Posts Tagged ‘media’
Everyone’s pouncing on hedge funds once again
Everyone is pouncing on hedge funds once again… some of the results of a simple google news search on “hedge funds”…
Hedge funds brace for redemption wave, cash high
Asia Hedge Funds, Among Worst Performers, Close at Faster Rate
Year-end redemption requests loom over industry
Hedge funds hit by wind-ups as markets bite
Hedge Funds Wash Out of High-Stakes Game
Hedge Funds Are Bracing for Investors to Cash Out
Hedge funds face loss of investors
Why does all this coverage and analysis have to be ex-post? Haven’t they done enough of that after LTCM? Couldn’t they do some ex-ante analysis this time around?
Tribune’s Deal from Hell
The sad fate that awaits the Tribune Co. and its employees after real estate tycoon Sam Zell bought it can be guessed from this article. BusinessWeek should probably have used “Tribune’s Deal from Hell” instead of “Sam Zell’s Deal from Hell”
Not only does Zell have no clue about (and apparently no interest in) running a publishing house, he seems to be hiring people worse than him to get the company “fixed”. From the article…
Adding to the uncertainty, Zell has tapped some quirky characters with no newspaper experience to run key elements of the Tribune empire. Randy Michaels, the chief operating officer, is a former Clear Channel executive and onetime “shock jock” who worked for Zell at Jacor. Michaels has installed jukeboxes, pinball machines, and a sculpture of a six-legged man running in circles called “The Bureaucratic Shuffle” in the Tribune Tower in Chicago. Marc Chase, president of Tribune Interactive, is another Clear Channel alum and former DJ. Robert J. Gremillion, Tribune’s executive vice-president and interim publisher of the Chicago Tribune, hails from the broadcasting division. Gerald Spector, the chief administrative officer who’s overseeing the Los Angeles Times, is a Zell acolyte from the real estate business with a penchant for sweaters emblazoned with cartoon characters.
And check out how capable their new Cheif Innovation Officer is…
Tribune’s new chief innovation officer, Lee Abrams, a former XM Satellite Radio Holdings (XMSR) programmer, has raised eyebrows, too. In March he began firing off 5,000-word e-mails suggesting employees peruse his 108 blog posts on what’s wrong with the media. “While my background is steeped in rock ‘n’ roll,” he wrote in his first e-mail, “I strongly believe that News and Information is the NEW rock ‘n’ roll…The NEW rock ‘n’ roll isn’t about Elvis or James Dean, but it IS about re-inventing media with the exact same moxie that the fathers of rock ‘n’ roll had. The Tribune has the choice of doing to News/Information/Entertainment what rock ‘n’ roll did to music.”
Hmm…Zell seems to be trying real hard to fix the place.
If you didn’t find this depressing enough (or alternatively, found it too exciting) you can read some more highlights in this timeline.
Rupert Murdoch sets aside $100m for India
The grand old daddy of media has set his eyes on fresh territory. Rupert Murdoch plans to expand News Corp’s presence in India. He has announced plans to launch six regional TV channels within the next 12months at investments totaling $100 million.
More details available in this FT news item.
