The New York Times is running an article that says advertisers are sticking with their network broadcast commitments despite the lack of new television programming, because there isn't a better alternative at the moment. In a column on Wednesday, Wayne Friedman, the West Coast editor of MediaPost, noted that broadcast television continues to deliver a significant audience. “Where can advertisers turn?” Mr. Friedman …
BusinessWeek.com Steps Up
Media Shift's Mark Glaser spoke to BusinessWeek executive editor, John Byrne, about sweeping usability changes to the venerable magazine's website. In response to a question about upping participation from the user base, or community, Byrne says: We have had a very rigourous, very lively reader involvement on the site for a long time. In any given month, roughly 15,000 people participate in conversations on our site, …
About Time
According to Chicago Tribune, HBO is rolling out a new service today to allow subscribers to watch HBO programs, movies and sports shows on their computers. The service will be offered first in Milwaukee and Green Bay, Wis., through HBO's sister company Time Warner Cable, which is also part of the Time Warner Inc. media conglomerate. The service is only available to HBO subscribers who also use Time Warner Cable for …
Legal Language Carved Out of Tribune’s Employee Manual
Real estate mogul, Samuel Zell, is intent on changing the culture at The Tribune Company, his latest acquisition and first media company. Zell tapped Randy Michaels, Tribune CEO for interactive and broadcasting, to rewrite the company's employee manual--that lovely document workers snuggle up with at night. According to Los Angeles Times (a Tribune paper), the document--which shrunk from 11,519 words to 3,663 …
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VCs Wrestle for Control of CNET
According to The Wall Street Journal, Jana Partners LLC, which holds an 8.1% stake in CNET Networks Inc. plans to nominate seven people to the San Francisco company's board, saying there is a need to revitalize the "underperforming company." In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Jana said its nominees -- including a former AOL chief executive, Jon Miller -- will increase shareholder value at CNET …
Popularity Pays
Edward Wasserman, professor of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University, argues in the Miami Herald that journalism ought not be subject to the brutal trappings of online metrics. Under the new rules, the commercial value of specific editorial offerings is estimated with precision, rewards and punishments doled out accordingly, and coverage cut to fit. The problem with online Popularity Pay is it that it …
Niche Doesn’t Mean Small
According to The Wall Street Journal, Liberty Media is paying more than $100 million to buy a stake of BodyBuilding.com from the site's founding family and a private-equity firm. Once known primarily as an investor in media companies, Liberty has taken steps in recent years to become more of an operator of its own businesses. In the past couple of years it has assembled a sizable portfolio of Internet ventures to …
Consumers Want Digital Utility, Not Advertising
More than two-thirds of consumers who use the internet have used it to research package-goods products, according to a new survey by Prospectiv, a firm that provides online customer leads for marketers. Of the consumers who use the internet to research package-goods brands (48%) do so primarily to get product information. Another 46% use the internet to seek savings or coupons, while 6% are primarily looking for tips …
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