Time Magazine

 

     

ABC: Dropped drug ad deal as feds got pushy
Among furor over the White House’s involvement in network television, ABC, trying to cast itself in a favorable light, has succeeded in making its fellow networks look bad. ABC president Pat Fili-Krushel admitted over the weekend that ABC participated in a behind-the-scenes government program under which the TV networks were compensated for inserting anti-drug messages into their shows. However, she says ABC ended its participation when the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) changed the terms of the program and started requiring the networks to submit scripts rather than tapes of finished episodes. She said the new terms allowed the ONDCP an opportunity directly to influence content. Alan Levitt, who runs the program for the ONDCP, denied that there had ever been a change of policy, saying that the drug tsar’s office had never asked to see scripts beforehand. The other broadcast networks all agree that the ONDCP never asked to see scripts. With the exception of the WB, the other networks all insist that they have maintained complete creative independence throughout their participation. Fili-Krushel said that, script approval or no, ABC will not participate in the program this year. 

Fox's 'Malcolm' is a mid-season hit
Despite Media Life critic Andrew Wallenstein’s poor opinion of "Malcolm in the Middle"--he said it had "no breakout potential"-- Fox’s Sunday night addition is a mid-season hit. On Sunday "Malcolm" received even stronger ratings than its premiere last week. In its second Sunday 8:30 p.m. outing, "Malcolm" averaged 23.3 million viewers, adding nearly 1 million to its premiere number. Sunday’s "Malcolm" received the best ratings of any show in the coveted post-"Simpsons" time slot. The show also captured an 11.7 percent rating among adults 18-49, a 5 percent improvement. "Malcolm" won its time slot in both categories for the second consecutive week.
                                                                                 
 Go2Net updates its MetaCrawler
The Go2Net Network, a top 15 web property according to Nielsen//NetRatings, has put a new version of MetaCrawler into operation. Originally released in 1995, MetaCrawler was one of the web's first so-called "meta" search engines--a service that searches a variety of the web's major search engines simultaneously. The new MetaCrawler has had its interface and navigation scheme redesigned; it also now offers searching through music and auction databases. Another new feature is the ability for users to customize their searches by specific country.

Flycast throws itself into email advertising
Flycast Communications, which operates a leading online advertising network, has added an email newsletter network to its offerings. Called eDispatch, the network will allow advertisers to place run-of-network or run-of-category buys across the network. The network launches with four categories: business, shopping, technology, and entertainment. The plan is to ramp the newsletter network up to include all 25 content categories featured on the Flycast Network itself, which is a network of 1,900 web sites that the company says reaches 25 million people a month. CPM rates for the newsletter network are $8 for run-of-network and $16 for run-of-category. Among the 100 newsletters that initially comprise eDispatch are newsletters from: KinderArt, an art education web site for children and parents; RJL Software, a Windows software and services company; and The Twisted Straw, providers of daily emailed humor. Among the advertisers who have signed up to advertise on the network are Zing, an online photo service and community, and BestQuote.com, an online insurance broker. Flycast reports that newsletters are coming aboard eDispatch at the rate of 25 per week.