'Uncategorized' Archive
The Boston Globe is worth a dollar, according to news biz analyst Ken Doctor. That’s just a bit less than the New York Times paid for the newspaper back in 1993 – about $1.1 billion less. Essentially the new owner would simply assume the costs and the New York Times could walk away and stick to its own knitting.
The Gray Lady is also in trouble, in this not-so-exclusive club of major city newspapers on the ropes. Add it to the list that includes The Chicago Tribune, struggling after being bought by Sam Zell, and the Rocky Mountain News, which folded this year. Boston’s local competition, The Christian Science Monitor, went to a weekly print edition in 2009, shifting to an online-only model for its daily news. A recent New Yorker article on Mexican mogul Carlos Slim covered his investment in the New York paper and the possibility that he’ll buy the whole thing, if the Sulzberger family decides to sell. And they might. Every family has its price, as the Bancrofts showed us when they sold The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch.
While there’s a sense of betrayal about the Times selling or closing down the Globe, it’s not unusual. Back in the 1990s, San Antonio, Texas, was a two-newspaper town, with papers owned by giants Hearst and News Corp. Hearst acquired its rival paper, San Antonio Express-News, and shut down its own paper, The Light. There are still plenty of reporters who are bitter about that.
Even with a buyer, the Globe will have to revamp its operations substantially and may even have to follow the Christian Science Monitor example of shifting from print to online delivery. We’ve heard plenty about how readers are loathe to pay for online news, but someone is going to have to. I think in this respect that the Kindle and other e-readers will help. Kindle users are used to paying for content – how much different will it be to pay a few bucks for a book or for a newspaper subscription? News aggregators such as Google, likewise, will have to pay syndication fees for the news they deliver. Online delivery will also help solve another problem – the aging of the customer base that reads newspapers. This was an issue plaguing the industry and it isn’t going to go away. To attract younger readers, newspapers have to go where the kids are.
If newspapers can position themselves as news delivery services, and if the general zeitgeist can accept that one pays for information, even if it is online, the industry can overcome its current malaise and prosper. It might not be easy and it might not be quick, but it can happen. Let’s hope the Boston Globe will get an owner who will help it make that transition. Because we shouldn’t be losing newspapers, not now, not in this day and age. Information may want to be free, but when it comes to that, you get what you pay for.
No matter what industry, the dreaded word of “consolidation” always lingers during a recession, and it has now reared its ugly head in Hollywood. Last month, century-old William Morris Agency and relative newcomer Endeavour (founded in 1995) combined to form talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME Entertainment).
The new super-agency has around 300 agents and is expected to haul in about $300 million in revenue. More importantly, the combined agencies’ strengths help it to better compete with rivals Creative Artists, International Creative Management, United Talent, and Paradigm.
William Morris certainly benefits from obtaining Endeavor’s abundance of talent (Matt Damon, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey) while Endeavour gets a jump-start to its music and corporate representation abilities. (Before the deal, William Morris already represented musical heavyweights Kanye West, Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, and the Eagles.)
The fact that the deal was completed at all is somewhat surprising since most potential mergers in Hollywood are thwarted by ego, internal politics, and clashes in ownership. Plus, both agencies had been in on-again, off-again talks all year. Does the newly formed WME Entertainment signal a trend in the industry?
I would expect to see more of it,” Thomas P. Pollock, a partner in the Montecito Picture Company, said of the merger and other signs of entertainment industry consolidation.
But what of the independent boutique agencies? They’ll still do what they do best: promise their clients more personal attention coupled with the prospect of a more micromanaged career path.
And let’s not forget, back in 1995, the smaller agency Endeavor was formed by a group of disgruntled agents who left International Creative Management. One of the founders, Ari Emanuel, was the inspiration behind charismatic super agent Ari Gold in the HBO television series Entourage.
That’s got to count for something.
The reputation of banks as stoic and sturdy institutions charged with the safe keeping of our money has been tarnished during the past couple of years. So why not embrace that tarnish and throw in some rusty hubcaps, gun racks, and mullets?
Enter The Redneck Bank. At first glance at the bank’s Website you assume it has to be some sort of joke. The bank’s motto, “Where bankin’s funner” lets you know right away that this place is just a little different. You log in to your account by clicking on an outhouse icon and the bank’s mascot, a neighing horse complete with big buck teeth, declares, “yessiree…member FDIC!”
Redneck Bank is in fact the Internet banking division of Bank of the Wichitas — a small institution with a hand full of branches in (wait for it) Oklahoma.
The company launched Redneck Bank in 2007 and just figured, “let’s inject a little fun into the seriousness of the banking business.” But the bank has received new attention in light of all of the drama within the banking biz. Redneck Bank is just an example of several financial institutions that are trying to reinvent themselves in order to draw in customers who are looking for a little something different these days.
Many of these “new” banks boast their small size, customer service, or unconventional name or policies (yep, there is even Tightwad Bank). Redneck Bank touts “good old-fashioned service” and offers run-of-the-mill services like online bill pay, checks and even a special Redneck VISA check card, which I’m sure can be used to impress your friends out at the NASCAR track.
When I decided to give Redneck Bank a holler the other day a very friendly “non-redneck” sounding fellow named Scott answered my call on the second ring. He informed me that it would only take a deposit of $1 to start an account. And when I asked him if they had been receiving a lot of phone calls about starting new accounts he said, “we always get lots of calls.”
Maybe in order to run a successful bank these days you don’t need fancy commercials, a gazillion branches and ATMs on every corner. You just need a solid, simple idea … maybe a little too simple.
Chalk this up to something “cool” — later today a Japanese probe will crash into the moon on a mission to analyze how the moon was formed. At about 2:30 (Eastern Time), the lunar orbiter spacecraft SELENE(standing for Selenological and Engineering Explorer) will slam into the moon’s surface as scientists hope to lean more by analyzing the lunar debris that kicks up in the air. Okay, technically there is no air on the moon, but you know what I mean.
SELENE, also known by its nickname Kaguya, was launched as far back as September 2007. Over the last year and a half, it has gradually entered a circular orbit around the moon, recording data and capturing video and pictures along the way.
Despite this happening in the daytime, will people in the US get to view the crash from Earth? Nope. Only people who live in east Asia, Australia, and New Zealand might see a bright flash or some small level of debris, say astronomers. Bummer.
Well, it serves me right – Bring Your Telescope To Work Day was yesterday.
The US pharmacy benefits management playing field narrowed Monday when the #3 provider, Express Scripts, agreed to acquire the #4 firm, NextRx, for nearly $4.7 billion. Pharmacy benefits management (PBM) companies administer prescription drug programs for employers and other groups.
While the purchase won’t boost Express Scripts into the #1 spot, it will raise its customer volume to the level of its biggest rivals, giving it more bargaining clout and increased opportunities for growth. NextRx will raise Express Scripts’ annual prescription processing load into the 750- to 800-million bracket, where top players Medco and Caremark held court in 2008.
As NextRx is a subsidiary of health insurance firm WellPoint, the acquisition will also have an impact on the debate over whether independent PBMs can provide better prescription services than insurer-owned PBMs. Some insurance companies (such as PBM-operators Aetna, CIGNA, and UnitedHealth) argue that they can provide better benefits comprehensively, while other market players believe that independent PBMs can get better drug prices due to higher prescription volumes.
Either way, top US health insurer WellPoint is probably wise to simplify its operations and stockpile some cash in the face of impending government reform measures. And if Express Scripts plays its cards right, the company could make a move for top-dog PBM status.