Some of my favorite media stories…
CBS Pulls Rights for ‘Twilight Zone’ Stage Show
After CBS declined to renew the rights for a long-running Seattle stage show called Twilight Zone Live!, I wrote about how indie productions based on TV properties can sometimes find themselves in sudden peril when a larger entity decides it wants to produce a work of its own. Full Article.
Who Still Meets the Press?
I spoke with Chuck Todd about the long-running NBC franchise and its future in a world of streaming services and podcasts. Full Article.
Chris Christie’s Hot Wheels
I teamed up with our politics writer David Sirota for this scoop about how New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie procured a free Corvette for a radio host who interviewed him every week. The host was one of the only members of the local press with direct access to the governor. Full Article
TV Execs Shoot The Messenger
At NYC Television Week, analysts and media executives criticized Nielsen for what they say is a failure to keep up with audience measurement trends in the age of on-demand digital media. Nielsen claims it can measure cross-platform viewing fine, but the current rules prohibit it from doing so. Full Article.
Hollywood’s Biggest Fear? Superhero Burnout
Media companies like the Walt Disney Company, 21st Century Fox and Time Warner are betting heavily that the superhero movie genre will be popular with audiences through the end of the decade. But genres go stale. Just look at Westerns. Full Article.
Cozy With Comcast
A follow-the-money story showing how cable industry interests donated heavily to two Republican architects of a plan to derail the FCC’s net neutrality efforts. Full Article.
When TV Watches You Back
I spoke with privacy advocates and legal experts about a new plan by NBCUniversal to combine consumer data with information from cable set-top boxes in hopes of learning more about which types of viewers watch specific shows. Full Article.
Christopher Zara 