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
Is the Live TV Commercial making a comeback?
(New York Times) Stuart Elliot writes: "The networks are also reusing a popular advertising ploy of the past: the live commercial. When TV began as a national medium, many spots were delivered live because many programs — dramas, soap operas, talk shows — were live. Some products, among them Timex watches and Polaroid instant cameras, made their reputations through spots that offered audiences live demonstrations. The shift to recorded series relegated live commercials to “remember when?” reels. Now, as marketers strive to counter the growing ability of viewers to skip or avoid spots, live sales pitches are being reconsidered for their potential stopping and staying power."
Did John McCain create an HD Monster?(Slate) Timothy Noah writes: "Marie Curie died from exposure to radium, her greatest discovery. Jim Fixx, who sold Americans on the health benefits of running, was killed by a heart attack at 52. To this roster of ironic demise we may soon add John McCain, the Senate's pre-eminent champion of high-definition TV. As Senate commerce committee chairman in 1998, and later as the committee's highest-ranking Republican in 2002, McCain excoriated broadcasters for transitioning too slowly to the digital spectrum after the government had given away billions of dollars in HDTV-ready frequencies. Then, this past weekend, I watched Saturday Night Live with my kids. McCain appeared in close-up in a mildly amusing skit whose purpose (at least from McCain's perspective) was to remove the age issue from voters' minds by turning it into a joke. It worked for Ronald Reagan in 1984; why shouldn't it work for McCain in 2008? With me, though, it had the exact opposite effect. As someone who'd pooh-poohed the age issue, I found myself gasping at McCain's mug as transmitted in glorious HDTV. Wrinkles, blotches, liver spots, scarry tissue—none of these were hidden by McCain's makeup."
Reality Show Judges
(Washington Post) Jennifer Frey writes: "Reality show judges sit imperiously on high, issuing criticism and encouragement and soul-crushing snark from their bronzer-and-buff-and-Botox faces, but rarely have to face the heat themselves. Judge not lest ye be judged, the Bible says, but to that reality television says: Feh! These professional judges' panels are preordained celebrity collections of wit, wisdom and, at times, simpering idiocy that rule so much of reality TV. These panels sometimes are chock-full of charisma and sometime are heavy on shtick, but their interpersonal dynamics are a huge part of what keeps the viewers tuning in."
CLICK HERERandom House hires an engineer to be CEO
(New York Post) Keith Kelley writes: "Random House is owned by German media giant Bertelsmann, which yesterday said it was dispatching Markus Dohle, an industry outsider with a background in industrial engineering, to take over its American subsidiary. Dohle was most recently the CEO of Arvato Print, a Bertelsmann unit with 11,500 employees worldwide. In contrast, Random, the nation's largest trade book publisher, employs about 5,700, and most observers think that number is surely going to be cut. 'People are panicking and saying it couldn't be worse,' said one Random House author. 'On the face of it, it looks like the guy is a complete production bean counter. It doesn't look hopeful that he'll share the romantic idea of literature and publishing.'"
Karl Rove's sly deal with Fox(Salon) Terkel and Corley write: "It has now been more than three months since Karl Rove first appeared on television as a Fox News political analyst on Feb 5. In no fewer than 57 appearances, he has increasingly been welcomed into the Fox News fraternity, even joking that the "Hannity & Colmes" show should be renamed the "Colmes & Rove" show. After departing from a Bush administration in political tatters last August, he has reemerged to hold forth at length on the 2008 presidential race. And he may have plenty of seasoned political wisdom to offer Fox's audience. Rove, however, is playing a strategic role that he and the network refuse to reveal to viewers. Fox News hosts routinely introduce Rove as a "former senior advisor to President Bush," "the architect," a "political wizard" and a "famed political consultant." But never has he been introduced as he should be -- as an informal advisor and maxed-out donor to John McCain's presidential campaign."
The end of the newsroom as we know it?
(Editor & Publisher) Joe Strup writes: "At the Times Union in Albany, N.Y., Editor Rex Smith is slowly replacing his newsroom's desktop computers with laptops to allow for quick getaways when reporters need to chase a story. 'We made a policy decision to do that in 2007,' he says. Some even predict the 'mojo' concept could lead to editors and some non-journalistic staffers working outside the office. With most editing, ad placement, layout, and design done on computers anyway, it's conceivable that the newsroom as it exists today could be eliminated, with folks working from home, their car, or even the local Starbucks. 'It is easy to imagine a day when that will happen,' says Keith Woods, dean of faculty at The Poynter Institute. 'We are technologically in a place where we can already do that.'"
CLICK HERE
WLS Rewind returns on Memorial Day
(WLShistory.com) Last year it was spectacular...an entire day of former WLS Rock Jocks back in the saddle, taking the 50,000 watt blowtorch for a ride. This year's it back with even more of your all-time favs, including Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards, Fred Winston, John Records Landecker and more. I know I'll have it on all day long.
An interview with Tony Lossano(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Last weekend I spoke with Nude Hippo co-host and Melissa Forman producer (WLIT) Tony Lossano about his television show and the radio show he's been a part of at three different radio stations. Coming this weekend, WLS Radio's Paul Brian.
Anchor Away
(New Yorker) Nancy Franklin writes about Katie Couric: "I thought she had a decent chance of succeeding as the anchor at CBS. By some standards, she wasn’t qualified for the job (limited hard-news credentials), and, by some standards, she was (smart, mature, an old hand at being on TV). In any case, it turns out that no one knows exactly why anchors are or aren’t popular or why they do or don’t last. Why, for example, was Dan Rather in the anchor chair for so long, when, for years, his broadcast was consistently in last place in the ratings? And how puzzling must it have been for CBS when Bob Schieffer, a bona-fide old guy, with white hair and a gravelly voice, got ratings that were better than both Rather’s and Couric’s?"
Bob Schieffer changes his mind about retirement(Washington Post) Howard Kurtz writes: "Bob Schieffer had announced that he planned to hang it up after the presidential inauguration. Then the CBS newsman said maybe he'd stick around a little while longer. Now the network plans to announce today that Schieffer, 71, has signed a 'long-term deal' to continue as chief Washington correspondent and 'Face the Nation' host. What happened? With Katie Couric's future uncertain, CBS News President Sean McManus talked one of his most durable stars -- who has already filled in once as interim anchor -- out of leaving. McManus doesn't have an immediate replacement for 'Face the Nation.' And the two men have become close friends. What does 'long-term' mean? 'That means I'll be at CBS for the rest of my life,' Schieffer says, adding that he plans to host 'Face' for several more years."
Is 50 Cent about to become one of News Corp's biggest investors?
(San Francisco Chronicle) Rap superstar 50 Cent is on the verge of signing a new branding deal with media mogul Rupert Murdoch's company that's worth a cool $300 million The "In Da Club" hitmaker is in final negotiations with Murdoch's News Corp firm, which owns social networking site MySpace, for a large stake in all aspects of the 50 Cent brand, including music, concerts, books and his label G-Unit Records. If the agreement goes ahead, G-Unit Records and its roster of artists will move under News Corp's MySpace Records umbrella. According to reports, half of the $300 million deal will be in stock, potentially making 50 Cent one of the biggest News Corp shareholders.
CLICK HEREWhy is Bill O'Reilly really going after GE?
(Washington Post) As usual, it's all about Bill. Howard Kurtz writes: "Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of an increasingly bitter feud between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary, NBC, one that has triggered back-channel discussions involving News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt. Ailes called Zucker on his cellphone last summer, clearly agitated over a slam against him by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. According to sources familiar with the conversation, Ailes warned that if Olbermann didn't stop such attacks against Fox, he would unleash O'Reilly against NBC and would use the New York Post as well."
Why old media is running scared
(c/net) Charles Cooper writes: "Talk about missing the forest for the trees. With everyone and their mother-in-law predicting a coming wave of acquisitions of so-called new media companies by old media outfits, that future's already snuck up on us. In the last year:
• Cox bought Adify
• Hi-Media Group bought Fotolog
• Time Warner's AOL bought Bebo, Quigo, Third Screen Media
• Comcast bought Plaxo
• Disney bought Club Penguin
• CBS bought Last.fm, CNET Networks, Wallstrip, Dotspotter
• Microsoft bought 1.6 percent of Facebook
• Hearst bought Kaboodle and Answerology
• Jupiter Media bought MediaBistro
• News Corp. bought Photobucket, Beliefnet
• The New Times bought Freakonomics blog
• Forbes bought Clipmarks
• Discovery bought Treehugger
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Senate votes to block cross-ownership change
(Broadcasting & Cable) The Senate Thursday night voted, without debate, to invalidate the Federal Communications Commission's Dec. 18 decision to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) has been pushing hard for the resolution of disapproval, which passed the Senate Commerce Committee last month. He argued that media consolidation has already led to a lack of localism and diveristy, so any more loosening of rules is uncalled for. The measure passed on a voice vote, with Dorgan saying the vote sent the signal to the FCC to "get things right." He decried what he said were three of the five FCC commissioners becoming cheerleaders for more consolidation.
