Like most other station-group owners, Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications is moving rapidly into high-def digital radio, which allows stations to add channels and broadcast them with greater clarity. Overall, it's a technology that appeals to the broadcast radio industry, which is confronting the new challenge of satellite radio.  However, as an Emmis executives concede, it's not a magic bullet; it will not quickly yield stronger profits. "The major drawbacks to the early success of HD radio are the high prices and the lack of availability of receivers," reports Red Herring. “There have been complaints that the few receivers that have …

Going where other brands have gone before him, Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner is working on plans to open The Rolling Stone, a Hard Rock-style hotel and casino in Las Vegas, probably in 2008. Gabriel Sherman of the New York Observer reports that Wenner's hotel, which is being planned in conjunction with a major developer and would be part of a $500 million retail project, would be built on Harmon Avenue, in the neighborhood of the new Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, the new W Resort and Casino, and George Clooney's upcoming Las Ramblas casino. How would The Rolling …

For mainstream media chieftains, the opening sentence of a story in the Southfield (Mich.) Business Journal will likely come as no shock, but it nevertheless constitutes another dagger to the already wounded heart: "Traditional mass media has been rendered nearly obsolete among first-time vehicle buyers, according to a study released [Jan. 31] by the Polk Center for Automotive Studies." According to the study, first-time buyers--the Gen Y population--are largely dependent on the Web for information and influence when it comes to cars and trucks. They are loyal neither to an automotive brand nor a local dealership. "The Internet's relevance to …

Media buyers, having digested and analyzed the known details of the UPN-WB merger, are generally applauding the deal, but they caution executives of the new combined entity that they could undermine the CW Network if they get too aggressive about ad pricing.  Noting that the numbers for the 18-49 demo on The CW's top five shows could rise to a 2.0 rating--better than those programs were able to earn on their own at UPN and The WB--Starcom research director Samm Armando told Adweek, "You will have a network schedule with less water and more scotch.  But advertisers will have …

 Jack--the DJ-less, long-playlist radio format--may be the hottest thing in radio right now, but another format has suddenly got the attention of ratings-eager programming chiefs in many U.S. cities.  It's called reggaeton, described as a mix of Latin influences with Jamaican reggae and hip-hop. According to Ad Age, a number of radio stations have recently flipped to the reggaeton format and the results have been impressive.  Moreover, a number of station networks are refocusing on reggaeton music and creating special reggaeton shows.  ABC Radio and the Latino Broadcasting Co. are both producing new reggaeton programs to showcase the music's …

"I don't think I've ever seen the sense of innovation and willingness to take risks that I'm seeing now," John Kimball, CMO of the Newspaper Association of America, tells USA Today media reporter David Lieberman.  What's left unsaid, of course, is that newspapers--never known for their boldness--are in the midst of a life-death battle, and that risk-taking at this point is essentially a survival tactic, especially for many smaller papers.  "Across the industry the message I pick up is, 'Oh my God.  It's slipping away. What can I do?’" says Stephen Gray, managing director of the Newspaper Next initiative, which …

Writer James Frey has lost everything (except his royalties) in recent days as a result of disclosures about his bestselling book, A Million Little Pieces.  And now he's even lost his literary agent.  Kassie Evashevski, of Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, says she's bailing on Frey. "It became impossible for me to maintain a relationship once the trust had been broken," she tells Publishers Weekly in a Q&A piece.  "He eventually did apologize [to me], but I felt for many reasons that I had to let him go as a client." Frey's former agent says she doesn't believe he set out to …