You have to give Hearst some credit for sticking to what it knows. Check the short biographies of the four company executives who are joining the publisher (and broadcaster’s) board:

• George R. Hearst III, publisher of the Albany Times Union. Newspapers. Papery.
• Richard P. Malloch, president of Hearst Business Media and senior vice president of Hearst Corporation. He used to run Hearst’s consumer books business before selling it to HarperCollins. Papery.
• Scott M. Sassa, president of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication and senior vice president of Hearst Corporation. OK — a former Internet startup and venture capital guy, not to mention his career at NBC — maybe not so papery.
• Steven R. Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers and senior vice president of Hearst Corporation. He also ran the yellow pages business, though he seems less papery when you find out that he helped start the newspaper consortium with Yahoo. That has been a well meaning if not game-changing attempt to get newspapers and Yahoo to the point where they both feed each other big advertising profits.

Now, Hearst might be experiencing some tough times in the newspaper business, having closed the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and having thought publicly about dropping the San Francisco Chronicle. At the same time, it’s not trying to save itself by changing everything it does and acting like a new media company.

One bit of possible wisdom that I hear people saying these days is: Why not manage your media business to deal with what it knows? The print business might be declining but, if managed properly, there might be a graceful way to run things that doesn’t erode what cash the business is making with no clear way of replacing it. Maybe these print guys know something after all.

Thousands of Microsofties yucked it up at the expense of rival Apple at their annual get-together at Seattle’s Safeco field on Thursday.

Saturday Night Live star Seth Meyers set about the old foe, which had its own festival of self-congratulation yesterday.

“Who at Apple let an 8-year-old girl name their new operating system Snow Leopard?,” Meyers asked, according to one employee spreading the good word on Facebook. “What, was Unicorn taken? Was Pony not available?”

Fair point, perhaps. But what’s this? A preview of the first TV ad for Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system, airing on prime time tonight. It features a young girl and a — admittedly kitsch — unicorn.

A year ago, the big story around Emmy nominations was the acclaim showered on cable programs like “Mad Men” and “Damages.” A quick glance at today’s nominations indicates little has changed.

Just look at the best drama category, where Fox’s “House” and ABC’s “Lost” will face stiff competition from cable’s “Big Love” (HBO), “Mad Men” (AMC), “Damages” (FX), and “Breaking Bad” (AMC).

While the Emmy awards aren’t everything — ratings are still the holy grail — they certainly don’t hurt. Particularly when it comes to cable networks, which have built a reputation for developing more sophisticated, bolder programs than the broadcast counterparts.

While ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox are under heavy pressure from advertisers (and their corporate parents) to show immediate results, the cable networks can take more care with their programs. After all, they draw some revenue from carriage deals and subscriptions, which buys shows like “Breaking Bad” some time to develop.

That seems to be paying dividends — and not only when it comes to awards. While broadcast TV advertising rates are still at a sizable premium to cable, most advertising executives say the gap is shrinking. Couple that with carriage fees and a generally lower cost structure and you see why TV executives like NBC Universal’s Jeff Zucker spend so much time talking up their cable assets.

Keep an eye on:

• Google will be under the spotlight when it reports second quarter earnings later today. How much of a toll has the downturn in advertising and the competition from Microsoft taken on the web leader? (Reuters)

• Speaking of Microsoft, its share of the U.S. market increased in June as it rolled out Bing (Reuters). And its not just focussed on search and Google — the company plans to open some retail stores “right next door” to those of Apple Inc. (Reuters)

• Don’t get too comfortable watching your favorite TV show on the web with only a few commercials. Media companies are pressing ahead with plans to put more ads in web videos. (Wall Street Journal)

Here are some of the day’s top stories in the media industry:

TV Networks Fight Drug-Ad Measure (WSJ)
“Advertising costs are deductible to any company as a business expense. The plan being considered by Rep. Rangel’s Ways and Means committee would eliminate the deduction with respect to prescription drug advertising,” writes Martin Vaughan.

Big media seek 21st century business models (Reuters)
“Media moguls at this week’s Sun Valley conference have spent as much time discussing how to reconfigure business models disrupted by the Web as they have worrying about the weak economy,” reports Yinka Adegoke.

Zucker Says Marketplace Has Reached Bottom (B&C)
Ben Grossman writes: “NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker said Thursday that while the overall marketplace is still challenged, he thinks it may have bottomed out. ‘It’s still quite uncertain and we don’t really see the full recovery we are all hoping for,’ he said.  ’It’s still tough out there, but I think we have seen a bottom.’”

The Financial Times and New York Times make further syndication deals (Editors Weblog)
“Both the Financial Times and the New York Times have announced their international syndications will include additional countries. The FT has confirmed content sharing arrangements with publications based in Turkey, France, and South Korea,” writes Christie Silk.

NBC Reveals Displeasure as U.S.O.C. Unveils Plan (NYT)
Richard Sandomir writes: “The head of NBC Sports said Thursday that he broke off talks in April about combining the Olympic channel that it partly owns with the one being planned by the United States Olympic Committee.”

AP Works Toward Universal Online News Format (Mediapost)
Gavin O’Malley writes: “The Associated Press, along with fellow non-profit The Media Standards Trust, on Friday unveiled a digital news “microformat” to effectively encapsulate the content and key meta-data of every news story online.”

In other news:

• Detroit Free Press exempt from latest round of Gannett layoffs (Crain’s)
• AOL: More Layoffs Inevitable (Business Insider)

Here are some of the day’s top stories in the media industry:

New York Times Asks Subscribers: Is It Wrong to Charge for Online Content? (Poynter)
Bill Mitchell writes: “The New York Times is testing a price point of $5 a month for access to nytimes.com, with a 50 percent discount for print subscribers. The Times e-mailed a survey to print subscribers Thursday afternoon inviting their reaction to that pricing plan and asking a range of questions about online pricing.”

Murdoch papers paid £1m to gag phone-hacking victims (Guardian)
“The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data, including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills,” writes Nick Davies.
> UK police won’t reopen Murdoch paper phonetap case (Reuters)

A is for abattoir; Z is for ZULU: All in the Handbook of Journalism (Reuters)
Dean Wright writes: “The handbook is the guidance Reuters journalists live by — and we’re proud of it. Until now, it hasn’t been freely available to the public. In the early 1990s, a printed handbook was published and in 2006 the Reuters Foundation published a relatively short PDF online that gave some basic guidance to reporters. But it’s only now that we’re putting the full handbook online.”

As Gannett’s Newspapers Suffer, Digital Side Sees Growth, More Hiring And Acquisitions (paidContent)
“As Gannett continues to be roiled with huge debt problems, an absent CEO, and hundreds more layoffs across its community newspapers, its digital division appears to be a sea of calm. In fact [...] things are going just fine on their respective ends,” writes David Kaplan.

Analyst Admits to Being ‘Dead Wrong’ After Disney’s ‘Up’ Is Big Earner (NYT)
“Dead wrong” is how Richard Greenfield of Pali Research put his related analysis in a research note. “The recent success of Pixar’s ‘Up’ (well ahead of our forecasts) has renewed investor confidence in Disney’s creative capabilities,” he added. “Up” has so far sold $265.9 million in tickets in North America and $35.4 million overseas, where it has only begun to arrive in theaters,” writes Brooks Barnes.

TiVo, Best Buy Form Alliance To Boost DVRs Available In Stores (WSJ)
David B. Wilkerson writes: “Best Buy also will use TiVo’s platform to market directly to consumers, offering tips and other information to help customers get more out of the two-way possibilities TV now offers. The company said it will ’substantially increase the levels of marketing and merchandising of retail TiVo DVR devices, as well as other devices that may feature the TiVo user interface and platform in the future.’”

In other news:

• Murdoch says mood of media execs “very bearish” (Reuters)
• AOL reviewing assets, but will likely keep Bebo (Reuters)
• Ad Spending on Social Networks to Cool (WSJ)
• Bertelsmann forms music duo with KKR (FT)

News about the media industry:

Netflix looks to future but still going strong with DVD rentals (USA Today)
“Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings doesn’t think his 58 distribution centers are in immediate danger of becoming obsolete, but he knows that day will come. He believes DVD rentals have four to nine years to keep growing, despite inroads in Internet delivery of movies to set-top TV boxes and other video-on-demand options,” writes Jefferson Graham.

Is the bell tolling for Clear Channel? (San Antonio Express-News)
David Hendricks writes: “Analysts believe Clear Channel, now with about $22 billion in total debts, will have trouble making scheduled payments later this year. The company, already down to about 800 stations from its peak of about 1,200 stations, either will have to start selling stations itself or go into bankruptcy, where lenders will put stations up for sale.”

Foes No More, Ad Agencies Unite With Internet Firms (NYT)
Eric Pfanner writes: “With consumers spending more and more time online, analysts say Internet companies and ad agencies have no choice but to work together to develop ways to make money from digital media.”

In other news:

• U.S. gov’t to release $4 bln soon for broadband (Reuters)
• Politico’s Washington Coup (Vanity Fair)
• Average Twitter user has 126 followers, and only 20% of users go via website (Guardian)
• First Came Gizmodo, Then Engadget. Now, GDGT (NYT)

The recession is bringing back the strangest characters.  Rising from their graves like the zombies in Night of the Living Dead are people we thought had been buried decades ago.

The Milky Bar Kid is one, Persil mum is another and, inevitably, the Hovis bread delivery boy struggling up his cobbled hill while the brass band plays on.

What next? Bing Crosby singing about Shell perhaps or the famous Smash-peddling Martians who thought it was so funny that Earthlings bothered to peel potatoes?

Advertising experts believe nostalgia works because it takes adult consumers back to a time when they were young and without any worries. Never mind recession, the old ads say, these are value brands that have stood the test of time.

Marks and Spencer has been trying a similar tack with the launch of its 75p plain jam sandwiches. "For those who haven't eaten one for years, one bite takes you straight back to your childhood," runs the blurb.

The old ads are peculiarly effective transports to the past. Some of us go so far back we can still hear the jingle from Esso Blue adverts and remember those gobsmacked housewives comparing the whiteness of their newly washed sheets with Daz man. Ah, takes you back ...

Are there any old adverts that you would like to see come back?

(Hamlet cigars - Ed)

The International Advertising Association (IAA) is holding its World Congress in Washington D.C. this week, when hundreds of advertising and media executives descend on the nation’s capital to talk about social communities, marketing regulation, return on investment, and, of course, the economy.

Here’s what ad industry types are saying:

“Advertising and the economy seem to go hand in hand. Really, the fact that the economy is weakening is going to have an impact on the industry in the short term.” Bob Liodice, President, Association of National Advertisers

“An actors’ strike would be incredibly devastating, particularly to the television business. The industry paid a large price for the last work stoppage. I don’t think either the (local) economy or the business would be able survive something like that.” Jeff Zucker, Chief Executive Officer of NBC Universal

“Speed is the new big.” Chuck Brymer, Chief Executive Officer, DDB Worldwide

“We’d love to be able to be able to put all that we do together… Unfortunately, our industry is just not doing a very good job of integration.” Michael Roth, Chief Executive Officer, Interpublic Group

“Measurement is fundamentally the biggest challenge we as an industry face.” Elizabeth Ross, President, Tribal DDB

“What we’re going to see is a shift in advertising. Companies want to make sure they get the best ROI during these tough times. But they won’t stop spending, and I think they really should spend more.” Wally Snyder, President, American Advertising Federation

“Right now they (18-26 year olds) are spending more time on the Internet than they do a combination of TV and radio. About 15 hours per week.” Kevin Johnson, President, Platform and Services Division, Microsoft

“We’ve stopped using the term ‘consumer.’ If you think about it, it’s somewhat derogatory. Makes people sound like eaters.” Tom Bernardin, Chief Executive Officer, Leo Burnett

“The business model in which the agency’s sole function is to create advertising and buy media on behalf of clients is no longer viable. Indeed, we need a new model. The agencies of the 21st century need to develop relationships with clients where both parties share risks and rewards equally in true partnership.” Tateo Mataki, Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu

NBC may be in danger of landing in fourth place (again) in the prime-time ratings war between the major networks, but it wasn’t always that way.

Remember when NBC dominated, thanks to hits like “Friends,” “Frasier,” “The West Wing,” and “Seinfeld”? Even now, stuck in a ratings slump, NBC has some of the most talked-about shows on the air. Think “Heroes,” “The Office,” and “30 Rock.”

NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker has high hopes that the 2008-09 lineup, unveiled last week, will mark a return for the network and told us during an interview that so far it’s getting a strong reception from advertisers.

But that doesn’t mean — of course — that NBC has every show it wants or ever wanted. After our interview, Zucker spoke to an advertising industry conference sponsored by the IAA, where he was asked what shows he wish he could have had on NBC. Or, more precisely, he was asked about shows other than “American Idol.”

“It’s hard to put ‘American Idol’ aside, given that it’s the single most important show in TV for maybe the last 25 years,” he said. “It’s hard to get beyond that one.”

But another show did come to mind, Zucker said. “The Sopranos.”

“I wish we had the chance to see what the Sopranos would have become on network TV.”

It certainly would have kept the folks over at the FCC busy.

(Photo: Reuters / The Sopranos actor James Gandolfini accepts award at the 14th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Jan. 2008)

So NBC rolled out its 2008-09 schedule — it covers all 52 weeks, comes six weeks earlier than normal, and, without any pilots or trailers to showcase the new programs, leaves quite a lot to the imagination.

Take the ”The Office” spin-off. NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman sidestepped every question about the show, saying only that it would launch after the Super Bowl with Greg Daniels heading up the project. Other than that? Zip.

Mostly, NBC executives focused on broader themes of the programs and the season. This is how they basically want the scheduling to play: 8-9 p.m. is family hour; 9-10 p.m. is big hit, big show hour; 10-11 p.m is high end, adult dramas.

In its hour-long presentation, NBC sketched out the schedule through the summer of 2009. A lot of that likely isn’t set in stone. But here is what next fall will look like on NBC if everything goes ahead as planned. 

(Note that new shows are in all caps) 

Monday

• 8-9 p.m. “Chuck”
• 9-10 p.m. “Heroes”
• 10-11 p.m. “MY OWN WORST ENEMY”

Tuesday

• 8-9:30 p.m. “The Biggest Loser: Families”
• 9:30-10 p.m. “KATH & KIM”
• 10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”

Wednesday

• 8-9 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER”
• 9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
• 10-11 p.m. “Lipstick Jungle”

Thursday

• 8-8:30 “My Name is Earl”
• 8:30-9 p.m. “30 Rock”
• 9-9:30  p.m. “The Office”
• 9:30-10 p.m. “The Office” (second part of hour-long editions) or SNL THURSDAY NIGHT LIVE (election specials)
• 10-11 p.m. “ER”

Friday

• 8-9 p.m. “Crusoe”
• 9-10 p.m. “Deal or No Deal”
• 10-11 p.m. “Life”

Saturday

• 8-9 p.m. “Dateline NBC”
• 9-10 p.m. “KNIGHT RIDER” (encores)
• 10-11 p.m. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encores)

Sunday

• 7-8:20 p.m. “Football Night in America”
• 8:20-11 p.m. “NBC Sunday Night Football”

(Photo: Reuters / Ben Silverman)