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SNL Returns to Highest Ratings in Two Years (Hollywood Reporter)
The post-strike return of NBC's Saturday Night Live scored the show's highest overnight rating in two years. Hosted by former SNL cast member/head writer Tina Fey and featuring Carrie Underwood as the musical guest, the show delivered a 6.1 rating/15 share in metered-market households — the highest average since a Feb. 4, 2006 episode hosted by Steve Martin. HuffPo: Politics was center stage on SNL, with an epic cold open spoofing the latest CNN debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama (over 8 minutes), a supersized "Weekend Update" (11 minutes), and about as close as SNL could come to a live, on-air endorsement of Hillary Clinton by host and returning alumna Tina Fey. WaPo: Mike Huckabee's appearance on the "Weekend Update" segment got raves when he displayed his comic chops in a clever bit about refusing to give up his faltering campaign.
Time Inc. to Make More Cuts This Year (AP)
Time Warner Inc. said in its annual regulatory filing Friday that it expects to cut more jobs in its magazine publishing division in the first quarter, resulting in $10 million to $20 million in expenses. Time Inc. spokeswoman Dawn Bridges said that the job cuts affected fewer than 100 people, and that most of them had already occurred in various parts of the company.
What That McCain Article Didn't Say (NYT)
Public editor Clark Hoyt: A newspaper cannot begin a story about the all-but-certain Republican presidential nominee with the suggestion of an extramarital affair with an attractive lobbyist 31 years his junior and expect readers to focus on anything other than what most of them did. And if a newspaper is going to suggest an improper sexual affair it owes readers more proof than the Times was able to provide. PressThink: Next time you decide to suggest that a leading presidential candidate had an affair that compromises his reputation and threatens his entire campaign, my god, get some harder information, writes Jay Rosen. WaPo: The hardest thing in journalism is to spend months on a story and then admit you haven't got the goods. There is, instead, a tendency to dress the thing up with fine writing and larger themes in an effort to demonstrate that it's not just about sex, when of course that is the only element most readers — and the rest of the media — will focus on, writes Howard Kurtz.
TW: Yahoo Deal Would Affect AOL (Hollywood Reporter)
Wall Street observers have argued that AOL would come under additional pressure if Microsoft ends up acquiring Yahoo, and corporate parent Time Warner on Friday acknowledged the challenges of potential further Web consolidation. "The Internet is dynamic and rapidly evolving, and new and popular competitors, such as social networking sites, frequently emerge," TW said.
Blogger, Sans Pajamas, Rakes Muck and a Prize (NYT)
To scores of bloggers, Joshua Micah Marshall's Polk Award was a case of local boy makes good. Many took it as vindication of their enterprise — that anyone can assume the mantle of reporting on the pressing issues affecting the nation and the world, with the imprimatur of a mainstream media outlet or not. And most reassuringly, it showed that fair numbers of people out there were paying attention.
Economist Loses Battle Over Domain Name (Folio:)
An attempt by The Economist to gain rights to the domain name theeconomist.com has been denied by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The magazine's Web site is registered as economist.com. In its petition, the mag argued that the disputed domain name is identical to the magazine's registered trademarks, and that the individual who registered the name has no "legitimate interests" in the name.
Hearst Revamps O at Home, Country Living (Mediaweek)
Starting with O at Home's spring issue, editor Sarah Gray Miller is making the shelter title look and read more like its popular progenitor, O, The Oprah Magazine. Country Living, meanwhile, is ratcheting up its lifestyle content with the May issue as VP, publisher Steven Grune eyes more beauty, financial, retail, and travel dollars.
Rodale Around the World (WWD)
Rodale is exploring international launches of Best Life, Women's Health, and Runner's World this year in Russia, Brazil, and China. A spokeswoman said it's not clear yet where the titles will land, adding that the company also is considering two or three more Men's Health international editions in the next 12 months.
Network of TVs Talks to Cellphones and Trades Clips for Advertising (NYT)
A little-known private company, Akoo International, is setting up a network of digital screens that can send and receive messages from cellphones. The company aims to transform mobile devices into universal remote controls that can select on-demand content from big-screen TVs in airports, bars, and restaurants.
Spanish-Language Stations Benefit From Focus on Hispanic Voters (TV Week)
The 2008 presidential campaign, which has fueled an unprecedented level of ad spending in the general media, now appears likely to do the same in the Spanish-language market as the Democratic candidates compete for the crucial Hispanic vote in Texas.
Is User-Generated Content Viable for News Sites? (Guardian)
Jemima Kiss: User content is at the heart of Web 2.0, which has spawned hundreds of sites that encourage users to share, discuss, and contribute their ideas, photos, videos, and digital miscellany. Acknowledging and adapting to this trend has been a key challenge for traditional, professional media sites whose business models have relied on being a one-way, authoritative gatekeeper of information and content.
What's Streaming Worth to Writers? (B&C)
Writers and producers waged a 100-day work stoppage over — among other things — the migration of television content to the Web. The WGA won residuals for content streamed over the Internet beyond an "initial streaming window" of 17 days (24 days for first-year shows). But how much is this still-new revenue stream worth? More important, how much will it be worth in the future?
Hollywood, Take Note: Graydon Giveth, and Graydon Taketh Away (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: The true genius of Graydon Carter may be that he grasped the awesome power of event marketing more keenly (and earlier) than most of his competitors in this age of rapidly declining cultural power for magazines. For the legions of nonreaders in Hollywood (who might skim the captions in Graydon's very, very wordy publication if they happen to find it in an airline seat pocket), the Oscar party is the Vanity Fair brand.
Moving Day at FSG (New Yorker)
Joy Isenberg, who has worked at Farrar, Straus & Giroux for 38 years, says that one of the things she is most looking forward to when the company moves this week out of its storied offices, at 19 Union Square West, is the prospect of hot running water in the ladies' room. "The money went into the books, not into painting the walls."
Newsweeklies Should Endorse Candidates (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Time and Newsweek need to come up with compelling reasons for us to read them. I can think of one: Endorse a presidential candidate. It's a way to attract interest in a positive way and help to create a buzz. The two magazines have been in heated competition for so long that they may have lost sight of the battle for young readers.
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