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Hot Topic - Central European Media Enterprises (CME)

Monochrome Telecom Exits Colorful Broadcast Group - October 29, 2019
As the Soviet bloc crumbled in Eastern Europe great opportunity opened. Western investors, many with broadcasting and publishing experience, seized the chance as old state structures vanished. They brought money and talent. Success was at hand. Things changed. In the last decade or so, many of these investors walked away. Some ran. Most, now, are gone. The tales are illuminating.

Media Investors, Bright Lights And Fading - March 17, 2014
Companies move through stages, entirely predictable. Financial investors also have their phases. Circumstances, certainly, dictate much of the flow but, like the sun rises and sets, investors move on to newer opportunities. Companies either evolve or fade away.

Patience Not A Virtue When Revenues Sink - November 7, 2013
It’s the season for change agents. Helicoptered in from the home office, turn-around specialists are single-minded and short on patience. They prefer core businesses, preferably with fewer employees. Competitors, though, are happy to see them.

A Rocky Sea Heaves All Boats - July 1, 2013
Challenging times call for decisive action. Some media operators choose to stay the course, albeit with fewer resources. Others take the opportunity to cut and run. Shareholders like that if buyers can be found. The other option is to wait and maybe that ship will come in.

Low Visibility For The TV Business - November 19, 2012
The pain has moved to the television business. Between second screens and diminished ad revenues, big TV companies are cutting costs further, shedding assets and generally restructuring. Publishers went through this exercise and several emerged with only light haircuts. When ad and subscription revenues held on broadcasters thought they would avoid the barber: maybe not.

Rumors In A Time Of Free Cash Flow - March 15, 2012
The great financial crisis has caused considerable pain in the media sector. And, too, there’s been the hysteria as new media takes more and more attention space. Buy the rumor, sell the facts, say the traders.

Television Pays Dividends - March 7, 2011
Positive, even stunning, year-end financial results continue to roll in from television broadcasters. Yes, ad revenues are recovering. Cost control and restructuring have their benefits but does this create a dangerous blind-spot?


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The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)

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Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda

The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)

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