Mediagazer: WGA West Report Shows Diversity Still Lacking in TV Writing (Dave McNary/Variety)

3:05 PM ET, March 27, 2013

Top News:

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Entreaty to Cooper Suggests Shakeup at ‘Today’ — Earlier this month an NBC executive contacted Anderson Cooper with a question that would flatter and intrigue just about anyone. Would Mr. Cooper, the biggest star of CNN, consider replacing Matt Lauer on the “Today” show in the months to come?

Discussion: Business Insider, The Wrap, @brianstelter, @mbaratz, @dylanbyers, The Corsair, The Huffington Post, Deadline.com and Mediaite

Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:

NBC: Anderson Cooper Not Approached for Matt Lauer Job — A source close to Cooper also denies the report, while both men's camps deny that Lauer called Cooper to register his disapproval — NBC's Today show is topic A in media gossip circles. And a report Tuesday about CNN's Anderson Cooper …

Discussion: TVNewser, mediabistro.com, TMZ.com, Vanity Fair, Inside TV, FishbowlNY, Mediaite, Daily Mail, New York Post, Contactmusic.com, The Hollywood Gossip, The Huffington Post and New York Magazine

Reuters:

Portugal media demands Google pays for news — (Reuters) - Portuguese media companies, struggling through the worst recession since the 1970s, are pressing Google to pay for content on its news search engine, echoing similar demands elsewhere in Europe. — Alberico Fernandes …

Mike Shields / Adweek:

Bloomberg Wants to Win at Video — It's time for Bloomberg TV's noon news meeting on this Thursday, a meeting that is sandwiched around two momentous events: the day after the new Pope was announced and the day Samsung will release its new Galaxy S4 phone. — The packed conference room …

Paul Sloan / CNET:

The one bright spot for the music labels: Digital — The financial picture of the music industry is still bleak, but YouTube, Spotify, and other services are helping. — The music industry is still in rough shape, based on data released today by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Discussion: Tone Deaf, Billboard and The Verge

Andrew M. Barker / Variety: RIAA Reports Year of Relative Stability in Record Biz

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

SCOTUSblog gets a Peabody Award — SCOTUSblog is among the winners of the 72nd-annual Peabody Awards, announced Wednesday. “[T]he website provides everything you ever wanted to know about the U.S. Supreme Court and its cases but didn't know where to look,” the awards announcement reads.

Discussion: Peabody Awards, FishbowlNY, From Inside the Box, PopWatch and The Huffington Post

Jenna Wortham / NYT Bits:

Instagram and the New Era of Paparazzi — Earlier this week, a rare and new photo of the pop star Beyoncé and her daughter, Blue Ivy, quickly spread around the Internet, on various celebrity and gossip sites. — There was nothing particularly unusual about the photo itself …

Discussion: GigaOM and Daily Dot

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:

Scratch Freston from Time Inc. CEO derby — Scratch Mtv founder Tom Freston from the list of potential Time Inc. CEOs. — Even before the search begins in earnest, Freston told Media Ink he isn't interested in the job. — That is sure to dash the dreams of Time Inc.'ers.

Discussion: FishbowlNY and Guardian

Lisa O'Carroll / Guardian:

Sun paywall unavoidable, says News International chief executive — Mike Darcey says continuing to offer free content is untenable as website is threatening circulation and revenue of tabloid — News International's chief executive Mike Darcey has said the company had no choice …

Discussion: BBC and TheMediaBriefing

Guardian:
The Sun joins Telegraph in charging website users

Bloomberg:

Ericsson Said to Discuss Buying Microsoft's TV-Software Unit — Ericsson AB (ERICB) is in talks to buy Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)'s IPTV business, which makes software used by phone companies such as AT&T Inc. (T) to deliver television over the Internet, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Discussion: VentureBeat, CNET, Reuters, The Verge, IP&TV News, Engadget, Digital TV Europe, ZDNet, GeekWire, Electronista and GigaOM

Steve Kovach / Business Insider:

Netflix Hires ‘The Matrix’ Creators To Make A New Original Sci-Fi Series That'll Premiere Next Year — Netflix secured three huge names in sci-fi entertainment this week to produce a new original series called “Sense8” that will start streaming in late 2014.

Discussion: /Film, Deadline.com, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, Hollywood Reporter, Associated Press, Inquirer, Pocket-lint, The Verge and Engadget

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Creator Rob Thomas Calls The Veronica Mars Kickstarter Campaign A Guinea Pig For Cult TV Shows — After the initial success of the Kickstarter campaign for a movie based on the TV show Veronica Mars (with a goal of $2 million, it has currently raised $3.9 million, and there are still 17 days to go) …

Dave McNary / Variety:

WGA West Report Shows Diversity Still Lacking in TV Writing … Diversity among Hollywood's TV writers falls short of reflecting the actual demographics of the U.S. population, a study from the Writers Guild of America West shows. — The findings were unveiled Tuesday by UCLA professor Darnell Hunt …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap

Steve Rubel / AdAge:

Leaner, Meaner Media Finally Ready to Invade Agency Turf — In a Bid for Survival, Press Cozies Up to the Client Side — Everyone loves a Cinderella story. Whether it's David slaying Goliath or a college basketball team's unlikely journey from dark horse to Final Four contender, it's hard not to root for an underdog.

Thanks:@steverubel

Los Angeles Times:

Web-based productions are taking off in L.A. — Filming for Web productions in L.A. rose 46% over 2011. Such content has evolved from short episodes to full-length TV productions, some with budgets comparable to conventional TV shows'. — Ed Begley stars in Amazon Studios upcoming series, “Betas.”

Discussion: Variety