In Show Business

Compensation Overload - January 11, 2010
Showbiz is, for anybody who’s seen it in person, not for the faint hearted. As part of the creative trade, performers are asked to do things most people won’t and fewer can. Perhaps that is the reason all accountants and most politicians find them expendable.

What The Paparazzi Are Doing To Britney Spears Just Isn’t Right, And It’s An Abuse Of Freedom Of The Press - February 22, 2008
A Los Angeles councilman is proposing a city ordinance that creates a “safety zone “for people swarmed by paparazzi, and after seeing what they have been doing to Britney Spears – doesn’t matter what you think of the girl herself -- as human beings we just know the way they hound her just isn’t right.

An Italian Court Cracks Down On Gossip For Gossip’s Sake -- You Think That Is Going To Stop The Henchman of Rumor And Scandal?
If an Italian court has its way there’ll be no more gossip for the sake of gossip on Italian television or any other media. Some hope! Crafty TV producers and magazine editors will find their way around that, but it is one more instance of the courts putting their fingers where they are not welcome.

Live Earth Concerts Bomb on UK TV (Many Complaints on Foul Language Used) , And NBC’s US Saturday Night Ratings Lower Than Usual , But The Internet Sets Streaming Records – Maybe Viewers Thought The Pussycat Dolls Wiggling Their Bottoms And Lecturing Us On The Environment Was Just Too Much? - July 10, 2007
Live Earth was supposed to set television history – nine shows on seven continents with 150 of the best music acts around – surely that had to be a global TV ratings extravaganza attracting two billion viewers? But the first ratings from the US and the UK shows it all to be one terrific TV flop, but it set records for online streaming.

The Eurovision Song Contest is OVER – Let the Whinging Begin! - May 15, 2007
The 2007 Eurovision Song Contest is history. Marija Serifovic from Serbia won. She is unquestionably talented. Serbia has friends. Now begins the requisite whining and whinging from the losers.

The Talent Show of All Talent Shows – Vote For Your Favorite Country - May 11, 2007

It’s the eve of the Eurovision Song Contest finals. The production will air in 42 countries. Viewers by the millions will tune in, cast their votes and tell us how they feel about more than music.

CBS Tries to Laugh It Off Using Photoshop Software to Change A Katie Couric Picture, But For A TV Network That Has Worked So Hard to Regain Its Credibility This Is No Laughing Matter - August 31, 2006
When news organizations shoot themselves in the foot they do it with great style. Someone at the CBS photo department thought new anchor Katie Couric looked too fat in the picture chosen to illustrate her for a magazine article CBS prepared so editors decided to slim her down electronically by some 20 pounds (9kg).

Want a Good Job in Radio? Bring Attitude and Character! - July 1, 2006
As summer arrives full-force and new graduates start to consider career opportunities broadcasters find a steady rise in the number of job applicants. Broadcasting careers are always challenging, with more competition across all media and new skills to be learned. Four essential characteristics for new workers are on the minds of most European radio managers: knowledge, attitude, character and flexibility.

Advice to Holiday Replacement DJs (et.al.) – December 30, 2005
Reader attention to suggestions offered to DJs, show hosts and presenters in the recent ftm conversation prove that the cover is truly off the box of secrets. Unfortunately the knowledge transfer so accessible in this internet age has not filtered down to holiday replacement this humble writer has had to suffer with. Hence, here are a few more suggestions from le ancien directeur du programmes (sounds far more sexy than “old PD “).

The World's Best Advice for DJs, Show-hosts and Presenters - December 9, 2005
One reader asked: "Have you seen a good style-guide, something up-to-date, for DJs, show-hosts and presenters." We posed the question, and here are the expert answers.

Popular DJs, a Winning PD and a Mini-drama Take German Radio Awards - September 4, 2005
Germany’s private radio broadcasters threw a gala party full of awards for themselves and their favorite music stars in the Berlin Tempodrom

Paying for An Exclusive Doesn’t Necessarily Mean It Stays Exclusive - May 19, 2005
It was the celebrity wedding of 2000 – Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a lavish, $1.5 million to $2 million New York Plaza Hotel ceremony attended by 250 guests. And the UK’s OK! Magazine paid £1 million for exclusive photo rights.

UK DJs Are Audience Magnets - February 3, 2005
DJs, show hosts and presenters draw the praise when audience surveys show more listeners tuning in. And they are roundly flogged when those numbers are down. In the UK, voices on the radio are more and more tied to a stations’ success.

The Passing of John Peel - October 27, 2004
Legendary broadcaster John Peel died of a heart attack this week. His 40 years of radio leaves a legacy of story, wit and music.

US DJ Moves to Satellite Radio in $500m deal - October 10, 2004
In a move that rattled American broadcasters but startled few financial analysts, notorious shock-jock Howard Stern will leave Infinity Radio for Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006

Bad Day in Court for French “King of Radio” - September 13, 2004
A Paris court ordered self-proclaimed “King of Radio” Fun Radio DJ Arthur to pay 1000 euros last week (September 7) after losing a lawsuit against another DJ. One day later Fun Radio “suspended” his program, Planet Arthur.