Category: media

What’s the attraction of the arts/newsmagazine CBS Sunday Morning, which is celebrating 25 years on the air? “Sunday Morning” viewers, Osgood says, defy conventional wisdom. They do not watch with a clicker in their hand. They sit or lie in front of the TV for much of the show’s 90 minutes. It is the highest-rated Sunday morning program, easily outdistancing “Meet the Press” with more than 4 1/2 million viewers a week. They tune in for stories that are not told anywhere else on TV.”

“In the weeks ahead, channel surfers will find it virtually impossible to avoid aspiring pop stars, scheming careerists, thrill seekers, lovelorn geeks and all-star survivors. Why is this happening? The long answer might involve a florid excursion into the cyclical nature of television. A commentary on why pop culture is inherently disposable. Or how “reality” shows generate buzz and ratings by creating an artificial sense of urgency. But let’s start with the short answer: TV execs are big, fat liars.”

“Once upon a time – say, back in the 1970s – the visual trickery employed by filmmakers was meant to look real. In many of today’s movies, however, the effects are meant to look cool. The difference is huge.”

“Imagine how fear drives people in the TV business to figure out what the hell has gone wrong when ratings are down, demographics are down and viewership in the broadcast world is, yes, down. It makes them say that ‘these declines are unacceptable and obviously we haven’t given the people what they really want and a dramatic restructuring of the industry is at hand’ and blah de blah de blah. But here’s the plain truth: Nobody knows what to do.”

“Satellite radio has finally evolved from an expensive fantasy into another booming category of entertainment for the digital decade, alongside DVD and MP3 players. Traditional radio broadcasters, which lobbied the FCC against issuing licenses to the companies in the ’90s, are growing increasingly alarmed by their popularity and plans for expansion.”

“Tarnation may be the first feature-length film edited entirely on iMovie, and it cost $218.32 in videotape and materials. Despite its low budget, the film has already earned a high profile. Both John Cameron Mitchell, the actor and director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and independent film maverick Gus Van Sant have signed on as executive producers.”

A judge has thrown out a $55 million libel lawsuit against heirs of “Anne of Green Gables” author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The complainant, who produced two very successful TV series based on “Anne,” sued over charges the heirs made that they had not been properly paid royalties for the TV shows.

The Vatican officially denies reports that the Pope endorses Mel Gibson’s new movie. However, “one prominent Roman Catholic official close to the Vatican, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he had reason to believe that the pope probably did make the remark about the film. ‘But I think there’s some bad feeling at the Vatican that the comment was used the way it was. It’s all a little soap-operatic’.”

“Don’t be alarmed if you hadn’t previously heard of CBC Radio 3. Most CBC executives themselves don’t even understand the on-line revolution happening right under their noses. CBC Radio 3 is more than just music. ‘We’re trying to develop new forms of storytelling and develop a web presence that incorporates audio, video and text. No media company in North America is doing anything like this’.”

The traditional network TV season is dead, says a Fox entertainment exec. Instead, seasons will begin and end when they do. “The economic model that created this business has lasted too long. We’ve seen cable companies make inroads while we hid our heads in the sand. We need to change our business. We need to respond to our consumers and viewers.”