Free Republic

The U.S. media industry is on the brink of a second downturn in a decade, one that could accelerate the divisions between fast-growing targeted advertising and traditional formats aimed at mass audiences. Since the last advertising recession following the Internet bust in 2000, the world's largest media companies have tried to adapt to deep technological changes, from the rise of high-speed Web use to the spread of portable digital media players like Apple's iPod. But a deteriorating U.S. housing market has raised fears of a domestic recession that could harm media segments vying for some $290 billion in U.S. advertising...

Proving that local owners are under the same pressure that big newspaper chains face, one of the new owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News told employees this morning the papers are set to report one of the worst declines in ad revenue in its history. Brian Tierney, publisher of both papers, issued a memo to employees outlining the tough environment facing newspapers after meeting with several union representatives yesterday. The guild and management are currently negotiating new contracts. In the memo, Tierney explained that advertising revenue for July and August was down compared to the same months last...

Veteran CBS journalist Mike Wallace described current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an "impressive fellow" following their meeting Tuesday in Tehran. "You'll find him an interesting man," the 88-year-old Wallace said. "I expected more of a firebrand. I don't think he has the slightest doubt about how he feels ... about the American administration and the Zionist state. He comes across as more rational than I had expected."