Archive for April 10th, 2007
The network said one of its producers plagiarized a story from the Wall Street Journal in a videoblog post hosted by Katie Couric. Reads the editor’s note on the Couric & Company blog, “The April 4 Notebook was based on a ‘Moving On’ column by Jeffrey Zaslow that ran in The Wall Street Journal on March 15 with the headline, ‘Of the Places You’ll Go, Is the Library Still One of Them?’ Much of the material in the Notebook came from Mr. Zaslow, and we should have acknowledged that at the top of our piece. We offer our sincere apologies for the omission.” CBS News said the producer who wrote the videoblog for Couric has been fired. “We were horrified,” CBS News spokeswoman Sandra Genelius said. “It was almost verbatim.”
April 10th, 2007
NBC has launched a companion website for The Today Show’s popular “Where in the World is Matt Lauer” franchise with video clips, a contest and a virtual travel desk. Called FollowMatt.com, the site is sponsored exclusively by Hyundai for a cool $2.5 million.
April 10th, 2007
Meredith took the wraps off its first broadband network, Better.tv, that combines the resources of the company’s magazines, TV stations, books and websites. Better.tv is targeted to women with content ranging across 20 channels, such as food, family, home, style, remodeling and entertainment. “We reach over 75 million women through our media properties, and have a unique understanding of how to deliver service based information to them in a highly engaging way essential in today’s fast paced 360° media environment,” said Meredith Publishing Group President Jack Griffin. The site is comprised of original programming — shot by Meredith’s production arm in the company’s own studios — featuring experts from the group’s magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens and Ladies’ Home Journal. Better.tv video will also be incorporated into BHG.com, which is relaunching later this month. And it’s all powered by Brightcove.
A smart move for Meredith, if you ask me, especially when you consider the distribution and revenue opportunities. Press release follows below with more details…
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Portland, OR
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Boca Raton, FL
Read the full post April 10th, 2007
A comment left yesterday on Lost Remote has me thinking. “For all the hype newspaper sites get they actually don’t do all that well,” Jim wrote. “Many other TV sites do just as well as the big boys and never get recognized for it.” While newspapers still outpace TV sites on average, Jim is right about the increasing number of TV sites that are beating their newspaper competition. As newspapers face a tremendous challenge on Wall Street, they’re aggressively promoting their web ventures. You read about them all over the place. But on the TV side — especially in local TV — we hear very little about the success stories. So as a reminder, if your site has launched something cool (and it’s paying off in traffic and/or revenue), please drop me a note (cory at lostremote.com) and we’ll post it on Lost Remote. I think it’s important that TV sites are recognized for our successes, or we risk being out-hyped by newspaper sites — which are fighting for the same ad dollars.
Adds Don in comments: “I’ve been frustrated with the ‘newspapers are doing video!’ stories floating around lately. So? Many TV sites launched online video in the late 1990s…. TV stations have been doing breaking news for decades – most newspapers have been doing breaking news for months. We’re an innovative industry. It’s time to start acting like it.”
Adds Jason: “Just my $0.02, but I think the hype lies in that be cause of the limited nature of their medium, most people don’t expect that much from newspapers in terms of multiplatform/multiformat services applicable to a variety of digital devices. So when traditional print companies go all-out, it’s big news. Contrast this with TV sites, who many people automatically will assume will be relevant all over the board. It’s less of a shock when TV sites become all-encompassing.”
Adds Safran: “It’s not just that newspapers are ‘doing’ video. They’re going gangbusters with video classifieds. How did that happen? Why aren’t TV sites THE place for video classifieds? Newspapers are outselling local TV in video classifieds 3:1. I’m all for success stories, too - I’d like to hear about TV sites taking back innovation.”
April 10th, 2007
Call 1-800-GOOG-411 and you can test out Google’s new 411 phone directory service. I just tried it for “KING 5″ in Seattle, and the robotic voice gave me eight options, just as if I had searched for the same term on Google Local. The first three options were correct. A little clunky when compared to talking with a real person, but hey, it’s free. And you can also ask for the results to be sent to your cell phone in a text message. Nifty. Meanwhile, Microsoft recently acquired TellMe, a directory assistance provider and voice-activated mobile search firm.
Adds lovethisworld in comments: “First I dialed the wrong number GOOG is 4664 not 4004 (as the person who so kindly explained for clearly the severalth time told me). Dialed the right number, it worked. What is that sound? Sounds like the operator is scatting while searching.”
Adds Steve: “I like how the guy makes a fake computer noise while it searches, the beedeleboop thing - it’s hilarious.”
April 10th, 2007
The Tampa Tribune announced today that it’s cutting or outsourcing approximately 70 positions — just over 5 percent of its staff. At the same time, the Tribune said it’s planning to launch “a number” of hyperlocal and community sites as extensions of TBO.com. “Our newspaper is experiencing the challenges of changing reader needs and fundamental shifts in spending by our traditional advertisers,” said Denise Palmer, president and publisher. “We are reducing resources in areas that are in decline and investing in areas of growth, including local news and the Internet,” she said. The Tribune, WFLA and TBO.com have been a model of convergence — they share a newsroom — yet declining revenue on the newspaper side is taking its toll.
Three hyperlocal sites have already launched — Brandon News, Suncoast News-Pasco and Suncoast News-Pinellas. “Basically, we’re turning all of our zone/weekly reporters into online producers, so that they think online first and print second,” said TBO.com VP/GM Randy Coats. TBO’s staff will jump from 14 on the content side to 40+. The secret? “A pretty turn-key CMS that they run without TBO intervention.” A dozen more sites are expected to launch this summer. Press release follows…
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Analysts are starting to sound a little like some bloggers we know, saying that big media companies like Disney, News Corp., and Time Warner may try to increase their presence in gaming in their attempts to reach younger consumers as movies and television growth slows. Fueling the discussion is speculation that News Corp. is interested in acquiring Take-Two Interactive, and we all know how successful Murdoch has been with beefing up his interactive portfolio through smart acquisitions. With the exception of Disney’s interactive unit, most media companies have licensed their content to existing producers rather than get into the game production space on their own. Analysts now say it is only a matter of time before big media companies either build their own shops or seek to buy successful production houses outright. The big question now is if they can afford to buy them: Electronic Arts, for example, has a market value of $16 billion dollars — nearly double the figure Sam Zell laid down to buy the Tribune empire.
April 10th, 2007
The site producers dug deep into the archives and posted 15 years worth of tips on the relaunched MarthaStewart.com. “We went back and we retagged and reindexed every piece of content we’ve got,” said the company’s chief executive, Susan Lyne. “When you search for chicken, you’re getting 6,000 results, you’re not getting 40 results.” The new site also features 700 video clips of cooking and how-to advice. Screen grab…
April 10th, 2007
The National Association of Broadcasters has announced its new program to convince manufacturers of new media devices that they should include broadcast-compatible capabilities. From Mediaweek:
The outreach group plans to talk with the manufacturers and developers of new media devices to make sure broadcasting, whether it’s HD Radio or TV, is a part of the functionality of the device. “We want to make sure broadcasting is on every gadget and device that is out there,” said Dennis Wharton, NAB spokesman.
The program is called NAB Fastroad (Flexible Advanced Services for Television and Radio On All Devices). So, for example, they’d want Apple to make sure the iPod can receive HDTV and HD radio. Nice sentiment, but a terribly wrongheaded use of resources. The market gets to decide demand - not the NAB. The NAB should be focusing its efforts helping broadcasters adjust to the realities of the new media marketplace - not getting the new media marketplace to adjust to its old rules. Convincing everyone who makes MP3 players to include the functionality that is in your interest to save is not going to happen. This makes as little sense as insisting that cable boxes also come with over-the-air tuners. The NAB should be focusing its tech efforts on helping its constituents think forward - come up with clever new ways for stations to become creative local media outlets regardless of their platform. This plan will get applause at next week’s convention - and will result in little else.
April 10th, 2007
Reality TV producer Endemol USA — the company behind Big Brother, Fear Factor and Deal or No Deal – will produce original web programming for Break.com. First up is a series called Record Breakers that includes both original and user-created elements. “We are excited about the partnership with Break.com because it allows us to take some of our edgier formats directly to that hard-to-reach young male demo, as well as to create new original programming for their vast audience,” said Jon Vlassopulos, vice president of digital media for Endemol USA.
April 10th, 2007
Last week, LR picked up the press release on Discovery launching “PlanetGreen.” Scripps Networks is announcing a new show featuring the environmentally-aware lifestyle of the uber green Ed Begley, Jr and his wife. Sundance, Robert Redford’s indie-focused network, is launching “The Green” on April 17th. The key plays in all new green programming lie in online convergence, content and community. The environment is hot (certainly no pun intended) and people are looking for ways to get engaged and make a difference.
April 10th, 2007
