followthemedia.com a knowledge base for media professionals

followthemedia.com - a knowledge base for media professionals

Search the site

The secret is having something to talk about. Credibility counts, too. --- Michael Hedges January 28, 2008
There is so much to talk about in France these days it’s just no real surprise that the national news and news talk stations continue to increase market shares.

It’s the Rugby World Cup Final Saturday Night and the UK’s ITV Network Stands To Make An Advertising Killing As England Face South Africa in Paris, and Then the Next Day Another Huge Sports Bonanza For The Network As A Brit Stands To Win The Formula One Championship --- Philip M. Stone October 17, 2007
When England beat France 14-9 last Saturday night in Paris in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup the British ITV network reached a peak 51% share. But that was a pittance compared to the French ratings that gave commercial channel TF1 its largest ratings of the year with a 67.4% audience share. But while the French may not tune in such numbers for this Saturday’s final, the Brits are expected to blast right through last week’s numbers, and the network is going to clean-up big-time.

All the Kings Horses and All the King’s Men Finally Made the International Rugby Board See Sense Again --- Philip M. Stone September 10, 2007
The ball was deep in International Rugby Board (IRB) territory. The opponents, the world’s news media led by the international news agencies, were in hot pursuit. Finally the referees, France, the EU, and sponsors, called for a scrimmage – a banging of heads. Suddenly the IRB’s forward line collapsed, out came the offer which the media ran with for the winning try. Or put the American way, the bad guys blinked first.

With The Exposure Nikon Got With the Iraqi Win At The Asian Soccer Championships It’s No Wonder That The US NFL Wants Photographers Wearing Red Flak Jackets Touting Ricoh And Canon --- Philip M. Stone August 3, 2007
The US media, for obvious reasons, is up in arms with the National Football League’s (NFL) demand that media photographers on the field wear red flak jackets promoting NFL sponsors Ricoh and Canon. But to the NFL photographers are merely moving billboards on which to earn more sponsorship money and the value of such billboards was proven by Nikon at the Asia soccer championships.

Digital Video Rights Are Going The Way of Exclusive TV Rights and The Only Real Question For Digital Sites Is How Much The Courts Will Let Them Get Away With --- Philip M. Stone July 3, 2007
Digital video rights are going the way of exclusive TV rights, and the only real question remaining is how much the courts will allow those digital sites without any rights contracts to push the envelope and show as much video as they can.

Australian Football League Still Refuses To Accredit International News Agency Photographers, The NCAA Bounces A Play-By-Play Blogger From The Press Box, And The Screws Are Still Tight On Rugby Cup Coverage -- The Collective Media Had Better Not Take Its Eye Off This Ball! --- Philip M. Stone June 26, 2007
The digital age has blinded sports rights holders with $£€ signs and they are determined to make big money from what once was the media’s province. And yet the media seems pretty lame in fighting back, and it’s about time it, too, started playing hardball.

The World Association of Newspapers Takes ftm To Task For Saying Rugby’s Attempts To Restrict Internet News Pictures Circulation For The World Cup Is A Commercial Issue And Not A Freedom Of The Press Issue --- Philip Stone April 2, 2007
The International Rugby Board is attempting to restrict the world’s media on how many pictures can be shown on the Internet, even how pictures are used in print, and while ftm applauded the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) for fighting that silliness, we said the battle should be fought on commercial issues, not as a freedom of the press issue as WAN claimed.

Rugby World Cup Officials Want To Be The Ones Feeding Quick Unlimited News Pictures Game Coverage To Internet Sites, and Not The International News Agencies. It’s FIFA’s Football World Cup All Over Again And We Do Remember What Happened There, Don’t We? --- Philip M. Stone March 16, 2007
Organizers of major international sporting events are trying ever more to make a buck from their franchise. Why, they ask, should they allow international news agencies to feed news pictures around the world in seconds to Internet sites, when they could instead provide their own news picture coverage and get all that money?

WAN Finally Issues A Sports Rights Resolution --- Philip M. Stone June4, 2008
Finally the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has issued a resolution condemning the growing tendency of sports organizations to restrict coverage of their events, both in print and digitally.

Beginning Of An Era: Nighttime Wimbledon TV --- Philip M. Stone July 1, 2009 Follow on Twitter
It was nail-biting tennis full of suspense but Monday’s Wimbledon singles match between the British idol Andy Murray and the unknown Swiss Stanislaw Wawrinka (Mr. Federer is the known Swiss) had one ingredient never before experienced – it was played under the lights of the new Center Court sliding roof and a great tennis match became a huge nighttime TV success. But Wimbledon being Wimbledon, where change is very slow to progress, the organizers said this was the exception, not the rule, but you just know TV executives want to persuade them differently.