Wisconsin broadcasters are upset with a study that spotlighted election coverage by Midwest TV stations, and suggested they are not meeting their duty to serve the public interest. The study, conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's NewsLab, in conjunction with the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, found that television stations in nine media markets averaged just 36 seconds per broadcast in the amount of airtime devoted to election coverage. According to Joyce Foundation Vice President Lawrence Hansen, broadcasters are failing "by any standard of measurement" to deliver what voters need to make informed decisions. "The failure of local television news to …

Based on the images and sound bites of this fall's campaigns, American voters could think they face impossible choices in the midterm election. Candidates are presented not just with contrasts but extremes. "Americans are under attack from Islamic extremists in every corner of the world. Homosexuals are mocking holy matrimony, and the lesbians and feminists are attacking everything sacred. Liberal judges have completely rewritten the Constitution," a narrator says to the theme song of the old "Twilight Zone" TV show in an ad airing in a North Carolina district on behalf of a long-shot challenger. In another ad airing …

While he has helped push the kids' net to the top of the heap, Nickelodeon is learning that SpongeBob can only take it so far as the competition in its core business--the cable network--has exploded. In the last year, the Disney Channel has bolstered its market share, closing the gap with Nickelodeon, whose ratings have been flat. At the same time, the Cartoon Network has been losing share. In the ratings, Nick still has the top 10 shows for children ages 2 to 11. But for Michael Nathanson, a media analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, it could …

More men 18-34 tuned into Spike TV's live Ultimate Fighting Championship card Tuesday night than to the Major League Baseball playoffs on Fox. The event, broadcast from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., pit the legendary Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock against Tito "The Huntington Beach Bad Boy" Ortiz. And while Shamrock went down in the first round, the ratings were the real knockout: The net drew 4.2 million viewers, topping out at 5.7 million from 9:30 p.m.-9:45 p.m. That includes 1.6 million men 18-34, compared to 1.1 million for game one of the …

Mary Murcko joins a relatively new venture for Rodale--Women's Health, as its publisher--but since she is moving over from her post as the founding publisher of men's lifestyle magazine Best Life, Ad Age says she probably has a pretty good handle on what's in store for her in her new job. And she joins it when the title has got some good momentum. In January, the magazine plans to raise its rate base rise to 750,000--the second increase since its launch. "On Best Life I was the launch publisher, so it was really about creating a brand," she says. "It …

"After 37 years of subscribing to the daily newspaper, I wrote 'cancel' on the last bill and sent it back," writes Mariane Matera. After nearly four decades, it's obvious to her that she is not the young demographic--and neither have newspapers been able to attract it, as print journalism is low-tech and costs money. She says she is of the age group that is still reading a daily newspaper out of long habit. "But one reason I let my subscription lapse is the fee, which seems out of proportion these days to how much of the paper I actually look …

Bob Dylan may have long been known as anti-establishment, but that didn't stop him from doing commercials for iTunes and iPod. Instead, like an increasing number of top celebrities, he has come to see doing TV ads as a good move. Dylan--who also has done a spot for Victoria's Secret--has gained exposure for his new CD, "Modern Times," while Apple gets to be associated with a rock legend. Advertising agencies say they are finding more and better choices among celebrities for their campaigns including top Hollywood talent like Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon and Robert DeNiro. About 20 percent of ads …

The History Channel may be best known for its documentaries about Adolf Hitler and the Civil War, but the network is becoming more focused on men and their inventions--with great ratings results. Following two years of growth, when History rose to No. 8 on basic cable among men 25-54, the network has begun targeting that demographic more aggressively with shows that combine history and technology. And it seems to be drawing new viewers. Monday night's two-hour premiere of the new show "Engineering an Empire" drew 1.46 million total viewers at 9 p.m., the best new show premiere ever for the …

Advertisers are using religion to win over consumers in conservative Saudi Arabia during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. While most Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during the lunar month, they celebrate each evening with family gatherings around the television and dinner table. Religion plays a central role in the Kingdom, home to Islam's holiest shrines. "Some brands are riding the wave of Ramadan and how families are gathered around food ... It's a very religious society," says Ramzi Ghanem, Riyadh chief of Starcom Mediavest. Brands use messages that portray them as reminding people that 'this is what …

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has decided against using the daughter of a slain civil-rights leader in a campaign ad. The Republican gubernatorial candidate's plan to use footage of Evangeline Moore had drawn criticism. Her parents, Harry and Harriette Moore, were killed in a 1951 bombing, and Crist's office said in August the couple likely had been killed by four now-dead Ku Klux Klan members. Crist says he won't use the tape in his campaign against Democrat Jim Davis. "I have so much respect for her, and even though she has granted us permission to use the spot, I don't …