Tough times are making local TV stations more inventive in order to survive. One example is Meredith's KVVU in Las Vegas, which has expanded a watch-to-win promo as a way to boost long-term ratings and sales. Called Fox5 Rewards, it gives viewers points for watching KVVU news and programming, redeemable toward goods and services. Viewers earn more points by patronizing advertisers that sign up as promotional partners, and even more points each time they use a credit card that they've registered with the program. For as few as 25 points, viewers can also register to win large "experiential" prizes, …

In the last three months of 2008, some of the biggest mutual funds were adding to their media positions, snapping up media shares at bargain prices, per SEC documents. Four of the largest media mutual funds -- Capital Research Global Investors, Capital Guardian Trust, Janus Capital and FMR LLC -- bought a "significant" amount of stock in News Corp., Comcast and The Walt Disney Co., while reducing their stock positions in other cable operators, like Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems. Media analyst David Joyce gives two reasons for the buying spree: a hunt for bargains and a need …

News Corp.'s CEO Rupert Murdoch is planning to relinquish substantial powers to son James and to give him a major role in the U.S. Such a management shakeup was expected following the announcement last week that Murdoch's right-hand man, Peter Chernin, would step down as president of News Corp. at the end of June, ending a 20-year reign. Chernin ran Fox Group, the TV and film division responsible for hits such as "Titanic" and "The Simpsons." Control of this Los Angeles-based business will now pass to the Murdochs. Insiders say the long-standing plan is that rather than James …

Rodale has restructured its management staff, resulted in the elimination of 20 positions from the magazine publishing portion of the business. Among them is Prevention publisher Bob Ziltz. Cuts come from marketing, sales and research, but none from the editorial departments. In the revamp, Mary Murko, publisher of Women's Health, was moved to publisher of Prevention, replacing Ziltz. Men's Health publisher Jack Essig will also serve as publisher of Women's Health. "Bringing both the Men's Health and Women's Health teams together allows sales, marketing, and administrative efficiencies," the company says. Eric Johnson, associate publisher of Women's Health, …

In the fourth quarter, Clear Channel Media Holdings' revenue was down 14% to $1.6 billion. For the year, the radio and outdoor operator posted a $4 billion loss, due in part to a $5.2 billion impairment charge. Year over year revenue declined 3% to $6.7 billion. In January, to offset negative growth and cope with the declining ad market, Clear Channel began a restructuring program. Cost-cutting initiatives included slashing 1,850 positions, representing about 9% of its workforce. The company expects these initiatives to be fully implemented by first quarter next year. For the fourth quarter, radio revenue …

Maybe prime time isn't prime anymore. The post-dinner, pre-late-news stretch of the networks' offering may no longer be TV's most valuable time slot. Since the new season began, the top five broadcast networks' average audiences are down in the high single digits. Yet the networks' late-night shows, from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" to "Nightline" are up around 5%. Morning shows also are holding their viewers much better than those in the evening. The numbers further indicate that more people now watch early-morning and late-night TV than 10 years ago, per Brad Adgate, Horizon Media senior vice president, …

Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner CEO, has a plan to put all cable programming on the Web in places such as Hulu, MySpace, Yahoo TV and YouTube. But to get, it you'll have to prove you subscribe to pay TV through cable, satellite or telco. The way it works is that you, as an individual or a member of a household, would be able to have online access to almost all the programming included in your pay-TV package. With broad industry buy-in, it wouldn't matter if your TV provider is Verizon FiOS, Time Warner Cable or DirecTV. You log in, …

Weighed down by debt and shrinking ad revenue, Hispanic media giant Univision has pink-slipped 300 employees, roughly 6% of its workforce. The layoffs comes in the wake of January's court settlement with programming supplier, Mexican conglomorate Televisa. The two companies were locked in a protracted battle over royalty payments and other issues. Univision, which commands nearly 80% of the U.S. Spanish-language TV audience, agreed to pay Televisa $25 million for royalties. A consortium of equity investors, led by Haim Saban, acquired the company for $13.7 billion in 2006 and leveraged it with debt of nearly $11 billion. …

Paul Harvey's death Saturday, at age 90, leaves Citadel Broadcasting without one of its most dependable talents. Harvey was known to millions for his folksy news updates and his quirky "The Rest of the Story" broadcasts. In recent years, he had about 18 million listeners, and with some 950 affiliates, he was among the most syndicated hosts in the country. Harvey commanded as much as $40,000 for live mentions of an advertiser during his shows. ABC Radio, which was acquired by Citadel in 2006 for $2.7 billion, plans to run a tribute to Harvey during his time slots. …

After several weeks of negotiations, a pair of investors has acquired the assets of San Francisco-based 8020 Media, a publisher heralded for its community-driven magazine JPG, which was shuttered earlier this year. The flagship title was a bimonthly photography publication comprised of user-submitted content. The new buyers -- investment firm Millennium Ventures and New York-based camera retailer Adorama Camera -- plan to relaunch online and print editions of JPG in April. CEO for the new 8020 Media will be Seth Familian, who formerly served as the company's vice president of product development. 8020's former owner Minor Ventures, backed …