How the media cover the Allen & Co. fest

Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times writes Wednesday about how the business media cover the annual Allen & Co. event in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Flint writes, “Hiding in the bushes hoping to break some news or at least score some gossip will be a handful of reporters including the folks from CNBC. For one week, media executives get to see what life is like for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Instead of being asked if they are having another baby or if there marriage is on the rocks though they get asked if they’re doing any deals.

“The executives chuckle and walk on since Allen & Co., while loving all the attention their little shindig gets, discourages attendees from mingling with the press. In fact, last year they even made the bar at the resort where the conference is held off limits to reporters.

“The usual suspects are attending including Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes, Google’s Eric Schmidt, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, Walt Disney’s Bob Iger and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Already the Wall Street Journalbreathlessly reported that Schmidt and Zuckerberg drove off together for a meeting (or a cup of coffee, who knows).

“That’s what life is like for the press at Sun Valley. They see someone, write where they are going and then try to figure out what they might be talking about. It’s an event that is perfect for Twitter because rarely does anything happen that merits more than 140 characters. A highlight of last year was Universal Pictures chief Ron Meyer accidentally driving off in BET founder Bob Johnson’s rental car.”

Read more here.