media

cityfile · 02/01/10 03:22PM

• An estimated 25 million people tuned into last night's broadcast of the Grammy Awards on CBS, earning it its highest ratings in six years. [AP]
• Disney is looking to sell off the Miramax name and its library of 700 movies, and seven to 10 parties have reportedly expressed interest. [NYT, NYP]
• Nate Berkus's new TV show will hit WNBC beginning this fall. [THR, NYP]
Kelly Cutrone's reality show, Kell on Earth, debuts on Bravo tonight. [LAT]
• Candy Crowley is the new anchor of CNN's State of the Union. [NYT]
• Amazon.com is backing down in its fight over e-book prices. [Reuters]
Avatar was No. 1 at the box office for a seventh weekend in a row. The movie has now grossed more than $2 billion around the world. [NYT]

Haitians Demand Newspaper Blankets

Hamilton Nolan · 02/01/10 01:57PM

In your musk-scented Monday media column: A use found for print media, the Harper's editor firing saga continues, small stakes mean big arguments in journalism academia, and Howell Raines returns.

News Corp Pays Half Billion Dollars to Keep Case Out of Court. Nothing to See Here.

Hamilton Nolan · 02/01/10 10:23AM

News Corp. has agreed to pay $500 million to settle three lawsuits alleging "anti-competitive behavior" by its News America unit, which publishes coupon inserts and sells in-store ads. A paper not owned by News Corp also notes the following bit of context: "In a separate case that was settled last year, News America was accused by another competitor, Floorgraphics, of corporate spying. Just as witnesses began testifying in a federal case in New Jersey, News Corporation settled the lawsuit and then days later bought the company outright for an undisclosed sum."

Andrew Breitbart Is Mad About Something

Hamilton Nolan · 02/01/10 10:03AM

Finally, Andrew Breitbart is speaking out on the liberal media's railroading of phone tap pimp James O'Keefe. Bonus: Lloyd Grove also gets Breitbart to reveal when he's being cantankerous, and when he's merely being jocular. Invaluable perspective! [Daily Beast]

cityfile · 01/29/10 03:36PM

• Sundance was a lower-key affair this year thanks to the economy. [WWD]
• Layoffs: Rumor has it The Weinstein Co. cut as many as 30 staffers today. And a big round of layoffs could come to CBS next week. [Gawker, LAT]
• The Vancouver Olympics could cost NBC as much as $250 million. [THR]
Keith Olbermann's ratings are down. Guess there are only so many times you can call Bill O'Reilly the worst person in the world before it gets old. [DF]
BusinessWeek continues to staff up. Eric Pooley (formerly of Fortune) and New York's Hugo Lindgren are joining the Bloomberg-owned mag. [TW, TBM]
• Could a Catcher in the Rye be coming soon? Don't hold your breath. [LAT]
• Does Rudy Giuliani make stuff up every time he appears on TV? Yes. [NYT]
Mort Zuckerman says Rupert Murdoch's plan to launch a local edition of the Journal is a "brilliant move." Translation: Extra competition for the New York Times is a good thing, especially when someone else is paying for it. [Forbes]
• The Grammy Awards go down on CBS on Sunday night. [NYT]
George Stephanopoulos and Hillary Clinton are related? Apparently so. [AP]

Ben Bernanke, Cover Star

Ravi Somaiya · 01/29/10 08:57AM

The Fed chairman's confirmation dominates the front pages, as do Obama's 98 other problems. And the Daily News and the New York Post go all copycat on their headline.

New York Magazine's Hugo Lindgren Poached by BusinessWeek

Ravi Somaiya · 01/29/10 08:15AM

Lindgren, who was editorial director at New York, will become executive editor at the Bloomberg magazine, new editor Josh Tyrangiel announced. Eric Pooley, former managing editor at Fortune will fill the deputy editor's role.

cityfile · 01/28/10 05:20PM

• It's the end of the line for Miramax. The studio that Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded in 1979, sold to Disney in 1993, and departed in 2005, was officially shuttered today, and 80 people were let go. [Wrap, NYT, Guardian]
• Jay Leno went on Oprah today to try and redeem himself. He acted like a cry-baby and flat-out lied (and may have gotten away with it anyway). In related news, Conan's final week on the air turned out to be his biggest, not surprisingly. And there are some signs the late-night debacle may have Comcast's bosses thinking about showing NBC chief Jeff Zucker the door.
• 48 million people tuned in to the State of the Union address last night. [NYT]
• Only 35 people have signed up for a subscription to Newsday.com since the paper set up a pay wall a few months back. But it's all going according to plan and Newsday management couldn't be happier, the paper claims. [Crain's]
• This is a bit awkward: The Wall Street Journal is rolling out a local edition this spring that it hopes will compete with the New York Times. But it may actually need the Times' help printing the papers to make it happen. [NYT]
• A growing number of Time Inc. staffers are defecting to Bloomberg. [NYP]
• Samantha Harris is bidding goodbye to Dancing with the Stars. [People]
• Is Fox News reporter Major Garrett a fan of hookers? Maybe! [Gawker]

State of the Union Beats the iPad Again

Ravi Somaiya · 01/28/10 08:10AM

The speech from DC dominates the speech from SF, and the White House must be pretty happy with the headlines — the messages that Obama wants to restart and concentrate on jobs come through loud and clear.

cityfile · 01/27/10 05:00PM

• The iPad may be cool and all. But don't expect it to revolutionize newspapers. Or magazines. Or even book publishing. [AdAge, NYT, Reuters, NYT]
• The WSJ is getting ready to take on the Times. Three dozen staffers (and $15 mil.) will go into creating its new NYC edition, which debuts in April. [NYO]
• NBC and Conan O'Brien are back in business (sort of): The network is picking up a pilot from Conaco, O'Brien's production company. In less surprising news, Jay Leno says he hasn't spoken to Conan since the late-night drama unfolded; and Comcast's chief says he's behind NBC CEO Jeff Zucker (officially-speaking).
• ABC has decided to bring Ugly Betty to an end after this season. [LAT]
• MSNBC wasn't planning to air last Friday's Haiti telethon. But then Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow got involved and things changed. [NYO]
Harvey and Bob Weinstein are looking to buy back the Miramax name. [DH]
• Louis Auchincloss, chronicler of WASP culture, is dead at 92. [NYT]

Harper's Staff Harangued

Hamilton Nolan · 01/27/10 02:54PM

In your wicked Wednesday media column: the post-Roger Hodge day at Harper's, real journalists sure don't work in a "coffee shop," layoffs at ABC, and Nancy Grace is bad.