http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/advertising/ en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:51:03 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417719/posts Some of the worst defeats for newspapers in 2009 came in online advertising. Although a relatively small part of the business, the industry posted smaller percentage revenue declines than print ads. Newspapers' losses revealed the hollowness of preceding years double-digit growth, which were built almost entirely on online classifieds chained to print listings and supported by a bubble economy. In the middle years of this decade, newspaper publishers proudly pointed to quarterly year-over-year growth rates of 30% to 40% in online revenues -- matching, and at times even exceeding, the growth rate of online advertising in general. As print revenues... Media Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417719/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:51:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416952/posts Less than a year ago, during yet another public discussion about the future of traditional media, I said that it seemed extremely unlikely that, for instance, Newsweek would last another five years, provoking guffaws among blogger types and stout denials from the magazine (i.e. a minor kerfuffle). Newsweek and its parent, the Washington Post Co., announced yesterday a significant cut in its rate base, a further round of buyouts and layoffs, and a plan to make an already anorexic magazine even thinner. The Washington Post Co., for good measure, added its own bad news and bleak outlook. My prediction about... Newser.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416952/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:19:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416910/posts 2009 took a toll among traditional media companies, with a record number of bankruptcies among newspaper publishers. Some are set to continue into 2010, despite assurances from top executives that they would be resolved before year's end. The biggest ongoing newspaper bankruptcy is Tribune Co.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which celebrated its first anniversary on Dec. 8, two years after the ill-fated deal engineered by Sam Zell to take the company private as an employee-owned business at a cost of $8.8 billion. As chairman and CEO, Zell came to rue his role in the highly leveraged deal, which gave new... Media Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416910/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:21:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416309/posts The nation's top 100 media companies eked out 0.8% revenue growth in 2008, but reported revenue for top media firms in the first half of 2009 fell 4.3% from a year ago, according to Ad Age's analysis. For the nation's 100 Leading Media Companies, revenue growth in 2008 was the lowest since 1991, and 2009 is set to show the first decline since Ad Age began ranking media firms in 1981. Remarkably, 11 of 2008's Media 100 firms filed for bankruptcy over the past year, crushed in most cases by shrinking revenue and debt loads taken on during the blind... Advertising Age http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416309/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:17:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413873/posts The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is going to be a financial disaster that should serve as a wake up call to sports executives ...spending on sports sponsorships and advertising--is very bad. NBC... is going to lose about $200 million on Vancouver... Over the past five years the operational costs of the 2010 Winter Games has mushroomed from $1.3 billion to almost $2 billion. Vancouver is going to take it on the chin as declining sponsorship and tourism revenue ... Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413873/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:53:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413041/posts The situation is dire when a 7.7% drop looks good. And that's where monthly magazines are in January, according to Media Industry Newsletter, which recently released ad page figures for the coming month's issues of about 115 monthlies. Of the 115 monthlies tracked by MIN in January, over half (62, or 54%) saw ad pages decline compared to January 2009. What's more, the losses were fairly top-heavy. While 17 of these titles (15% of the total), posted relatively modest declines of less than 10%, 15 (13%) experienced drops of 10%-20% and 30 (26%) tumbled over 20%. It's also noteworthy that... Media Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413041/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:34:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412330/posts The advertising hits just keep on coming for TV stations, networks and programmers -- and not in a good way. Overall, broadcast television ad revenues were down 22.6% to $8.8 billion in the third quarter, versus the same time period a year ago, according to the Television Bureau of Advertising. Local TV stations slipped 28.1% to $3.1 billion, with network TV off 21.5% to $4.7 billion. The best news came with syndicated TV, which dropped a modest 7.2% to $1.0 billion. The period was particularly rough compared to the broader nine-month period in 2009 to date, per TVB. Over this... Media Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412330/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:39:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409446/posts CNN will finish 2009 behind MSNBC in prime-time ratings, the first time CNN has ever trailed a competitor other than the Fox News Channel over a full calendar year. That finish had been expected. In recent months, CNN, which continues to stand behind its policy of steering clear of the opinion-based shows that draw large prime-time audiences for its competitors, has also trailed its own sister network, HLN (formerly Headline News). CNN has frequently finished fourth in the news channel category. CNN will finish the fourth quarter of 2009 in fourth place — another first — and with two weeks... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409446/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:10:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409216/posts It's a "pretty grim atmosphere" over at the Times today, when layoffs are coming down from on high as the paper tries to reach the 100-person editorial cut it announced earlier this fall. While 74 staff members took the buyout, that left 26 to go. Layoffs have been ongoing all day, sources tell us, with the unlucky few people called upstairs out of the newsroom — where now people are "standing around in clumps and obviously talking about everything." Here's the list of names that we know so far who have gotten the ax, and their departments: Eric Konigsberg —... New York Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409216/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:37:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409003/posts The newspaper industry is expected to lose nearly 25% of its jobs by 2018, according to a new federal Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The Employment Projections Summary examines the expected job loss or gain for each industry between 2008, the last year for which data is available, and 2018. Newspapers rank seventh among the top 10 industries slated for job losses. BLS data shows that there were approximately 326,000 newspaper jobs at the end of 2008, with a prediction that there will be just 245,000 in 2018, a 24.8% drop. "I suspect what has happened in recent years has... http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054045 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409003/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:48:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408662/posts The US House of Representatives has approved a bill which aims to limit the volume of television advertisements. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) was approved by a voice vote in the house... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408662/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:58:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408311/posts General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said Tuesday that NBC Universal will lose an estimated $200 million on the February Olympics. GE is "counting on a tough economy around the Olympics," Immelt said. "It's just a tough time for an event like that," he said, referring to the Olympics as a "no-margin" business. NBCU would post an operating profit increase in 2010, Immelt said, but the Winter Olympics will instead bring a decrease. Speaking on other matters at an annual investor conference, Immelt declined to predict when the government may approve the proposed NBCU joint venture with Comcast. But he expressed... Media Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408311/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:55:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408273/posts Paper taking donations for Web content This holiday season, you have several options of where to donate your money: Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, soup kitchens. But have you considered the Miami Herald? It's not quite a charity case yet, but the paper of record in the Magic City is accepting handouts if you have any spare change. Starting today, users of the Herald's Web edition can make donations to the paper on each story. A link at the bottom of each story directs users to "Support ongoing news coverage on Miamiherald.com." Through the link, you can pay any amount... NBC6 Miami http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408273/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:14:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2407556/posts As Apple fans, we've loved Apple's "Get a Mac" ad campaign. With Justin Long as the cool, laid-back Mac and John Hodgman starring as the stodgy, uptight PC, the ads have managed to make us laugh since they first appeared in 2006. The campaign has spawned the "I'm a PC" response ads from Microsoft, which aren't nearly as fun or effective as the original (if we do say so ourselves). The ads have been incredibly effective at getting Apple's message across -- Macs just work, with no bloatware, few viruses and little malware, and Mac users can do a lot... TUAW http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2407556/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:22:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406312/posts The first rule of business is “The customer is always right.” Maybe that’s because more than twice as many people describe themselves as conservative rather than liberal. But in today’s left-wing world, the Hollywood elite, anti-American media bias and the “progressive” ad industry have defined liberalism as the norm, leaving little room for conservative principles. Bootstrap http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406312/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:57:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405329/posts New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller and Chairman/Publisher Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger are both gearing up to play the Grinch who stole Christmas and lay off a couple dozen staffers. That didn't keep them from stopping by the paper's front-page conference room Tuesday night, where the latest round of downsized journalists had gathered for a final goodbye. Neither addressed the crowd, but instead milled around and made small talk, according to one of the disappeared. The employees, who had accepted buyout packages, left the company by yesterday, many with two years of severance. The two executives will be making hard... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405329/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 13:46:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404630/posts Today, we announced that Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, a new company formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, including Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, The Clio Awards, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media Holdings has also agreed to acquire our Film Expo business, which includes the ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia trade shows. In addition, we’ve made the decision to cease operations for Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews. This move... Poynter Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404630/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:19:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403970/posts The Internet's already drawn plenty of business away from newspapers. But a new study says social networks and online memorials are now putting pressure on the institution of the newspaper obituary. The Northwestern University study says newspapers are still the most popular way to communicate news of a death. But study co-author Ian Monroe warns obituaries could move onto the Web as classified ads have done. The study notes that Baby Boomers are at a stage where they take a greater interest in obituaries. And so the study recommends that newspaper publishers avoid reducing space or staff devoted to obituaries.... Chcago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403970/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 20:36:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402816/posts Falling home video revenue is decreasing jobs, film prod'n A regional economic group estimates that dollar DVD rentals from Redbox and others has cost the entertainment industry $1 billion and that the "ripple effect" will cost hundreds of millions more. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. study said the nationwide declines in home video revenue will cause an additional $500 million in losses as more than 9,000 related job cuts wipe out almost $400 million in wages, primarily in Southern California. The dramatic assessment comes amid growing popularity among recession-wracked consumers of ultracheap disc rentals offered by Redbox and... The Hollywood Reporter http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402816/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 14:32:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401958/posts From Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Center, NBC brought Milton Berle, Jack Parr and Johnny Carson into the nation’s living rooms, then broadcast local news to New York City for decades. Last Thursday, it was a stage for a cable takeover as Comcast announced a plan to acquire NBC Universal. There, in Studio 6B, a town hall meeting for NBC employees opened with Jeff Zucker, the NBC Universal chief executive, introducing “our new friends from Philadelphia,” and closed with a formal welcome to the Comcast family by Ralph Roberts, the cable operator’s 89-year-old patriarch. Mr. Roberts received a standing ovation.... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401958/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 13:27:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400873/posts The New York Times on Friday said it probably will have to lay off newsroom employees, because it doesn't expect to get enough people to volunteer for buyouts. The paper in October announced plans to shed 100 jobs from its 1,250-person newsroom and said it hoped to achieve the reductions entirely through buyouts. Employees were told they had until Dec. 7 to decide whether to take the offer and that the paper would resort to layoffs if too few people volunteered. "We will not know until [Monday] how many Guild and excluded employees have opted to take buyouts, but it... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400873/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 12:26:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400015/posts As she prepared her daughter for college, Anne Sweeney insisted that a television be among the dorm room accessories. “Mom, you don’t understand. I don’t need it,” her 19-year-old responded, saying she could watch whatever she wanted on her computer, at no charge. That flustered Ms. Sweeney, who happens to be the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group. “You’re going to have a television if I have to nail it to your wall,” she told her daughter, according to comments she made at a Reuters event this week. “You have to have one.” But she does not, actually. For 60... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400015/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 09:26:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399231/posts Acting Publisher Jonathan Slevin on Wednesday announced plans for a "new" Washington Times that will focus more narrowly on its core areas of coverage while operating with a deeply reduced work force. "We will focus on our strengths -- exclusives, in-depth reporting, politics, enterprise stories, geostrategic and national news, plus cultural reporting based on traditional values," Mr. Slevin said at a meeting of the newspaper's editorial and support staff who were warned to expect "significant staff reductions" within 60 days. All employees were handed letters advising them that at least 40 percent of the workforce will be laid off in... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399231/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 13:24:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398702/posts The Miami Herald is cutting 24 jobs throughout the company and reducing the hours of workers involved in printing and delivering the paper, publisher David Landsberg announced in an email this morning. Seven people will lose their jobs in the Herald newsroom: an assigning editor, two copy editors, two designers, a photo editor, and a part-time librarian. El Nuevo Herald will lose one-and-a-half editing positions, according to Herald executive editor Anders Gyllenhaal. The affected employed were notified this morning, Gyllenhaal wrote in a email to the staff. For a newsroom of 200 staffers, and a media company with about 900... Broward-Palm Beach New Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398702/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:38:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398460/posts Here's what I expect for 2010. 1. Control over distribution will shift to consumers. Expect an increasing amount of control over how, when, and where you consume content. A decade after TiVo debuted its commercial-skipping abilities, more and more technological innovations are shifting control from the hands of companies over to consumers. You can watch, listen to or read pretty much anything you want, whenever you want, thanks to Hulu, iTunes, satellite radio, Video on demand and thousands of free web sites. The variety and flexibility of access is only going to become more diverse. In 2010, premium cable content... CNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398460/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 15:45:38 GMT