Earlier this summer, MediaPost's David Goetzl made the interesting suggestion that Comedy Central should establish a conservative counterweight to offset its liberal-leaning programming (i.e. "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report"). The reader response to this column was swift and heated, with readers claiming: 1) that Stewart doesn't lean left, he just exposes hypocrisy; and 2) that conservatives can't be funny because they are so mean to the disadvantaged.

Several weeks ago, I wrote of the Great Debt Ceiling debate that we might be witnessing the greatest show on earth. I was wrong. That was only the playoffs. Here comes the SuperCommittee Bowl, a game we might think of as SuperChess.

Like many of us, I have been rattled by the volatility in the global markets sparked by S&P's downgrade of US T-Bills. But when you think about it, the credit-ratings business isn't all that different from the TV-ratings business. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to buy or sell a bond, it needed (according to Federal regulations) a rating from one of the ratings agencies. Also 20 years ago, if you wanted to buy or sell an advertising spot, it needed (according to standard operating procedure) to have a Nielsen rating. But times have changed, in both the financial and …

When it comes to television "entertainment," we all have our limits. Content that offends some people thrills or amuses others. My limits have been tested and compromised as much as anyone else's during the last couple of decades, and it had gotten to the point where I didn't think I would ever again be all that upset by something I saw on television. Then 2011 came, and I discovered that I still had one very distinct limit: I do not like the depiction or implication of people or animals being burned alive.

On-air promos are still by far the most effective way for networks to make viewers aware of and interested in their programming. Unfortunately, the broadcast networks continue to purposely ignore the biggest chunk of available prospects. This is the main reason why most new broadcast shows will flop.

Dr. Angelina Li is a member of the CTAM Research Committee and the founder and president of AHL Consulting, Inc. The company was founded in 2000 and works across a range of disciplines, from demand forecasting and market segmentation to customer satisfaction measurement and competitive benchmarking.

Central Falls, R.I. has a total municipal budget of $16.8 million, and a current fiscal year budget deficit of $5.6 million -- a deficit projected for each of the next five years as well. Robert G. Flanders Jr., a prominent attorney, is now running the city of Central Falls -- because, as the state-appointed receiver, he has declared bankruptcy under Chapter 9, Title 11 of the United States code. Everyone is in court now, sorting things out. Central Falls is a metaphor for where we are as a country, maybe the whole world. But that's not why I'm referencing …

What do television and baseball have in common? Great data. That's one thing I've always loved about baseball, though I never was very good at playing the sport. I'll still take the constant action of basketball or the hard-hitting exhilaration of football over a lazy trip to the ballpark any day. But I have always followed baseball, for the stats -- its data.

Oxygen this year has delivered the perfect summer series in "The Glee Project," a show so full of talent and heart it instantly establishes emotional connections so strong they defy indifference. After an episode or two you don't simply like the young competitors -- you care about them and hate to see them go. Memories of the dearly departed linger as the show moves on.

CIMM is taking a pro-active role in advancing new media nomenclature and processes with both its Lexicon(terms and definitions associated with Set-Top Box data measurement) and Asset Identification Primer (glossary of asset terms). These documents form the basis of the Word-A-Week column which offers a common language for Set-Top Box nomenclature that can expedite the roll-out of the data for its many industry applications. Continuing on last week's theme of Interactive Advertising (Set-Top-Box Lexicon: Interactive Advertising) we now focus on those terms that apply to measuring interactive advertising and some metrics that have already made …