Ad gurus Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval, whose agency created the Aflac Duck, have a new book called, The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference. They say that big has gone bust in 2009, and it's time to start sweating the small stuff. I couldn't agree more.
A federal judge has denied former Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich the right to appear on NBC's new reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! US District Court Judge James Zagel said that he does not have "confidence that things will not go astray" if Blagojevich, who was impeached after trying to sell President Obama's former Senate seat, was allowed to film the show in Costa Rica. While NBC said they were "disappointed" that the former Governor would not be able to participate, they announced that they would not film the show in the US to allow Blago to participate and would replace him with a different cast member.
Yahoo reported a 78% drop in quarterly profits. In turn, the search company announced that they would lay-off an additional 5% of its employees. CEO Carol Bartz also noted the companies revenue was down 3% over last quarter.
The New York Times Company recorded a $74.5 million quarterly loss. The latest financial report showed a significant increase in losses at the company, which only reported $335,000 loss this time last year. The company's biggest loss came from the Boston Globe, which is expected to lose $85 million in 2009.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announced that Co-CEO Wenda Harris Millard is leaving the company. The move comes as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia reported an $8 million lose this quarter, compared to a profit of $33.3 million in the same period last year. Millard will join Michael Kassan at Media Link.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press) and the upcoming, Get Digital: Reinventing Yourself and Your Career for the 21st Century Economy (2009, Lake House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars