The New York Times Company announced Wednesday that it had retained Evercore Partners to manage the sale of the New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe, Boston.com, The Worcester Telegram Gazette and Globe Direct, a direct-mail marketing company, Amy Chozick and Christine Haughney write. The Times Company paid $1.1 billion for The Globe in 1993, and for years the daily brought prestige and profits to the company, but the paper’s circulation has diminished by nearly half in the last decade. The Times Company is expected to seek a buyer in an auction, but there is no assurance that one will appear.
Robin Roberts made a television comeback unlike any other when she hosted “Good Morning America” for the first time since she left the show in August to battle a life-threatening illness, Brian Stelter reports. “Good Morning America” is the top-rated morning show, and Ms. Roberts is the most-liked host by a wide margin, so her return is good news for executives at ABC, who hope they can continue to beat NBC’s “Today” in the ratings. Ms. Roberts’s case is unusual — she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes, a rare blood disorder, and had to undergo a bone-marrow transplant. ABC made Ms. Roberts’s condition and treatment a part of the show, even while she was in the hospital recuperating from her transplant, which may be part of the reason that “Good Morning America” continued to beat “Today” over the last few months.
Madison Avenue may be anticipating the Oscars as much as Hollywood this year, Stuart Elliott explains. Advertisers are paying ABC the highest prices since 2008 for advertisements during the network’s broadcast of the awards, between $1.65 and $8 million for 30 seconds of airtime. A recent trend of advertisers treating the Oscars like the Super Bowl, as a platform for new ads that will elicit an audience response, seems to be intensifying, with brands like Chobani, Grey Poupon, Hyundai, Neutrogena and J.C. Penney planning to show new campaigns or new commercials in existing campaigns.
YouTube has officially become a hit maker, Ben Sisario reports. This week the Billboard Hot 100, the magazine’s 55-year-old singles chart, has incorporated YouTube plays into its formula. Baauer’s “Harlem Shake,” a bass-heavy hip-hop track with no lyrics beyond a few samples that has become the latest viral video sensation, will make its debut at No. 1 this week because of the change. “The notion that a song has to sell in order to be a hit feels a little two or three years ago to me,” Bill Werde, Billboard’s editorial director, said.
Rob Morrison, a news anchor for WCBS-TV in New York, resigned from his job on Wednesday after his weekend arrest on charges of choking his wife during a domestic dispute, Marc Santora reports. Mr. Morrison anchored the morning and noon news programs, and his wife, Ashley Morrison, works as a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Mr. Morrison’s decision came one day after he was arraigned and charged with strangulation, threatening and disorderly conduct. He was released on bail, but a Connecticut judge ordered him to stay at least 100 yards away from his wife, except at work.