Results: media

tony blair is tina brown Departing British P.M. calls the press a "feral beast tearing people and reputations to bits," notes that "[s]candal or controversy beats ordinary reporting hands down. News is rarely news unless it generates heat as much as or more than light." An analysis and business model both! We never said the guy lacked talent. [Guardian]

1 comment

ANALYSTS EXPECT MEDIA COMPANY TAKEOVERS TO SLOW The few good options left are Gannett and the New York Times Company, neither of which is a likely target. [NYT]

Comment

knowing your enemies

How Exactly 'New York' Mag Is "Crap"

Today Radar launches a much-deserved attack on New York magazine. John Cook writes: "New York is to journalism what The Eagles were to rock: a technically flawless assemblage of expertly crafted elements that look, on paper (as it were), as though they ought to translate into a superb magazine, and yet somehow still manage to suck." The whole thing is so worth your time (bonus points for "Reading it is like eating a bowl of ice shavings prepared by Jean-George Vongerichten") and it also put us in mind of an email conversation we had some weeks ago with New York's icy publicist, Serena Torrey. more »

WED MAY 9 2007 AT 1:39 pm
BY CHOIRE
2,122 views

33 comments

Latest by contradicto: Eh, I wanted to be well informed, but Brown was right, that article is too effing long. Just one question: Is more

Media Bubble

The Big Con

  • Conrad Black's second-in-command turned star government witness serves up Lord Black on a platter. [WSJ]
  • Katie Couric rapidly approaching total viewership comprised solely of her own family; maybe she should cover Paris Hilton. [AP]
  • Time Warner chief Dick Parsons to Google: Bring it on, bitches, we will kick your ass. [Reuters]
  • If Thomson-Reuters merger is successful, Bloomberg faces some actual competition in the financial data market. [NYT]
  • Macy's ad chief not buying that whole "but people are reading online" excuse. [AdAge]
  • Of all the people from whom Susan Sontag could have plagiarized, she chose someone from Salon? (Italics indicate both publication title and severe shock.) [NYO]
    • more »

    WED MAY 9 2007 AT 9:03 am
    BY BALK
    285 views

    6 comments

    Latest by Seeräuber Jenny: I have no idea what happened here, but want to point out that is possible for a person to have more

    Jill Abramson in Traffic Accident [themediamob.observer.com]

    Media Bubble

    $2 Mil Journo Libel Verdict Upheld

  • Supreme Judicial Court in Mass. upholds $2 mil guilty verdict against Boston Herald and its reporter David Wedge in lawsuit brought by judge. [NYT]
  • Tranny sportswriter Christine Daniels not sure about surgery, sexual orientation. [SPORTSbyBROOKS]
  • Former right-hand man: "I did not make a major financial decision without consulting Conrad Black." [NYT]
  • If Thomson's takeover of Reuters is successful, Reuters head will become CEO of combined organization. Whirr. [WSJ]
    • more »

    TUE MAY 8 2007 AT 9:52 am
    BY BALK
    195 views

    1 comment

    Media Bubble

    Oprah Cancels Presidential Election

  • Oprah Winfrey endorses Barack Obama. Hell, if she can move copies of The Road she can probably sell anything. [NYT]
  • Both the News and the Post have padded their circulation numbers. [AdAge]
  • Jeff Bewkes, likely successor to Time Warner's Dick Parsons, sees a bright future for HBO, noting popularity of OnDemand. [B&C;]
  • HBO CEO Chris Albrecht on demand with Las Vegas PD after domestic violence incident following DeLaHoya/Mayweather bout. [LAT]
    • more »

    MON MAY 7 2007 AT 12:21 pm
    BY BALK
    1,569 views

    1 comment

    Media Bubble

    Merger Fever And Rampant Speculation

  • Thomson Corp. has made an overture to take over Reuters. Will they? Is good for stock price so far! [Globe & Mail]
  • Microsoft wants to take over Yahoo! But will they? [NYP]
  • Did the NYPD leak documents concerning the city's surveillance of protesters at the Republican national convention to Judy Miller? Could be! [VV]
  • It's deadline time for bids on the Primedia Enthusiast Group. Could the titles go to Ron Burkle? Possibly! [NYP]
  • Did former Illinois governor and Hollinger International board member Jim Thompson approve millions of dollars in payments to Conrad Black? Stranger things have happened! [NYT]
  • Is Campbell Brown really going to leave NBC for CNN? Today is so Friday! All questions, no answers! [TVNewser]
    • more »

    FRI MAY 4 2007 AT 10:40 am
    BY BALK
    434 views

    Comment

    Media Bubble

    The $40 Million Question: Define "Nappy"

  • Don Imus' contract with CBS said: "Services to be rendered are of a unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial, and personal character." Legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin thinks that makes Imus's $40 million lawsuit against CBS a bit more plausible. [CNN]
  • Grocery store magnate/alleged Radar investor Ron Burkle in talks to merge with American Media Inc. (Star, National Enquirer, etc.). [NYP]
  • Former Maxim EIC Keith Blanchard has left Wenner Media, where he's been since October. [WWD]
  • Time Warner's cable business is carrying the can for its sorry publishing component. [NYP]
  • Details douchebag Dan Peres rises a bit in our estimation. His take on Mark Whitaker's branding Adam Moss "the new David Remnick": "Remnick is beloved, as you know. It would have been much funnier if it had been about someone we all can't stand." [WWD]
    • more »

    THU MAY 3 2007 AT 9:10 am
    BY BALK
    1,067 views

    8 comments

    Latest by Twizzlers For President: I could totally see Jessica Simpson in that outfit. No, seriously. more

    Media Bubble

    Lindsay Lohan Live On 'Radar'

  • Post calls out News' circulation figures: The "paper's overreliance on bulk sales is propping up a single-copy sales disaster." Expect some lame News response involving the phrase "New York area" tomorrow. [NYP]
  • The Dolan family may finally be able to take Cablevision private. [NYT]
  • Former Newsweek editor Mark Whitaker jumps to NBC News. [WWD]
  • The Times has chosen an ombudsman to succeed Byron "Barney" Calame, may announce name within days. [E&P;]
  • Steve Rattner's Quadrangle Group supposedly the front-runner in the bid for Dennis Publishing tiles Maxim, Stuff, and Blender. [NYP]
  • Lindsay Lohan gives Radar's busy Photoshop department this month off as she becomes the first real live person to pose for the cover. [R&M;].
    • more »

    WED MAY 2 2007 AT 10:40 am
    BY BALK
    1,018 views

    Comment

    Media Bubble

    The Circulation Game

  • Newspaper circulation falls pretty much everywhere. Here on the home front, though, both the Post and the News saw increases. Other (slight) success stories: USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. [WSJ]
  • Those numbers would be better if the Audit Bureau of Circulation included website visits. [E&P;]
  • Conrad Black trial gets even more contentious. [NYT]
  • Christopher Hitchens charms ASME panelists; calls women "humorless bitches" and refers to Anna Nicole Smith as "that fat slut who died." [WWD]
    • more »

    TUE MAY 1 2007 AT 9:40 am
    BY BALK
    192 views

    Comment

    Media Bubble

    Loose Balls: The First Tranny Sportswriter

  • LA Times sportswriter Mike Penner to become LAT lady sportswriter Christine Daniels. Expect plenty of stupid headlines like the one above. [LAT]
  • Those missing Observers? Printing press problems, says Keith Kelly, who works for the New York Post, PR-managed by the Rubensteins, who also represent Jared Kushner. [NYP]
  • Richard Burt, former diplomat and Conrad Black adviser, to take stand today in Conrad Black's fraud trial. [Canoe]
  • AMI names acting editor for Men's Fitness while EIC/Jann Wenner-kisser Neal Boulton recuperates. [NYP]
    • more »

    THU APR 26 2007 AT 10:45 am
    BY BALK
    2,252 views

    16 comments

    Latest by AwBigHug: "To my everlasting amazement, friends and colleagues almost universally have been supportive and encouraging..." It's amazing, all right. Those LA Times more

    New York Times

    Media Bubble: Winding Down

  • Shocker: Non-Sulzbergers distressed by Times management. [WSJ]
  • Tribune: Begins buyback. [A.P.]
  • InTouch: Should stick to celebrities. [NYP]
  • White House Correspondents' Dinner: Show's over. [NYO]
  • Halberstam: Did stuff forty years ago in Vietnam that reporters should have been doing four years ago in Iraq. [NYT]
    • more »

    WED APR 25 2007 AT 10:30 am
    BY BALK
    223 views

    2 comments

    Media

    Media Bubble: Tragedy Plus Times

  • Did we mention there's a Times shareholder meeting today? Enjoy these prepared remarks from Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Janet Robinson. [LAT]
  • The tragedy at Virginia Tech. Also, the tragedy of Brangelina! You stay classy, InTouch! [Fishbowl NY]
  • Federal Trade Commission approves initial step of Sam Zell's Tribune purchase. [NYP]
  • Denver Post offers EVSPs (i.e. "Quit or get quit" options) to 37 employees. [Denver Post, via]
  • Do Marie Claire podcasts blur the line between editorial and advertising? Um, probably no more so than the actual magazine does. [WWD]
  • Unsurprisingly, the former Santa Barbara News-Press editor accused of having child pornography on his computer plans to sue his former employers if a retraction isn't printed. [LAT]
    • more »

    TUE APR 24 2007 AT 10:20 am
    BY BALK
    370 views

    8 comments

    Latest by TakingUpWithTheEnemy: @kjc9: I bow down before both of your comments. You are my hero. more

    Media

    Media Bubble: Everything's Gone Green

  • Very odd array of online publishers, print media, and actual businesses look to cash in on whole environment thing. [LAT]
  • L.A. Times to cut about 150 jobs, Chicago Tribune looking to shed 100. [A.P.]
  • Everything you ever wanted to know about secretive media mogul Philip Anschutz. [NYT]
  • Financial Times redesign. [Guardian]
    • more »

    MON APR 23 2007 AT 9:52 am
    BY BALK
    590 views

    1 comment

    Media

    Media Bubble: Well, That First Quarter Sucked

  • First quarter recap: Bad news for Tribune, NYT, Gannett. Google, however, did pretty well! [MediaPost]
  • Jews plotzing needlessly about Andrea Elliott's Pulitzer. Thank God Seth Lipsky and the Sun are here to speak for this voiceless, powerless minority. [NYS]
  • Howard Milstein—C.E.O. of Emigrant Bancorp and Sulzberger ally—picked up six million shares of the New York Times Company. Too bad he didn't wait until today! He could have saved some serious cash. [Portfolio]
  • People, In Touch bring their journalistic prowess to bear on the Virginia Tech story. [NYP]
  • Publishing tycoon Duane Hagadone—he owns most of the papers in Idaho and Wyoming!—is building some big ugly house in L.A. and the neighbors are pissed. Ha. Stupid L.A. [LAT]
    • more »

    FRI APR 20 2007 AT 9:56 am
    BY BALK
    571 views

    4 comments

    Latest by Balk: @BoHan: Shhh, it's supposed to be a secret. more

    Virginia Tech

    Great Moments In Journalism: Media Attacks Virginia Tech Student's LiveJournal

    Hardworking professional journalists understand that all of the action these days is happening on the Internets. After this Virginia Tech student posted an account of a friend's wounding, the media—from NPR to the Boston Herald to MTV to In Touch—went right into action for the get, showing the sense and skill that makes the profession the highly-regarded industry that it is. more »

    THU APR 19 2007 AT 7:53 am
    BY BALK
    8,514 views

    56 comments

    Media

    Media Bubble: How's Your News, MySpace?

  • Tradey mag-man Keith Fox will be the president of your Business Week. Headshots with suspicious head cropping always make us wonder how bald a fella is. That's okay. [Ad Age]
  • The MySpacers will sort and rank news on-site, like little squirrels put to labor in a very goth cage. [LAT]
  • Lisa Rinna (ol' Big Lips from Melrose Place!) to somehow replace Joan and Melissa on red carpets for TV Guide. Insane. [NYDN]
  • We desperately wanna agree with the argument that a Pulitzer at the Globe for national matters swiftly defeats the annoying, gross, anti-newspapery claim that newspapers should focus local and never go beyond their counties. But a Pulitzer isn't actually an indicator of good circ or good business practice. [Phoenix]
    • more »

    THU APR 19 2007 AT 10:02 am
    BY CHOIRE
    458 views

    1 comment

    Latest by Cheezus H. Rice: Fox = trade-mag hot. more