Cool mashup of old media, cutting-edge tech

AdAge reported today that some copies of the Sept. 18 PRINT edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine will contain a VIDEO PLAYER that will play an ad for CBS’s fall TV schedule. Pepsi is sharing in the sponsorship.

Super thin video player opens up new ad opportunitiesThe video player is so thin that it can be easily affixed to magazine copies that’ll be distributed only to subscribers in LA and New York (by focusing on prepaid customers those key markets, they can keep the technical costs down).

On one hand, the thought of literally forcing multimedia into a print product strikes me as bass ackward. But given the targeted audience and related buzz, CBS will no doubt get good bang for the buck.

Given the scarce distribution, I’ll bet copies of this issue will fetch a decent price on eBay.

In age of drive-bys, sage advice worth reading

Amid the sea of non-stop, quick-hit media criticism, I’ve always enjoyed Bob Wyman’s insights. Bob is a “member of the technical staff at Google” who is always thoughtful in his observations, most of which I’ve read over the years on the Online-News listserv.

Most recently, Bob’s insights are in a loooooooong two-part post titled “Five Key Reasons Why Newspapers are Failing … and Why They Don’t Get Talked About Much.” It’s loooooong and I don’t agree with everything in it, but it’s well worth the read.

I can’t do it justice with a summary, nor would that benefit anyone. But if you’re in the print-journalism business, I strongly encourage you to read it. Unless you’re a genius who has it all figured out, by the time you’re finished you should have a to-do list full of worthy challenges.

"Mad Men" is great, but it's no "Wire"

 With "Mad Men" returning for its third season, the media is all atwitter about how its "the best show on television." Perhaps. I sure like it.But I'm a strong proponent of "The Wire" as the "best show in television history." Yeah, I know, bold statement, blah, blah, blah.

But never has a show been so consistently smart and well-written -- with an intense expectation that its viewers be engaged. There's no casual watching "The Wire." It's complex plot lines required constant vigilance because the directors demanded the show's viewers pay attention. No flashbacks or cheap tricks for lazy viewers to catch up.

Watching "The Wire" was hard work, and perhaps why it never had huge ratings on HBO. Some say it was because of the mostly black cast, but I think that's being too simplistic.

The great folks at Paste magazine too are fans, and posted this list of "Five Classic Scenes from 'The Wire.' " My five would have a few different scenes but these offer a great sampling of the show's power, diversity and grace. The one included above features two of my favorite characters: Brother Mouzone, a Harper's reading hitman from New York; and Omar, a gay gangster who brazenly steals from other gangsters. It's sacrilegious that no "Wire" actor won an Emmy (only one was ever nominated) but it's near criminal given my belief Michael K. Williams' portrayal of Omar is among the greatest roles in TV history.

Update on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 9:08 PM by Logan Molen

This video below came out of nowhere but is absolutely brilliant. 

"The Wire" as a musical? Nah. .... really? 

It's not quite as smart as the original but seeing familiar faces poking fun at their very serious roles is something to applaud.

The Wire: The Musical with Michael Kenneth Williams from Michael Kenneth Williams