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
CBS considering outsourcing news gathering to CNN
(New York Times) I'm starting to scare myself with the predictions in my novel...here's another one that is really happening. Tim Arango writes: "CBS, the home of the most celebrated news division in broadcasting, has been in discussions with Time Warner about a deal to outsource some of its news-gathering operations to CNN, two executives briefed on the matter said Monday. Over the last decade, CNN has held intermittent talks with both ABC News and CBS News about various joint ventures. But during the last several months, talks with CBS have been revived and lately intensified, according to the executives who asked for anonymity because of the confidential nature of the negotiations. Broadly speaking, the executives described conversations about reducing CBS’s news-gathering capacity while keeping its frontline personalities, like Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News anchor, and paying a fee to CNN to buy the cable network’s news feeds."
CBS News, Katie Couric likely to part ways
(Wall Street Journal) Rebecca Dana writes: "After two years of record-low ratings, both CBS News executives and people close to Katie Couric say that the "CBS Evening News" anchor is likely to leave the network well before her contract expires in 2011 -- possibly soon after the presidential inauguration early next year...Her departure would cap a difficult episode for CBS, which brought Ms. Couric to the network with considerable fanfare in a bid to catapult "Evening News" back into first place. Excluding several weeks of her tenure, Ms. Couric never bested the ratings of interim anchor Bob Schieffer, who was named to host the broadcast temporarily after "Evening News" anchor Dan Rather left the newscast in the wake of a discredited report on George W. Bush's National Guard service."
Excerpts of this weekend's NYT magazine piece on Chris Matthews
(Fishbowl DC) "We've got an advanced copy of Mark Leibovich's piece on Chris Matthews, entitled 'Chris Matthews, Seriously. (O.K., Not That Seriously),' which will appear in this Sunday's NYT magazine. Not only is it a great read (typical for Leibovich), but if you're into media gossip...man. This has got good stuff on Matthews rivalries with David Gregory, Keith Olbermann, Tim Russert...and that's just scratching the surface of the gems this piece unearths."
CLICK HEREAARP Launches An On-Line Social Network
(Circulation Management) Insert your own punchlines. Jason Fell writes: "The creation of AARP Bulletin Today is part of a larger relaunch of AARP.org. In addition to a redesign, the site now includes content from AARP the Magazine and an online social network. With nearly 40 million members, AARP this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. The association was founded in 1958 by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. AARP the Magazine was launched in 2002."
The Power 50: the most powerful gay men and women in America
(Out) As you might expect, many of them are in the media--including Anderson Cooper at #2. Tom Ford writes: "Although power is often subjective and defies a ready definition, we determined that to earn a spot on our Power 50 list, candidates have to be gay and American or working primarily in the United States (sorry, Elton) and have significance in our culture at large. To work out each person’s power ranking, we used a weighted system of criteria, awarding scores based on (1) political clout; (2) pop-culture resonance; (3) individual wealth; and (4) current personal profile. Whether they’re raking in millions, advancing the gay rights movement, entertaining us with snarky celebrity gossip, or selling us $2,000 cashmere sweaters, we’re confident that these VIPs have exerted considerable sway over how we think, look, and act."
CLICK HERE
C-SPAN launches YouTube election channel
(Webpronews) Mike Sachoff writes: "The private nonprofit cable public affairs network C-SPAN is launching its own channel on YouTube. The C-SPAN channel on YouTube will be focused on the upcoming Pennsylvania primary and is inviting voters to answer the question 'What issue in this election is most important to you, and why?' Users will be able to upload their videos to C-SPAN's YouTube channel and share what they believe is the most important issue in the election. Users who upload a video should focus on a single issue and include their name and hometown. A selection of videos will air on C-SPAN beginning Sunday, April 13 on 'Road to the White House.'"
Tribune Turns To Radio To Revive Empire
(Wall Street Journal) Schechner & McBride write: "As real-estate magnate Sam Zell tries to rejuvenate ailing newspaper and television empire Tribune Co., he is turning to another, more freewheeling medium: radio. An influx of veteran executives from radio -- including several hired in recent days from Clear Channel Communications Inc., which has been buffeted by the departures -- is likely to upend Tribune's once-staid culture. Under the direction of Mr. Zell and his No. 2 at Tribune, radio veteran Randy Michaels, pinball machines and a jukebox have been installed at the company's corporate headquarters in Chicago. Another radio veteran, newly hired Chief Innovation Officer Lee Abrams, he floated some provocative ideas for reviving Tribune's newspapers, including front pages primarily composed of colorful maps."
Sam Zell: A Tough Guy in a Mean Business(NY Times) Perez-Pena writes: "Since taking control of the Tribune Company in December, Sam Zell has drawn a lot of attention in journalism circles for speeches laced with profanity, political incorrectness, insults and self-deprecating humor. But all the twittering and tut-tutting over Mr. Zell’s remarks — and his suggestions that some reporting jobs are not needed — masks a more serious concern. With the newspaper industry going through an unexpectedly sharp contraction, Tribune is struggling under $12.8 billion in debt, and its financial condition has deteriorated, creating what specialists say is a very real risk of credit default in the next year or so."
Rifts in Family Hang Over Redstone Legacy
(New York Times) Tim Arango writes: "In mid-March, the media mogul Sumner M. Redstone was in Palm Beach, Fla., for a Wall Street firm’s annual media conference when he was asked about his legacy. 'I guess I’d like to be known as a loving and supportive father and grandfather,' Mr. Redstone said. This was an uncharacteristically wistful note for Mr. Redstone, the chairman and controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, which together represent one of the world’s largest media empires. Despite Mr. Redstone’s sentiments, his relationships with family and business associates remain complicated. Like many who have risen to preside over large business empires, Mr. Redstone, who turns 85 next month, has left a trail of tattered relationships — with family members, executives and, in his case, one very famous movie star."
CLICK HEREClear Channel and iTunes Tagging
(Radio Online) Clear Channel announced a milestone Monday in the radio giant's implementation of HD Radio's iTunes tagging feature on more than 340 of its primary HD outlets. These stations are capable of transferring a song heard on the radio to an Apple iPod using tagging. Additionally, CC is making use of its own technology to enable the purchasing and downloading of music on these stations.
24/7 Stress: Writers Blog Til They Drop(NY Times) Matt Richtel writes: "They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home. A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment."
Justice Department Sues Fox
(Variety) Cynthia Littleton writes: "The Justice Department has taken on the role of the FCC’s enforcer, filing a lawsuit Friday against Fox and Sinclair Broadcast Group to collect $56,000 in fines levied in the long-running indecency case involving Fox reality skein 'Married by America.' The Justice Department’s unusual move came on the same day the FCC rejected Fox’s request for a review of the FCC’s most recent decision to fine a handful of Fox affiliates for carrying the sexually charged reality program in a timeslot in which the FCC has indecency enforcement authority. The Justice Department filed suits against eight stations in federal courts in Washington, D.C.; Iowa; West Virginia; and Tennessee. In a statement, Fox said it was prepared to argue its case against what the media giant views as an arbitrary standard applied in the FCC’s indecency rulings."
CLICK HERE
The Disappearing TV Critic
(Broadcasting & Cable) Marisa Guthrie writes: "The fraternity of the nation’s television critics at daily newspapers was once a thriving milieu, dominated by a great diversity of committed voices. The critics’ opinions were sought, revered -- in many cases, even feared -- and blurbed in network on-air promos. That reality has changed drastically of late as the ranks of critics have grown noticeably leaner. Caught in the financial turmoil roiling the newspaper industry, they have become a beleaguered lot, a growing part of the collateral damage of the digital revolution. In the past two years, more than one-dozen longtime critics at major-market dailies -- including the Dallas Morning News, Seattle-Post Intelligencer, New York Newsday, New York Daily News and Houston Chronicle -- have been either let go, shunted to different beats or been forced to take the ubiquitous buyout proffered by bean-counting corporate bosses."
(Rick's note: We lost a good one in Chicago too, Sun Times critic Doug Elfman)
An interview with Bob Hale(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Last weekend I spoke with original WLS Rock-Jock, Bob Hale. He told some incredible stories from the early days of rock radio, including the night of Buddy Holly's last concert in Iowa (he was the MC that night), and the first day that WLS played rock and roll (he was the overnight guy). He also talked about his days on the Today Show. A great read. Coming this weekend, long-time WTMX news anchor Barry Keefe.
