BUSINESS
May 14, 2013 | By Dawn C. Chmielewski and Jessica Guynn, Los Angeles Times
Fox and Twitter have entered into a partnership to promote the broadcaster's programs and help advertisers reach TV audiences as they discuss shows on the social network. Twitter Inc., which has established itself as the water cooler where America dissects the latest developments on NBC's "The Voice" or AMC's "Mad Men," is expected to strike more deals with broadcasters. On Tuesday, ESPN and Twitter plan to announce they are expanding their partnership. Last year the sports network, majority owned by Walt Disney Co., incorporated video highlights directly into Twitter feeds related to its coverage of the BCS championship game.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2013 | By Meg James, Los Angeles Times
Can the return of Michael J. Fox, agent Jack Bauer and "Ironside" help vanquish the flesh-eating zombies that are threatening to take a bite out of television broadcasters' fortunes? ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are unveiling their fall lineups this week with the hopes that their latest crop of crime-solving dramas and half-hour comedies will cure what ails the broadcast industry. The networks are coming off a lackluster season marked by falling ratings and a failure to produce new hits on the magnitude of cable channel AMC's zombie show "The Walking Dead.
BUSINESS
May 11, 2013 | By Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times
It seemed like a typical dinner party for the well-heeled set: eight women, some dressed in stilettos and skinny jeans, gabbing over glasses of wine and endive spears with goat cheese at a lavish Hollywood Hills home. But amid the Kate Middleton pregnancy chatter and a debate on the best mascara brands, the conversation turned to mobile app strategies and the latest tech companies to score millions of dollars in venture capital funding. Not too long ago, such meet-ups among tech-savvy women - or men, for that matter - were a rarity in Los Angeles.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 10, 2013 | By Seema Mehta and Maeve Reston, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel, after spending heavily on a TV advertising blitz that coincided with the start of early voting, entered the final stretch of the runoff campaign with roughly one-tenth the war chest of rival Eric Garcetti, according to new campaign finance reports. Greuel, the city's controller, also lagged behind Garcetti in fundraising. She reported raising nearly $937,000 in the four weeks ending Saturday and loaning her campaign $100,000, pushing her just past the $1-million mark in documents her campaign filed with the City Ethics Commission late Thursday.
BUSINESS
April 24, 2013 | By Jessica Guynn
SAN FRANCISCO -- Putting renewed pressure on the online advertising industry that he says has failed to protect Americans' privacy, a top Senate Democrat called for legislation this year that would create a "do not track" option for consumers. "I have long expressed skepticism about the ability - - or willingness - - of companies to regulate themselves on behalf of consumers when it affects their bottom line," Sen. John D. Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in a written statement.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
April 24, 2013 | By Hector Becerra
When a burglar pulled some pantyhose over his head and threw a rock into the window of Kent's Meat and Groceries in Northern California, Kent Pfrimmer saw $500 in damages. Rocky Slaughter of Sugar Pine Media saw a golden opportunity. The 25-year-old advertiser took surveillance video of the rotund, would-be-thief's bumbling star turn, sped it up and turned it into a TV commercial complete with “Benny Hill” music. The tagline proclaims: “Kent's Meat and Groceries, award-winning New York style pastrami so good, some people will do just about anything to get more.” The commercial for the Redding deli was featured on national TV shows, including “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.