As the Screen Actors Guild continues to be in turmoil over a possible writers' strike, Madison Avenue is eager to avoid any labor strife in its own upcoming negotiations with commercial actors. The ad industry's contract with two Hollywood unions -- the SAG and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists -- will expire March 31 unless both sides agree to another extension. With the deadline looming, ad-industry negotiators are hoping to join the unions at the bargaining table in late February or early March. The question, however, is whether SAG will be ready to sit down. …

This week, the eyes of the world will be on Washington, where the stars have come to rub elbows with the biggest star of all. But Washington has more than media celebrities, it also has control of the money. Cowed and battle-scarred New York Wall Streeters are now at the mercy of the federal government, whose cash infusions are keeping their storied institutions afloat. The sudden downturn has deeply hurt the industries that give New York its identity - media, advertising, real estate, finance and even tourism. As a result, some New Yorkers feel that the city is …

While TV's audiences have been fragmented by the addition of hundreds of new channels, retail has been concentrating its consumer base via consolidation. The one place you can still aggregate a mass audience is in-store. Retail has become a big media buy that can be directly measured via a sales lift. The Grocery Manufacturers Assn. and Deloitte Consulting report that advertisers and stores focusing on shopper marketing jumped from 29% in 2007 to 60% in 2008. Their report also states that in-store marketing activity will grow at a higher rate than any other marketing tactic over the next …

The embattled New York Times Co. is talking to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim about making a sizable cash investment in the company. In September, Slim bought a 6.4% stake in the Times Co., owner of The New York Times and several other papers, for about $118 million. Now he is interested in gaining a larger share of the company. The 68-year-old telecommunications tycoon is discussing a large purchase of preferred shares. These shares would carry no voting rights, but pay a dividend. The move can be nixed by the Sulzberger family, including publisher Arthur Sulzberger. Slim's current …

Barack Obama's inaugural organizing committee has sold three television networks exclusive access to inaugural events for more than $5 million. All told, Obama's licensing of inaugural events to HBO, ABC and MTV is the most ambitious and expensive in presidential history. Network reps say inaugural committee planners "shopped" the TV rights and sought the most attractive offers. By selling the rights on an exclusive basis, the committee maximized their value. But the arrangement is prompting criticism about the committee turning inaugural events into exclusive TV productions, rather than pooling the footage so it is available to all. …

Media buyers are handling an ever-increasing load of last-minute business, while their network ad sales counterparts are doing whatever they can to keep clients from getting skittish. Already broadcasters have pushed the January deadline for second-quarter upfront options back to mid-February. "Forcing events to a head right now is not going to get [nets] the answer they want," says Carrie Drinkwater, MPG senior vice president. As January bleeds away, the two words on every buyer's lips are "flexibility" and "cooperation." But while deadlines are becoming looser and volume is down across the board, the networks seem to be …

Up to now, movie ads were always banned during the broadcast of the Academy Awards. But ratings dropped to a low of 32 million viewers last year, down from 39.9 million in 2007, per Nielsen. Plus there is the miserable economy. So ABC is slashing the price of an ad in the Academy Awards to $1.4 million, from $1.7 million, and accepting ads for movies. But movie advertisers have not exactly lined up at the door. Insiders say Paramount is mulling a buy for its drama "The Soloist," and Warner Bros. is looking to buy an Oscar ad for …