media

BusinessWeek, Brüno, Bernie & Jared Kushner

cityfile · 07/13/09 12:39PM

• Looking to buy a struggling business magazine that's losing advertisers right and left? You're in luck. McGraw-Hill has put BusinessWeek up for sale. [BN]
• The hottest interview in TV-land right now? Bernie Madoff, naturally. [B&C]
• Not such great news for the television biz: Most networks are experiencing a double-digit drop in summer ratings compared to last year. [USAT]
• MySpace is no longer a "place for friends." (That's what Facebook is for.) It's a Web site "for accessing entertainment and related information." [WSJ]
• Former Observer reporter Gabriel Sherman takes a look at Observer owner Jared Kushner in this week's issue of New York. Among other things, Kushner says he found the paper "unbearable" until he bought it. [NYM]
Brüno's $30 million gross made it No. 1 at the box office this weekend. [THR]

BusinessWeek For Sale!

Hamilton Nolan · 07/13/09 09:47AM

Anybody want to buy an 80 year-old business magazine? Now's your chance.

Charity: The New, New-Media Profit Model

Foster Kamer · 07/12/09 04:45PM

Why charge for reporting when you can just beg readers for the cash to do it? One news outlet's already taking the progressive step of doing so.

The Times, Jay-Z, Moneyball & Speaking Fees

cityfile · 07/10/09 12:58PM

• Desperate times, desperate measures: The New York Times is thinking about charging a $5 monthly fee for access to its Web site. [BN, NYP]
Jay-Z is close to signing a book deal with the Spiegel & Grau imprint of Random House; the book will include "the stories behind his lyrics." [NYO]
Moneyball lives: Sony Pictures is attempting to salvage the movie by hiring Aaron Sorkin to polish the script and adding Scott Rudin as a producer. [NYT]
• A list of prominent media/web people and their public speaking fees. [PC]
• The media moguls in Sun Valley may not be interested in buying Twitter, but there is some good news: The British royal family has signed up! [AP]
• Discovery Channel has been promoting "Shark Week" by sending out bloody swim trunks and personalized obituaries to reporters. Charming. [Movieline]
• Depressing news: Ryan Seacrest makes a lot more money than you do. [THR]
• Great news: NBC's Jeff Zucker says we may have reached bottom. [B&C]

Thin Will Be In This Fall

cityfile · 07/10/09 08:27AM

If you were thinking you could save a little money by canceling your gym membership and lifting the September issue of Vogue over your head in sets of 10, well, you're probably going to need to come up with a new plan: "You won't need a forklift to pick up those typically thump-heavy September fashion magazines this year. As publishers approach their closing deadlines next week, most are resigned to the fact that the issues will be about a third lighter than in years past." [WWD]

Fox News Can't Quite Get Its Head Around CNN's Wall of Wonder

John Cook · 07/09/09 02:15PM

Remember the election? The dancing of the numbers across John King's magic screen on CNN, as states rose and fell and changed colors before your eyes? Viewers liked that, apparently. Fox is just now figuring that out.

Jackson, Conan, Twitter & Capitalism

cityfile · 07/09/09 11:52AM

• More data about the Biggest Television Event Ever™: Some 31 million people tuned into the Jackson memorial on TV, and video sites report that they delivered more than 10 million live streams on Tuesday. [THR, VB]
• One TV person not pleased with all the Jackson coverage: Conan O'Brien, whose new Tonight Show has seen ratings drop as a result. [NYT]
• News Corp. has paid more than $1.6 million to settle court cases involving reporters in Britain who hacked into public figures' cell phones. [Guardian]
• Is Liberty Media going to bail out Harvey Weinstein? Let's hope so. [NYP]
• None of the major media companies appear keen on buying Twitter. [LAT]
• Comedy Central has ordered up a sitcom starring Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder, which will be produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. [B&C]
• The title of Michael Moore's new movie: Capitalism: A Love Story. [NYDN]