September 29, 2008

CBS

CBS Picks Up First Web Series for TV.com
"Easy To Assemble," a Web comedy series created by and starring Illeana Douglas, is being picked up by the CBS Web site TV.com after attracting 300,000 views on YouTube in its first five days. The IKEA-sponsored series is TV.com's first foray into original entertainment content.

FOX

News Corp Decline Hits Murdoch In Wallet
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch lost $2 billion of his personal fortune over the past year due to a 34% decline in his company's stock price, according to a calculation by Forbes. Murdoch lost $1,000 every 15.78 seconds, or $63.38 per second -- about $1.5 million an hour.

MTV

MTV Networks Adopts Visible Measures for Internet Video Measurement

Visible Measures, the independent third-party measurement firm for Internet video publishers and advertisers, today announced that MTV Networks (MTVN), a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), will deploy the company’s market-leading Internet video metrics platform across all of MTVN’s more than 340 destination Internet video sites. As part of a multi-year agreement, MTVN Global Digital Media and MTVN Digital Media Research will use Visible Measures to build detailed, end-to-end online video performance metrics

UNIVISION

MEDIA STOCKS Media stocks dive after rejection of bailout package

News Corp. and Viacom hit their lowest levels in more than four years, while CBS and Time Warner fell to one-year lows. Media companies depend on both advertising and consumer spending, both of which are severely curtailed in an economic meltdown. Entertainment analysts have little hope for an advertising recovery until perhaps the second half of 2009, compared with the dismal results of the last six months of 2008.

VIACOM

Viacom's Paramount in Marvel distribution deal

Pictures will globally distribute the next five movies made by Marvel Entertainment Inc., including "Iron Man 2" and "Thor" in 2010, the companies said Monday.

AFRICA

Estelle To Visit Africa To Raise AIDS Awareness

Estelle is using her new star power to do some good. She's heading to South Africa to try and raise awareness of AIDS and HIV among children. She'll visit the nation as an ambassador of the Virgin Unite initiative, which equips young people to help stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.What makes Estelle's trip even more special is that she'll be documenting her trip with a video diary in collaboration with Sky News.

Freebie approach looks to entice Kenyans into HIV tests

In the small rural village of Eshisiru in Western Kenya, hundreds of women in colourful dresses, many of them surrounded by a gaggle of children, queue patiently in the midday sun, dpa reported. These women are not waiting to draw water from a borehole or to buy food. Instead, they are waiting to be tested for HIV - something that campaigners say is virtually unheard of in Africa. The concept behind the programme that has brought people out in such numbers is very simple: Giving away a long-lasting insecticide- treated mosquito net, a water filter and condoms in exchange for taking the test.

Increased political participation among African women

“Where Africa is doing well is in increased women’s participation. The share of parliamentary seats held by women increased from 7% in 1990 to 17% in 2007,” stated Ravololonarisoa. Africa’s share of parliamentary seats held by women is now in line with the global average.

ASIA

HIV/AID survey reveals stigma, risky behavior

A report on AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, behavior and practices in 6 Chinese cities has revealed worrying levels of ignorance, prejudice and high-risk behavior. The report, published by the Chinese HIV/AIDS Media Partnership (CHAMP) on September 26, detailed results of a survey carried out by the Renmin University of China with support from UNAIDS, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GBC), and public relations firm Ogilvy. More than 6,000 white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, migrant-workers and youth were interviewed in six cities.

Women trafficking and HIV/AIDS

I wrote this diary about my friend, who used to work in a brothel. My first meeting with her began a strange day for me. In a way, everyday I have been meeting one person or another and, whatever it may be, among those I’m meeting, she is a bit different from the rest. In fact, this is an important part of our friendship. For what it’s worth, in such a dismal situation, I am delighted to have made this new friend.

Yahoo! To Launch Social Network “SpotM” In India

Internet giant Yahoo! India announced plans to launch yet another social network for the 16-24 age groups in an attempt to capture the growing market in India. Dubbed SpotM, the new social networking site, Yahoo claims it to be an equivalent to Google’s Orkut is being under testing at its US headquarters.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

$200M for hospital construction

Government will continue its assault on HIV/AIDS in the next fiscal year through a $38.7 million investment to acquire resources and implement programmes to work towards the eradication of the threat of HIV/AIDS in the country.

Bermuda’s Premier attends Congressional Black Caucus Foundation African Globalism Committee workshop

Bermuda's Premier Dr. Ewart F. Brown sat on the panel of a Washington, D.C. workshop this weekend called “Bridging the Gap: Africa, America and the Caribbean”. The event was put on by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation African Globalism Committee (CBCF-AGC), a body chaired by Rep. Barbara Lee of California.

New media group in Trinidad slams broadcast code

The Trinidad and Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) is warning that the provisions of the proposed Broadcast Code now being debated in the country should be substantially amended. "The proposed Code must itself reflect a proper respect for the rights and freedoms of our society," said the TTPBA as it continues to call for changes to the code.

Realities of HIV/AIDS - Diary of an HIV-positive, pregnant girl

As Gabrielle's* pregnancy progresses, she is plagued by the thought that her unborn baby could be born HIV positive. She said the biggest challenge is that all the odds are stacked against the baby. But she is hoping for the best and she takes the necessary precautions. She told Flair that she envies mothers who have children who are HIV negative.

EUROPE

Portsmouth PCT: sexual health awareness campaign

The campaign, called ‘Something for the weekend’ is aiming to encourage condom use and measure awareness of the PCT’s contraception and screening services. The PCT will be asking men and women to reveal their bedroom behaviour to find out what risks are taken and why people don’t always choose safe sex. The PCT has commissioned events company Avantii to run the activities.

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

A Diva Speaks for HIV's Silent Victims

Soberly glamorous in a belted black pantsuit, diva Sheryl Lee Ralph glided onto a stage in Columbia Heights Saturday night with a thick strip of duct tape over her mouth. For a long unsettling moment she stood, gazing at the audience, before tearing the tape off with a grimace. The sequence, which launches Ralph's one-woman show "Sometimes I Cry," is determinedly unsubtle: The "Dreamgirls" alum has no use for understatement in this theatrical rallying cry, which exhorts the public to acknowledge the problem of HIV/AIDS.

'I thought I was pregnant at 13'

Kelly - an ambassador for World Contraception Day - also revealed she gets tested for sexually transmitted infections every three months. The 23-year-old admitted having unprotected sex in the past and has the tests for her own peace of mind Kelly, who is currently dating model LUKE WORRALL, said: “I am not the kind of person who talks about my sex life, but I am not afraid to talk about contraception.

Ivy League Takes Top Honors in Third Annual Sexual Health Report Card

Trojan Condoms released their third annual Sexual Health Report Card today, and the Ivy League took two of the top five spots and placed favorably overall. For the uninitiated, the Sexual Health Report Card ranks 130 colleges and universities based on the quality and availability of sexual health services and resources on campus.

USAID | DELIVER PROJECT Expands Female Condom Order to 10 Million

The Female Health Company (Amex: FHC) announced that it has received an order from John Snow, Inc., which implements the USAID | DELIVER PROJECT, for the delivery of up to 10 million female condoms (FC) for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported programs.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Race Matters: Is Hollywood Truly Color Blind When It Comes To On-Screen Romance?

The stigma of interracial relationships in cinema can be traced back to the 1934 Motion Picture Production Code (or Hays Code), which forbade portrayals of "miscegenation" (sexual relationships between whites and blacks) on screen. It would be disingenuous to claim that no progress has been made since that time; actors of color and relationships of all varieties are being shown on film in ways that weren't possible half a century ago. Still, in a town that prides itself for its liberalism and tolerance; in an industry that claims the only color it sees is green; when it comes to interracial relationships - especially those where the male actor is black - has Hollywood come far enough?

OTHER NEWS

Google Moves Up on Media Company List
Time Warner is poised to cede its No. 1 position on Ad Age's list of the 100 Leading Media Companies to Comcast with the pending spinoff of Time Warner Cable. Google is cutting past former giants "like a hot knife through butter" to land at No. 12. "This is a changing of the guard."

More Americans Watching Video Online
The number of Americans watching video online is soaring, from 32% a year ago to 63% today, says a study by ABI Research. Consumers "are changing their online habits quickly." However: Most online video sites are struggling to find a business model. Advertisers are "still shy."

Power to the People AND the Government: The Value of New Media in Public Service

There are currently 71,000,000 active blogs and 112,000,000 blogs total. There are 18 million people in the U.S. alone listening to 266 million podcast episodes on their PCs or their MP3 players. There are 59 million members of Facebook and 109 million members of MySpace and hundreds of millions more that are participating in other social networks within specific communities of interest. This has had countless impacts, but one consequence must be examined — how these empowered constituents affect public service and how public service can use social-media tools to engage their constituents.

Study Finds Voters More Involved With Campaign Media, Dispels Myth That Online Will Swing Election

Americans appear to be much more involved with campaign-related media than in past presidential elections. But despite the increasing use of Web sites, blogs and social media platforms, they generally remain more skeptical about the Internet as a source of information about the candidates than they do from traditional media outlets. And there No. 1 source of media influence is the most traditional form of all: Word-of-mouth. These are the top line conclusions of a new consumer survey conducted by Publicis' MediaVest unit in the post-primaries period leading up to the general election.

TiVo to Transform PC Into TV Recorder
TiVo and German tech company Nero are set to announce the launch of a package that will turn a personal computer into a television recorder, just like a TiVo set-top box. The kit will cost $199 when it goes on sale Oct. 15, and includes a remote and a TV tuner.

September 25, 2008

CBS

CBS Partners Biz Site with SeekingAlpha
CBS Interactive is entering a deal between its BNET.com business resource site and SeekingAlpha.com, a business site known for providing news, earnings reports and conference-call transcripts. Seeking Alpha and BNET will share and link to each other's content.

FOX

Murdoch: U.S. Is In for a 'Hard Time'
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch says the United States has no option but to spend $700 billion to salvage the battered U.S. financial system, though he is opposed to the bailout in principle. "If they can get this thing through and hurry up about it, I think we'll be OK. But we're in for a hard time."

MySpace Music Set to Challenge Apple
News Corp.'s MySpace is launching its new online music service, aiming to loosen Apple's grip on the U.S. music industry and challenge all other online rivals. MySpace says that EMI is now part of the joint venture that already includes the other three top recording companies.

MTV

Avon and MTV Executives Honored by Women’s Venture Fund

“This year we are honoring two women who have reached the pinnacle of their careers,” said Maria Otero, founder and president of the Women’s Venture Fund. She said Leslie Leventman, executive vice 
president, creative services, special events and convention planning with MTV; and Kim Azzarelli vice president of legal and public affairs and
corporate secretary with Avon, “have also been highly supportive in helping women succeed in building their own businesses.”

NEWS: MTV Signs Up “From Gs To Gents” For Second Season

Fonzworth Bentley will stay on as the show’s host, leading an entirely new cast of bad boys aspiring to become well-groomed professionals and winning the grand prize of $100,000. The upcoming season will also place Bentley behind the scenes as a member of the production team.

Stars of MTV's The Hills Join Taco Bell(R) for a "Reality Check

In an effort to raise awareness of global hunger, Taco Bell is again joining forces with Speidi--Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt of MTV's hit reality show The Hills. The couple will host the World Hunger "Reality Check Challenge" event for the second straight year.

VIACOM

AT&T, Microsoft, NBC Form Anti-Piracy Supergroup

AT&T, Microsoft, Cisco, Viacom, and NBC Universal have joined forces to create a new lobbying coalition named "Arts & Labs," tasked with taking aim at piracy.

AFRICA

Display HIV/AIDS posters in public places

A youth leader has appealed to operators of chop and drinking bars to display HIV/AIDS posters and other educational materials in their premises to help curb the spread of the virus.
Mr. Eric Pinaman Asare, President of Universal United Youth Organisation (UUY), a non-governmental organisation, said this at a two-day HIV/AIDS awareness workshop for some youth groups at Akim Oda on Wednesday.

Sixty million condoms distributed in two years

The government and Population Services International (PSI) have distributed nearly 60 million condoms in the country in the last two years as the fight against HIV/AIDS intensifies.

Soles4Souls(TM) and Save Africa's Children Announce Partnership to Benefit Hundreds of Thousands of African Children

Soles4Souls(TM) Inc., the international charity dedicated to providing free footwear to those in desperate need, routinely responds to requests for help from victims of natural disasters around the world, such as the recent hurricanes in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Another key component of the charity's mission is to give assistance to people living in abject poverty, such as Sub-Saharan Africa.

ASIA

Freedom HIV/AIDS: Awareness Campaign Goes Wireless Through Mobile Technology

An Indian software solution provider, ZMQ Software Systems, had recently taken the initiative to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS across India using mobile technology. Their unique effort has been well-appreciated and the organization was honored today for their efforts.

Grants offered for women's projects

Constance Thomas, chairman of the UN China Theme Group on Gender (UNTGG), said earlier this month: "The latest call, while still focusing on broader areas including women's rights and their empowerment, will also aim to address new developments in China including considering gender in the rebuilding and reconstruction efforts of the Sichuan earthquake."

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

BELIZE COUNCIL OF CHURCHES MEETS TO DISCUSS HIV/AIDS

The Council of Churches in its work trying to respond to the needs of the wider community recognizes that HIV is still a taboo subject within the context of the Christian Church and it is wreaking havoc up on the wider Belizean Society

Burden Of Neglected Tropical Diseases In Latin America And Caribbean May Exceed That Of HIV/AIDS, TB And Malaria

The analysis found that NTDs are the most common infections of approximately 200 million of the poorest people in the region. They include tens of millions of cases of intestinal worm infections, and almost 10 million cases of Chagas disease, as well as schistosomiasis, trachoma, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, lymphatic

filariasis (LF), and onchocerciasis.

Companies shun HIV/AIDS meeting

Representatives from only six of 25 companies showed up for a breakfast meeting Friday to explore HIV/AIDS risk reduction among employees and non-discrimination to those living with the disease in the workplace. "This is why I am so disappointed at this morning's turnout because I know from experience that some managers believe HIV is not their problem," he said.

ADVERTISING NEWS

Report: U.S. Ad Spending Is Plummeting
U.S. advertising spending fell 3.7% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the biggest decline since 2001, says market researcher TNS Media Intelligence. Ad expenditures "started to contract in March, well before the September turbulence on Wall Street."

Yahoo Launches Ad Platform, Hires Bain
Yahoo is rolling out a new digital advertising platform, called APT, which promises to offer "cross-selling more easily than ever been before." Also: Yahoo is hiring Bain & Co. to perform an efficiency audit, as the Internet company aims to "benefit greatly from more discipline."

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

DC Aims to Publicize City's HIV-AIDS Epidemic

The District will embark on a large-scale "social marketing" campaign to publicize the facts of its staggering HIV-AIDS epidemic and the plans to help curb it, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said today.

Engagement 2.0: Is condom-free sex a sign of commitment?

Pendarvis Harshaw, a teen who grew up in Oakland offered his own take on commitment. “Sex without condoms is the new engagement ring,” he suggested in an on-air essay. Among his friends and acquaintances, ditching the condoms for other forms of birth control like the pill, signifies taking monogamy to a new level; partners are required to trust each other completely at the risk of getting an STD.

New Strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease is Discovered in Scotland

Health Protection Scotland has highlighted the case of the new variant Chlamydia trachomatis (nvCT) strain, identified in a patient attending a sexual health service in Scotland last month. The Scottish Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection Reference Laboratory has alerted all consultant microbiologists in Scotland about the outbreak, said HPS in a report.

SF: HEALTH OFFICIALS LAUNCH WEB SITE TO MAKE STD TESTING MORE CONVENIENT

San Francisco health officials today launched a new Web site that aims to boost the convenience of getting tested for sexually transmitted diseases. The Web site, www.STDTest.org, is a partnership between the San Francisco Department of Public Health's STD Prevention and Control Services and Internet Sexuality Information Services Inc., a nonprofit that promotes sexual health and disease prevention.

Teens choosing not to use condoms, Alpert study finds

The research, published in the September/October issue of Public Health Reports, showed that teens who engage in unprotected sexual activity tend to believe that condoms reduce sexual pleasure. They also show a disinclination to talk about protection with their partners, researchers found.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Black Culture Foundation To Honor Eight Local Heroes

Each award recognizes the recipient has given significant service to the local Black community.

Massive Latino voter registration drive launched

A coalition of Spanish-language media and community organizations kicked off a massive voter registration drive Thursday aimed at putting nearly one million voter registration forms in the hands of potential Hispanic voters.

Pharmacy Students Working Toward “Closing the Gap”

The Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA), the Latino Association of Pharmacy Students (LAPS), and the Pilipinos of UCSF Student Organization (PUSO), three UCSF campus organizations, joined forces on Sunday afternoon to inform first-year Pharmacy students about “Closing the Gap: The Student Pharmacist Role as Advocates to the Underserved”.

PHILANTHROPY

How Is Financial Crisis Affecting Philanthropy?

What I am hearing is that the economic crisis -- or at least fear of it -- is affecting funding and in some cases significantly. But here's the hitch: Almost every conversation I have had except one was about how the funders are afraid that the economy is getting worse and that is why they are cutting back. Only once was I told that the an organization's primary funder had cut back because of necessity from actual financial difficulties. So it appears that fear that the economy is turning down is causing many funders to cut back.

Philanthropy vs Profit

So far, I don't think that anybody has convincingly demonstrated that's the case. It might be true, but for-profit philanthropies have very little in the way of a track record, and the track record they do have is not particularly good. Maybe that will change, in the future. But for the time being, I'd keep the idea of for-profit philanthropy in the "not proven" category.

Star power meets philanthropy with celeb charities

You have to care about something other than what's going to make you money," said Morris L. Reid, managing director of Westin Rinehart, a firm that does brand strategy for public figures. "You have to be charitable. It shows that you care about someone other than yourself. It also shows that you are in touch with the average American's needs and plights."

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Twitter Helps Speed Up News Dissemination
The State of Utah began sending updates through Twitter in April and has posted more than 450 messages since then, alerting followers to public-hearing schedules, health-care data updates and other news. Using a blog to disseminate such information would be "too time-consuming."

OTHER NEWS

AOL Launches New Lifestyle and Pop Culture Sites

AOL announced the launch of two new specialty sites, Lemondrop, http://lemondrop.com, which covers women's lifestyle, and PopEater, http://popeater.com, which focuses on pop culture. The new sites continue AOL's efforts to launch experiences targeted at specific audiences. Both sites provide consumers a forum to interact and engage in a fun and entertaining format about lifestyle and pop culture features.

MEDIA AND MONEY CONFERENCE

October 14-15, 2008 - Marriott Marquis - New York City - Now in its second year, Media and Money features compelling keynote interviews with industry leaders, panel discussions on new digital and mobile opportunities, new business models and the latest investment trends.Join Dow Jones, The Nielsen Company and today's most successful media and entertainment dealmakers as well as top financiers to determine how to best address the new media landscape and discover how to survive and thrive in this challenging economic environment. Make the right contacts and get key insights to capitalize on the shifting headwinds in the media and entertainment industries

Pressure Mounts For Controlling Food Marketing To Kids
Dannon, which declined to join the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative when it was launched in 2006, has become the 15th company to sign the agreement pledging that all of its advertising directed primarily to children will be for products that meet nutritional guidelines that the Council of Better Business Bureaus has reviewed and approved.

September 23, 2008

CBS

CBS iPhone App Targets Citizen Journos
CBS is announcing that Eyemobile for iPhone is available in the iTunes App store for users that want to submit photo and video content to the company's new citizen journalism site, CBSeyemobile.com. Eyemobile lets users upload content from their iPhones.

Disney, CBS to Stream TV Shows on Netflix
Online movie rental company Netflix is entering deals with CBS and Disney Channel that will allow current season episodes of several television shows to be streamed online. Netflix will offer shows including CBS's "CSI" and the Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana."

MTV

It's Official! MTV Gives Whitney Her Own Spinoff

The Hills co-star Whitney Port has scored her very own MTV serious set to begin airing early 2009.The new show will feature Port’s life in New York City and her career working for Diane von Furstenberg.

MTV to Share Videos Among Its Web Sites
Viacom's MTV Networks is purchasing the rest of software company Social Project it does not own with plans to integrate social network features such as sharing of videos among its global network of Web sites and, within two to three years, the television.

UNIVISION

General Mills Expands Hispanic Platform With Univision

General Mills is embarking on a year long partneriship with the nation’s largest Spanish-language television network, Univision, to expand it’s content based outreach to Hispanics.

AFRICA

Ericsson joins new UN initiative to bring digital-health benefits to Africa

Ericsson is joining forces with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to use telecommunications to bring mobile-health applications and services (m-health) and telemedicine to rural Africa. As a founding member of the UN's Digital Health Initiative, Ericsson is taking another step in its ongoing commitment to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which aim to reduce global extreme poverty.

HIV/AIDS increase blamed on adultery

Acting Kayunga district chair person Boniface Bandikubi is blaming the increasing HIV/AIDS prevalence rate on adultery among married couples in the district.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

GRENADA - Book suggests homosexuality will be accepted in Caribbean soon

Claude Douglas, a sociologist, has just released a new book titled, Homosexuality in the Caribbean: Crawling Out Of the Closet, which examines the rise of homosexuality in the region. The 60-page book covers issues ranging from biological origins and the gay tourist phenomenon, to the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in the region.

ADVERTISING NEWS

Ad Execs Predict Tough Times, Digital Future
In 2009, advertisers will expect to make "a relatively fixed amount of dollars work harder," predicts Publicis Groupe Media head Jack Klues, speaking on a panel discussion for Advertising Week. A year from now, "we won't be talking about analog versus digital. It's all digital

Advertising Week Panelists Bash Old Media
Traditional media is taking a few hits at Advertising Week in New York. In a kick-off panel discussion, Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff suggests that media content is losing value, which will prompt a bargain sale: "I'm sure Time magazine will in very short order be available

Yahoo-Google Pact Opposed by Ad Group
The World Federation of Advertisers, which represents 55 advertiser associations worldwide, is asking the European Commission to block the proposed search-advertising partnership between Yahoo and Google, saying the deal may "have a detrimental effect on competition."

MOBILE NEWS

Google-Powered Phone Set to Make Debut
On Tuesday, T-Mobile USA will reveal the first phone to use Android, Google's software platform, at a New York news conference. The product is expected to sell for $199 and carry the Google brand. Analysts say it could quickly rival the BlackBerry, the iPhone and other "smart" phones.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Black-owned media seeking more advertising dollars from Democrats

"If you want to win by getting black people to vote in the state of Florida, you must actively engage the black community's political culture. A large part of this culture is black-owned media," said Cherry, whose family owns 11 radio stations and two newspapers, including The Daytona Times.

University of Miami receives grant from National Center on Minority and Health Disparities

These funds will support a regional seminar series on health disparities related to HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and family and intimate partner violence.

SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS

Microsoft research tackles teen social networking

"Here we can come up with math models that account for her observations about the way social networks are layered, and that there are different kinds of friendships," said Chayes. "You have friends from high school who you haven't seen. You have colleagues on there and family on there. It's all these different networks. We need a way to handle them differently, model them differently."

New York Times Rolls Out Social Network
TimesPeople, the social network where users share their interests, is becoming fully integrated into the NYTimes.com site. The platform allows visitors to share and recommend content. Last week the Wall Street Journal unveiled community functions as part of its redesign.

Social Networking Website for Capitol Hill and Politicos Across America

MyPoliticalWorld.com has the features that you would find in an aspiring social network - friending, messaging, profile viewing - but distinguishes itself with its political focus - forums for debate, political video covering news and the Presidential race, Capital Hill job listings and other "gadgets" like the ability to register to vote for the upcoming presidential election.

OTHER NEWS

Hulu Introduces Channels to Video Hub
Hulu, the NBC-News Corp. online video hub, is introducing a "Channels" option allowing users to sort through its programming by genre, from "Comedy" to "Reality." A new "Web Originals" channel will filter the programming that is available only on the Internet.

NBC Eyes Olympic TV/Web Data to Plan Ads
NBC Universal will present a new study showing that audiences recall advertisements more clearly when they are run on both television and the Internet. The research, undertaken by NBC during its airing of the Olympic Games, may change the way commercial time is bought.

News Magazines See Big Five-Year Decline
Regional magazines now outnumber any other magazine category, according to the National Directory of Magazines, which catalogs more than 20,500 U.S. and Canadian publications. News magazines are seeing the greatest decline, while shelter titles are seeing the biggest

Wall Street Journal to Sell Online Obits
The Wall Street Journal hopes to grow classified advertising by working with Web startup Tributes.com to sell obituaries on the WSJ.com site. The new partnership with Tributes is seen by analysts as an effort to "make the Journal more consumer friendly."

September 22, 2008

BET

BET's "Cousin Jeff" returns to EMU Sprt. 24 to speak to students

Johnson, who also is known as ‘Cousin Jeff,’ has served as the National Youth Director of the NAACP and gave congressional testimony about Hurricane Katrina recovery. As a correspondent for BET, Johnson has covered the Darfur region of Sudan and was one of only two correspondents to interview Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir.

CBS

CBS Kicks Off Auction of Radio Stations
The U.S. radio market's vibrancy will be tested with the kickoff of the auction for 50 stations owned by CBS. First-rounds bids are due today. "We don't know what the marketplace is," admits CEO Les Moonves. "If we don't get the right pricing for it, we're not going to sell."

FOX

MySpace Music Faces Antitrust Challenge
News Corp. and the major record labels are facing antitrust questions about the MySpace Music retail venture before the site even launches. Independent music labels claim they are being frozen out of the "Internet's MTV" are blocked from uploading their music.

News Corp's Murdoch: 'I'm Very Worried'
The U.S. local television station market is "performing very badly," says News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch, during an interview on Fox Business Network. The newspaper industry "is in real crisis." He adds that he isn't interested in buying NBC: "We like startups."

MTV

Fat Man Scoop Gets In Bed W/ MTV for New Sex Talk Show

“Its called ‘Man and Wife,’” Scoop told SOHH. “It’s coming on September 29th at 11 o’clock on MTV. “We answer email, voicemail and video submission and all of it’s done from our bed,” his wife Shanda added. “It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen on television which I’m proudest of.”

MTV And Dr. Drew Bring Families Together With New Series "Sex...With Mom And Dad"

"This is a unique and compelling format from overseas that we redeveloped and adapted for the MTV audience about getting families to talk openly about a taboo topic," said Tony DiSanto, EVP, MTV Programming and Series Development. "'The talk' is a personal choice for every family, but what Dr. Drew uncovers in this show is that by talking openly and honestly about sex, families can re-program their way of thinking, break down walls, reinforce trust and create deeper bonds."

MTV names VP for music brands

MTV International has named current managing director for Europe South, Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, as its executive vice president for music brands. Dall’Orto will retain his current responsibilities and will also drive collaboration among the company’s global content and creative talent, with the aim of developing a more integrated creative direction for MTVNI’s music brands

MTV Networks Buys The Rest Of DIY Social Networking Platform Flux

MTV Networks was a minority investor in Social Project, which is behind the Flux social-networking platform powering many of its sites, including MTV.com, TheDailyShow.com, and ColbertNation.com. Social Project, which competes with Ning and KickApps, had previously raised $47.5 million, mostly from MTV's parent company Viacom.

MTV's Spike.com Airs 'PG' Adult Content
Spike.com, the MTV Networks service aimed at young men, is launching a short-form series that will bring together primetime television stars and actresses from adult films for comic -- and platonic -- vignettes. The online series aims to spoof the adult-film genre.

VIACOM

Viacom to Lose Spielberg, DreamWorks
Film director Steven Spielberg is raising $1.2 billion from Indian entertainment conglomerate Reliance to reestablish DreamWorks as an independent film studio and break away from Viacom's Paramount Pictures. The new deal comes in the wake of a financial drought in Hollywood.

AFRICA

Eastern Region overcoming HIV/AIDS stigmatization

The Eastern Region is gradually coming out of self stigmatization as more and more People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWH) are coming out openly to join programmes to fight the spread of the pandemic in the Region.

Govt starts door-to-door HIV/Aids testing

The government has started a campaign to test willing Ugandans of HIV/Aids from their homes. The Minister of Health, Dr Stephen Mallinga, told the Parliamentary Committee on HIV/Aids yesterday that the campaign will target people who are reluctant to go for testing at the health centers.

Kenya: HIV Tests Launch Wider Health Campaign

A week-long campaign launched in Lurambi division in western Kenya this week aims to test 80 percent of the population for HIV/Aids, and to supply those tested with a package of items which will help them combat multiple health problems, including malaria, HIV/Aids and diarrheal disease.

South Africa: Afro-Pop Group Star Inspires Students to Get Tested

Tshidi Moholo, of the sensational afro-pop group Malaika, was tested for HIV in front of students from the University of the Witwatersrand on Thursday to help inspire the youth to do the same. The pop star volunteered to be tested for HIV at the Levi's Red for Life Campaign at the institution's main campus in Johannesburg.

UN Meetings Highlight African Needs

U.N. member states and international organizations adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals in 2000 to provide a framework for reducing extreme poverty, hunger, disease and child mortality. The goals, which include improving education, maternal health and promoting gender equality, are supposed to be reached by the year 2015.

Youth group embarks on intensive HIV/AIDS campaign

The Universal United Youth Organisation (UUY), a non-governmental group at Akim Oda in the Birim South District has embarked on an intensive campaign to educate the youth on the dangers of HIV/AIDS. This followed reports that most of the youth in the municipality were not perturbed about the disease due to the high illiteracy rate in the area.

Zimbabwe AIDS Activists Say Food Now More Critical Than Drugs

Zimbabwe's National Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS has asked the central bank and government to provide its 120,000 members with food under the government's so-called Basic Commodity Supply Side Intervention program, known as Bacossi.

ASIA

INDIA Court order against ‘obscene’ condom packaging suspended

On Ravikuamr’s plea, the high court, erroneously presuming that the Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) was a government body, had directed it to ensure that no Indian condom manufacturer would market its product in obscene packs or promote them through advertisements with obscene pictures.

CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMERICA

AIDS Victim Speaks Out

With 88 new AIDS cases recorded in the Bahamas as of March of this year, one victim of the incurable disease candidly spoke to the Journal on Sunday, expressing hope that other sexually active individuals, especially teens, would either abstain from sex or adopt safe sex practices.

Relationships Sexual myths explored

There are several untruths about sex which influence the way persons engage in sexual activities. Over time, loose talk about sex becomes accepted as reality. As such, persons may find that they may not derive the full benefits from sexual intimacy because of the myths they have come to believe.

EUROPE

Russia: Intravenous Drug Use Leading Cause of HIV/AIDS

Many HIV/AIDS experts have also expressed concerns that Russia, as well as other former Soviet Union states, are facing widespread HIV/AIDS epidemics. But unlike many other parts of the world, the majority of HIV cases in Russia are due to intravenous drug use.

ADVERTISING NEWS

Ad Spending Woes Forecast to Worsen
Madison Avenue is bracing for the worst advertising slump since 2001, as a drop-off in consumer spending is likely to lead marketers to rein in their budgets. Both traditional and Internet media are expected to be impacted. The news comes as the Advertising Week festival kicks off in New York.

Four A's makes first installment on $5 million partnership with Howard University

The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) presented Howard University with a $250,000 check on September 15 to establish The Center for Excellence in Advertising.

HIV/AIDS AND SEXUAL HEALTH NEWS

Greater Awareness Of HIV/AIDS, Other Global Health Issues Attributed To The Growth In Public Health Students,

The Washington Post on Friday examined the "record numbers" of undergraduate college students who are taking classes in epidemiology, global health and public health, driven in part by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and a motivation to contribute to the field.

HIV Victims Tell Their Story

New Life Christian Center in Turlock is hosting the "AIDS -- Step into Africa" exhibit. It includes a replica of an African village and tells the stories of four real children who have been affected by the AIDS pandemic there. Various photographs of AIDS-affected families and children can be seen throughout the tour. Turlock Christian HS student Caniel Wright uses headphones to listen to the stories.

New HIV Infections Increasing in Gay and African-American Communities

Last month, RealJock.com reported that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had radically increased its estimate of annual HIV infections in the U.S., to roughly 55,000 from a prior estimate of 40,000. Following that study, the CDC conducted further analysis of its statistics. The results, released last week, have given a more complete picture of HIV infection at the current moment—and indicate that there are increasing infections in the gay and African-American communities.

Recent Evaluations of the Peer-Led Approach in Adolescent Sexual Health Education: A Systematic Review

Peer-led interventions have become a popular method of providing sexual health education to adolescents, but the efficacy of this approach and the methodological quality of recent trials have not been systematically reviewed. METHODS: Electronic and hand searches were conducted to identify quasi-randomized and randomized controlled trials of peer-led adolescent sexual health education published from 1998 to 2005.

Study Examines Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Monitoring Strategy

In a computer-based model evaluating the benefits and costs of three types of HIV disease monitoring strategies, early initiation of antiretroviral therapy and monitoring using the CD4 count, a measure of immune system function, instead of based on symptoms appear to provide health benefits in low- and middle-income countries, according to a report in the September 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

MULTI CULTURAL NEWS

Target Market News to host African-American Internet Summit in October

Plans for the First Annual African-American Internet Summit were announced today by Target Market News. The all-day conference -- the first such gathering of its kind in the nation -- will take place in Chicago, IL on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 in downtown Chicago. The event is expected to attract 200 professionals from marketing, advertising, media and research.

Ya Es Hora Campaign Launches Historic Mobilization Drive Targeting a Million Potential Latino Voters

After helping to mobilize nearly 1.4 million legal permanent residents to apply for citizenship, the leaders of the Ya Es Hora Campaign will brief reporters on Thursday, September 25 at 12:00 EDT on a historic registration drive targeting a million potential Latino voters.

OTHER NEWS

Barbershops become urban community health centers

African-American communities in the shadows of the University of Pittsburgh's buildings are getting sick and dying sooner than their white counterparts, of preventable diseases -- and Dr. Stephen Thomas wants to change it. An outreach initiative involving local barbershops and beauty salons is a step in that direction.

Comcast Details Changes for Web Traffic
Comcast is providing U.S. regulators details of how it plans to change the way it manages Web traffic over its high speed Internet network without blocking applications or content. High-volume user traffic will be identified and throttled during periods of network congestion.

MASTER P - RAPPER MILLER PLANS TEEN TV VIEWPOINT SHOW

Rapper PERCY MILLER is hitting the road to get viewpoints from America's troubled teens about modern issues and concerns, for a new TV show.
The hitmaker-turned-Better Black Television chairman, formerly Master P, is set to visit teens in detention centres and those from some of America's poorest neighbourhoods for his new show Teens Real Talk.

Media: Little Hope for Quick Turnaround
Despite a rally on Friday, analysts aren't optimistic about the near-term prospects of media and entertainment stocks. Even after the economy recovers, industry stocks will still be out of favor, they say, because changing consumer habits make the media biz a "difficult proposition."

McCain and Obama camps latch onto new media

A recent study by Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism finds that Obama was first to use the Web as a campaign tool; the think tank says McCain's crew has finally gotten on board, recently adding a social networking component and other new features. (more findings from the study)

NBC Flagship Station May See Cutbacks
Morale is plummeting at WNBC, the New York flagship station of NBC, as the channel switches to a 24-hour news format. Longtime writers and producers are being told to apply for new jobs as "content producers," with no guarantee that they will be hired or paid their current salaries.

People.com Surpasses TMZ for First Time
Breaking financial news and exclusive baby photos are paying off for Web sites owned by Time Inc. Last month, People.com passed TMZ for the first time with 11.5 million unique visitors, thanks to its multimillion-dollar photos of actor Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twin newborns.

Unigo Student-Content Site to Eye Ads
The new site Unigo.com, a free student-generated guide to North American colleges, allows students to create and share content about their lives. The advertising-supported site, founded by 26-year-old Jordan Goldman, has an advisory board that includes TiVo CEO Tom Rogers.

Washington Post Starts Aggregating News
The Washington Post is adding a section to its Web site that links readers to the best of political coverage -- even scoops by rival newspapers. The idea behind the new Political Browser feature is to brief political junkies on the top "must reads" of the day.

Yahoo's New Board to Meet This Week
Yahoo's revamped board will meet for the first time Tuesday, giving activist investor Carl Icahn his first chance to push his agenda from the inside. In addition to Icahn, the new board includes two directors he supported: ex-Viacom exec Frank Biondi and ex-Nextel exec John Chapple.