Draftfcb New York has merged its media, digital and customer-relationship management practices into a single unit called the Real-Time Marketing division. The shop is the latest agency to combine digital and media units to better align capabilities with expanding media platforms. Chief media officer Richard Gagnon heads the new division. As a result of the change, Tim Queenan, executive director of digital convergence, and Mike Brzozowski, executive director of CRM consulting, now have dual reporting lines to Gagnon and Peter DeNunzio, president, Draftfcb New York. The move affects more than 100 of the shop's 600 staffers in the New …

Hearst-Argyle Television this month is completing the rollout of a user-generated content program at its 25 news stations, and sees plenty of opportunity to drive revenue with it. The program invites users to upload news-oriented footage to the station site. Station executives say it has emerged as a significant part of the newsgathering process. Hearst-Argyle managers also see considerable revenue potential in the program. For instance, parents can purchase photos of kids in their Little League or youth soccer games, and the station gets a cut of the revenue. Advertisers could seek to sponsor certain events with high user-generated …

Jay Leno's new prime-time program, which will make its debut Sept. 14, hasn't gotten media buyers too excited. Buyers are balking at paying prime-time prices for what they view as late-night ratings, since they believe the talk show will draw fewer viewers than ABC and CBS on any given night. Other programs in the same time slot, including ABC's "The Forgotten" and CBS's "The Good Wife," are expected to do better than Leno. "Leno will guarantee NBC a third-place finish [behind ABC and CBS] in whatever hour he's in, doing on par with what he did in late night," …

The New York Observer laid off a large portion of its staff Friday, including some top writers. Bloggers report that the move affected as many as a third of the editorial staff, including Matt Haber, Spencer Morgan and Doree Shafrir. Jared Kushner bought the Observer almost three years ago, and it's doubtful that he's made any money on it yet. Editor Peter Kaplan, who shaped the paper, departed recently for Conde Nast; his replacement, Tom McGeveran, gets these layoffs as his first task as boss. Christopher Barnes, president of the Observer Media Group, says: "Reducing the size of …

Digital copies of magazines -- which are essentially electronic replicas -- have mushroomed in the past year, but many media buyers are skeptical of digital editions as an ad vehicle. By the end of 2008, 110 titles reported paid digital subs of nearly 1 million. Without digital editions, many titles would miss their rate-base guarantees. That situation is shaping up to be a problem. Scott Daly, executive media director at Dentsu America, says if he were negotiating with a magazine that sells digital subs as part of its circ, "we would probably discount it, because a digital version of …

The success of the eight-year-old newsmagazine The Week presents a few ironies, beginning with the fact that its mash-up of aggregated news-opinion-criticism comes via the supposedly outdated print format. The magazine also attracts advertising by disdaining too much advertising. With just eight to 16 pages per issue, clients prize their exclusivity and higher visibility. The formula seems to be working. Circulation has grown steadily since its inception, to 516,000 at the start of the year. It sold 10% more ad pages through mid-May this year compared to last year -- while other magazines have seen advertising declines of 15% …

Some key lenders to the private equity groups that own Clear Channel Communications hope to drive the radio and outdoor advertising company toward default. Clear Channel's owners have proposed a swap of some parent company debt for debt in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, its billboard division. However, some of Clear Channel's largest senior creditors are resisting, saying they would rather wait. They hope the company will violate its lending agreements, enabling lenders to force a default and to take control of the company's equity at a steep discount. The lender resistance indicates the diminished power of even the …

The newspaper industry is spending far too much on producing and delivering a printed paper and not enough on creating its content and selling the product, says a new report from Moody's Investors Service. It is a "structural disconnect" to have about 14% of cash operating costs devoted to content creation, while about 70% of costs are devoted to printing, distribution and corporate functions. The remaining 16% of costs are related to advertising sales -- "another critical task that drives the majority of newspapers' revenue. The overall imbalance limits the industry's flexibility to overcome competitive threats." This disconnect …

"The Boston Globe can not be a viable business given our current losses," publisher Steve Ainsley told his staff yesterday. The Globe can't survive in its current form and may impose pay cuts of at least 23% if its largest union doesn't approve a cost-saving contract next week, he says. Members of the Boston Newspaper Guild vote June 8 on a proposal that includes the elimination of guaranteed employment for some employees, as well as salary cuts of 8.4%. The plan is supposed to save $10 million annually. The company has already implemented pay cuts of as much …

Former NBC programming exec Jamila Hunter has joined The Oprah Winfrey Network as head of programming for the burgeoning company. She fills the void left by the departure earlier this year of Robin Schwartz. "Jamila shares my passion for programming that breaks new ground and speaks to audiences in new ways," says OWN chief exec Christina Norman. Hunter's experience in helping launch a femme-centric channel with alternative, unscripted fare was probably a big factor in her hiring. Hunter was previously senior vice president of alternative and digital programming at NBC, where she worked on Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming …