A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Marvel Comics. Media companies are in the hour of the wolf. Except for Marvel, which is a media company that deals in dreams and fantasy and, apparently, that is an industry that will not be affected by the global economic meltdown. From DeadlineHollywoodDaily:

"Marvel Entertainment announced today operating results for its 4th-quarter ended December 31, 2008 and record net sales, net income and earnings per share for the full year 2008. For Q4 2008, Marvel reported net sales of $224.3 million and net income of $63.0 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, compared to net sales of $109.3 million and net income of $27.6 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in Q4 2007. 'The improvement reflects recognition of $135.5 million in film production segment revenues principally associated with the DVD performance of Marvel’s Iron Man feature film,' the company said. For the full year 2008, Marvel reported net sales of $676.2 million and net income of $205.5 million, or $2.61 per diluted share, compared to net sales of $485.8 million and net income of $139.8 million, or $1.70 per diluted share, in 2007."

Out: Governor Jindal. The Republican Party is still looking for a standard-bearer. The chattering class yesterday stood rapt at the prospect of Louisiana's Indian-American governor as the possible inheritor of that mantle. But the Governor is not-yet-ready-for-Prime-Time as his response to the President's stimulus package speech to Congress proved. From Politico:

"Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) hoped to step into the national spotlight Tuesday night to sound a hopeful yet defiant note in countering President Barack Obama as the GOP’s fresh and exciting face.

"Instead, he got panned.

"'I think he had a really poor performance tonight, I’m sorry to say,' National Public Radio’s Juan Williams said on a Fox News panel immediately following Jindal’s remarks. Williams went on to call the governor’s remarks 'sing-songy' and said Jindal looked 'childish' compared to Obama.

"'This was not the best from the young man from Louisiana,' he said.

"Fortune Magazine’s Nina Easton added flatly, 'The delivery was not exactly perfect.'

"'The delivery and microphone distracted from him, as did the hurried pace,' noted Erick Erickson on the conservative Red State blog. 'Reading the speech, it was great. Delivery? Not so much.'

"'Jindal will recover, but it’s difficult to imagine him now as Obama’s 2012 opponent,' said University of Virginia political scientist Larry J. Sabato in a post on POLITICO’s Arena forum. 'Jindal not only didn’t live up to his advance billing, he proved that he needs a lot more seasoning before he gets a prime time slot.'"

In: Steve Coll. Steve Coll has broken the facinating story of negotiations between india and Pakistan over Kashmir. From NPR:

"Journalist Steve Coll says that India and Pakistan held secret talks over the disputed region of Kashmir in 2006, but that tentative plans for peace have since been abandoned due in part to the political decline of Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

"In his March 2 article for The New Yorker, entitled 'The Back Channel,' Coll details the violence that still pervades the region and the effect the conflict could have on the U.S. war in Afghanistan."

Coll's fascinating talk with Terry Gross on Fresh Air can be accessed here.



(image via bleachreport)

Out: The WWE. In another sign that the American working class is suffering, WWE attendance is down significantly. From Variety:

"The depressed economy continues to give World Wrestling Entertainment some stiff competition.

"All of the company's core businesses, including live events, pay-per-view broadcasts, merchandise sales and digital, took a hit during the fourth quarter, with net income down nearly 37% to $22 million on revenues of $125 million, which fell 5% over the same year-ago period. Film and traditional TV broadcasts provided sole brightspots.

"The numbers of for all of last year were a little more resilient, pinning down $527 million in revenue, an uptick of 8%, although net income fell to 13% to $45 million.

"Contributing largely to the losses for the quarter, WWE's live events revenues declined 7%, impacted mostly by foreign exchange rates; company hosted 26 events overseas during the period.

However, attendance of matches in North America also fell 3% with the average price of tickets taking a dip, as well."