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By Chris Isidore for Business Journalism: Reporters who want to cover the business side of the Olympics will find it's easier to do than covering the dollar and cents of most professional American sports, whose team owners are far less forthcoming about opening their books. The International Olympic Committee releases its finances every four years. The most recent report, which covers the period from 1997 through the …

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Forbes: Why should grownups be the only ones getting the good investment advice? Warren Buffett, a.k.a. the Oracle of Omaha, has signed on to do an animated children's TV program called The Secret Millionaire's Club. The show, which is being produced by DIC Entertainment of Burbank, Calif., will focus on financial literacy--hoping no doubt to stave off the poor money choices of later life. In the short run, it may …

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This Adweek article claims, "Selling Out Is Now In." Somehow, I doubt that. Even in Hollywood. As those of you who have unsuccessfully courted A-list celebrities for your U.S. campaigns know, despite being offered beaucoup bucks, incredibly short working hours and ridiculously lavish perks, many of these famous folk have said no way for fear of tarnishing their images. But in recent years, American advertising has …

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Spike Jones points to this iMedia Connection article on Super Bowl expenditures--a cool $2.5 mil per 30 second time slot. The writer, Brad Berens poses the question, "How might this money be better spent?" It's far from a rhetorical question, for Berens asks 28 qualified people to respond. Gay Warren Gaddis, President and CEO of T3 (The Think Tank) says: Instead, take what is more like $4 million ($2.5 in media plus …

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USA TODAY: Critics must be thrilled that the splashiest Oscar nominations Tuesday went to high-minded yet low-budget and mostly R-rated films. But those who follow the money gave mixed reviews to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' best-picture finalists: Brokeback Mountain; Capote; Crash; Good Night, and Good Luck; and Munich. The films, targeted to relatively narrow audiences, might not attract lots …

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International Herald Tribune: Want to catch the new film starring John Malkovich and Naomi Campbell? You will have to log on to the Internet. And perhaps "film" isn't quite the right word: The American actor and the British model star in a 10-minute video commissioned by Pirelli, the Italian tire maker, which plans to post it in March on a specially created Web site, where it will become the feature presentation in a …

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A new 30-minute piece of branded entertainment produced by the True Agency/New York for BET, titled "In Black," is intended to forge a strong bond between African-American consumers and Infiniti. Some commentarians don't buy it. In fact, Lewis Lazare of the Sun Times is trippin'. That's not entertainment It's a trend that's with us now, but one that, frankly, chills us to the bone because of what it may …

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Associated Press: Amazon.com plans to broadcast on its web site an original show hosted by Bill Maher and featuring performers and authors touting new releases - which, not coincidentally, will be for sale at the online retailer. The 12-episode webcast series, which will begin airing June 1, is the first offering in what the Seattle company says is a broader plan to add more original programming to its web …

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