Category: media

An increasing number of public radio stations are getting their news reporting from newspapers. “The journalistic and promotional deals range from occasional on-air interviews of newspaper reporters to elaborate newscasts based in print newsrooms, but they carry similar benefits. Pubcasters gain access to large news staffs, investigative resources and the credibility of the area’s news leader. And the dailies, eager to retain or build readership, gain exposure to news consumers who may not be in the habit of subscribing.”

North American movie box office hit a record this summer. The industry took in an “all-time summer haul of just under $4-billion from the first weekend in May through Labour Day. That’s up 3 per cent from the previous record of $3.9-billion set last summer. But like the summer of 2003, higher admission prices meant fewer tickets were sold. Exhibitor Relations estimates moviegoers bought 637.8 million tickets domestically this past summer, down 0.76 per cent from 2003.”

“The feeling within Hollywood at summer’s end was that despite some uneven results, on the whole this season’s movies delivered, unlike last year, when a raft of sequels like “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” came in for critical bashing and complaints during exit polls.”

Protests are being staged at the Venice Film Festival to protest the domination of American movies this year. “Anti-capitalist protesters have set up a Global Beach camp nearby to denounce the prevalence of Hollywood stars and the cost of screenings.”

The creators of a new satirical film called The Yes Men are making a name for themselves as the leaders of a new generation of political pranksters. And while harassing Republicans at a convention, or free-traders at a seminar, may not qualify as genuine political discourse, it’s a great way to sell movie tickets.

“More than ever this summer, television, with its headlong pursuit of “reality,” has influenced the tone and content of serious films. From the unusual spate of commercial documentaries, to domestic dramas that reflect the shrinking realm of personal privacy, smaller films are continuing to push the frontiers of psychological realism and sexual candor.”

Some critics are complaining about the current movie rating system. “To better help parents monitor an expanding universe of media, some observers are calling for a uniform rating system that covers everything: movies, TV, and videogames. Others suggest changes to the current ratings, such as an R-13 category or even an A for adult movies that aren’t pornographic, as a way to address the problematic rating at the center of the debate.”

Watchdog groups have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission not to renew the licenses of two Washington, D.C., television stations. “The groups argue that the two stations have not complied with the FCC’s 1996 guidelines regarding the Children’s Television Act, which require stations to air at least three hours of educational programming for children per week. The act has never before been cited in a petition to revoke a license.”

There is a niggling problem with the outcry against the Toronto International Film Festival’s decision to screen “Casuistry: The Art Of Killing A Cat,” and it’s the same problem that accompanied the releases of “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11”: The people working themselves into a righteous fury haven’t seen the movie.

“Warner Brothers has decided not to distribute the director David O. Russell’s new antiwar documentary when it re-releases his 1999 Gulf War movie, ‘Three Kings,’ this fall, judging it ‘totally inappropriate’ to do so in a political season.”