Perhaps no channel has done a better job of branding itself as a destination for a certain niche TV viewer than Turner Classic Movies, and this post discusses one of the network's biggest brand-building events: the third annual TCM Classic Film Fest, now beginning in Hollywood. Robert Osborne, TCM prime-time host (whom we revere) is interviewed, explaining how his own, earlier film festival  showed that an audience exists for live, big-screen showings of films also available for free on TV. (Especially, we might add, when screenings are preceded by an interview with a film's stars or director. We sigh for …

Gawker just hired a "Fox Mole," a longterm yet disgruntled employee of Fox News who will report on behind-the-scenes doings at the channel. In his (her?) first post, the Mole leaks footage of Mitt Romney discussing his love of horseback riding -- and explains why this may lose him points with the average Joe as well as the  GOP base.

The number of magazine ad pages for autos, food,  and drugs and remedies decreased significantly in Q1 from the same period last year, helping to drag down the total for ad pages 8.2%, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Only two categories saw an increase in magazine ad pages for Q1: apparel and accessories, which had a 6.3% jump, and toiletries and cosmetics, up 2.5%. Nat Ives analyzes those figures and also looks into what's happening in ad sales for various mags in the second quarter.

Twenty-five Hearst-owned TV stations are using a cloud service from Yospace to deliver news and short-form content to mobile devices, as well as ensuring targeted that pre-roll advertising is targeted to the user, writes Jim O'Neill.

Most probably, this is the first time a magazine has branded (and will receive a licensing fee from) a restaurant. Food & Wine is partnering with the St. Regis Aspen Resort to launch a restaurant, Chefs Club, whose menus will be created by winners of the pub's Best New Chefs Award. Food & Wine editors will also help make liquor choices for the eatery. The restaurant is set to open this June during the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo. (an event mentioned every week on Bravo's "Top Chef" as part of the prize package, by the way).

Will consumers really pay the $200 monthly rate for pay TV predicted for 2020 by the NPD Group? The notion first "seems like insanity" for both consumers and cable companies, writes Stacey Higginbotham. But with competition between streaming video on demand and premium TV suppliers heating up, "we are witnessing the first steps toward the creation of a combined pay-TV and broadband bundle that gives consumers most of the TV they want on demand and encourages them to avoid going to the outside Web," writes Higginbotham. "If done quickly, consumers, who are just discovering how pleasant (and economical) it can …

Time Out New York is taking steps in "a digital direction,"  launching an iPad app that will be personalized to users, and setting up its website for ecommerce transactions such as buying tickets to Broadway shows, writes Anthony Ha. Time Out London is also set for a similar digital upgrade.

USA Today Publisher David Hunke is retiring, which means the company will be looking for a replacement. Hunke, who has been with Gannett since 1992, was named chairman, a position he will hold until his official retirement in September. That makes two spots to fill at the top of the masthead, since John Hillkirk left the editor in chief post in November. Susie Ellwood, the paper's executive vice president and general manager, will oversee day-to-day operations in the meantime.

"The Rush Limbaugh Show" wlll leave WPHT, the "dominant conservative talk radio station in Philadelphia, one of the biggest radio markets in the country," writes Brian Stelter. The exact time frame of the change is unclear, but Limbaugh will be replaced by moderate Philadelphia native Michael Smerconish. While "the move does not appear to be directly related to the recent ad boycott against Mr. Limbaugh," still it's "likely to gain attention because Mr. Limbaugh’s show has been under scrutiny lately," according to Stelter. And oh, yes, Rush's syndicator will be moving him to another Philadelphia station -- possibly "WKDN, a …

Consumer trust in paid advertising in traditional media has dropped significantly -- by 20% -- since 2009, while trust in online ads has risen 26% since 2007, according to Nielsen's Global Trust In Advertising Survey. (And why isn't the control year the same? Certainly doesn't make a very good apples-to-apples comparision.) However, online still lags behind trad media overall in consumer trust, with 33% trusting online banner ads, as opposed to 47% who say they trust paid ads in traditional media. Not surprisingly, the highest percentage of trust -- 92% -- went to word-of-mouth recommendations.