Two high-level participants in the entertainment industry told a group of Wharton grad students last week that although foreign countries had begun to make inroads into the biz, the U.S. is positioned to withstand the onslaught and attain even greater domination of the entertainment worldwide. Jeff Berg, president of International Creative Management, and Suhail Rizvi, head of an investment firm that invests in Hollywood, told the students that production might go offshore, as it already has, but most of the critical talent is U.S.-based, which means valuable content will still be owned by American companies. However, both men expressed concern …

Industry observers may have felt a whiff of relief when Comcast announced last week that it would seek to buy the 40 percent of E! Entertainment Television it doesn't already own, thus putting the assets of the cable channel beneath one corporate roof.  But not everyone was happy with Comcast's decision.  In a research note issued Tuesday, Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffet warned that a deal would not be welcomed by Comcast investors “as they would prefer Comcast to focus on its core cable business rather than buy content assets.”  On the other hand, UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff suggested …

It would appear that the right-leaning American Family Association has it in for Ford Motor Company. For the second time in the last several months, the group is calling for a boycott against the U.S. automaker because Ford advertises in gay-themed publications. Last time, Ford waffled, first saying it had essentially buckled to the pressure before arguing that it had not. This time, Ford offers no evidence that it will be bullied by the AFA. The conservative lobbying group, in announcing its action against America's second largest automaker, said to the company's president, William Clary Ford Jr., that "we …

Of the 115 finalists for this year's Ellies--the magazine industry's Oscars -- only 50 were based outside of New York.  But one of those, the Atlantic Monthly, received eight nominations, leading this year's pack.  Among the nods, TheAtlantic was given one for the prized General Excellence category.  Other magazines recognized for General Excellence--those in the two million or more circulation category--were Glamour, National Geographic, O, The Oprah Magazine, Prevention, and Time.  The nomination was especially welcomed at Time, which recently has been eclipsed by rival Newsweek in the Ellies competition.  The award winners will be named in Manhattan on …

New York-based Doubledown Media, which is funded by a British media investor, has shut down Justice magazine after just a couple of issues. Between the inaugural issue and the follow-up, Doubledown performed radical surgery on the magazine, taking it down from standard magazine size to a digest trim size. Aimed chiefly at women who enjoy following the misfortunes of the rich and famous, and described by its publisher as a cross between People magazine and the Court TV channel, Justice never gained traction.  Doubledown's one remaining national title in the U.S. is Trader Monthly, which goes to young Turks …

Despite a Fox News item last week by gossip columnist Roger Friedman, it's ABC News' Charlie Gibson, not Diane Sawyer, who is likely to get the nod to anchor "World News Tonight" while Bob Woodruff recovers from the serious wounds he sustained in Iraq. It's thought that Sawyer, with her solid credentials and ambitions to move to the prestige of "World News Tonight," badly wanted the job. But ABC wasn't eager to remove her from her morning hosting duties at "Good Morning America"; that show makes the network a bundle, and disturbing the chemistry of the ayem team could upend …

You can launch a magazine these days without a collateral Web site, but that would be considered imprudent.  Modern magazines not only have Web sites, more and more they are getting the site up and running before the debut issue of the print magazine reaches readers.  It's an inexpensive way to establish a base, begin building a community of like-minded individuals, and get some feedback on what will and will not work in the book.  Mediabistro.com's piece, "Web First, Print Later," is a thoughtful take on the latest phenomenon in the magazine community; it quotes a number of executives …

Against the backdrop of the apparent sale of Knight Ridder to the McClatchy Company, TheWall Street Journal has run a Review & Outlook commentary on the state of the newspaper business.  The Journal's point is that papers are in jeopardy, but they are worth saving because what they do best--gather and report news under the supervision of trained journalists--is a valuable service, not duplicated by any other medium. "News outlets have not always helped their case for the value of what they produce," says The Journal. "News gathering can be expensive when done right, and giving away something …

Rupert Murdoch may be widely perceived as the embodiment of old-world big media, but more and more he's been telling anyone who will listen that he's a convert to the alluring ways of the Internet. This week in London, speaking before the oddly named Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, Murdoch once again took the opportunity to place himself among the forward-thinking executives of his industry. "Power is moving away from the old elite in our industry--the editors, the chief executives and, let's face it, the proprietors," said Murdoch. "A new generation of media consumers has risen, demanding content …

In yet another sign that newspapers are putting more material up on the Web, The New York Times says that beginning April 4 it will no longer devote a sizable chunk of its daily paper to agate-type stock tables--information that can be just as easily found at any number of sources. Instead, it will post the tables on its Web site.  The print Times will use the newly vacated space for graphs and charts that relate to business and the economy.  "This recognizes the fact that the vast majority of readers now go online to get financial information because …