Media Business

A few moments ago on the February 16 "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," NBC's Natalie Morales shared a story with the late night host of actor Alec Baldwin's attempt to score a lunch date with the "Today" show talent.I'll update later in the morning with video, but basically, a few years ago, according to Morales, Baldwin called her on the phone and told her he was working on a movie about cable…

This isn't exactly news since he's been saying the same thing to anyone who'll listen for the past 20 years, but Walter Cronkite is a very upset man. You may have heard this before so I've taken the liberty of translating the former CBSer's remarks to keep it interesting:Pressures by media companies to generate ever-greater profits are threatening the very freedom the nation was built upon,…

As the Internet becomes the driving force of the print media, it’s not surprising to hear newspaper moguls talk about their online strategies. However, when the chairman of the New York Times Company says, “I really don't know whether we'll be printing the Times in five years,” one should sit up and take notice.With that in mind, Haaretz’s Eytan Avriel had a chat with Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.,…

How much value do people put in a liberal radio network? Well, judging from the top bid garnered by Air America Radio during bankruptcy proceedings, the answer is clearly “Not very much!”As reported by The Smoking Gun (emphasis mine throughout, h/t Drudge):Bankrupt and about to lose Al Franken, its marquee star, Air America Radio is set to change hands for the bargain price of $4.25 million,…

Despite some notable blockbusters, it’s been a pretty bad twelve months for movie studios. To find some answers, Zogby International recently did a poll of viewing habits (h/t Instapundit). Here are some of the more interesting results:Theaters may offer massive screens and superior surround sound systems to movie-goers, but most would rather stay in their comfy confines home and watch DVDs, the…

As reported by NewsBusters here and here, there is a battle going on between liberal bloggers and a conservative radio station in San Francisco, California. Though arriving at the party somewhat late, USA Today covered this story on Wednesday: “In a dispute between the ‘new media’ of the Internet and the ‘old media’ of broadcasting, liberal bloggers and conservative talk-radio hosts are accusing…

In a sign of just how much the Internet is changing the way people get their news, the Los Angeles Times rolled out a new strategy Wednesday designed to focus more attention on web-based delivery.As reported by the Associated Press (h/t Drudge): “The Los Angeles Times Media Group said Wednesday it is reorganizing the newspaper's newsroom into an around-the-clock operation with an emphasis on…

On January 18, CBSNews.com posted an interview that "Public Eye" blogger Brian Montopoli conducted with business correspondent Anthony Mason. In the interview, Mason explained how he wound up reporting the business beat and why he thinks the media have a tendency to be critical of business, as well as admitting that the media in general have a liberal bias in story selection. You can find the…

CORRECTION: An earlier post incorrectly said none of the evening newscasts carried a mention of the falling gas prices. I apologize for the error.Gasoline costs nearly 20 cents less than it did the same time last year, but the good news merited only a passing mention on the night before President Bush’s State of the Union address. By contrast, the networks spent more than 10 minutes…

CNN’s Howard Kurtz invited NewsBuster Dan Riehl and liberal Daily Kos blogger Mike Stark on Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” to debate the recent attacks by the left on conservative radio station KSFO. As Riehl posted Saturday evening, Stark was rather cocky leading up to this debate stating at his own website that “CNN will want to hire me as a sanitation engineer because I will have mopped the floor…