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 MEDIA NOTEBOOK
Suitors Lining Up to Woo Jay Leno(NY Times) Bill Carter writes: "The Jay Leno chase is on. Four years ago, NBC made the comedian the lame-duck host of “The Tonight Show,” announcing with fanfare that he would be succeeded by Conan O’Brien in 2009. Today, Mr. Leno is still the champion of late-night ratings, with no apparent desire to do anything else but continue on top. “What I do,” he has said on several occasions to colleagues, “is tell jokes at 11:30 at night.” And so, nearly two years before he can officially be courted, suitors including two networks, ABC and Fox, and at least one television studio, Sony Pictures Television, are beginning to circle, doing everything they legally can to make sure Mr. Leno knows that they will make it possible for him to continue doing just that. Senior executives at ABC and Fox said that their networks had discreetly gotten the message to Mr. Leno that they were waiting eagerly for the time when they would be able to make official overtures. NBC Universal, meanwhile, has repeatedly expressed its intention to retain Mr. Leno with a still-undisclosed plan for a new program."
NY Times Columnists Not Allowed to Endorse Candidates
(NY Observer) Unlike the board that puts together The Times’ endorsements, they can say whatever they want. They can even court an R rating. They cannot, however, endorse a candidate. “I came here in 1995 and Howell Raines told me about it,” said Gail Collins, the former editorial director, who is now herself a columnist. “His thought, as I understood it, was that it would confuse people. Columnists could hint, and could make it clear, but we couldn’t explicitly say it.” The logic goes like this: If Gail Collins endorses Barack Obama, then a reader might confuse it for the New York Times newspaper endorsing Barack Obama...“It certainly is challenging,” said David Brooks. “It’s like a two-year process of deliberation without reading the verdict.” They all agreed that the non-endorsing rule forces them to write about this election with a little more texture—more showing and less telling, perhaps.
CLICK HEREEuropean Union fines Microsoft $1.3 billion
(Associated Press) he European Union fined Microsoft Corp. a record $1.3 billion Wednesday for the amount it charges rivals for software information. EU regulators said the company charged "unreasonable prices" until last October to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows desktop operating system. The fine is the largest ever for a single company and brings to just under $2.5 billion the amount the EU has demanded Microsoft pay in a long-running antitrust dispute.
Here We Go Again: CBS Looking To Buy It's Way to Growth
(Wall Street Journal) It's happening again. Instead of working on fixing their current product (or selling it--sell it, please, before you destroy the medium), CBS is going to expand to try to temporarily become a "growth" business again. Short term stock gain at the expense of long-term health. Melissa Marr writes: "CBS Corp., reporting a 15% decline in fourth-quarter net income, signaled a new acquisition push as it seeks fresh sources of growth to offset a slowdown in its more mature broadcast television and radio businesses. CBS generated significant cash but little growth in its earnings, fanning ongoing concerns about the long-term prospects of its traditional businesses. TV and radio were both weak, with radio's operating income plunging 22%, as the sale of stations and softer ad sales took a toll."
CLICK HERE
Prolific TV writer dies
(USA TODAY) Richard Baer, a prolific television writer who contributed to the hit sitcoms Bewitched,That Girl and The Munsters, has died. He was 79. Baer died Friday at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., from complications that followed a heart attack he suffered last month, according to his son, Matthew. Baer's career began in the 1950s and spanned three decades. His first credit was for NBC's The Life of Riley in 1953. He wrote for some two dozen shows, ranging from a single episode of Have Gun — Will Travel to 34 for Hennesey. He received an Emmy nomination for one episode of the show, which starred Jackie Cooper as a Navy medical officer. His final TV script was an episode of the 1980s sitcom, Who's the Boss?
SNL has highest ratings in two years
(Hollywood Reporter) The post-strike return of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" scored the show's highest overnight rating in two years. Hosted by former "SNL" cast member/head writer Tina Fey and featuring Carrie Underwood as the musical guest, the show delivered a 6.1 rating/15 share in metered-market households -- the highest average since a Feb. 4, 2006 episode hosted by Steve Martin. That's also up 36% from the show's pre-strike average this season. During the show, Mike Huckabee spoofed his ongoing quest for the Republican primary nomination. Appearing on the "Weekend Update" segment, he was asked why he stayed in the race despite the "mathematical impossibility" of winning. "I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy," Huckabee said. "So at this point I'm gonna focus on the miracle part. But if that miracle doesn't happen, let me assure the American people that Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome. When it's time to go, I'll know. I'll exit out with class and grace." Huckabee then ignored repeated cues to leave the Update news desk.
Jimmy Kimmel's answer song to "I'm F***** Matt Damon"
The NY Times/John McCain Story Scandal
(Washington Post) Howard Kurtz writes: "Last week, when the Times quoted unnamed former associates of John McCain as saying they believed, in 1999, that he had an extramarital relationship with Washington lobbyist Vicki Iseman, a huge controversy erupted. This time, though, it was the Times that was harshly criticized. To be sure, the piece included significant details about whether the Arizona senator had done legislative favors for Iseman's clients. And unlike the tabloid Star, which paid Flowers a six-figure sum, the Times has won dozens of Pulitzers for aggressive journalism. But with McCain and Iseman both denying an inappropriate relationship, a rough consensus is emerging among journalists that the Times story was fatally flawed.Leave aside the uninformed charges that the story was politically timed. Forget for a moment that the key sources were granted anonymity. What, in the end, did the paper have? "Disillusioned" former McCain aides who say they were worried that their boss appeared too close to a lobbyist and tried to shoo her away."
CLICK HEREMike North talking contract with the Score
(Chicago Tribune) Teddy Greenstein writes: " The other day Mike North and his WSCR-AM 670 morning crew batted around names such as Keith Van Horn, Cliff Robinson and Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves. They all are NBA legends, because they parlayed modest talent into hilarious sums of money. 'Remember Cliff Robinson? Get me how much he made in his career!' North barked. 'How about Keith Van Horn? He made $112 million? That is unbelievable!' Equally unbelievable to some in Chicago sports radio is that North, whose contract expires at the end of July, would return to the Score for anything close to the $1.5 million a year he currently commands."
What happened to 60 minutes report in Alabama?(Huffington Post) Larissa Alexandrovna writes: "As 60 Minutes was putting its show together, the White House put pressure on CBS -- the parent company -- to kill the show. Over the last few days, as word got out that the 60 Minutes show would air Sunday, Karl Rove's associates began planting defamatory stories about journalists working on this story and attacking the whistle-blower who came forward, Dana Jill Simpson. If you recall, Ms. Simpson testified, under oath, to Congress about Karl Rove's involvement in politicizing the DOJ. What you may not know, however, is that her house mysteriously caught fire and she was run off the road in the weeks leading up to her testimony. What you may also not know is that Governor Siegelman's house was broken into twice during his trial as was his attorney's office. Sunday, the attacks on Simpson and journalists increased with a series of emails from the Alabama GOP. During the 60 Minutes broadcast and ONLY during the Don Siegelman portion -- the screen went black for Huntsville residents and Mobile residents."
Here's the Video that Alabama didn't see
Karl Rove responds: It's a lie.
FCC targets indecency on mobile devices
(Radio Ink) FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate says the FCC is looking into how its indecency regulations could extend to the increasing availability of audio and video content delivered to mobile devices. In a recent speech delivered at the Association of National Advertisers Advertising Law and Business Affairs Conference, Tate said, "As we enter the age of content delivery over mobile devices, there is a whole new set of questions to address regarding how to provide ratings, how to block objectionable content, and whether the FCC has a role to play in this arena. I truly believe there is a new market for 'walled gardens' -- just as parents want safe places for their children to play out in the neighborhood, they want safe places for their children to play in the online world."
CLICK HERE
Bill O'Reilly apologizes to Michelle Obama
(Fox News) In case you missed it Friday night, Bill O'Reilly has apologized for using the word "lynching" in discussing Michelle Obama's comments about America. You can judge for yourself whether or not this apology is sufficient. Click on the headline link to see the video.
An Interview with WIND's John Calhoun
(Chicago Radio Spotlight) This weekend I spoke with WIND's production director John Calhoun about his distinguished 30-year Chicago radio career which included stops at WEFM, WPNT, WJMK, and WGN. Coming this weekend: Fresh-FM's Lisa Greene.
