media
The End of Sam Zell, Tribune Gnome of Ruin?
Hamilton Nolan · 08/18/09 01:05PMAn Ominous Sign For the Weinsteins
cityfile · 08/18/09 12:21PMReader's Digest reported yesterday that it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection any day now. The firm that Reader's Digest retained back in June to try and restructure the company's debt so it could prevent a bankruptcy filing? Miller Buckfire, the same financial advisory firm now counseling Harvey and Bob Weinstein on how to prevent their media company from going under. [Forbes]
New York Times, 45 Years Ago: Same Shit
Hamilton Nolan · 08/18/09 10:46AMEstate Auction Patrons Shocked By Legendary Smut-Peddler's Poor Taste
The Cajun Boy · 08/18/09 03:26AMManhattan DA Lets Fox News Road Rager Off the Hook
John Cook · 08/17/09 03:37PMConde Nast Misses Good PR Opportunity
Hamilton Nolan · 08/17/09 02:20PMReader's Digest—America's Soul—Going Bankrupt
Hamilton Nolan · 08/17/09 01:04PMUPDATE: Salon Lays Off Six In Pursuit of Becoming a 'True Web Publication'
John Cook · 08/17/09 12:52PMReader's Digest Goes Ch. 11, The Weinsteins On the Brink
cityfile · 08/17/09 12:03PM• Another media company falls: Reader's Digest Association, the publisher of Reader's Digest (duh) and a handful of other titles (like Every Day with Rachael Ray), says it will file for bankruptcy protection shortly. [Reuters]
• As you may have heard, things haven't been too well for Harvey Weinstein and his brother, Bob. So what will happen if they don't turn the mini-studio around? "I'll be... making cheap hamburgers, or selling trailers, or refrigerators, or something," says (a refreshingly honest) Harvey. [NYT]
• Fashion mags are looking a bit thin this fall, in case you haven't heard. [WSJ]
• Don't expect the feud between Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann to dissipate: Ratings for both have been up since the war of words began anew. [LAT]
• Comedian Steve Harvey is joining Good Morning America. In related news, comedian Mo Rocca is hosting a web-based show for CBS News. [ABC, NYT]
• District 9 was No. 1 at the box office this past weekend. [ABC News]
Is Harvey Weinstein Selling His Worthless Junk For Fast Cash?
John Cook · 08/14/09 05:03PMBeware the Ides of August
John Cook · 08/14/09 04:08PMCuts at Condé, Leno's Big Pick, The Glenn Beck Exodus
cityfile · 08/14/09 01:29PM• The next top editor to fall victim to budget cuts at Condé Nast, at least according to Keith Kelly: Architectural Digest editor Paige Rense. [NYP]
• The first guest on Jay Leno's new show on Sept. 14: Jerry Seinfeld. [THR]
• Jay, Conan, Jon, Jimmy, Jimmy, or Craig? Now more than ever, celeb (and their publicists) are being forced to choose between late-night hosts. [THR]
• At least a dozen advertisers have abandoned Glenn Beck's show now that he's established himself as the most vile human being on television. [NYT]
• A big group of media companies—including CBS, NBC, Disney, News Corp., and Viacom—have teamed up to give the Nielsen ratings a run for its money. [NYT]
If Everyone's Talking about Mad Men, Why Is No One Talking about Mad Men?
Brian Moylan · 08/14/09 12:51PMThe New York Times Is Now a Bodega
Hamilton Nolan · 08/14/09 09:10AMThe Jackson Money Train; Letterman vs. Conan
cityfile · 08/13/09 01:27PM• The value of Michael Jackson's estate may double by the end of the year thanks to the surge in music sales and all those movie/merch deals. [LAT]
• Bad news for Conan: Repeats of David Letterman's show last week still managed to beat new episodes of the Tonight Show in the ratings. [NYT]
• For the first time, Us Weekly's website attracted more monthly visitors than People.com. Us's footage of Michael Jackson's hair on fire helped. [WWD]
• Bill Bratton, the former police commissioner of LA and, before that, New York City, has landed a book deal with Random House's Broadway Books. [AP]
• Does lots of buzz on Twitter send people to movie theaters and boost box office sales? Not so much, at least according to one poll. [NYT]
• Dr. Dre, Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine, and Hewlett-Packard are teaming up to "save digital music." Good luck with that, guys. [CNET]
Paul Krugman Moves Out of Mom's Basement
Hamilton Nolan · 08/13/09 01:25PMThe Brand Called You-s of the New York Times
Hamilton Nolan · 08/13/09 12:31PMSi Newhouse Stands His Ground
cityfile · 08/13/09 10:49AMThese are uncertain times for Condé Nast. McKinsey consultants are now scouring company budgets looking for fat to trim. And staffers are now getting acclimated to a world in which they're expected to subsist on room temperature Poland Spring, not chilled Fiji water or sparkling citrus beverages in round little bottles. It hasn't been a walk in the park for Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, of course. Over the past year, he's probably seen several billion dollars of his net worth evaporate. And his private foundation—a vehicle he's used over the years to shower hundreds of millions of dollars on art institutions, hospitals, libraries, and his alma mater, Syracuse University—hasn't been immune either.