Archive for August, 2008
Nationwide ?Thunder? Boycott in the Works
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
A coalition of disabilities groups is expected to call for a national boycott of the coming film ?Tropic Thunder? because of what they see as the movie?s open ridicule of the intellectually disabled.
Media Talk: Endorsement From Winfrey Quantified: A Million Votes
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Two economists contend that Oprah Winfrey?s endorsement of Barack Obama last year gave him a boost of about one million votes in the primaries and caucuses.
Drilling Down: It?s Not the Ad; It?s Getting the Bill
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
A majority of people say they are averse to having advertisements sent to their cellphones. But nearly a quarter of people say they have responded to such ads.
The Media Equation: All of Us, the Arbiters of News
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
In the age of Twitter and YouTube, crowds are driving the media agendas.
Media Outlets Losing Money From a Lack of Auto Ads
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
The flight of advertising dollars to the Internet is one explanation for the pain felt by traditional media. Another culprit that is increasingly to blame is Detroit.
Slipstream: Olympics Online, With a Hook
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Microsoft is broadcasting the entire Olympics online in an effort to persuade people to download the software maker?s Silverlight browser plug-in.
An Old Rocker Gets Digital
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
Peter Gabriel, the rock musician, has become a powerful player in the emerging online music industry by helping artists find new ways to market their music on the Web.
Tape Delay by NBC Faces End Run by Online Fans
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
NBC?s decision about the Olympics opening ceremonies sent people to their computers to poke holes in a technological wall.
F.B.I. Says It Obtained Reporters? Phone Records
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said that it had improperly obtained the phone records of reporters for The New York Times and The Washington Post in the newspapers? Indonesia bureaus in 2004.
Advertising: Mars Takes M&M?s Out of Their Shell
Friday, August 8th, 2008
M&M?s may be an old brand, but it is not afraid to try new things.
Bits: Google Goes Gaudy With YouTube Ads
Friday, August 8th, 2008
YouTube clips embedded in blogs now can be covered with ads, creating a look that is far more clustered than the clean aesthetic that Google usually aspires to.
Bits: Google Offloads Search-Marketing Business to Publicis
Friday, August 8th, 2008
The deal for the Performics unit comes as Publicis, the giant French advertising holding company, tries to strengthen its digital offerings.
Screen Actors Guild Is Divided Against Itself
Friday, August 8th, 2008
Infuriated by hard-line tactics used by SAG leaders in contract talks with studios, a less militant collection of actors has started a campaign to take over the guild.
Signs of a Recovery at Blockbuster
Friday, August 8th, 2008
The movie rental chain suffered another loss in the second quarter, but the struggling company showed signs of progress by wringing more revenue from its stores while lowering its costs.
Warner Music Trims Loss as It Shifts Focus
Friday, August 8th, 2008
The Warner Music Group reported narrower losses in the third quarter as growth in Europe helped offset a slowdown in global music sales.
Perelman to Settle Marvel Suit
Friday, August 8th, 2008
The financier Ronald O. Perelman agreed to pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit accusing him of helping divert notes when he controlled the comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment Group.
AOL Weighs on Time Warner; Earnings Fall 26%
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Declining subscriber fees at the AOL online unit and lower ad revenue at the Time publishing business pushed down second-quarter earnings.
Comcast Buying a Publisher of Net Newsletters and Sites
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
Comcast said it would buy DailyCandy, a publisher of net newsletters, for $125 million.
Advertising: Campaign Reveals Just a Little Bit of Coke?s Secret Formula
Thursday, August 7th, 2008
For more than a century, Coke has fiercely guarded its recipe. But in an advertising campaign introduced last month in Britain, the company divulged a few facts.
Sirius Chief Undaunted by Challenge
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
The company, which completed its merger last week with XM Radio, has to persuade shareholders that it has a profitable future.
News Corp. Reports a Sharp Rise in Profit
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Rupert Murdoch?s News Corporation reported that its fourth quarter net profit rose 27 percent and showed strong performance across a number of properties.
Cablevision Weighs a Possible Spinoff
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Among the options the company mentioned to improve shareholder value are regular dividends, a stock buyback plan and possible spinoffs of business units.
Advertising: Google?s New Tool Is Meant for Marketers
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
The company is introducing a free service, intended for marketers, but which will allow anyone to track the popularity of various terms in Google?s search engine.
Books of The Times: A Reporter?s Dispatches From a Recovered Life
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
David Carr, a media columnist for The New York Times, has written a fierce, self-lacerating tale.
A Top Producer for ?Idol? to Leave for Other Projects
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
The producer Nigel Lythgoe is leaving ?American Idol? to concentrate on another Fox reality series and a new joint venture with Simon Fuller, the creator of ?Idol.?
Advertising: The High Cost of a ?Free Credit Report?
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Catchy television ads for FreeCreditReport.com don?t highlight another catch tied to the service: a monthly fee.
The Caucus: Diagnosed With Tumor, Novak Retires
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Robert Novak, the conservative columnist who learned recently that he has a brain tumor, says his condition is ?dire? and he has retired, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Six New TV Channels in India to Increase Murdoch?s Profile
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
Rupert Murdoch announced the News Corporation would invest $100 million in six regional television channels in India, and he unveiled a new Dow Jones index to track Indian stock markets.
Advertising: A Ruling May Pave the Way for Broader Use of DVR
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
A new court ruling in New York said that the so-called network DVR, which records programs on a faraway computer rather than on the device itself, does not violate copyright law.
America?s Got a Yen for Summer Talent Show
Monday, August 4th, 2008
The days of creating big reality-show hits in the summer may be over. Still, at least one expert in the field, a gentleman named Simon Cowell, would beg to differ.
Media Talk: NBC Ad Pairs ?Mummy? and Olympics
Monday, August 4th, 2008
NBC executives call the company?s TV ads plugging its new movie, ?The Mummy,? and the Beijing Olympics synergy. Some viewers call it confusing.
SearchDay: Local Search for Little Biz
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: Local Search for Little Biz; What are Good Links, Anymore?; Yahoo Gains, Google Declines, and MSN Plummets for Q2 2008 Search Ads; and more.
Media Talk: House Goes Home, but Video Goes Online via Cellphone
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Representative John Culberson, a Republican of Texas, acted as a citizen journalist, albeit a partisan one, covering Republicans in the House, after the chamber had adjourned for its recess.
Media Talk: A Rare CD by Today?s Hot Boy Band: Bids Start at $160. Do I Hear $200?
Monday, August 4th, 2008
To teenage girls this summer, few things are hotter than the Jonas Brothers, and the sole album on their back list, the out-of-print ?It?s About Time.?
Market Place: Newspapers Could Be Bargains, but Few Are Buying
Monday, August 4th, 2008
The weak economy and tight credit market have slowed buying in all sorts of media, but the drop-off is especially pronounced in newspapers.
Jewish Channel Offers Issues, History and Offbeat Movies
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Elie Singer has prevailed in creating a cable outlet that?s been labeled the ?Jewish HBO.?
Media Outlets Are Seeking a Campaign Bounce of Their Own
Monday, August 4th, 2008
Voter interest in the presidential race may be soaring, but many media companies are struggling to translate coverage into repeat readers and viewers -- or revenue.
The Media Equation: Grim News for a Paper in Jersey
Monday, August 4th, 2008
In a state with a record of corruption that needs watching, its major newspaper is looking for buyouts from a quarter of the newsroom.
Consumed: New Looks
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
An art entrepreneur makes his way into a new realm -- the art world.
Yahoo Is Still Searching for, Well, Yahoo
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
With the stock down, many shareholders are questioning whether Jerry Yang is the right man to lead Yahoo.
Business Briefing | Earnings: Washington Post Records a Loss on Buyout Charges
Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Guilty Plea in Plan for a Fraud at NBC
Friday, August 1st, 2008
A former bookkeeper at NBC Universal pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to steal more than $1 million that he and his boss had been accused of using for personal expenses.
Advertising: Summer Silliness Brings a Pizza Field and a Giant Oreo
Friday, August 1st, 2008
Outdoors advertising is a growing category -- not just billboards, but increasingly, weird publicity stunts that often go awry.
CBS Expects to Sell Some Radio Assets
Friday, August 1st, 2008
The CBS Corporation reported a 1 percent increase in profit and said it would sell 50 of its 140 radio stations as it shifts its asset mix toward Internet properties.
Cuts and Concessions Demanded at New Jersey Papers
Friday, August 1st, 2008
The Star-Ledger of Newark and a smaller sister paper in Trenton need to eliminate at least 20 percent of their staffs and win concessions from trade unions to stay afloat, their management said.
SearchDay: PPC Advertising: Art or Science?
Friday, August 1st, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: PPC Advertising: Art or Science?; Does Google Analytics Share Data?; Carl Icahn Returns to Letter-Writing; and more.