After he forked over more than $400 to run an obituary on his mother, the executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review writes that he would like to meet the newspaper manager who first thought up the practice of paid obits. Mike Hoyt "would like to say to him, What a genius you are, sir! An income stream stretching into infinity!" Or perhaps not, he adds on further reflection, given the current state of the newspaper business. "I would say, Your idea, sir, may mark the precise moment on the timeline when newspapers began a slow drift away from their readers." Read the whole story...

While "at first glance, it seems like selling popcorn at the opera," the Boston Herald reports that Pabst Blue Ribbon's sponsorship of programming on National Public Radio may "actually be an example of well-positioned, cost-effective marketing." After building what Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, called a "currency of hipness" among young folks, the NPR deal means Pabst can reach its target audience while avoiding the pushiness of traditional advertising. Read the whole story...

Sen. John Kerry is pushing the Government Accountability Office to look into the government's compliance with an order, created in 2000, aimed at boosting minority advertising contracting, Ad Age reports. The Massachusetts Democrat and former presidential candidate says "it's time we know how the government measures up in meeting its responsibility to reach out to all sectors of the American economy and in keeping its commitment to minority entrepreneurs." Kerry is acting on complaints from an African-American newspaper association that they have seen little, if any, adverting revenue from the federal government. At issues is an executive order signed by President Clinton directing federal departments and agencies to ensure inclusion of disadvantaged businesses in federal contracting. Read the whole story...

With Ted Turner stepping down from the board of Time Warner on Friday, Business Week's Tom Lowry pays tribute to the man who did so much to make cable TV what it is today. "Even though Turner has been relegated to background status these past years, his footprints are all over the media landscape," he writes. "A complicated mix of arrogance and vulnerability, Turner is one of the rare visionaries, like his arch-nemesis Rupert Murdoch, who trusts his gut over financial models." Turner also came up with the idea of dual revenue streams by starting with an ad-supported broadcast model and adding on the take from distribution fees. "Cable pioneer John Malone may have coined the phrase '500-channel universe,' but Turner helped make it a reality," Lowry says. Read the whole story...

Digital video recorders may be having less impact on viewing habits than advertisers may think, according to the results of a British study, MediaLife reports. Among the key findings: TV watchers say they time-shift way more than they actually do--and even when they do fast-forward through ads, they still pay attention--and stop to watch some of them. Says Todd Chanko, an analyst at JupiterResearch, "everybody is all freaked out that people are fast forwarding the ads. But. . . this is a great advertising opportunity. Just create different kinds of ads that work in a real-time environment and can still get the message across in a fast-forward environment." Read the whole story...