The Morning Fix: Fox vs. TW Cable (again, sigh)! Fox News’ big year. We like comedies. Attica! Attica!
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After the coffee. Before cleaning off the desk for next year.
Poor Carmen! Lost in all the back-and-forth between News Corp.’s Fox and Time Warner Cable in their dispute over money is the innocent victim. Carmen Electra is set to ring in the new year on Fox, but if the signals for the Fox-owned stations are pulled from Time Warner Cable, viewers in New York, Los Angeles and other big cities will miss her shouting, ‘Happy New Year!’ OK, maybe that’s not the end of the world. Seriously, the squabble between media giants continues with a deadline less than 48 hours away. Here’s a look at what is at stake for everyone, not just two big companies, from the Los Angeles Times.
Laughing away the tears. The end of a year often brings stories looking for a deeper meaning as to what worked and what didn’t work in a particular industry. In this case, the New York Times tells us that people opted for comedies to forget their troubles. Maybe. Or maybe there were just some funny comedies this year that were worth seeing.
Nervous about Netflix. Business Week (do I really have to call it ‘Bloomberg’s Business Week’?) takes a look at Netflix executive Ted Sarandos and his plans to revolutionize the company and what it means for Hollywood studios. Here’s a hint, it’s not just about DVDs anymore.
Immortalized! The Library of Congress’ National Film Registry added 25 titles that it felt were worthy of preservation. Among the films are ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ and, my favorite, ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ (Attica! Attica!). Details and the other films chosen, from Variety.
Move along folks, nothing to see here. ABC installed Diane Sawyer as its new anchor for ‘World News Tonight’ and George Stephanopoulos at ‘Good Morning America,’ and NBC is still on top in both the morning and evening news race. Of course, it is way too soon really to assess how ABC’s new teams will do, but hey it’s a slow week and we have pages and blogs to fill. Here’s the Associated Press with a look at the early numbers. Inside the Los Angeles Times: Fox News had a huge year, and now CNN and MSNBC are retooling. Director Peter Jackson says he was destined to make ‘The Lovely Bones.’ Unfortunately for me, I was destined to see it. ESPN’s big year.
-- Joe Flint
