AOL blogs about momma and others

AOL launched a blog about its momma Time Warner called BloggingStox: TimeWarner. The blog follows the company's stock performance and reports on happenings through out the company's numerous entertainment and media divisions. The blog is part of a new network within the Weblogs Inc network which is owned by AOL, which is owned by Time Warner so we aren't going to expect any negative postings on this blog. However there are similar blogs for companies like Ebay, Apple, GE, Google, Microsoft, Walmart and Yahoo! more....

Steve Jobs has better things to do

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says that he isn't interested in any executive roll at Disney and besides he doesn't want to be the next Mike Eisner. Jobs is too busy working on Apple's new line up of top secret products which he says are the best products he has seen in his life. more....

Morning Wire: Sampler

A fresh view for The View. Loveable Rosie O’Donnell will be announced as the newest member of ‘The View” replacing Meredith Viera who defected to ‘Today” as the new Katie Couric. More…. TVGuide loves downloads: Starting with the May 1st issue the magazine will list the best shows to download. More….

And now the day's link grabs: Big media is still puzzled

From McClatchy, to CBS to Disney, today was quite a news filled day. Big Media may go bareback to infect online users more.... Sony and Disney to squeeze their big movies into little iPods more.... Is Les Moonves ready to blow a huge load? more.... Disney announces yet another way to milk your family more.... Rupert Murdoch & Co against taxpayer dollars being spent against them more.... Seriously, big media is all about the internet these days more.... Oh man, Ford Motor Co. wants a reality show in which contestants work with Ford designers to produce a hot new concept car. Soon Proctor & Gamble will want one where dick head contestants will work to create a hot new laundry detergent more..... McClatchy hustles and nets $1 Billion more....

Question of The Day: Did Dick Parsons save Time Warner?

Dick Parsons is the last man standing from the AOL Time Warner era. He was charged with cleaning up the shit storm the worst merger in history caused. Some $200 Billion in shareholder value was wiped out instantly hitting Ted Turner the hardest almost sending the man to the poor house. Praises have been laid up on Dick for a job well down. Bringing down the companies debt, increasing cash flow and even putting Jeff Bewkes a well liked exec in the co-pilot’s seat. The move the symbolized the companies road to recovery, was when the AOL name was dropped from the corporate name. Dick even managed to fight off corporate shark Carl Icahn. But all this and the stock price is still hovering at or around where it has been for the last couple of years $ 17.33. Is Dick and Co. doing everything right, or is there something they can do better?

Big media brainstorms at Milken Institute's 9th Annual Global Conference

The Old BIG media companies are like that new kind on the block who will do anything to fit in. They are working tirelessly to find new ways to reach what is refered to as the "On the go users" but of course in doing so they have to make sure the money flows in as well. What were these guys thinking? Did they not think that their old way of entertaining us would become out dated? Newscorp's number two, Peter Chernin weighs in: "I think anyone who loses is anyone who tries to protect their traditional business. I think you've got a bad 10-15 years ahead of you if you try to do that," "We should have a government policy that addresses it, you're already seeing certain products in certain areas (in Asia) that are much more advanced than we are". Disney boss Bobby Iger's take: "I don't know how many times you can watch a pet bite someone in the crotch but somehow this is interesting to people, I'm not sure it's necessarily bad for the traditional industry because we are living in a world where people are consuming more (media content)." Bobby you knocked this one of the park. More....

Today In Les: Is Les Moonves getting ready to blow his biggest load yet?

Ok so it may not be a done deal and perhaps never be a done deal. But we told you we are waiting for Les Moonves's next big announcement and we believe that if he gets his way with the help of Disney, acquiring Univision may be that big announcement we have been waiting for. This is so big that Les is willing to share what could be a huge spotlight with Disney Boss Bobby Iger. Just yesterday, Les told investors on an earnings conference call that "we're not looking for an acquisition of that size." However we don't buy it for one minute. Les would very much love to take over Univision and smile for the cameras. Such a deal would put Les dead center where he loves to be and give him one over Tom Freston, his counterpart at sister company Viacom. More....

Media News gets even more news for $1 Billion

We didn't know newspapers can go for this much but $1 Billion in cash is what the McClatchy Company will get for four papers. This is just part of McClatchy's we bought it but we don't want it move to raise quick cash. These papers are like foster children. They will pass through many hands before they land at a permanent home. In one deal, McClatchy announced that it would sell The San Jose Mercury News and The Contra Costa Times, both in California, to Media News and a partnership that includes the Gannett Company, the country's largest newspaper chain, and the Stephens Group, based in Arkansas. McClatchy said it would also sell The Pioneer Press in St. Paul and The Herald in Monterey County in California, to Hearst. This story only get more complicated. More....

New York Times seeks bullshitter

Frantic New York Times upper management are scrambling to find pr crisis experts to help them talk their way out of a shit storm brewing over their heads. Shareholders are angry at the sinking stock price and the huge salaries of top execs like Chairman Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. and CEO Janet Robinson who pocketed roughly $2 million. The paper is so desperate that it contacted Knight Ridder for advice. Knight Ridder put itself on the block after facing serious pressure from shareholders. Is it safe to say that the New York Times may be considering a move similar to Knight Ridder's? Morgan Stanley's investment arm, a longtime shareholder of The Times with a 5 percent stake, blasted management for the executive compensation and for failing to address the company's woeful stock price. It also called for an end to The Times' two-tier stock system, which it said "fosters a lack of accountability." More....

Morning Wire: Martha's Blueprint editorless

Rebecca Thuss, the editor of Martha Stewart's new home, fashion and design magazine Blueprint has left the building and the magazine hasn't even hit newstands. According to the New York Post, Women's Wear Daily slipped it into their "Memo Pad" column saying she left last Friday. It seems as though Martha Stewart Living Omni Media has a "If you don't ask we won't tell" policy. When asked why the exit wasn't revealed as the company was seeking pre-launch publicity, corporate Editorial Director Margaret Roach told WWD, "No one asked." The company is in search for a replacement to take the helm of the new magazine. We can't wait to see who lands this gig. More....

And now the day's link grabs: BBC likes em young

Newscorp newspapers punk out. More.... Microsoft is so serious about ads, they are going Massive. More.... And we thought gossip blog readers were the ones who are more engaged. More.... You should be able to search but not touch. More.... Les Moonves had a good day today. More.... Wallop to Myspace: Its on. More.... BBC wants to young up their web offerings. More....

Dan Rather says big media likes news that pay

Former CBS news man Dan Rather was on the campus of UC Berkeley last night where he discussed the current state of American media. Dan may have finally shined some light as to why reporters are afraid to ask real questions when interviewing high level individuals in government or business. "Reporters didn't ask enough questions. Access journalism ruled the day. Reporters who asked tough questions were cut off from access to key administration officials, making it difficult to compete professionally with those who tried not to ruffle feathers. Don't underestimate the pressure to get access and the corrosive effect it has on reporters," Rather said. He went on to say, multinational companies like Viacom or CBS are controversy averse and fearful of getting negative responses from blogs. How backwards. If CBS had understood the impact of the Internet and bloggers, the Bush National Guard papers debacle could have been handled with less upheaval, Rather said. I had no idea of the power of the Internet, particularly bloggers, including some with partisan, ideological agendas." Geez Dan where have you been living? Yeah we bloggers do like to hate on big media. Just look how much we love Les Moonves. More....

Disney says: Sure download Alias for free, but only if you watch the ads

The appetite for interactivity at the old media companies continue this time at Disney. The company says it will test interactive ads on ABC.com when it begins showing prime-time ABC television shows on the Web. This is an effort to cut out the short spots that we all hate on regular TV. Disney is hoping it can get viewers to watch ads if they can download shows for free on abc.com. But see, the funny this is that we really don’t like ads unless it’s during the super bowl. Usually if we are watching television, regular people just flip to another channel until we think the commercial is over then we flip back. The test, which starts May 1, offers streaming video of "Desperate Housewives," "Alias," "Commander in Chief" and "Lost" about 12 hours after each episode airs on the East Coast. Disney didn’t have any problem finding advertisers who will stop at nothing to get you to buy their product and/or use their service. When word got out that they were testing something new, the usual greedy bunch lined up right away. The companies who are set to get a shot at plugging their product/service are: AT&T Inc, Cingular, Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever Plc, General Electric Co's Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Pictures, and get this they all turned in their ads about two weeks ago. More....

Prediction of the day: Anne Sweeney for Disney Prexy

Oh when oh when will Bob Iger name a President? Even though some say Disney’s CEO doesn’t need a number two person, everyone knows a number two should always be in place to keep thing in order in case Bob dies in some freak accident while on a ride at Disney Land. But who oh who would be a top candidate to be Bob’s number two. No it wouldn’t be Meg Whitman. We were more thinking about ABC Television Group boss Anne Sweeney. Sweeney has worked with the Iger for years during his time as ABC boss and has slowly been taking on more duties at the mouse house. Our prediction is that, she will be named President of Disney in the not too far future. You know after the whole Pixar thing is complete and a roll is pin pointed for Pixar boss Steve Jobs.

More Today In Les: He one ups the watchers

One upper CBS boss Les Moonves one upped analysts prediction by 3 cents. Analysts had expected the company to earn 27 cents per share on $3.5 billion in revenue, but Les and Co. did 30 cents per share on $3.58 billion in revenue. So it’s safe to say that Les Moonves is waiting for a “Good Boy” call from Sumner Redstone if he hasn’t gotten it already. And of course Mr. Moonves weighed in with the following statement handed off to him by a CBS mouthpiece: “We have clearly built strong momentum during our first three months. Our strong double-digit free cash flow growth demonstrates that we are successfully leveraging the revenue growth produced by our core operations. Our television segment continues to perform well, led by significant revenue growth at CBS Paramount Television, Showtime and our television stations; and our industry-leading network is extremely well positioned. I'm particularly pleased with the performance of outdoor, where profits are up dramatically as a result of strong North America revenue growth and our strategy to exit less-profitable transit contracts." However a Howard Sternless CBS Radio remains a black hole in the Les camp. But you know what? Yeeeaaah for Les Moonves. More....

Big media continues to buy their way onto the new media train

Old big media companies are clearly in a buying frenzy to stay fresh and current so that the millions of teens who have been sucked away by new media companies will consider them cool. Newscorp didn't have a chance against a company like Myspace if they were to launch a new social networking site. So what did they do? They dropped major cash to buy them out and is now the only big media company firmly planted in this new online craze. But online social networking isn't the only new media source attracting big media companies. Tom Freston, arguably the coolest media CEO in the industry in part due to his MTV days, is buying into the online games and entertainment source as well. Freston of course with the blessing of Viacom grand daddy Sumner Redstone shelled out $102 Million to swallow Xfire an online gaming company. This acquisition will give Freston's MTV group yet another vehicle to spread it's very addictive programming and create even more programming for home and mobile media devices. But Viacom isn't the only media company going by the “if you can't beat them buy them” policy. Time Warner late last year took a chunk of online mobile media company Glu Mobile, a privately held maker of games for cell phones. The company’s Turner Broadcasting also launched GameTap, an online subscription service that features classic arcade and console games like Pac-Man and Sonic the Hedgehog, last year. More....

But they already live on Myspace

BBC in an effort to keep the interest of youngsters is calling on the good ol folks at Myspace.com to help them seduce teens in to frequenting their website. Like every other media company, the BBC is looking to include user-generated content such as blogs, music and home videos, similar to the MySpace service that is hugely popular with teenagers. But if these youngsters already live on Myspace why in the world will they want to socialize on the BBC website? Said Director General Mark Thompson: "The BBC should no longer think of itself as a broadcaster of TV and radio (with) some new media on the side. We should aim to deliver public service content to our audiences in whatever media and on whatever device makes sense for them, whether they are at home or on the move." Just asking: Is it just us our are they a little too late for this train? More.....

Today in Les: Les Moonves does not have a Myspace

We have to shit on this one because the guy doesn't even read blogs. Why would he have a Myspace profile? Well, unless he is trying to be cooler than the very cool Tom Freston.

Bush announces new mouthpiece. Rupert Murdoch finally gets a man on the inside

President Bush brings more snow into the White House as he announces his new press secretary Tony Snow. Snow is a former Fox News commentator and was rumored to be the first choice of new Chief of Staff Josh Bolton. Said the President: "As a professional journalist, Tony Snow understands the importance of the relationship between government and those whose job it is to cover the government." Yes we are sure Tony Snow knows how to sweeten things up for the media and tip off his old buddies at Fox on breaking news. More....

Morning Wire: Marie Claire's new EIC Joanna Coles is expected to clean house so they can pay Donald Robertson

Joanna Coles hasn't even sat behind her desk at Marie Claire and already rumors of a pending blood bath and major hire are circling in media circles. The New EIC of Marie Claire is said to be in Paris with her bosses going over plans to freshen up the staff. But are the rumored staff cuts to free up cash so they can pay former Bonnie Fuller underling Donald Robertson. Some are even wondering if Marie Claire can even afford to pay Robertson said one observer: "It's not without possibilities, but could they possibly afford him financially?" apparently during his days working under Bonnie Fuller his salary shot up quickly into the six figure neighborhood during their time together at Glamour. But others are wondering if Robertson will even land at Marie Claire. Wonderers are wondering if he will team up with Bonnie Fuller again now that she is the Editorial Director at American Media. The two are still tight, so tight that he is the creative mind behind the cover of her recent book "The Joys of Much Too Much." More....

And now the day's link grabs

Yet another slow news day on things we like to post about, but we were able to scrape together a few interesting stories in media today. Venture investors are in love with media once again. More.... Dan Rather thinks blogs can help broadcasters but stresses accountability is a must. More.... More in Rather, this time with Brokaw. Katie Couric is slowly growing on them. More.... Media bigs come together to spend $300 Million to show the government parents can control what their kids watch. Well at least when they're home with them. More.... However FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said broadcasters' planned publicity campaign about program-blocking tools will likely fall short of what's needed to address concerns about racy programming. More.... NBC Sports boss Dick Ebersol is still healing as he tries to revive NBC. More....

FRESH NEWS: Meredith grabs O'Grady Meyers

Viacom isn't the only one buying into interactivity this week. Magazine publisher Meredith Corp has acquired O'Grady Meyers, an interactive agency specializing in relationship marketing and website development. Thankfully no plans for job cuts are on the table, but then again no one said they weren't. Los Angeles-based OGM, which has 40 employees, will operate as a separate entity within Meredith Integrated Marketing, a division of 80 employees. More.....

Question of the day: Where in the world is Geri Levine?

Former AOL Time Warner boss Geri Levine has gone underground. Last we heard he was putting his time into some spa retreat business out on the West Coast. The last time we saw him he shaved the mustache and lost a lot of weight which really didn’t look too healthy on him but the man wanted a whole new life after being front and center during the worst business disaster ever in U.S. history. Wait, Enron probably topped it. Geri left a life of being part of Manhattan’s media elite for sun and potential earth quakes in California. We vaguely remember reading an article on him in a magazine after he defected and he seemed happy. But we have to say he has fallen off the face of the earth in a way that no one has. We haven’t come across any recent articles even mentioning his name. And if an article does mention his name, it’s not him it’s some other Geri Levine guy. The award for best disappearing act goes to Gerald Levine. We wonder if Dick Parsons still talks to the guy from time to time. You know something like this would have worked for Mike Eisner.

Today In Les: Since the Opie & Anthony news may not be enough, what will Les Moonves’ next big announcement be?

For some reason we don't think the Opie and Anthony news is enough for CBS Corp's one upper CEO Les Moonves. He is itching to make an even bigger deal in an effort to grab media attention and one up his counter part Tom Freston at sister company Viacom. It is no secret that Tom Freston won the race to become Viacom boss because.....well he is the boss of Viacom. The competition is heating up between these two. If Tom’s camp announces a deal, you better be ready for an announcement from the Moonves camp. So with Viacom announcing that they will spend over $100 Million for an interactive site, its only a matter of time before Les and Co. announce an acquisition of their own. Will Les one up Tom and dive into the online social networking community? Will he finally strike a deal to launch his own movie studio? We are all waiting for the next big Les Moonves announcement.

Jann Wenner calls Tim Castelli answers

Rolling Stone puba Jann Wenner has landed himself a new publisher for his Rollingstone magazine. The magazine mogul has tapped Tim Castelli who is currently co- publisher of one of our favorite mags Maxim, to take over for Steve DeLuca, who exited in February. Don't expect to see Rollingstone Maximized with Castelli's hire. Though music and sex goes hand in hand we are sure Jann and company will keep the mag as is. More....

And now the day's link grabs

Media news was slow to come to day. Lets re-state that. Media news we cared to post about was slow coming today. But that doesn't mean we can't post links to media news you may care about right? Exactly so here it goes: A couple mags published stories about the latest net boom happening right now as you read this. But New York Mag asks how will it end in New York? More..... Television stations looking to take advantage of the web will meet this week at the annual gathering of the National Association of Broadcasters to figure out how to keep from becoming "less relevant." We say, if they have to meet to figure out how they can keep from becoming less relevant, chances are they are already Irrelevant. More..... Come on, are we really surprised that iTunes will soon take a huge chunck of the internet ad dollars being thrown around? More..... Tom Freston makes one more purchase before joining the online social networking world. More..... BPA boss says to hell with the Ratebase. More..... Martha Stewart finally lays out the Blueprint. More.....

Today in Les: Did you think Tom Freston would be the only one having fun in the news today!

CBS Corp's one upper CEO Les Moonves finalized a deal with XM that will bring radio jocks Opie & Anthony to K-Rock replacing Howard Sterns replacement David Lee Roth. The agreement calls for CBS Radio stations in New York; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Boston; Cleveland; Dallas; and West Palm Beach, Florida, to start carrying "Opie & Anthony" on Wednesday, some four years after CBS pulled the radio duo off the air over a sexually explicit comedy bit that got them in trouble with federal regulators. See, this is exactly why its never good to burn bridges. Les had to call on two former employees to save his ass. More....

Old media getting weaker in the eyes of advertisers

Not that anyone should be surprised but new media is kicking old media's ass. Advertisers battling to get into the pockets of the web generation are increasingly shifting millions in ad dollars to the internet leaving old media sad and lonely. A new report said that Internet advertising revenues in the United States in 2005 totaled $12.5 billion, an all-time, single-year record. But don't cross off the old media guys just yet because they have the money to buy their way in and so far a lot of them have been doing just that. The ad dollars are too strong for them to watch it go by and not have a piece or the whole pie. More...

Our weekly read reads

This weeks weeklies are a mixture of scandal, money and medicine, well kinda. We used to do this little feature when we first started but we decided to stop. But one day we got an email from a female reader who called us idiots for not doing it anymore. She said she actually referred to our "Weekly Read Reads" to decide on which mags to buy for her daily subway rides home. Yeah we can't believe it either but hey. We have to give the readers what they want right? Right? Right? Newsweek: Naturally following the nasty little Duke University rape scandal is Newsweek. The mag attempts to dissect this story by taking a look at the two suspects. But will we ever see a picture of the victim? More.... Businessweek: For those who are into having a second life, this read is for you. But hey its for entertainment onlyMore... Time: Who would have thought that Doctors complain about where they work. Well Time has a few who are voicing exactly what they hate about Hospitals and we don't think its the food either. More....

We thought they would have went the social networking route

In what we think is a shocking move, Viacom will dig into it's pockets and come up with $102 Million to acquire Xfire Inc., a fast-growing online video gaming communication and community platform. But we are kind of confused because we were sure they would have announced the acquisition of a social networking site next. Well we were wrong but we're still waiting to see who Tom Freston will make rich for Viacom to get into the social online seen. We still want to kick Tom in the ass for not pushing harder to snap up Myspace.com. Its such a perfect fit with the whole MTV thing. More.....

Martha Stewart gives birth to Blueprint

Martha Stewart will give birth today if she hasn't already to Blueprint a new magazine aimed at getting young women ages 25-30 to spend even more of their hard earned cash. But we are not too sure the women below 30 would be interested in what the mag is selling. It's an abnormal mixture of in home and design stories mixed with beauty and fashion coverage. So not only can you get tips on how to decorate your new apartment, you can also get tips on what color lipstick you should apply while looking in that new mirror you purchased at Sears, or Walmart. More.....

Nick Denton and his Gawkers are among Fortune's top Net Boom investment picks

Nick Denton should be proud of his gang of "Snarky" take no prisoner editors. Mr. Denton's Gawker Media has once again come up on a list of sites that may say are smart investment picks. Gawker was listed among other sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube to name a few. These websites are said to be the hot picks of the moment. "The Boom Is Back"

Satellite Les

Desperate Les, Moonves that is may finally get the sour taste out of his mouth Howard Stern left when he bounced to Sirius, via a deal with XM. Les may get radio killers Opie and Anthony in a satellite-to-terrestrial radio syndication deal under which CBS would air a three-hour version of the "Opie & Anthony" show to be simulcast uncensored on XM, followed by two hours by the duo airing exclusively on XM. Such a deal would kick current lame duck David lee Roth to the curb and probably put some spunk back into K-Rock's morning line up because god knows Les Moonves has been wanting his spunk back. If the deal goes through maybe he'll lay off Howard Stern. Then again we're talking about Leslie Moonves here. More....

John Malone will do anything to avoid paying taxes

He could care less about owning a baseball team, but media investor John Malone would rather take ownership of one than pay taxes. Apparently Mr. Malone holds a stake in Time Warner valued at about $3 Billion. So he has been in talks with them about unloading some or all his stake in the company in exchange for cash and the Atlanta Braves so he can minimize his taxes. This is the man who gave Bob Johnson seed money to launch Black Entertainment Television. This is the man who holds a nice piece of, and almost took the whole News Corp cake. So why is he running away from paying taxes when he can? The rich always seem to think they are above taxes don't they. After all Leona Helmsley said it best when she stated that "Taxes are for little people" More....

GOOG-BOOM: larry and Sergie are still rich

Just when greedy ass Wall Streeters thought the Google light was going dull, and even started to doubt the company because they thought it wouldn't make them richer than they are, the company's stock did an about face and now the same greedy ass Wall Streeters are singing the company praises again. Google is on fire thanks to a general boom in Internet advertising. The company is also gaining market share in the U.S. and overseas, while it continues to expand internationally into China and other markets. Revenue, almost entirely from online advertising on Google and its partner Web sites, surged 79 percent to $2.25 billion, up from $1.26 billion in the first quarter of last year. More....

The week's Fakest, funniest and scariest headline in media

We won't lie, we almost shit our pants when we came across the headline (right) and said to ourselves, "Dick fell for another one". But then we got the reading and saw that clearly this was a bogus headline. We found the article while combing through google for media headlines to make our first post of the day. Yeah Yeah what do you want me to do? I had to go to court. Anyway this fake article is funny and it makes you think back on that dreadful day Geri Levine handed Time Warner to Stave Case. [Dateline Hollywood]

Media names in Media news this week

Media names in Media news this week: Dick Parsons, Mike Bloomberg, Rupert Murdoch, Sumner Redstone, Dick Ebersol First he said no to President Bush. Then he said no to Mayor Bloomberg. Politicians really love Dick, but when will they realize he really loves his job? More... Rupert Murdoch is really getting heavy into the web. We just hope he doesn't get too deep in case he has to make a run for it. More..... Not much of a major media player but it wasn't too long ago that he was. Mike Eisner is playing the investment game now. More.... Sumner Redstone not only made a shit load of money in 2005, and defended the head of his movie studio, he is also confident that his company will kick Howard Stern's ass in court More.... Dick Ebersol is getting back on his game. More....

Hachette Filipacchi Media to Shock us on May 30th

Hachette Filipacchi Media will officially launch their latest title Shock with a bold and big balled print run of 300,000 and a cover price of only $1.99. The magazine's content will range from the bizarre to the sexy although only the Web site will have the nudity that made it into print in a French version, Choc, launched two-and-a-half years ago. Hmmm this sounds right up our alley!! "We think we are a category buster with a new product," said Hachette Filipacchi CEO Jack Kliger. Ya know what Jack?? We think so too. More.....

Weekend Journal a drag for Dow Jones

Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones admitted yesterday that advertisers aren't that interested in it's weekend version of the paper. This announcement sent greedy investors who can't bare to lose a penny in selling spree sending the company's stock price down $1.46. The surprise softness at the Weekend Edition, which debuted last September in the hope of luring luxury goods and lifestyle advertisers, was the most high-profile problem in the publishing giant's report. It's a good thing that Joanne Lipman who oversaw the launch of the weekend journal is safely in the luxury offices at Conde Nast.