Monday, April 28, 2008

Overnights
ABC pumps up its Sunday night lead
Wins first Sunday of May sweeps with a 4.0 in 18-49s, 33 percent ahead of No. 2 Fox as 'Housewives' recovers from low last week

Newspapers
Big papers take bigger circulation hits
Weekdays slide 3.6 percent, Sundays off 4.6 percent but some metros report far larger declines. Two gainers: WSJ and USA.

Magazines
Words and ideas of Virginia Quarterly
Excerpts of pieces up for National Magazine Awards: Unearthing burial grounds in South America and pictures of Baghdad at war

Popcult
In a hungry world, a hunger for farms
Prices for farmland are skyrocketing around the world with the sharp rise in the cost of food, as farmers and speculators rush in

Out of Home
Your client playing games at the Bijou
Before the show, audiences are invited to play interactive games onscreen that are built around advertisers' brands or products

TV This Week
Star wars: For sweeps, a bigger 'Deal'
Characters from the 1977 movie root for contestants in a two-hour edition of the NBC show, which is facing tougher competition
News shorts
Friday overnights: CBS finishes well ahead in 18-49s
Cyrus: I'm so embarrassed about Vanity Fair pictures
With new Newsday bid, can Mort thwart News Corp.?
Presses stop after 90 years for Madison newspaper
Golf Open goes primetime as tennis finds new home

Web shorts
Ex-AOLer acquitted in 2001 PurchasePro scheme
Metallica changes its tune on the online music craze
Saudi blogger released from jail after four-month stay
Detroit Symphony's new conductor is rather robotic

People
Ian Beavis joins Carat as EVP and executive client director
Tara Cox becomes managing editor of Popular Mechanics
John Burbank becomes CMO of the Nielsen Company
Janine Hawkins becomes worldwide CEO at Added Value
Leah McGrath Goodman becomes editor at large at Trader Monthly
Former Life & Style editor Mark Pasetsky launches Shakiki.com
Rachael McLean becomes VP of digital media with Championship Gaming Series
Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown joining PBS's 'Wide Angle'
PBS anchor Jim Lehrer has successful heart surgery
Adam Jasinsky wins the latest season of CBS's 'Big Brother'
Janet Jackson wins GLAAD Media Vanguard Award
Angela Bassett joining the cast of NBC's 'ER'
Jay Mohr, Paula Marshall and Jaime King starring in CBS pilot

Alternative media
At first it sure looks like it's Russian
A wild party with a message to deliver 
At the laundromat, churning stomachs
A tailor's craft in most unlikely places


Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Overnights
Strong return for Fox's 'House' drama
Averages a 5.7 in 18-49s in special Monday slot, winning the hour facing ABC's formidable 'Stars' and CBS's lineup of comedies

Cable
For Discovery, returning to its mission
Tapping back into its roots as a science network as it heads into the upfront, after drifting off into general interest programming

Research
Among young moms, the words do fly
What they're talking a lot about is baby products, and it often affects what they purchase. Talking with the Keller Faye Group.

Magazines
High in the mountains, the elusive rich
ForbesLife MountainTime will launch in July targeting well-heeled vacationers in the West, to be distributed in local resort papers

New media
In politics, a new breed of dark horse
Cybersquatters are making big bucks this election with sites that are easily mistaken as those of the candidates, or click farms

TV This Week
On 'L&O: SVU,' Robin Williams, actor
This being sweeps, NBC pulls in a major screen talent to portray a cop impersonator in what will be the show's 200th episode

News shorts
Upfront update: A&E rebrands; History stays course
Latest paper cuts coming at N&O and O.C. Register
In Indiana, one newspaper turns to the postal service
Study: Women fret over financial strain on families
Limbaugh's latest controversy: Imagining DNC riots

Web shorts
Pirates stealing newest version of 'Grand Theft Auto' 
Warner Bros. revives the WB and launches kid site
Microsoft objects to MSN-ing as slang for messaging
Judge nixes camera crews in YouTube divorce case

People
Allison Clarke becomes VP of national ad sales for WE tv
Stacey Deziel becomes Beyond Interaction director of client services
Chris Lambiase rises to VP and group publisher at Rodale
Bob Kelly rises to VP and publishing director at Entrepreneur Media
Jordana Pransky becomes VP and ad director at Travel + Leisure
Richard Confrey joins BusinessWeek as New York regional ad director
Dana Runnells rises to senior director of communications at Comcast Spotlight
Rick Eiserman becomes CEO of marketing firm Trailer Park
Alejandra Puesan rises to director of research for NBC's Local Media
Chris Eames joins ESPN as VP of multimedia sales
James J. Ackerman becomes chairman at the Documentary Channel
Not-so-blind item: Ben Widdicombe ends Daily News gossip column
Shenae Grimes and Lori Loughlin join the cast of '90210' spinoff


Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Overnights
'Women's Murder Club' takes beating
The returning ABC drama averages a 1.9 in 18-49s in its new timeslot, losing more than half of 'Dancing with the Stars' lead-in

Television
Networks feel strike's lingering pinch
Many top shows are back but ratings continue to fall heading into May sweeps, and all the networks are well down from last year

New media
Coming big internet thing: Promotions
Forecast: Marketers will triple spending on contests, games and such by 2012, making them the largest form of online advertising

Cable
The penultimate DVR zapper: Movies
Study: 98.4 percent of households watch them live, just behind news and topping sports. Nick at Nite has highest C3 retention.

TV Preview
'Farmer Wants a Wife,' name says it all
New CW reality show is a 'Bachelor' wannabe with some twists but its prospects don't look so promising against 'American Idol'

TV This Week
Poised on the bubble: 'Boston Legal'
Will this critic-fave ABC series be renewed? How it does in its new timeslot, Wednesdays at 10, could well be a deciding factor.

News shorts
Burning up: 'Sangre' is Univision's No. 1 novela debut
WSJ oversight group miffed over Murdoch meddling
Latest word on Newsday: Cablevision readies a bid
'Evening News' blues: Couric falls to another new low
Poll: 49 percent think photos may help Miley's career

Web shorts
Hitwise: ABC is top web destination, with CBS No. 2
Online hoax? Studio claims to sell Hendrix *^# tape.
Coldplay warms to web with free single downloads
Wii Fit becomes one of top-selling U.K. games ever

People
Alan Cohen becomes CEO of OMD's U.S. operations
Mark Hosbein becomes SVP of marketing at Nielsen Business Media
Chad Jones becomes SVP and managing director at Javelin Direct
Mike DiPasquale rises to EVP of operations at Rainbow Media Holdings
Stephen Buckley becomes publisher of TampaBay.com
Reporter Ken Lovett jumps from NY Post to NY Daily News
Brian Benedik becomes president of Katz 360 Sales
Ian Baer becomes president of Big Fuel Communications
Malcolm Dudley-Smith rises to EVP of branded services at Warner Bros.
Seattle Times editor at large Michael Fancher exiting
Jessica Walter and Ryan Eggold added to CW's '90210' spinoff
Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal starring in FX's 'Sons of Anarchy'
'CSI' co-star Gary Dourdan arrested for alleged drug possession

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Overnights
The new Wednesday quagmire: 8 p.m.
Fox wins the hour with a mere 2.3 rating in 18-49s with the only scripted shows, besting other network's midseason reality fillers

Newspapers
Something good to say about papers
Looking behind the steep circulation declines of major dailies, one finds some encouraging trends. It's not all doom and gloom.

Newspapers
Why papers are still a good media buy
They're no less effective in engaging readers, even though there may be fewer of them. Talking with Poynter's Rick Edmonds.

Dayparts update
Will 'The View' finally take an Emmy?
The five women of the ABC show are up again for daytime talk, the show's 11th nomination. (Click for the complete nominee list.)

TV This Week
Playing in Philly, the improbable 76ers
Up against the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs, and standing a fair shot at topping the 2004 NBA champs, against all expectations

News shorts
With hearings on the horizon, FCC's Martin takes heat
Channel change: New owners nix TV Guide top editors
Hey Paula, what happened on 'Idol' Tuesday night?
Cablevision heats up Newsday bids with $650M offer
Nielsen: The 2009 February sweeps will be in March

Web shorts
Whither AOL as Time Warner spins off its cable unit
Sweet music: Judge sets royalty fees for web giants
Union Tribune's social network with print implications
Miley mileage: Huge traffic bump for Vanity Fair site

People
Jack Bamberger becomes CIO at Meredith 360
Doug Scott leading new initiative from GroupM and Ogilvy North America
Brad Vettese joins ipsh! as EVP and West Coast managing director
Steven Palmisano and Syed Moinuddin join MedThink Communications
Kelley Gott becomes associate publisher of domino magazine
Interior designer Barbara Lazaroff signs with Evolution Media
Cy Prince joins Cox Media Hampton Roads as GSM
Emily McLintock becomes marketing director at People StyleWatch
Sumner on Les: Hmmph, I don't approve of ultimate fighting plans
David Willey elected president of the American Society of Magazine Editors
Damon Wayans starring in ABC pilot 'Never Better'
Gary Sinise narrating Discovery's 'When We Left Earth'
Hector Elizondo joins the cast of USA's 'Monk'


Friday, May 2, 2008

Overnights
ABC holds its Thursday sweeps lead
Edges past CBS with a 4.4 in adults 18-49 with 'Grey's Anatomy' the night's top show, but all of its shows are down from last week

Magazines
National Geographic wins three Ellies
Has most wins in yearly National Magazine Awards, with one for general excellence. Vanity Fair wins two, the New Yorker one

Cable
For Nick at Nite, it's about the kids too
Subtle shift at the Nickelodeon primetime network toward shows adults and their kids watch together, with a hefty ratings boost

Younger viewers
When old is new again: 'Speed Racer'
'The Next Generation' sequel debuts on Nicktoons just ahead of a live action movie, the latest iterations of the '67 Japanese series

Rachel speaks!
Rachel, my former boss did me wrong
He gave her a bad reference for a job she wanted after promising to speak well of her. She's angry. What should she do about it?

TV This Week
Best tube bets this weekend
Friday: ESPN's Celtics-Hawks game; Saturday: Kentucky Derby on NBC; Sunday: the sixth-season finale of 'Family Guy' on Fox

News shorts
Fox leads ABC in sweeps as Big Five networks slip
ABC Family upfront: Meet Nikki, an advertiser's dream
Ion upfront: We're targeting 25-54s with newer reruns
Babs to Oprah: I had an affair with a married senator
TiVo survey: Clair Huxtable is TV's favorite mother

Web shorts
Google TV Ads launches, but will advertisers buy it?
AT&T ringing up 10 new higher-quality TV channels
iTunes will get movies the same day as DVD release
Lawyer: Uma's accused cyberstalker 'just romantic'

People
Peter Weedfald becomes president of Ziff Davis Media
Steve Raw becomes managing director of GMR China
Jessica Halter-Powell becomes account director at davidandgoliath
Tom Meyer becomes VP of channel insights at Horizon Media
Jane Paolucci becomes SVP of marketing at PopularMedia
Todd Gordon becomes SVP and director of national broadcast at Initiative
Barbara Dowling becomes SVP of customer engagements at Cadient Group
Kate Condon becomes executive producer for Sorpresatv.com
Michael Bollo becomes VP of sales and sponsorship at V-me
Mark Altschuler rises to VP of national sales at Comcast Spotlight
Three promotions at A&E Television Networks
Clear Channel Katz Advantage adds five new employees
Reporter James Bandler leaves WSJ for Fortune magazine