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
~Joel Daly on Windy City Live
Joel is appearing on Channel 7, his television home for 38 years, on Windy City Live today (11am--Noon). It's his first time back on the air there since he retired nine years ago, and he'll be talking about his book "The Daly News". (Full Disclosure: My publishing company Eckhartz Press published this book, and I will be there with Joel taking pictures and chronicling the event.)
The Moguls
~As the Rupert Turns
Today's the day that Rupert is inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Details at the Sydney Morning Herald.
~Ted Turner is Recuperating Well
He's still in Argentina, but the former media tycoon appears to be recovering well (according to Reuters) from his South American appendicitis attack.
Broadcast News
~Sharyl Attkinson Resigns from CBS News
Politico has the story. She's claiming she's quitting because of liberal bias, which is nonsense, but she also says that the network is overly concerned about their corporate sponsors, which is true (and if you think about it--pretty much incompatable with the whole idea of the place being run by corporate-hating liberals). Here's the gist of the story...
Attkisson, who has been with CBS News for two decades, had grown frustrated with what she saw as the network’s liberal bias, an outsize influence by the network’s corporate partners and a lack of dedication to investigative reporting, several sources said. She increasingly felt that her work was no longer supported and that it was a struggle to get her reporting on air. At the same time, Attkisson’s reporting on the Obama administration, which some staffers characterized as agenda-driven, had led network executives to doubt the impartiality of her reporting.Let's keep something in mind, here. This isn't happening in a vacuum. CBS was just burned on the fake Benghazi story that was pushed by an agenda-driven reporter. Agenda-driven is a GIGANTIC red flag. Of course, she'll be the next Bernie Goldberg, and will make a fortune "proving" liberal bias to a crowd that so badly wants to believe it.
~Jamie Gangel Leaves NBC News
She was there for 31 years and interviewed six presidents. “After 31 years as an award-winning journalist at NBC News and the Today Show, Jamie decided to retire. We are grateful for her many contributions and we wish her the very best,” an NBC News spokesperson tells TVNewser (at the link)
The Pundits
~President Obama on the Zach Galifianakis show
Highly recommended. It's really the president. It's really Zach. It's really funny.
The Music Biz
~Amazon is now trying to crush the music business
It's hard to know who to root for here...the giant that will soon rule the world, or the business that has screwed some of your favorite stars for decades. Billboard has the details if you're interested in their "negotiations".
