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
Murdoch moves to buy Newsday for $580 million
(NY Times) Perez-Pena and Arango write: "His $580 million bid for Newsday and his urgency in remaking The Journal worry his competitors and cause angst in many newsrooms, including his own. And both moves are vintage Rupert Murdoch, a man who operates his sprawling News Corporation like an old-style media mogul, making big bets on old and new media — bankrolling the new Fox Business Network, aggressively pursuing a deal for Yahoo, and buying Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Journal, for far more than analysts thought it was worth. And that was just in the last year. His first love, however, remains newspapers. The purchase of Newsday from the Tribune Company would put Mr. Murdoch in control of 3 of the nation’s 10 largest-circulation papers (the others being The Journal and The New York Post). Owning Newsday, which is based on Long Island, would also open an eastern front in the long-running battle for New York tabloid supremacy and, by combining some operations, could allow News Corporation to end decades of heavy losses by The Post."
FCC Chief says no need for new internet regulation(Associated Press) Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday there's no need for new regulation of the Internet, saying his agency has all the authority it needs to prevent discrimination by Internet service providers. 'I do not believe any additional regulations are needed at this time,' Martin said at a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee, noting recent enforcement actions by the commission. The FCC has conducted two hearings on 'network management' following admissions by Comcast Corp. that it sometimes delayed file-sharing traffic for subscribers as a way to keep Web traffic flowing.
Fox reporter rewrites Nixon history with new book
(NY Observer) Felix Gillette writes: "Next month, Doubleday will publish James Rosen’s first book—a revisionist history of Richard Nixon’s downfall, called The Strongman: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate...Mr. Rosen said Strongman will be the first major biography of John Mitchell, the late U.S. attorney general, who played a pivotal role in the “rise, reign and ruin” of Richard Nixon. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, Mr. Mitchell was convicted on a number of charges stemming from his role in the botched break-in and surveillance operation. The nation’s top law enforcement official eventually spent 19 months in prison."
CLICK HEREYou won't get fined for saying "Frak"
(Ad Age) Brian Steinberg writes: "In an episode that aired April 10, NBC's '30 Rock' featured segments of a mock reality show known as 'MILF Island.' The first word is a sexualized acronym used to describe a fetching older woman. Meanwhile, CW has been running a promotion for teen drama 'Gossip Girl' that uses the text-message phrase 'OMFG' -- an acronym for something one might write, text or e-mail if one were quite surprised, felt the need to acknowledge a higher deity and wanted to use an offensive word for emphasis. Looking for another example? Let's journey across space and time, where characters on Sci-Fi Channel's 'Battlestar Galactica' regularly use the word 'frak,' which Mark Stern, the outlet's exec VP-original programming, freely acknowledges is a substitute for a term that could be more offensive. 'Well, it obviously means fuck. I don't think I'm giving any family secrets out,' he said. 'I think we've already done 'clusterfrak' and 'motherfrakers' and pretty much every iteration of the word.'"
Family Guy writers sue Fox
(Hollywood Reporter) Seth MacFarlane and 15 other "Family Guy" scribes, including Alex Borstein, sued 20th Century Fox TV April 10 in Santa Monica, claiming breach of contract and deceit. The writers claim Fox has violated the WGA contract for not paying them for 12 minutes of additional footage they wrote for the 2005 DVD "Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story." They also claim Fox failed to give them proper on-screen writing credit for the project. A Fox TV spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit.
CLICK HERE
Tony Snow joins CNN
(Huffington Post) Tony Snow is joining CNN as a conservative commentator, the network announced today. Snow, who spent 10 years at Fox News, left his job as White House Press Secretary in September, saying he needed to make more money to support his family.
MySpace Poisons News Corp. as Investors Shun Murdoch
(Bloomberg) Gillian Wee writes: "Rupert Murdoch's effort to turn his $580 million MySpace purchase into an advertising powerhouse has turned News Corp. into a toxic stock...Fox Interactive Media -- including MySpace, the biggest social- networking site -- said it would miss its 2008 goal of $1 billion in revenue, or 3 percent of News Corp.'s projected sales. Murdoch, 77, is pouring resources into MySpace to expand into South Korea and India, add music downloads and target users with promotions. As a result, Fox Interactive's costs will jump 46 percent this year, almost as much as revenue, risking long- term profit growth, Nathanson said in an April 14 report."
Murdoch starts all-out newspaper war against NY Times(Newsweek) Johnnie L. Roberts writes: "With a redesigned Wall Street Journal, mogul Rupert Murdoch is launching an old-fashioned newspaper war against The New York Times. Not since William Randolph Hearst took on Joseph Pulitzer have we seen such a fight."
Senator urges FCC to block XM/Sirius merger
(Reuters) A senior Democratic senator urged U.S. communications regulators on Friday to block Sirius Satellite Radio's purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio, saying the deal would lead to higher prices to customers. Sen. Byron Dorgan, a high-ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, wrote to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission saying the agency should not follow the "illogical" decision of the Justice Department, which last month granted the deal antitrust approval. "This merger is contrary to the public interest. I hope that the FCC will stand up for competition in the public interest and deny this merger," Dorgan, of North Dakota, said in the letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.
CLICK HEREBritain's Financial Times endorses Obama
(Reuters) Britain’s Financial Times newspaper, which has bigger paid circulation in the United States than its home country, weighed into the bitter Democratic nominating contest– offering its endorsement to Sen. Barack Obama. The backing of the financial newspaper in Monday’s edition comes just a day before voters in Pennsylvania go to the polls, a state that could offer some salvation for his opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has been clinging to a narrow lead in the state but trails in the delegate count. The FT points to Obama’s well-run campaign and cross-party appeal for putting him over the top of his rival. It also cites Clinton’s unpopularity and questions her campaign strategy, arguing it has been re-tooled several times.
Did Bob Dylan really win a Pulitzer?
(Marketwatch) Jon Friedman writes: "Traditionally, you've had to work for a daily newspaper or wire service to win the most coveted award in journalism. Now we know it also helps a lot if your name happens to be Bob Dylan. Earlier this month, the Shakespeare of folk and rock-and-roll music was awarded an honorary Pulitzer for his 'profound impact on popular music and American culture,' according to the accompanying press release. Pulitzer administrator Sig Gissler said the distinction 'reflects the efforts of the Pulitzer board to broaden the scope of the music prize.' The gesture tells us a lot more about the empty state of the Pulitzer -- and of journalism -- than it does about Dylan, 66, who has been earning accolades throughout his 46-year career. While the judges honored a rock star, they couldn't bring themselves to hand out an award in the category of editorial writing."
CLICK HERE
Lawmakers send letter to FCC to try to stop localism
(Radio Online) A letter, signed by over 120 lawmakers, was sent to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday (4-15) asking the Commission to reconsider its current localism proceeding. In the letter, released by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), the lawmakers accuse the Commission of trying to "turn back the clock on decades of deregulatory progress by imposing a series of new and burdensome regulations."
(Rick's note: I added the emphasis on the word "progress" because it's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Who are these lawmakers working for? Certainly not their constituents, who are universally opposed to this "deregulatory progress." Certainly not their local media companies, because they don't exist. There are exactly six people opposed to this localism...the six guys who run the major media companies. They're opposed because they want to keep cutting and cutting and cutting, and don't feel it's fair to have to live up to their obligations as broadcasters, which they agreed to when they bought these properties. Not because they aren't making profit--they are--20, 30, and 40% at nearly every individual media property. It's just not a "growth industry" anymore and Wall Street doesn't approve. If you don't like your obligations, fine, get out of the business. It comes with the territory, just as it has since 1934. As for these 120 lawmakers...shame on you.)
An interview with Steve Downes(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Last weekend I spoke with long-time WDRV morning man Steve Downes about his long and storied career in rock radio, including his stint as Rockline host, his current gig at the Drive, and his side job as the voice of one of the most popular video game characters in the world. Coming this weekend: Former WLUP and WMAQ promotional guru, Cindy Gatziolis.
