Category: media

“Nielsen said it needs Arbitron to better measure consumers’ media habits when they’re out of the home. In addition to tracking traditional radio, Arbitron will help it gain data on streaming audio.”

“So why isn’t it really news when a film ranks No. 1 on opening weekend? First reason: The race is rigged.”

“This surge of dissent among filmmakers follows similar comments demanding reforms of censorship laws from industry figures.”

“Claiming a major threat to its business model, broadcasters are urging a federal appeals court to order Dish Network to shutter its DVR service because it allows the automatic skipping of commercials, breaching copyright law and retransmission agreements.”

“Borrowing a page from Kickstarter, the site allows anyone with a functional credit card to organize screenings and if customers buy enough tickets to cover all the screening’s expenses, the event gets confirmed. If advance ticket sales fall short, the screening gets canceled and nobody loses money.”

“Bilbo’s decision not to use violence is at the heart of the quasi-Christian moral order of Tolkien’s world … [yet] the rest of [Jackson’s] film undercuts it – and, indeed, almost parodies it. The scene where Bilbo spares Gollum in the movie comes immediately after an extended, jovially bloody battle between dwarves and goblins, larded with visual jokes involving decapitation, disembowelment, and baddies crushed by rolling rocks.”

“Considered an easy new revenue source after the 3-D re-release of Walt Disney Studios’ The Lion King popped out of the screen and grossed nearly $100 million last year, most such follow-ups have landed with a thud in 2012.”

“The 58-key upright piano on which actor and singer Dooley Wilson performed “As Time Goes By,” the signature song of the 1942 film’s star-crossed lovers played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, sold at Sotheby’s for $602,500 (£372,600) including commission.”

“Events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, “The NBC Nightly News” and other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of “explaining” them.”