ftm is introducing a new daily column of media news, complimenting the twice weekly feature articles on major media issues. Tickle File items point out media happenings, from the oh-so serious to the not-so serious, that should not escape notice...in a shorter, more informal format. 

We are able to offer this new service thanks to the great response to our Media Sleuth project in which you, our readers, are contributing media information happening in your countries that  have escaped the notice of the international media, or you are providing us information on covered events that others simply didn't know about. We invite more of you to become Media Sleuths. For more information click here.

The Tickle File is a time honored journalistic tradition. Invented in 1761 by Urs Tickes, editor of a long disappeared Swiss newspaper, it is an effective tool for organizing article ideas.

To each journalist Tickes would hand 10 file folders saying "Halten Sie Ihre Ideen organisiert und Ihre Schreibtisch sauber, verdammt!"

Unfortunately Tickes met an unfortunate demise. While personally escorting a shipment of 10 million file folders from Sweden, the boat was sunk and all, including Tickes, was lost. Rumors of involvement by a militant Swiss journalists guild - Die organisierte Gesellschaft des Rechtgehirns, durcheinandergebrachte schweizer Journalisten - were never proven.

The legend of Tickes continues...

Here is the ftm Tickle File with notes from the ftm team...and you!

Tickle File Week of October 2, 2006

Arbitron Sues Ipsos/Media Audit

Arbitron filed suit in the Eastern District of Texas (US) Federal District Court against Media Audit and Ipsos for patent infringement.

The three patents, according to Arbitron statements, involve detecting inaudible codes transmitted by subscribing broadcasters and detected by Arbitron’s PPM devices.

Arbitron wants Ipsos to stop using the technology and, of course, pay damages.

Ipsos is offering its SmartPhone device in competition with Arbitron’s PPM for an expanded range of media measurement. The company has been conspicuously vague on SmartPhones’ technical base and Arbitron’s lawsuit would have the effect of requiring all secrets to be revealed.

Arbitron has spent upwards of €50 million, and more than 10 years, on the PPM, related technology and systems.  In the last year major US broadcaster – and ratings subscriber - Clear Channel Communications initiated an industry-wide search for electronic measurement options. Earlier this year UK joint industry body RAJAR adopted a system integrating diary and electronic measurement provided by Arbitron, Ipsos and TNS Global.

notes:

I cannot help but think this will open other infringement lawsuits.

Metromedia International Saga Draws to Close

Once the prime mover of broadcasting and telecom investment in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Metromedia International Group will cease to exist in December. All that is left of its far-flung radio station, paging and mobile phone businesses are three telecoms in the Republic of Georgia.

An investment group largely financed by Dubai based Istithmar is offering $480 million for the lot.

If the eagerly awaited transaction is completed according to plan, MMIG will hold one more annual meeting before proceeding to liquidation under US bankruptcy laws.

notes:

Oh, there are such stories.....

Italian Cabinet Approves New Media Law

 In a Bill which is aimed squarely at former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire, the Italian center-left cabinet has approved a new media law that will force Mediaset and Italian state broadcaster RAI to each give up one of their three terrestrial analog channels by 2009 and switch them to the digital platform.

Berlusconi called the decision a “political vendetta” and vowed to fight the Bill’s passage through Parliament. Showing his fury he also blurted, “It’s difficult now to consider this country a democracy.”

Mediaset and RAI together garner about 85% of the country’s television advertising, with 66% of that going to Berlusconi’s Publitalia, the advertising arm of his sprawling media empire.

A 1994 law had decreed that no private broadcaster should own more than two national channels and the Constitutional Court in 2002 upheld that law. But when you’re prime minister all you have to do to defeat such an adverse court ruling is to have your government issue an emergency decree saying that three stations were really ok after all and that was that.

Until Berlusconi lost in the general election earlier this year. A very costly defeat.

“Video” Is Today’s Magic Word For Venture Capitalists

Already this year more video-related Internet companies have received more venture capital money than they did for all of 2005, according to Dow Jones VentureOne.

So far this year 53 video-related sites have received $521 million in funding compared to last year’s total figures of 48 sites that received $294 million. The average amount given per site is up by 62% -- this year’s average is $9.8 million against last year’s average of $6.12 million.

Video Ads Currently Just A Small Percentage Of Internet Revenue

With Google spending  $1.65 billion for YouTube, and Yahoo spending an undisclosed sum for Jump Start (but how many of you remember that it was Yahoo at the height of the last Internet bubble that paid $5.7 billion for one of the earliest video platforms, Broadcast.com)just how much money does video advertising bring in these days. The current answer is not very much.

According to Emarketer some $385 million will be spent on US video online ads this year, representing just 2% of the estimated $15 billion expected from US Internet advertising in 2006.

Google’s search market share is around 51%. You think it would have made its YouTube investment if it didn’t think there was plenty of room for growth above 2%?

TDF Takes on Private Equity Partners

French broadcast infrastructure institution Telediffusion de France dipped once again into the private equity barrel for more money to compete, acquire and expand its digital universe.

Texas Pacific Group and AXA Private Equity joined the shareholding, pledging up to €2 billion over the next 5 years. Texas Pacific will hold 42% and AXA Private Equity 18% of TDF shares. Existing shareholders Caisse des Depots and Charterhouse agreed to reduce their shareholding.

Raise High the License Fee, Thompson, Or Else

Nobody can accuse BBC General Director Mark Thompson of cut-and-run. He never passes an opportunity to make a case for raising the UK licenses fee. Yesterdays Smith Institute Media lecture was no exception.

Digital switch-over on the governments schedule is at risk unless the BBC is granted an above cost of living increase in the license fee, he says.

"If it is under resourced it will fail. It's as simple as that – and the failure will impact on many millions of households."

Then he strongly suggested a re-think in the governments demand to move a substantial part of BBC radio and TV operations north to Manchester.

“Indeed, in the event of a low settlement (of the license fee increase), I would not even be able to recommend (moving to Manchester) to them. We would have to find other, more modest, ways of increasing our investment in the North."

Thailand To Ban Alcohol Advertising

The Thai public health minister says he intends to issue a ministerial law   prohibiting any alcoholic advertising in any media. Currently alcohol may be advertised on television after 10 p.m.

The new law would not affect alcohol advertising seen via live events coverage, such as sports events.

New Australia Media Ownership Law Set

After months of wrangling Australian politicians have agreed on a new media ownership law that invites more takeovers in the big cities but gives more protection to rural entities. The senate is expected to pass the compromise this week and the House of Representatives next week.

The government had originally proposed that a company could own a newspaper, TV broadcaster and radio station in the same city or region, but that led to such a commotion that in the end the law will be changed so that any single group may now own just two of the three types of media in one city.

Also country radio stations must broadcast at least 4 hours of local programming daily and that was seen as a way of stopping local stations from just running network programming. The reform plan still requires that there be at least five media groups in major cities and at least four regional areas.

Applications Sought for Cyprus National Radio License

The Cyprus Radio-Television authority is accepting applications, from all interested parties, for a new national FM radio broadcasting license. Deadline for applications is October 16th ad 1430 local time. (Do not be late) Evaluations of applications is expected to take about a year.

Mrs Reding Launches Media Literacy Consultation

Hyperbolics aside, the DG Info Commissioners’ call for a media literacy campaign is testament to growing concern in that the vast population just doesn’t understand media.

"Today, media literacy is as central to active and full citizenship as literacy was at the beginning of 19th century," she said. "It is also central for entering the new broadband world of content, available everywhere and anytime. I therefore expect today's consultation to highlight good practices at European level and to identify ideas for future initiatives."

The consultation begins with a questionnaire, due December 15. Find it at:http://ec.europa.eu/comm/avpolicy/media_literacy/index_en.htm

Italian TV Satire Catches Politicians Drug Use

The Hyena Show, a TV satire known for zapping politicians, tested 50 Italian Parliamentarians by applying a chemical to their faces, telling them it was make-up, before a televised debate on Fox TV. 16 were found to have recently used marijuana or cocaine.

The program regularly airs on one of Mr. Berlsuconi’s Mediaset channels. But, alas, at the last minute the particular episode has been pulled from the schedule.

Iranian President Has Problems With The Media, Too

Much is being written in the West about Iran’s nuclear stance, but Iran’s media are concentrating on rising consumer prices, and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has now told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to get a handle on inflation.

But showing that he does, in fact, have something in common with his western peers Ahmadinejad says the issue is a non-entity and is purely “propaganda created by national and non-national media.”

The media gave front-page coverage to the fact that meat and chicken prices surged for the Muslim Ramadan fasting month, with many complaints quoted.

Ahmadinejad countered by saying that that the official inflation rate of 10% (said to be really double that) is far better than the 50% under previous governments.

But the chairman of the state broadcaster, who is not without influence, has responded, saying, “The scale of inflation is clear. Perhaps the President has not had the time to watch all the television programs or maybe the reports reaching him are incomplete.” He said that when the price of a kilo of meat is about 50% higher than the published government price for the meat then “we have a duty to tell people.”

Putin Calls Politkovskaya Murder “Despicable”

It took two days for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make any comment about Anna Politkovsklaya’s murder Saturday, and then it was to US President George Bush that there would be a thorough investigation.

But on a visit Tuesday to Germany journalists would not let him stay quiet on the murder any longer and he finally said, “Whoever did it, and for whatever motive, we must say it is a despicable and unacceptable crime.”

Politkovskaya had written a very critical book about Putin, “Putin’s Russia” and her newspaper articles severely criticized his Chechen policies. So understanding there was no love lost, Putin added in his comment, “The degree of influence of the publications of Anna Politkovskaya on public life was extremely insignificant.”

More than 1,000 mourners turned out for her funeral Tuesday including the US ambassador, but there were no high-ranking Russian Federation officials.

London’s Free Newspapers Need To Clean Up Their Act

First it was the London Underground (subway) that saw a huge increase in the amount of newsprint it had to cart off its trains in the evening following the launch of two London free afternoon newspapers, each claiming circulation ranging from 400,000 to 500,000.

Now town councils are taking a look at the distribution practices, since it is simple to see with the eye that many newspapers are being discarded quickly after they are thrust into a passer-by’s hands. The streets are getting littered and the councils are not happy.

The councils are meeting with the publishers with a view to reducing the number of vendor licenses and to discuss how the publishers might aid with recycling the mess.

Employers Responsible for Journalist Deaths

“We see the tendency to send free-lancers and young people into conflict zones,” said German Federation of Journalists President Michael Konken. Broadcasters and publishers, he said, should instead send “experienced correspondents with no financial pressure.”

Two free-lance journalists were shot and killed Saturday in Afghanistan. Both had worked for German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Konken suggested that free-lancers were more likely to take risks because they work only for a day-rate.

DW Director Erik Bettermann said the two were on a private trip to Afghanistan and not on assignment. Robbery has been ruled out as a motive for the killings as cameras and other equipment were not taken.

Google and YouTube

Extraordinarily popular video file-sharing site YouTube is now under the wing of extraordinarily successful Google. The $1.65 billion all-stock transaction was announced Monday following a dizzying week of rumors, joyful noise and criticism.

The joy came from Wall Street, which pushed tech stocks higher. YouTube also announced deals with major music companies to offer music videos. Google plans to integrate YouTube into its AdSense program

Criticism came from copyright watchers, notably Mark Cuban, saying Google’s wealth will be a lawsuit magnet: “The copyright shit is going to hit the lawsuit fan.”

Whither the license fee?

The broadcast license fee, the tax on receiving devices supporting public broadcasting, may disappear in the German state of Bavaria. The Green Party is behind a move to kill the tax altogether before it applies to internet-attached PCs and multi-media mobile phones next year.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government is reviewing the financing of public broadcaster SSR-SRG with the likelihood of increasing what is already the highest per household license fee in the world.

VNU Wants The Rest Of NetRatings

VNU, owner of ACNielsen, Nielsen Media Research plus the entertainment trade papers Billboard and Hollywood Reporter, has bid $16 a share to take 100% ownership of Netratings, Inc., a company that measures web audience behavior.

VNU’s bid for the 39.5% of the company it doesn’t already own was at a 10% premium to the stock’s close Oct. 6.

Netratings earned a profit in the second quarter of $931,000 compared to a $2.3 million loss for the same period a year ago. It expects total revenues for the year to be between $79 million - $81 million.

Judge Dismisses MySpace Founder’s Lawsuit Against News Corp.

MySpace founder Brad Greenspan filed suit last February that he and other shareholders were cheated by the $580 million that News Corp. paid for the company, claiming they were not made aware by their own President of the company’s true worth.

A California judge has now shot that argument down in flames, saying the acquisition was lawful and sanctioned by the shareholders. News Corp said Greenspan showed “unchecked envy” by pursuing his case.

But Greenspan is not done yet. He has asked the federal government to investigate and has also hired a financial analyst firm to investigate the sale.

Europeans Spend More Time Online Than Reading Their Newspapers

European Internet users now spend about four hours on average online every week, compared to just two hours a week just three years ago. And that’s now longer than the average three hours a week spent reading newspapers and magazines.

JupiterResearch says the Internet and web demographics, however, have not changed much -- the 15-24 year-olds spend the most time online and the over 65-year-olds spend the most time reading newspapers.

“The fact that Internet consumption has passed print consumption is an important landmark for the establishment of the Internet in the European media mix, said JupiterResearch Director Mark Mulligan. “This shift in the balance of power will increasingly shape content distribution strategies, advertising spend allocation and communication strategies in the European arena.”

Horoscopes Are No Laughing Matter

How many of you out there who are journalists have ever been ordered to write the daily horoscope column? It’s not something many will own up to, but it surely happens. While many readers may consider horoscopes deadly serious, many journalists treat the column with great contempt.

But in Saudi Arabia a committee of senior clerics has declared horoscopes to be “astrology, which is forbidden and is considered a form of magic.”

Horoscopes are very popular with the Saudis and so some London-based Saudi newspapers such as al-Hayat have found horoscopes to be a very popular column. Likewise, fortunetellers have appeared on Saudi-owned stations based outside the country.

Danes Keep Drawing Cartoons

Denmark’s DR2 broadcast amateur video of young people drinking beer and drawing cartoons. The beer wasn’t identified but the cartoon subject was the Prophet Muhammad. The young people were also identified, not by name and with faces blurred, as members of the Danish Peoples Party.

The footage, shot by an artist posing as a member of the group, was shown last Friday (October 6).

The Danish Peoples Party has long criticized DR for anti-party bias.

Sony Buys Central European Cartoon Network

The 4 to 12 year old set in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are the target of Sony Pictures Television International’s recent acquisition. A+ is a network block airing from 2000 to 0200 local time on the Minimax network.

“The commercial rationale for this acquisition is compelling given an existing subscriber base in excess of four million homes, the potential for incremental distribution revenues and the appeal of the channel to advertisers. We are delighted to take ownership of A+ whilst continuing to work with Minimax in the day-to-day management of the channel. With our long tradition of operating anime channels in Asia and the Americas, SPTI is now proud to bring A+ to screens across Central Europe,” said SPTI executive Ross Hair in a press release.

Fame TV to Debut in UK

Reality TV may have met its match as Fame TV set to launch in the UK November 6th. The channel is all user generated content, all the time. Clips are uploaded by users from mobile phones and the internet and the channel promises to air anything uploaded within 15 minutes.

Viewers can use their mobile phones as remote controls and vote clips on or off the screen.

notes:

…an interesting twist on Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame…

Ever Wonder The Endorsement Cost of Those Nike Swooshes?

Nike will spend $476 million this year on celebrity athlete endorsements with Tiger Woods alone pocketing $20 million and the Brazilian football (soccer) team getting $12 million for wearing Nike shoes. In all, the company sponsors 14 of the world’s 25 highest paid athletes.

Is it getting its money’s worth? Wall Street has doubts – fiscal 1st quarter profit fell 13%.

The company’s advertising budget for this fiscal year is $1.7 billion.

Did You Know The FT Has Higher Circulation In The US Than The UK?

Financial Times editor Lionel Barber is spending two weeks in India talking to government officials and others to see if there is a way to publish a Financial Times in India catering to the Indian audience, in a similar manner to what the FT does in the US.

“We will be very different from everyone else and not just in terms of color, but we will aim for elite readership, global minded business readers. It’s a niche product and this business model we have been perusing very successfully in the US. Now we sell more in the US than UK,” he said in a television interview.

The reason for the government talks is because India currently has a policy of allowing only 26% foreign direct investment in the print media, and to print and publish in the FT Barber needs that policy to change so the FT can have at least a majority share.

Craigslist Charging For Its Job Ads In Four More Cities

Newspapers have been hard pressed to compete against free Craigslist job ads, but Craigslist  has its own problems -- that free invites the scam artists and the like offering low quality or non-existent positions. So Craigslist is going to impose, starting  October 22, a $25 fee for job applications in Washington, DC., San Diego, Boston and Seattle.

Those cities join Los Angeles and San Francisco where the fee is already in place.

According to Craigslist, experience has shown that by charging the fee the overall number of job ads drops significantly, but those that remain are of a much higher quality and that fact has prompted those who had not used Craigslist before to do so.

Apple and Microsoft Are Household Names, But How About Cisco?

Cisco Systems is the world’s largest Internet networking equipment maker, generating revenues of $28.5 billion last year, but the company believes its brand is not as well known as Google, Yahoo, Apple and the like.

So the company is going to spend $100 million to give itself a new logo and to  launch a “Human Network” campaign via traditional and new media for people to  understand that when they are connecting with one another in the digital world more than likely they are doing it through Cisco equipment.

The company has relied on corporate IT departments to make its purchasing decisions but it now believes that people who buy lots of retail gadgets are influencing IT departments on their purchasing decisions, and they want to make sure those people know all about Cisco.

notes:

Ah, yes, but do you know the "other" Cisco?

Who Are The Biggest MySpace Users? If You Think The Kids Then Think Again

The percentage of 12-17 year-olds using MySpace has dropped dramatically in the past 12 months and now accounts for just 11.9% of users from the 24.7% they represented 12 months ago. And the 35 – 54 year-olds have increased their numbers by 8.2% during the same period,

But according to ComScore World Metrix, MySpace drew 76.9 million unique users in August – that’s up a whopping 243% over a year ago. The younger users, whom the advertisers crave, do, however, spend more time looking at more MySpace pages than do the older visitors.

Some US Magazines Have Bumper August

Those magazines that feature advertising for drug and medicines, food and food products, retail and public transportation and hotels/resorts did a bumper business in August as those advertisers opened their purses with mostly double digit percentage increases for pages taken and money spent.

Still on the downside were automotive and technology.

Total US magazine rate-card advertising in August increased 9.6% over same month last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages were up 4.4%. For the year through August revenue is up 3.9% and ad pages are just about flat at a 0.3% increase.