For years, advertisers and agencies have complained that TV networks have been delivering fewer eyeballs and charging more for the privilege of placing ads in their programs. They have also complained that networks have forced them to buy unwanted and lower rated shows along with the programs they have actually wanted to place ads in.

The good news is that my strategy for getting the best media services organizations to be more open about what sets them apart is working. The bad news is that it's working. That may not necessarily be bad news for the readers of MEDIA magazine, but it is for its editors, because it's making selecting agencies of the year harder. I don't have any hard metrics to back that up, but I can tell, that after more than 30 years of covering this business, I have never seen more innovation - and perhaps equally importantly, more innovative ways of talking …