The Morning Fix: MySpace the morning after; June gloom at box office; DirecTV wants to sell you!
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After the coffee. Before figuring out the best route downtown to avoid parade insanity.
MySpace mess. New MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta says the struggling social networking site is ‘bloated’ and cuts staff by 30%, or 400 employees. The Financial Times notes that News Corp.’s deal, which many praised four years ago, doesn’t look so hot now. The Los Angeles Times says MySpace’s portal strategy was a misfire and that it has been too slow to adapt to challenges while The Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital blog says getting Google to renew their big ad deal is a priority.
June gloom hits box office. USA Today and Variety are bringing the bad news. Slowdown at the summer box office so far this month. But ‘Transformers’ and ‘Harry Potter’ will be a big booster shot.
Passing grade. Julius Genachowski, Obama’s choice to head the Federal Communications Commission, got strong reviews in his grilling on Capitol Hill yesterday, according to Broadcasting & Cable. He said he’s not going to bring back the Fairness Doctrine but will be tough on indecency.
Your satellite TV is watching you too. Satellite broadcaster DirecTV is going to offer advertisers very targeted commercials that could cause privacy concerns. The Wall Street Journal says the new service, which will start in 2011, will use customer information including location and neighborhood type to let advertisers craft special spots.
Clampdown! Iran is cracking down on media in the midst of its election crisis. Iran’s Culture Ministry has instituted a ban on foreign journalists covering opposition rallies in Tehran. Twitter is becoming an important chatter box for expatriates. The Washington Post.
In today’s Los Angeles Times: HBO gets its mojo back with ‘True Blood.’ There are still a few people sitting out the digital revolution.
-- Joe Flint
