"...the first question you must ask yourself every day is, Why should people choose my restaurant? In a great city there are hundreds of choices. As a hip musician friend once asked, 'Does it pass the who cares test?'...So why should someone pick my place...or yours?" Daniel Boulud - Letters to a Young Chef

Daniel's little book is a gem. His "first question" is one every manager working in media must ask themselves daily...why should people choose my _______ (insert: book, station, morning show, 11 show, web site, et al)?

According to Barron's, Alfred Liggins sold 375,000 of Radio One Class D common for $2.8 mil. The sale represents a fraction of the over ten million class D shares held by Liggins and his mother Catherine Hughes. Ben Silverman, research director at InsiderScore.com is quoted...

"The radio business is a tough business these days, especially when you are a niche radio with a target demographic," says Silverman. These sales are "another sign that there are still a lot of near-term bumps in the road.

Deutsche Bank analyst James Dix wrote in a Feb. 26 research report that he views the stock as "dead money" in the near term, but has a Buy rating despite management's significantly pared-back expectations. He said "recent initiatives" should help bump the shares to $11 over the next 12 months.

Silverman says, "This is the family business and they have shown no inclination in the past to sell the business or not control it--that's not a concern. The concern is, 'Why are they selling the stock now on multi-year lows?'"

Joshua Hong, director of research Web site InsiderScoop.com, suggests that Liggins sold the shares to pay back a loan Radio One extended to him in 2001 to buy company shares.

The Barron's Online article is here (sub req)

The media weasel of the week award to New York Post Page Six dude Jared Paul Stern. You may check out excerpts from Stern's shakedown of Ron Burkle via New York Daily News here