Category: media

Movie box office in the UK was down 21 percent in February from a year ago. “In France, audiences were down 9% for the first quarter, while Germany showed a 7.4% drop in admissions on last year.” Analysts say that last winter there were big blockbusters selling tickets, but breakout hits are missing so far this year.

Disney CEO Michael Eisner signals a shift in Disney’s emphasis on policing copyright infractions. “Last year the company was a leading proponent of a bill, which didn’t become law, that would have forced electronics makers to prevent consumers from making unauthorized copies of films and songs. In the future, Eisner said, movie studios will need to be more flexible about the way they distribute movies. He suggested that in place of the current sequence of studio releases – from theaters to video to pay per view to television – studios would need to offer faster distribution, directly to consumers. ‘If we don’t provide consumers with our product in a timely manner, pirates will’.”

Despite the fact that Severe Acute Repiratory Syndrome (SARS) has yet to sigificantly impact Europe, fear of the outbreak is wreaking havoc with Italy’s Far East Cinema Festival, which screens films and features filmmakers from throughout Asia. Organizers insist that there is no danger to the Italian populace, but there is a distinct possibility of government intervention in the festival’s guest list. “22 actors, directors and producers from Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai may be uninvited because of the concerns of local people about the spread of SARS.”

“With the death of Fred Rogers in late February, the children’s television industry said good-bye to one of the last creators who didn’t sell merchandise to finance his show. Today, more than 20 programs draw on his pedagogical legacy to educate the preschoolers he gently welcomed to ‘Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ but with one big difference: Unless kids buy the goods, their favorite shows and characters disappear.”

As people find themselves with less time and less inclination to read, a digital radio station called Oneword is filling the gap with a simple and soothing format idea: reading stories aloud. “I defy anyone stumbling across it not to draw up a metaphorical chair, pour a mug of virtual cocoa and snuggle. If everyone needs a bosom for a pillow, Oneword is it, down-filled and probably frilled.”

Back in 2000, Cleveland’s public TV and radio stations, which had always been completely separate entities, decided to merge most of their operations in an effort to cut costs and better serve the community. The partnership, called “ideastream,” was a logistical nightmare at first, and staff nerves on both sides seemed to be constantly frayed. But the public response has been overwhelmingly positive, and now, ideastream is making its mark with a strong, independent, and local (all the other TV stations in town are owned by out-of-town companies) voice which neither station had prior to the merger.

“North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has a passion for cinema. But he could never find a director to realise his vision. So he kidnapped one from the South, jailed him and fed him grass, then forced him to shoot a socialist Godzilla…”

The unprecedented convergence of up-close access to troops and new whiz-bang tools of the TV trade has turned many living rooms into domestic war theaters. And as the coverage marches on, opinions of it are firing back. “We’re watching this war as though it was a video game. It seems to be an entertainment instead of war coverage,”

The American radio industry, working to get Congress to relax rules on ownership even more, releases a study that says most Americans like the radio they get now, proving, the industry says, that ownership consolidation hasn’t harmed programming. “Among 1,203 surveyed adults, says Zogby, 81% are satisfied with their local radio. A third of poll respondents reportedly said there is more diversity now than there was five years ago, while 40% said they hear about the same and 17% said there is less.”

“Today’s teens are growing up in a far more varied and alluring entertainment environment than previous generations – a world offering endless video games, the Internet and hundreds of cable channels. They’re used to getting what they want when they want it. So they’re impatient. They move around a lot. They have short attention spans.”