Black Christians--particularly those who are fond of gospel music--are being targeted by advertisers who see a demographic that has not been effectively reached, according to a piece on WashingtonPost.com. The beneficiary: Radio stations that program gospel. According to Max Siegel, president of Sony's Zomba Gospel label, "There's been a growing interest in the faith-based market from mainstream corporate America. The consumers are loyal, and they have a lot of disposable income." Indeed, the buying powers of U.S. blacks has risen substantially in recent years, to $723 billion in 2004, reports the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth. To …

Over-the-air radio may soon find itself an irrelevancy, if one is to take to heart the dire warnings of industry executives who participated in the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit. "The industry could find itself at the kids' table in the media banquet hall, as new technology threatens the business," according to Reuters' own account of the New York City powwow. Radio revenue growth has been slowing for the last three years. Meanwhile, the new satellite radio services such as XM and Sirius have been coming on strong, podcasting is beginning to find a mainstream audience, and hard-drive music players …

The Detroit Free Press's John Smyntek has produced a useful guide to the "new" radio--satellite, podcasting, cell phone, Internet, and HD, complete with his thumbs-up and thumbs-down assessments of each. For example, when it comes to cell phone radio, Smyntek calls it is "the right technological choice. Doesn't nearly everyone have a cell phone?" On the negative side, however, "Who needs another distraction while driving or ... walking through the supermarket?" The writer also does a nice job of explaining People Meters, which are in limited use by both Arbitron and Nielsen, saying they yield information previously unavailable through the …

Howard Kurtz, the Washington Post's media specialist, appears to be revolted by all the funereal talk about the newspaper industry, of which he is a part. It's not that too much fuss has been made over the demonstrable woes of the nation's papers, it's just that too many bellyachers have forgotten that most of the news in this country originates with papers, Kurtz says. He then proceeds to listen in on a number of top bloggers, quoting their complaints about, and heartache over, the fate of the print newspaper industry. Think of it as a roundup of self-flagellation.

We've heard it all before: Newspapers are in terrible trouble, and the Internet is largely to blame. And increasingly we are hearing critics lash out at Craigslist, the little San Francisco-based company that is nothing more than a basic, unadorned online classifieds service. But the company's success, which has drained money from newspapers, has angered many in the industry. "It is the premise behind Craigslist--free, instant ads--that is the fireball sucking the oxygen out of newspaper revenues," says Adam Lashinsky, a Fortune writer. "Whether [the founder] acknowledges it or not," his "brilliant innovation is illustrating not the Golden Rule taught …

Jon Friedman, writing on MarketWatch.com, spends some time with the staff of The Week, which comes from Dennis Publishing, and concludes that the magazine itself is a little odd, as are its leaders. Among other things, they tried hard to impress him with a list of celebrity endorsements from the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Bill Maher, and Salman Rushdie. (He remains skeptical, however, of the endorsement that ostensibly came from Woody Allen: "The Week is for movers and shakers--and I can't stop shaking.") Clearly, The Week has found a following: Its circ, which was 100,000 at its 2001 launch, is …

Blogger extraordinaire Jeff Jarvis has perhaps beaten this horse too many times, but on occasion he does so with such clarity and passion that he's worth reading, if only for the jolt he provides. In the age of high-speed broadband, media no longer rely on presses, he points out. They don't even rely on content. Nope, both content and means of delivery are secondary. What matters is "relationships." Some companies get it, most still don't. (He cites The Guardian in the U.K. as the most forward-thinking publisher in the business, saying its leaders fully appreciate that its brand-new printing presses …

Advertising Age's annual salary survey reveals some interesting findings. Chief among them: Cable executives are currently the most highly rewarded in media, by far. Topping the list by a wide margin is Comcast president-CEO Brian Roberts, who took home $33.5 million last year in total compensation. His rival at Cox Communication, president-CEO James Robbins, came in at $29.4 million. Both executives clobbered such media-industry notables as Sumner Redstone ($28.3 mil), Rupert Murdoch ($23.6 mil), and Robert Iger (a paltry $11.9 mil). Way down the list were toppers at newspaper and magazine publishing companies. One surprise, noted Ad Age, was that …

The Los Angeles Times reports that CBS News, which began courting Katie Couric some months ago as a possible successor to Dan Rather, has renewed and stepped up its recruiting efforts. Couric, who has been co-anchor of NBC's “Today” show for nearly 15 years, is said to be deliberating; no decision is expected soon. A switch by the popular morning newswoman to another network would represent a major loss for NBC, whose “Today” is regarded as among the most profitable franchises in all of television. Couric's contract expires next spring. (Only several months ago she told this reporter that …

Signaling its disappointment with Matt LeBlanc's "Joey" and Donald Trump's "The Apprentice," both of which are producing weak ratings this season, NBC has announced it's moving them out of their Thursday-night schedules in order to make room for a reconstituted comedy block. The new midseason schedule will have "Will & Grace," "My Name Is Earl," and the brand-new Seth Green comedy, "Four Kings," lined up back to back on Thursdays, followed at 10:00 by "ER." The schedule goes into effect Jan. 2. It's not clear where LeBlanc and Trump will land in 2006. NBC says it will make that decision …