Category: media

Now public broadcasting has four ombudsmen. And the two appointed by Kenneth Tomlinson to point out bias? They have been “positively glowing in their assessments of the journalism heard on NPR and seen on news shows distributed by PBS. So glowing, in fact, that [there] reports, which are posted on CPB’s Web site could easily be excerpted in the shorthand style of a movie ad quoting favorable reviews.”

“The Public Broadcasting Service is unfixable. Never mind the laughably utopian notion that member stations drive the bus. The real woe rests with the highly charged, artistically stifling politicizing that is destroying PBS. When PBS was founded in 1969, there was a brilliant idea to have an endowment that would fund it in perpetuity. PBS would be a trust fund raconteur, enlightening the masses on all kinds of topics. For a number of reasons — taxation, the power of the National Association of Broadcasters – – that went nowhere, and Big Bird, lo these 36 years, has been begging for scraps from Uncle Sam. Inaction led to chaos. It’s been a mess ever since.”

Even though Hollywood snapped its 19-week losing streak last weekend, it’s clear the movie business has a big problem, as even well-reviewed movies are failing to find audiences. “Theater admissions for 2005 are down about 10.4% from a year ago and almost 8% from 2003. Summer admissions are off almost 14% from 2004 and about 9.5% from 2003. What’s also striking about this summer’s multiplex news is the way in which the moviegoing malaise appears to be spreading to films considered to be good, rather than just tired remakes, sequels and TV show adaptations.”

Baseball has become a big hit on satellite radio, where you can get live broadcasts of every major league game. “Satellite radio was initially conceived in part so music aficionados could skip between dozens of commercial-free stations playing classic rock, hip-hop and assorted other tunes as well as talk shows. But when XM included 16 channels devoted to baseball games this season, the company learned that its customers were as interested in hearing Vin Scully and Bob Uecker as Kid Rock and Eminem. The reaction was incredibly emotional and incredibly personal.”

Two senators endorsed overturning cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting proposed by the House of Representatives. “Last month, the House of Representatives voted to restore some cuts to the public broadcasting system’s budget when it approved a measure to keep the corporation’s budget at $400 million. But it also cut the $23 million “Ready to Learn” program, which contributes to some children’s shows on public television, and also rejected proposals to provide an additional $50 million for upgrading public broadcasting’s aging satellite technology and $39 million for converting to digital television.”

Why are people staying away from the movie theatre? Perhaps it’s the deluge of ads that now hit us before the show. “I’ve seen TV show ads in theaters before. But somehow the sheer absurdity of the idea didn’t really register until watching the “Loser” spot. Imagine being a studio executive sitting in a movie theater — the once-sacred palace where we saw glorious dreams in the dark — being exhorted to stay home next Tuesday night to watch “The Biggest Loser.” Wouldn’t you fear for your future?”

Big movie studios are so far unable to agree on which of two new DVD formats will be the standard. “Hollywood has been unable to throw its weight behind one format, and because the rival discs are largely incompatible, the studios have been unable to persuade the manufacturers to reach a compromise or to get one side to withdraw. Compounding matters, many Hollywood executives have staked their reputations – both corporate and personal – on one technology or the other, making it politically difficult for them to switch sides.”

“Today’s cash-rich, time-poor masters of the universe have found a new and creative way to preserve their family history. Welcome to the age of the professionally produced family movie, where budgets almost rival broadcast TV productions. Well-heeled City bankers, consultants and the like are spending as much as £40,000 on having experienced TV crews shoot biographical documentaries about their own family, for private viewing. These productions – some 200 a year are being made by the leading company in the field – are put together with all the skill, resources and production values of proper documentary television.”

Heads of large media companies meet for a weekend conference to plot the future. “How traditional media interact with Internet powers like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Corp.’s MSN network is one of the most compelling strategic questions facing the media giants. For the first time, media companies recognize their power, and not just their financial power but also their ability to move huge amounts of advertising time and people. The media guys need to find ways either to partner with them or compete against them.”

“Today’s Senate subcommittee hearing takes up the question of how much money to give CPB, an agency set up in the 1960s to funnel federal dollars to public TV and radio stations and theoretically act as a shield between politics and programming. Last month, a House subcommittee tried to strip $100 million from the 2006 budget and revoke its entire $400 million grant by 2008. The full House restored the cuts after howls of protest from supporters who brought Clifford the Big Red Dog and other beloved characters from PBS kids’ shows to the Capitol.”