According to the Charleston Post and Courier, Augusta-based Morris Communications--the publisher of 27 daily newspapers, several lifestyle magazines, visitor magazines, books, outdoor boards and more--has gone to court to protect one of its brands. In a lawsuit filed this week, Morris Publishing Group alleges that Pink! "virtually mirrors, and in some cases, directly copies" their title Skirt! The lawsuit alleges …
Big Win For Net Neutrality Advocates
Well, maybe not. Edward E. Whitacre Jr., former CEO of SBC Communications and now head of a newly super-sized AT&T, seems to have flip-flopped on the net neutrality issue. In 2005, he said Google and Yahoo were "nuts" for expecting free use of his company's network to deliver their content. But now, according to the LA Times, he's saying that AT&T will not sell premium delivery of Web content for the next two …
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The People Win. Again.
First, Time made 'You' its "Person Of The Year." Now, Ad Age has named 'The Consumer' Agency Of The Year. From the lead article: From an agency perspective, there are exactly three ways to look at the rise of consumer control. The first view is like something out of the Book of Revelation -- all conquest, war, famine and death. Happily, the ad industry, thanks to countless foretellings of the death of the 30-second …
Porn Industry Stagnates at $13 Billion
Okay, I'm Paul Revere and the message I'm delivering on my daring midnight ride is a resounding call-to-arms: America, the porn industry needs your help! According to the New York Times, for every dollar Americans spent buying tickets to Hollywood movies last year, they spent about 90 cents viewing sex movies in various formats. Sound good? Well, it's not. The sex-related entertainment business grew in 2006 by just …
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The NYT’s Ad Crystal Ball Is A Bit Cloudy
Writing in The New York Times, Louise Story takes a stab at what's ahead for advertising: Not surprisingly, many agencies are focusing on how the digital world will continue nudging the offline world in new directions, and consumer-generated content is in the forefront of everyone’s mind. But ad executives also say they think companies should pay attention to shoppers’ interest in knowing more about the products they …
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Internet Traffic Is Flattening
Some intelligent people are discussing "the de-portalization of the Internet." The image below--care of Edgeio--is a graphic representation of the changes currently underway. Fred Wilson, a.k.a. "A VC" says: Back in the first Internet era, it was all about amassing as large an audience as you could on your website. But the first Internet era was at time when consumers weren't that comfortable with vastness of the …
Highly Localized Lifestyle TV
Wall Street Journal takes a look at Plum TV, a startup television network focused on local television in high-end resort markets. Plum TV broadcasts on six TV stations in some of the most exclusive resort areas in the U.S.: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the Hamptons in New York and the Colorado ski towns of Vail, Aspen and Telluride. Soon to come: stations in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Miami Beach, …
Football In Springtime. On ESPN. Isn’t Synergy Great?
WSJ reports on a media company's investment in the product it covers. ESPN acquired national TV rights to the Arena Football League on Tuesday and also will have a minority stake in the 19-team indoor league. The network will have a regular Monday night slot in which it will televise 14 games from March through June. The ArenaBowl title game in New Orleans will be July 29 on ABC, which also will show two regional …
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