Archive for June, 2008
Nothing Sells Like Celebrity
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Where stars end and products and pitches begin has grown less and less discernible in the era of the human billboard.
Philanthropist Giving Millions to Two Schools of Journalism
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Leonard Tow is pledging $5 million to Columbia University and $3 million to the City University of New York to examine how the troubled newspaper business can succeed online.
An Unlikely Promoter Drives Nokia?s Push in Hollywood
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
While once formidable competitors like Motorola struggle to deliver their phones on time, Nokia wants to transform itself into a next-generation entertainment company.
In a Box Office Battle, a Spy Beats a Guru
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
In a comedy slugfest at the weekend movie box office, Steve Carell and ?Get Smart? knocked out Mike Myers and ?The Love Guru.?
Tom Brokaw Will Host ?Meet the Press?
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
The former anchor of ?Nightly News? will fill the role for the rest of the year, buying NBC some breathing room.
ABC Moves to Expand Its Reach on Video Web Sites
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Full episodes of ABC shows and ESPN highlights will join user clips on Veoh.
The New Fight for Financial News
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Thomson Reuters is going hard after Bloomberg L.P., which has long been the marquee name on Wall Street for financial information.
The Media Equation: Live Music Thrives as CDs Fade
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Yes, the traditional music industry is in the tank, but for some niche bands that?s not such a bad thing.
Media Talk: ABC and Writers Skirmish Over After-Hours E-Mail
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
A recent dispute at ABC News asked: at what point does checking e-mail after hours constitute working overtime?
Media Talk: For Tom Petty Fans, the True Sound of Vinyl, Also Captured on a CD
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
In a nod to audiophiles, Warner Brothers released a vinyl version of Mudcrutch?s latest album along with a CD.
Media Talk: Study Finds Imbalance on 3 Newspapers? Op-Ed Pages
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Overwhelmingly, opinion writers for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Star-Ledger are men who agree with the newspapers? editorial pages.
Ad Leaders See Web?s Threat and Promise
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Ad executives are expressing a growing fear that Web powerhouses like Google and Microsoft want to extend their reach into traditional advertising.
Drilling Down: More Time Spent With Online Videos
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
The number of Internet users watching videos on YouTube and other Web sites rose only slightly in the last year. But each user is watching far more video than before.
Scene Stealer: When the Comedy Is Lost in Translation
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Many more uniquely domestic comedies are not performing as well as other American movies abroad, posing a problem for Hollywood, which depends on foreign markets for roughly half of its total revenue.
Success Story 2
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
How Steve Jobs used his Apple millions to turn Pixar into the most important movie studio of our time.
Bits: The A.P. Asserts Tough (and Still Secret) View of Copyright on Blogs
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
In a fight with a social news site, The Associated Press has asserted that Internet sites cannot quote the headline and first paragraph of its articles.
Business Briefing | Executives: Live Nation Chairman Will Step Down
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Michael Cohl, chairman of Live Nation, the world?s largest concert promoter, stepped down Friday after a report of a strategy dispute with the chief executive, Michael Rapino.
Business Briefing | Deals: Investors Approve Sale of Getty Images
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Shareholders say Getty Images can go ahead with its plan to sell itself to the private equity group Hellman & Friedman of San Francisco.
At Yahoo, the Exodus Continues
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
The trickle of departing senior executives has turned into a flood since Yahoo?s talks with Microsoft ended and it signed a search deal with Google.
The Times Names an Ad Executive
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Paul Smurl, executive director for strategy and planning at The New York Times, has been named vice president for advertising.
Temporary Replacement at ?Meet the Press?
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Brian Williams, anchor of ?NBC Nightly News,? will take Tim Russert?s place this Sunday.
College Football: NBC Remains Faithful to Struggling Notre Dame
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Notre Dame and NBC Sports reached a deal Thursday guaranteeing that the university?s home football games will remain on the network through the 2015 season.
Advertising: For Olympics, Lenovo Steps Up to World Stage
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Lenovo, the only Chinese company sponsoring the 2008 Beijing Olympics worldwide, is using its campaign as a launching pad for its brand.
Chairman of Live Nation Is Said to Be Preparing to Resign
Friday, June 20th, 2008
The chairman of the concert promoter is said to be negotiating to resign after an internal battle over the company?s strategy of signing expensive deals with artists like Madonna and Jay-Z.
At Social Site, Only the Businesslike Need Apply
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
In the midst of Silicon Valley?s recession-proof enthusiasm for community-oriented Web sites, LinkedIn, the most boring of the social networks, is grabbing the spotlight.
How Big Is ?Tiger Effect?? Networks Will Soon Learn
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Disappointment among network executives and sponsors was palpable after the news that Tiger Woods will be gone from golf for the rest of the year.
Hearst Chief Executive Resigns Over Policy Differences With Family Trust
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Victor F. Ganzi is leaving the publishing empire after nearly 30 years because of irreconcilable differences with its board of trustees over the company?s future, Hearst said.
Russert?s Son Sounds a Theme of Unity at Funeral
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
In death, Tim Russert did what no one has yet to accomplish this campaign season: he got Barack Obama and John McCain to sit together and talk.
Advertising: Sustaining a Rally in Women?s Tennis
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
The Women?s Tennis Association, now known as the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, is trying to capitalize on the popularity of its stars with a $15 million global branding campaign.
DreamWorks Founders Seek a Chance to Move On
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Steven Spielberg and his partner in DreamWorks SKG, David Geffen, are in discussions with Reliance Big Entertainment of India about a cash infusion of $500 million to $600 million
Advertising: On the Stump, for Consumers
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Though the point is to position their brands as hip and current, advertisers do take some risks when they delve into politics.
Spielberg Said to Be Seeking Deal
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Steven Spielberg?s DreamWorks SKG film studio is in discussions with Reliance Entertainment, part of one of the largest conglomerates in India, about a cash infusion.
The Media Equation: In Mourning for a Man, and His Era
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Amid all the laurels and praise for the life of Tim Russert, journalists and politicians seem to be fearing that he may have taken a way of life with him.
TV Decoder: Traditional Media Not Dead Yet
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
A study finds that ads appearing in traditional media like television are still ?much more likely? to have made a positive impression with consumers than ads running in digital media.
TV Sports: For SNY, It?s All Randolph From Dawn to Dusk
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
For SportsNet New York, Willie Randolph?s firing was a news crisis, an all-day story, a one-story day and an occasion to use urgent, percussive music as if war had been declared in Midtown.
Judge Sharply Dismisses Former Gossip Writer?s Suit
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
A judge dismissed a suit by a former New York Post gossip writer who accused Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton, The Daily News and others of conspiring to ruin his reputation.
To Curb Traffic on the Internet, Access Providers Consider Charging by the Gigabyte
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Internet service providers are threatening to place limits on the online activity of their most active subscribers.
Advertising: Crude? So What? These Characters Still Find Work in Ads
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Big brands have been borrowing for their marketing efforts characters from ?Family Guy,? which has been criticized for everything from anti-Semitism and sexism to homophobia.
U.S. Will Lag in Tech Growth, Study Says
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
While marketers and advertisers have much to cheer in the coming digital revolution, the fastest growth will be in emerging markets, with the United States lagging behind.
The Associated Press to Set Guidelines for Using Its Articles in Blogs
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
The effort may offer a prominent definition of the important but vague doctrine of ?fair use,? often a contentious issue in the blogosphere.
Tony Schwartz, Father of ?Daisy Ad,? Dies at 84
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Mr. Schwartz was a self-taught, sought-after and highly reclusive media consultant who helped create what is generally considered to be the most famous political ad.
McClatchy Plans to Cut 1,400 Newspaper Jobs
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
The announced job cuts amount to 10 percent of the work force at the newspaper chain, which has been hit harder than most because it relies heavily on the troubled California and Florida markets.
F.C.C. Chief Backs Satellite Radio Merger
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
The decision is an important step forward for the proposed merger of Sirius and XM.
After 38 Years, ?Soul Train? Gets New Owner
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
The 1970s song-and-dance television show has just been purchased, with plans to open up its archives for older viewers and to create a new version of the program for younger ones.
Small Publishers Feel Power of Amazon?s ?Buy? Button
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Amazon makes it harder for buyers to purchase books from those publishers with whom it is in dispute over the terms of the division of revenue from online sales.
A Book Club Courts Liberals
Monday, June 16th, 2008
The new Progressive Book Club is inviting readers to join and buy three books at $1 apiece in exchange for the obligation to buy four books over the next two years.
MySpace Might Have Friends, but It Wants Ad Money
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Monetizing social networking Web sites is proving to be an arduous road and ad revenues have not come in as quickly as planned.
With Tim Russert?s Death, NBC News Must Replace a Man of Many Roles
Monday, June 16th, 2008
While open speculation about who might replace Tim Russert in his various roles at NBC News has been muted, a list of insiders for his role on ?Meet the Press? is already circulating.
Purchase of Theme Song, a Staple of Canadian Culture, Upsets Hockey Fans
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Canada?s CTV network purchased the exclusive rights to a beloved hockey theme song associated with a program on a rival broadcaster.
SearchDay: The Search Wars Are Over
Monday, June 16th, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: orget Competition, the Search Wars Are Over; Testing Landing Pages with the Taguchi Method? Think Again!; Google Earth API and Browser Plug-in; and more.