Media News

Click here to receive mediabistro.com's Daily Newsfeed via email.

Microsoft Floats Alternative Plan to Woo Yahoo (NYP)
The merger deal between Microsoft and Yahoo is swinging open again. Microsoft released a statement yesterday that it is talking to the company about an alternative pact that would involve an undisclosed "transaction" with Yahoo but "not an acquisition of all" of the portal giant. However, the company said it isn't ruling out another outright bid for Yahoo either.

Thomson Reuters Axes 140 Journalist Jobs (Guardian)
News and information company Thomson Reuters has confirmed that it is cutting 140 journalist jobs by the end of the year. In an internal email to staff, the editor-in-chief of Reuters News, David Schlesinger, said having looked into areas of "natural overlap and duplication in coverage" between Thomson and Reuters the newly merged company had decided more than half of the cuts would be in Europe.

Monthlies' Ad Pages for the First Half of 2008: June Down 11.13% (MIN)
The feared advertising-page collapse strikes hard in June. This follows a weak economic 2007 and an even weaker early-2008 with a cumulative monthly differential not seen since the "upscale recession" in 1991 and in the fourth-quarter-2001/first-half-2002 aftermath to the September 11, 2001, attacks. WWD: Overall, the luxury fashion magazines are still performing better than the mass market titles — as most will argue, the rich keep shopping no matter the state of the broader economy, and luxury brands are still doling out dollars to market to that fat-pocketed demographic.

Another Beltway Institution Seeks New Leader (NYT)
Washington Post executive editor Leonard Downie Jr. will almost certainly be gone by the time a new president is inaugurated next January. The new publisher, Katharine Weymouth, has been talking about — and talking to — potential successors. For now, there is no obvious choice.

CBS's Bob Schieffer Won't Hang It Up Just Yet (WaPo)
Bob Schieffer had announced that he planned to hang it up after the presidential inauguration. Then the CBS newsman said maybe he'd stick around a little while longer. Now the network plans to announce today that Schieffer, 71, has signed a "long-term deal" to continue as chief Washington correspondent and Face the Nation host.

Online Search Ads Faring Better Than Expensive Displays (NYT)
In the past few years, Web publishers have made a big bet on booming online advertising revenues. But the economic slowdown may be throwing a wrench into those plans. While search advertising remains strong, there are signs that the growth in online advertising — particularly in more elaborate display ads — is slowing down.

Feud Fuels Bill O'Reilly's Blasts at GE (WaPo)
Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq. On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of a bitter feud between O'Reilly and NBC.

Will Tabloid Queen Get Tapped As Next Editor of The Wall Street Journal? (Dealbreaker)
Is Rupert Murdoch preparing to name Rebekah Wade, the editor of UK tabloid The Sun, to be the new managing editor of The Wall Street Journal? That's the rumor we're hearing. Wade is reportedly close to Murdoch. We're told that Robert Thomson, the Journal's publisher, may favor naming Wade to replace Marcus Brauchli, who resigned as editor in April.

Al Jazeera English Tries to Extend Its Reach (NYT)
The English-language offshoot of Al Jazeera, the Arabic television news network, is pushing for a "breakthrough" that would make the channel available to American TV viewers and help it move beyond a turbulent start-up phase, according to its new managing director, Tony Burman, a former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

TV Execs Rethink Need for Series Pilots (LAT)
For the first time, because of the writers strike and changing attitudes among the network brass, several high-profile new series landed on the schedules without a single frame of film having been shot as a pilot episode. Other shows made the cut after executives screened stripped-down "presentations" rather than completed pilots.

BlackBook Rocked By Second Executive Exit in a Week (NYP)
BlackBook Media lost its second top exec in a week as Maxim raided editor-in-chief Steve Garbarino to become an editor-at-large at the laddie magazine. "He's a great writer and a great editor," James Kaminsky, the editorial director of Maxim, said of the new hire who will be involved in "all aspects of the magazine's execution," including recruiting writers and editing and assigning stories.

Investors Target Web Video (TV Week)
This time, will it be different for investors who come to Hollywood seeking riches by creating content. Venture capitalists with long, successful records are pouring money into content, betting that the Web video economy will change the rules that for decades have made show business an effective mechanism for separating outsiders from their money.

Looking at Couric's Ill-Fated Voyage With CBS (New Yorker)
Nancy Franklin: Katie Couric's interpretation of the role of anchor led her to repress the qualities that drew people to her in the first place, and she often comes across as hollow and robotic. I'm never as aware that anybody is reading from a teleprompter as I am when I'm watching Couric. She is essentially wasted in this job.

Revolving Door Newsletter: NYT's Troubles Travel Abroad (mediabistro.com)
On top of all its other problems, the NYT Co. now it has a headache at the International Herald Tribune. Editor-in-chief Michael Oreskes (once seen as a contender to succeed NYT executive editor Bill Keller) departs to become AP's managing editor for U.S. news. Rank-and-file staffers are bummed to see one of the company's strongest editors bow out rather than stay in the running for the top job.

Everything I Know About Branding, I Learned by Watching American Idol (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: New-media and marketing strategist Noah Brier's genius new site Brand Tags asks visitors to play a game of word association to sum up their impressions of major brands in one word or phrase. The predominant brand values of American Idol, according to Brand Tags: "Annoying / Boring / Cheesy / Crap / Fake / Gay / Lame / Simon / Stupid." Exactly! And that's why it's such great TV! Reuters: Simon Fuller can revel in the success of Idol as it reaches the climax of its seventh season.