Director of Web Operations, KABC-TV
Los Angeles
Read the full post November 15th, 2006
Archive for November 15th, 2006
The oldest of old media farts
Is CNN’s Larry King, who admitted on the air that he’s never (as in NEVER) used the internet. “What do you punch little buttons and things?” he asked guest Roseanne Barr.
7 comments November 15th, 2006
NBC’s Falco jumps to AOL
NBCU Television Group President and COO Randy Falco has accepted the CEO post at Time Warner’s AOL division, replacing Jon Miller. “AOL is clearly headed in the right direction,” Falco said in a statement, referring to the recent move beyond subscriptions to an advertising-based model. “I have full faith in its future as a leader among Time Warner businesses. My challenge will be to execute on the strategy that I believe will make AOL once again the leader of the online world.” It will be interesting to watch Falco’s influence on bringing more of a media strategy to AOL in the months to come.
1 comment November 15th, 2006
LaCorte named VP of FoxNews.com
While we’re at it, another industry move to tell you about. Ken LaCorte has been named VP and senior executive producer of FoxNews.com from his previous position of director of news editorial for the cable network. More in the release…
Read the full post 1 comment November 15th, 2006
Blinkx unleashes the video wall
A new feature on the video search site Blinkx allows bloggers to embed a nifty video wall of clips from a selected search term. The display is fed by RSS, so it updates automatically as new search results come in. You can select any size you want, and I maxed it out and embedded it on the next page. Click “read more” below to see it in all its grandeur (wait a sec for it to load), then mouse over it for even more fun…
Read the full post 3 comments November 15th, 2006
YouTube cuts first pro sports deal
The NHL has teamed up with YouTube, and the hockey league will contribute highlights and behind-the-scenes features to a dedicated channel on the video site. NHL will share in the advertising revenue generated by the video, and YouTube says more sports deals are on the way. “We are in active conversations with the other leagues, and are making a lot of progress,” said YouTube VP/Content Kevin Donahue. “But this is a true milestone for us. We anticipate creating a truly great forum for hockey fans.” (Via PaidContent)
2 comments November 15th, 2006
Halo 3 going public beta in 2007
Wow, lots of Halo fans were hoping that Bungie would release Halo 3 in time for the holidays, but alas, not so much. But the Microsoft machine is steaming full speed ahead with the surprising announcement that Xbox Live members will be able to put to the test a beta version of Halo 3 in spring of next year. What a innovative way to uncover bugs and get some fresh ideas before the final release, not to mention drive a ton of new Live subscriptions (any bets on whether Live will crash on beta opening day?) And coming December 4th, ESPN Monday Night Football will air a 60-second trailer of Halo 3, “which promises to be the biggest event in appointment advertising this year,” reads the press release. And they might be right. Remember, Halo 2 set entertainment retail records with $125 million in sales in just 24 hours. More details…
Read the full post Add comment November 15th, 2006
Web tools to monitor local trends
It’s beyond me why more local broadcasters prefer costly and sometimes outdated research, rather than using the web to monitor local trends in their communities. I’m not saying you should never commission exhaustive, professional research again, but the web provides real-time trends. For example, in my local community of Boston, I would search Flickr to see what people are taking photos of, YouTube to see what videos have been uploaded, Technorati to see what my fellow citizens are blogging about, and the forums on Craigslist to see what people are talking about every single day. There are loads of other websites to monitor local trends. Which ones have you used?
2 comments November 15th, 2006
Stephen Colbert interviews Dan Rather
I just finished watching last night’s Colbert interview with Dan Rather. It’s pretty funny. As I’ve been watching Rather make the talk show rounds to plug his new show on HDNet, I’m find myself liking him more and more. He’s more relaxed and less formal. Maybe he’s acting more like himself and less as “Dan Rather the anchor”. At the same time I like Katie Couric less and less as she changes herself to fit into “the role of an anchor”. Here’s my deep thought, in order for talent (I can’t stand that term) to thrive in today’s media world, they need to be themselves, instead of “playing the role of an anchor”. Let’s leave the fakeness to Stewart and Colbert. Let’s get more real in journalism. Unfortunately I missed Rather’s debut on HDNet, since I don’t get it (and I don’t own an HD television, so I probably wouldn’t fuller appreciate it anyway). How was he?
2 comments November 15th, 2006
O.J. Simpson: If I did it…
Fox plans to air an interview with O.J. Simpson called, “If I Did It, Here’s How it Happened.” And of course, it corresponds with a new book he’s publishing which “hypothetically describes how the murders would have been committed.” No joke. Simpson still owes a big chunk of the $33.5 million in restitution, and it’s unclear whether the proceeds from the book will go to the families. And the big question remains, will advertisers buy into the controversial show?
42 comments November 15th, 2006
Online ad spending up by 30% in Q3, sets record
Spending on online advertising grew to $4.2 billion in the third quarter of 2006. That’s a jump of 30% over the same quarter a year ago. That’s according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and it’s a new record for spending in a single quarter. It looks as though search will be the leader in spending when the year ends.
Add comment November 15th, 2006
RSS-worthy: Language Log
If you’re a language nerd like I am, I recommend adding the blog “Language Log” to your RSS. I discovered it via my Google Reader, and it is different from any take on the English language I’ve ever seen. It’s sort of a “Freakonomics for English.” It’s a cliche buster - ever hear of a “snowclone?” Check it out.
1 comment November 15th, 2006
Taking Motionbox for a ride
Hollywood Reporter blogger and LR Pal Steve Bryant tried out the online editing and video sharing site/tool Motionbox. He digs it, saying it’s “saving the web, one boring vacation at a time.” From Bryant: “Part of this technology is “deep tagging,” or applying labels to specific segments or chapters of a video. Once a video has been deep tagged, any user can navigate directly to those segments of the video, skipping the chaff to get to the wheat as it were.” Motionbox is available through NBC O/O stations in addition to its own site, and is hinting at future partnerships.
1 comment November 15th, 2006
Fox Interactive Media selling downloaded movies & TV
Fox Interactive Media is going to offer movies and TV shows via its Direct2Drive website. Up until now, the site had been offering downloads of videogames. FIM is selling flicks from its various Fox-owned production companies. Movies will start at $7.99, TV shows at $1.99. A quick comparison of Direct2Drive versus the same shows on iTunes shows full TV season downloads are a little cheaper on the Fox site. BUT: Way too much DRM. You can only watch the videos on a PC or “approved handheld device,” and it took me three less-than-obvious clicks just to get that information. You can’t make a DVD out of the download, either. When are these people going to understand that we want our downloads on our terms? I can’t watch a movie that I paid for on my TV?
2 comments November 15th, 2006
Lessons From the LR Guys: 300 views and counting
Thank you, everyone who has watched and written about our video, “Doing it Right, Lessons from the Lost Remote Guys.” We’re up to 300 views (although there’s no way of knowing how many of you sat through all 26 minutes, and I don’t blame you if you didn’t. It’s a repurposing of our presentation at Streaming Media West, and it’s still up on Google Video if you want to take a look.
1 comment November 15th, 2006
