HAS THE SUN SET ON NETWORK EVENING NEWS? - It may just be a coincidence that the same week Tom Brokaw announces plans to retire as anchor of the "NBC Nightly News" the researchers at Ball State University have unleashed a new study showing the dramatic migration from network evening news to other news dayparts, especially early morning news shows, but we think Tom may have seen something coming. "Morning television news programs are growing more popular with viewers, possibly signaling the end to the dominance of early evening newscasts," concludes the Ball State study, which was conducted as part …

STAND AND DELIVER -- Arthur Anderson knows how to deliver a good speech. Especially if it's about deliverables.

AEGIS, WPP TAKE A BITE OUT OF MEDIA MARKET SHARES -- The U.S. accounted for 44 percent of worldwide media billings among the top 12 media networks in 2003, according to estimates released today by The RECMA Report.

HUMAN RIGHTS VS. NIELSEN'S RIGHTS: AGENCIES REMAIN MUM ON THE SUBJECT -- At last, the Riff finally understands the motive behind the deafening silence of the major ad shops during the political brouhaha leading up to Nielsen's decision to delay its New York people meter rollout.

WE'RE JUST RIFFING, BUT WHAT ARE THESE GUYS WHIFFING? -- Inflation. It can be an ugly word in the best of times, but coming at a time when U.

BE-WARE OF WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING - We don't know what, if anything, the American Association of Advertising Agencies shelled out for new research on consumer attitudes about advertising that is a centerpiece of its annual management conference in Miami this week, but if it was more than $2, we think the money would have been better spent taking a ride on the New York City subway system. That way that ad folks could witness first- hand how consumers ignore advertising - transit ads, anyway.

THE WHOLE SHEBANGO BEHIND ADVERTISING WEEK -- We were having lunch recently at the New York Friar's Club, which is probably the only place where you can eat Matzah Brie in a room named after Frank Sinatra, when Matt Scheckner suddenly leaned across the table and mentioned, "I got home late last night because I was negotiating with Maytag." No Scheckner isn't in the market for a new washer/dryer.

'PRIDE' AND THE PEACOCK - It would have sounded like a bad idea before Montecore, a 600-pound white Siberian tiger, mauled Roy Horn on stage in front of a shocked audience at the Mirage casino in Las Vegas, but the fact that NBC has opted to move forward with "Father of the Pride," an animated TV series that depicts the sitcom-like lives of Sigfried & Roy's white lions sounds like a really bad dream. The show, "Father of the Pride," which was pitched to agency executives as part of the peacock network's prime-time development meetings, sounds high-concept and even a …

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS - Now that Madison Avenue is nudging the networks in the direction of a Wall Street-like upfront market structure, some people are wondering where the new rules and conditions will end, or even if they might ultimately begin to approximate the kind of SEC-regulated trading practices that govern the financial industry's equities and commodities markets.

HERE'S THE RETRACTION, PLUS A BIT OF POLITICAL ACTION -- Like many of you, we sure hope today is the last time the Riff has to discuss the political actions - or lack thereof - of Fox News Channel chief Roger Ailes. In fact, we wouldn't be bringing it up again today except that the Fox News Channel press department asked - actually they demanded - that we "retract" the quote we hypothetically attributed to Ailes in Tuesday's column.