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The Morning Fix: Viacom profit drops; analyzing the Silverman era; new FCC chief favors technology over regulation

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After the coffee, before scrutinizing Viacom’s earnings.

Viacom Results. Media conglomerate Viacom announced earnings this morning for the second quarter. Profits were off 32% and revenues fell 14%. Early reports from Los Angeles Times and Variety.

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The Silverman saga. The exit of Ben Silverman from NBC to a new venture with Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive Corp. dominated the news cycle Monday. Reliving the brief but colorful Silverman era and laying out the problems left at the network for Jeff Gaspin and what it all means for NBC Universal honcho Jeff Zucker kept everyone busy. Some went with the cable-guy-taking-over-broadcast-TV angle, which was what people wrote 10 years ago when Doug Herzog left Comedy Central for Fox, proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Here’s all the spin from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap and, of course, Deadline Hollywood Daily. Enjoy!

Saving Silverman. What exactly is this new Diller-Silverman venture? Barry Diller and Ben Silverman’s new company appears to be, when one cuts through all the buzz words filling the press release, an advertising and marketing agency. Analysis from the Los Angeles Times, PaidContent and the Hollywood Reporter.

Technology over regulation. New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told The Wrap that although he is worried about sex and violence in the media, he’d rather provide technological tools than new regulations. Sounds good, but our experience tells us Washington prefers regulations.

Google to AOL: Goodbye. Time Warner said it is buying Google’s 5% stake in AOL for $283 million, which puts a total value of $5.7 billion on the online company: Reuters. Separately, PaidContent scoured through an SEC filing to get the dirt on AOL chief Tim Armstrong’s contract.

Inside today’s Los Angeles Times: How Ben Silverman’s buddy Ryan Seacrest was the first to break the big news. Patrick Goldstein on the Silverman era.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter.

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