Every weekday in 2014, I'll be keeping an eye on what's happening in the media. My focus will be on some of my favorite subjects...the moguls, the pundits, the broadcast news biz, show business, and the publishing business. (Read "$everance" if you want a crystallization of my positions on those subjects.) And, of course, I'll also keep tabs on Chicago's media.
Chicago Media
~Chicago Public Media Names New CEO
Her name is Goli Sheikholeslami, and the Robert Feder article linked above has some fascinating details about her. She's not from Chicago. She's not a broadcaster. And she doesn't even listen to the radio. Sounds like they are going to be concentrating more on digital and streaming. Also, did you know there are 140 employees working there? That's roughly the number of employees for all the rest of the FM radio stations in Chicago combined. (A bit of an overstatement, but sadly, not too much)
~Bob & Marianne
In case you missed it yesterday, my Illinois Entertainer column this month is about Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano.
The Moguls
~The Wall Street Journal Analyzes Rupert's Son
He's been running the News Corp empire in Australia, so the Wall Street Journal (owned by Rupert) analyzes how he has done.
Broadcast News
~60 Minutes Has To Apologize Again
This time they added car noise to a story about the nearly silent Tesla car. Why did they do this? Nobody seems to know. The network says it was an "audio editing error."
~Fox News Actually Apologized
They apologized for a totally misleading chart about Obamacare yesterday. This is pretty shocking. You won't find a news organization less willing to admit it's mistakes. The last time I remember them apologizing is when Sean Hannity was caught editing in bigger crowds to Tea Party rallies.
Showbiz
~Conan 360
Advertiser ATT is offering a new 360-degree view of Conan's show online. It's different, I'll give them that.
The Radio Biz
~April Fool's Day Recap
I've never been a huge fan of April Fools Day radio bits, but I have one rule about what makes a good one. It's either got to be funny, or interesting. This one in neither. From Radio Online:
Connoisseur Media's Rock WPLR-FM/New Haven, CT, and Classic Rock WFOX-FM/Stamford/Norwalk, CT, morning hosts Chaz & AJ played a prank on taxpayers on that "April Fooled" the entire state of Connecticut and overwhelmed the Department of Revenue Services (DRS). All morning the duo reported that Connecticut state taxpayers can double their tax rebate check from $55 to $110 by registering with a new database program instituted by the Department of Revenue Service.
~Obamacare Enrollment's Secret Weapon: Radio
This Yahoo! story from yesterday has been linked by every single radio trade publication this morning. I can understand why. What they don't say, however, is that radio played a similar role in making it unpopular in the first place.
~Another Potential Competitor for Radio
Tom Taylor's column this morning points out a study that I believe is totally correct. All of my sons' friends learn about new music this way.
YouTube is “radio’s quiet competitor,” says new Edison study. “Over a third of Americans 12-and-up used YouTube to watch music videos or listen to music in the last week,” says a deeper breakout of the latest Infinite Dial study. And eventually, eyeballs and time-spent lead to advertising revenue for the Google-owned YouTube video service. VP of Music and Programming Sean Ross says “While radio has spent much of the last year focusing on Pandora and SiriusXM, YouTube remains a major destination for many formats’ P1 listeners.”
