5 Blogs Before Lunch

Vanity Fair Publishes A Watered-down Response to The New Yorker's Obama Satire

The folks at Vanity Fair have published a spoof cover, taking a little jab at the controversy surrounding its sibling, The New Yorker's now famous Obama cover.

The spoof ran only on the Vanity Fair website, and surely has little of the bite, and surely deserves much less attention than the real deal. In fact, it feels much more like an attention-getting device than the New Yorker cover, that was designed to stir debate, rather than just attention.

Vanity Fair's version shows the 71-year-old McCain, often the butt of age jokes, using a walker, and his wife Cindy -- who once had a drug problem -- cradling an armful of prescription pill bottles. A portrait of President Bush hangs above a fireplace where the Constitution is burning.

Vogue To Produce Web-based Reality Show

Hoping to connect with a younger demo, Vogue is producing a web-based reality show called "Model.Live" that tracks the fortunes of three young fashion models. Viewers will be able to click and buy clothes worn by the models.

The Conde Nast-owned site Vogue.tv will carry the show, and it will be syndicated on video sites including Veoh.com and hulu.com. The show is produced by IMG Media. It is being reported that clothing retailer Express is spending $1 million to be a featured advertiser.

An Insider's Look at Allen & Company's Sun Valley Retreat

In his regular Tuesday column in The New York Times, Andrew Ross Sorkin gives us an insider's look at media moguls Murdoch, Ballmer, Yang, Ichan, Schmidt and Parsons as they interact at Allen & Company's annual Sun Valley retreat. Sorkin pays particular attention to Yang and his current challenges in helping Yahoo find its way. Here's a short excerpt, but you really should read the whole column:

Think about it: “What global company in their right mind formally teams up with Mr. Icahn?” as one invitee asked. Mr. Icahn may be a brilliant investor — he actually doesn’t get enough credit or respect for that — but let’s be honest, he doesn’t use a computer, let alone know how to run Yahoo. And what does it say about Microsoft? The notion that Yahoo’s board would sell the crown jewel, its search business, to Microsoft and then hand over the scraps of the company to Mr. Icahn is, as Roy Bostock, Yahoo’s chairman, said, “absurd and irresponsible.”

Rush Limbaugh Gets A Raise, While Los Angeles Times Journalists Get The Boot

What's wrong with this picture?

Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year contract with Clear Channel for about $400 million, on the same day that the Los Angeles Times announced plans to cut about 250 jobs, including about 17% of its news staff.

Limbaugh story here, Times story here. (WSJ subscription required)

State of the Media: In Shambles

Apologies in advance for this curmudgeonly post to start the week...

I just finished reading two articles that disturbed me a bit. One was a news account about the CNN reporter who got caught in NYC's Central Park with methamphetamine in his pocket, a rope around his neck that was tied to his genitals, and a sex toy in his boot. The other about a Fox Business Network analyst and investment banker who is hawking a rum-based sex potion as an energy drink. The product's name: Mamajuana Energy. The marketing slogan is “Come to Mama.” The New York Times gave the story about the sex-potion front-page placement in its business section.

So this is the state of the media today? It makes me feel a little better about having Katie Couric deliver the CBS Evening News.

What's Old Is New Again. Marketers Take a Second Look At Network Radio

Network radio--the hot new thing? believe it or not, this old skool media choice has a growing number of major marketers rethinking their media buys. Think about it, targeted reach, flexibility and accountability.

Mediaweek says it this way:

Network radio is undergoing a renaissance. At a time when the economy is squeezing local advertisers and local media, the medium--with its attractive efficiencies, targeted reach and greater accountability--is thriving.

Discussing Microsoft's "Murdochian" Takeover Attempt of Yahoo!

Charlie Rose: "Tell me about this deal"

Andrew Ross Sorkin: "When you mate two dogs, you don't get a pony"

The New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin and The New Yorker's Ken Auletta spin the Microsoft hostile offer for Yahoo!--a deal that could inexorably affect the world of online media, and provide an evolutionary shift of fortunes for Microsoft.

Go to Sorkin's Dealbook blog to view the video from the Charlie Rose show.

The last time we saw these three together was to discuss Rupert Murdoch's takeover of the Wall Street Journal.

One interesting point: You'll be watching this clip on "Google Video"--how many 800lb guerillas can fit in this room?

A New Talk Show for Marie Osmond

Oprah, Martha, Rachel, and Barbara be forewarned.

Advertisers, alert your media buyers.

There's a new--well, maybe not so new, talk show host vying for the broadcast eyeballs of american women.

Marie Osmond is planning a return to daytime television. The singer-actress, doll-hawker and celebrity dance star is launching an hour-long entertainment/lifestyle talk show targeted to launch in fall 2009.

Of course this isn't Osmond's first stint holding title to her own TV show. Marie and her brother Donny have hosted a variety show in the late '70;s and a talk show in the late-'90s. In her launch announcement Osmond said the new show, called "Marie," will focus on topics of interest to women.

"It will be a real feel-good show," she said. "I've been through a lot of things in life and have no problem talking about it. Women need a safe place where they can laugh, feel good and relate to (other women)."

More from Reuters

Soap Operas To Get a New "Guiding Light"

Proctor & Gamble Productions created the daytime soap opera--I mean, daytime drama, "The Guiding Light", back in 1937 on radio as a vehicle to sell soap (thus, the soap opera name). Now, over 70 years later, it is time for a change.

Ten years ago, the show attracted an average 4.8 million viewers an episode, according to Nielsen Media Research. This season, it averages about 2.6 million viewers.

In a bid to reclaim viewers and attract a younger audience to the "Guiding Light," Procter & Gamble Productions is introducing the use of hand-held cameras, tripling the number of indoor sets and adding more outdoor locations. "This is all about continuing the evolution of the show so that it will have longevity," said Barbara Bloom, CBS' SVP for daytime programs.

From The Los Angeles Times:
“Soap operas have been shot, by and large, the same way since the 1950s, the same way that ‘I Love Lucy’ was shot — with pedestal cameras, in just a few interior sets,” Ellen Wheeler, executive producer of “Guiding Light,” said in an interview Monday. “Our audience is sophisticated enough to understand that’s old-fashioned, and it isn’t working for them anymore.”

A New Web Magazine Dedicated To Black Readers: TheRoot.com

The Washington Post Company has launched a new political and cultural Web magazine dedicated to black readers. Aside from articles, theroot.com also will feature a tool that assists users in tracing their lineage and links to sites that offer DNA testing.

From The New York Times:

Several well-known authors and scholars have agreed to contribute to The Root, including Malcolm Gladwell and William Julius Wilson. The managing editor is Lynette Clemetson, who was until recently a reporter in Washington for the The New York Times and previously was a national and foreign correspondent for Newsweek.

The magazine they describe could be seen as a more highbrow, political alternative to established magazines like Ebony and sites like BlackAmericaWeb.com and BlackVoices.com. The Root’s emphasis on genealogy will set it apart from those competitors, which pay more attention to entertainment, lifestyle and consumption.