Representation of asians

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XjNmXkzuYrg&feature=related

This sketch emphasises on the very rare amount of homosexual relationships within the asian community. This is shown by the sons countless efforts to hint out his sexuality but his sexuality is the last thing his parents suspect he is talking about. This could also be seen as possible ignorance or even innocence in asian parents.
A cultural stereotype arises when the boys mother asks him, "couldn't you find a nice indian boy?". This emphasises the very low rate of interracial marriages within asian families over the years.
The representation given off by this is that asians aren't quite as willing to accept homosexuality as maybe other races may be, it also shows that asians are possibly not quite ready to let their children involve themselves in interracial relationships.

Media Guardian

BBC1 has commissioned a new Australian daytime soap called Out of the Blue.Though long-running show Neighbours comes to an end on BBC1, the channel will keep an Antipodean flavour with a new show set in Sydney.Out of the Blue will begin shooting in the new year and is set in the Sydney beach resort of Manly.The story opens when a group of thirtysomething friends return to their home town for a high school reunion.However, the celebrations are brought to an abrupt end when one of the group is murdered.Out of the Blue is being made by Southern Star Entertainment, the company behind hits such as The Secret Life of Us and Love My Way.The BBC has ordered 130 half-hour episodes of Out of the Blue, which will run in an as yet unspecified slot in daytime.Jane Tranter, the BBC fiction controller, said: "This is an ambitious project that we think will break new ground, at the same time as providing daytime audiences with a compelling and intriguing watch."The experience and expertise of Southern Star Entertainment in this area, combined with the strength of the series proposal made this an exciting project, and we look forward to working on it with them."Hugh Mars, the chief executive of Southern Star Group, added: "This is definitely one of the most significant productions Southern Star has undertaken in recent years."To have the support of a great partner like the BBC enables us to create a programme that will be full of life, contemporary and very broad in its appeal."The BBC's negotiations were handled by the programme acquisition controller, George McGhee, and the head of series, Sue Deeks.BBC1 has already started juggling the schedule in anticipation of the departure of Neighbours for Channel Five next year.Hit show Doctors, which this week won the Royal Television Society's prestigious craft and design judges award, now runs in Neighbours' old lunchtime slot of 1.40pm and is performing well.The long-running Ramsay Street soap now airs at 2.10pm but is still repeated at 5.35pm.There is speculation that Neighbours will finish on BBC1 in January and begin on Five in March.It is still not confirmed what will replace Neighbours in the 5.35pm slot, although the BBC is mulling the idea of it going to BBC2 quiz Weakest Link.

This article is about BBC planning to show a new Austrailian show called "Out of the blue". The reason this interested me is because in order to air the show, it will have to take over the slot in which "Neighbours" was usually aired.
Neighbours will now be moved to channel 5 in Jan. With that said although the 1.40pm slot will be filled, what will be put in place of the 5.35pm slot?

Uses of gratifications and me

Blumler & Katz: possible reasons why audience members might consume a particular media text.

Diversion- I may watch a movie as a route to escapism from reality most probably an action or a comedy as neither usually have a lot of relevance to the realities of life, or maybe even play a computer game such as GTA in which you can take the role of a killer, obviously in real life i don't go shooting people up so this is a way to divert myself.

Personal relationships- I don't use the media for emotional interaction.

Personal Identity- Again, i don't use the media for this.

Surveillance- I watch the news a fair amount.

Net to become third biggest ad medium

The internet is set to overtake magazines to become the world's third largest advertising medium in 2010, according to a new report.Media planning and buying agency ZenithOptimedia's global advertising report estimates that in 2010 the internet ad market will be worth almost $61bn (29.5bn), compared with the magazine market at around $60.5bn (29.3bn).By 2010 the internet will account for 11.5% of global ad spend, trailing just TV, at a 37.5% share, and newspapers with 25.4% of an estimated $530bn (£257bn) total spend, according to Zenith.Internet ad spend is currently ranked behind radio globally but will surpass the medium's share next year. In the more developed UK market digital ad spend passed radio last year.The largest single internet ad market in money terms is the US, although the overall media spend share held by digital advertising in America is relatively low.Digital ad spend growth will come from markets such as western Europe, says Jonathan Barnard, head of publications at ZenithOptimedia, a region which will go from £10bn this year to almost £20bn by 2010.Other rapidly growing markets, while currently small, include China, which is predicted to grow from about £1.3bn now to £3.7bn in 2010.In the more developed digital ad market in the UK, online already accounts for more than 15% of total advertising spend across all media.However, ZenithOptimedia's report predicts that globally the medium will only break into a double-digit share of media spend - 10.4% - by the end of 2009.Regions such as Latin America, for example, have been slow to shift spend online, accounting for around 2% of all media spend in the continent.By 2010, however, internet ad spend as a share of all media will break the 15% mark in 10 regional markets around the world, according to ZenithOptimedia.Currently just four markets have reached this milestone - Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK.In these four markets the internet is predicted to top 20% of all media spend by 2010.

Audience Profiling and uses and gratifications

checkpoint one: what is demographic profiling? a basic way of grouping audiences for example according to age, gender and religion.checkpoint two: what is psychographic profiling? categorise audiences in terms of needs and motivations...targeted directly through their needs and desires.checkpoint three: why do you think advertisers create these niche nicknames? easy way to define target audience.checkpoint one: what four motivations for choosing a text did Blumer and Katz suggest? diversion personal relationship personal identity and surveillance see notes for detail.checkpoint two: what is a cultural code? different socio-economic groups will interpret texts in different ways. For example a working class person will see an issue or game on gun crime and will probably go out and get a gun, whereas a middle class person will read the text and come to the conclusion that this particular group ie black youths are criminals or linked to gun crime.

The Sun has recorded its first year-on-year circulation increase since May 2003 thanks to its 20p price cut in London and the south-east.
News International's red-top sold an average of 3,126,866 each day in October, according to the the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures.
This was a year-on-year rise of 0.63%, compared with October 2006 - the best result in the daily tabloid and middle market.
The Daily Express, Daily Star and Daily Mail also enjoyed year-on-year increases - the latter due to a big push into home delivery.
At the start of September the Sun slashed its price from 35p to 20p in London and the south-east, hitting its circulation revenues because the regions accounts for about 20% of sales.
The move was seen as a bid to stave off the News International money-spinner from falling below 3m circulation, which it has not done since January 1974. The Sun had dipped to 3,031,724 in March this year.
However, the paper's circulation was down 2.7% on September, when it ran its popular £9.50 holiday promotions, ending a run of four consecutive month-on-month rises.The Daily Star recorded a tiny year-on-year rise - about 300 copies - to sell a daily average of 771,197 copies in October. The paper was down a sharp 4.05% on September.
Trinity Mirror's Daily Mirror had a difficult October, selling on average 1,525,477 copies a day, falling a steep 4.68% year on year and 3.74% on the previous month.
Along with its Sunday counterpart, the Mirror promoted a series of free 13 classic Ladybird books, available as a pickup from Somerfield or by post.
The Daily Mail, owned by Associated Newspapers, boosted its year-on-year sales by 0.13% - about 3,000 copies - to sell a daily average of 2,353,807. This was a fall on September of 0.49%.
Daily Mail promotions included a Great War DVD collection and a Barbara Taylor Bradford DVD series.
"Additionally there has been a circulation drive to gain new readers through a massive investment in home news delivery promotions which has proven to be tremendously successful," the paper said.
"Over 37,000 new consumers have been added to the Daily Mail's circulation total and is a major factor in its current circulation success."
Richard Desmond's mid-market rival the Daily Express increased its year-on-year circulation by about 1,000 copies to sell an average of 789,867. This was a month-on-month fall of 3.07%.

The article is about The Sun newspaper having an increase in circulation, this is partly due to the 20p price cut in London and the South East. The sold an average of over 3 million copies each day. The Daily Express, Daily Star and Daily Mail also enjoyed year-on-year increases - the latter due to a big push into home delivery. Also in the article it gives various statistics about different newspapers and their circulation increase or decrease. i.e. the Daily Mirror has the lowest circulation of the newspapers stated with just over 1million, whereas newspapers such as the Daily Star are beginning to see an increaseI think that this article highlights the rise and fall in newspapers, as since the growth of the Internet, newspapers have slowly declined and The Sun has managed to increase its circulation by using offers and also reducing its price in certain areas of the country to keep circulation figure at over 3million

Effects Theory

checkpoint one: The culture industry is the rise of media industries on society. It states that society controls almost everything including culture. the bourgeosie set ideologies and values that they pass down to classes are of their view eg the government.checkpoint two:Desensitised means less sensitive. this relates to media as movies and documentaries will be shown in contemporary society rather than in previous years where there may have been ethics to consider for example the documentaries on Islam and other religious programmes

Metropolitan police Trident ad: credited with helping to cut London's gun crime by 15%

The advertising campaign that supported Trident, the Metropolitan police's anti-gun crime initiative, has been judged the most effective in the UK.
Developed by ad agency MCBD, the campaign won the grand prix at the annual IPA Effectiveness awards last night.

The award, considered the UK benchmark for awarding campaigns on the basis of results, credited the campaign with leading to an 86% rise in calls providing information on gun crime, and a 15% reduction in actual gun crime.
Media agency MediaCom planned and bought media for the ad push, which also won a gold award.

The ads aimed to fight gun crime in London's black community and were targeted at streetwise men aged 18 to 24. They dramatised the devastating effects of gun crime and challenged the glamorous imagery surrounding the weapons.
Based around the strapline "Stop the guns", the campaign included ads on petrol pumps and a music video.

London effectiveness agency of the year went to MCBD - which also picked up a gold award for its Waitrose campaign - while The Union picked up the same award for Scotland.
The prize for effectiveness agency of the year in the regions went to Omnicom-owned BDH TBWA.

"In this competition we saw examples of how advertising can rescue a failing business, launch a successful brand extension and insulate a brand from increasing competitive threat," said Richard Storey, the M&C Saatchi chief strategy officer and the convener of the judges.
"However, what inspired the judges most was the proof that it can be successfully and creatively engaged to reduce an endemic social problem like gun crime."

In total four golds, six silvers, eight bronzes and 11 special prizes were presented at the awards.
This year the awards were limited to UK agencies with an income of up to £20m.

Marxism

Well Marxism is society are told what to do according to class therefore people face inequality and there are types of media which are suited for that class. However this is wrong so pluralist give choices to their audiences.
I agree with the person above, i do believe that there is a social class division, which splits the society up. The rich will stay rich and the rich will stay poor.
There is only a social class division if you think there is. And if you do then there are ways to stop that. Individuals split themselves up into social 'classes'.
Yeah, individuals are to express there opinions through ther media without restrictions. Such as google setting up blogger.com, as the audience get more literate they become more demanding and selective.
But like you said, google owning blogger.com is an example of big companies owning small companies. Rupert Murdoch for instance owns many companies, and although he provides variety, he chooses what goes on and what doesn't in his companies and therefore his underlying message(if he was one) can still be approved throughout.
Firstly on blogger.com you can set up a blogger.com you can set set up a blog on anything so no ideologies ae fittered to us. Yes Murdoch will channel his opinions to us but in todays society there are so many sources to gain info from.
False conciousness we become passive!!!

Interesting......

Pluralism

In what ways do I agree with Pluralism?
To a certain extent i agree with pluralism as society, for example the media have choices within the market for example with magazines. Also if we look at superstores there is now a wide range of places to go however there is a tesco preety much located everywhere therefore people-consumers are drawn towards them. Similarly, television have choices of channels to watch however if one person owns these channels then they will provide the audience with the same values as a result there is really not much choice.
This shows that there really is not a pluralistic society.

Murdoch confronts rebels and rules out bid for Facebook

http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,,2195607,00.html

Rupert Murdoch hosed down a shareholder rebellion yesterday as nearly a quarter of News Corporation's investors voted for greater democracy within the Australian billionaire's media empire.
At News Corp's annual meeting in New York, some 23% of shareholders backed a resolution from an Australian activist seeking changes in the dual class voting structure to create "one share, one vote".
The move would loosen Mr Murdoch's grip on the company, parent of newspapers such as The Times and The Sun and the controlling investor in BSkyB.
"We're running a corporate structure which is frankly embarrassing - which is a gerrymander," said Stephen Mayne, accusing Mr Murdoch of being paranoid about a takeover. "Trust yourself, back your record. You're a legend - nobody's going to sack you."
Such a change has little chance of success because the Murdoch family controls a 30% voting block. Wall Street critics say the structure keeps the mainstream "B" shares out of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, consigning them to a lower rating.
Mr Murdoch said protection from takeover was beneficial because it allowed management to take more risks.
He ruled out buying Facebook, rival to NewsCorp's social networking site MySpace.
"We're going in slightly different ways. They [Facebook] are more of a utility - I won't say a phone book - for friends to connect with each other," he said, describing MySpace as more "cultural".

Channel 4 in clear on housemates' offensive words

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/nov/06/bigbrother.raceandreligion

Channel 4 has been cleared of breaching broadcasting regulations over its decision to transmit an incident in which a Big Brother contestant used a racially offensive word to describe another housemate.Nineteen-year-old Emily Parr was axed from the show by producers after making the comment to Charley Uchea early in this summer's Big Brother series.Emily Parr: acknowledged that she should have been 'more careful with her words'. Photograph: Channel 4 Ofcom said Channel 4's decision to broadcast the incident was justified by the context of the show, adding that it had made clear that the language was "offensive and unacceptable".Around 450 complaints were made after Parr's comment was broadcast in a Channel 4 highlights episode of Big Brother on June 7 this year.Parr, from Bristol, was dancing with two of her fellow contestants on the night of June 6-7 when she said to Uchea: "You pushing it out, you nigger."When she was challenged by the pair, Parr said she was joking, adding that she had black friends who called her that.Parr was removed from the house the following morning, June 7. At the time of her disqualification, Channel 4 said Parr had used a "racially offensive word" and that she had acknowledged she should have been "more careful with her words".But some viewers complained that Channel 4 had over-reacted by removing Parr from the house, and had failed its its duty of care to the reality TV contestant.Channel 4 was also cleared today by Ofcom of any wrong-doing in a similar incident on this year's series of the reality show when a contestant was called a "poof".The behaviour of the housemates and Channel 4 was under close scrutiny in the wake of the Celebrity Big Brother race row when the treatment of the Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty by Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara prompted 54,000 complaints and led to effigies being burnt on the streets of India."Ofcom has made clear in previous adjudications and findings that the broadcasters' right to broadcast such material and the audience's right to receive it is an important principle," said the regulator in its ruling today."It has been established over many series that the Big Brother audience expects to see all aspects of the housemates' characters exposed during their stay in the house."Channel 4 would not have been expected to keep key character information from viewers, since it is the viewers who decide who to vote for."By including these scenes, Channel 4 offered viewers an insight into all the housemates' characters, not just Emily Parr's. In Ofcom's view this context is in line with the editorial content of the series and audience expectations."The regulator said the programme had made clear that the use of that particular word was "offensive and unacceptable ... Ofcom therefore considered that there was appropriate justification and there was no breach of the code".Separately, around 200 viewers complained after two incidents in which another Big Brother contestant, Laura Williams, called housemate Liam McGough a "poof".Viewers who complained said the word was as offensive to the gay community as the word used by Parr was to the black community.Channel 4 told Ofcom that "very careful consideration" had been given to its inclusion in the show.But the broadcaster said that it had underestimated the offence it caused viewers after the first comment was aired.When it was repeated, Big Brother called Williams into the diary room to reprimand her for her language, and she was later evicted from the house by viewers.Channel 4 said the decision to broadcast the comment had been considered at senior levels in both the channel and the production company, Endemol.In its ruling, Ofcom said: "For the broadcaster, the important distinction had been made that Laura Williams, in contrast to Emily Parr, had not used this term directly against a gay housemate (Liam McGough is not gay) and it had been very clear that the gay housemate whom it had been used in front of had not been offended by her use of the term, unlike Charley Uchea in the Emily Parr incident."The regulator said there was "insufficient or no evidence to suggest that Laura Williams used the word ... in a denigratory way".The comments were included in Big Brother updates on Channel 4 broadcast on July 1 and July 4.Ofcom said it was "not possible or appropriate at present to establish definitively the degree of offence use of the world 'poof' can cause in all contexts".But it said it was "sympathetic" to the concerns voiced by complainants about the use of the word, and reminded broadcasters to "exercise care about the frequency with, and context in, the word is broadcast".

Marxism

Checkpoint 1: What is the difference between the Proletariat and Bourgeoisie?
The Bourgeoisie own the means production. There are two categories for these people: the wealthy bourgeoisie who do not work themselves but employ others, the petty bourgeoisie who also have high status and employ people to work for them but also do the work themselves. The Proletariat are usually working class who get exploited by the higher status and higher classes.

Checkpoint 2: What is the difference between the ISA and RSA?
ISA is simply physical violence control, an example of this can be the police.
RSA is psychological control, through such as Masjids, Church, Family, Education.

How much of a marxist am i?
I believe that I am not much of a Marxist as i feel that your social class should not hinder any of your chances in life. However the reality is that there are major class conflict within society and as Althusser stated the working class are constantly getting expoilted. But this is obviously a good thing for the Bourgeoisie as they pay low wages but income is always on the rise therefore profits are always high. Furthermore the ISA and RSA help maintain Bourgeoisie ideologies for example the education system has a teacher who has power compared to a student. Therefore students are told from a young age that there will always be someone above them in status even when they enter the world of work. I believe to a certain extent that this is wrong however by doing this it help to keep social order but then again it does not provide equality. The ISA and their institutions like the media inforce someones iable. Overall, i dont like the fact that individuals have different chances in life due to their social status. Also, large media institutions that inforce their views on us as the consumers. There will always be a class conflict in society which will never be solved.

Globalization Discussion

Rav and Deep are having a discussion about globalization.

Rav: Well lets take Tesco for example if they become a monopoly then we as consumers will have no choice what happened to the whole 'pluralistic society'.. and will be forced to buy our shopping from them compared to competitors like Asda etc. So what i am saying is if Microsoft take over what we do on computers then in theory we will be conforming to the idelogies of Bill Gates....

Deep: I understand but if someone like Bill Gates is doing well and what he is doing then why dont he just carry on. If he is taking over then potentially he is catering for the mainstream audience therefore he will cater for everyones needs, as does Tesco as they now provide electricals as well as groceries....

Rav: Well the media is significant for globalisation. Mcluhan stated the 'global village' if something was happening in India we would get the news in England within seconds. There are multinationals they have an economic advantage as they give 'better audience reach and diversification....'

Deep: As you said we get news from these institutions but how can you be sure that they are not biased for example look at Murdoch who preety much owns everything his views could be implemented on the information the organisation present to the audience which again could be biased.

TV show host boots out 9/11 conspiracy theorists

It's the conundrum that faces all television personalities broadcasting live: how to deal with hecklers trying to disrupt the show. Do you ignore the perpetrators? Do you try to reason with them? Or do you do what the American comic and talk show host Bill Maher did - jump into the audience, threaten the hecklers with an "ass kicking" and scream "Get the fuck out of my building!"
In one of the more unconventional displays of audience interaction on US television in recent years, that is now doing hot trade as a clip on YouTube, Maher reacted to the interruptions of hecklers in his studio audience with the memorable words: "Do we have some fucking security in this building?"
He then tore off his lapel microphone and stormed off the stage and up to some protesters wielding "expose the 9/11 cover-up" banners.
It was at that point during a panel discussion on his HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher, that the nature of the comic's difficulties with an element of his audience became clear. Maher is a darling of the US liberal intelligentsia for his brand of Bush-bashing and anti-religious pedantry.
But the one point over which he will not bash the Bush administration is the events of September 11 2001. He does not agree with 9/11 conspiracy theorists, or Truthers as they call themselves, that the Bush administration brought down the Twin Towers in a controlled explosion.
The trouble started a few weeks ago when Maher launched a verbal assault on air against the Truthers, calling them "crazy people". He advised the conspiracy theorists, who had been demonstrating outside his studio, to visit their doctor to ask whether the antidepressant Paxil was right for them.
In 2002 ABC ended its relationship with him over comments he made in his former show, Politically Incorrect, about the 9/11 hijackers.

Mastermind seeks more women

When was the last time a woman won the BBC quiz Mastermind? Why have there been nearly three times as many male champions? What can be done about this gender imbalance? Such questions have been testing the ingenuity of producers on the long-running series since the presenter, John Humphrys, recently bewailed the shortage of women contestants. Between 1,500 and 2,000 people undergo auditions for the TV show every year, but only a quarter are female.
In an attempt to rectify the disparity, the programme has launched a recruitment drive through advertisments in women's magazines and approaches to women's organisations. Insisting there would be no positive discrimination or lowering of standards, a BBC spokeswoman insisted: "Women will still have to be good enough to get on the programme. Mastermind is looking at encouraging more women to apply because they are not getting as many as men."
The show began in 1972 and was the brainchild of the TV producer Bill Wright, a former RAF gunner, who drew on his wartime experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo. Over the past 35 years, eight women and 21 men have won the title. The series was not screened between 1997 and 2003. Curiously, the first three winners were women, the last being Anne Ashurst, a novelist, in 1997.
Humphrys believes women triumph in general knowledge but men do better in specialist topics.

This article is about the show "Mastermind" and how only eight women but 21 men have won the title. This is quite a shocking statistic and makes me wonder if it was just coincidence at the time or purposely done.
Now however, mastermind are encouraging more women to apply.

The reason i chose this article is because the matter of gender discrimination has always been a controversial issue and therefore this interested me from the start, but even more interestingly it was actually the women that didn't want to apply not so much Mastermind not letting them.
I think there is not discrimination actually being enforced, yes it may seem that way due to the vast gap between the number of male winners and female winners, but actually it is just the fact that more men apply. Maybe Mastermind's encouragement can help turn these statistics around.

Time Warner

Time Warner Inc. is the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City, with major operations in film, television, publishing, Internet service and telecommunications. Among its subsidiaries are AOL, Home Box Office, New Line Cinema, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable, Turner Broadcasting System, The CW and Warner Bros. Entertainment

*Conglomerates: a conglomerate is a collection of companies owned by a single institution. These need not all be within the same industry. This diversification allows protection against a single part of the conglomerate failing.

Origins

Warner Communications was established in 1972 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations.It was the parent company for Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Music Group during the 1970s and 1980s. It also owned DC Comics and Mad, as well as a majority stake in Garden State National Bank (an investment it was ultimately required to sell pursuant to requirements under the Bank Holding Company Act). Warner's initial divestiture efforts led by Garden State CEO Charles A. Agemian were blocked by Garden State board member William A. Conway in 1978; a revised transaction was later completed in 1980. Warner made considerable profits (and later losses) with Atari, which it owned from 1976 to 1984. In 1976, Nolan Bushnell sold his Atari company to Warner Communications for an estimated $28 - $32 million. While part of Warner, Atari achieved its greatest success, selling millions of Atari 2600s and computers. At its peak, Atari accounted for a third of Warner's annual income and was the fastest-growing company in the history of the United States at the time.In the 1970s, Warner expanded under the guidance of CEO Steve Ross and formed a joint venture with American Express, named Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which held cable channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and Showtime. Warner bought out American Express's half in 1984, and sold the venture a year later to Viacom, which renamed it MTV Networks.In February 1983, Warner expanded their interests to baseball. Under the direction of Ceasar P. Kimmel, executive vice president, bought 48 percent of the Pittsburgh Pirates for $10 million. It then put up its share for sale in November 1984 following losses of $6 million. The team's elderly majority owner, John W. Galbreath, soon followed suit after learning of Warner's actions.

Turner Broadcasting logo

1999 Time Warner logo

In 1984, due to the video game crash of 1983, Warner sold the consumer division of Atari to Jack Tramiel. It kept the arcade division and renamed it Atari Games. They sold Atari Games to Namco in 1985, and repurchased it in 1994, renaming it Time-Warner Interactive, until it was sold to Midway Games in 1996. Meanwhile, In 1987, it was announced that Warner Communications and Time Inc. were to merge. The last thing Warner did before the merger closed in 1989 was to buy out Lorimar-Telepictures. In early 1990, the combined companies were named Time Warner. This company subsequently acquired Ted Turner's Turner Broadcasting System in October 1996.Time Warner had also been owner of the Six Flags Theme Parks chain during the 1990s after near bankruptcy. It sold all Six Flags parks and properties to Oklahoma based Premier Parks on April 1st, 1998. Some theme park insiders argue that Six Flags was much better off under Time Warner ownership.

America Online merger

In 2000, a new company called AOL Time Warner was created when AOL purchased Time Warner for US$164bn. The deal, announced on 10 January 2000 and officially filed on 11 February 2000, employed a merger structure in which each original company merged into a newly created entity. The Federal Trade Commission cleared the deal on December 14, 2000, and gave final approval on January 11, 2001; the company completed the merger later that day. The deal was approved on the same day by the Federal Communications Commission, and had already been cleared the European Commission on 11 October 2000. The shareholders of AOL owned 55% of the new company while Time Warner shareholders owned only 45%, meaning that the smaller AOL had in fact bought out the far larger Time Warner.

There has been some speculation about the motivations of each party. Some observers believed that Time Warner was struggling to integrate "new media" into its business. At the time of the announcement, Time Warner executives spoke of the need to "digitize their business." They were also eager to be attached to a dot-com company, as the dot-com bubble was near its peak. A merger with AOL provided a huge subscriber base of Internet users, along with online marketing know-how. While some business journalists have reported that AOL executives felt that AOL stock was severely overvalued and that a big merger was the only way to avoid a collapse in valuation, it this could merely have been a small part of AOL executives' desire to diversify the assets of the company beyond the Internet and online sectors. In addition, executives at AOL were quite concerned about the prospect of increased competition with Microsoft and sought to enlarge the company as a defensive measure. Finally, AOL executives believed that the integration of AOL's Internet distribution and Time Warner's content would create a tremendous amount of value for both sides of the company.Media companies felt that the vertically integrated AOL Time Warner would unfairly promote its own content within its outlets. This fear existed before the merger, but Time Warner was thought to be a conglomeration of very independent divisions. It was feared that this would change with the influence of AOL executives.Consumer advocates were concerned with the threat of product tying between Time Warner's cable TV systems and AOL's Internet service. Some consumer groups saw a possible attempt to corner the Internet-over-TV market, whereby AOL could force all of the Time Warner cable subscribers to use AOL branded Internet-TV. Smaller internet service providers feared that AOL would tie its Internet service to Time Warner's cable modem service. Some ISPs wanted the opportunity to use Time Warner's cable network as a common carrier for their services, which competed with AOL. AOL and Time Warner pledged not to violate any antitrust regulations.Many observers were shocked that a large, diversified media conglomerate was being acquired by a much smaller company. Market conditions at the time of the merger placed a greater premium on Internet-related stocks than on traditional media stocks. AOL's high market capitalization relative to that of Time Warner made the acquisition possible. The deal has since become a symbol of the Dot com bubble and is widely regarded as a disaster for shareholders of the original Time Warner, with a $2.4 billion shareholder settlement, a further $600 million set aside and a $5 billion price boosting share buyback program announced on August 3, 2005.AOL CEO Steve Case became executive chairman of the new company, while Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin retained the CEO title.

Financials

In 2004, Time Warner's market capitalization was $84 billion. When the AOL-Time Warner merger was announced in January 2000, the combined market capitalization was $280 billion.For fiscal year 2002 the company reported a $99 billion loss on its income statement because of $100 billion in non-recurring charges, almost all from a writedown of the goodwill (intangible asset) from the merger in 2000. (The value of the AOL portion of the company had dropped sharply with the collapse of the Internet boom, in the early 2000s.)

Competition

Time Warner faces industry competition from traditional media companies such as CBS Corporation, News Corporation, and Viacom, as well as online search portals such as Yahoo!, and Google for competition of viewer attention which translates to ad sales. According to the recent 10Q, in order to remain competitive, Time Warner and AOL must keep pace with rapid technological changes on the internet. Time Warner's business may be severely impacted by the increasing 'piracy' of feature films, television programming and other content which decreases company revenues.AOL's subscriber base is declining, and declines are expected to continue, adversely affecting subscription and advertising revenue. As more individuals are using non-PC devices to access the Internet, AOL is under pressure to secure placement of its services and applications on mobile devices.Box office receipts and the growth rate of DVD sales have recently been declining, which adversely affects Warner Brothers' growth prospects and revenues.

Controversy

Time Warner has been criticized for its funding associated with Planned Parenthood, listed as a boycott target by Life Decisions International.

Distributor - filmography

The Nativity Story (2006) ... Distributor (2006) (worldwide) (theatrical)
"Kindergarten" (2001) (mini) ... Distributor (2001) (USA) (TV)
Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (2000) (TV) ... Distributor
Goodwill Games Closing Celebration (1998) (TV) ... Distributor (1998) (USA) (TV)
"Nightcap" (1998) ... Distributor
WCW Great American Bash (1997) (V) ... Distributor (1997) (USA) (VHS)
WCW Slamboree 1997 (1997) (V) ... Distributor (1997) (USA) (VHS)
WCW Road Wild '97 (1997) (TV) ... Distributor (1997) (USA) (TV)
WCW Uncensored (1997) (V) ... Distributor (1997) (USA) (VHS)
"Kickback with Scott Pastore" (1994) ... Distributor
Bugs Bunny's Creature Features (1992) (TV) ... Distributor
Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster(1991) (TV) ... Distributor

Production Company - filmography

Superjail (2007) (TV) ... Production Company
Faces of Evil (2000) (TV) ... Production Company
WCW SuperBrawl VII (1997) (V) ... Production Company
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (1996) ... Production Company
The 3 Tenors in Concert 1994 (1994) (TV) ... Production Company

Kershaw admits restraining order breach

http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,,2171818,00.html
The DJ Andy Kershaw today pleaded guilty to drink-driving and breaching a restraining order banning him from approaching his ex-girlfriend.
The former BBC Radio 1 presenter, who now has a show on Radio 3, admitted the offences at a court on the Isle of Man, where he was arrested last month close to the home of Juliette Banner.
Kershaw, 48, had moved to the town of Peel with Ms Banner and their two children in April last year.
But the couple split and Ms Banner moved out of the family home and into a small terraced house around 150 yards away.
Ms Banner won a restraining order against Kershaw on August 1 and he was arrested close to her property on August 29.
She has since moved house in an effort to reduce tensions between the couple.
The drink-driving charge came after Kershaw was stopped by police on September 13.
He was breathalysed and gave a reading of 57 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 30.
The deputy high bailiff, Alastair Montgomerie, adjourned the case until October 19 for social inquiry reports to be prepared.
He said: "As I have not heard any of the facts, the court is indicating all sentencing options are open."
Kershaw was bailed on condition that he cooperate with the probation service and not drive a car.
He must also comply with the original restraining order requirements that he does not approach Ms Banner, observes a 9pm to 7am curfew and does not enter pubs or restaurants selling alcohol.
Outside court, Kershaw said: "I've lost my kids, I've lost the woman I love, I've lost everything. It's a very difficult time for me. I just want peace and quiet."
Kershaw, originally from Rochdale, Manchester, studied politics at Leeds University before moving to London in 1984 where he worked as Billy Bragg's driver and roadie.
He was hired by the BBC and worked on the Whistle Test music show, before going on to host his own slot on Radio 1.
Kershaw has presented a world music show on Radio 3 since 2001, but it is not known if he will return to the show.

This article is about Andy Kershaw pleading guilty to drink driving and as if that wasn't enough he even breached a restraining order, these events have caused him some devastation, "I've lost my kids, I've lost the woman I love, I've lost everything. It's a very difficult time for me. I just want peace and quiet." The fact that he breached his restraining order makes us question firstly exactly what he may have done to earn that restraining order and also what kind of state he must be in do breach it too.

The reason i chose this article is because it interested me(as it always does) that only because this is Andy Kershaw, there is an article about it, whereas if this were any average person there would be absolutely no fuss about it. It also reminded me that even people with celebrity status are still human and do still make mistakes like every other average person does.

I think this whole fiasco will possibly have an effect on his listeners and the response will be interesting, they may either share the same views as me that everyone makes mistakes and just because he's a celebrity he doesn't have to change himself, whereas on the other hand he might get negative feedback and a lot of his listeners may turn their backs on him. Either way this will definiately effect his radio slot whether it be positively or negative.

Recent Developments

Since 1991, HBO has overseen a number of partnerships that operate HBO branded programming networks around the globe, such as HBO Asia, HBO Brasil, HBO Czech, HBO Hungary, HBO India, HBO Ole and HBO Romania.

In 2005, HBO and New Line Cinema launched Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company that delivers high quality independent films to audiences worldwide.

Also in 2005, the HBO Mobile wireless service launched via Vodafone in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and South Africa, and via SK Telecom in Korea in 2006.

In 2006, HBO's SVOD service, HBO On Demand, launched in Israel on Jasmine TV, marking the first HBO stand alone offered outside the U.S. The service was launched in the U.K. in 2007 via BT Vision, Tiscali TV and Virgin Media.

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History

HBO was born on November 8, 1972. The first progamme to be aired on HBO was a New York Rangers vs Vancouver Canucks game and that same night a film was shown, "Sometimes a great Notion".
On September 30, 1975, HBO became the first TV network to continuously deliver signals via satellite when it showed the "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. On December 28th 1981, HBO expanded its schedule to 24/7, the last one to do so out of Cinemax, The Movie Channel and Showtime.
In January 1986, HBO became the first satellite network to encrypt its signal from unauthorized viewing and in 1993 became the world's first digitally transmitted television service. In 1999 HBO became the first national cable TV networks to broadcast a high-definition version of its channel, something which can be seen on other networks such as discovery channel to this day.

In the late 1980s, HBO launched a short lived channel, Festival. It aired classic movies and current hit movies as well as HBO's specials & documentaries. The difference with Festival however, was that it was programmed to be family-friendly. R rated movies were toned down and edited for showing. Also, the subscription for the channel was priced lower than HBO & Cinemax. Unfortunately, only a few cable systems gave Festival a chance and the channel began to die out in a year or so.

In 1991, HBO and Cinemax became the first premium services to offer multiplexing to cable customers. Providing multiple options of HBO and Cinemax instead of just single channel services, these include (HBO plus) and Cinemax (Cinemax 2, now MoreMax) to three cable systems. The move proved successful resulting in HBO and Cinemax launching additional multiplex channels of its service, HBO signature (launched in 1995), HBO Family (launched in 1996), HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (launched in 1999) and HBO Latino, (launched in 2000. Cinemax also launched the multiplex services Cinemax 3 (launched in 1996, ActionMax in 1998), ThrillerMax (launched in 1998) and WMax, @Max, OuterMax and 5StarMax (all launched in 2001). The two packages then merged into "HBO/MAX Pak", but are no longer referred to under one name.

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