In last week's Think Tank, I argued for the return of HBO's "Deadwood," cancelled when HBO green-lit David Milch's now cancelled "John from Cincinnati." After public outcry, HBO agreed to underwrite two 2-hour "Deadwood" films, but even that commitment seems to have been forgotten by HBO.

Everyone agrees that business transactions -- be it stock trading, accounting or media buying -- need to be transparent in order to be beneficial to all concerned parties. You won't hear anyone argue (out loud) against transparency -- but the philosophy of transparent media buying does have its critics.

Out-of-home media is nothing new, but if seems as though in recent times it has begun to take on the status of the new rock 'n roll of media -- especially as far as the video end of things is concerned.

"This line has been restricted for any calls over the Verizon Networks. Please call the Verizon High Toll department at 1-877-462-4792 during the following hours: Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-12 a.m. CST, Saturday-Sunday 7 a.m.-5:30 p.m. CST." That was the message I received on my answering machine on Aug. 17 at 11:09 a.m....

As I was struggling to find something intelligent to say this week, I stumbled upon an article about a young indie director by the name of Joe Swanberg. Now, Joe has made quite a name for himself as a pioneer in what is being referred to as the mumblecore genre of indie films.

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Now that HBO has cancelled the ill-fated "John from Cincinnati," will David Milch return to work on "Deadwood" and deliver on the promise of two "Deadwood" movies?

I've been wracking my brain for years trying to uncover the HBO formula for success When "John From Cincinnati" flopped, I realized I had a point of reference that might flush out the secret. What made "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," and "Big Love" different, and significantly better, than "JFC"?

First things first, let make it crystal clear that I am not remotely interested in cars as a subject for conversation, reading matter, TV coverage or anything else. All I care about is that the car I am in gets me where I need to go in relative comfort, safety and hopefully good time. Having no doubt called into question my all-round manliness for at least a portion of you reading this, I want to focus on what for me is without doubt the most compelling, engaging, brand-reinforcing, impactful and downright entertaining piece of "advertising" for any car ever produced...

A few weeks ago MediaPost Editor Joe Mandese wrote about the season of discontent between satcaster EchoStar and what was, until days prior, its primary sales representative The Media Group, formerly known as The Turner Media Group. But I figured I wouldn't weigh in. In my opinion, it is never positive for a burgeoning industry to have doubt created in the minds of its constituency when one of its members is challenged on questionable practices. But then...