The word: Magic
eyeing Ebony and Jet
Other shorts: NYT investigating reporter for plagiarism
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Feb 16, 2010
The word: Magic Johnson eyeing Ebony and Jet
Just days after Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon saved Kirkus Reviews from closure, another NBA owner is getting into the beleaguered publishing business, this one a much bigger name. Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who led the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles during his storied playing career and is now a part owner of the team, is negotiating a deal for Johnson Publishing, which publishes Jet and Ebony. The talks are in a preliminary stage, according to Bloomberg. Like the rest of the publishing industry, those titles have been slammed by the recession, with ad pages in Ebony down 39 percent and in Jet down 36 percent last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. The founder of Johnson Publishing, John H. Johnson, died five years ago. His daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, now runs the company.
NYT: We're investigating a reporter for plagiarism
The New York Times-Wall Street Journal rivalry has been souring in recent months, with the Journal readying a New York-centric project that's expected to challenge the Times and the two sparring over a recent article in the Times about the Journal. Now here's something that will doubtless cause more rancor between the two: The Times is investigating a reporter for a series of alleged plagiarisms, some drawing on WSJ articles, that was first pointed out by the Journal. WSJ editor Robert Thomson sent a letter to the Times noting similarities between a Feb. 5 article in the Journal and one in the Times written by DealBook blogger Zachery Kouwe, a former New York Post reporter. The Times yesterday printed an editor's note that alluded to further examples of apparent plagiarism: "In a number of business articles in The Times over the past year, and in posts on the DealBook blog on NYTimes.com, a Times reporter appears to have improperly appropriated wording and passages published by other news organizations. The reporter, Zachery Kouwe, reused language from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other sources without attribution or acknowledgment." The Times is continuing to investigate the matter, according to the editor's note.
Friday overnights: Olympics KO the competition
Fridays are already a slow night for the broadcast networks, and with NBC airing its highly rated Olympic coverage, the other Big Four took a beating.
NBC easily took the night among viewers 18-49, averaging a 9.4 Nielsen overnight rating and a 27 share. Fox was second at 1.5/4, Univision third at 1.3/4, ABC and CBS tied for fourth at 1.0/3, and CW sixth at 0.8/2.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for NBC’s Olympics are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
At 8 p.m. NBC led with a 7.7 for the Olympics opening ceremonies, while Fox and Univision tied for second at 1.4, Fox for a repeat of “House” and Univision for “Hasta que el Dinero Nos Separe.” CW was fourth with a 1.0 for “Smallville” and ABC and CBS tied for fifth at 0.9, ABC for the first hour of the movie “Spider-Man 2.1” and CBS for a “Ghost Whisperer” rerun.
NBC was first again at 9 p.m. with a 10.2 for the Olympics, followed by Univision with a 1.7 for “Sortilegio.” Fox was third with a 1.5 for “Kitchen Nightmares,” CBS fourth with a 1.2 for a repeat of “Medium,” ABC fifth with a 0.9 for more “Spider-Man” and CW sixth with a 0.6 for a “Smallville” repeat.
At 10 p.m. NBC was first with a 10.2 for more Olympics, with ABC second with a 1.1 for the final hour of “Spider-Man.” CBS and Univision tied for third at 0.9, CBS for a repeat of “Numb3rs” and Univision for “Rosa de Guadalupe.”
NBC led the night among households with an 18.1 average overnight rating and a 30 share. CBS was second at 2.5/4, Fox third at 2.3/4, ABC fourth at 2.0/3, Univision fifth at 1.7/3 and CW sixth at 1.3/2.
Saturday overnights: Fox fares best against NBC
On Saturday, Fox’s “Cops” and “America’s Most Wanted” law enforcement lineup fared best against NBC’s first night of Olympic competition coverage, leading the network to a still-paltry 1.7 overnight rating and a 5 share among 18-49s for the night, according to Nielsen overnights.
Of course that was well behind NBC, which averaged a 7.1/21 for the Olympics. CBS was third at 1.0/3, and ABC and Univision tied for fourth at 0.7/2.
As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Thirty-four percent of Nielsen households have DVRs.
Also, ratings for NBC’s Olympics are approximate as fast nationals measure timeslot and not actual program data.
At 8 p.m. NBC was first with a 5.6 for the Olympics, followed by Fox with a 1.8 for an hour of “Cops.” CBS was third with a 0.9 for the first half of the movie “Wedding Crashers,” and ABC and Univision tied for fourth at 0.6, ABC for the first hour of the movie “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” and Univision for the first of three hours of “Sabado Gigante.”
NBC led again at 9 p.m. with a 7.5 for the Olympics, with Fox second with a 1.6 for “America’s Most Wanted.” CBS was third with a 1.1 for the conclusion of “Wedding Crashers,” Univision fourth with a 0.8 for more “Sabado” and ABC fifth with a 0.7 for “Harry Potter.”
At 10 p.m. NBC was first with an 8.2 for more Olympics coverage, followed by CBS with a 1.1 for “48 Hours Mystery.” Univision was third with a 0.9 for the last hour of “Sabado” and ABC fourth with a 0.8 for the end of “Harry Potter.”
Among households, NBC was first for the night with a 13.5 average overnight rating and a 24 share. Fox was second at 3.0/5, CBS third at 2.1/4, ABC fourth at 1.5/3 and Univision fifth at 1.3/2.
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