emailed to Scoopt and appeared on the
front page of The Times of London
-- Fierce January 2006 storms in the U.K., which brought devastation and
disruption to large parts of the country

"User-generated content is serving a valuable role in today's communication landscape; safeguards to validate its authenticity are critical," said Hugh Pinney, director of Editorial Photography at Getty Images. "By implementing rigorous quality standards, we can deliver powerful imagery captured from a unique perspective while ensuring journalistic integrity."

Citizen photographers who submit imagery to Scoopt retain copyright while granting the agency a 12-month exclusive license that authorizes re-license to one or more publishers. Contributors will benefit from increased visibility and an extensive network of media contacts, earning a significant percentage of the value for each license issued. Both Getty Images and Scoopt encourage contributors to be respectful and follow a code of ethics for image capture. Submission guidelines and additional details about Scoopt's growing photographer community can be found athttp://www.scoopt.com/.

Getty Images plans to fully integrate Scoopt into its organization, harnessing the team's knowledge of user-generated editorial content. "We're very much looking forward to taking our business to the next level by collaborating with the world's leading imagery provider," said Kyle MacRae, founder of Scoopt. "This acquisition will exponentially expand our customer base and establish a strong foundation for long-term growth."

The Scoopt team will continue to operate out of the site's base in Glasgow, Scotland, servicing customers under the leadership of Getty Images' Hugh Pinney. Existing relationships with Scoopt partners and affiliates will remain in place until further notice.

About Getty Images, Inc.
Getty Images is the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and the first place creative professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage imagery. The company's award-winning photographers and imagery help customers create inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and Web sites. Headquartered in Seattle, WA and serving customers in more than 100 countries, Getty Images believes in the power of imagery to drive positive change, educate, inform, and entertain. Visit Getty Images athttp://www.gettyimages.com/
For more information, press only:
Deb Trevino, Getty Images, 206-925-6474, deb.trevino@gettyimages.com
Elise Chisholm, Edelman, 206-268-2270, elise.chisholm@edelman.com
SOURCE: Getty Images, Inc.
CONTACT: Deb Trevino of Getty Images, +1-206-925-6474, or
deb.trevino@gettyimages.com, or Elise Chisholm of Edelman, +1-206-268-2270, or
elise.chisholm@edelman.com, for Getty Images
Web site: http://www.gettyimages.com/

Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.

How easy is it to remove your photos from a press website?

Its much easier than you think. If you see a photo you don't like of yourself, record the image number and call or email with your request to remove the photo. You must supply proof that the photo is you.

WireImage's focus on entertainment photography - together with its promise to produce flattering pictures - ensured that it was the official photo agency for the Grammys, the Screen Actor's Guild and the Writer's Guild.

As part of its mission statement, WireImage promises to observe the "marketing and publicity interests of our corporate assignment clients" - or not to produce any pictures that aren't "nice", in the words of its chief executive, Jason Nevader.

So remember, its more important to get photographed, and have the assurance that if you don't like a photo, you can have it removed.

But watch out for photographers and press agencies with no rules.

Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.

Getty Images buy Wireimage. Who will compete to buy exclusives now?

For those that heavily rely on press and photos. The competition has been purchased.
For those that don't know, Getty and Wireimage have been and will be at every major event that you will ever attend.

They are very important to your future as a Socialite or Celebrity.

For this press release to not mention its founders is a travesty. so here is the bio's of wireimage co-founders:

WireImage was established by five photographers - Lester Cohen, Steve Granitz, Michael Caulfield, Jeff Vespa and Kevin Mazur - and four investment bankers and technology experts - Justin Kahn, Paul Donohue, Jason Nevader and Josh Tang. It has become a leading supplier of `entertainment photography' to magazines, since it was set up a few years ago.

Jeff Vespa is an artist, well-known celebrity photographer and Co-founder and Vice-President of the global digital photographic agency, WireImage. He is responsible for the creation of the WireImage Celebrity Portrait Studio that has become an integral part of the independent film festival worldwide and is the official photographer for the Sundance Film Festival, where he captures the portraits of all attending stars. Vespa shoots a monthly celebrity portrait spread for LA Confidential and is the Hollywood Reporter's photographer, producing the high-profile covers for the Power 100 and Next Gen issues.

Kevin Mazur
Kevin Mazur's career as a world-class photographer spans twenty-five years of music history. As a staff photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine, Mazur shot many of the world's greatest performers to become the top music photographer in the world. In 2001, Mazur co-founded WireImage and later launched WireImage's sister agency, Contour Photos, a premier stock photo agency designed specifically for the high-end celebrity portraiture market. His photos have appeared in numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, People, Entertainment Weekly, Musician, Spin US, Newsweek, and more. Previously, he was the top-producing photographer with London Features photo agency. In its April 2005 issue, American Photo named Kevin Mazur #4 among the 100 most important contemporary people in photography. Kevin Mazur is a WireImage Co-Founder.

Kevin Mazur, who features in the current edition of Vanity Fair, bypassed his fellow photographers and sauntered into the event, having secured the enviable tag allowing him comprehensive access to the stars.

Hailed by Barbra Streisand as a "very pleasant person" and credited for having "impeccable manners" by David Bowie, Kevin Mazur is one of the co-founders of Wire- Image, which continues to secure greater or more exclusive access at celebrity events around the world.

Steve Granitz
One of the most recognized and prolific celebrity event photographers in the world, Granitz has covered high-profile entertainment events and personalities for the past twenty years, including award shows, movie premieres, and more. Granitz's photos have appeared in countless publications, including People, Newsweek, Time, US Magazine, and Rolling Stone. Steve Granitz is a WireImage Co-Founder.

Lester Cohen
Based in Los Angeles, Lester Cohen is one of the premier figures in American rock music photography. Over the past thirty years, Cohen has covered high-profile musicians and musical events for major studios and labels (Atlantic, Elektra, Geffen, Universal, MCA, Columbia, Sony, DreamWorks, Capital, ASCAP, BMI, BMG, Arista, RCA and more). In addition, he has been the personal photographer for Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart, Sting, The Police and others. His photos have appeared in People, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Spin, Source, Music Express, Paris Match, The L.A. Times, and The New York Times as well as on album packaging, advertising, and music merchandise. Lester Cohen is a WireImage Co-Founder.

"I know the stars. I have worked with them all and I can honestly say I have never done paparazzo style. Celebrities are human too and they should not be stalked," said Cohen.

Michael Caulfield
Michael has covered many of the major news events in the last fourteen years eight with the Associated Press including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Rodney King trial, the L.A. riots, the Oklahoma City bombing trial, President Bush, President Clinton, earthquakes, fires, World Series, Super Bowl, World Cup Soccer, NBA Championships, the Oscars, the GRAMMYS, the Golden Globes and many more. Michael's photos have been on the cover of The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, International Herald Tribune, USA Today, People Magazine; his photos are featured regularly in these publications as well as Newsweek, Time, Life, US News & World Report, Business Week, Sports Illustrated, among others. Michael Caulfield is a WireImage Co-Founder.

Jeff Vespa
Based in Los Angeles, Jeff Vespa specializes in film festival photography, capturing all the rising stars at Sundance as well as the Toronto Film Festival for the past ten years. Vespa's photos have appeared in People, US Weekly, Glamour, Elle, Premiere, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Teen People, Rolling Stone, GQ, New York Daily News, London Daily Mail, Newsweek, and TV Guide. Jeff was the exclusive photographer for Paris Hilton's "Confessions of an Heiress". Jeff Vespa is a WireImage Co-Founder.

Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.

Getty Images Agrees to Acquire WireImage, a Renowned Brand in Entertainment, Event and Celebrity Imagery

Move Boosts Company's Capabilities in Fast-Growing Category

SEATTLE, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- It's no secret. Now, more than ever, the world is fascinated with images of celebrities, entertainers and athletes. So much so, in fact, that it's become one of the fastest growing categories in the visual content business. Today, Getty Images, Inc. (NYSE: GYI), the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content, is announcing an acquisition that will support the company's stated strategy of accelerating the growth of its editorial imagery business.

Getty Images announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase WireImage, one of the leading creators of entertainment and event imagery, for approximately $200 million in cash. The deal also will include MediaVast, Inc. the owner of WireImage, and sub-brands FilmMagic and Contour Photos. The acquisition is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

"The demand for entertainment, event and celebrity imagery is growing exponentially, and Getty Images has determined that there are great growth opportunities in the category," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. "A key focus for us in the last several years has been to grow our editorial imagery business, particularly in international markets. The proposed acquisition of WireImage will enable us to develop new products and services, including podcasts, editorial video, multimedia, mobile, consumer offerings and exclusive imagery. We are confident that the proposed acquisition will help us expand our global entertainment and celebrity imagery business, allowing us to satisfy growing customer demand in the U.S. and abroad."

Under the agreement, WireImage's founding photographers and key executives have signed long term agreements to remain with WireImage and Getty Images following the acquisition.

The acquisition will bring together two leading innovators within the entertainment imagery category. Getty Images has made entertainment and celebrity imagery accessible to a growing global entertainment marketplace through its industry-leading Web site, featuring search in local languages and purchase in local currencies, and leads the industry in delivery speed, service and international distribution. WireImage has built a reputation for depth and breadth of entertainment coverage and has an innovative and customer-friendly Web site.

Several of the companies' product offerings complement each other. For example, Getty Images' Exclusive by Getty Images offering, launched in 2006, and MediaVast's Contour Photos will combine to give customers unprecedented access to celebrity portraiture and compelling editorial features.

The business of entertainment imagery has grown significantly in recent years, and like the many other players in the space, Getty Images has benefited. The company has targeted this category for continued growth, especially in non-English speaking countries, and the acquisition of WireImage is expected to help the company expand the entertainment and celebrity imagery segment.

Getty Images plans to maintain MediaVast's three brands: WireImage, FilmMagic, and Contour Photos, and its Web sites. WireImage's team and Getty Images will continue to generate new imagery for their respective collections and make it available for online distribution, both in the U.S. and globally.

"We are very excited to be joining Getty Images," said Jason Nevader, co-founder and CEO of MediaVast. "Under the Getty Images umbrella our customers will be able to take advantage of Getty Images' global, localized e-commerce platform. Getty Images' breadth of products and services, including their vast archival collections, will give our customers more choice and richer, more accessible content."

The company estimates, on a preliminary basis, that the acquisition will be neutral to earnings per share, excluding amortization, in 2007 and accretive to earnings per share on a GAAP basis in 2008. WireImage's portfolio includes an online archive of over 8.5 million images. The company has about 230 employees and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Las Vegas, London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Madrid, and Amsterdam.

About Getty Images

Getty Images is the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and the first place creative professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage imagery. The company's award-winning photographers and imagery help customers create inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and Web sites. Headquartered in Seattle, WA and serving customers in more than 100 countries, Getty Images believes in the power of imagery to drive positive change, educate, inform, and entertain. Visit Getty Images athttp://gettyimages.com/.

Some of the statements in this press release may constitute "forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations, assumptions and projections about Getty Images and its industry as of the time the statements are made. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our past performance and our current expectations, assumptions and projections. Differences may result from actions taken by the company as well as from risks and uncertainties beyond the company's control. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks associated with the regulatory review of the proposed acquisition, the risk that the proposed acquisition may not be consummated in a timely manner, or at all, the risks associated with currency fluctuations, changes in the economic, political, competitive and technological environments, and the risks associated with system security, upgrades, updates and service interruptions. The foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is illustrative, but by no means exhaustive. For more information on factors that may affect future performance, please review the reports filed by Getty Images with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. Except as required by law, Getty Images does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For more information, please contact:
Press: Deb Trevino, VP, Communications, 206-925-6474,
deb.trevino@gettyimages.com

Press: Roger van Oosten, VP, Edelman for Getty Images, 206-268-2213
roger.vanoosten@edelman.com

Investors: Alan Pickerill, Director, Investor Relations, 206-925-6355,
alan.pickerill@gettyimages.com

SOURCE: Getty Images, Inc.

CONTACT: Deb Trevino, VP, Communications, +1-206-925-6474,
deb.trevino@gettyimages.com; Roger van Oosten, VP, Edelman for Getty Images,
+1-206-268-2213, roger.vanoosten@edelman.com; Alan Pickerill, Director,
Investor Relations, +1-206-925-6355, alan.pickerill@gettyimages.com

Web site: http://www.gettyimages.com/

another update to getty's purchasing all the competition:
Photo agencies are consolidating, and Getty Images recently bought WireImage's leading competitor, Image Direct. It kind of makes you wonder, who will be next, to be eaten by Getty images?

Find out more about the Author of this blog at his website Rob Tencer pr.