The Morning Fix: Adele owns the Grammys! ‘The Vow’ cleans up.
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After the coffee. Before figuring out what’s wrong with my modem.
The Skinny: This Morning Fix is being done on the road as my WiFi is down. I have faith that the good people at Time Warner Cable will get to the bottom of this soon enough. In the meantime, just admire the lengths I go to get you your headlines. Monday’s news includes recaps of Adele’s big night at the Grammys, a look at the weekend box office and more headaches at News Corp.’s British tabloids.
The Daily Dose: I caught the Grammy Awards on a flight from New York to Los Angeles last night (thank you, Jet Blue). As has become habit, I played my favorite game of count-the-network-promos. The flight landed just before the final moments, so my tally is not official. That said, CBS must be doing very well financially to give up so much inventory for promos. There were at least 26 plugs for its shows on a night when the commercials were going for well over a half-million dollars for a 30-second spot.
Rumor has it. Adele was the big winner at Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, taking home six trophies. The British singer also knocked the crowd out with her performance of ‘Rolling in the Deep.’ Other winners included the Foo Fighters and Kanye West. The show was bittersweet as it came just a day after the death of troubled singer Whitney Houston, who was memorialized several times during the telecast. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times and Billboard.
Taking the vow. Looks like the girls were controlling the box office, as the romance movie ‘The Vow’ beat expectations and took in $41.7 million on what was basically Valentine’s Day weekend. Coming in a close second was ‘Safe House,’ which made $39.3 million in its premiere. Overall, box office was up 30% compared with the same weekend a year ago. No word yet on whether chocolate sales also spiked. Box-office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Movie City News.
Going for the gold. Lots of athletes take home medals during the Olympics, but its been tougher lately for NBC, the home of the Games, to have a lot to celebrate after the torch goes out. While the Games can still get ratings, profits are another story. NBC lost over $200 million on the 2010 Winter Olympics and is now hoping to avoid a repeat performance with the Summer Games in London. The New York Times checks in on how ad sales are going for the network.
More headaches. Anyone who thought the ethics scandal at News Corp.’s British newspaper unit was starting to die down might want to think again. Over the weekend, more reporters and editors from News Corp.’s tabloid the Sun were arrested. It’s not just hacking into phones anymore either. The latest busts have to do with paying off cops for information. Couldn’t they just schmooze them with a beer like the rest of us? The latest on the arrests from the Guardian. Also, the News Corp.-owned Wall Street Journal asks whether the new developments will once again lead to calls for the company to unload its newspaper business, which is low on profits and high on headaches. Finally, if you missed it, here’s Sunday’s New York Times story about how a 2008 email could play a huge part in determining how high within News Corp.’s executive ranks the scandal will reach.
You don’t say. ‘The Artist’ continued its steady march to a big Oscar night by cleaning up at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards. The silent movie won awards for best film, director and screenplay. Yes, silent movies have screenplays too. A recap of the BAFTAs and what the show means for the Oscars from Variety and Hollywood Reporter.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: An appreciation of the late great Whitney Houston. And Jennifer Aniston dug for some loose change under her couch and bought a new home in Bel-Air that was listed at almost $25 million.
— Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter. I make sense out of the madness. Twitter.com/JBFlint
