Archive for April, 2009
Viacom Profit Falls 34%, Hurt by Ad Sales
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
In the wake of disappointing results, Viacom?s chief executive says that the advertising market is stabilizing.
![]()
Viacom?s Earnings Fall 34%
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Falling ad and entertainment revenue hurt the media conglomerate, which reported quarterly earnings of $177 million.
![]()
TV Decoder: Hasbro in Deal With Discovery
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Hasbro and Discovery Communications announced a joint venture that will create a reformatted cable channel with programs based on G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and other toy brands.
![]()
Create Something Newsworthy, Part 2 — Testing
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Every potentially newsworthy idea needs to be tested before too much of your time and resources are put into the project. You'll often find they aren't as great as you thought. ...
Coffee, Tea, Lawn Ghoul?
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Christine A. Aguilera of SkyMall says buyers are looking for laughs.Amid a recession, the SkyMall catalogue still satisfies kitschy needs, and practical ones.
![]()
IAC Posts Quarterly Loss as Ad Revenue Drops
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
The company reported a loss of $28.4 million as revenue fell 22 percent in its media and advertising unit, which includes the search engine Ask.com.
![]()
Advertising: Keeping the News Crawl Running During Ad Breaks
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Media buyers and other executives say a channel?s news and information ticker can keep viewers tuned in and watching commercials.
![]()
Time Warner Is Moving Closer to AOL Spinoff
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Such a move would untangle what many consider one of the worst mergers in American corporate history.
![]()
Radio Giant Faces Crisis in Cash Flow
Thursday, April 30th, 2009
Clear Channel, the radio station operator that was taken private last year, is facing mounting debt payments as media companies face a steep drop in advertising.
![]()
Books of The Times: The Mogul Who Built Corporate America
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
T. J. Stiles?s whacking new biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt moves with force and conviction and imperious wit through the noisy life and times of the man who inspired the term ?robber baron.?
![]()
Justice Dept. Opens Antitrust Inquiry Into Google Books Deal
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Critics say Google?s settlement with authors and publishers unfairly gives Google an exclusive license to profit from millions of books.
![]()
The Decision-Making Funnel, Stage 3: Desire, Part 2
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
We've been discussing the well-known AIDA conversion funnel and how it governs all Web conversions. We've already examined awareness and interest, and now we continue looking at the desire stage. ...
DealBook: Time Warner Expects to Spin Off AOL
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Time Warner announced a 14 percent decline in profit for the first quarter, and said it expected to spin off its AOL unit, which continued to lose subscribers and advertising revenue.
![]()
Fear the Google
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Fear is one constant in a world of uncertainties. Why do industry experts, advertisers, and pundits seem to be afraid to say anything negative about Google? ...
Media Drumbeat Amplifies Coverage of Flu Outbreak
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
In meeting the demands of the 24-hour cycle and the Internet, experts say the news media must strike a balance between being thorough and risking panic.
![]()
Same Cow, No Matter How You Slice It?
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Bridget Wasser cuts a flatiron steak at a test kitchen near Denver.Meat and marketing experts spent more than $1.5 million to identify and develop new cuts of beef in an attempt to sell the American consumer something besides steaks and ground beef.
![]()
McGraw-Hill Beats Expectations
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Quarterly profit fell 22 percent as demand fell for elementary and high-school textbooks and for credit ratings on mortgages and other complex debt.
![]()
Interpublic Posts Loss but Tops Estimates
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The advertising company posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as staff reductions and other cost-cutting steps helped mitigate the severe downturn in advertising spending.
![]()
USA Today Names New Publisher and Editor
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
USA Today, the nation?s largest newspaper by circulation, named a new publisher and new editor.
![]()
Supreme Court Upholds F.C.C.?s Shift to a Harder Line on Indecency on the Air
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Broadcasters that allow foul language on live programs may be punished even if the vulgarities were unscripted and isolated, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a 5-to-4 decision.
![]()
Profit Surges at DreamWorks Animation
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The studio trounced analyst expectations, helped by strong sales of ?Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.?.
![]()
Advertising: An Industry That Sells Takes a Look in the Mirror
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
A leading advertising group is trying to figure out ways to burnish the industry?s image.
![]()
Tentative Nod to a Pay Cut at The Times
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
The Newspaper Guild said it agreed to the 5 percent salary reduction, effective through the end of 2009, to avoid elimination of about 80 jobs.
![]()
Supreme Court Backs F.C.C. on Indecency Rule
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The justices said the government could threaten broadcasters with fines over the use of even a single curse word on TV, but stopped short of ruling whether the policy violates the Constitution.
![]()
How ?07 ABC Interview Tilted a Torture Debate
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
An official?s claim that waterboarding yielded quick results was widely repeated, but has now been discredited.
![]()
90 Years Old, and Breaking Science News With Verve
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
David Perlman, the top science writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, worries that his paper?s poor health could wreck his 78-year career.
![]()
A Merger of Agencies Shakes Up Hollywood
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The merger of the William Morris and Endeavor agencies is a sign of the fissures produced by the digital revolution and a reaching out for emerging businesses.
![]()
Portfolio Magazine Shut, a Victim of Recession
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Portfolio, a business magazine that Cond
Music Piracy Suit Against N.Y. Family Is Settled for $7,000
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The settlement would end a four-year fight between record companies and the family of Patricia Santangelo, who was accused of illegally downloading and distributing music.
![]()
Advertising: Never Mind What It Costs. Can I Get 70% Off?
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Retailers have noticed that consumers are more drawn to a discount of a certain percentage than to a specific price or promotion.
![]()
Fall in Newspaper Sales Accelerates to Pass 7%
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
The rate of decline in circulation at the nation?s newspapers has accelerated since last fall, with industry figures showing a more than 7 percent drop compared with the prior year.
![]()
Don’t Ignore Your Sitemap!
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
Many sites have underutilized sitemap pages. It's really a shame because these workhorse pages get so little credit, and so little attention, but they can be so important for SEO and the user experience you offer. ...
SEO Site Review: Time to Clean Up Home-Yard
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
It's time for Mark's quarterly site review. Today, we'll look at a Web site that has so many issues that there's going to be something here for everyone. ...
The Medium: Comment Is King
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Reader comments are a key part of online journalism. So why do they mostly disappoint?
![]()
Why Settle for Best Practices?
Monday, April 27th, 2009
There are differences between best practices and using SEO as a means to achieve the goals of your search marketing strategy. Do you know which method your agency is using? ...
At Papers, New Levels of Job Insecurity
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Winning your profession?s highest honor does not mean you get to keep your job, and neither does taking a bullet while at work.
![]()
In Developing Countries, Web Grows Without Profit
Monday, April 27th, 2009
To serve emerging markets, companies like YouTube need to invest in expensive servers, but ad revenue for those countries doesn?t cover those additional costs.
![]()
With Rivals Ahead, Doubts for CNN?s Middle Road
Monday, April 27th, 2009
CNN has struggled to effectively compete against its rivals stoking prime time with high-octane political opinion and rant.
![]()
Do You Know Where Your Audience Is?
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Social media is about starting conversations that lead to building relationships. To successfully start building those conversations, you actually have to know where to find your core audience. ...
SEO Tools 101, Part 2
Monday, April 27th, 2009
SEO tools won't solve your problems if you have poor content. But they will help identify problem areas you should address. ...
The Media Equation: Empire of Martha Marches On
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Martha Stewart is prevented from serving as a corporate officer at the company she founded until 2011. But she is still very much the creative maypole of the franchise.
![]()
Computer Program to Take On ?Jeopardy!?
Monday, April 27th, 2009
If the program designed by I.B.M. can beat human contestants, the field of artificial intelligence will have made a leap forward.
![]()
Advertising: Room at the Inn for a Dog, as Long as It?s the Lap Type
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Hotels are increasingly advertising themselves as ?pet friendly,? but many put restrictions on the size of the dogs they accept.
![]()
Tired of Old Web Friends? A New Site Promises Strangers
Monday, April 27th, 2009
Omegle.com connects its users with random, anonymous strangers for a private, real-time chat.
![]()
It?s Still Called PRWeek, but It?s Going Monthly
Monday, April 27th, 2009
The magazine is shrinking its format, adding longer feature articles and charging for its Web site.
![]()
For Fox, a Contest Offers a Chance to Hunt for the Next Big TV Show
Monday, April 27th, 2009
In a partnership with the New York Television Festival, the network will solicit scripts from aspiring writers.
![]()
Scene Stealer: Down in Front? Not in Hollywood
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Job cuts and falling DVD sales aside, the major studios have solidified their lock on prime spring-summer release dates.
![]()
Sneaking Into the Movies
Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Hollywood may yet find a way to avoid the pirated fate of the music business.
![]()
Sports Business: Actor Remembers Announcer Who Shared Struggle
Saturday, April 25th, 2009
At the taping of a public service announcement to raise awareness of Parkinson?s disease, Michael J. Fox and Joe Buck remembered Buck?s father, Jack.
![]()
Arts, Briefly: More Layoffs at NPR
Saturday, April 25th, 2009
National Public Radio said it would lay off 13 employees, eliminate contributions to employee retirement accounts for the rest of fiscal 2009 and impose five days of furloughs for all employees before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
![]()