At least the Tribune board did one thing right: They finally canned Randy Michaels, but in all other ways Tribune Co. and its leaders have made a real mess of things, and it's unlikely they or whoever comes in to lead the company will be able to save it. That's the opinion of a number of media buyers following the dramatic upheaval of recent weeks at one of the nation's leading media companies. The question of the moment, it would seem from the survey results, is how the problems at Tribune were allowed to go on as long as …

Fox Networks kicked its retrans consent battle with Cablevision Systems up a notch Tuesday, firing off a cease-and-desist letter to the MSO claiming that it is encouraging theft of copyrighted content. The source of Fox's anger is a New York Daily News report that some of the cable company's customer service reps are directing customers who call in to complain about missing sports on Fox to sites that offer the programming illegally. In a letter to Cablevision CEO James Dolan, Fox's lawyers said they may take legal action if the practice does not stop immediately. Ivi TV, for one, …

Time Warner Cable customers who have ESPN and have Internet service with the cable company will now be able to watch ESPN and ESPN3.com online starting tonight with "Monday Night Football." To view the content, Time Warner Cable customers can pre-register by visiting the company's "My Services" section and verify they have a subscription. Customers can also go to ESPNnetworks.com or ESPN3.com to register or sign in to view content. In the coming weeks, access to ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Buzzer Beater will also be offered through this same process, as well as on other Internet …

To the rapidly growing field of Washington reportage, add one more entrant: Politico Pro. Politico, the Web site and free daily publication that brought a 24-7 cable news sensibility to political reporting, will begin early next year a subscription news service focused on health care, energy and technology. The idea behind the service, which will cost subscribers $1,495 to $2,500 a year for the first topic and $1,000 for each subsequent topic, is to provide coverage at the microlevel of what Congress, federal agencies and trade associations are doing. Traditionally this has been an area of focus for publications …

Television is losing ground in one of its most lucrative strongholds: Thursday nights. Fewer people in the U.S. are watching Thursday prime-time TV so far this fall, as changing viewing habits, weaker shows and more varied competition take a toll on a night that for decades has showcased some of TV's most high-profile programs, and priciest commercials. Over the first four Thursday nights of the TV season, an average of 48.5 million people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old were watching prime-time on any channel, broadcast or cable, recorded or live, according to Nielsen Co. …

The Association of Public Television Stations said while government funding may only be about 15% of noncommercial TV stations' budgets, it is a crucial 15%. Interim APTS President Lonna Thompson was joining the defense of noncommercial media against calls by some Republican legislators to cut back or defund the service in the wake of NPR's firing of Juan Williams. The monies are especially important to local stations in under-served communitie during the current recession. Interim APTS President Lonna Thompson said the funds "support important areas that often aren't covered by foundation funding, corporate underwriting and other revenue sources."

PBS is beta-launching Monday a new Web site at PBS.org, which will offer local content from member stations alongside national content and offer auto-localization features. The public broadcaster also is launching PBS for iPad, its first application for the Apple tablet computer targeting adults, and plans the introduction of an app for the iPhone and iPod Touch next month. The digital push comes as PBS has focused on making itself into a multimedia provider during the past 18 months, which has led to big online and digital growth that has brought younger audiences to its brand. PBS now …

Dell today launches a global advertising campaign from Wunderman featuring new products that are designed to appeal to different consumer segments. New print ads bearing the theme line, "You can tell it's Dell." Each ad had a headline, a few lines of copy and an image of a product -- be it a desktop, laptop or tablet. Broadly, Dell is moving away from price-focused, transactional ads and toward ads that develop the company's global brand image. More specifically, the new consumer-directed campaign, which also includes TV, Web and outdoor ads, illustrates how Dell's range of products offers something for …

The world's largest media company, News Corporation, is threatening to deny coverage of movies starring artists who routinely refuse to give interviews to its outlets, one of its senior journalists has revealed. The different arms of News Corp are working together to ''push back'' against the publicists to movie stars who are blocking media access to their charges, said News Ltd's entertainment editor-at-large, Rebekah Devlin. "They are very quickly becoming the most powerful people in the world," said Devlin. "How are you going to get access to the likes of Katherine Heigl if she's doing a film but refusing …

Broadcasters took a big step toward eliminating free TV shows on the Web after they blocked access to their programming online this month to enforce their demands to be paid. Recent actions by Fox, ABC, NBC and CBS in two separate fee disputes suggest that after a few years of experimenting with free, ad-supported viewing, broadcasters believe they can make more money from cable TV providers if they hold back some programming online. That could mean new limits on online viewing are coming: Broadcasters might make fewer of their shows available to begin with, or delay when they become …