New York governor and unblinking humanoid statue Andrew Cuomo is currently trying to lure GE’s corporate headquarters back to New York—the same state that GE polluted the hell out of last time it was here. Huzzah!
John Krenicki, 50, will make $89K per month for the next three years in exchange for not working. Working class hero.
YouTube user merfitudinal snagged this outtake from Fox News' Saturday media show "Fox News Watch" before it was taken off the website. You may be surprised to learn that cable news talk show discussions are not as spontaneous as they seem! And you may be further surprised to know that cable news channels will edit…
In your coincidental Wednesday media column: James Murdoch gets a promotion, digital media is a strange business, NBC News misplaced its GE story, Starbucks and Morning Joe will never separate, and the NYO is photogenic.
Tonight, during Jon Stewart's "I Give Up!" segment, the Daily Show host discussed the news that GE paid no federal income tax for 2010, despite $14.2 billion in profits. Stewart also took aim at President Obama and NBC News.
Tonight, in a segment more fitting for 30 Rock than The Daily Show, Jon Stewart considered the problem that NBC News has because of the fact that it's owned by GE, whose products often appear in controversial news reports.
"I'm not here to make excuses," lies GE CEO Jeff Immelt in this video of a recent interview. Then he goes on to explain why your concerns about him earning $10 million last year are super stupid. Best excuses below!
GE and Comcast officially announced that this morning that they've come to terms on a deal over NBC Universal. It's really, really complicated, but the upshot is that Jeff Zucker still has a job for some reason.
It's a done deal: NBC has a new corporate overlord. So how did it go down?
• The deal between Comcast and GE to hand over control of NBC Universal to the cable giant is done; an announcement may come Thursday. [CNBC]
• Job cuts hit Gannett today; USA Today is reducing its staff by 5 percent. [AP]
• So much for Lou Dobbs moving over to CNBC. The cable network now says it has no plans to hire…
• Oprah's interview with Sarah Palin aired today, as you know by now. [AP]
• The deal between GE and Comcast to give the cable giant control of NBC Universal could be finalized in the next few days/weeks, although approval from Washington could take some time. [DF, THR, WSJ]
• Lou Dobbs didn't walk away from $9 million
• Comcast and GE have reportedly agreed that Jeff Zucker will remain the CEO of NBC Universal as part of their proposed $30 billion joint venture. Well done, gentlemen. Good to see things get started on the right foot. [Reuters]
• In related news, Zucker's totally brilliant plan to move Jay Leno to 10pm is paying off…
• Another magazine has gone under: Hachette announced today that it's closing Metropolitan Home to "focus its resources" on Elle Décor. [AdAge]
• New York's profile of star Times reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin reveals he's one of the paper's highest-paid staffers and is beloved by the titans of Wall Street, but is not…
So much for the truce between MSNBC and Fox. Since news of a cease fire (or at least a ratcheting down of the rhetoric) appeared in the pages of the New York Times twelve days ago, whatever fragile peace the two networks negotiated has dissolved into the usual volley of insults. Bill O'Reilly is once again the worst…
• The New York Times Co. is now publicly shopping the Boston Globe. Meanwhile, the list of potential acquirers is getting longer: The firm that bought the San Diego Union-Tribune is now a possible buyer. [AP, NYT]
• Related: The Globe is going to start charging to access its Web site. [E&P]
• News Corp. and GE were…
• News Corp. posted a hefty loss for the most recent quarter, reporting that profits were down by 30 percent, although things would have been worse if weren't for Roger Ailes's cash machine, Fox News. In related news, Rupert Murdoch seems to think he can get people to pay for content on the Internet and plans to give…
• Keith Olbermann took Times reporter Brian Stelter to task last night for reporting that News Corp. and GE had worked out a deal to tone down the rhetoric between MSNBC and Fox News. But he didn't disagree with everything Stelter reported. Conveniently, only the bad stuff about him was wrong. [NYM]
• More bad news…
Salon columnist Glenn Greenwald posted a scathing column about the armistice between GE and News Corp meant to end Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann's fueding. It's a chilling read, and brings in a tangentially related player: Richard Wolffe.
Magazine ad revenues are tanking, and many magazines are now selling ads on their covers, despite the fact that it's "not allowed." Seems like a clear-cut case of economics trumping ethics. But what happens when the cover ads are magic??
• Arthur Sulzberger Jr. says he has no plans to take the New York Times Co. private, despite "brutal conditions" that threaten his paper's survival. [NYT]
• Meanwhile, Moody's has downgraded the NYT Co.'s credit rating. [E&P]
• A few theories on why Peter Kaplan departed Jared Kushner's Observer, and what's in store…
