• Celebrity Portraits by 'L.A. Times' Photogs Get Syndicated
    Getty Images has cut a deal to syndicate celebrity portraits by Los Angeles Times photographers. The newspaper's "high-end contemporary celebrity portraiture" will be available through Getty's celebrity portrait division, Contour. Few newspapers are known for their celebrity portraits, but the Times has a unique proximity to Hollywood and the entertainment industry. The paper is owned by Tribune Co., which is in bankruptcy and desperately looking for new revenue streams.
  • Havas' First Half Profit Dips 13%
    Havas posted a 13.1% drop in first-half core profit as clients cut spending amid a global economic downturn. Underlying sales fell 9.2% in the first six months, hit by continued weakness in Britain, Southern Europe and North America. In June, chairman Vincent Bollore predicted 2009 sales would not fall more than 10% and the company would limit the impact on earnings through cost controls. Havas, whose clients range from France Telecom to Coca-Cola, achieved net new business of $1.16 billion and cut net debt by 47%. Last week, media buying agency Aegis, also majority-owned by Bollore, …
  • PHD Taps TBWA Vet for West Coast
    PHD has named Robert Harwood-Matthews executive vice president of PHD West and managing director of the media agency's Los Angeles and San Francisco operations. Sue Taylor, managing director of PHD in L.A. for two years, is leaving at the end of September. Harwood-Matthews was formerly TBWA global managing director of the Infiniti account. Prior to that, he was CEO at TBWA/Manchester in the U.K. In explaining the move to hire an executive without a strict media-agency background, PHD CEO Scott Hagedorn says, "Defining the agency's vision both internally and externally, driving it, and delivering on it -- that was …
  • Hearst Launches Beauty Blog to Helps Its Mags
    In September Hearst plans to launch a site called Real Beauty, which will focus on makeup, hair care and other beauty topics. The venture is an effort by Hearst, publisher of Cosmopolitan, Seventeen and Harper's Bazaar, to create a one-stop destination for consumers who want to research and buy beauty products. It will be competing with a vast field of more specialized beauty blogs as well as sites operated by various cosmetics brands and retail chains. Hearst is hoping a new Web site and growing interest in the Internet among beauty-products makers will translate into a fresh source …
  • CBS, 'SI' Agree to Content and Promo Pact
    CBS Interactive and Sports Illustrated have entered into a new content-sharing and promotional partnership focused on high school sports. The pact includes both print and the Web. As part of the deal, SI.com will showcase CBS' high school news site MaxPreps.com within the SI.com high school section. In addition, MaxPreps.com will be integrated within Sports Illustrated's long-running "Faces in the Crowd" content in the magazine and SI.com. A few SI writers will also be promoted or syndicated on CBSSports.com as part of the deal. Included are: college basketball expert and CBS Sports commentator Seth Davis, NFL writer Peter …
  • Fox Teams with Twitter to Promote Reruns
    To give its reruns a fresh 21st -century twist, Fox is teaming with Twitter. The network is introducing repeats of "Fringe" and "Glee" accompanied by messages from cast and producers via Twitter. During the episodes, viewers can follow the Twitter-sent messages online or on-air via a scroll near the bottom of the screen. The messages provide commentary on the episodes, behind-the-scenes details and answer fan questions. Fox will screen last season's penultimate episode of "Fringe" on Thursday with producers joining stars Josh Jackson and John Noble. On Friday Fox will re-air the "Glee" pilot, which had a preview …
  • 'Orange County Register' Expected to Declare Bankruptcy
    Freedom Communications, owner of the Orange County Register and other media outlets, will declare bankruptcy this week, say insiders. The Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom, which has been majority owned for more than 70 years by the Hoiles family, has reportedly reached agreements with its lenders to restructure its debts. With annual sales of about $700 million, Freedom owns more than 30 other daily newspapers and eight television stations.
  • George Steinbrenner Sued Over Yankees' TV Network
    George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, is being sued for allegedly breaching an agreement over the creation and operation the $3 billion YES cable TV network. Robert Gutkowski, a former president of Madison Square Garden and the MSG Network says Steinbrenner "knowingly lied" when he promised him a chance to build and have a major role in running what would become the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network, or YES. Steinbrenner retained him as only an occasional outside consultant, and never properly compensated him, claims Gutkowski. The MSG Network had held local broadcast and cable rights …
  • Media Bartering Is Back on the Rise
    The practice of bartering a marketer's distressed assets for media credits has gotten bigger and more mainstream in recession-era media economics. Media agencies otherwise faced with tough growth challenges say business in their barter divisions is up anywhere from 30% to 40% this year, and major barter companies are also faring well. IPG's Orion Trading, for example, has seen year-on-year growth of 83% to date. Corporate trade firms such as Active International say their media-bartering business is up by some 25%. Brands, meanwhile, are using barter to maintain or even increase advertising budgets in the hopes of taking market …
  • Weather Channel Moves to Long-Form Programming
    Michael Kelly, the former president of AOL Media Networks who was recently named CEO of the Weather Channel, has had enough time to size up the challenges in front of him. He says the key question facing his company is how to take advantage of the opportunity of changing viewing habits on television, online and mobile. He cites some examples of how the Weather Channel is changing its strategy. "One of the new things is "Wake Up With Al Roker" at 6 a.m., with Stephanie Abrams. That [show] is beating ratings from last year in its time slot, and …
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