The first weeks of the television season have not been inspiring for programmers or advertisers.
The big news in the prime-time television season under way is not the networks' overpriced and overhyped series, many of which will be canceled before it's over. It is the upset in TV's status quo that threatens to shift millions of dollars among broadcasters and cable operators, programmers and advertisers.
The advertising exec and host of upcoming CNBC specials about media says that TiVo won't kill off commercials, product placement in TV shows "certainly helps," and New York magazine is an "undernourished brand."
Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) has a released a "hold" on a bill that includes barring the Federal Communications Commission from spending money to implement an increased cap on television-station ownership, clearing the bill for a vote on the Senate floor.
Broadcast TV networks like Fox, NBC and ABC are putting on their director's hats and entering the short film business. Fox and Ford are teaming up to air a six-minute short film starring the new F-150 truck around Tuesday's premiere of 24, the hit drama starring Kiefer Sutherland.
There is no doubt that Russel Pergament, the publisher of amNew York, is a master of the sales pitch. He is bounding about the cramped temporary newsroom of his free weekday tabloid, explaining why morning commuters in their 20's and 30's will get hooked on it.
Howard Dean this week began running two new television advertisements that criticize his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination as "Washington politicians" who have failed to deliver prescription drug benefits and were inconsistent on the Iraq war.
As the ratings have rolled in for the first three weeks of the new television season, one question has dominated the conversations inside the industry's executive suites: what the heck is going on?
A survey of DM News readers found that marketers who use telemarketing are likely to shift their resources to direct mail and e-mail in response to the launch of the national no-call registry.
Magazine executives will gather in California next week as the publishing industry continues to face a litany of challenges.