Category: media

Readers of Total Film magazine have voted the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” the scariest horror movie of all time. Made in 1974 “for just $140,000 US, it is based on the exploits of real-life serial killer Ed Gein and stars Gunnar Hansen as the axe-wielding Leatherface.”

“Viacom Inc. has asked a federal court to overturn new rules requiring more educational TV programs for children and setting tighter limits on kids’ exposure to advertising in the age of digital television… The government has long set guidelines for broadcasters to set aside a certain amount of educational programming for children with commercials limited to 12 minutes per hour of kids’ programming… But the FCC has formulated new rules to take into account the nation’s move toward digital transmission of TV signals and the phaseout of analog broadcasting… The new FCC rules would extend the children’s programming requirements to those new channels, something the major entertainment companies are resisting.”

Youth may rule in American broadcasting, but in Australia, the most coveted demographic seems to be listeners deep in middle age. That’s right, the baby boomers are ruling the airwaves, and a whole new radio station is being launched in Melbourne to attract them. Of course, the new Vega FM will be competing with Melbourne’s three (yes, three) other boomer-focused stations, but no one in the business seems to think market saturation will be a problem. The overriding philosophy behind going after an older generation of listeners may sound odd to Americans, but the business strategy makes a lot of sense: young people are fickle and hard to please, whereas middle-aged folks generally know what they like and enjoy a steady, predictable diet of whatever that is.

Under increasing pressure from right-wing politicians and its own funding body, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS has announced that it will hire Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler to handle complaints about its programming.

If you’ve heard anything about Atom Egoyan’s latest film, you’ve likely heard that it contains an explicit three-way sex scene that garnered the film an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Egoyan loudly appealed the rating, but the ratings board refused to grant him the more mainstream ‘R’ rating he so desperately wanted. Or did he want it after all? ” In recent weeks, there have been suggestions that the appeal… was launched as a sort of ‘Banned-in-Boston’ tactic to generate some pre-release fizz.”

Of course the first priority for the CBC is trying to get its audiences back after a long work stoppage. But “beyond the short-term strategy of attracting back viewers, where does the CBC sees itself going and what does it see as its purpose? Remember, it’s been down this road before.”

Clear Channel Communications president and CEO Mark Mays Congress should allow broadcasters to own 50% more stations in the nation’s major markets than current ownership limits allow. “Mays claims that satellite radio and Internet services escape regulations on content and capacity that give them an unfair advantage that only can be overcome by allowing broadcasters to get bigger.”

“The CBC and its union reached an agreement in principle early yesterday morning, seven weeks after the lockout began. Negotiators from both sides are still meeting, working on the details and language of the deal. The final deal is unlikely to be ratified until the weekend, but CBC viewers could get their first taste of normal programming then.”

“Neither CBC management nor the Canadian Media Guild distinguished between radio, television or the Internet when presenting their sides to the public. But many of the issues raised (such as whether the CBC can remain competitive) were directed more toward television. Has CBC Radio been unfairly burdened by TV during the lockout and the damage the lockout may have done to audience loyalty?”

“Of the 25 television pilots shown at the festival, about 10 garnered interest from development executives and talent agents, who contacted the writers and producers of the shows. None of the talks has culminated yet in any deals, but the debut year of the festival, which concluded Sunday night, accomplished its goal of introducing a new generation of artists to the industry.”