Interrupting a decade-long drift of viewers away from hard news toward softer fare, serious TV news is drawing serious ratings this winter. Viewership is rising at shows like "60 Minutes" and "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," thanks to high interest in all things Obama, plus major developments in the economy and the Middle East. CBS' "60 Minutes" has seen its audience jump 9% so far this season, after a five-year ratings slide. It has averaged 15.4 million viewers, more than most network prime-time shows. The program finished among the top 10 on broadcast television for its last eight episodes. …

It's only been five months since he started, but Kent Brownridge, general manager at OK magazine is out. Also exiting is Susan Toepfer, the editor in chief Brownridge brought on board, and art director Trey Speegle. Northern & Shell, which publishes the celebrity weekly in several countries, went through a rocky spell last September acquiring and running Alpha Media, home of Maxim and Blender, with backing from the Quadrangle Group. Brownridge was hired shortly after. Before that, he spent a couple decades as the No. 2 to Rolling Stone owner Jann Wenner. The company says Brownridge is stepping …

Media General News sustained a fourth-quarter loss due to the diminished value of some of its assets and a steep decline in print ad revenues. As a result, it is suspending its dividend to direct additional cash flow to the reduction of debt, according to CEO Marshall Morton. Last September, the company cut its quarterly dividend by nearly half. Media General said it lost $85.5 million in the fourth quarter. The loss includes the reduced value of its licenses and affiliation agreements. Media companies across the U.S. have seen the market values of their TV and radio stations drop …

AEG Live, producer of New Orleans Jazz Festival and other concerts, has decided to bundle a dozen of its giant music events to allow marketers to buy across festivals. Along with the time and efficiency savings, marketers who buy multiple venues will also get price breaks. Sponsors who have signed up for 2009 include AT&T at two events, retailer FYE (For Your Entertainment) at four events and Anheuser-Busch at four events. AEG is also in final talks with energy-drink, sports-league, spirits, insurance and apparel companies. A new Web site details all the music events with synopses, dates, …

Investors should spend more time watching the Super Bowl ads. It turns out that if you buy stock in companies that produce the most-loved ads, you are likely to be rewarded in the short term, according to research by Cornell University and the State University of New York. Companies that produce the 10 most-liked Super Bowl ads, per USA Today's survey, see an average stock performance the Monday after the game that is 0.26% better than the day's action in the S&P 500. The companies that produce the least-liked ads are up 0.01% when compared with the broader market. …

TiVo CEO Tom Rogers admits that TiVo has played a big role in the current TV ad crisis by developing the tech tools that allow viewers to skip commercials. That said, at NATPE he insisted his company is working on new methods for advertisers to reach consumers, and he urged others to do the same. For example, TiVo research shows that interactive advertising didn't initially catch on because it didn't let viewers pause the program while getting more information about the product. TiVo plans to incorporate automatic pausing so a curious consumer doesn't miss any part of the …