Category: media

NBC has made a deal with YouTube.com to “create a channel on the site for rebroadcasts of the network’s shows as well as original programming, another sign that websites for user-generated content have entered the world of mainstream media.”

When filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers was released last year, it was an instant hit with critics, and a prizewinner at Cannes. But now, a struggling screenwriter is accusing Jarmusch of having lifted much of the movie from his script. But he may have little recourse. “His case was hardly unique, or even all that unusual. When pressed, claims like his were usually squashed by high-powered studio lawyers — or quietly settled and sealed by both parties. Furthermore, pursuing legal action could kill his chances of ever working in the movies. And bankrupt him in the process.”

Hollywood films never seem to say what they mean anymore. “Saying one thing but selling another has always been most blatant in anti-violence films that glory in bloody action scenes,” but lately, even light comedies seem to cloak their blatant consumerist message beneath trite morality plays designed to mask their true meaning.

It was a year ago that Apple launched the first version of its iTunes software to include podcasting capability, and the podcast revolution was officially on. “Apple reported 1 million downloads of podcasts in the first 48 hours of the June 28 launch and now will only say that “millions and millions” of episodes of the 60,000-plus shows listed on the site are downloaded each month. By contrast, the largest podcast directory prior to the launch, Podcast Alley, listed just 5,400 shows as of June 28.” But podcasting will only be a true business success if it manages to integrate itself into the larger media picture. The good news is, the larger media have begun to sit up and take notice.

Aaron Spelling was the most successful creator of American TV shows ever. His “shows exist out of the range of such categories as ‘lowbrow’ and ‘trash’ and ‘brain-numbing twaddle.’ Their pleasures are perfectly sincere and dementedly campy at once”

When Boston classical music station WCRB was sold recently, fans feared that the format would be gone within months. But a new deal could keep the station and its classical format alive, albeit on a different frequency and with a reduced signal.

“Two university professors have published a study claiming that Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart’ drives down support for political institutions and makes young people more cynical about government.”

“Concurrent with the migration to the Web of professional video – ‘Desperate Housewives’ on iTunes and the like – there has been a nuclear explosion in the field of amateur video. The gatekeeper used to be “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” and it tended to let in mostly footage of people doubled over in sudden comic pain, but now the gates are wide open. YouTube, the leader in an increasingly crowded genre, claims 50,000 videos are uploaded to its site daily, a number that seems awesome until you think about some other numbers.”

“The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the overseer of the annual Emmy Awards for prime-time television, has revamped its procedures in an attempt to spread the wealth of Emmy nominations — if not the actual awards — to a broader array of actors, actresses and shows. That could result in some overlooked and new titles making the list of nominees in the top Emmy categories for the first time when this year’s nominations are announced on July 6.”

“A video game which features mercenaries invading Venezuela to guarantee oil supplies for the United States has become the latest source of tension between the two nations.”