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Oprah's Production Company Goes to HBO (AP)
Oprah Winfrey is ending a long relationship with ABC by taking her production company to HBO for a three-year deal to make movies, documentaries and TV series. Kate Forte, head of Harpo Films, said the company wanted to make a more eclectic mix of programming than was available on broadcast TV.
News Corp.'s Stock Listing Shifts to a Higher Bidder (NYT)
The Wall Street listing war appears to have opened a new source of revenue for media companies: list with the stock exchange that will pay the most. News Corporation will move its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq stock market, effective on Dec. 29.
Detroit Dailies Drop Home Delivery Most Days (E&P)
Detroit Media Partnership CEO David Hunke told production and editorial union leaders Tuesday that there will be no newsroom layoffs when the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News drop four home delivery days completely. E&P: Some analysts declared themselves underwhelmed by the Detroit plan. E&P: Former Freep Publisher Heath Meriwether is concerned about how the new approach might affect advertising.
Split 30-Second Super Bowl Spot 10 Ways? (WSJ)
As the Super Bowl nears, Weatherproof Garment Co. is hoping to use the big game's hefty advertising price tag along with the recession, to draw attention to itself. Weatherproof is proposing to divvy up a 30-second spot with nine other marketers, with each company paying $300,000 for three seconds.
Disney Plans a Channel for Russian TV (NYT)
Disney said on Tuesday that it would introduce a broadcast version of the Disney Channel in Russia, a market the company has identified as part of its growth strategy and one that Western entertainment companies have been trying to crack for a decade with little success.
American Media Lays Off About a Dozen Staffers (AdAge)
Chairman-CEO David Pecker is swinging the axe at American Media. Pecker kicked off widespread cuts on the business side Monday, when he eliminated jobs across the ad-sales and marketing teams. Insiders expected the cuts to spread into editorial departments.
Car and Driver EIC Is Out After 16 Years (MIN)
Longtime Car and Driver Editor-in-Chief and VP Csaba Csere is leaving Hachette at the end of this year. Csere started at Car and Driver in 1980 and became EIC in 1993. HFMUS SVP and group editorial director John Owens will take the role of acting EIC until a replacement is found.
Black: What Wolff Got Wrong in His Murdoch Bio (Daily Beast)
Conrad Black: Michael Wolff wades through a confusing and cliched account of Rupert Murdoch's life, replete with factual errors, serious omissions, extreme psychological liberties, and the conclusion that Murdoch will be "temperamentally compelled" to try to acquire the New York Times. I don't think so.
HuffPo Times the Market Impeccably (Gawker)
The Huffington Post announced just weeks ago that it had landed $25 million in new investments. Now, their traffic is (predictably) plunging. The question is, to what extend did her investors factor this post-election plunge into their projections?
Magazines' Cuts Hit the Web (NYO)
With cuts going down all over the industry, it appears a portion of the magazine world, which was never a quick adapter to the Web anyway, is responding by shoving their Web people right off the boat first. The operating policy now, particularly at Conde Nast, basically reads: Revenue first! Future later.
Consumer Reports in Talks to Buy Consumerist Blog (FishbowlNY)
Consumer Reports is in talks to purchase Gawker Media's Consumerist blog. A meeting was held yesterday between visiting executives and top Gawker management -- including Consumerist editor Ben Popken. Gawker publisher Nick Denton put Consumerist up for sale last month.
ASNE Proposes Name Change: Remove 'Newspaper' (Politico)
Besides layoffs, buyouts, bankruptcies and closing bureaus, there's further evidence the traditional newspaper industry's in trouble. The American Society of Newspaper Editors contacted members yesterday about changing the organization's name to reflect the decline of print.
The Digital Slay-Ride (Slate)
Jack Shafer: The misery of a laid-off or bought-out journalist isn't greater than that of a sacked bond trader, a RIF-ed clerk, or a fired autoworker. The underlying cause of their grief can be traced to the same force that has destroyed other professions and industries: digital technology.
Five Indestructible Magazines (Jossip)
2008's magazine killing season was busy and bloody. And unfortunately, the night's just begun. But some magazines are immune to the sufferings of the other, distant media continents. Publications like Parade, Details, and Juggs will emerge from the economic downturn no worse for the wear.
Revolving Door Newsletter: Macmillan Lays Off 64; Mag Cuts Continue (mediabistro.com)
What does it say when the biggest story in media revolves around a layoff Twitter feed? The Media Is Dying, a microblog written by eight PR pros detailing job cuts in the media industry, drew press from The New York Times, the Fishbowls of NY and LA, Gawker, Jossip, and on and on.
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