My media focus this year will be on some of my favorite subjects...the moguls, the pundits, the broadcast news biz, show business, radio, 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.
The Moguls
~Rupert wonders if Google is an ethical company
He actually tweeted that this weekend. I love Buzzfeed's headline about his tweet: "Rupert Murdoch Tweet Questions Google’s Ethics, Twitter Dies From Irony"
~Remaking Ben Hur?
This one's an inside joke for $everance fans. Viacom's chairman is Sumner Redstone. If you read his autobiography, he's still pissed off that his father's movie theatre was not allowed to show the original Ben Hur when it came out. I based an entire chapter of "Severance" to this lingering anger. The main character of the book, Zagorski, tries to get fired by turning his office into an homage to his boss' most hated film of all-time, Ben Hur. Now the real Sumner Redstone has apparently green-lighted (greenlit?) a remake of the film. He finally has his closure.
The Pundits
~John Oliver's HBO Show debuts
Here's a clip from the show. There is some swearing in the clip. Probably NSFW.
~Cosmo will now cover hard news and politics
That's not a joke, by the way. They hired a writer to cover the beat of important news. I sure hope they don't use different headline writers. I'd love to see this on the next Cosmo cover: "25 backroom moves that will set him on fire". Or how about this one: "How To Back Him Off When He Invades Your Crimea".
Showbiz
~Future of Star Wars Will Rely Only on Past Movies, Animated TV Series
That means all of those books and comic books that took the Star Wars story line in various different directions are immediately considered invalid. I've never read any of them; just reporting this news to those of you who have.
~Four U.S. Shows Ordered Off Chinese Websites
You know these shows will wear this banning as a badge of honor. The shows are "Big Bang Theory", "The Good Wife", "The Practice" and "NCIS"
~The Other Woman
The girl's night out movie "The Other Woman" was #1 at the Box office over the weekend.
