Good morning.
- Tragedy TV in overdrive
“Prince’s influence on modern pop music cannot be overstated.” (Pitchfork) Well, it sure wasn’t understated Thursday. “For almost 40 years of popular music, Prince was a part of everything. At various points in his career, he could make claims to being the best pop star, the best classic-rocker, the best new-waver, the best soul man…and the best self-promoter.” (Spin) “As a cultural figure, he was a major mainstream artist — going toe-to-toe in the blockbuster-album ‘80s with such performers as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Whitney Houston. Yet he maintained a cutting-edge sense of experimentation in his music and image.” (Chicago Tribune) He was “a sex symbol, a musical prodigy and an artist who shaped his career his way, often battling with accepted music-business practices.” (The New York Times)Cable TV relished a tragedy that offered viewers a respite from unrelenting presidential campaign coverage. It was a day that saw friends, colleagues, former managers, a former Prince stylist, grade school chums, music critics, superstars like Stevie Wonder and, yes, Larry King (now 82) return to CNN to discuss a long-ago, revealing interview with the artist.
Hosts emoted as they discussed the music of their own formative years, simultaneously grasping and sincere as they strained to exhibit pop cultural cool. Early on, they raised the notion of a bad flu perhaps being his downfall. Harvey Levin, head of TMZ, which broke the news of his death, rained on that parade on CNN by strongly suggesting the reality was more complex. “He’s in dire shape then he’s fine, he’s in dire shape, then he’s fine, then he’s dead,” Levin said to underscore the early incongruities in the official line. Indeed, TMZ now reports Prince’s plane had landed in Moline, Illinois from Atlanta last Friday to deal with a drug overdose. (TMZ)
But, in the the end, the day was made not by the many words but by a TV rarity: music. Lots of it. Screens seemed to morph briefly into jukeboxes. Forgive Wolf Blitzer for referencing the day’s favorite, “Purple Rain,” as “Purple Haze,” confusing Prince with Jimi Hendrix. Prince will be remembered long after the Pennsylvania primary to which cable TV reset its monotonous programming cruise control this morning after initial references to Prince that, “Morning Joe’s” Mike Barnicle said, seemed more deeply felt than the now-routine babble about politics, including Donald Trump’s “new persona,” etc.
- Why traditional media is at a disadvantage
You want a stark reality as you plot strategy at your newspaper, bigtime magazine, TV network, digital startup or local TV or radio station? “In the first quarter of 2016, 85 cents of every new dollar spent in online advertising will go to Google or Facebook, said Brian Nowak, a Morgan Stanley analyst.” (The New York Times) - Disney bids adieu to Fusion
“Disney has exited its partnership with Univision on the Fusion cable and digital venture after a rocky three years in which the channel has changed course more than once. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. It’s believed that a small amount of money changed hands for Univision to acquire Disney’s 50% stake in the venture. But Disney’s exit frees the Mouse from obligations to fund the channel that has racked up well over $60 million in losses since 2013.” (Variety) - Paranoid world leaders
When I saw the headline, I wasn’t sure if it was the Onion or The Guardian: “2016 World Press Freedom Index: leaders paranoid about journalists.” It was neither. It was the very sober Reporters Without Borders with its annual assessment of press freedom. Its metrics on press freedom find that “Europe (with 19.8 points) still has the freest media, followed distantly by Africa (36.9), which for the first time overtook the Americas (37.1), a region where violence against journalists is on the rise. Asia (43.8) and Eastern Europe/Central Asia (48.4) follow, while North Africa/Middle East (50.8) is still the region where journalists are most subjected to constraints of every kind.” (Reporters Without Borders) - The E.U. needs a crisis communications strategist
Get this: The Brussels Playbook in POLITICO Europe reports that Vladimir Putin and Syria’s Bashar al-Assad get better coverage than the European Union on the BBC. “The EU is covered more negatively than Vladimir Putin, and even Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, on BBC Television, according to an analysis of 46,737 news reports aired in 2015.” (POLITICO) - A tech funding crunch?
Mix mainstream chortling over supposed BuzzFeed financial underperformance with a supposed tech funding crunch and there might be visions of digital disarray. Well, BuzzFeed’s situation might be overstated and the crunch may be a bit of a fiction, too. Medium, the publishing platform that’s an increasing favorite for many, just raised another $50 million “just a few months after it raised $57 million.” Investors valued it at $600 million in this latest round led by Spark Capital and including previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures. (Re/code) - Hospital’s help for Dr. Oz costs it $2.2 million
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital will fork over a $2.2 million penalty to federal regulators for letting a TV crew film patients without their consent, including one who was dying. (The New York Times) “The federal fine involves the case of Mark Chanko, who was hit by a garbage truck in 2011 and taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. A crew from the ABC program ‘NY Med,’ a reality series featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz, filmed as doctors unsuccessfully sought to save his life. Mr. Chanko’s widow, Anita, recognized her husband while watching the show the next year, though his face was blurred and his voice was muffled.” - Contrarian take on the best coach
It’s almost a given that the best NBA coach is Gregg Popovich of San Antonio, whose Spurs have won five championships. But Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram begs to differ in a well-reasoned contrarian take. His nominee? Its Rick Carlisle of the rather mediocre, Mark Cuban-owned Dallas Mavericks. Engel argues that he’s made lemonade out of lemons, absent the future Hall of Famers whom Popovich coaches and with a cantankerous and often bone-headed owner. It’s responsibly provocative, if errant. (Star-Telegram) - VICE Media’s first union contract
Nearly 80 editorial employees at VICE have overwhelmingly ratified their first contract. (@petersterne) They’re represented by the Writers Guild of America, East, which also represents lots of TV writers on shows like “The Daily Show.” The three-year deal calls for an initial minimum $8,000 pay increase and new rights for any future use of their work for TV, movies or books. A fair number of the workers are in low-to-mid five-figure salary range and, especially since most live in New York City, the $8,000 will mean something. The VICE move is part of what may be an emerging trend toward unionizing in the digital media sector. (Poynter) - “Today’s” latest stumble
When it comes to dealing with Donald Trump, NBC’s “Today” has not had an especially good campaign so far. Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer have been steamrolled and did no better in a town hall. “NBC’s ‘Today’ Allows Trump to Rewrite His Own Record During Town Hall.” (Media Matters). Yup. On a variety of issues, including the Iraq War, that was the case. - Another sad look at Tiger Woods
Sports Illustrated did nicely recently with a “What Happened to Tiger Woods? The Most Vexing Question in Sports” profile. (S.I.) But ESPN The Magazine tops it with Wright Thompson’s exploration of the psyche and rather melancholy personal life of a diminished, injured superstar who may verge on the delusional. Not only are there rather harsh comments from former Navy SEALS members with whom he was infatuated and tried to train with (they found him a bit of a poseur) but also this observation from good friend Michael Jordan: “The thing is,” Jordan says, “I love him so much that I can’t tell him, ‘You’re not gonna be great again.'” (ESPN) - Oops?
A Baltimore Sun report on a Donald Trump rally on Maryland’s Eastern Shore included this: “Jack Mehoff, 19, praised Trump as a ‘hardworking, smart individual that wants the best for all people in this country that are allowed to be here.'” (The Washington Post) A reader tweeted that it wasn’t a real name and the paper was checking it out. Whatever the resolution, just consider how much stuff reporters take on faith each and every day. There but for the grace of god go we. Have a good weekend, even if you’re not watching kids soccer in Highland Park, Illinois or baseball in Chicago. - Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Michael Clemente will be executive vice president of news specials at Fox News. Previously, he was executive vice president of news and editorial at Fox News. Jay Wallace will be executive vice president of news and editorial at Fox News. Previously, he was senior vice president of news and politics at Fox News. (Deadline) | Job of the day: WJLA is looking for a news photographer. Get your resumes in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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