Jeremy Piven was back on Broadway yesterday for a hearing between Actor's Equity and the Broadway League over his early departure from Speed-the-Plow. Sources say Piven broke down several times during the hearing, however, a ruling in the case was not made. The show's producers are now pushing for arbitration to recoup their loses, claiming that Piven continued to schmooze at nightclubs despite his alleged mercury poisoning.
GM will cut $800M of its advertising and marketing budget as it struggles to survive. This is staggeringly bad news for the media business. The only question is who will it hurt the most; TV, radio or print.
Cablevision, the owners of Long Island paper Newsday, plans to charge users to read content online. Announced yesterday, Newsday will be one of the first general interest papers to adopt a paid online revenue scheme.
Sony Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer is set to take over as President. Stringer, who has been with Sony for 4 years and was the first foreign executive, will run Sony's vital electronics business. Ryoji Chubachi, the current President, will become Vice President amid the restructuring.
Yahoo CFO Blake Jorgensen is leaving the search company amidst restructuring. The move came as part of new CEO Carol Bartz's strategy to turn the struggling company around. Jorgensen, who was an ally to former CEO Susan Decker and had only been with the company for 2 years, will stay on until a replacement is named.
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV (2008, York House Press). Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, NY (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards). You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net