A Little Of The Old In And Out



(image via usatoday)

In: John Moody. NewsCorp has so many digitally viable elements in its portfolio -- the magnificent Page Six, MySpace, 24, The Simpsons, American Idol, House -- that aren't nearly synergized or monetized enough to wring maximum value from the content. For example, why aren't MySpace links provided in all Page Six online stories? Why isn't MySpace integrated more deeply into American Idol (Shouldn't each contestant have a MySpace page and links to their pages on the show)? Why hasn't there ever been a serious The Simpsons online presence with a daily blog by Lisa Simpson? Why don't the principal characters on "24" have MySpace pages with daily updates and blogs to keep fans appetites whetted during the off-season? There are a million ideas falling by the wayside for NewsCorp, but perhaps help is on the way. From TheHollywoodReporter:

"News Corp. is looking for more collaboration and cost savings among its global network of journalistic brands.

"The conglomerate said Tuesday it is creating a new operation that will allow its worldwide properties to share editorial content and resources.

"John Moody, who until Tuesday was executive vp of news editorial for Fox News, will oversee the new unit, reporting to News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.

"'The creation of a new unit designed to share valuable news content and harness the power of News Corp.'s vast editorial resources is vital to our success as a global media entity,' Murdoch said.

"Moody will collaborate with news chiefs across all of the conglomerate's news properties "to improve news-gathering efficiencies and identify areas of cost savings," the company said. He will also 'investigate the company's worldwide contracts and reliance on global news services.'"

(image via screenrant)

Out: Brian Austin Green Wants To Be Green Lantern. This almost sounds like an Onion headline, but, alas, it is not. Brian Green, who has been in Playgirl and concocted some really retarded music, wants to be a lantern. On the plus side, he's dated Meghan Fox. On the negative -- he's Brian Austin fucking-Green, guys. That's not a cool look no matter how you sling it or however the wordplay of names. From Popwatch:

"Wanna hear something astonishing, something that -- as recently as a year ago -- would've never come out of my fingertips? Here it is: I can actually type 'Brian Austin Green would actually be awesome as Green Lantern' without a spontaneous soul hemorrhage. He was so surprisingly legit as time-traveling rebel Derek Reese on Terminator: The Sarah Connnor Chronicles that hearing his name associated with a barely nascent Green Lantern film is intriguing.

"Here's the problem: He's the only one doing the associating. Green is pulling a Sean Young -- actively and publicly campaigning for a role that's nowhere close to being his. Sometimes it works -- Jackie Earle Haley landed the Rorschach part in Watchmen by shooting his own audition tape -- and sometimes you're Young, who embarrassed herself and derailed her career in pursuit of Catwoman."

Finally, there is a thin line between avid graphic novel fan and creepy, especially when this is not the first Sean Young he has pulled about wanting, craving, a comic book role brought to the silver screen (Green campaigned to be The Riddler in Batman).



In: Radio. The medium of radio has taken a beating under the crippling effects of this recession. The auto industry is in decline, so that doesn't augur well for Sirius-XM, newly merged. Howard Stern's exodus to satellite radio from terrestrial further weakened the medium. But radio -- at least in its Internet and Terrestrial incarnations -- will survive; the future of satellite -- even with it's buzzy free form -- is not as clear. Of late Howard Stern has backed off on his previously hard-line stance that he would never return to free radio. Goom Radio just raised $16 million -- in these hard times -- in first round funding. And this Op-Ed from the Philidelphia Inquirer via ForeignPolicy:

"Last week, in commemoration of the genocide, Urungano focused on reconciliation. The girls went into the countryside and found a mutual support group of genocide victims and perpetrators who, despite their tragic past of conflict, travel together from village to village to teach and model reconciliation. By selecting this topic, the girls sent a powerful message about their vision of the Rwanda they want to live in. And everyone in Rwanda is listening.

"For us in the West, it is hard to imagine how relevant - how essential - radio still is to some. In Rwanda, radio is TV, Internet, newspapers, Facebook, and Twitter all wrapped up in one. Here, the potential of radio is unbelievable, almost as unbelievable as the genocide it fueled.

"There is something about the sound of a single voice that entices our imagination to fill in the details. Radio leaves room for us. And where radio is the only major medium, the relationship between it and its listeners is a potent one."

The global market for digital radios increased, the main market being the Asia/Pacific region. And as the recession deepens, the free entertainment provided by the radio will also, no doubt, see an increase in listenership.