Sunday night has turned into an evening clogged with television programming. There's always been something on for the reality nuts ('Amazing Race,' 'Undercover Boss,' 'Celebrity Apprentice,' Whatever is on VH1), but recently there's also been an influx in other quality programming, including HBO's 'The Pacific' and Discovery's 'Life' miniseries, and the new season of one of my favorite shows AMC's 'Breaking Bad,'
With all those viewing choices to pick from I wouldn't blame anyone for not catching last night's episode of 'The Simpsons.' Honestly, you didn't miss much. Like most modern episodes of the series, this episode was an entertaining way to spend 30 min, with a few laughs, but suffering from weak plots that suffer even more thanks to odd story structure. That being said, last night's episode did feature a visit from First Lady Michelle Obama (which was cool until you find out she was actually voiced by actress Angela Bassett), and a sort of fun montage of famous Hollywood kissing scenes getting the Simpsons treatment as Bart receives CPR from his crush (don't ask).
You can check out the montage below. How many of these scenes do you recognize? Can you tell which ones were slightly altered?
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Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Post-Election, Newsweek Attempts Re-Branding
PRINT IS DEAD!!!
That’s what everyone is saying. Every passing week brings word of magazines folding and newspapers laying off staff members. Old standards are being forced to change their game plan; The New York Times has even started running ads on their front page Now, this week brought the announcement that weekly magazine Newsweek will be changing its strategy in order to appeal to a smaller audience: the rich.
In the spring Newsweek will begin to focus less on covering the straight news stories of the week, and focus more on opinion and analysis geared towards a wealthy demographic (after all, they are the only ones with the expendable income to subscribe to magazines). The overhaul includes a new design, a smaller size, and an increase in subscription rates.
Will this re-branding strategy work? Possibly. While appealing to the masses, Newsweek has always seemed like a second run issue of Time. They could benefit by distinguishing itself as the magazine that delves deeper into the issues of the week, while talking (and advertising) to their core audience of wealthy, educated news-junkies. Maybe then we will take them seriously as a source of expert opinion, and reward them with our hard earned money.
Or maybe not. I am not so sure Newsweek's web presence is aligned with their new strategy. Take a look at this new web-series produced by NTV (hat tip to Julie for bringing this to my attention):
“The District” is a satirical look at Obama’s administration. It is funny, but does it fit with the rest of Newsweek's new branding strategy. How serious are we supposed to take them? Do they want to be the New Yorker or the print version of Slate.com? They say their editorial position is geared toward "not just analysis and commentary, but an opinionated, prescriptive or offbeat take on events." I guess this web series falls into that category.
Regardless of their new image, during this brand transition, Newsweek should make sure their print strategy is aligned with their online strategy, and commit to the re-branding: be consistent with the presentation of the message, even if it means a decrease in sales for the first few months. If you say you are not going to cover traditional news anymore, don’t. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Does this re-branding make you more or less likely to read Newsweek? Is the reason you don't read it now because it is too broad, or is it because you get most of your news online (unless you're in a dentist's waiting room)?
Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience Read more!
That’s what everyone is saying. Every passing week brings word of magazines folding and newspapers laying off staff members. Old standards are being forced to change their game plan; The New York Times has even started running ads on their front page Now, this week brought the announcement that weekly magazine Newsweek will be changing its strategy in order to appeal to a smaller audience: the rich.
In the spring Newsweek will begin to focus less on covering the straight news stories of the week, and focus more on opinion and analysis geared towards a wealthy demographic (after all, they are the only ones with the expendable income to subscribe to magazines). The overhaul includes a new design, a smaller size, and an increase in subscription rates.
Will this re-branding strategy work? Possibly. While appealing to the masses, Newsweek has always seemed like a second run issue of Time. They could benefit by distinguishing itself as the magazine that delves deeper into the issues of the week, while talking (and advertising) to their core audience of wealthy, educated news-junkies. Maybe then we will take them seriously as a source of expert opinion, and reward them with our hard earned money.
Or maybe not. I am not so sure Newsweek's web presence is aligned with their new strategy. Take a look at this new web-series produced by NTV (hat tip to Julie for bringing this to my attention):
“The District” is a satirical look at Obama’s administration. It is funny, but does it fit with the rest of Newsweek's new branding strategy. How serious are we supposed to take them? Do they want to be the New Yorker or the print version of Slate.com? They say their editorial position is geared toward "not just analysis and commentary, but an opinionated, prescriptive or offbeat take on events." I guess this web series falls into that category.
Regardless of their new image, during this brand transition, Newsweek should make sure their print strategy is aligned with their online strategy, and commit to the re-branding: be consistent with the presentation of the message, even if it means a decrease in sales for the first few months. If you say you are not going to cover traditional news anymore, don’t. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Does this re-branding make you more or less likely to read Newsweek? Is the reason you don't read it now because it is too broad, or is it because you get most of your news online (unless you're in a dentist's waiting room)?
Newsweek Plans Makeover to Fit a Smaller Audience Read more!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A New Day in America, A New Website
Today was a historical day for many reasons: the swearing-in of President Barack Obama, the streaming of Bruce Springsteen's new album on NPR.org, the eve of the new season of "Lost," and the re-launching of a new website, whitehouse.gov:
At 12:01 PM Eastern the country welcomed their new presidential website. Not surprisingly, the theme of the site right now is "Change." One element the Obama administration hopes to change is transparency in communication, and using new media to achieve that.
At 12:01 PM Eastern the country welcomed their new presidential website. Not surprisingly, the theme of the site right now is "Change." One element the Obama administration hopes to change is transparency in communication, and using new media to achieve that.
Part of that plan is launching the whitehouse.gov blog. Today, in a post titled "Change is coming to whitehouse.gov," White House Director for New Media, Macon Phillips, lays out three important things the Obama administration hopes to achieve with their website:
- Better Communication - The site promises to provide timely, up-to-date information via e-mail alerts, RSS feeds, and a special "briefing room" section that will archive the presidents weekly addresses/podcasts, slideshows, executive orders, and nominations and appointments.
- Transparency - According to the site, "President Obama has committed to making his administration the most open and transparent in history." I'm slightly skeptical of this, but it's worth a shot. The site does provide detail on the president's agenda on nearly every type of policy position, as well as the previously mentioned orders, proclamations, and nominations.
- Participation - The administration hopes to use the Internet and new media to give a voice to anyone who wants. There is, of course, some restrictions. The blog isn't going to be installing the ability for comments any time soon, but they do plan on posting non-emergency legislation on the website for 5 days, allowing the public to view and make comments (through a specified comment form) before the President signs it,
I assume these elements of transparency on the Internet may change as the administration figures out what works and what does not, but this is a promising start. Throughout his campaign President Obama proved that he understood how to use new media for public relations and communications. It looks like his presidency is looking to continue that.
Corporations take note: If the most powerful man in the world believes it is important to communicate this way, what excuse do you have for not trying it?
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