Certified by The Yale Book of Quotations and validated by the collective wisdom of hundreds of observers of the media zeitgeist (including us), with well over 3,000,000 YouTube Views in numerous US and foreign versions.

Yep, it's Don't Tase™ Me, Bro!

Certified by The Yale Book of Quotations and validated by the collective wisdom of hundreds of observers of the media zeitgeist (including us), with well over 3,000,000 YouTube Views in numerous US and foreign versions.

Yep, it's Don't Tase™ Me, Bro!

Talk to any number of studio or network executives, as well as a bunch of A-list writer/producers and they'll tell you the solution to the six-week old writer's strike is to toss Writer's Guild boss Patrick Verrone, his cronies and their counterparts at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Nick Counter and his crew out of the negotiating process.

On both sides, you hear, egos have run amok. The WGA's Verrone is painted as power-mad, more focused on expanding his empire to include reality and animation writers, then getting more residual cash for guild members, whether from DVDs or the digital world. Conversely, Counter is painted as equally egomaniacal, gunning to be the one who brought the Guild to its collective bargaining knees.

Talk to any number of studio or network executives, as well as a bunch of A-list writer/producers and they'll tell you the solution to the six-week old writer's strike is to toss Writer's Guild boss Patrick Verrone, his cronies and their counterparts at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers Nick Counter and his crew out of the negotiating process.

On both sides, you hear, egos have run amok. The WGA's Verrone is painted as power-mad, more focused on expanding his empire to include reality and animation writers, then getting more residual cash for guild members, whether from DVDs or the digital world. Conversely, Counter is painted as equally egomaniacal, gunning to be the one who brought the Guild to its collective bargaining knees.

Chris McCabe is account exec for the northeast region for a national restaurant chain's DMA-based franchisee ad coop - and in that capacity, helps plan broadcast and print advertising campaigns. He doesn't work much in the online space, since the client sees online stuff as a national, and not a DMA-based buy. However, he's also worked on the client side on a national basis, so he has a comprehensive view of what is happening in the consumer advertising space. I caught up with him by cell phone as he was relaxing in an undisclosed location with a lot more warmth that we have up here in Boston right now..part of our conversation follows.

Zulu About this internet thing - how is this affecting ad buys?

McCabe I pay attention from the consumer / user end, which is how I analyze the world on behalf of my client. The advertising accountability issue [ed. - figuring out ROI on ad spend] has been affected substantially by new digital media, all across the board, from Dell [who have started their own captive ad agency] to our restaurant DMA ad coop buyer.

Chris McCabe is account exec for the northeast region for a national restaurant chain's DMA-based franchisee ad coop - and in that capacity, helps plan broadcast and print advertising campaigns. He doesn't work much in the online space, since the client sees online stuff as a national, and not a DMA-based buy. However, he's also worked on the client side on a national basis, so he has a comprehensive view of what is happening in the consumer advertising space. I caught up with him by cell phone as he was relaxing in an undisclosed location with a lot more warmth that we have up here in Boston right now..part of our conversation follows.

Zulu About this internet thing - how is this affecting ad buys?

McCabe I pay attention from the consumer / user end, which is how I analyze the world on behalf of my client. The advertising accountability issue [ed. - figuring out ROI on ad spend] has been affected substantially by new digital media, all across the board, from Dell [who have started their own captive ad agency] to our restaurant DMA ad coop buyer.

The Federal Communications Commission under chairman Kevin Martin's leadership has announced it will limit the amount of homes one cable system operator can reach to 30 percent of the country. Given the current state of the industry, that's a good thing. This is Martin's way of slapping the wrists of an oligopoly that has had no problem gouging consumers on cable rates for years.

Cable giants such as Comcast and TimeWarner could have avoided the FCC caps had they been more flexible in offering plans for consumers to pay for the cable networks they want -- certainly there's some kind of a la carte formula that can work. This is where the business will eventually land anyway. Other means of distribution -- we're talking Internet here -- are already grooming a generation to pay only for what they want, when they want it. Cable operators need to get in front of this concept or eventually face extinction.

The Federal Communications Commission under chairman Kevin Martin's leadership has announced it will limit the amount of homes one cable system operator can reach to 30 percent of the country. Given the current state of the industry, that's a good thing. This is Martin's way of slapping the wrists of an oligopoly that has had no problem gouging consumers on cable rates for years.

Cable giants such as Comcast and TimeWarner could have avoided the FCC caps had they been more flexible in offering plans for consumers to pay for the cable networks they want -- certainly there's some kind of a la carte formula that can work. This is where the business will eventually land anyway. Other means of distribution -- we're talking Internet here -- are already grooming a generation to pay only for what they want, when they want it. Cable operators need to get in front of this concept or eventually face extinction.

A guest on The Charlie Rose Show Friday night, Bill Clinton was taking roundhouse punches at Barack Obama, while backstage, Bubba's advisers were attempting to get Rose's producers to cut the interview short. Indeed, that's what Rose was telling anybody who would listen in the interview's aftermath.

With Obama surging in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire and the inevitably of Hillary gaining the Democratic presidential nomination seriously in question, an obviously agitated Bill was out to put a verbal hit on his spouse's main rival. Claiming voting for Obama for the White House was "rolling the dice" with the country's future and comparing the Illinois Senator to "a gifted television commentator running for President," Clinton was playing the role of hit-man for his wife's campaign. Obviously, fearing that Clinton's attack-dog style could backfire, Clinton's handlers pushed to end Rose's conversation with Clinton early.

Fortunately, the show went on. Great TV.

A guest on The Charlie Rose Show Friday night, Bill Clinton was taking roundhouse punches at Barack Obama, while backstage, Bubba's advisers were attempting to get Rose's producers to cut the interview short. Indeed, that's what Rose was telling anybody who would listen in the interview's aftermath.

With Obama surging in polls in Iowa and New Hampshire and the inevitably of Hillary gaining the Democratic presidential nomination seriously in question, an obviously agitated Bill was out to put a verbal hit on his spouse's main rival. Claiming voting for Obama for the White House was "rolling the dice" with the country's future and comparing the Illinois Senator to "a gifted television commentator running for President," Clinton was playing the role of hit-man for his wife's campaign. Obviously, fearing that Clinton's attack-dog style could backfire, Clinton's handlers pushed to end Rose's conversation with Clinton early.

Fortunately, the show went on. Great TV.