Archive for December, 2008
Consumers Union to Buy Gawker Blog Consumerist
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
The blog, Consumerist, aims at a younger market than the venerable Consumer Reports.
Fee Dispute Threatens Some Cable Shows
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, among others, says it might remove the channels from key markets on Jan. 1 if Time Warner Cable does not agree to an increase in rights fee.
Werner Wiskari, Times Editor, Is Dead at 90
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Mr. Wiskari was a former foreign correspondent and editor of international news for The New York Times.
Lobbyist Sues Times, Citing Report of McCain Ties
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Vicki L. Iseman charged that an article The Times published in February had falsely created an impression that she had engaged in an improper romantic relationship with the senator.
Advertising: Ad Agencies Fashion Their Own Horn, and Toot It
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
A blog about Michelle Obama?s clothes shows how agencies are moving from promoting to creating brands.
Village Voice Lays Off Nat Hentoff and 2 Others
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Three writers were laid off, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.
Breakingviews.com: Liberty Media?s Boss, a Hero to His Shareholders
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Media moguls have had a rough year, but John Malone appears to have salvaged some value for his shareholders at the expense of another mogul?s shareholders.
Photographers Recorded Mumbai Rampage in Stark Detail
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
There were few pictures taken of the Mumbai attacks aside from those of a newspaper photographer and a photography editor.
Advertising: TV Retains Marketing Dollars in Hard Times
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Even in a recession, TV networks still have the power to provide advertisers with mass audiences.
Judge Delays Ruling on Blocking Release of ?Watchmen? Film
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
A superhero movie may not reach theaters on its scheduled date after a federal judge said that he might block the film?s release because of an ownership dispute.
Abbott Combes, 64, Magazine Editor, Dies
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Mr. Combes spent 27 years as a copy editor at The New York Times Magazine and helped create its "About Men" column.
SearchDay | Paid Links: A Black Hat/White Hat Discussion
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: Paid Links: A Black Hat/White Hat Discussion; Look for SEO Opportunities in these Dire Economic Times; Yahoo Shareholder Wants Search Sold to Microsoft; and more.
?Idol? Spurs Optimism at Fox Once Again
Monday, December 29th, 2008
At the end of calendar year 2008, Fox finds itself trailing all its competitors in the ratings competition ? in other words, it has them exactly where it wants them.
Advertising: Best and Worst Ads: A Year the News Eclipsed Commercial Breaks
Monday, December 29th, 2008
In 2008, the best-laid marketing plans of mice and men ? or ?Mad Men? with mice ? proved no match for a historic presidential race and an enormous financial crisis.
TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War
Monday, December 29th, 2008
With a presidential election and its aftermath dominating the news, the three broadcast networks have quietly cut back war coverage.
Advertising: Broadway?s Marketing Turns Interactive
Monday, December 29th, 2008
To fill more seats, theater producers are stepping up their online presence in an effort to spread word of mouth among Internet users.
Bargain Hunting for Books, and Feeling Sheepish About It
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Book publishers and booksellers are faltering. But don?t blame the recession ? it?s all the fault of the Internet used books market.
?Today? Show Tries Prime-Time Role
Monday, December 29th, 2008
NBC?s juggernaut morning show, now expanded to four hours each weekday, produced last week a prime-time holiday special called ?Today Looks Back.?
SearchDay | Is it Too Late for Holiday Search Traffic?
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: Is it Too Late for Holiday Search Traffic?; PPC & SEO -- Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together; Assembling Your Landing Page Optimization Dream Team; and more.
SearchDay | Universal Search Should Be a Plus
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: Universal Search Should Be a Plus; Keyword Discovery 101, Part 1; Is the Bad Economy Bringing Branding Back?; and more.
Alvah H. Chapman Jr., Civic-Minded Leader of Knight Ridder, Dies at 87
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Mr. Chapman was the former publisher of The Miami Herald and chairman of the Knight Ridder newspapers and one of South Florida?s most influential philanthropic and civic leaders.
An NPR Reporter Becomes the News
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Midway through her reporting on how Americans were handling economic pressure, National Public Radio senior correspondent Ketzel Levine found out that she had been laid off.
Oscar Pitches to Voters on Vacation
Monday, December 29th, 2008
Expensive trade paper ads don?t mean much if nobody?s in the office. So what?s an awards publicist to do?
Drilling Down: Sex Sells, but a Commitment Can Help
Monday, December 29th, 2008
While sex in advertising is generally thought to be more useful in selling to men than to women, a study finds that this effect is reversed when emotional intimacy justifies the sex.
Star-Filled Releases Draw Well at Box Office
Monday, December 29th, 2008
An unusual alignment of top stars brightened Hollywood?s holiday box office.
The Web: NBC Bridges Series Gaps With Online Minidramas
Monday, December 29th, 2008
NBC and its sister cable channels in the NBC Universal family are the only reliable purveyors of true Webisodes.
Scene Stealer: Blockbuster Openings, Lackluster Box Office
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
Looking back, some movies that opened amid great hype in 2008 had less-than-great ticket sales.
Prototype: The Comics Are Feeling the Pain of Print
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
Many wonder whether daily comics can make a jump to mass electronic distribution or whether they will be tossed aside like yesterday?s news.
Satellite Radio Still Reaches for the Payday
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
Deep debt, including Howard Stern?s $500 million contract, is causing Sirius XM Radio big worries despite growing revenue and subscriptions.
Jim McKay | b. 1921: The Unexpected Anchor
Sunday, December 28th, 2008
One hard news day at the deadly Munich Olympics.
Joan Winston | b. 1932: Enterprising
Saturday, December 27th, 2008
Her Star Trek conventions harnessed the power of media fandom long before the barons of content did.
I?m Penniless, but the Laugh?s on Them
Saturday, December 27th, 2008
Financial jokes are the new punch lines in town from late night television to satirical papers like The Onion.
Tim Russert | b. 1950: Role Model
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
He was the John Madden of political coverage.
Judge Says Fox Owns Rights to a Warner Movie
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
A federal judge said he intended to grant 20th Century Fox?s claim that it owns a copyright interest in ?Watchmen,? set for release in March.
David Rampe, Veteran Times Editor, Dies at 60
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
Mr. Rampe helped shape the newspaper?s coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
With Orthodoxy?s Revival in Russia, Religious Media Also Rise
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
In a country that was officially atheist about two decades ago, there are again hundreds of newspapers, magazines and newsletters covering the world?s largest Orthodox church.
Penthouse Magazine Firm Planning to Offer Shares
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
FriendFinder, which owns Penthouse magazine, is trying to sell up to $460 million in stock to investors in one of the most challenging markets ever for initial public offerings.
Tribune Asks Approval to Make Pension Contributions
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
The publisher of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune asked a judge for approval to pay prebankruptcy and future contributions to union pension plans.
Times Co. Seeking to Sell Its Stake in the Red Sox
Thursday, December 25th, 2008
The New York Times Company is trying to sell its stake in the baseball team, seeking to shield its newspaper franchise from falling revenue, a person briefed on the plans said on Wednesday.
Will Elder | b. 1921: His Mad World
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
He had a love for juvenility that lasted a lifetime.
Advertising: Dairy Queen, the Video Game
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
(Almost) like the real thing: employees move too slowly, frustrating the managers.
Washington Post and Baltimore Sun Will Share News Content
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
The move adds two major players to the fast-growing roster of newspapers that are cooperating with their regional competitors.
Warner Music Removes Its Videos From YouTube as Licensing Talks Stall
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
Unable to reach a licensing agreement with YouTube, Warner Music has demanded that videos of performers like Madonna, Metallica and Kid Rock be removed from the Web site.
Time Cover Sure Looks a Lot Like a Campaign Image
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
The cover illustration was produced by Shepard Fairey, the street artist who created the prominent ?Hope? image of the presidential candidate last winter.
Advertising: Old-Line Magazine Sweepstakes Company Gets Digital
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
Seeking a new direction, Publishers Clearing House will be looking for contestants on Twitter and iPhones to play games from slots to trivia.
Actors Guild Delays Strike Vote
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
The Screen Actors Guild has delayed a vote that would give the union the power to call a strike and bring the entertainment business to a halt.
SearchDay | Could the Web be the Answer to Economic Plight?
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
Today's search engine marketing news and opinion: Could the Web be the Answer to Economic Plight?; 5 Tips for Travel Search Marketing in a Down Economy; Google Friend Connect Beta Available for All Webmasters; and more.
For Conservative Radio, It?s a New Dawn, Too
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
Talk radio hosts are back on offense, with some familiar names joining the airwaves as Barack Obama takes office.
China Blocks Access to The Times?s Web Site
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
Authorities have begun blocking access from mainland China to the Web site of The New York Times even while lifting some of the restrictions they had imposed on the Web sites of other media outlets.
One Man?s Vision for Newspapers? Future, as Insulation
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
The Salvation Army is distributing 3,000 jackets insulated with shredded newspapers to homeless people in Canada this winter.
