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
The Corpulent News Network
(NY Observer) Felix Gillette writes about the huge amount of money CNN spent during this election season..."All you had to do was tune in to the network’s wildly successful and, at times, overly rich election coverage. For much of the 2008 election, going-as-over-the-top-as-you-possibly-can might as well have served as the organization’s mission statement. Along the way, CNN sponsored seven debates (by contrast, CBS, the Tiffany network, threw exactly none). In the run-up to the election, it piled up a roster of all-star political pundits, in a free-agent signing frenzy that would make George Steinbrenner blush. Throughout the campaign, it unleashed an array of new audio-visual technology, some of it culled from the world of military defense contractors."
I thought this was brilliant...
Stephen Colbert previews his Christmas special on GMA
(Huffington Post) Watch the clip at the link and tell me that you're not going to Tivo this show on Sunday. It looks hilarious.
Dan Rather's Lawsuit shows role of GOP in inquiry(NY Times) Jacques Steinberg writes: "When Dan Rather filed suit against CBS 14 months ago — claiming, among other things, that his former employer had commissioned a politically biased investigation into his work on a “60 Minutes” segment about President Bush’s National Guard service — the network predicted the quick and favorable dismissal of the case, which it derided as “old news.” So far, Mr. Rather has spent more than $2 million of his own money on the suit. And according to documents filed recently in court, he may be getting something for his money. Using tools unavailable to him as a reporter — including the power of subpoena and the threat of punishment against witnesses who lie under oath — he has unearthed evidence that would seem to support his assertion that CBS intended its investigation, at least in part, to quell Republican criticism of the network."
CLICK HEREThe post-election news flash
(Gelf) Adam Conor-Simons writes: "Several election stories surfaced after the votes were counted, thanks to confidentiality agreements between reporters and campaigns. But does a journalist have an obligation to report newsworthy information promptly? It might seem strange that the weekly news magazine would put off publishing such salacious bits as the real amount spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe or Bill Clinton's reaction to Hillary losing Iowa, but that was all part of the deal. In a special arrangement, a group of Newsweek reporters received privileged access from the campaigns under the condition that they not publish anything until after the election."
Economic downturn could get ugly for media companies(Press-Gazette) The outgoing chairman of News Corp’s European business, Marty Pompadur, has warned that the economic downturn will have a "very, very ugly" effect on the media – and could force some companies to put themselves up for sale. Pompadur, who resigned from the News Corp board last week after more than 10 years as one of Rupert Murdoch’s closest lieutenants, told the European Media Leaders Summit in London that the impending recession would be "pretty deep and pretty long. "As I look at what's going on globally, in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, it's very, very ugly,” he said. "It's not good out there. They're talking about a recession - I hope they're not talking about something worse than that." As stock values tumble, Pompadur predicted that a small number of media companies would change hands. "If a company has a lot of debt they're in trouble,” he said.
CBS/Viacom stock downgraded
(Marketwatch) David Wilkerson writes: "Wunderlich Securities analyst Martin Pyykkonen downgraded shares of CBS and Viacom to neutral from buy on Monday, citing a rapidly weakening"' advertising market. A meltdown of global financial markets since September, fueled by the subprime mortgage crisis, has dealt a crushing blow to media companies, as consumer confidence has spiraled, leading to lower revenues and cuts in spending by major advertisers. CBS shares have fallen more than 60% since the beginning of September, while Viacom's value has been nearly cut in half. Pyykkonen pointed out that CBS has more exposure to the deteriorating ad market than most of its peers, with a wide array of television, radio and outdoor display units."
Redstone: "I won't sell Viacom or CBS"(Bloomberg) Sumner Redstone said he has no plans to sell more stock in Viacom Inc. or CBS Corp., and that talks to restructure debt at his National Amusements Inc. ``are proceeding in a smooth and constructive manner.'' Redstone's closely held company, based in Dedham, Massachusetts, owns controlling stakes in Viacom and CBS. Yesterday, the media companies closed below levels of Oct. 10, when a drop in their value forced National Amusements to sell $233 million of non-voting stock to satisfy lenders.
Time Warner playing fast and loose with figures
(Bloomberg) Jonathan Weil writes: "At $8.61 a share, Time Warner has a stock-market value of $30.9 billion. Yet according to the balance sheet Time Warner released last week, just one of its assets, goodwill, by itself was worth $42.5 billion as of Sept. 30. The company, which owns CNN, also showed $52.1 billion of other intangible assets, mostly cable-television franchise rights. The market knows those asset values can't be right. Time Warner executives just won't admit it. Meanwhile, Time Warner said its net income last quarter was $1.1 billion, down slightly from a year earlier. The stock, down 48 percent this year, now trades for about half the company's official book value, or assets minus liabilities."
CLICK HERE
Don & Roma sign new contract to stay at WLS
(Chicago Tribune) Phil Rosenthal writes: "Don and Roma Wade have agreed to continue doing weekday mornings for Citadel Broadcasting's WLS-AM 890 for the next four years. Financial terms of the renewal, negotiated by agent-attorney Eliot Ephraim of Ephraim & Associates, were not immediately available. Paperwork was still being finalized late Monday. 'They've been a huge part of the radio station and will continue to be for the foreseeable future,' WLS-AM President and General Manager Mike Fowler said. 'I love having them start off the mornings on WLS.' The Wades, who will mark their 30th wedding anniversary next year, have been on WLS-AM since December 1985. They shifted to mornings in the summer of 1989 after the station changed its formats, moving from music to talk. The couple's value has only surged of late, as Arbitron's recent switch from diaries to Portable People Meters to determine ratings in the Chicago market has shown them to be among the city's top draws."
Twenty years of WVAZ
(Chicago Tribune) William Hageman writes: "Two decades ago, Barry Mayo reconfigured America's radio landscape when he introduced the adult urban contemporary format to the dial. He took WBMX-FM 102.7 and transformed it into WVAZ-V103. The rest, as they say, is history. On the recent occasion of the station's 20th anniversary, some of those responsible for the station's success—on-air personalities Herb Kent, Troi Tyler and Ramonski Luv, program director Derrick Brown and Scott "Smokin' " Silz, production and imaging director—gathered in a studio and talked about life at V103, then, now and down the road."
Chicago Radio Spotlight interview: Jeff Schwartz(Chicago Radio Spotlight) Last weekend I spoke with former WBBM, WLUP, WCKG, WSCR, and ESPN Radio veteran Jeff Schwartz about his 35 year radio career, including his involvement in Disco Demolition, and his role in creating The Score. Coming this weekend: WTMX afternoon man, Koz.
