Possibility that ABC parent Disney will replace Nightline with Da...
Possibility that ABC parent Disney will replace Nightline with David Letterman’s late night talk show is latest example of how consolidation of media industry is boosting mass entertainment at expense of serious journalism, said media critic Danny Schechter in…
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opening address of Global Entertainment and Media Summit in N.Y.C. March 2-3. Schechter recalled Disney’s assurances, shortly after its acquisition of ABC was announced in 1995, that company was committed to quality news programming. At time, Nightline “was milked for every ounce of credibility,” he said. Now, however, firm is interested only in profits, so lackluster money-makers like news are getting cold shoulder, Schechter said. He said he expected situation to worsen if recent appeals court decision against FCC ownership rules was left standing. Also at conference, rock musician Scooter Scudieri, self-described “First Rock Star” of Internet, told one conference panel that Web was big factor in eliminating his need for agents, managers and record companies. Scudieri said he sold his $8 discs and related items from his firstrockstar.com Web site and handles everything from promotion to fulfillment : “I'm not trying to sell a million records. I'm trying to sell 10,000. If I sell 10,000, I can make a living.”