Media Strategies and Tactics Inc 

Message From Michael -- February 23, 2006

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                  February 23, 2006                                                                                          

• SWEEPS – TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT


• OLYMPICS – THE HALF AND HALF STORY AGAIN


• TV’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED


• ONLINE DAYS ARE NUMBERED TOO


• TRADITIONAL VS. NON-TRADITIONAL


• LET’S GO SURFING NOW


• NBC CONVICTS ITUNES


• COCKTAIL CHATTER – THE AMERICAN INVASION

• SWEEPS – TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT:  For what may be “the most competitive night in the history of American television.”  It may sound like hyperbole, but the quote by Dick Ebersol, head of NBC’s Sports and Olympics coverage, in the New York Times may not be as extreme as it may sound at first.  On NBC will be women’s figure skating which has always scored the highest ratings in Winter Olympics.  On Fox will be the special edition of American Idol, which has already beaten the Olympics.  On CBS will be Survivor.  And on ABC will be Dancing With The Stars.  The head of research for CBS, David Poltrack, doesn’t go quite so far as Ebersol, but he makes the point that there have been instances of three strong franchises going against each other (Friends, Survivor and the World Series) but never four against each other.  The article notes that the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics had no competition from any original top-10 programming and during the Nagano Olympics, the only competition was the top-10 rated Home Improvement.  Actually it may be even more competitive than the article notes because the writer doesn’t take into account another big event in television tonight.  As noted in another New York Times article, Spanish-language network Univision will be premiering Premio Lo Nuestro a la Musica Latina, a sort of “people’s choice” music awards show, which is typically the most watched program among Hispanic audiences (except for World Cup Soccer).  Keep in mind that the Spanish-language stations are often-times the number one station in large markets.  


• OLYMPICS – THE HALF AND HALF STORY AGAIN:  On a very much related note, you’ve no doubt heard or read that this year’s Olympics may be the lowest rated Olympics ever, but as we noted in a previous MfM, there is a half-empty and half-full theme still.  First the half empty part – NBC is at risk of not meeting its ratings guarantee to advertisers.  Last Wednesday’s night may ‘qualify’ as the lowest rated night in Winter Olympics history, according to Media Life Magazine.  The Sydney Summer games averaged 21.5 million viewers a night which was a record low then.  This winter’s games are averaging 21.1 million viewers a night.  The half full part – The Associated Press reports that NBC’s “video-rich” Olympics website is setting records, with 167 million pageviews – 22 million more than for the entire 2002 Winter Olympics.  It also set a one-day record with 29 million pageviews.  Plus the site, NBCOlympics.com, has delivered more than 4.2 million video streams.On a related note, Wall Street Journal writer Steve McKee reports that foreign coverage of the Olympics is substantially different from the American version with fewer intrusions by anchors, more focus on the athletes, fewer commercials and less “blathery” analysis.  As he puts it, “this is sports TV for people who get sports.”  And further proof that there are many things I don’t understand, The Olympic sport Curling has proven a ‘cult’ favorite, giving NBC its best Saturday night ratings since the start of the Iraq war three years ago.  And the Wall Street Journal, again, reports that Curling helped CNBC triple its average viewership from 5pm to 8pm.  The article quotes the Winnipeg Free Press’s full-time Curling reporter as saying, “it’s the most exciting 25 seconds in sports.”


• TV’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED:  At least in Europe, according to a global media agency, but the U.S. may not be far behind.  ZenithOptimedia reports that television’s share of ad expenditure has leveled off in Europe as the Internet has taken off.  The report Television in Western Europe To 2014 notes there has been a migration from general television channels to cheap specialist channels along with a siege from DVR’s, VOD and ‘consumer-controlled digital media technologies.’  The agency will issue a report on America this summer.  As reported in Media Daily News, ZenithOptimedia says Television’s long history as ‘the lead of the media pack’ is, in its words, “over for good.”  


• ONLINE DAYS ARE NUMBERED TOO:  But the other way.  Online Retail Sales have grown 30% in January of this year, reaching $7.33 Billion compared to $5.22 Billion in January of 2005.  Website InternetRetailer quotes comScore Network for the online retail sales.  By comparison, ShopperTrak says national retail sales in the last week of January grew 6.6% compared to the same week a year ago.  Part of the reason may be an article in the Chicago Sun Times which quotes research firm ForeSee Results which says online retailers scored higher than their brick and mortar customers in terms of customer satisfaction.  Online Ad Impressions also grew in January. Online marketers served up 138 Billion display ads in January, which was a 12% increase over December of 2005.


• TRADITIONAL VS. NON-TRADITIONAL:  Meanwhile, BlackFriars Communications says its survey of business executives indicates a 9% drop in traditional advertising this year.  Last year, businesses allocated 31% of their advertising budget to traditional media, but this year they are looking at 22%.  It’s not all going online either.  Much of the re-allocated dollars will go to non-traditional approaches like buzz marketing, viral marketing and word of mouth.  However, the company notes that its survey indicates a general increase of 13% in 2006 which may offset some of the losses for traditional media.  On a related note, ClickZ reports that digital media advertising is expected to hit $23.5 Billion by 2010, accounting for 10% of overall ad spending.  Quoting analyst firm Parks Associates, the article says digital advertising reached $9.4 Billion 2005 and that was 5% of overall ad spending.  Digital advertising is defined as display, search, rich media, DVR, in-games and mobile.


• LET’S GO SURFING NOW:  Nearly a third of Americans go online… just to have fun.  Pew Internet and the American Life says “recreational” surfing ranks just behind e-mail and searching as an online activity AND that it is getting even with ‘getting news online’ as an activity.  The survey showed 30% went online just for fun, compared to 21% a year ago.  That may explain a USA Today report that three quarters of businesses monitor workers on-line surfing.  Quoting the American Marketing Association, the article says 65% use blocking software, a 21% increase since 2001.  Yet at the same time, the article notes that while the companies monitor Internet use, they also accept a certain amount of personal surfing.  And advertisers are taking advantage of those wandering workers.  Progresso soup has created a series of ads and a website specifically targeting those working day surfers.  Homesweetcube.com has a two-minute soap opera built around office life.


• NBC CONVICTS ITUNES:   The network is offering a free download of its new show, Conviction, two weeks before it even airs.  The podcast version is available at iTunes.  Website podguide.tv (which bills itself as the guide to the best video content for your iPod), says the podcast has already received a “suspicious” ten positive reviews.  On a semi-related note, there is a new advertising site called podbridge.com which brokers advertising for podcasts.  The website quotes research firm The Diffusion Group as saying that podcast downloads will exceed 11 million in 2006 and will approach 60 million by 2010.        


• COCKTAIL CHATTER -- THE AMERICAN INVASION:   So, you’ve already heard about the debate involving the Arab company buying port services and facilities in America.  But here are a couple you probably haven’t heard about.  The Lenovo Group is a Chinese-based computer maker, the third largest in the world.  Name still doesn’t ring a bell?  Try IBM.  The Chinese firm bought IBM’s personal computer business (think ThinkPad) last year for $1.75 Billion.  You’re not the only one who doesn’t recognize the name.  That’s why Lenovo has joined the sponsorship ranks at the Olympics.  You may have seen some of its displays in the coverage or even some of its ads on NBC.  Okay, how about Henkel KGaA?  Kind of just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?  Try this instead – DIAL (as in soap), Clorox, Right Guard and Soft and Dri.  The German firm bought Dial Corp last year for $2.9 Billion and just recently bought the two deodorant brands from Proctor and Gamble for $420 Million.  For perspective, it’s kind of hard to think of $420 Million as ‘chump change.’  But when P&G bought Gilette last year, it paid $57 Billion.    


• SUBSCRIPTION NOTES:  Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to friends and colleagues.  If you would like to get your own copy, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, reply to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line.  Also, back issues of Message from Michael for 2006 are available on the website media-consultant.blogspot.com.

Message From Michael Feb16th

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                       February 16, 2006                                                                                                         

• SWEEPS AND OLYMPICS


• GOVERNMENT VS THE MEDIA


• GLOBAL TEEN CULTURE


• COCKTAIL CHATTER

• SWEEPS AND OLYMPICS:  No doubt you’ve read all the stories about Olympics ratings, which basically boils down to… If you’re NBC, the glass is half full; if you’re the other networks, the glass is half empty.  Not unexpectedly, the ratings for the Opening Day ceremonies were less than half those for the Salt Lake City Olympics (22.82 M vs. 45.6 M total viewers) but also off significantly from the Nagano, Japan, Olympics which had 27.5 Million total viewers.  It tells you one thing that Tuesday’s edition of Fox’s American Idol beat the Olympics in total viewers (23.17 M vs. 18.64 M) and also in Adults 18-49 (9.6/24 vs. 5.6/14), but it’s another when ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Gray’s Anatomy actually beat the Olympics on Sunday night in the Adult 18-49 demo by two-tenths of a point.  However, the ratings for the Olympics were in the 12 to 14 range that NBC had promised advertisers.  And keeping a promise to itself maybe, NBC scored revenue-wise, cramming 14% more commercials into each hour of Olympic coverage.  Media observer Wayne Friedman noted that NBC had 40 minutes of advertising in the opening ceremonies this year compared to 35 minutes in 2002.  


• GOVERNMENT VS THE MEDIA:  Here’s a study to give you media mavens a boost.  While the public’s view of Congress and the federal government has dropped pretty significantly over the past year, the public’s view of the media has actually risen.  That from a study released this month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.  The headlines were about President Bush’s negative drag on the Republican Party and the perception that Hilary Clinton was the head of the Democratic Party.  But buried in the report was the media and government comparison.  The public view of Congress is at its lowest in a decade with 47% having an ‘unfavorable’ view of Congress versus 44% with a favorable view.  The last time it was this low was when Congress shut down the federal government in 1995.  The same report shows two-thirds (65%) of the American people say they trust the government “only sometimes” or “never.”  Only about a third say they think they can trust the government to do what’s right “just about always” or “most of the time.”The report says the public’s satisfaction with the news media has “rebounded” over the past year with 59% rating the news media favorably.  That compares to 52% in October of last year and a low of 43% in December of 2004.  People on both sides of the political aisle feel more favorably toward the media, although it is a tight race among Republicans, 49% of whom score the media favorably and 48% unfavorably.  But that 49% is up from 32% in December of 2004.  Democrats gave the press a thumbs up by a margin of 71%, which is a significant increase from 56% in December, 2004.  People who identified themselves as Independents in the survey gave better ratings also (57% in February, 2006, vs. 50% in December, 2004).Even better (yes, that is editorial opinion), Americans have moved away from the belief, after the 9/11 attacks, that government should have the right to censor news stories on national security grounds.  Although there has been a favorable shift toward press freedom across the political spectrum, there is still a dramatic difference between Republican Democratic views.  Republicans by a wide margin (53%) favor government being able to censor the media with only 38% favoring the media’s ability to report.  Democrats on the other hand hold an opposite point of view with 68% favoring the media’s ability to report as opposed to 23% who favor the government’s ability to censor.  Independents are more in line with Democrats (62% media and 28% government).  


• GLOBAL TEEN CULTURE:  Teenagers around the world are so ‘wired’ that for them, there is no such thing as ‘new media.’  Where once ‘wired teens’ were a phenomenon of developed countries, now they are so wired that “there is an entire world of communication going on that adults aren’t a part of and don’t even know about,” says Chip Walker, executive vice president of Energy/ BBDO and author of the GenWorld Global Teen Study.  And that’s not even the half of it.  In the survey of 13 countries, fully 56% of the teens aged 13 to 18 qualified as “superconnectors” using at least two of five electronic devices or services every day.  Walker writes in an article in ChiefMarketer that, “connecting virtually is how they live.”  And despite a growing global uneasiness among these teenagers because of concerns about terrorism and war (only 14% say the world is becoming a better place), there is also a growing sense of activism with six out of ten saying they would “fight for a cause I believe in.”  There is a pragmatic side with teens in eight out of the 13 countries saying that their number one ‘expectation’ was being financially secure or better off.While USA Teens were considered the vanguard of youth culture in the 1990’s, that is no longer true.  Now today’s leading teens (30%) are “creatives” – curious about the world, altruistic, open to new ideas and interested in self expression.  At least globally.  In the U.S., conservative ‘traditional’ teens still make up half the population.  Considering that the report is from BBDO, obviously marketing is an issue.  The report says 62% of teens globally are apathetic about marketing and advertising, with fewer than ever (13%) wearing brand logos.  Also, the report notes that while American brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds retain the highest awareness, the best liked brands, in order, are Sony, Nokia and Adidas.  As Walker so nicely puts it, “hype causes apathy but meaning energizes.”  If you want to read the full article on this fascinating report, go to --  http://chiefmarketer.com/global_teen_culture_02022006/index.htmlOn the flip side of the equation, ChiefMarketer also had an article by Cynthia R. Cohen, president of Strategic Mindshare, with her view of the top ten consumer trends for 2006.  It seemed to focus on the Baby Boomer impact, predicting that “60 is the new sexy” (Goldie Hawn turns 60) with lavish themed parties on the horizon for those hitting that mark, and more Retro Rock interest, from the Beatles to The Stones.  Other trend predictions include a return to dresses for women along with Bling jewelry; more interest in organic foods along with high quality packaged foods; a new word “artisanal” (which is a cheese made by Monks) being used to describe home and kitchen accessories; and pregnancy (a la Katie, Brooke and Gwyneth) becoming fashionable.  Other things to look for – electronic devices like iPods will sell because of color and style more than feature-crammed gadgetry; and Chihuahuas are out and bulldogs and pugs are in.


• MARK TWAIN:  One of my favorite quotes for my writing workshops was one often attributed to Mark Twain, “I’m sorry this letter is so long.  I didn’t have time to make it shorter.”  The point being the emphasis on brevity and re-writing.  Now, I have a new one thanks to an article in The New York Times about the end to telegrams (also reported in MfM).  In it, the article quotes a telegram exchange between Mark Twain and his publisher.  From the publisher – Need 2-page short story two days.  From Mark Twain – No can do 2 pages two days.  Can do 30 pages 2 days.  Need 30 days to do 2 pages.  


• COCKTAIL CHATTER:  A humorous side note to the telegram story is an exchange between Cary Grant and a reporter:  Reporter:  How Old Cary Grant?  Cary Grant:  Old Cary Grant Fine.  How You?  The Populos Vox On-Line encyclopedia and reference site Wikipedia has had to block several government IP addresses, including Congress, because the politicians were hacking the reports to take out any negative references to themselves and putting in negative ‘facts’ about opponents.  Semi-staid Time magazine is expected to launch an ‘irreverent’ men’s online website, officepirates.com, which will feature videos and off-color jokes. The Bush Administration spent $1.4 Billion on 137 contracts with ad agencies since mid-2003, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office and released by Congressional Democrats and reported in AdWeek.  A plaque honoring Edward R. Murrow has been unveiled at his London home of Weymouth House in memory of his broadcasts during the blitz.


• FOOTNOTE:  Because of several requests, back issues of Message from Michael starting in January of this year are now posted on the blog site – media-consultant.blogspot.com.  


• SUBSCRIPTION:  I am pleased to welcome several new subscribers to MfM.  Please feel free to forward this newsletter on.  If you are receiving this newsletter from someone else, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, reply to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line.

Michael Castengera 

Message From Michael-Feb9th

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                                                                              

• SWEEPS


• SUPERBOWL


• COMPETITION FOR THE CW


• COMPETITION FOR THE COMPETITION


• DON’T KNOW JACK ABOUT REGGAE


• COMING TO AN EARPIECE NEAR YOU


• COCKTAIL CHATTER

• SWEEPS:  Just one word.  That’s it.


• SUPERBOWL:   Okay, you’ve no doubt read and seen more about the Super Bowl and the commercials than you need or want, but I can’t write this week’s MfM without at least some mention.  First, the facts:  With 90.72 Million viewers, the telecast scored the largest audience for any SuperBowl since 1996 and the biggest audience for ANY TV show since that date.  The Programming Insider provided a unique number, Super Bowl XL reached an estimated 141.4 Million “unduplicated” viewers – a term we normally associate with websites.  There were SEVERAL ad favorites, all depending on who was measuring what.  An America Online poll found the Budweiser Streaker ad was the most popular.  USA Today’s annual Post-Super Bowl ad meter survey awarded top honors for best ad to Anheuser Busch’s Secret Refrigerator ad.  A survey by marketing services company ICOM gave the top honors to FedEx’s Caveman spot.  A poll conducted by Michigan State and NorthWestern ranked Dove’s Real Beauty ads first.  TiVo reported that the most replayed ads in their households were the Ameriquest ads.  comScore reports that the GoDaddy.com scored the most online hits with a 1500% increase.  Anyway, the point is two-fold.  One is that, with three out of four web users planning to go online looking for ads, the smart advertiser linked their ads and drove home their website to get more ‘bang for the buck.’  And that the point of all the advertising, as comScore noted in its survey of spots, is to “improve the brand’s images.”  


• COMPETITION FOR THE CW:  The newly formed network is getting some good buzz on Madison Avenue, but the next big buzz may be two unusual networks.  Mega brewer and advertiser Anheuser-Busch has announced that it is launching its own direct-to-consumer network online.  Called The Bud Screen, the new ‘network’ will bypass traditional TV networks to deliver advertising, programming and branded entertainment content to consumers’ computers, iPods and other devices.  On top of that, the National Football League has announced that it will broadcast eight games on its own network, The NFL Network.  Of course that’s only eight out of 256 games.  Commissioner Paul Tagliabue admits the league wants to retain greater control over its games but says the move will “complement what the others (networks) are doing for us.”  But The Philadelphia Inquirer notes the move is a first step to cutting out two middlemen with advertisers and journalists.


• COMPETITION FOR THE COMPETITION:  Okay, maybe not.  But… Al Jazeera is expected to launch its English language channel by May.  According to The Peninsula, Qatar’s Leading English Daily, the Arab network will have broadcast centers in four locations, Washington DC, London, Kuala Lumpur and Doha, the capital of Qatar.  Half of the programming will originate in Doha with the other half being split among the other three broadcast centers.  On a related note, a journalism conference in Doha talked about the growth of Arab media and while critical of American media talked about the need for Arab media to be self critical and not be intimidated by the state.  According to an article in the Gulf Times also published in Doha, ONLY 31.7% of the participants believed the Arab media had nothing to learn from western media.  As an interesting footnote (to me at least), when the article referenced the cartoon about the Prophet Muhammad, it contained a parenthesis after his name (peace be upon him).    


• DON’T KNOW JACK ABOUT REGGAE:  At least I don’t, but according to AdAge, the new, big thing in radio formats is Reggaeton which is just behind the popular DJ-free JACK radio format in terms of growth.  It is described as a Latin Hip-Hop, combining the Latin American sounds of bomba and plena.  Part of its growth is because of the growth in Hispanic radio in general, but the article notes that the sound is not limited to Latino audiences only.  The big name you will be hearing is Daddy Yankee.  And, as long as I am on a People magazine kind of note, the other big name you will soon be hearing, according to the New York Times, is a South Korean singing sensation named Rain, who is touring the U.S. On a semi-related note, MediaWeek is reporting that for the first time since Nielsen Media Research began measuring New York using local people meters, Spanish-language TV topped the January ratings for early fringe and prime-time access.  Univision owned-and-operated station WXTV was the top local news program beating out the ABC O&O for honors among the 18-49 demographic, and telenovela Piel de Otono beat out Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.  And on a related note to the semi-related note, the Hispanic network is reportedly up for sale with an asking price in the $10 Billion range.


• COMING TO AN EARPIECE NEAR YOU:  Several readers of MfM noted the move by Apple’s iTunes to provide something besides music.  You can now go to the website and find various university and college lectures being made available for downloading on your iPod, most notably by the University of Missouri. They’re available at the sites music store.  There is even one, under the title Backtime, that contains podcasts specifically aimed at broadcast journalists. (Thanks to Ashley Hayes, reporter/ WECT for this particular tip.)  On a related note, The New York Times has launched a series of 11 podcasts, available not only at its site but also on the iTunes website.  The newspaper’s Front Page podcast has already reached the #5 position in terms of downloaded podcasts.  And on a related-to-the-related note, according to an article in USA Today, the normally ‘risk-averse’ newspaper industry is trying to re-invent itself in light of new media developments, through such projects as The Readership Institute and The Press Institute.


• QUOTES:   As much as I dislike pithy quotes, there are two that come from the coverage of the death of former NBC News President Reuven Frank which I think every broadcaster should remember.  In one, the broadcast pioneer is quoted on the website of the Museum of Broadcast Communications as saying, “Pictures are the point of television reporting.”  And in a letter to the editor in Shoptalk by Dave Gonigam, a writer for WFLD, Chicago, Frank is quoted as saying that print was good at transmission of information but that TV was best at the “transmission of experience.”  


• COCKTAIL CHATTER:  According to a survey of 50,000 students at 69 schools, journalism students were the most likely to admit to cheating.  The study by the Center for Academic Integrity which is associated with Duke University found that 27% of the journalism majors admitted to cheating, one point ahead of business majors.  The ones who cheated the less, or at least said they cheated the less, were science students at 19%.  A female road warrior has come up with a novel idea for those long, boring airplane trips.  She has created a website called Airtroductions.com.  On it, you can submit your name and find the name of others who are looking for someone interesting to sit next to on those long flights.  The most expensive perfume in the world gets its key ingredient from the part of the Iris flower that is worth three times as much as gold bullion.  And as long as I am on the subject of websites, here is a link to the CBS News report on the State of the Media -- http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/03/eveningnews/main1281359.shtmlClive Christian No. 1 Pure Perfume sells for $2,150 for a one-ounce bottle, but supposedly since the perfume lingers for 24 hours, “a thousand dollar squirt goes a long way.”  (San Francisco Chronicle via The Week).  Some AOL users are upset because the company’s new marketing campaign built around its Instant Messaging service is supposedly blasphemous.  AOL made a play on words creating a campaign I AM.  But some Internet users are upset because I AM is also the English translation of YahWeh, the self-proclaimed name of God.  In Exodus, it is how God answered Moses when Moses asked him his name.  (World Net Daily)


• If you are receiving this newsletter from someone else, you can subscribe by sending an e-mail to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “subscribe-MM” in the subject line.  If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, reply to newsconsultant@aol.com with the word “unsubscribe-MM” in the subject line.  Note – This e-mail has been scanned by Norton antivirus before being sent.

Message From Michael-Feb2nd

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Message From Michael-Jan26th

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                       January 26, 2006                                                                                                    

• SWEEPS AND SWEEPS FACTOIDS


• THE FOUR F’S OF RATINGS


• THE FIFTH NETWORK


• FIVE YEARS THAT ARE LIKE 50


• SOME ‘GOOD’ NEWS ABOUT TV AND THE INTERNET


• SALES PEOPLE TAKE NOTE


• COCKTAIL CHATTER – CHINA AND MURDOCH

• SWEEPS:  One week till February 2nd and the start of the sweeps.  Need I say more? Sweeps Factoids:  All ten of the top ten telecasts of ALL time were SuperBowl games, according to Nielsen Media, and 17 of the top 20 telecasts were SuperBowl shows.  The only non-sports program to break the top 20 was the finale of Cheers in 1993.  The other two in the top 20?  Two days of the Winter Olympics of 1994.  Now, here’s a weird factoid I found from analyzing Nielsen’s top 100 telecasts:  In the last decade, only ten programs, besides sports, have broken the top 100 mark.  Five of those were Academy Award programs.  The others were Seinfeld in 1998 (#21), Friends in 1996 (#49) and 2004 (#80), E.R. in 1998 (#86) and, here’s the one that makes you wonder, a special edition of 20/20 in 1999 (#85).  Can you guess what that was about?


• THE FOUR F’S OF RATINGS:  After yet another Nielsen diary visit on behalf of clients, I’ve come up with one of those cutesy consulting mantras, but it’s true nevertheless.  Fragmentation:  You already semi-know about this, but the viewing options have splintered into shards that viewers are picking up.  Fringe:  Satellite penetration has reached such a level that, combined with spill-over from neighboring markets, has become an invading horde.  Flow: Viewers are too often stepping onto the banks of the programming river because we’re not reminding them to stay in.  Frequency:  Viewers are kicking the viewing habit because we haven’t made the nicotine of news addictive enough.  At this point, you’re probably wondering what I’m smoking, too.  Anyway…As a follow-up to our earlier report about the sale of VNU and subsidiary Nielsen Media, a Florida real estate tycoon has launched a new research company which he says will cherry-pick parts of VNU to form a single all-encompassing media research firm.  Frank Maggio who has filed two lawsuits against Nielsen Media says he plans to eventually sell the company back to U.S. media and advertising companies to operate as a not-for-profit industry-controlled concern.  (Source:  Media Daily News).    


• THE FIFTH NETWORK:  By now, everybody has heard about the merger of the WB and UPN into a single network, CW, owned 50-50 by Time Warner and CBS, but it was just too important a development not to at least mention in MfM.  Besides, it gives me a reason to mention a new website which broadcasters should bookmark.  It’s tvnewsday.com, the business of broadcasting, and it’s the brainchild of former Broadcasting and Cable exec Harry Jessell.  It has several articles dealing with the network fall-out, including a report on a drop in broadcaster Sinclair’s shares because the company owns a lot of WB and UPN stations, and a prediction of turmoil in the spot ad market because of the depletion of network TV ratings points.  (Thanks to Horace Newcomb, Executive Director/ Peabody Awards, for this tip.)


• FIVE YEARS THAT ARE LIKE 50:  Nobody needs to tell you that the Internet is booming, but a recent report provides some concrete statistics about just how big a boom it has been.  The report, which seems to have gotten little coverage, by the Center for the Digital Future at the U-S-C Annenberg School has tracked Internet use each year over the past five years.  The director of the project, Jeffrey I. Cole, says the five year study shows the Internet is changing America. The headlines --The Internet is playing a significantly increased role in politics; the Internet is also playing an increasingly important role in the social lives of military personnel; more ‘poor’ people are using the Internet; more people over 55 are using the Internet; more people, period, are using the Internet and using it for longer periods; the number of people buying online has tripled in the past four years, despite continuing concerns about credit card use online – concerns that are decreasing though; e-mail use remains the most popular activity online with more than a third checking e-mail several times a day.  And the two semi-contradictory facts that make you wonder – 1) Workers say the Internet makes them more productive at work even though large numbers say they use the Internet for personal reasons at work; 2) The number of people who cite the Internet  as ‘the most important source of information’ continues to rise each year even though the number of people who believe the information on the Internet IS reliable and accurate continues to decline each year.The statistics – Internet access has risen to its highest level in the five years of study, with 78.6% of Americans going online in 2005.  The number of Americans using the Internet at home has risen from 46.9% in the first year of the study in 2000 to 66.2% in the fifth year of the study in 2005.  The number of Internet users aged 56 to 65 has from increased from 55% in 2000 to 74.9% in 2005.  Internet use among those with incomes of less than $30,000 a year has risen from around 50% in the first four years of the project to 61% in the last year.  The number of users who consider the Internet ‘reliable and accurate’ has dropped from a peak of 58% in 2001 to 48.8% in 2005.  Of those who can access non-work websites from the office, the vast majority go online for non-work purposes for 3.5 hours a week.  Yet, 66.3% say the Internet makes them more productive at work, up from 56.7% in 2000.The kicker – When asked which technology they would be most willing to give up, 39.4% of Internet users chose cell phones, followed by 32.7% who would first give up television.  Only 27.8% of Internet users would be most willing to give up the Internet.On a related note, a report by the Pew Internet and the American Life Project says the percentage of women using the Internet still lags behind the percentage of men using it, but because women make up a larger portion of the population, there are more total women than men on line.  Other stats -- more women aged 18-29 (86%) than men that age (80%) are online and more black women (60%) are online than black men (50%).  The author of the study says men go online for “the breadth of experience” while women go online “for the human connections.”


• SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT TV AND THE INTERNET:  I should maybe add the word ‘finally’ but the Television Bureau of Advertising reports that revenue from TV station websites doubled from 2004 to 2005, reaching $283 Million, and is expected to increase by 39% in 2006.  Of course that was only a fraction (6% to be exact) of the $3.9 Billion spent on the web last year with newspaper websites accounting for 43.2% of the LOCAL Internet advertising market.  And on a related note, the USC report cited above also noted that Internet watching comes primarily at the expense of TV watching.


• SALES PEOPLE TAKE NOTE:  On an un-related but related note, a Los Angeles based start-up company is helping companies create TV ad campaigns over the Internet for as little as $500.  Companies go to the site, spotrunner.com, and pick a generic spot from the company library, add a little this, a little that, pick your station and time, make up a schedule and, according to the site, Voila, “you’re competing against the national chains with an affordable, high quality television commercial that rivals theirs.”  Before you discount it, keep in mind that the founders of the site are the same people who founded PeoplePc and the Firefly Network.  See for yourself.    


• COCKTAIL CHATTER:  So, what do China and Murdoch have in common?  According to a report in BusinessWeek, China employs 30,000 censors to monitor Internet traffic.  Hackers found that Chinese censors found 987 words that were blocked from government controlled Internet operations.  All corporations – Microsoft, Yahoo, Google – have to sign a “public pledge of self discipline” to host their sites on servers in China.  And in a similar vein, Murdoch’s recently acquired myspace.com became embroiled in controversy when users found that references to competitor youtube.com were being deleted out of articles and postings.  And as long as we’re overseas, MarketWatch on NPR reports that Japanese firms are moving part of their computer manufacturing to China because of labor costs.  And while we’re in Japan, Naked News which features anchors who disrobe during a newscast, has launched a channel in the land of the rising sun.  Okay, this is more bragging than reporting, but several readers of MfM noted that several news organizations have done stories about the milliondollarpage.com which we reported in MfM several months ago.On a somber, this-is-not-a-kicker note, the Daily News in Sri Lanka reports that murder was the leading cause of work related deaths for journalists in 2005 with 47 killed, nearly half (22) of them in Iraq.  The number of deaths is down from 57 in 2004.  


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Message From Michael-Jan16th-Resolutions

Message From Michael                    (image placeholder)
                                                  January 16, 2006                                                                                                              

• Special Edition – Resolutions -- #2

• SPECIAL EDITION NOTE – RESOLUTIONS:  As I read the various resolutions, my reactions ran the gamut from, ‘yeah, me too’ to ‘damn, that’s interesting.’  The call for predictions and resolutions produced so much good material that I decided to do a two-part edition of MfM.  This part obviously enough deals with the resolutions which, as I noted, could be either personal or professional.  What was particularly noteworthy were the number of people who had made a personal resolution which had professional ramifications.


• TRAIN, NOT TRY:  “In all the areas where I want to improve, I am going to change my mindset that I am in training for the next great goal, not just trying.”   Tracey Rogers (ND/ WAFF/ Huntsville)


• LISTEN:  If there was one word used more than any other in all these resolutions, it was the word – Listen.  Doug DeYoung (ND/ WPBN/ Traverse City) says he has made it a goal to meet one-on-one with every team member to discuss their personal goals because “this will make me a better team leader and make our team produce better results.”  Lee Meredith (GM/ WAFF/ Huntsville) echoed those sentiments with a simple:  “R – be a better listener.”  As did Richard Riley (University of Georgia) who vowed to listen more and “reconsider change a positive.”    


• THROUGH THE EYES:  “I resolve to evaluate my talents and abilities through the eyes of people I respect and then take the necessary actions to make the utmost use of what I find.”  Maria Placer (Station Manager/ KLFY/ Lafayette, LA) The other great theme was the need to work with the staff, to help them be better.  As Jonathon Mitchell (ND/ WNWO/ Toledo) put it, “coaching can get lost in the shuffle.”  Barbara Maushard (ND/ WISN/ Milwaukee) says she plans to spend more time helping her staff become better storytellers to “make the important news they are delivering mean more to the viewers.”  It is a sentiment very closely echoed in the words of Mike Smith (VP-News/ WCTV/ Tallahassee) who makes the point, “a well written story is still the best part of any newscast.”  Or As Michael Sullivan (ND/ WJCL/ Savannah) put it, “connect to the viewers.”In a somewhat similar vein about team work, Raeford Brown (ND/ WECT/ Wilmington) says he has made it his goal to “maintain harmony while holding onto the tail to keep it from wagging the dog.”  Bob Smith (ND/ KWWL/ Waterloo) says the challenge is “staying motivated and keeping my fellow employees motivated.”  Mark Rosen (ND/ WJBF/ Augusta) talks about “streamlining our machine” by developing newsroom systems for virtually everything.  Meg Sauer (ND/ WSBT/ South Bend) and Rick Erbach (ND/ WGCL/ Atlanta) used different words but hit a similar theme.  For Meg, her resolution is “to be more decisive” while Rick says he has adopted the phrase, “do it now.”    


• SUNSETS AND CELLPHONES:  “I resolve to watch more sunsets… without my cellphone.”  Estelle Parsley (ND/ WRDW/ Augusta)RESOLUTIONS – BALANCING ACT.  While Estelle is trying to get away from her cell phone, Meg Sauer has resolved to spend less time with e-mail.  It’s indicative of the ‘other’ interesting theme to come out of all these resolutions  -- the need for balance – not just between their personal lives and professional lives but between their personal needs and the personal needs of others.  As Rick Moll (ND/ WTVM/ Columbus) semi-facetiously put it:  “My resolution is to reduce my stress level and make more time for me.  My prediction is it won’t happen.”  Interestingly, Lee Brantley (GM/ WTVM/ Columbus) phrased it in a similarly self-facetious way, saying he’s determined “to enjoy my work more and not let the bastards get me down.”  Coincidentally, two people not only made the same point but used almost the same language.  Dianne Streyer (VP & General Manager/ VDO/ Clearwater) says she has resolved “to build in creative time – ALWAYS.”  Similarly, Kate Freeman (Marketing Manager/ WTOC/ Savannah) says she is determined to “make my ‘spare’ time more creatively rewarding.”      


• RESOLUTIONS:  Not all resolutions were work oriented.  There were many of the more traditional resolutions, the ones that I would read and say, ‘yep, me too.’  As in when Andree Boyd (Marketing Manager/ WAFB/ Baton Rouge) vowed to be debt free by the end of the year or Carlos Reina (MM/ KVUE/ Austin) talks about getting the wherewithal to buy a home.  Even when the resolution was not work oriented, there were similarities between the personal and professional, such as when Janet Patterson (Researcher/ Bell South/ Atlanta) talked about cleaning and organizing her house “finally” while Deborah Potter (Executive Director, Newslab) wants to get her VHS tapes digitized and organized “once and for all.”        


• ONLY ONE BODY:  “I resolve to finally accept the fact that God gives you only one body and do my best to thank Him by not wishing it was better, but by doing something to make it better.”  Maria Placer (Station Manager/ KLFY/ Lafayette, LA)Health was a big issue for many.  Dianne Streyer vows to work out three times a week.  Kathy Stone (EP/ WLEX/ Lexington) notes that part of the challenge in trying to get healthy is spending “so much time in a chair with wheels.”  And don’t think only the female members are talking health.  Bob Smith put getting healthy at the top of his list… just ahead of stopping swearing while Craig Harney (Operations Manager/ WTOC/ Savannah) jokingly referred to trying to rescue his ‘girlish figure’ from ‘too many drumsticks.’


• STAYING IN TOUCH:  “My New Year’s Resolution is to do a better job of staying in touch with all of the friends I’ve been lucky to make in my 24 years in TV.”  Russ Mitchell (Anchor/ CBS/ New York)  


• FINAL - ANONYMOUS RESOLUTION:  It comes from a General Manager who put his resolution bluntly:  “To Fix or Replace Weak Links in the Team Chain.”  Now, you know why it’s anonymous.  However, I would note that the first word, fix, is the key word.  The second word, ‘replace,’ is reality.  It’s a way to end, but with a footnote by me – none of the people who responded to the MfM need to be fixed or replaced.  They already get it.  They’re the leaders.        

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