Promises of free vacation tickets or maybe a free TV if you sit in on a time-share sales pitch are common.

CNN: Watch out for the 'free' stuff

Here are the famous, the obscure and the anonymous, children, lovers and nutters, all of whom, for different reasons, have one thing in common: they must pitch in.

ECONOMIST: Reading habits

And like every network executive who took to the stage this week, Ostroff made a point of emphasizing her company's desire to work the Web into their business --the now-common "multiplatform" pitch.

FORBES: CW's Deja Vu

Times have changed though and with tickets being relatively pricey, with all seating stadia in place and pitch invasion not very common nowadays it would seem that distance between the fans in the crowd and the playing surface is not as essential as it once was.

FORBES: Olympic Meddle

That reopened the battle in Yokohama, with CDT staff counsel Alan Davidson and Common Cause general counsel Don Simon lobbying meeting participants, board members and anyone else who would listen to their pitch to oppose the staff plan.

CNN: Group overseeing Internet changes sets its election rules