"Every other network has given all their shows to liberals," says Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes in a Newsweek interview published this week. "We are the balance."
As
in, "fair and balanced?" The slogan is both used as a pillar of truth
from the net's reporters (and fans) and ridiculed as nauseating irony
from critics (and everyone else).
It's no surprise, or covert
conspiracy, that the news coming from Fox is largely conservative. Just
as its cable news counterpart MSNBC is largely identified as a more leftist, progressive network.
But
as the country enters into yet another chokingly critical election
cycle, and presidential and congressional public approval at near
all-time lows, who would have thought that Fox would be backing off? At
Ailes' request, no less?
According to the article, that's exactly what's happening. The piece claims Ailes butted heads with Sarah Palin (can you blame him?) and told Glenn Beck
to ease off the more nonsensical Tea Party schlock. As a result, the
News head has put the runaway ratings freight train that is Fox News on
what he calls a "course correction."
The network, Ailes says, is moving more toward the mainstream…
Regardless of how you interpret his message, there's one person who ain't buying it: Keith Olbermann. The former MSNBC news host turned Current TV wildcard
says Newsweek's piece quoting Ailes that he's moving Fox to the middle
is "the essence of journalistic dishonesty that enabled Fox News to get
where it is." Check out Olbermann's full reaction below.
And as far as cable news irony is concerned, is it any wonder why Fox
has been dominating the ratings game for the past few years? Just how
badly has MSNBC been damaged by the loss of Olbermann? The NYTimes asked that very question this week, and the answer isn't pretty. The ratings from September show that CNN, "long relegated to third place," is slowly inching back up in popularity while MSNBC continues its ratings slide.
According
to the Times, CNN and MSNBC are just a few thousand viewers apart from
an average 260K nightly news viewers… neither even close to Fox News'
525K. However, MSNBC had 83K more viewers last year when Olbermann was a
fixture on the network.
MSNBC President Phil Griffin says the network isn't feeling the impact of Olbermann's departure, and Ailes says Fox News is moving to the middle.
Neither sound so fair and balanced to me...
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen. -matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
9.14.2011
WhatBOX?: Al Gore Invents Everything
It's been 12 years since Al Gore
invented the internet, and just look what his ingenuity has done
since... Newspaper circulations, magazines (and print advertising as a
whole), music sales and book consumption - all lethally infected by the
interweb's
convenience of on-demand anything.
And, from a broader perspective, we're still in the beginning stages of the web's own evolution. There are industries that have only been slightly affected the way print media has. (Cable folk know this all too well, as new OTT darlings Netflix and others have legitimately rattled the incumbents' collective cage.)
However, the Great Subscriber Exodus of Q211 may simply be the tip of the iceberg. The entire movie industry is positioned to be the next entertainment and/or communications business forced to adapt to the age of the internet.
The movie biz is facing unparalleled pressure as large, flat-screen TVs continue to drop in price making them increasingly more accessible to consumers on a budget. And with high-def, premium audio and the internet pumping instant access to virtually unlimited content into living rooms, more consumers are choosing their home theaters over local movie theaters.
Analysts say the movie industry has been through this before (e.g. VCRs, DVDs and DVRs). But the one thing that Hollywood has (and pay-TV can learn from) is the control over the distribution of its content.
Going to the theater is still "an experience," and besides just wanting to get out of the house, consumers must go to the theater to see the latest films. Sure they could wait for PPV, disc or premium nets... but they love sucking the internet teat. Who doesn't?
According to the Daily Finance, Hollywood is experimenting with the idea of selling movies directly to consumers at home (via internet stream) at the same time the films hit theaters. They'll charge a super-premium fee of course - likely upwards of $30... But if a family already pays $50 or so for a trip to the theater, and it would rather watch movies from the comfort of home anyway, is it really that expensive?
And while there's still kinks to be worked out between networks and operators, maybe the latest sign of the pay-TV chain adapting to the internet era is the authentication strategy implemented by Fox, Scripps, Hulu, AMC Networks and others for instant access to its content?
For this you can blame, or thank, Al Gore. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen.
- matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
And, from a broader perspective, we're still in the beginning stages of the web's own evolution. There are industries that have only been slightly affected the way print media has. (Cable folk know this all too well, as new OTT darlings Netflix and others have legitimately rattled the incumbents' collective cage.)
However, the Great Subscriber Exodus of Q211 may simply be the tip of the iceberg. The entire movie industry is positioned to be the next entertainment and/or communications business forced to adapt to the age of the internet.
The movie biz is facing unparalleled pressure as large, flat-screen TVs continue to drop in price making them increasingly more accessible to consumers on a budget. And with high-def, premium audio and the internet pumping instant access to virtually unlimited content into living rooms, more consumers are choosing their home theaters over local movie theaters.
Analysts say the movie industry has been through this before (e.g. VCRs, DVDs and DVRs). But the one thing that Hollywood has (and pay-TV can learn from) is the control over the distribution of its content.
Going to the theater is still "an experience," and besides just wanting to get out of the house, consumers must go to the theater to see the latest films. Sure they could wait for PPV, disc or premium nets... but they love sucking the internet teat. Who doesn't?
According to the Daily Finance, Hollywood is experimenting with the idea of selling movies directly to consumers at home (via internet stream) at the same time the films hit theaters. They'll charge a super-premium fee of course - likely upwards of $30... But if a family already pays $50 or so for a trip to the theater, and it would rather watch movies from the comfort of home anyway, is it really that expensive?
And while there's still kinks to be worked out between networks and operators, maybe the latest sign of the pay-TV chain adapting to the internet era is the authentication strategy implemented by Fox, Scripps, Hulu, AMC Networks and others for instant access to its content?
For this you can blame, or thank, Al Gore. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen.
- matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
9.07.2011
Fox's 'New Girl' - State of Colorado Film - Don't Hire Grad Students?
WhatBOX?: Fox's Multiscreen 'New Girl'
In truly WhatBOX? fashion, Fox is banking on a multi-screen strategy to promote one of its newest shows New Girl. Starring Zooey Deschanel, the new comedy series from executive producer/writer Liz Meriwether (No Strings Attached) is about a newly-single woman who takes up residence with three male roomies. Heyo!
In an attempt to generate some buzz for the upcoming program, Fox released the show's pilot online this week available via iTunes. (Here's a direct link to the episode.) And, the net says, the pilot will be up on its own site and Hulu starting Sept. 13.
Some of you probably remember that not too long ago, Fox implemented its authentication pay-wall for certain content online. It's only been a couple weeks since the net started requiring viewers to prove they're paying subs.
So what happens once the show airs?
Well, Fox says the pilot will be available for a limited time, as the show is set to launch the following week on the net's linear channel. At that point in time the pilot will come down off the interwebs...
NYMag says the giveaway marks only the second time a US broadcaster has ever given away an entire pilot episode prior to the network premier.
And, it shouldn't surprise many why Fox chose the iTunes platform as one of its vehicles to share the sneak peek as reports keep reminding us how much video is being watched on iPhones and iPads. (Says ABI Research, revenue from mobile video services is expected to top $2B worldwide by 2013.)
Fox is now committed to six new series for the 2011-12 season: Terra Nova, The X Factor, Allen Gregory, Napoleon Dynamite, Alcatraz and The New Girl. We'll see how the multi-screen strategy works in a couple weeks. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen. - matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
quickies:
film: the colorado film & video association is having its 'state of the state' discussion about film in colorado. moderated by our friend from the colorado office of film, tv and media laura grey, this free event will help facilitate ideas to bring film biz to our local creatives and economy. the forum is wednesday, sept. 21 at 7:30 at the film center. amazing panelists should make for a stimulating night. don't miss the post-event reception after. more details at arts & venues. --- and in the not-so entrepreneurial news category, the denver film society is running its 3rd annual architeture + design film series all through september. check the schedule here.
research: as america's unemployment rate hovers around 9% (ouch), our nation longs for entrepreneurs. a new aflac study says 77% of U.S. adults employed full or part time (and not self-employed) would leave their current position to become an independent entrepreneur. the ability to set your own hours, spend more time w/ family and friends, not have to deal w/ office politics and not having a daily commute were all cited as reasons why... (entrepreneurs everywhere were heard saying: no sh*t?) --- the state entrepreneurship index says these are the 5 best and worst states for entrepreneurs.
blogs: full-time blogger shaun connell shares his "5 things i wish i knew when i started blogging" here. good stuff. --- rejected by adsense? don't fret. here's 5 alternatives to the google monster.
online: people like to gamble. i like to gamble. now there's a service called gambling builder that allows you to run your own online casino for $10/year. your job is simply to drive traffic. might not be for everyone, but check it out if betting is your thing. --- musicians looking to sell their music should explore vibedeck, a free direct-to-fan music sales solution. did i mention it was FREE? details here.
contests: the 13th(!) annual great american song contest is accepting entries through oct. 28. the event awards 45 winners in 9 categories with $10K in prizes. details here.
education: red rocks community college is offering two new mobile device course that help creative folk develop their own mobile apps for iDevices. get details here. --- short notice, but metro denver SBDC is having a business brown bag (BBB) on how to successfully run a daily deals promo. class runs thursday, sept. 8 from 11.30am to 1pm. info and registration details here. --- and be sure to check out create denver's new saturday morning sessions tailored specifically for members of denver's creative business community. so much great content - get info here.
news: here's a compelling article on why you shouldn't hire grad students... •
"nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. it's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment." - thomas carlyle, writer and historian •
In truly WhatBOX? fashion, Fox is banking on a multi-screen strategy to promote one of its newest shows New Girl. Starring Zooey Deschanel, the new comedy series from executive producer/writer Liz Meriwether (No Strings Attached) is about a newly-single woman who takes up residence with three male roomies. Heyo!
In an attempt to generate some buzz for the upcoming program, Fox released the show's pilot online this week available via iTunes. (Here's a direct link to the episode.) And, the net says, the pilot will be up on its own site and Hulu starting Sept. 13.
Some of you probably remember that not too long ago, Fox implemented its authentication pay-wall for certain content online. It's only been a couple weeks since the net started requiring viewers to prove they're paying subs.
So what happens once the show airs?
Well, Fox says the pilot will be available for a limited time, as the show is set to launch the following week on the net's linear channel. At that point in time the pilot will come down off the interwebs...
NYMag says the giveaway marks only the second time a US broadcaster has ever given away an entire pilot episode prior to the network premier.
And, it shouldn't surprise many why Fox chose the iTunes platform as one of its vehicles to share the sneak peek as reports keep reminding us how much video is being watched on iPhones and iPads. (Says ABI Research, revenue from mobile video services is expected to top $2B worldwide by 2013.)
Fox is now committed to six new series for the 2011-12 season: Terra Nova, The X Factor, Allen Gregory, Napoleon Dynamite, Alcatraz and The New Girl. We'll see how the multi-screen strategy works in a couple weeks. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen. - matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
quickies:
film: the colorado film & video association is having its 'state of the state' discussion about film in colorado. moderated by our friend from the colorado office of film, tv and media laura grey, this free event will help facilitate ideas to bring film biz to our local creatives and economy. the forum is wednesday, sept. 21 at 7:30 at the film center. amazing panelists should make for a stimulating night. don't miss the post-event reception after. more details at arts & venues. --- and in the not-so entrepreneurial news category, the denver film society is running its 3rd annual architeture + design film series all through september. check the schedule here.
research: as america's unemployment rate hovers around 9% (ouch), our nation longs for entrepreneurs. a new aflac study says 77% of U.S. adults employed full or part time (and not self-employed) would leave their current position to become an independent entrepreneur. the ability to set your own hours, spend more time w/ family and friends, not have to deal w/ office politics and not having a daily commute were all cited as reasons why... (entrepreneurs everywhere were heard saying: no sh*t?) --- the state entrepreneurship index says these are the 5 best and worst states for entrepreneurs.
blogs: full-time blogger shaun connell shares his "5 things i wish i knew when i started blogging" here. good stuff. --- rejected by adsense? don't fret. here's 5 alternatives to the google monster.
online: people like to gamble. i like to gamble. now there's a service called gambling builder that allows you to run your own online casino for $10/year. your job is simply to drive traffic. might not be for everyone, but check it out if betting is your thing. --- musicians looking to sell their music should explore vibedeck, a free direct-to-fan music sales solution. did i mention it was FREE? details here.
contests: the 13th(!) annual great american song contest is accepting entries through oct. 28. the event awards 45 winners in 9 categories with $10K in prizes. details here.
education: red rocks community college is offering two new mobile device course that help creative folk develop their own mobile apps for iDevices. get details here. --- short notice, but metro denver SBDC is having a business brown bag (BBB) on how to successfully run a daily deals promo. class runs thursday, sept. 8 from 11.30am to 1pm. info and registration details here. --- and be sure to check out create denver's new saturday morning sessions tailored specifically for members of denver's creative business community. so much great content - get info here.
news: here's a compelling article on why you shouldn't hire grad students... •
"nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. it's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment." - thomas carlyle, writer and historian •
8.31.2011
WhatBOX? Our Idiot Censors
this past weekend, the comedy "our idiot brother" starring paul rudd and zooey deschanel opened in theaters across the country. the weinstein company cut a commercial trailer to promote the film not unlike it would do for any other movie the studio produced.
the commercial spot has been running nationwide on "other" broadcast and several cable nets for weeks. but for some reason, ABC rejected the trailer until the studio made specific edits to the spot. here's the original:
happy to oblige, the weinstein studio put together an updated trailer for the film. said company co-chair harvey weinstein, "we'd like to dedicate our new red band trailer for 'our idiot brother' to censorship everywhere. enjoy!"
something tells us ABC isn't going to air this one, either. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen.
- matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
the commercial spot has been running nationwide on "other" broadcast and several cable nets for weeks. but for some reason, ABC rejected the trailer until the studio made specific edits to the spot. here's the original:
happy to oblige, the weinstein studio put together an updated trailer for the film. said company co-chair harvey weinstein, "we'd like to dedicate our new red band trailer for 'our idiot brother' to censorship everywhere. enjoy!"
something tells us ABC isn't going to air this one, either. •
WhatBOX? is a weekly column featured in The Morning BRIDGE newsletter for executives, programmers and business leaders across the multiplatform industries. WhatBOX? is an article about compelling content... and how today's programming is being delivered via the silver screen, the flat-screen, the computer screen and the mobile screen.
- matthew colella is the creative director at blue13creative and a media consultant for The Morning BRIDGE parent company MediaBiz.
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