The economic crisis has prompted broadcast TV networks to cut development costs at a time when some say television can't afford to remain stagnant. The shift is resulting in fewer pilots being bought and network executives taking fewer risks. "It's the toughest development season I've ever seen," says ICM President Chris Silbermann. Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly says the cutbacks are partly due to some fundamental changes. Moving Fox to a year-round programming schedule has allowed the network to spread out costs and focus development on fewer shows that have a better chance of succeeding, he says. …

"I hope we never reach the day when emotions can be put through an algorithm," said Publicis Chairman Maurice Levy, in the closing address at last week's Monaco Media Forum in Monte Carlo. Levy said that data is good for reassuring advertisers that people are receiving and relating to messages, but "you cannot use mathematics and clicks to measure the emotional aspects of communications." In that vein, Paris-based Publicis is moving from a communications services company dependent on hourly fees, to a business model that offers value beyond communications. Levy points to the Denuo unit of Starcom Mediavest …

Forbes Media is slashing 43 jobs as it moves to combine its print and online sales and marketing groups. Ironically, observers have credited the Web/print separation with Forbes.com's development into a robust digital business. CEO Steve Forbes says the changes will enable the company to respond quickly "when the global economies begin recovering." Many media companies have moved to combine print and online sales as advertisers increasingly ask for integrated packages. Most of the jobs lost come from the business side. Forbes also closed its conference business. Forbes sales and marketing will now be divided into three …

Thanks to deals such as the new Dish-Invidi pact, marketers may be able to send different TV ads to different households, via addressable ads, by 2011. It would mean that Pampers, for example, would no longer have to pay for ads watched by couples with no wee tykes. But there is still the problem of scale. Setting up an addressable ad that can be seen by a majority of U.S. TV viewers remains nearly impossible because of the various cable, satellite and other intermediaries that control the devices that make the commercials work. Technological limitations are also a factor. …

TiVo has paved the way toward seemingly inevitable scenarios where on-air talent doubles as a pitchman. It's a form of product placement injected with zap-proof steroids. In radio, hosts and reporters now seamlessly shift from political diatribes or weather updates to plugging mortgage lenders and other brands. Expect TV to increasingly join in. At KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, for instance, the marketing manager for a local pizza chain made a delivery to sports anchor Jim Hill during his highlight show, and awkwardly bantered with Hill about how terrific his pizza is. During Fox's NFL pre-game showcase, analysts Michael …

Barack Obama has selected two academics to review the Federal Communications Commission and make policy and personnel recommendations. Susan Crawford, communications and Internet law professor at the University of Michigan, will team with Kevin Werbach, assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Both have insider experience: Until 2002, Crawford was a partner with the D.C. firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Werbach served as a new technology counselor in the FCC during the Clinton administration. The duo will not decide who will lead the FCC--but will ensure that senior appointees …

The newspaper industry is reaching a "full-blown crisis" and will probably not be able to halt the slide without outside help, the American Press Institute concluded during a closed-door conference late last week. The event included industry heavyweights like George Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers and Mark Contreras, senior vice president at E.W. Scripps. Not surprisingly, there were calls to "radically rethink newsrooms," including hiring experts such as scientists or bank regulators to replace some reporters. However, James Shein, turnaround specialist and professor at Northwestern University, said the problem went beyond the newsroom and into the executive suite. …

A new Morningstar report declares that the stock of the McClatchy newspaper chain "could be worthless" because of the company's high debt and shrinking revenue. Morningstar analyst Tom Corbett says debt from McClatchy's blockbuster 2006 acquisition of Knight Ridder means that the company will look to satisfy its creditors rather than its shareholders. When McClatchy bought Knight Ridder for $4.6 billion, it called the move a "bold bet on the future of print journalism." Corbett is the same analyst who this summer similarly dismissed GateHouse Media shares as having a "fair value" of zero. The stock was delisted by …