Hype Stalker

A lesson in how to transition icons from the starting line-up to the bench (permanently) recently played out at CBS. About a year ago, news diva Dan Rather announced his retirement, followed by the expected farewell media tour and fawning television retrospectives of his long career. So, after all the hubbub about his retirement, you'd think he'd do the classy thing and walk away quietly into the night, right? Wrongo! Unfortunately, some divas become so used to the warmth of the spotlight and the smell of caked on make-up, that once the final curtain call comes, they don't know how to "turn it off." Such is the case with Danny boy. In a parting gesture of good will, CBS boss Les Moonves offered Rather a permanent desk at the tiffany network and an occasional correspondent spot on "60 Minutes," a show whose historic greatness Rather had little do with. Some even argue that Rather almost indelibly tainted the "60 Minutes" franchise with his short-lived "60 Minutes II" knock-off. Now Rather is whining about his short on-air time with "60 Minutes," just as the show's superstar (and rightful icon) Mike Wallace exits gracefully-a move Rather would do well to pay attention to. Fittingly, the one individual coming to Rather's rescue is none other than the brash Internet billionaire Mark Cuban. According to reports, Cuban is set to offer Rather a sweet deal to produce and appear in news and documentary packages on his HDNet venture. Considering Cuban's penchant for hanging over the shoulders of everyone he hires (have you seen the NBA Finals?), a pairing with Rather, who takes great pride in the illusion of autonomy, seems unlikely. On the other hand, if déclassé media figures attract one another, then this is a match made in heaven?

The newspaper world is scrambling to change or die (see "Adapt or Die," American Journalism Review, June 2006) as editors around the country are shoving camcorders into the hands of grizzled old writers accustomed to hiding behind their desks and publishers are tearing their hairplugs out trying to understand how a "blog" differs from a traditional newspaper column (hint: one actually relies on real world reporting). But amid the flurry, at least a couple of media entities are keeping their eyes on the ball. The Times of London has begun printing copies of their publication to be distributed in New York City, eschewing the web-only ethos of many UK players when it comes to drawing in new U.S. readers. In a similar move, UK's The Guardian will now be making PDFs available on their website so readers can print out their favorite British news briefs. So, while the Internet has most certainly changed the media game for all time, and websites will only increase in popularity, some very smart people are still betting a lot of cash on dead trees?blog that digerati.