Wednesday, January 24, 2007

"The only creative conference worth a damn is one in which everybody in the room starts from the same base of fact, a consuming appetite for ideas no matter how wild they may first appear, and a humble respect for them." Leo Burnett

Rupert Murdoch
and the Chandler family join to bid for Tribune? The suggestion is Rupert would get Newsday. Spins to Carlyle Group (TV stations), and David Geffen (LA Times)? What about WGN Radio and the Chicago Cubs? Maybe the perfect fit would be the gentleman who loves radio and baseball - Jeff Smulyan? Perhaps Chicago Magazine also joins the Emmis fold, a fine addition to the monthly dead tree portfolio? Stay tuned. Financial Times story via MSNBC here.

Does the media make kids fat? During last year's Arbitron Fly-In Steve Morris raised the issue of measuring the listening of children. My suggestion, in response to Steve, was a caution; could there be unintended consequences? For example: Would a station with a high concentration of 8 to 12 year-olds be unable to accept McDonald's or any other fast-food advertising without creating potential regulatory exposure? Would an agency for a fast-food account be forced to establish thresholds to exclude stations based on a "kid comp?" Teen comps and beer Q.E.D. Now comes a federal task force, including the FCC, that seeks to examine the issues of media and child obesity. Story by William Triplett writing in Variety here. The NAB should get involved; self-regulation, with oversight, is a far better, more effective solution than any law making in this case.

Congrats & Cheers: Stephen Snyder promoted to COO of CBS Interactive. The search is on for a new SVP & GM of CBS Sportsline.com

Closed circuit to CBS Radio:
Sign Demetri Martin. The Yale grad is a Jon Stewart alum, former writer/performer on Conan O'Brien and one very clever guy. Great hire for your FreeFM initiative. From his recent Comedy Central special: On rainbows..."I just think it's weird that one group took refracted light. Pretty greedy, gays." More on Demetri here

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