“Marketers are worried about new technology that allows viewers to zap through commercials. So they are pushing reluctant networks to rethink the age-old format of the ad-break — known on Madison Avenue as a ‘pod.’ Among the options: special “pod-puncher” ads — blips as short as five seconds — strategically positioned at the end of a commercial break to get more attention from viewers. At the other extreme, marketers are working on ads lasting several minutes, as well as groups of ads that mirror a program’s theme.”
Blog
Pumping Venice Up?
Engineers have a plan to pump seawater under Venice in an attempt to raise the city by a foot. “The $117 million project entails digging 12 holes with a diameter of one foot within a six-mile area around the city, and pumping seawater into the ground at a depth of 2,298 feet. The seawater is expected to expand the sand that lies underneath, which combined with a topping of waterproof clay would eventually push up the soil.”
The Duo Who Fixed The Barbican
In 10 years Graham Sheffield and Sir John Tusa have turned around London’s Barbican. “This dynamic duo have managed to turn a derided behemoth into a cultural powerhouse. Once a byword for unfashionability, the Barbican has become a home for cutting-edge experimentalism and music and performance from around the world. Meeting them in the flesh, the two actually put you in mind more of another high-flying double-act that started out at roughly the same time – that of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, albeit without the acrimony.”
Sony Sued For Anti-Piracy Software
A lawsuit has been filed against Sony for the intrusive software the company embedded on CD’s. “The Texas lawsuit said the so-called XCP technology that Sony BMG had quietly included on more than 50 CD titles leaves computers vulnerable to hackers. Sony BMG had added the technology to restrict to three the number of times a single disc could be copied, but agreed to recall the discs last week after a storm of criticism.”
Sony’s Software Quagmire
Sony’s atrocious behavior in subjecting its customers to malicious software code will cost the company plenty. But “while in the short-term one of the world’s best-known brands has suffered enormous damage, the longer-term implications are even more significant – a fundamental re-thinking of policies toward digital locks known as technological protection measures.”
French Political Official Gets Bio Pulped
“Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s energetic interior minister, somehow found time while quelling suburban riots last week to ensure an authorised biography of his estranged wife, Cecilia, is unlikely to see the light of day.” How? He called the publisher, who then pulped 25,000 copies before they could go on sale.
The Case Of The Missing Conductor
When the Austin Symphony took to the stage Friday night for its schedules concert, its conductor Peter Bay was conspicuously absent. “The mystery of the missing conductor deepened when the principal horn player, Tom Hale, bounded onto the stage, bowed and then rose to the podium. The principal horn player?” So what delayed Bay? The orchestra certainly didn’t tell the audience…
UK Building – All About The PR
Why do British architects have a difficult time building in the UK? “The big difference between working in Britain and Europe is that here, you are not really expected to debate ideas. Money and marketing are what matter most. We live in an events culture in the UK. Architecture, arts and media are all increasingly driven by events agendas. Ideas are only valid if they fit in with media schedules. Original thinking and debate have been overwhelmed. So we get a lot of slick and often thoughtless architecture put up at speed. It doesn’t matter much how it works, but how it looks, and whether or not it fits the latest fashion profile.”
The Man Hunting Iraq’s Art
Where are the rest of the some 13,000 artifacts stolen from the Iraq Museum at the start of the war? US Colonel Matthew Bogdanos – a Greek-American classics scholar and a New York prosecutor, whose toughness and tenacity had earned him the nickname “pit bull” has been on the trail for two years…
CPB Staff Asks For Rewrite Of Report
Staff at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have asked an accounting firm to rewrite sections of a report that questioned some large CPB contracts. “The report’s conclusions questioning the contracts and spending practices of the corporation could be incendiary on Capitol Hill, where conservative lawmakers have often sought to reduce the corporation’s annual budget. In recent weeks, they have proposed cuts in its current $400 million budget to help pay for other programs, like the reconstruction of the South after Hurricane Katrina and an inoculation program against avian flu. Corporation officials said that the request to rewrite the report was made not to prevent the disclosure of embarrassing information, but because some officials had challenged parts of the report as inaccurate.”