Writing in the Detroit Free Press, Kortney Stringer says that once the 2000 census showed Hispanics outnumbering African-Americans in the U.S., the advertising community quickly began shifting the allocation of dollars. "If you're an African American who's feeling ignored by the nation's advertisers, there might be a reason," Stringer says. Mike Bernacchi, a marketing professor at the University of Detroit, told the Free Press that, "As always in advertising, old is out and new is in. Black America was on top of the heap of minorityville until the 2000 Census data, then we started seeing more Hispanic ads." Although the …

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it's worked in the past, it's likely to work in the future. Those are the messages the Radio Advertising Bureau is hoping to convey with a new print campaign designed to keep advertisers faithful to old-fashioned terrestrial radio during a period of intense new competition from satellite and Web radio. The campaign, launched last week, assumes a humorous approach to the subject matter. It stresses that everyday things that have proved popular over the years deserve our continued loyalty. "The ad campaign is part of [a] multimillion commitment from the industry for …

A new study from Arbitron and Edison Media Research should give old-line radio executives cause for celebration--or at least rest--going into the holiday weekend. Listeners who are fully plugged into the latest digital delivery systems--satellite radio, Internet radio, and podcasts--spend somewhat less time with these newfangled radio platforms than those who are fans of old-line AM and FM stations. However, things are likely to change in the future. The study reveals an uptrend among Internet radio listeners, particularly among 18- to 34-year-olds. The situation with satellite radio is much the same, although the study focused more on who intends to …

It's practically tragic what has happened to the ABC series “Commander in Chief.”  The show debuted last fall to great numbers and relatively positive reviews.  But things went bad quickly.  Two executive producers, including creator Rod Lurie, quickly came and went.  The show was pulled from ABC's schedule for retooling, and, though back on the air, has never regained its footing. To the contrary: the storylines have failed to lure viewers, and now the hour-long drama is teetering on the precipice.  Many observers expect it to be axed soon.  With good reason, says Chicago Tribune arts critic Sid Smith.  …

It's still several years before Conan O'Brien steps onto the stage as host of NBC's “Tonight Show,” but by the time he gets there it's possible he may have lost some of his steam as the undisputed king of nether-hours television.  While he still dominates the daypart as host of “Late Night,” his rival at CBS' “Late Late Show” has made significant gains over the past year.  Craig Ferguson's talker is up 1.7 percent in the last year, to a total of 1.94 million viewers.  O'Brien's ratings have been flat over the same period, holding at 2.5 million.  “That …

Craigslist, Google, and other Web sites are making life difficult for those who sell traditional classified ads, for sure, but there's little reason to believe old-line print classifieds are a thing of the past. Not yet, anyway. Nicholas Carlson, a reporter for InternetNews.com, observes that while newspapers are being unfairly devalued by the marketplace, there needs to be a greater appreciation of papers' Web sites. "The top 20 newspapers boast five times more unique viewers than Craigslist, despite trailing the site in combined Web page views, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. And that number grew by 21 percent from December 2004 to …

Jeff Bewkes wants to go all the way. Instead of tiptoeing into the video-on-demand waters, the Time Warner president told a panel of industry leaders yesterday he favors an all-out approach: Make all television content, including commercials, available to VOD subscribers, and soon. It's a great business model, he said, and it represents nothing but upside for content makers and deliverer alike. Bewkes: "Maybe I have a dream, but I think the cable industry should put free VOD for all networks into place in the next year.... Take the most successful model in ad-supported entertainment--the ad-supported TV networks--and make them …

Magazine mogul Jann Wenner is the subject of a good little Q&A in The Wall Street Journal in which he discusses everything from the coming shakeout in the celebrity magazine category to his obsession with neatness. Mostly, though, he and The Journal concentrate on the subject that currently bedevils just about everyone who's been in magazine for more than a decade--the Web. Says Wenner: "There is a lot that the magazine does better, particularly for certain kinds of advertisers who are interested in visual display. Cars are sold that way. Fashion is sold that way. Soft drinks are sold that …

Focusing on the work of Court TV, but noting that the cable channel is not alone in its efforts, RedOrbit has a piece about the industry's attempt to develop more effective audience-measurement techniques. While Nielsen Media's metrics have long been the accepted industry standard, TV shops and advertisers increasingly insist on going beyond what Nielsen delivers, to measure the actual engagement that viewers experience with specific programs. "There is a tremendous pressure on all advertising budgets--not just television--to show 'what did I get for my money,'" says Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, senior vice president and director of broadcast investment at Starcom. "The …

USA Today technology columnist Kevin Maney, noticing that his inbox is lately overflowing with news about broadcasters making their valuable content available on the Web, this week asks the obvious question: Why? What has suddenly persuaded old-media chieftains to give away, totally free or for pennies, the content they have so long protected?  The answer is ... money.  The Web is still in its early stages of development as a mass medium, and consequently virtually everyone is using it for inexpensive experimentation with business models.  Maney: "Media analyst Gary Arlen, who is at the cable industry's trade show in …