Here’s why MSNBC dropped Imus
For a clue into why MSNBC decided to drop the “Imus in the Morning” simulcast, look no further than a list of advertisers who got cold feet over the radio shock jock’s racist outburst. TNS compiled a list of the top advertisers. Reuters reporters Paul Thomasch and Sue Zeidler rang up the members on the list to find out which among them were pulling out.
Five of the top 10 advertisers dropped out. Others either did not return calls or were evaluating. One disputed ever having advertised on the show.
Imus in the Morning (MSNBC)
Data from TNS Media Intelligence and Reuters reporting Reporting period: 1/1/2006 – 12/31/2006
The delicate sound of layoffs
Here’s some welcome news for media industry workers: Firing tons of workers and doing the slash-and-burn routine is not the preferred technique of the private-equity buyout, according to a veteran of the business.
Buyout targets are companies that can deliver some long-term growth, but not by “asset stripping, just firing people [and] selling off assets,” Thomas H. Lee Partners co-President Scott Sperling told reporters and editors at a Reuters Summit on private equity and hedge funds on Tuesday.
[Companies] don’t really need us to do that in a kind of swing-the-axe kind of way,” Sperling said.
But don’t take that as meaning that private-equity titans are “focused on ‘how can I make the world a better place,’” he said. Take Warner Music Group: “We’ve been able to pretty dramatically increase the market share of Warner Music… but we first had to get rid of whole layers of management that really were in the way of getting the job done. It’s grown its employment base since then but you really had to change the way the company did business.”
We also were curious about how he explains his job to his kids. Here’s a clue: “My youngest daughter used to think that when we bought a company and ‘tried to make it better’ that it really meant that we picked up the company and brought it to my office.”
Qualcomm, Nokia spat gets nasty
Tensions escalated on Thursday between Qualcomm and Nokia ahead of the expiration of their license pact for technology behind high-speed wireless Web access for mobile phones.
Qualcomm effectively compared Nokia to a quasi-shoplifter because Nokia had paid a lower price than Qualcomm expected for use of its patents.
“Nokia has no more right to unilaterally set a price than the average consumer has a right to walk into a store, take a product off the shelf, and walk out with it after leaving only a fraction of the established price on the counter,” Qualcomm said. “Leaving some money on the counter does not make the act any less unlawful.”
Morgan Stanley analyst Ehud Gelblum compared the quarreling parties to two Dr. Seuss characters in a note to clients on Thurday, saying they’re “as intransigent as the Zaxes.”
Those, of course, would be the northbound Zax and the southbound Zax who end up buried under a new highway a couple of years after they refuse to yield to one another.
Sam Zell: Not reading this blog entry
Sam Zell, the Chicago real estate tycoon who is taking over Tribune in an $8.2 billion deal, thinks the Internet holds promise for the troubled publisher and broadcaster, but when it comes to hands-on experience, he’ll be more of a dealer than a user.
The Chicago Tribune in its interview with Zell described him as “an avid reader of newspapers who doesn’t read news online or own a BlackBerry.” It added that he believes “quality ‘relevant’ content is the key to Tribune’s future, whether it is on television, in newspapers or online.”
In the interview, published on Wednesday, Zell avoids specifics on why he wants Tribune. He said he sees the company as a “great challenge… Everything I do is motivated by doing it best, doing it different, answering the questions that no one else could.”
If I had a few billion dollars sitting around, that’s exactly what I’d do.
We also learned that Zell hates betrayal.
He specifically cited rival bidder and Los Angeles billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad as an example: “[Broad] wanted to join Zell as a partner, but Zell said he wouldn’t consider it until the deal was complete. The next day, Broad and fellow Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle sent Tribune a letter alleging Zell had an unfair advantage in preparing his proposal. This didn’t sit well with Zell. ‘If somebody calls me and says I want to be a partner, and the next day tries to stick a knife in my back, tell me again why I would want to do business with him?’ Zell said.”
Pimp your ride
I’m a car fanatic, but I live in New York City, one of the worst places in the world to own a car. I’ve had several in the past, and nearly went broke paying for parking tickets.
MTV has created a virtual world for people like us. Virtual Pimp My Ride launches on Thursday in time for the premiere of the new season of “Pimp My Ride.”
The company has been on a tear lately, launching virtual worlds that resemble themed versions of Linden Lab’s Second Life. Virtual Pimp My Ride joins other virtual worlds based on its shows Virtual Laguna Beach and Virtual Hills.
Players can find host Xzibit, Mad Mike and tuners at Galpin Auto Sports to hook up cars they can buy with MTV dollars. I wonder what the exchange rates are for real money.
Here’s what else I wonder:
- Will I be able to hook up a Mac Mini to my Kenwood dashboard touchscreen GPS and entertainment console?
- Will I be able to monkey around the engine compartment to install turbos and NOS?
- Can players race each other for pink sheets?
- What about a Japan version of the site that lets players “drift” or slide their cars around turns?
Not TV till it’s on TV
Too lazy to get off the couch? Net videos from online video service Veoh Networks may soon hit TV screens via AMD’s Active TV technology after they announced a partnership on Wednesday.
PC-to-TV initiatives are dominating discussions in tech and media circles as interest in watching Internet video surges. Media companies want to see this work as they try to forge business models rivaling that of traditional television and shift the power from distributors like cable service providers back to content producers.
We’re not quite sure where or in what form Active TV technology will pop up. And plenty of skeptics wonder if anyone will care at all. Competitors will also have to convince consumers why their gizmos will be better than Apple’s new set-top box device, Apple TV, that links iTunes to TV sets.
Unlike YouTube’s snack-sized clips, Veoh offers long-form shows — even though people don’t tend to enjoy watching things on their computers for longer periods of time. That might be one reason why Veoh attracted media backers like Time Warner and Michael Eisner’s Tornante Co.
AMD is also working with Texas-based BroadQ for a service called Qtv that links Sony PlayStation 2 game consoles to PCs.
Apple, EMI deal — More questions than answers
Apple and EMI’s landmark deal to sell EMI songs at higher audio qualities and stripped of copy protection on iTunes raises as many questions as it answers.
The agreement marks the first for one of the world’s most popular digital media retailer. It is also part of Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ call to dismantle restrictions on digital music to boost sales and allow media to be played on devices other than its iPod devices.
EMI will be making copy protection free music available at other online outlets in the coming weeks.
A couple of key points from the companies’ statements:
- Songs without digital rights management will cost 30 cents more.
- EMI’s wholesale pricing for premium single tracks will rise.
- EMI’s wholesale pricing for entire albums will remain the same.
- EMI music videos will be available on iTunes DRM-free at no price hike.
- iTunes consumers who have purchased copy protected songs can upgrade for 30 cents.
Here are a couple questions that come to mind:
- Do consumers care to pay a 30 percent premium for better quality and the ability to play their digital music on any player of choice?
- Will this stem piracy?
- Will other labels follow? Who’s next?
- What happened to Steve Jobs’ hard stance against variable pricing (excluding the Japanese iTunes store)?
- What happened to the highly anticipated deal to sell Beatles’ songs?
Chillin’ with my newspaper homiez
The Newspaper Association of America takes the wraps off a new campaign on Monday to convince advertisers that papers and their Web sites are the best place to persuade audiences to buy things that businesses want to sell. The reason? They’re cool enough for hip, edgy and irreverent young people.
The association noted that the ads would portray newspapers as “contemporary and aggressive,” not something whose target audience spends Saturday nights at a VFW dancehall.
The first of these ads will sport the tag “Newspaper: The Multi-Medium,” to emphasize that the news is about the Web, mobile phones and all sorts of other delivery methods, not just paper.
I brought this up with Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. He noted that this could be the cue for a makeover of the typical U.S. newspaper executive:
“I think the challenge for the newspaper industry is that it’s trying to persuade the advertising community that it’s not a dying industry, but it’s an emerging one making the transition to a new platform,” he said. “To be an emerging industry, that suggests that you have some of the hallmarks of Silicon Valley. You don’t wear a tie anymore and you wear blue jeans and turtlenecks, and maybe a two-day beard.”
In other words, dress like a reporter.
You can read the Reuters story here.
Catty comments on Topix
Topix, the local news search Web site owned by Gannett, McClatchy and Tribune, on Monday will start asking its readers to contribute news from parts of the country that the big mainstream media don’t cover enough.
Chief Executive Rich Skrenta got the idea after a mayoral scandal in his hometown of San Carlos in Silicon Valley. The news didn’t rate much more than a short mention in the local metro dailies, which include the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Jose Mercury News, he said.
Now, people on the service – which is shifting its site to “Topix.com” instead of “Topix.net” — can chime in with the news that they think is important but under-covered. Readers also will be able to comment on various items, something that they have already been able to do for some time.
In our coverage of this development, we quoted an analyst who voiced his concerns about the sometimes spicy and just plain unusual nature of online commentary. Here’s a sample of what Topix was running on Sunday.
Topic: “Would you cut off a finger to feed a starving cat?”
One of more than 200 responses: “I would give the cat some of my tuna hoagie and then send him on his way. I don’t particularly like cats. There is something in them from the DEVIL. Brrrrr….”
Another: “Dumb question, and no. Cats are natural born killers and fend for themselves quite well. Mice and rat populations keep the cats in plenty of food.”
Over the years I have only seen a few minutes of Imus’ show, so I don’t know much about him. What he said was incredibally stupid & insensitive. As for MSNBC & CBS firing him, they had every right to do so. I have heard of people being fired for a lot less. Freedom of speech is a right that we all enjoy, but most of us don’t get paid 7 figure incomes to speak our mind. As for other conservative talk show hosts, not all make racist comments. If we ban or “censure” everyone we do not agree with, this will cease to be a free country. I do not agree with a lot of things I see, hear, & read. However, I do not call for censureship.