Media Industries Project - Carsey Wolf Center

Explains strategic challenges faced by bc network news. NBC in strongest position, while ABC and CBS consider merger with CNN. Pressures toward cost cutting and consolidation in the industry. But where will growth come from?

Provides breakdown of publishing costs for hardcover books vs. e-versions. Authors get screwed, while publishers struggle to cover their overhead costs and maintain profitability.

"the main bottle necks for mobile broadcast TV are lacks of viable business models, low device variety, slow licensing processes. Despite these limiting factors, the number of mobile broadcast TV users considerably increased around the world in 2009"

"one study found that as much as $50 billion in spectrum could be freed up if policies were adopted to transition broadcast spectrum to mobile spectrum. "

"Of the 81 percent of states surveyed that use Twitter, 83 percent of them use it to relay traffic incidents, while 80 percent use it to relay road closings and 63 percent use it to communicate emergencies such as hurricanes and tornados. Other information released by state DOTs on Twitter include referrals to Tripcheck and new video updates, fires, accidents, construction projects and delays, press releases, state responses to the Recovery Act, air quality, transit information and 511 information. "

"In a lengthy article in New York magazine that hit the Web late on Sunday, writer Gabriel Sherman quotes a source high up in the media industry echelon who says Murdoch is "pretty tightly wound up over Google and has been ready to sue them...He doesn't trust them at all." The lawsuit, presumably, would come if Google refused to stop indexing News Corp. search results without paying a fee for them."

"It may be a bitter pill for public critics to swallow, but media outlets have to operate in the black to continue operating. Antiquated media ownership rules are going to have to be revised to reflect reality."

"According to current Korean media law, foreigners cannot become chief executive officers or executive editors. The media ownership law also states that foreigners cannot own a majority share of any media outlet in Korea."

The UK's Digital Economy Bill (DEB) may have a negative effect on establishments that offer open Wi-Fi access to users. Libraries, Universities, Cafes and other small businesses will not be exempt from anti-piracy policies in the Digital Economy Bill, meaning that a small business offering WiFi might be warned and held responsible for copyright infringement of somebody using their WiFi access.

Seattle-based interactive ad agency Razorfish has been sold twice in three years, operating against a seemingly constant backdrop of industry speculation about its fate. But the uncertainty appears to be over, now that the dust has settled on ad giant Publicis Groupe's purchase of Razorfish from Microsoft for $530 million - the second-biggest deal of 2009 in Washington state mergers and acquisitions.

Interesting interview that highlights how we may miss normality when we highlight diversity in reporting.

To make money online, don't ask if you should charge, but rather when to charge and when not to charge.

Might this be an alternative for investigative reporting for web 2.0? Or at least a first step.

"News Corp. agreed to pay $70 million for a stake in the media company owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, one of its largest shareholders. The New York media conglomerate will take a 9.1% stake in Rotana Group, with an option to double its holdings in 18 months. Corp. will have two seats on Rotana's six-person board. The investment gives News Corp its first significant foothold in the Middle East, where it expects economies to grow quickly."

"The Internet, which many feared would draw viewers away from television, appears to be having exactly the opposite effect - at least when it comes to coverage of major events. Brian Stelter writes in The Times that TV executives have noticed big spikes in viewership of the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Grammys and other special events that some of them trace to the effect of social networking sites."

The Pentagon made an announcement that it is authorizing the use of Twitter, Facebook, and other sites classified as "Web 2.0" across the U.S. military, according to a report by Reuters. The article mentioned that the Pentagon said that "the benefits of social media outweighed security concerns."

"Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts and NBC Universal President & CEO Jeff Zucker faced a barrage of questions Feb. 25 in a marathon--over five hours with one break--hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on their proposed joint venture, their third Hill visit in as many weeks as they push for government approval of their $30 billion joint venture.\nDuring that time, the pair defended their records on diversity, and in some cases pledged to do better, reiterated their pledges to keep NBC free and over the air, and their programming available to competitive distributors."

"Facebook's news feed from its 400 million users has helped the social network far surpass its competitors, which also supply similar digital streams of consciousness. But now, Facebook owns the patent on news feeds."

The Wall Street Journal will introduce a New York metro section in April, which will compete with the New York Times for advertising dollars.

Columnists are struggling to survive in today's media landscape. At best, they are hanging in there. Only about 20% are actual employees of newspapers rather than free-lance writers. Some columnists are writing blogs and books instead. But, like we mentioned in class last week, it is very very difficult to generate income from blog writing.