How do you know you’re watching television with a Consumerist editor? Our commenters will probably formulate all kinds of punchlines for that setup, but last night, I was half paying attention to former President Bill Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention on CNN when I happened to see an elderly supporter waving her Medicare card at the camera. Her name and Social Security number were completely legible. “We can read her card! Stop showing that!” I shouted at the TV. The people on the television never listen to personal finance bloggers who are shouting at them. [More]
Woman's Social Security Number Displayed To Millions During Democratic National Convention
By September 6, 2012
Internet Surpasses Print As News Source; TV Still Leads
By March 16, 2011
The most surprising thing about the Pew Project’s State of the News Media study findings isn’t that online news is more popular than print, it’s that it took so long for the perceived reality of the past several years to come to fruition. As a result, newsrooms have shed workers as well as readers, operating with 30 percent less manpower than they did in 2001. [More]
The Daily: Will Murdoch's Fancy New iPad Newspaper Save Publishing?
By February 2, 2011
Probably not. But it does have lots of widgets and video modules. [More]
Men Pay More Attention To "Sexier" News Anchors, But Remember Less
By January 25, 2011
TV networks try to boost ratings by hiring comely female anchors and dressing them and shooting them in ways to accentuate their visual assets, but a study finds it actually reduces the amount of information recalled by male viewers. The “sexier” the female anchors, the more attention men pay, but the less they remember of what the news was about. [More]
MTV News Becomes Paid Shill For FreeCreditScore.com
By August 11, 2010
Maybe you didn’t take MTV News too seriously to begin with, but if you did you might want to reconsider. BrandChannel started noticing that MTV News was posting articles about FreeCreditScore.com’s contest for a new sellout band for its TV spots. (This is the same company as FreeCreditReport.com; both charge for their services and generally suck.) The problem with the paid MTV sponsorship is that it’s not disclosing that the “news stories” are just advertorials. [More]
HP And Yahoo Want To Put Ads On Your Printouts
By June 21, 2010
Google’s not the only company that wants to put ads on everything you read. HP’s new web-connected printers will let you send pages or photos directly from websites or phones and schedule recurring printouts from content partners–and the company is pilot testing a program with Yahoo’s advertising network to deliver targeted ads on those scheduled printouts. [More]
Directly Pitch Your Stories To Pro Video Journalists
By November 11, 2009
VJ Movement is a new site that lets everyday people pitch their ideas for news stories to a group of selected global professional video journalists who then go on to produce them and post them online. Here’s one about a poor Chinese immigrant turned professional gambler who plays poker so that his kids can live the American Dream in Orange County, California.
Now You Too Can Dress Like a TV Newsperson
By August 25, 2009
Looking for pants “custom made for a primary anchor in a top 5 market”? Or how about a sports suit worn on air “by a play-by-play announcer for a regional sports network”? Look no further.
Bank of America-Sponsored Poll Shows That Most Americans Don't Trust Banking System
By May 7, 2009
It may be a random confluence of sponsorship, but this poll from the front page of CNN.com last night is too funny not to share. Thanks to Douglas for sending it in.
Chicago Tribune Fires Reporter Covering The Recession
By April 23, 2009
Let’s pause a moment to consider this sentence from Crain’s Chicago Business. “On the same day the Chicago Tribune cut 53 jobs from its newsroom, its parent Tribune Co. asked a Bankruptcy Court to approve of $13.3 million in bonuses and other incentive payments to 703 employees.”
Blockbuster's Stock Nosedives On News It Is Investigating Bankruptcy
By March 3, 2009
Blockbuster’s stock just dropped 79% this afternoon after Bloomberg published a story that said the company hired the firm Kirkland & Ellis “to evaluate restructuring options, including a possible pre-packaged bankruptcy.” Blockbuster says they’ve only hired the firm for “refinancing and capital raising initiatives,” and that they do not intend to file for bankruptcy.
The "Real" Reason Circuit City Went Under
By February 26, 2009
After fifteen minutes of being ignored by Circuit City executives, Pliego decided to try to find the documents himself. Frustrated, Pliego ultimately tapped acting Chief Executive James A. Marcum on the shoulder and told him he couldn’t find the financial statements he was looking for.
By February 10, 2009
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has announced a new website, financialstability.gov, to increase transparency in the financial stability program.
Our National Debt Has Outgrown The 'National Debt Clock' In NYC
By October 8, 2008
Now that we’ve hit double-digit trillions, the “National Debt” clock that’s been running constantly since 1989 in New York City’s midtown can no longer properly display the total. Brian Williams says they’ve had to temporarily adjust the display while they build a new one, slated to go up next year. We’re not sure anyone should be spending money on a fancy new hi-tech clock right now—maybe they should just hang a big chalk board, and hire an unemployed investment banker to write the new debt each day. See the video below.
By October 1, 2008
In one brain-melting two-minute clip, watch all the media frenzy, punditry, and cable-news excitement of the financial meltdown, courtesy of CNN’s own Rick “The Twitter Board Is Blowing Up!” Sanchez. [YouTube]
Leaks: Need ID And Social To Buy iPhone 3G?
By July 7, 2008
An Apple store insider has leaked to us what they say will be some limitations and barriers on buying the iPhone Apple and AT&T stores will apply to the new iPhone 3g that goes on sale this Friday:
CNN Goes Into Apparel Business With Headline T-Shirts
By April 30, 2008
Michael wrote in to point out that CNN has a weird new feature on its site—now you can proudly display your favorite, uh, headlines(?) on your body with their “CNN Shirt” service. It’s beta, naturally, and they pick the headlines you can choose from—so no “What drove dad who kept ‘house of horror’?” tee to shame your parents during the next family holiday. (That’s the current top headline on their home page.)
