MEDIA WATCH: Speaking of Hammer, Capitol’s press...

MEDIA WATCH: Speaking of Hammer, Capitol’s press kit for “Too Legit” contains the usual array of flattering clippings on the rap star, so it was a surprise to find among them a reprint of Rolling Stone magazine’s less than adulatory cover story of last year. Actually, the handout includes the magazine’s cover, an inside photo, and a teasing headline page--everything but the article itself. As a service to fellow members of the press, we’ll remind them that the text Capitol lost on the way to the copy machine focused largely on allegations by former employees that they were mistreated by Hammer, and on a lawsuit (since settled) by former investors in Oakland. . . . Also, Pop Eye is as happy as everybody else over Garth Brooks’ success. But Capitol’s congratulatory full-page ad for Brooks in the Oct. 12 issue of Billboard overstated it a bit in noting that during the week of Sept. 28 the country star had the No. 1 pop album, No. 1 country album, No. 1 music video and No. 1 country single. Three out of four ain’t bad, but the single, “Rodeo,” was only No. 5 in Billboard the week in question, and peaked at No. 3.