media

McDonald's Buying Off Local Newscasts

Ryan Tate · 07/22/08 03:03AM

To pimp its sugary, 200-calorie iced coffees, fast food giant McDonald's offered to pay some local TV newscasts for product placement. And of course the newscasts went for it, since local TV journalism is where ethical standards go to die. Meredith Corporation is putting the drinks in front of anchors at the Fox affiliate in Las Vegas (pictured) and at two CBS affiliates elsewhere. Tribune Company has the coffee at its Fox affiliate in Seattle. Even national Fox News is playing ball, placing McDonald's product at the News Corporation-owned station in Chicago. Station operators offered the Times any number of excuses, but the best has to be from the news director at the Las Vegas affiliate: He argues the placement is ethically OK because it is restricted to the "lighter, news-and-lifestyle" portion of his morning news show. Sounds like the portion of the program that might normally be given over to, say, segments on weight loss, fitness or preventing kids from becoming obese. But these days, if the station wants to do any reports that might upset McDonald's, it is supposed to yank the lucrative cups:

Jezebel Moe Jumps To Radar

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 11:53PM

After fourteen months as a founding editor of Gawker Media's Jezebel, Moe Tkacik is jumping to Radar as a senior writer for RadarOnline.com. She joins, on the online side, Gawker alumni Alex Balk, Neel Shah and Choire Sicha (sorta — Sicha freelances). Ana Marie Cox, founding editor of Gawker Media's Wonkette, is a contributing editor at the print magazine. Jezebel's Jessica Grose went the other way, from Radar to Jezebel, in October. If Tkacik is anything like Balk, you'll want to keep up with her not only online on Radar but also on her new Tumblr (one of them, anyway). [Radar] (Photo via Moe's Myspace)

More Sex Stories Coming, Says Times

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 10:08PM

Were you reading the Times this morning, wondering why there weren't more sexual stories up in there? Were you thinking some sex would fit particularly well in the metro section, squeezed between reports on rent control for VIPs, that Harlem neighborhood photographer and that guy who died in the triathalon? Well, then, you're in luck, because Joe Sexton (ahem), leader of the metro section's scoop ninjas, is saying the paper will likely deliver more discourse on intercourse. Apparently their Eliot Spitzer hooker exclusive was just the beginning! Here's what Sexton wrote on the Times website today, responding to a question about the newspaper's plans to expand New York City coverage:

End Of Roger Ebert's TV Show

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 09:27PM

"After 33 years on the air, 23 of them with Disney, the studio has decided to take the program named Siskel & Ebert and then Ebert & Roeper in a new direction. I will no longer be associated with it." [Reuters]

John Cleese's Radar Connection

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 08:08PM

British comedian John Cleese is, as the UK tabloids would put it, dating a blonde HALF his age. But that's not the most embarrassing thing about the 34-year-old. The woman, Veronica Smiley, is also vice president for marketing at Radar magazine! (We kid, we kid. Radar has fantastic marketing.) (UPDATE: According to LinkedIn, Smiley works for Radar's parent company, Integrity Multimedia.) Smiley is based out of the Chicago office, according to Cleese's quote, although Smiley's Facebook has her in New York. Apparently she's never even heard of either Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, Cleese's two most popular serials. While we're waiting for the definitive coverage of the fling from Radar, here are some basics on the couple, who've been very chatty with the press:

T Magazine Makes Will Ferrell Stop Clowning Around

Hamilton Nolan · 07/21/08 04:19PM

Oh, New York Times "T" fashion magazine: we will never understand you. We know the glossy mag brings in a ton of advertising dollars for the paper. But beyond that, its editorial mission is too rarefied for us to grasp. There's the odd indie rock fashion spread or child porn dustup, but what for? Today we were informed by a marketing person that the magazine has launched a series of celebrity "screen test" videos on its website. As far as we can tell, they're the first people to succeed in editing a five-minute long Will Ferrell interview in such a way that it is not funny at all. Beyond that, we're not sure what they were trying to accomplish. Watch the clip below, and take your own guess:

MTV Buys College Humor Show

Hamilton Nolan · 07/21/08 01:52PM

MTV has bought the pilot for a TV show from the gentlemen behind CollegeHumor.com. The deal is for six episodes, scheduled to air this fall, we hear. No word yet on exactly what the content will be, how much MTV paid, or what role supermogul and College Humor owner Barry Diller may have played in making the deal happen. But needless to say, it will add a much-needed dose of humorous frat-boy hijinks to MTV's current schedule of sober public affairs programming. [UPDATE: We hear the show will consist of comedy shorts, wrapped in a storyline, set in the CH office]. (Pictured: CH co-founder Ricky Van Veen)

How Long Will Si Newhouse Support Portfolio's Editor?

Hamilton Nolan · 07/21/08 12:20PM

A long Times profile yesterday of Conde Nast chairman Si Newhouse describes him as a shy, unassuming man who putters around the office quietly in an old sweatshirt. This can lead to a pleasant work environment, but also some surprises: "Despite the influence he wields, Mr. Newhouse so defers to his editors and dislikes confrontation that a number of them have said over the years that their first indication of trouble came when he fired them." Notably, the piece gives no indication at all that Conde Nast is nervous about the struggles of its $100 million business magazine, Portfolio. But does that mean its editor, Joanne Lipman, is really safe?

Why Newspapers Shouldn't Allow Comments

Sheila · 07/21/08 11:48AM

Let's begin with some truisms: a newspaper is not a blog-not even its online version. Conversely, a blog is not a newspaper. However, newspapers have been in the toilet lately, partly due to the proliferation of blogs. One easy pseudo-solution some newspapers have settled on is to act more and more like blogs. After all, this 2.0 world is all about "You," the user, which in practice means it's all about a false sense of democracy through publication of comments and user-generated content-just like a common blog. After the jump: why newspapers should stop slumming as blogs and disallow comments.

Pinch Sulzberger's Moose Killed the 'Times'

Pareene · 07/21/08 11:12AM

New York Times publisher and genial buffoon Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger is not worried about how his newspaper's circulation sucks and the share price is at a historic low. You know why? Because Craig Newmark, the guy who invented Cragslist and destroyed the newspaper revenue stream, just got a Times subscription! So hey, no worries, Times staffers. If there's one thing Pinch has learned since he took over as publisher 16 years ago, it's to always mention the moose in the room. But not to bring an actual moose with him anymore.

Media Covers Media Coverage of Obama's Iraq Trip

Pareene · 07/21/08 09:48AM

So is the media blitz accompanying Barack Obama to Iraq actually evidence of that nasty pro-Obama bias we keep hearing about? Sure, whatever. WHO CARES. The media's been self-flagellating about everything for the past, like, six months, so all the pro-Obama bias is corrected by the Obama hype-debunking and "oh we are being unfair" handwringing that every cable news panel has to engage in. Half the coverage of the Obama trip has been of the "will this dispel the myth that he's a naive fool about foreign policy?" nature. Which is goofy because, hey, John McCain's foreign policy chops are not exactly respected by anyone. But he's old! Of course then Nouri al-Maliki (we actually can't believe ol' Nouri is still alive, good on him) accidentally endorsed Barack Obama's Iraq plan (the 'get the hell out of Iraq' plan). This is "a PR boost" for Obama. We're including this MSNBC clip covering the trip primarily because they break in halfway through to show "new video" of Obama in a room with some Iraqi officials like it is somehow enlightening.

Nina Garcia: Fired For Not Wearing Anne Klein?

Hamilton Nolan · 07/21/08 09:32AM

Nina Garcia, the erstwhile Project Runway judge and former Elle fashion director, is truly a force of nature. We told you last week that during her final months at Elle, Garcia was getting paid a hefty fee for making public appearances for Anne Klein. But a source tells us that the Anne Klein endorsement, an angry publisher, and Garcia's own strange sense of ethics helped get her booted from Elle in the first place!

Flag-Waving American Companies Cheat On Us With China

Hamilton Nolan · 07/21/08 08:07AM

You may never find a better moment in history to marvel at the craven pseudo-patriotism of international corporations than now, when all the world's major consumer companies are fighting to ingratiate themselves to Chinese consumers. That's China, the Red Menace! Did you know that Pepsi ran a promotion changing the color of its cans to red to honor China('s communism)? It's true! Did you know McDonald's ads now say "I'm lovin it when China wins"? The traitorous scum! Where is the xenophobic backlash? Also, ad execs are scoffing at the robot-like sameness of all these new commercials touting various companies' Chinese patriotism. Below, one McDonald's spot, and one Pepsi spot. Do the Chinese really scream so much?

As Intern, Kurt Cobain's Daughter Considered A Bit Too Punk Rock

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 04:26AM

Did you know Frances Bean Cobain, Kurt's surprisingly well-adjusted daughter, is a "summer aide" at Rolling Stone? She is! Also, she's wayyy too rock and roll for the anal-retentive offices of the Wenner title. Insiders bitched to Page Six, "she doesn't get coffee for anyone . . . calls in sick all the time and wears funny outfits." First of all? She's 15. And second? Something tells me Evan Springsteen, Max Spielberg and Gus Wenner weren't fetching too many lattes last summer, either. Anyway, here are some conversation tips, courtesy a February article in People, in case she comes to collect your drink order:

Doctor Quits Practice To Blog About Apple

Ryan Tate · 07/21/08 03:21AM

This morning's Times brings the story of Arnold Kim, the blogger behind MacRumors.com. Kim just quit his job as a freshly-minted physician to blog full time. Wait, what? Well, see, MacRumors has been estimated to be worth $85 million — more valuable than the Huffington Post. So, for Kim, going full-time was "on paper... an easy decision." Also he has a 14-month-old daughter (awww) who he'd like to spend more time with. Even his dad approves! "When he told his father, also a doctor, about the decision, Dr. Kim was pleased that 'he was very supportive of it, which was sort of surprising to me,'" the Times said. Only an hour after publication, the Times story has already reached number two on the Technology section most-emailed list — no doubt thanks to platoons of vindicated bloggers forwarding the piece to their parents. I think I'll join them! [Times] (Photo via blakespot on Flickr)

New MSNBC Chief Insults Fox News

Ryan Tate · 07/20/08 11:28PM

Phil Griffin was only promoted to president of MSNBC last week, but he's already escalated the cable news network's feud with competitor Fox News Channel. That probably shouldn't be surprising given that Griffin is the chief patron of Keith Olbermann, the antagonist most detested by Fox. But Griffin's swipes at his competitor in the Kansas City Star are still startlingly raw: "You can't trust a word they say," Griffin said of Fox News. "THEY made the business decision to create an ideological network. We didn't. They were the ones that got in bed with the Bush Administration, so that most of the time, where did the Bush Administration officials come out and make their points? Fox News." Well, OK then! But isn't MSNBC adding a lot of left-wing opinion to its own newscasts, via Olbermann and others? Totally different, said Griffin:

Free Porn Is Media Giants' Online "Game Changer"

Ryan Tate · 07/20/08 10:10PM

When NBC Universal jumped into bed with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. to launch YouTube-competitor Hulu, you just knew things were going to get tawdry. Murdoch, after all, has shrewdly and repeatedly exploited the draw of sexual content, at UK newspaper The Sun (with its page three girls), on TV network Fox and elsewhere. And so perhaps it should have been clear from the get-go what Murdoch's number two Peter Chernin was wrong when he declared that Hulu was going to be "a game changer for Internet video... for the first time, consumers will get what they want." Actually, Hulu is bootstrapping itself the same way the entire rest of the internet did: via porn!