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Volume 24, Issue 196, Jim Carnegie, Editor & Publisher
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Monday Morning October 8th, 2007
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TV News ®
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 Dissidents on News Corp. ballot
When shareholders of News Corporation hold their annual meeting October 19th, they'll be voting on some routine items, plus two proposals that are opposed by Rupert Murdoch and the company's board. One would dramatically dilute Murdoch's voting power, but it is not considered likely to pass, despite a key endorsement. Proposal No. 4 on the shareholder ballot would switch the company from having two classes of stock to only one - with all shareholders having equal voting rights. News Corporation currently has voting stock designated as Class B and non-voting shares designated Class A. In a statement supporting his proposal, shareholder Stephen Mayne of Australia cleverly notes that News Corporation discovered the difficulties of two-tiered voting schemes this year. "As News Corporation discovered when it first approached Dow Jones & Company, a two tier voting system can appear highly undemocratic and discourage attractive takeover bids. News Corp's suite of strategic assets would be highly attractive to private equity bidders, yet the two-tier voting structure discourages their interest," Mayne stated. While Mayne personally owns only 150 voting shares, he got a boost recently when Institutional Shareholder Services advised its big money clients to vote "yes," saying proportional voting is always preferable, in its view, to dual-class structures. But even with ISS support, the proposal is given little chance of passing.
The other dissident proposal on the News Corporation ballot comes from Evelyn Davis, an activist shareholder well known to many a corporate CEO who's been treated to a tongue-lashing from her at the open microphone of an annual shareholders' meeting. She wants News Corporation to switch from staggered terms to electing all directors every year, as do most public companies. "I have absolutely NO connection with John Malone, and/or Liberty Cos." Davis notes in her supporting statement, and says annual elections would make all directors more accountable to all shareholders each year. She notes that the same proposal on last year's ballot was supported by about a third of the votes cast. It also has ISS backing.
TVBR observation: What is unusual about News Corporation is that there is actually at least a theoretical possibility that these measures could pass. In many companies with dual voting structures, CBS, Emmis and Radio One to name a few examples, one shareholder has majority voting control by virtue of their super-charged shares and can effectively veto any idea they don't like. But while Rupert Murdoch and his family members own the biggest chunk of News Corporation's voting stock, that still only amounts to 39% voting power. Should Mayne's proposal pass, that would be reduced to under 15%.
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 FCC off the hook
for document suppression
The FCC's Inspector General could find no evidence that there was any attempt by senior officials to suppress documents on topics related to media ownership believed to be unfavorable to those supporting deregulatory policies. The investigation was spurred by an exchange between FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) last year. Carla Conover, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, handled the case. In a release, the Office of the Inspector General said, "Based on the extensive and wide-ranging investigation conducted by Ms. Conover and her colleagues, the Inspector General found no evidence that there had ever been a pattern or practice of suppressing research at the Commission."
150K pages of documentation were examined and 35 current and former employees were interviewed, including "...staff and management, economists and lawyers, among them the former Media Bureau Chief and the current Chairman's Chief of Staff." Missing in the investigation was an interview with Adam Candeub, currently a professor and the Michigan State University College of Law and former Media Bureau employee. He is the one who made the allegations about document suppression in the first place, but he refused to participate in Conover's investigation and could not be compelled to testify. Referring to one of the allegedly suppressed studies, OIG wrote, "We neither saw nor heard any direct evidence that anyone in senior management at the Commission stated orally or in writing that he or she disliked the results of the Local TV News Report." The hunt for a similar smoking gun in a radio industry review also came up empty.
TVBR observation: Wouldn't it be nice if we private citizens could do this over, say, a speeding ticket? "That's OK, officer, I'll have my Inspector General look into it -- honey, how fast would you say I was going?" (We'll just have to hope she doesn't question the kids -- they'll turn on you in a heartbeat.) If the chief accuser won't defend his allegations, even though he is far removed from the possibility of supervisory reprisal, there really isn't much the OIG can do, is there? Anyway, we stand by our own belief that the reports hardly matter. The commissioners lean either pro-deregulation or anti-consolidation to one degree or another, and no report is likely to change that very much. It remains more a matter of what Martin thinks he can slip past Congress and the courts before a new administration settles into the White House.
How the Internet is changing local TV
Bear Stearns conducted a conference call last week on the local television Internet business - specifically how broadcasters can tap into the new and growing revenue stream. Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell estimates that by 2010 online video will represent 35% of total online revenues, up from only 0.4% this year. "Broadcasters need to position themselves for this opportunity," Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller wrote in a summary for clients, noting that newspaper websites are adapting by adding video to their websites. While local TV web revenues are expected to total 700 million this year that is expected to hit 1.6 billion in 2010. "It's local broadcast TV's game to lose," noted Miller, with both Borrell and WorldNow CEO Gary Gannoway raising issues that broadcasters need to address. "Are managers commissioned to the success of internet revenue growth? Do local broadcasters have a dedicated sales force? What are the station's key performance indicators for online growth? What percentage of online ad dollars comes from non-broadcast advertisers? Are they reaching new customers or upselling to existing customers?" Many important questions. Has your station answered them?
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Money, money, money
 Republican presidential candidates have weighed in with their latest fund-raising results, according to the Associated Press. The momentum appears to be with Rudy Giuliani (R-NY). He picked up 11M in Q3, taking his total fundraising up to 44M, plus he leads his competitors with 16M cash on hand. Mitt Romney (R-MA) is in the same ballpark, with 10M raised Q3 to an even higher total of 45M, although only 9M is still in the bank. Fred Thompson (R-TN) picked up 7M Q3 to 12.7M with 7M in the bank, and the surprising Ron Paul (R-TX) gained 5M Q3, more than doubling his total take to 8M with 5.3M still on hand. John McCain (R-AZ) refused to acknowledge reports that his campaign was on life support and picked up 6M Q3, bringing the total take to 30.9M, although most of this money is gone -- he has only 3.6M in the bank. Giuliani and Romney would have come in a distant 3rd and 4th on a list comparing Q3 results for all candidates. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) pulled in 27M and Barack Obama pulled in at least 20M.
TVBR observation: No one is conceding anything in the Democratic race, and it's even more wide open here. It will be interesting to see how the candidates' strategies play out in the heavily front-loaded primary schedule. But one thing is for sure -- it won't do anybody any good to have cash on hand after being soundly squashed on Super Duper Tuesday 2/5/08. Look for most of this cash to be spent by then, particularly that held by the lower-tier candidates.
Legislators want to put white space on hold
Two Republican senators and two democratic Representatives have expressed their concerns over allowing unlicensed devices to be introduced into the spectrum holes between television stations. FCC tests have yet to prove that such devices can operate without causing harmful interference. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) said, "With the test results that were compiled, I am deeply concerned about the significant implications that could occur with respect to the DTV transition if the Commission and Congress hastily move forward with any rulemaking or legislation." Her sentiments were echoed from her colleague Susan Collins (R-ME), who added, "I urge the Commission not to take such a step until such devices have been thoroughly tested to ensure that they do not pose a risk of interference with over-the-air broadcast signals." Bart Gordon, who is in a position to bring Congressional oversight to bear on this matter, said, "As the Chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, I support the most efficient use of spectrum. However, I believe this proposal is premature until such time that it can be proven that unlicensed, personal and portable devices will not cause harmful interference to the devices already using the TV spectrum." Finally, Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) expressed concern about what disruption of the spectrum could mean to his constituency, noting, "Hispanic homes are especially sensitive to TV interference as nearly 40 percent of Hispanic households reside in multiple dwelling units, compared with the non-Hispanic U.S. average of 21.7 percent."
TVBR observation: We've said it before and we'll say it again. It is simply mind-boggling that this topic is even being considered with -- as NTIA has been at great pains to point out lately -- the DTV transition is less than 500 days away. If we were white space proponents, we'd be spending our money on R&D over the next two years to develop genuinely fool-proof devices (if such a thing is possible), not on promoting the rash introduction of experimental technology that risks disrupting the most important change to spectrum usage in the history of the United States.
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Ad Business Report TM
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U.S. Trust launches 25 million dollar campaign today
U.S. Trust, Bank of America's Private Wealth Management division, launched its national campaign today which spotlights the changing profile of today's wealthy individuals and families and recognizes them as architects of their own success. The 25 million effort marks the first major initiative for U.S. Trust since its acquisition by Bank of America earlier this year. The brand-building effort represents the most extensive private wealth management campaign that either legacy organization has ever undertaken. The mix includes national and local print, television, and radio. The campaign is expected to run in nearly 50 markets. Boston-based Hill Holliday handled.
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| Media Business Report TM |
 iPhone examined
TVBR asked Gene Keenan his take on iPhone. With nearly 30,000 news stories and an estimated 500 million US in free media generated by it for Apple you would think we would all be tired of hearing about the iPhone but the general public apparently is not. Every time I take my iPhone out a small crowd gathers around me and wants to see it, play with it and... lust after it. Instead of doing a mechanical review of the iPhone (there are hundreds) I would like to focus instead on what this device means to consumers and the wireless industry at large and therefore important to agencies like us.
| Interesting Analysis here |
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| Washington Business Report TM |
Support builds behind shield victory
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) met with journalists last week urging their help in keeping momentum behind the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, which cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with a solid 14-3 vote (it was originally reported as 15-2, but one vote was subsequently reversed). "What I hope to convince you of is why we need to continue to work together for a federal shield law. I would ask you to continue to work with us to find a solution to this problem." Society of Professional Journalists National President-Elect Clint Brewer said, "Today's vote demonstrated real progress in the fight to allow journalists to protect the identities of their confidential sources. The SPJ urges journalists and free speech proponents across this country to get involved, act and communicate with their legislators to let them know a free press is a requirement for a healthy democracy." "Having these bipartisan bills advance to this stage is very encouraging," echoed RTNDA president Barbara Cochran. "A federal shield law would safeguard journalists' ability to gather important information from sources who would otherwise be reluctant to come forward. This is not an absolute privilege; this is not about disclosing information that would compromise security -- for the nation or for individuals."
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| Ratings & Research |
Cable puts seven in top 100
Week one of the new TV season saw broadcast networks place 93 shows in the top 100 for the key 18-49 demo, led by #1 "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC, based on the number crunch by the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) of both broadcast and cable data from Nielsen Media Research. Of course, that means that cable networks put seven shows in the top 100. Only one was in the top 20, "Monday Night Football" on ESPN. The top 100 breakdown for Households was 92 broadcast/8 cable.
| See the Top 100 list |
TVBR observation: Another way to look at this is that the entire universe of advertising-supported cable channels had more top 100 shows in the 18-49 demo than The CW (six), but less than Univision (13). TBS had the most of any single cable channel (three).
Internet ad revenues exceed
5 billion for the first time
 The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers released the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report covering Q2 and the first six months of 2007. US internet ad revenues for the first six months of 2007 were nearly 10 billion, setting yet another new record and representing a nearly 27% increase over the first half of 2006. Internet advertising revenue totaled nearly 5.1 billion for Q2, exceeding the 5 billion mark for the first time in a quarter, a 25.4% increase over the same period in 2006.
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| Monday Morning Makers & Shakers |
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Transactions: 8/20/07-8/24/07
Wow. Three weeks into August, and total radio trading value has yet to break into double digit millions. Or even come close -- the figure you see below (under the click) is the new high for the month. Television deals have kept the broadcast total respectable, and this week was no exception. Fisher's move into the Bakersfield television market put at least modest bulk into the bottom line.
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Total
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Total Deals
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8
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AMs
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5
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FMs
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2
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TVs
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1
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| Value |
61.136M
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Transactions of the Week
Going for broker
| More... |
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TV Transactions of the Week
Fisher lands one in Bakersfield
| More... |
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| Transactions |
41M KCOY-TV Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo (Santa Maria CA, CBS 12) and KION-TV Monterey-Salinas CA (Monterey CA, CBS 46) from Newport Television LLC (Sandy DiPasquale), a subsidiary of Providence Equity Partners to Cowles California Media Company (Elizabeth Allison Cowles, William Stacy Cowles, Steven R. Rector). 3.15M escrow, balance in cash at closing. In Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-San Luis Obispo, also includes KKFX-CA (San Luis Obispo CA, Fox 24) and K44DN-LP (Paso Robles CA, CBS 44); in Monterey-Salinas also includes KMUV-LP (Monterey CA, Telemundo 23) and LMA of KCBA-TV (Salinas CA, Fox 35, licensed to Seal Rock Broadcaters LLC). [File date 9/26/07.]
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| Stock Talk |
Stocks rise on jobs report
Good news in the government's monthly employment report sent stock prices higher on Friday. The Dow Industrials rose 92 points, or 0.7%, to 14,066.
TV stocks were also strong. Gray Television was the leader, with its Class A up 5.7% and common 4.2%. Entravision gained 4.2% and News Corporation rose 4%.
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| Stocks |
Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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3.94
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+0.10
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Lincoln Natl.
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LNC
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67.95
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+1.71
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Belo
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BLC
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19.78
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+0.60
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LIN TV
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TVL
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13.90
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+0.35
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| CBS CI. B |
CBS |
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30.43
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-0.40
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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54.06
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+1.07
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| CBS CI. A |
CBSa |
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30.41
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-0.44
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Media General
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MEG
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30.07
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+0.44
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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37.15
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+0.16
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Meredith
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MDP
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59.86
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+0.67
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Disney
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DIS
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35.47
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+0.57
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News Corp.
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NWS
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24.50
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+0.95
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Emmis
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EMMS
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5.51
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+0.21
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Nexstar
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NXST
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10.30
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+0.30
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Entravision
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EVC
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10.56
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+0.43
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Ion Media
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ION
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1.32
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-0.05
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| Equity Media |
EMDA |
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3.00 |
unch |
Saga Commun.
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SGA
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8.08
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-0.29
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Fisher
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FSCI
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49.95
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-0.10
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SBS
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SBSA
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2.55
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-0.02
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Gannett
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GCI
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45.85
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+0.62
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Scripps
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SSP
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43.25
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+0.89
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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41.77
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+0.07
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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13.05
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+0.39
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| Google |
GOOG |
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594.05
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+15.02
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SWMX
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SWMX
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0.04
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-0.01
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Gray
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GTN
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9.66
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+0.39
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Time Warner
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TWX
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19.06
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+0.07
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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9.35
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+0.50
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Tribune
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TRB
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28.44
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+0.27
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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25.68
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+0.03
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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811.90
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+7.08
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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9.87
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+0.09
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Young
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YBTVA
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2.49
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+0.10
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Bounceback
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 We want to
hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments and
a photo to tvnews@rbr.com
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Below the Fold
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Media Business Report
iPhone examined
Free me, Touch me, feel me, Love it or hate it critics will charge...
Ad Business Report
U.S. Trust launches
25 million dollar campaign today mix national and local print, Television & Radio...
Washington Business Report
Support builds behind shield victory
Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) met with journalists urging their help in keeping momentum...
Ratings & Research
Cable puts seven in top 100
Week one of the new TV season saw broadcast networks place 93 out of 100...
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Stations for Sale
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 Market your Stations For Sale
in our daily epapers.
Contact
June Barnes
jbarnes@rbr.com
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TV Media Moves
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Special ops for McColly
Dan McColly is already operations manager for Journal Broadcast Group's two-AM, four-FM radio cluster. Journal Boise VP/GM Bob Rosenthal has added to his workload by giving him responsibility for KIVI-TV and KSAW-LP. "It's a great opportunity for Dan to infuse more of his creativity across multiple platforms," said Rosenthal. McColly will be coordinating promotions and marketing, among other things.
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More News Headlines
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BK extends gaming with entry into mobile entertainment
Burger King announced a licensing arrangement with Seattle-based, mobile content provider Mobliss to create downloadable cell phone games featuring BK-branded content, including the King. The initial game currently in development will feature players vying for the role of the King's protégé by facing challenges and progressing in the virtual world of a BK-themed city. As various tasks are completed successfully, points are earned, advanced levels are unlocked and gamers face more difficult challenges. The result is a unique gaming experience enhanced by the peer-to-peer interaction of the community. BK will promote through in-restaurant signage and packaging. Customers will send a text message to download and purchase the games. The games are scheduled to launch in spring 2008. Mobliss has direct publishing agreements with national carriers, including Sprint, AT&T, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, Alltel and T-Mobile.
Talkers double
down on Iran
It was all because of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the US. During the week of 9/23-28/07, the visit propelled Iran to the top of the Project for Excellence in Jounalism coverage chart with 13% of the newshole. Talkers found this story to be over twice as fascinating, giving it 28% of their time. They also came close to doubling the news focus on the 2008 election - newsers gave it 11%, talkers 20%. PEJ felt compelled to comment on a general difference between the two types of current events practioners. Whereas journalists strive to stay out of the way of the story, and talkers are known for bringing their attitude to bear on the news, the week featured two talkers - Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh - becoming stories themselves due to their remarks on two completely unrelated topics.
RBR observation: For newsers, such a situation is generally cause for embarrassment; but for talkers, it can be cause for increased ratings, especially in Limbaugh's case. His "phony soldiers" remark was inextricably tied to the earlier MoveOn.org "General Betray-us" incident and had Congress up in arms. But for all the heat Limbaugh took, there was no shortage of media voices rushing to his defense, nor was there a rush of paying advertisers from his show.
Mars opens
new business
Former Liberman Broadcasting Corporate Vice President of Liberman Broadcasting Andrew F. Mars has formed the Mars Media Family, offering "Out of this World training" and sales acceleration services to broadcasters throughout the US. In addition, Mars is working with advertising agencies and advertisers in the areas of account development and brand growth. The new firm has already been retained to spearhead market development for Kindervision, a non-profit child and teen safety, education, and protection program.
Got something to say?
The perfect time to say it is right around the corner. The Media Institute is getting set to kick off Freedom of Speech week, which runs from 10/15-21/07. National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation, National Cable and Telecommunications Association and Newspaper Association of America Foundation are all taking part. Two individuals, E.W. Scripps CEO Kenneth W. Lowe and former broadcaster and White House press secretary Tony Snowe, are set to receive honors.
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TVBR Radar 2007
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Television News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
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Allbritton embraces local content
Local video makers in the DC area don't have to just post their videos on the Internet and hope that someone will click. Allbritton Communications and flagship WJLA-TV have launched Local Point TV as a digital simulcast channel to carry strictly local content from local artists. The channel is also being cleared on Comcast and FiOS in the market.
TVBR observation: Sure, it's a broadcast twist on YouTube, but what's wrong with that? YouTube is an online twist on television. What's great here is that people will be able to tell their friends to tune in on TV to watch the video they've created - and even groups can watch on a real TV screen, not a small box on a computer screen. What the online component adds, along with non-linear playback access, is an opportunity for viewers to discuss the videos, often with the creator.
10/05/07 TVBR #195
Rehr wants hearing on
record company/artist relations
In the battle over performance royalties for airplay, the music industry trotted out musicians to carry the water. But will the musicians end up with the cash? The NAB thinks Congress should try to find out before it crafts any legislation.
RBR observation: This addresses the big question about the latest airplay royalty grad, which many believe is simply part of an all-points thrust to make up for money lost as the recording industry adjusts to new internet realities. Will cash taken from broadcasters benefit artists or multinational conglomerates?
10/05/07 RBR #195
NAB: Incentivize
minority ownership
With the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council that efforts should be made to boost the number of female and minority owners in the broadcast ranks. In remarks filed with the FCC on the topic, it noted that it and associated entities are already pursuing voluntary efforts along these lines, in particular its Broadcast Leadership Training program. More details in TVBR.
10/04/07 TVBR #194
Journal Sentinel begins staff cuts
Journal Sentinel Inc., the Milwaukee daily newspaper that's the flagship of Journal Communications, began a voluntary employee separation program to cut the size of its staff. The plan is to eliminate 35-50 positions or about 3.5-5% of the newspaper staff - and if the voluntary program doesn't accomplish that, there may be some involuntary pink-slipping.
10/03/07 TVBR #193
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TVBR Classifieds
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New Listing
General Sales Manager
KSBI-TV, Oklahoma statewide independent network, is seeking an experienced GSM. Candidate with proven track record. Key is to have knowledge is sales strategy with contacts in national and regional business. Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Management or Business preferred. Enjoy making a great income. Opportunities are tremendous. See TV Careers
Account Executive
KUVN-TV, Dallas/ Ft. Worth -- Univision 23 seeking experienced AE. Responsible: Generating ad revenue from established and prospective clients - both directly and through advertising agencies. See TV Careers
Hard finding that key person
to fill the important position at your organization? TVBR Classifieds, Results with Service. Contact April McLynn at classifieds@rbr.com
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