TMZ, BET and iTunes Realize Boost in Visibility, Viewers and Sales
by Andrew Hampp
Michael Jackson’s death prompted an onslaught of memorial media coverage arguably not seen since Princess Diana’s passing in 1997 or Elvis Presley’s in 1977.
 

But when the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll died 32 years ago this August, the event was chronicled by only [...]

By DAVID BAUDER
Even President Barack Obama, a gleam in his eye as he talked at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner two weeks ago, seemed to recognize the special relationship he’s forged with TV networks in the opening months of his administration.
“A few nights ago I was up tossing and turning and trying to [...]

In an article today, TWT’s Joe Curl calls “foul” after the WH press corps got played during yesterday’s news conference. On the presidential presser, Curl says:
Many in the hard-pressed press corps played along throughout the hourlong show, turning the ball over again and again - “accidentally,” of course.
Curl says that as the president dribbled around [...]

By BILL CARTER and BRIAN STELTER
 

LOS ANGELES — On Monday night, when Conan O’Brien officially takes over “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno, it will mark an unusually peaceful transition of power in Hollywood.
Then comes the revolution.
NBC’s decision to move Mr. Leno to his own talk show at 10 p.m. in September is not only [...]

By STUART ELLIOTT
 

IN another sign of how hard television executives are working to attract advertising in tough times, two cable channels plan to significantly expand an initiative that pairs commercials with relevant scenes in the shows they interrupt.
At a presentation on Wednesday, Turner Entertainment Networks — part of the Turner Broadcasting System unit of Time [...]

By Jon Friedman
 

(Tim Russert, the long-time anchor of “Meet the Press,” died nearly a year ago. To understand how the Sunday morning talk shows are evolving, Media Web recently interviewed five prominent hosts.)
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Last December, NBC ended months of intrigue by announcing chief White House correspondent David Gregory would take over as permanent host of “Meet [...]

Because of growing competition and dwindling TV ad dollars, the big networks will be forced to make major changes, and fast
By Ronald Grover and Tom Lowry
It’s not easy being a network executive these days. Consider the challenges: While NBC (GE), ABC (DIS), CBS (CBS), and Fox (NWS) continue to siphon upwards of 60% of the [...]

By SHIRA OVIDE
The Los Angeles Times carried a front-page advertisement on Thursday that tiptoed along the traditional line between news and commercial message.
The one-column ad, for a new NBC cop show, simulated a news story or critic’s review. It had a headline and included a line about “this reporter” following along with police officers in [...]

By Paul Thomasch
 NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker fired back at comedian Jon Stewart on Wednesday, saying it was “unfair” and “absurd” for the funnyman to criticize CNBC and question its coverage of financial news.
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“Everybody wants to find a scapegoat. That’s human nature,” Zucker said during a keynote address at a media industry conference. “But [...]

TRACING THE DECLINE OF NETWORK TV
Conde Nast - Portfolio.com
by Mark Harris
September 2008
PR FIRMS NEED TO SAVE TV
The near-total control of mass culture by three omnipotent networks: gone. If this is the end of television as we know it, maybe it’s also the beginning of something else.
For 20 years, Ted Harbert worked at ABC. He started [...]