Archive for the 'Media Headlines' CategoryPage 2 of 12

Media General in Tampa Offers Buy Outs to Half of 1,326 Employees

Published
by
admin
on 4/14/2008
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

Big news coming from Tampa.

Media General’s parent company Florida Communications Group which oversees the operation of WFLA-TV, TBO.com, The Tampa Tribune and other smaller newspapers in the area is offering half of their 1,326 employees voluntary buyouts.

663 select employees from all news operations will have an option to accept either 1 week pay for every year employed up to 26 weeks or 2 weeks pay for every year employed up to 39 weeks.

Florida Communications Group president John Schueler says if not enough employees accept the severance offered there may be layoffs because the “cost savings needed are significant”

Another Reason to Get Traffic Online

Published
by
admin
on 4/10/2008
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

They say people tune in to local newscasts to get their weather and traffic information, that’s why you see weather and traffic reports every X minutes during morning newscasts.

But now Microsoft has given everyone another reason to tune in the internet for instant traffic information before heading out than wait for the traffic reports on TV.

The new technology called Clearflow integrates into the traffic reporting of Microsoft’s Live Maps service (maps.live.com) and will help drivers to avoid long traffic jams by directing them to not only major highways but also side streets using artificial intelligence algorithms and traffic data.

Microsoft worked on Clearflow for nearly 5 years creating the artificial intelligence algorithms from scratch and integrating traffic conditions data from road censors, weather information, even taking into account if there’s a big sports game in town.

Clearflow launches today in 75 cities

Adobe Media Player: Another Way to Get Free CSI Miami

Published
by
admin
on 4/9/2008
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

Adobe released today their new media player based on their AIR platform - flash something or other - called of course Adobe Media Player

The player streams select programs and podcasts including CBS CSI franchise, the latest Survivor, shows from FoodNetwork and MTV as well. And you can add your own content to it if it’s available via RSS in flash or MPEG-4 format.

Continue reading ‘Adobe Media Player: Another Way to Get Free CSI Miami’

NYT:CBS Could Be Outsourcing Reporting to CNN

Published
by
admin
on 4/7/2008
in Media Headlines
. 12 Comments

A story that will run in tomorrow’s New York Times claims CBS has been in talks with Time Warner to outsource at least some of it’s news gathering to CNN. Either to pair up CBS reporters with CNN crews or altogether use CNN feeds.

Why? Cost cutting. Of course. So far though no deal has been made. Speculations about CNN teaming up with either ABC or CBS has gone on for years and often when talks were held they’d fall apart soon after.

Someone made a prediction that by 2010 we’ll see the disappearance of a major TV network. Right now NBC and CBS look to be the front runners

FOX Won’t Pay Indecenty Fine so DOJ Sues Them

Published
by
admin
on 4/7/2008
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

The never ending saga the of FCC’s indecency crusade against FOX just got longer.

FOX is refusing the pay the $56,000 fine the FCC slapped it with for airing a naughty 10 second video during ‘Married by America’ reality show. In 2003. A pixilated video too!

Fox appealed the decision but the FCC rejected it because they went 14 pages too long! Can’t waste tax payers dollars now can they.

FOX in turn pouted lips and stomped their feet saying they won’t pay because FCC is picking on them. The commission’s spokeswoman went out and crowed about protecting children and how Newscorp is so evil and hates kids. That didn’t scare NewCorp so now the DOJ has gotten involved to make them care.

The new lawsuit means that the whole case is starting from scratch!

All this hoopla for some pixilated tits and ass. Sheesh

SeattleTimes: DOJ Sues Fox Over Indecency Fines

Five Ft. Myers Stations sold

Published
by
admin
on 4/7/2008
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

Equity Media Holdings is selling 5 low power stations. The stations air either Univision,Telefutura and LATV programming.

Luken Communications picked up the stations - WBSP, WUVF, WTLE WLZE, and WEVU for $8 million

Equity Media Holdings Corporation Announces Sale of Five Television Stations

Boston Globe: High Paid Anchors Becoming Extinct

Published
by
admin
on 4/3/2008
in Local Media and Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

In light of the rather large layoffs sweeping CBS stations across the US this Boston Globe article says the days of the high-salaried news anchors are numbered. Bad economy, the internets and cable TV are to blame for presumably ratings and profit challenged TV stations. So the prediction is that everyone will be following WHDH’s model of hiring young (and some say dumb) and cheap(er) people to lead their newscasts.

Media analysts say they expect WBZ and other stations to increasingly follow the model of frontrunner WHDH-TV (Channel 7), which consistently depends less on celebrity anchors and more on cheaper, younger reporters to deliver the news.

And it seems like at least one former big-money anchor agrees the future ov local TV news is about “reasonably attractive” people with less demanding salaries.

Media analysts say the fragmentation in the TV industry won’t create local news celebrities which is probably true but then there’s the internets which is about as fragmented as it gets and there are some so called celebs. Albeit in more niched online broadcasts.

One of my personal favorites Natali DelConte from Cnet comes to mind as well as Veronica Belmont formerly of CNET’s Buzz Out Loud. And some of these web shows can have a mid-market audience so they’re not that small

CBS Layoffs Bite More in Other Cities

Published
by
admin
on 4/3/2008
in Media Headlines
. 5 Comments

While WFOR managed to keep main anchors and all but one reporters in other cities the pink slips went out to some of the big shots too.

In LA KCAL/KCBS shed at least a dozen people including two longtime anchors - Harold Greene and Ann Martin probably the longest running anchor team in local TV news being together 3 decades - who will leave the station in May.

San Francisco’s KPIX CBS5 shed 14 staffers including two long time reporters who were with the station for 28 and 17 years. MercuryNews story

Boston’s WBZ CBS4 fired 32 people including veteran sports anchor Bob Lobel who started in 1979, entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik since 1981 and anchor Scott Wahle since 1989. BizJournals article Boston Globe story Continue reading ‘CBS Layoffs Bite More in Other Cities’

Slate Writer Discovers NY Times Plagiarized Miami Herald

Published
by
admin
on 2/27/2008
in Local Media and Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

Jack Shafer from Slate mag says NY Times plagiarized two lines from a story about Argentina’s drug “paco” that ran in the Miami Herald 18 months ago. Shafer says that the author of the story Alexei Barrionuevo admitted to borrowing the two passages.

NY Times:

Paco is highly addictive because its effect is so short—a couple of minutes—and so intense that many users resort to smoking 20 to 50 cigarettes a day to try to make its effects linger. …

Paco is highly addictive because its high lasts just a few minutes—and is so intense that many users smoke 20 to 50 paco cigarettes a day to try to make its effects linger.

More below…
Slate - A New York Times story helps itself to two lines from a Miami Herald piece

MSNBC Redesign is Live

Published
by
admin
on 11/12/2007
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

And looking pretty good.

On another note CBS4.com received a minor refresh last week or so, as did most other CBS-owned O&O sites.

MSNBC.com Redesign Preview

Published
by
admin
on 11/6/2007
in Media Headlines
. 4 Comments


The MSNBC.com web team is offering everyone a preview of the upcoming redesign. Unlike before when the changes were more subtle and cosmetic, this time MSNBC’s .com will be radically changed. Some of the new features include emphasis on multimedia - photo and video - different layouts for the top story section. Flexible section modules where users can select how many stories they want per section or none at all.

And for those of us not using Internet Explorer the new MSNBC.com will be more welcoming to alternative browsers such as Safari and Firefox.

Overall it looks much much better than the site now, and different than what’s already out there in terms of news sites. And miles apart from the local news hodge podge of organized clutter.
Local stations can learn a thing or two from these guys.

MSNBC.com - Interactive preview
MSNBC.com - Alpha Channel
/via LostRemote /

WESH in HD

Published
by
admin
on 11/2/2007
in Media Headlines
. 13 Comments

Reader Wayne was kind enough to take a few shots of his swanky Sony TV showing WESH’s debut in HD. To celebrate, the station aired their 11pm newscast entirely commercial free. And yes there are a couple shots of Martha Sugalski in there for all of you gawkers out there, of course.

And some of WFTV as well.

Follow the jump and click on the thumbs to see larger version
Continue reading ‘WESH in HD’

Orlando’s WESH in HD Tomorrow

Published
by
admin
on 10/31/2007
in Media Headlines
. 7 Comments

Orlando’s favorite NBC station WESH is turning the HD on tomorrow, the first day of sweeps. They’ll also debut a sexy new look to show off.
And couple weeks ago WINK-TV on the other side of Florida, market size 63, went HD as well.

And our stations have decided to do us a favor and not go HD so we won’t be seeing any gashing wounds or rolling poop from broken sewers in HD.

/via RogerSimmonsTV/
/Video/ OrlandoSentinel - WESH jumps on high-def bandwagon with local news
WESH.com - WESH Goes HD On Thrusday

MSNBC’s New Digs Debut

Published
by
admin
on 10/22/2007
in Media Headlines
. 0 Comments

200 miles of cable and 300 hd monitors later MSNBC’s new digs hit the air at 6am this morning.
If anything it looks different. First things that come to mind - chill, modern - something you’d see in Europe.
And a bit gimmicky - the walls have lights behind them that change color - for example during breaking news they turn red from yellow.

One minus - a lot of background noise from the newsroom! Even Joe noted he’d like to hear Micah delivering the news not the newsroom conference call!

But at least we get to see her hot legs every once in a while, ha!

For the daytime gets a nice shiny, ultra modern anchor desk - first oriented to use the newsroom as back drop then later turned around so that one of the large projection screens is the backdrop.

They had the steadycam go into the newsroom and there were parts that looked very cramped. At least in comparison to MSNBC’s previous studio that had large sprawling round desks.

Screenshots after the jump Continue reading ‘MSNBC’s New Digs Debut’

NBC’s New Digs

Published
by
admin
on 10/12/2007
in Media Headlines
. 1 Comment


Photos just hit the web of NBC and MSNBC’s new digs. MSNBC is ditching their circular studio in Seacacus, New Jersey and going under one roof with the NBC News operation. It took them just 6 months to go from concept to finish. It has some 200 miles of cable and it is HD ready.

Debut date is set for October 22nd at 6am on Morning Joe.

It gives me a little bit of a modern restaurant/bar vibe which isn’t so bad I guess, at least it’s different. Nowadays stations tout their new sets like it’s best thing since color tv which are actually the same old crap just new.

Maybe WPLG will think out of the box a little bit?

Several more good quality screen shots at InsideCable - First shots of the new NBC News/MSNBC studios
 /via LostRemote/

The Tube Channel is Dead

Published
by
admin
on 10/2/2007
in Media Headlines
. 3 Comments

The Tube channel has gone dark. Locally it was broadcast on digital subchannels of WSFL-39.2 and WFLX-29.2.

US News - Digital Poineer The Tube Is No More