What was once unthinkable is now almost routine for studio and network executives as they prepare contingency plans for programming after tragedies like the massacre in Newtown, Conn., write Brooks Barnes and Bill Carter. At USA Network, executives used keywords to search for terms like “children” and “killing” to find and postpone sensitive episodes. The incident has also sparked a discussion about hypocrisy within the entertainment business, which is seen as largely liberal and supportive of gun control but makes its bread and butter on violent images.
After four days of captivity, the NBC foreign correspondent Richard Engel and his crew were freed on Tuesday after their hostage-takers, loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad, ran into a rebel checkpoint and were attacked. Mr. Engel said he and his crew were not physically harmed, but they were blindfolded and their captors threatened them with mock executions.
Just a month after announcing the closure of two magazines, Lisa Gersh, the chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, will step down today. The company, which has struggled financially, is expected to refocus on its merchandising and licensing division.
As expected, Martha Nelson will take over as editor in chief at Time Inc., with oversight of the company’s magazines, including Time, People and Sports Illustrated. Ms. Nelson, who was Time Inc.’s editorial director, is the first woman to hold the position in the company’s 90 year history.
Instagram users have reacted loudly to the company’s new terms of service that allows it to use all images in advertising. The change was announced on Monday by Instagram’s new owners, Facebook, as the company struggles to find ways of monetizing the vast store of images on its servers.
Still claiming that it did nothing wrong, Penguin announced on Wednesday that it had settled with the Justice Department over allegations that it conspired with other publishers and with Apple to fix the price of eBooks. The company, owned by Pearson, said it made the decision because of its coming merger with Random House.
Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/the-breakfast-meeting-hollywood-meets-real-violence-and-anger-at-instagram/?partner=rss&emc=rss