Sally Quinn Trims Her Inbox
Based on this internal Washington Post email chain sent to FishbowlDC, looks like Sally Quinn would rather not know about which Washington Post folks are doing TV … and whether things are spelled correctly.
From: Sally Quinn
To: [lots of Washington Post emails we've removed from this post]
When: 01/27/2009 10:53 AM
Subject: Re: THE RUNDOWN- January 27, 2009
Ease ake me off your email list
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
What was she responding to? After the jump…
From: “Molly Gannon”
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:07:02 -0500
To: (more redacted emails)
Subject: THE RUNDOWN- January 27, 2009
THE RUNDOWN- January 27, 2009
Today’s top Industry, Tech and Business news.
WP IN THE NEWS
8:05 am MSNBC Morning Joe, Columnist Eugene Robinson on political news of the day (Nebraska Ave)
10:40 am MSNBC, Polling Director Jon Cohen on the new Post-ABC News poll on Obama’s stimulus plan
11:20 am NewsChannel 8, National Reporter Carol Leonnig on the effects of D.C.’s unsafe drinking water on children
12:30 pm MSNBC, National Reporter Perry Bacon on the opposition to Obama’s stimulus plan
12:55 pm Telemundo, Sports AME Emilio Garcia-Ruiz report
1:30 pm FOX The Live Desk, Dot-com White House Reporter Chris Cillizza on political news of the day
1:45 pm MSNBC, Dot-com White House Reporter Chris Cillizza on The Next 24
3:20 pm WTOP, Retail Reporter Ylan Mui on the National Retail Foundations 2009 Superbowl survey
4:40 pm MSNBC, Financial Reporter Neil Irwin on the recession causing
massive layoffs
-UPI–Fannie Mae taps $16B in bailout funds–The mortgage giant Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) says it will seek to tap up to $16 billion in previously
approved U.S. Treasury bailout funds. The move, announced Monday, marks the first time the government run mortgage firm has requested to dip into the $100 billion each that federal officials pledged last year to keep it and its sister firm, Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE), afloat, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/27/Fannie_Mae_taps_16B_in_bailout_funds/UPI-53861233063537/
-AP (via WTOP.com)–Developer plans bid for slots license in Anne Arundel
–A Baltimore-based developer plans to bid on a slot machine gambling site
in Anne Arundel County. David Cordish, chairman of the Cordish Cos., told
The Washington Post on Monday that the company will definitely apply,
competing with Laurel Park race track for what will likely be the most
lucrative license Maryland will award.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1585781
-United Press International–Mounting layoffs escalate costs–A
Congressional proposal to shore up federal unemployment benefits with an
additional $43 billion may not be enough, a U.S. economist said. The U.S.
unemployment rate is 7.2 percent and appears to be climbing. In Michigan
and Rhode Island, the unemployment figure has topped 10 percent, The
Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Monday.
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/01/27/Mounting_layoffs_escalate_costs/UPI-86201233062536/
-CBS News–On Closing Guantanamo–Following President Obama’s announcement
Thursday that he would close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
within a year, the new administration has fielded criticism from some
wondering about the fate of the remaining hundreds of detainees, some of
whom have been held at the prison for years without charge or trial. The
Washington Post also reported this morning that, following the inauguration
when the incoming administration was finally able to gain access to
documents pertaining to the detainees, Obama officials found that case
files for many of the prisoners are non-existent, incomplete, or are
scattered across several agencies, making it even more difficult to
ascertain what (if any) case might be brought against them.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/25/ftn/main4752148.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4752148
-NY Times–Dudley Is Said to Be Chosen as New York Fed President–William
C. Dudley, an aide to now-Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, has been
officially chosen to succeed his old boss as the president of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, according to news reports. Go to Article from The
Washington Post:
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/dudley-is-said-to-be-chosen-as-new-york-fed-president/
-NASDAQ–Nearly two-thirds of the federal economic stimulus plan will make
its way into the economy by 2010, according to a recent report. Stimulus
plan offers long and short term spending–In the short term, the tax cuts
in the stimulus package may account for a good portion of the spending. The
Washington Post cited CBO analysis which found that less than half of the
money budgeted for infrastructure projects would be spent by late 2010, out
of a total of $356 billion. “Throughout the federal government, spending
for new programs has frequently been slower than expected and rarely been
faster,” the Post cites the CBO report as saying.
http://www.nasdaq.com/newscontent/20090127/Stimulus-plan-offers-long-and-short-term-spending.aspx?storyid=18993835
-MSNBC First Read–First 100 Days: Heading To The Hill–The Washington Post
says yesterday’s White House action capped “a week of widespread changes
aimed at reversing the legacy of George W. Bush. In his first seven days in
office, Obama has banned the use of controversial CIA interrogation
tactics, ordered the closure of the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, and begun planning for the drawdown of troops in Iraq. He also
imposed stringent limits on lobbyists, unveiled an $825 billion stimulus
plan, and ordered a halt to any last-minute rules and regulations put in
place by his predecessor.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/27/1762222.aspx
-MSNBC First Read–Blago Watch: Trial Vs. The View–The Washington Post’s
Milbank snarks, “Rod Blagojevich may be about to lose the ‘gov’ before his
name, but the man’s entertainment skills are unimpeachable.”
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/27/1762214.aspx
-Real Clear Politics–Economic Stimulus–The Congressional Budget Office
released its report on the Democrats’ stimulus bill, stating that it would
produce a “noticeable impact on economic growth and employment,” the
Washington Post reports. “That would fall short of President Obama’s goal
of pushing at least 75 percent of the cash out the door over the next 19
months to create millions of jobs and ease the effects of what many
economists say will be the longest, deepest and most painful recession
since the Great Depression.”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2009/01/strategy_memo_obama_on_the_hil.html
-Real Clear Politics–Is Virginia For McAuliffe?–According to the
Washington Post, estimates of what he could raise and spend in this
campaign range upwards of $80 million. While McAuliffe aides have tried to
tamp that number down, it’s probably in the ballpark of the possible.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/01/is_virginia_for_mcauliffe.html
-USA Today The Oval–The Washington Post — Obama’s orders aim to reverse
Bush’s legacy: “In his first seven days in office, (President) Obama has
banned the use of controversial CIA interrogation tactics, ordered the
closure of the U.S. military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and begun
planning for the drawdown of troops in Iraq. He also imposed stringent
limits on lobbyists, unveiled an $825 billion stimulus plan, and ordered a
halt to any last-minute rules and regulations put in place by his
predecessor.” Still, “Obama and his aides are also facing a stark reality:
Rolling back eight years of the Bush administration is not going to happen
overnight.”
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/61951144/1
-Deadspin: WaPo’s Mike Wise Delivers Another Revealing Profile– “DeShawn
Stevenson moved closer, toward the image of Darryl C. Stevenson. He looked
for a resemblance, but the mug shot disappeared too quickly.” [Washington
Post]
http://deadspin.com/5138816/wapos-mike-wise-delivers-another-revealing-profile
-Brightest Young Things: DC News You Can (Maybe) Use– MCCXXIII (1223 to
those not into roman numerals) Is Dead. Long Live 1223. If you are an
overly tan, open bar happy hour loving, shiny shirt wearing (wo)man, this
will make you really, really sad. (links to GOG)
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/dc-news-you-can-maybe-use-4/
-DCist: MCCVDMII MCXXDVCIV That Club Closed Down– MCCXXIII, a club whose
name I type differently every time I write it, has closed, reports the
Going-Out Gurus. Rents just got too high downtown. I wonder if that’s true
everywhere. Now that President Obama has taken office and started filling
jobs with the people who helped him get there Clinton people, Stetson’s on
U Street has been restored to the glory it enjoyed during its heyday in the
90s. It might feel as though the Bush administration never happened on U
Street, but you can be sure that isn’t the mood in Georgetown. With
Democrats ascendant, who will stay up on the right to drink those
late-night shots? When will our young Republicans get back into the swing
of things?
http://dcist.com/2009/01/mccvdmii_mcxxdvciv_that_club_closed.php
INDUSTRY
-NY Times: William Kristol’s Column in the Times Ends– William Kristol,
the conservative columnist, and The New York Times have quietly ended their
relationship after little more than a year, the newspaper said on Monday. A
single sentence printed below Mr. Kristol’s weekly column in the Monday
issue broke the news: “This is William Kristol’s last column.” His column
itself made no reference to his departure, and the paper did not release a
statement. Also Monday, The Washington Post announced that it had hired Mr.
Kristol to write a monthly column and contribute to its opinion blog,
PostPartisan. “It was mutual agreement,” Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial
page editor, said of the change. “We discussed this before the election,
and decided that we would end now.” As for whether The Times would find
another conservative voice for its Op-Ed page, Mr. Rosenthal said: “Sadly,
I can’t answer that question, except to say stay tuned. We have some
interesting plans.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/media/27kristol.html?_r=1&ref=media
Daily Beast Cheat Sheet:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/item/bill-kristols-new-gig/second-starts/
-WSJ: Layoffs at Fox Interactive Media– News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media
digital division is laying off about 5% of its work force, or about 100
people, amid continued cost-cutting efforts, according to a person familiar
with the situation. The cuts, which started in the last month, are
happening gradually unit by unit, the person said. The layoffs include all
groups from social networking site MySpace to photo-sharing site
Photobucket to mobile. (News Corp. owns Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall
Street Journal.) “I can confirm that several of the groups within FIM are
eliminating some jobs and repurposing others,” a FIM spokesman said in a
statement. “This is part of a larger effort we’re making to put FIM in the
best possible position to succeed now and, more importantly, to emerge even
stronger once the markets recover. It’s important to note that we continue
to hire in many areas.” While layoffs are widespread across the media
business, the digital sector has been seen as one of the few bright spots
in the industry, as advertisers are expected to shift dollars to the Web
from traditional media. The layoffs at FIM show that even high-growth areas
of the media business aren’t immune to broader economic woes.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/26/layoffs-at-fox-interactive-media/?mod=rss_WSJBlog?mod
=
-NY Times: BBC Assailed for Refusing to Carry Gaza Appeal– In more than 80
years as a publicly financed broadcaster with an audience of millions at
home and around the world, the BBC has rarely been buffeted as severely as
it has in recent days over its decision not to broadcast a television
appeal by aid agencies for victims of Israel’s recent military actions in
Gaza. BBC executives made the decision late last week and defiantly
reaffirmed it on Monday, citing their concern with protecting the
corporation’s impartiality in the Arab-Israeli dispute. The dispute stirs
high passions here, and the BBC, like other news organizations, has
struggled uneasily for years to strike a balance, even as some critics
claim it has tilted heavily toward Israel and others claim it has favored
the Palestinians. The three-week Israeli campaign in Gaza that ended nine
days ago had already elicited a fresh barrage of complaints about BBC bias,
for and against Israel. But the decision to block the aid appeal had the
effect of magnifying the protests, and their virulence. The decision has
met with angry criticism from Church of England archbishops, editorial
writers and senior British government ministers, as well as sit-ins at the
BBC’s London headquarters and its broadcast center in Glasgow.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/world/europe/27britain.html?ref=media
-WSJ: Media Group Weighs U.K. Newspaper Sale– In an effort to shore up the
finances of his heavily indebted media group, Irish entrepreneur Sir
Anthony O’Reilly announced a recovery plan Monday that could involve the
sale of one of the U.K.’s national newspapers, the Independent. Shares in
Sir Anthony’s company, Independent News & Media PLC, rose sharply Monday
after it said it was planning a number of moves to raise cash, including
selling assets and issuing a bond. In a statement, the company said it will
“focus on eliminating any loss-making businesses.” A person familiar with
the matter said those businesses could include the Independent, a
left-leaning tabloid. Independent News & Media, which Sir Anthony built
into a global competitor over more than three decades, recently has been
struggling to reduce its heavy debt burden. By May, the company must come
up with €200 million ($260 million) to pay off one of its loans. An initial
plan to raise the money by selling its 39.1% stake in APN News & Media
Ltd., an Australian media company, has been shelved because the credit
crisis made it hard to find able buyers, Independent News & Media said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123300780131917045.html
-Media Post: GateHouse, New York Times Co. Settle Copyright Suit– In a
case closely watched by online publishers, The New York Times Co. agreed to
settle a lawsuit by GateHouse Media by removing headlines and first
sentences of GateHouse articles from Boston.com. A preliminary version of
the settlement, filed with the court Sunday on the eve of trial, also
provides that Boston.com will respect GateHouse’s technological measures
designed to stop the “copying of any original content.” The three-page
preliminary settlement between Boston.com and GateHouse provides that
Boston.com can still link to GateHouse stories. Neither side is paying
monetary damages, but the settlement is viewed as more favorable to
GateHouse than the Times. “In my mind, this is GateHouse getting everything
it wants,” said David Ardia, director of the Citizen Media Law Project. He
added that the resolution could affect a broad swath of online media
companies that link to others’ articles. “Media properties are going to
ask: ‘How did GateHouse and the New York Times work it out?’” Ardia said.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=98929&Nid=51588&p=462539
-Media Post: Time Inc. Digital Hires Ex-Yahoo Exec Cisneros– Former Yahoo
executive Bettina Cisneros has been named vice president of marketing and
sales development at Time Inc. Digital. As director of marketing at Yahoo,
Cisneros developed brand marketing and communications programs for the
business-to-business marketplace. She also created strategies and programs
to provide cross-network media solutions for some of Yahoo’s largest
advertisers. “Time Inc. is a magnet for some of the best leadership talent
in the media industry,” said Kirk McDonald, president of Time Inc. Digital,
in a statement. “Bettina’s experience will help us harness the power of
Time Inc.’s digital assets, including Web sites that attract more than 26
million unique visitors each month, so we can continue presenting
advertisers with innovative and effective programs that deliver substantial
reach in content-rich environments.” The digital unit has undergone a
management shakeup since Time Inc. announced that it would lay off 600
staffers last October and reorganize its magazine business into three
divisions. McDonald himself became president of Time Inc. Digital only last
November following the departure of Ned Desmond, the long-time head of
Time’s interactive efforts.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=99120&Nid=51588&p=462539
TECH/ BUSINESS
-WSJ: Could Skype Be for Sale?– The Web has been buzzing with speculation
that eBay may be looking for a buyer for Skype, the online communications
service that the company bought in 2005 for $3.1 billion. Some analysts
have been calling for eBay to shed Skype for years, given the seeming
disconnect between Skype’s core business of online phone calls and eBay’s
core business of online auctions. The latest turn in the speculation came
last week, when eBay’s chief executive John Donahoe, speaking with analysts
about fourth quarter earnings, dubbed Skype a “great stand-alone business.”
He continued, “the synergies between Skype and the other parts of our
portfolio are minimal. We’re going to continue to run and operate the
business. It’s not a distraction currently. And at such time when we have
further announcements on that, we’ll let you know.” Speaking with the
Journal after that earnings call, Mr. Donahoe certainly talked up Skype’s
qualities, noting that it had become a $550 million business with excellent
operating margins. Skype is “getting more valuable by the day,” he said. He
also said that eBay wasn’t going to “force” any synergies between Skype and
its auction business. Still, though, he said he had no news to report on a
potential sale.
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/26/could-skype-be-for-sale/?mod=rss_WSJBlog?mod
=
-AP: Verizon’s Earnings Rose 15% in Quarter– Verizon Communications, the
telecommunications company, said Tuesday that its earnings increased 15
percent in the fourth quarter, as the shrinking economy did little to
dampen consumer appetites for wireless, Internet and TV service. The
company said it earned $1.24 billion, or 43 cents a share, up from $1.07
billion, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding charges mainly for
job cuts, earnings were 61 cents a share, matching the expectation of
analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Revenue rose 3.4 percent to $24.6
billion from a year ago. That fell slightly short of analyst expectations
at $24.74 billion. Verizon Wireless added 1.4 million subscribers, slightly
down from the 1.5 million it added in the third quarter. It ended the year
with 72.1 million customers, putting it in second place after AT&T. But
Verizon Wireless closed on the purchase of Alltel on Jan. 9, giving it more
than 80 million customers and vaulting it to first place in the U.S.
cellular industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/technology/companies/28verizon.html?ref=technology
-LA Times: Netflix attracting more subscribers through streaming video–
Netflix showed little sign of the economic slowdown that’s been nailing
other companies this corporate earnings season. But it attributed its
fourth-quarter jump in revenue, profit and subscribers to a surprising
factor: surging popularity of its online video streaming service. The
movies-by-mail service said today it added 718,000 subscribers in the
fourth quarter, far more than analysts had expected, bringing its
subscriber base to nearly 9.4 million. Netflix expects the number to reach
10.6 million subscribers within the next three months, even as other parts
of the entertainment business contract because of the recession. “It’s very
clear that streaming is energizing our growth,” Netflix Chief Executive
Reed Hastings said on a call today with analysts. Hastings said the
company’s streaming business was propelled by connection with devices from
LG Electronics, Samsung and Microsoft that offer Netflix’s “Watch
Instantly” service.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/01/if-you-stream-i.html
-Media Post: MySpace Extends Conversations 365 Days Per Year– The days of
sending holiday letters to update receivers about the year’s events has
transformed into portals in social media platforms. Social media also gives
brands the opportunity to continue the conversation with consumers every
day during the year, according to MySpace executive Angela Courtin, who
gave one of the keynotes at OMMA Social Monday in San Francisco. Keeping
the conversation active is one of several discoveries that MySpace has
perfected during the past five years since the company was founded.
Consumers want self-expression, positive change and fun, said Courtin,
MySpace SVP of marketing, entertainment and content. As use shifts to
social media, it’s no longer a race to build a destination–but rather
constellations that connect, she said. Consumers have become curators as
MySpace developed a model that lets people have a unique fingerprint online
to share things they love, from books and music to people. Consumers not
only share intimate details about themselves, but plug in advertisers they
hold close to the heart, too.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=99126&Nid=51588&p=462539
-Media Post: Hulu Buys Super Bowl Spot– The NBC/News Corp. Hulu video site
will get one of the biggest marketing platforms ever for the Internet video
site: this Sunday’s Super Bowl to add on NBC. The company issued a press
release announcing the media buy. Analysts note that the Super Bowl has had
a price tag of $3 million for a 30-second spot, although the price tag has
dropped in recent days, according to reports. Given NBC’s partial equity
interest in the Internet video channel, it isn’t known what–if
anything–Hulu has paid to secure the commercial placement. Executives note
that the buy will be the first apparent purchase of a Super Bowl commercial
for any Internet video site. In regard to the creative, a Hulu release
would only say it would focus on revealing “the secret behind Hulu. We look
forward to chatting with you further after air this Sunday.”
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.san&s=99136&Nid=51586&p=462539
INTEREST
-NY Times Bits: Problems With Your Checking Account? Try Twitter– Jimmy
Fallon, Shaquille O’Neal and Erykah Badu have all jumped on the Twitter
bandwagon. Add to that list… Bank of America? According to a blog post on
the company’s Web site, the bank opened up shop on Twitter last week. “We
are now listening AND responding to customers on Twitter,” it said. “We are
entering a new territory. A place that is not familiar to many in financial
services — but a place with tremendous opportunity.” San Francisco-based
Twitter, which allows people to post updates, or “tweets,” up to 140
characters in length, is catching on at some large corporations that are
looking to try out social media as a way to improve customer service and
public opinion of their brands. For example, Starbucks dishes out updates
on special offers and nutritional and store information using Twitter. The
online retailer Zappos, Comcast and Southwest Airlines have also created
official accounts on Twitter to interact with consumers and respond
directly to complaints.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/problems-with-your-checking-account-try-twitter/
-NY Times: Senate Approves Digital TV Delay– The Senate voted on Monday to
delay next month’s transition to digital television until June 12 because
some viewers would not be ready for the switch. The voice vote followed a
call by President Obama’s administration to postpone the Feb. 17 date for
major TV stations to stop sending traditional analog signals. Similar
legislation awaits action in the House on Tuesday. Senator John D.
Rockefeller IV, Democrat of West Virginia who leads the commerce committee,
said last week that he had reached agreement with Senator Kay Bailey
Hutchison of Texas, the top Republican on the panel, on the legislation.
Some Republicans had opposed a delay, saying it would cause confusion by
changing a long-planned date. A federal program to subsidize digital
equipment that some viewers will need has fallen short of money, and last
week the government reported a waiting list of 1.4 million households.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/media/27digital.html?ref=media
-USA Today: Mattel gives Barbie online dream house– Playtime with Barbie
is about to get a virtual makeover. Toy company Mattel is revamping the
online presence for its popular brands — including the iconic Barbie and,
for boys, Hot Wheels — with expanded playable, customization and networking
features on the new Mattel Digital Network. The changes, to begin rolling
out this spring, will create “an online destination for the kid in all of
us,” says Chuck Scothon, the network’s general manager. “It will provide a
great play experience, whether virtual or extending the physical play
experience.” And the upgrade will help Mattel keep pace with its
competition online. Other brands such as Disney, LEGO and Hasbro have added
features that aim to keep children connected with their sites — and
products. “There is a battle is for kids’ eyes on the computer,” says
Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children’s Technology Review
(childrenssoftware.com). These days, companies need “a smart strategy
behind their toys that does things like keep track of a child’s age and
recommend or suggest (products), whether obviously or subliminally.”
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-01-26-mattel-website-main_N.htm
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online 
Nadine Cheung
Editor, The Job Post
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