Media Notebook (February 15, 2007)

Collected and Edited by Rick Kaempfer




Highlights and links to the big stories in the news this week about the media. This column appears twice a week at http://medianotebook.blogspot.com



Management shakeup at WLUP and WKQX
(Chicago Sun Times) Robert Feder writes: "Two veteran program executives took the fall Tuesday for the ongoing ratings and revenue calamities at Emmis Communications' classic rock WLUP-FM (97.9) and alternative rock WKQX-FM (101.1). Fired were Mike Stern as vice president of programming (with responsibility over both stations), and Tim Dukes as program director of the Loop. Marv Nyren, vice president and general manager of the Loop and Q101, said he plans to replace both programmers with one 'brand product manager,' who will oversee all areas other than sales, including programming, marketing, promotion and Web site activities."
(Ed's note: Brand product manager? For those of you keeping track at home, listeners are now referred to as "consumers," disc jockeys are referred to as "content," and now there is a term for "anything other than sales," and it sounds like a sales term too. Still wonder why radio sucks?)


VIDEO: A Valentine to the FCC Chairman
(Free Press Net) Check out the latest subtle effort from Free Press Net. It's a Valentine's video for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.


The Sweetest Words in the English Language
(Rick Kaempfer's Blog) Former WLUP newsman and reporter Bill Holub lives for the day every spring when the sweetest words in the English language are spoken: "Pitchers and Catchers Report." I asked him to write an essay about this for my blog last year, and since that famous day was yesterday...I'm linking to it again this year.

Satirizing the Left: "The 1/2 Hour News Hour"
(Variety) For those of you clamoring for a satire defending the powerful, you'll love this new show on Fox News. The producer of the show is quoted in this article as saying: "You can turn on any show and see Bush being bashed. There really is nothing out there for those who want satire that tilts right." So true. President Bush is the first President ever to be picked on by satirists. It's about time someone did a satire making fun of the powerless. The show will air at 10 PM on Sunday nights.


FCC to examine CBS newsroom consolidation
(UPI) I couldn't believe I was reading this, but it's true. The FCC is being forced to do what it's supposed to do. UPI reports: "The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will investigate allegations that CBS Television is seeking to consolidate newsrooms, a congressman says. U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., said the FCC has requested reports from the CBS network and the Writers Guild of America East and West on the situation, Radio&Records.com reported. The agency said it would report to the congressman 'once we have heard from the parties.'"


Tiki Barber joins the Today Show
(New York Sun) Former Giants running back Tiki Barber may have retired from the NFL, but his working days are a long way from over. The 31-year-old Barber, the Giants' all-time leading rusher with 10,449 yards, will join NBC's "The Today Show" after spending most of the 2006 NFL season entertaining bids from various networks for jobs in both news and sports.
Broadcasting & Cable has more on this story


Analysis of Anna Nicole Smith news coverage
(Project for Excellence in Journalism) The bosomy blonde’s demise consumed a staggering 50% of the cable newshole PEJ examined on February 8 and 9. Those are levels reminiscent of those pre-9/11 celebrity sagas—think Princess Di and JFK Jr. The story lines ran from police procedural to racy, with a little bit of moralizing about celebrity culture—what killed her, who fathered her infant, and where her money would go. The February 9 headline in the New York Post, “CSI Probe in Siren Shocker,” seemed to sum it up.


Synergy, thy name is "CBS"
(Radio Ink) Radio Ink reports: "CBS Corporation has announced the creation of a new cross-platform unit that bridges its radio, Internet, outdoor and television sales operations. CBS RIOT will combine the assets of CBS Radio’s 147 stations, CBS Interactive’s local websites, CBS Outdoor’s billboards and display faces, and the 39 owned-and- operated CBS television stations. The company also announced an inaugural multi-million dollar deal for DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Ram pickup. CBS Corp. President & CEO Les Moonves said, 'Whether it’s radio, television, outdoor or online, we have the real estate that can most effectively deliver a client’s message, and CBS RIOT is designed to leverage these platforms to give advertisers the reach and flexibility they need. This first deal with Dodge is a great start, and I look forward to many more to come.'"



VIDEO: Another politician announces his candidacy on the internet. This one was a radio host until yesterday.




The Politics of "24"
(The New Yorker) This profile of the makers of the Fox series "24" is very good. Along the way, you'll discover that the head writer is a little uncomfortable that the show is being used as an excuse for real-life torture, and that everyone involved acknowledges that this ticking time bomb premise "never occurs in real life, or very rarely." The creator also jokingly refers to himself as a "right wing nut job."
The Christian Science Monitor also examines show's effect on torture

Viacom to cut $250 million, 500 jobs
(New York Post) Peter Lauria writes: "Viacom could lay off as many as 500 people from its MTV Networks division next week as part of a $250 million cost-cutting move, according to three sources close to the company. The directive for the cuts is coming straight from Viacom's management triumvirate - Chairman Sumner Redstone, CEO Philippe Dauman and Chief Financial Officer Thomas Dooley - who sources said has run out of patience with the lagging performance of its most visible unit."


What Is Off-Limits For New York Gossip Pages?
(Manhattanmedia.com) You may be surprised at the answers, in this interview with Page 6 writer Richard Johnson. Janet Allon writes: "Certain subjects are off-limits. Johnson, along with the rest of the Post, avoids outing people, and stays away from revealing when someone has cancer in most cases. He’s even careful about extramarital affairs, short of DNA evidence, mostly because of legal liability, and theoretically less hurtful subjects, such as when then-Governor Mario Cuomo inadvertently revealed that his wife was on a diet. 'He begged us not to run it, and he promised us three great items in return,' Johnson says. 'And I know he did his best to make good on his promise.' Another part of the Johnson code is respecting the privacy of both the attendees and hosts of dinner parties he occasionally attends in people’s homes. 'I think when you sit down at a dinner party, it’s an unspoken rule that everything is off the record,' he says, 'unless everyone agrees that it’s on the record.'


Another Internet Sensation Gets Promoted
(New York Times) "Over the past year Mr. Lehre, 22, has been an Internet phenomenon, posting a series of highly popular videos on his Web site (davidlehre.com) that have quickly appeared on YouTube. The most famous of these was MySpace: The Movie, a parody of the social networking site that doubled as a canny piece of self-promotion. The video was so slick that it helped land Mr. Lehre, a college dropout who still lives with his parents, a deal with Fox to produce his own half-hour late-night television show. Still untitled, it’s 'an open-format sketch-variety show with music videos, short videos and comedy skits,' as he put it. It is being shot here in his hometown near Detroit, and features his friends both in front of and behind the camera. Fox has given him $300,000 to make the pilot. Also part of the deal is a film project that he hopes to start this summer."
VIDEO: 20/20 segment about David


Libby Trial is Really about Journalism
(Huffington Post) Nora Ephron writes: "For a minute there, we even dared to dream of bringing down the big Kahuna, Dick Cheney. But the smoking gun never really materialized, and the trail instead led to Dick Armitage. The wrong Dick. So now, almost two years later, we are stuck with a perjury case against Libby that never broke out of the Beltway; what's worse, it's ended up seeming to be mostly about journalism and journalists - a subject that is more boring to the country than tertiary sewage treatment plants."


New blog to feature Chicago radio personalities
(Chicago Radio Spotlight) This is a new blog I started at the beginning of 2007. Every Sunday I interview a current or former Chicago radio personality at the link above. Click on it now, and you can read my interviews with Steve Edwards, Bobby Skafish, Richard Cantu, Kathy Voltmer, John Fisher, and Roman Sawczak. Coming this weekend: WGN's chicagotribune.com correspondent Charlie Meyerson.





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