Nothin’ But The Facts: I get lost in the alphabet soup of financial reports sometimes. EBITDA to me is something my two-year old says when he wants pizza. I have found one magazine company that is trying to state its results in a relevant way. The company is Ziff Davis. It has split its financial quarterly reporting into two areas – an established business segment (like PC Magazine) and a developing business segment (like the Microsoft Watch newsletter).

Mogul Memo: Every year at about this time the media media hitters meet in Idaho for a look at where the media business is and isn't. I suggest to the Pittmans, Malones and Redstones that they stop worrying about their own personal fortunes and maintain their focus on developing three things. One is a renewed mission to provide the best programming for consumers and advertisers.

This Year’s Newspaper Model: Earlier this week, Media News Group CEO William Dean Singleton urged his colleagues in the newspaper business to start acting like a technology business. This guy’s thinking. He’s not looking at the plague of lower readership and scattered ad revenue drops among many newspapers as a fad.

Acquired Confidence: I’ve been on the publishing side of magazines in a former life, and I know it’s a tough hustle. Which is why I know that the magazine business as a whole is performing at an extremely high level right now, even though ad pages are down year to date. I think you have to take a look at the obstacles magazines have been able to overcome so far this year to really get a handle on how well the business is doing.

OPRs (Other People’s Riffs) of the Week: Didn’t They Leave Something Out of His Bio? Like His Source For Column Info? Best-selling author and leadership trainer Stedman Graham has joined the staff of Personal Branding as a Senior Editor and regular contributor. Graham has authored several best-selling books, including You Can Make It Happen and Build Your Own Life Brand!

Now Stepping Up To The Dartboard: Yeah, let me have a shot at the forecast bullseye. All due respect to McCann Universal VP Bob Coen’s call of a 2.1 percent increase in overall ad spending, but I would like to introduce some wild cards. First, I think advertising has taken on many powerful new forms that are hard to measure. This should lead the ad business to re-examine how it tallies total ad spend.

Rockin’ All Over The World: Hey, I’m a globalization guy. I read “The Lexus and The Olive Tree.” Bought the CD and the DVD of “Buena Vista Social Club.” Ate a burrito for lunch today. I drive a Volvo. One of my favorite movies is “Cinema Paradiso.” But I’m still not sure that globalization in advertising will be effective. Playing the international game is very cool and in vogue right now. But before planners and buyers play it, I hope they understand that choosing an international link needs to be an important element in the brand being advertised.

Hollywood Shelf-Life: Or maybe that’s an oxymoron. The advertising and marketing departments of big movie studios have mastered the art of opening a movie. They’ve mastered it to the point that they can pick a number for an opening weekend (which seems to always be a record) and go hit it. “MIB II? $90 million? Sure, babe.” What they have not mastered is the concept of shelf life.

Second Half Riffs: When I was in high school we had a football coach who always told us the second half of the game was for winners. After a scattered first half in terms of actual ad spending, I believe the second half of the year will return the ad business to a focus on effectiveness, and a departure from worrying about a total ad recovery. If you're playing to win, here are the issues you need to focus on as the second half gets underway:

OPR’s (other people’s riffs) for the Week: Did Everyone Forget Animal House? In the August issue of Food and Wine magazine, readers were polled about various cuisine-oriented things. Among them was their “Favorite Movie Moment Involving Food.” The spaghetti scene in Lady and The Tramp (45%) was favored above the seduction scene in 9 1/2 Weeks (28%), the pie scene in American Pie (21%) and the brain scene in Hannibal (6%)