Where is the business of podcasting headed? And… Marijuana entertainment value gets high. Plus, rants and raves about Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP, newspaper brands highlighting their importance with blank pages, and Stephen King’s IT. It’s episode 70 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here for the audio

We all know the folks in the print business are being squeezed by digital. At the New York Times total revenue fell 1% while Gannett Co. reported revenues down almost 9%. And remember, those declines take into account any growth in digital. But this note from MediaPost is particularly telling: It’s worth noting that [circulation] revenues now make up 59.7% of NYTCO’s total, up from 41.3% in the third quarter of 2010. The proportion derived from advertising has fallen from 51.

How the media got the Brian Williams story all wrong. And… Hey newspapers! Want a younger video audience? Try a sock puppet! It’s episode 13 of Media Unplugged with branding authority Tom Asacker and media strategist Mark Ramsey. Plus, Tom rants about Cindy Crawford’s face and so much more, while Mark rants about HLN’s pathetic “News and a Movie” Listen as we go inside media to reveal the ugly truth! Click the play button below: And if you’re reading this by email, click here

Everyone wants to know about “the future of radio”? But what if that’s the wrong question? For example, what happens if (or is it when?) the FCC relaxes the rules restricting cross-ownership of newspaper, TV, and radio stations in local media markets? Reflect on how dramatically the radio industry changed when broadcasters were free to consolidate within the single distribution channel called “radio.” Now how much do you think the landscape will change when the differences be

Are you wasting your time nursing digital pennies and dimes when the “big money” is in the dollars that flow to your coffers from traditional agencies buying traditional radio in traditional ways? “Yes.” At least, that’s the opinion of one radio industry analyst, whose solution is to double-down on traditional revenue and the ratings methodology which feeds its ecosystem. Better content, sold better – that’s his answer. While I agree and routinely argue that radio professiona

Invariably, that means some in the industry will become leaders while the rest become followers and even also-rans. Mike Hodges is one of the leaders. He’s President and COO of U-T San Diego (formerly known as the San Diego Union-Tribune), one of the largest and most profitable local media companies in Southern California. My conversation with Mike was one of the most popular Q&A’s from hivio, the radio ideas festival held this past June. Mike has tons of lessons for broadcas

What will Jeff Bezos do with The Washington Post? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, and scores of armchair analysts have an opinion. Why he did he do it? What will become of the newspaper’s proud tradition? These are all questions handily dealt with elsewhere. But what about the biggest question of all: So what does it mean to you? And by “you,” I don’t just mean every print jockey in America. I mean every local media company in America. That’s right — what we used to c

Why did ESPN acquire Nate Silver and his hugely popular NYT blog FiveThirtyEight.com? Was it just to lay odds on sports events? Or was it for a much bigger play? This past weekend on CNN’s Reliable Sources, ESPN Chief John Skipper spelled out the strategy: …We had launched Grantland, [where we] allowed Bill Simmons to have the freedom to do the kind of site he’s doing so that when we went to Nate and said we’re going to let you range across things other than sports, we’re goi

One of my clients is a local media company with assets in broadcast, digital, and print.  It is what used to be called a “newspaper” company. And the differences between the conversations that happen in those halls and the ones that happen in many broadcast company conference rooms are stark. In the “newspaper” company hallways, almost every conversation I have is about new ways to create, deliver, and extract value for the benefit of customers and clients – business model co