Filed under: Media

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Aug. 16, 2010 at 12:56 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Food, Internet, Media, Retail, Wireless

Starbucks to add local content to go with Wi-Fi

By Los Angeles Times

Starbucks Inc., hoping to leverage its recent decision to offer free Wi-Fi at its stores, is working with Yahoo Inc. to create a Web site customized by location.

In addition to The New York Times, USA Today, Yahoo and Zagat, Starbucks announced last week that publisher Rodale, Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr. Boost and online charity DonorsChoose.org  also will contribute content providers for its Starbucks Digital Network. The Web site is expected to go live this fall.

Customers who access the Internet at Starbucks will encounter the site before they can surf the web.

Aug. 16, 2010 at 11:56 a.m.
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Filed under: Bankruptcy, Jobs/employment, Media

Some Tribune operations to move to Texas

By Phil Rosenthal

Chicago-based Tribune Co. said Monday it is establishing a Texas subsidiary that will consolidate the media conglomerate’s back-office operations such as financial responsibilities and systems administration. The company said it anticipates the move, anticipated in recent weeks as job openings were posted on various employment Web sites, “will save Tribune tens of millions annually.”

Aug. 13, 2010 at 4:27 p.m.
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Filed under: Media, Personnel moves, TV

Meteorologist hired for Ch. 2’s new morning news show

By Gregory Karp

The new morning show at WBBM-Ch. 2 to debut this month might not have a name yet, but it does have a new meteorologist.

It will be Megan Glaros from WCBS in New York, WBBM confirmed. Glaros, who hails from Dyer, Ind., and attended Indiana University, was the New York station’s weekend morning meteorologist and entertainment reporter. Get the full story »

Aug. 13, 2010 at 4:20 p.m.
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Filed under: Bankruptcy, Chicago executives, Magazines, Media, Newspapers, Radio, TV

Zell seeks to be repaid before others in Tribune bankruptcy

Crain's Chicago Business

Sam Zell, who took Tribune Co. private in a 2007 leveraged buyout,  says he wants his claims in the media company’s bankruptcy to be paid before those of any lower-priority creditors. Zell put $315 million of his own money into the $8 billion deal. The company filed for Chapter 11 last year.

Demands by the lower-priority creditors have gotten louder since a bankruptcy examiner’s report last week raised questions about the LBO.

Aug. 13, 2010 at 3:25 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Computers, Media, Newspapers, Technology, Wireless

News Corp. developing daily newspaper for tablets

By Los Angeles Times

News Corp. Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch is embarking on an ambitious plan for a new national digital newspaper to be distributed exclusively as paid content for tablet computers such as Apple Inc.’s iPad and mobile phones.

The initiative, which would directly compete with the New York Times, USA Today and other national publications, is the latest attempt by a major media organization to harness sexy new devices to reach readers who increasingly consume their news on the go. The development underscores how the iPad is transforming reading habits much like the iPod changed how people listen to music.

Aug. 13, 2010 at 2:42 p.m.
23 comments
Filed under: Entertainment, Media, TV, Venture capital

Oprah to host show on her new network

By Mary Ellen Podmolik

Oprah Winfrey has agreed to boost her on-air commitment to The Oprah Winfrey Network by hosting or starring in a show on the network, according to a Securities and Exchange filing made by Discovery Communications Inc. on Friday.

As part of the amended joint-venture agreement, Discovery agreed to increase by 89 percent, to $189 million, its funding commitment to Winfrey’s OWN network. Get the full story »

Aug. 13, 2010 at 2:08 p.m.
5 comments
Filed under: Internet, Media, Newspapers, Personnel moves, TV

TV critic leaves Tribune for AOL Television

By Mary Ellen Podmolik

Maureen Ryan, a 13-year veteran of the Chicago Tribune and its television critic, announced Friday that she has left the newspaper to join AOL Television as its TV critic.

Before joining the Tribune, she worked for the magazines Chicago Enterprise and Cinescape, and she freelanced for Crain’s Chicago Business, RollingStone.com, the Chicago Reader, NewCity, Request and other publications.

Aug. 13, 2010 at 5:35 a.m.
1 comment
Filed under: Bankruptcy, Media

PBGC takes over Sun-Times pensions

By Dow Jones Newswires

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. has assumed control of seven pension plans covering workers and retirees of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, a move which is expected to cost the pension guarantor some $49 million. Get the full story »

Aug. 12, 2010 at 1:10 p.m.
44 comments
Filed under: Entertainment, Media, Sports

Ch. 2 cancels ‘Monsters & Money’

CBS affiliate WBBM-Ch. 2 is slaying its “Monster.”

The show “Monsters & Money in the Morning,” which debuted Feb. 1 in the 5 to 7 a.m. weekday slot, will be canceled because of poor viewership. The last show will air Aug. 27. Get the full story »

Aug. 10, 2010 at 5:38 p.m.
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Filed under: Bankruptcy, Chicago executives, Fraud, Litigation, Media, Retirement

Judge: Zell can’t be made to pay for pension losses

A U.S. District Judge in Chicago ruled Monday that Sam Zell can’t be made to pay for the company’s retirement fund losses because Tribune isn’t directly involved in the lawsuit. Zell was sued by workers who claimed that the billionaire caused the company’s employee stock ownership plan to lose value.

Aug. 10, 2010 at 3:47 p.m.
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Filed under: Earnings, Entertainment, Media

‘Toy Story,’ ESPN lift Disney earnings 40%

By Dow Jones Newswires

Walt Disney Co.’s  fiscal third-quarter earnings jumped 40 percent on deferred revenue at ESPN and hit movies including  “Toy Story 3,” as the media giant and theme-park operator’s results beat analysts’ views.

Shares climbed 1.5 percent  after-hours, to $35.75. The stock had risen 9.4 percent this year through the close, better than the broader market. Get the full story »

Aug. 10, 2010 at 10:22 a.m.
53 comments
Filed under: Chicago executives, Media

Desiree Rogers named CEO of Johnson Publishing

By Zoe Galland
Desiree Rogers, left, with Linda Johnson Rice at a dinner on March 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Earl Gibson III)

Desiree Rogers, left, attends a dinner with Linda Johnson Rice on March 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Earl Gibson III)

Desiree Rogers, the Chicago executive and former White House Social Secretary who was vaulted to international notoriety after uninvited guests crashed a state dinner, has been named the new CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., the publishers of Ebony and Jet magazines.

Rogers had been consulting for the Chicago-based publishing and cosmetics company on a two-month contract. She will now take over day-to-day operations.

In July, Anne Sempowski Ward, the former president and chief operating officer of Johnson Publishing, said she was stepping down, which prompted speculation that Rogers was in line for the job. Get the full story »

Aug. 9, 2010 at 2:17 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Entertainment, Internet, Video, Wireless

U-verse coming to iPhone, BlackBerry

From Bloomberg News | AT&T is making its U-verse television service available to users of the Apple iPhone and Reasearch in Motion BlackBerry.

Aug. 6, 2010 at 7:34 a.m.
7 comments
Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, Media

Oprah network gives Rosie O’Donnell a show

By Julie Wernau

Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell at the launch party for "O, The Oprah Magazine" in New York. (Brad Rickerby/Reuters)

Just as Oprah makes her exit, Rosie O’Donnell is coming back to daytime — with a show on the new Oprah Winfrey Network.

The network provided few details about the show except to say that it would be a one-hour daily “fun, uplifting show” based in New York. The show is scheduled to air sometime in 2011, after the network’s Jan 1 launch on the Discovery Health Channel. Get the full story »

Aug. 5, 2010 at 10:44 a.m.
1 comment
Filed under: Earnings, Media

Playboy posts wider-than-expected loss

By Reuters

Playboy Enterprises Inc. reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday as revenue at its print and digital segment continued to decline.

For the second quarter, net loss narrowed to $5.4 million, or 16 cents per share, from $8.7 million, or 26 cents per share, a year ago.

The adult entertainment company, which is being wooed by both founder Hugh Hefner and rival Penthouse magazine-owner FriendFinder Networks, saw revenue fall 10 percent to $56 million. Get the full story »

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