Here’s more information on “box top” premiums: from 1948 to 1957, one of the most popular was the Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb ring, an adjustable ring with a two-piece aluminum and plastic “bomb”. (Wait a minute! Cowboys and atomic bombs?)

If I had to choose my own favorite mail-in box top premium, it would be the miniature license plates from each state. They were one-sixth normal size, made of steel, and were exact detailed replicas of actual license plates from each state. During the same year the state license plates were released, the company also released 31 foreign license plates.

I remember those little license plates because I had one on the back of MY bike. With a baseball card attached by a clothespin to the wheel’s spokes, buzzing like a motorcycle as I peddled like crazy with my buddies, off we went into our world of imagination, armed with our prizes and ready to blaze new trails.

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to impose significant new regulations to open the cable television market to independent programmers and rival video services after determining that cable companies have become too dominant in the industry, senior commission officials said.The finding, under a law that gives the commission expanded powers over the cable television industry if it becomes too big, is expected to be announced this month. It is a major departure for the agency and the industry, which was deregulated by an act of Congress in 1996.

Officials say the finding could lead to more diverse programs; consumer groups say it could also lead to lower rates.

Heavily promoted by those groups and by the commission’s Republican chairman, Kevin J. Martin, the decision would be a notable exception to the broad deregulatory policies of the Bush administration. Officials in various agencies have relaxed industry regulations and have chosen not to challenge big corporate mergers.

“The finding will provide the commission with additional authority to assure that there is opportunity for additional voices,” Mr. Martin said Friday in an interview. “It is important that we continue to do all we can to make sure that consumers have more opportunities in terms of their programming and that people who have access to the platform assure there are diverse voices.”

The commission’s conclusion that the cable industry has grown too large will be used to justify a raft of new cable television rules and proposals. They include a cap that would prevent the nation’s largest cable company, Comcast Corporation, from growing, and would prevent other large cable companies, like Time Warner, from making any new large cable acquisitions.

The decision comes as Mr. Martin is about to formally announce his plan to relax a different media ownership rule. That rule has restricted a company from owning a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same community.

How dominant the cable industry is has been a matter of dispute. The largest cable companies say they are under increasing competition from the satellite and telephone companies. But commission officials and consumer groups say that the large cable companies dominate the marketplace. They cite as evidence the fact that cable rates have risen significantly faster than inflation.

Next week, Mr. Martin is expected to formally propose that the newspaper and broadcast cross-ownership restriction be relaxed in the nation’s largest cities if the television station is not one of the largest in the community. He has told officials that he hopes to complete action on that rule in December.

The cable finding suggests that Mr. Martin is not approaching the media ownership debate with a uniform deregulatory approach — as his predecessor did — but is instead taking a more nuanced approach and intervening in one market, cable television, even as he tries to loosen the rules for other media conglomerates.

In the cable proceeding, senior commission officials said that this month the agency would announce as part of its annual report on the state of the video services market that it has broad new regulatory authority over the cable industry under the so-called 70/70 rule of the Cable Communications Act of 1984.

Under that provision, the agency may adopt rules necessary to promote “diversity of information sources” once the commission concludes that cable television is available to at least 70 percent of American households, and at least 70 percent of those households actually subscribe to a cable service.

Officials and consumer groups said that the 70/70 cable television finding would provide the legal basis for the commission to adopt rules in the coming weeks and months aimed at increasing programming and reducing rates for consumers.

The consumer groups and networks that are independent of the cable companies have long maintained there is no adequate process for the commission to sort complaints when a cable company refuses to carry programs.

The commission is preparing to take steps to make it less expensive for rivals of the largest cable conglomerates to buy their programs — so that, for instance, a satellite company would find it less expensive to buy programs by the Turner Broadcasting System, a unit of Time Warner.

One of the proposals under consideration by the commission would force the largest cable networks to be offered to the rivals of the big cable companies on an individual, rather than packaged, basis. That proposal, known as “wholesale à la carte,” is vigorously opposed by the large cable companies.

The agency is also preparing to adopt a rule this month that would make it easier for independent programmers, which are often small operations, to lease access to cable channels.

WGAE expected to authorize a strike for news writers this Thursday; NABET/CWA contract still unresolvedWhile thousands of drama and comedy writers hit the picket lines in New York and Los Angeles this past week, 500 employees at CBS News represented by the Writers Guild of America East were preparing to take a strike vote of their own.

News writers for CBS News TV and radio operations in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles have been working without a contract since April 2005. Members overwhelmingly rejected the company’s contract proposal in November 2006.

On Thursday, Guild employees will vote on whether to authorize a strike, and WGA leadership predicted a landslide on that ballot, as well. An affirmative strike vote doesn’t mean that CBS News employees will strike — only that they authorize their leadership to call a strike.

“The news [programming] would be substantially diminished,” said Ann Toback, assistant executive director of the WGA East.

“These are skills that many [WGA members] have honed over years and years,” she added. “I do believe that in some instances, it might be very difficult for the company to get anything on the air.”

A labor stoppage on the news side could not come at a worse time for CBS, which, like ABC and NBC, will rely increasingly on its news division to fill schedule holes left by the WGA work stoppage on the entertainment side.

There is also a showdown brewing at ABC News, where the WGA represents about 200 people at ABC’s local and national bureaus in New York and Washington. WGA members at ABC News also have been working without a contract since 2005.

ABC News is also in the midst of contentious talks with the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians/Communications Workers of America (NABET/CWA), which represents 2,500 ABC/Disney employees across the country including camera operators and video editors.

The NABET/CWA contract expired in March and there were rumblings this past week of a job action by the unions, according to an ABC News source. A spokesperson said the company was unaware of any such plans, but ABC “is prepared for any contingency.”

There are several issues for CBS News writers, but the thorniest are the company’s proposals to withhold retroactive pay and implement a two-tiered wage package that puts television and network radio members on one pay scale and local radio members on a lower scale.

Retroactive pay is significant because WGA members are going on two-plus years without a contract during which they have not seen a pay raise. The company proposed a 65-month contract with yearly increases of 2.2% and 1.48% for TV and network radio workers and local radio workers, respectively.

CBS’ position on the two-tiered wage package is that it simply reflects the economic realities of the faltering radio market. CBS reported that third-quarter radio revenue fell 12% from $508.1 million to $445.7 million due to weak ad sales and divestitures of numerous stations.

WGA representatives have not met with ABC management since November 2006. The company, the WGA said, has refused to negotiate unless the WGA takes a proposal to exempt several writer/producer jobs at WABC New York from the Guild. Many of those producers, who also write news copy, actually want to have their jobs severed from union representation, according to an ABC News source.

The WGA filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board over ABC News’ refusal to negotiate on “permissive” issues unless the WGA agrees to the writer/producer exemptions. The union expects a decision from the NLRB in the next few weeks.

Many WGA news writers at ABC News — such as writers who pen intros for newsmagazines including 20/20 and Primetime — also have personal-services contracts with the company. That may make them harder to organize than the legions of WGA entertainment writers currently picketing network headquarters or even the WGA members at CBS News, who have become embittered by what members have characterized as a management that is dismissive of their basic concerns.

“We don’t want to walk out,” a CBS News writer said. “But it’s kind of insulting to work so hard and win awards and be asked to do more, and then not have a raise for three years when we know that executives are getting raises and big bonuses.”

According to the latest SEC filing, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves earned north of $20 million in salary and bonuses in 2006.

“That’s not to say he doesn’t deserve it,” the CBS News writer added. “He turned the network around. I’m not upset that he is getting money. I’m not upset that any of my managers are getting money. They all work very hard. What I’m upset about is that we also are working hard and they seem to think that we don’t deserve a raise. We’re not asking for the moon here. We’re asking for something that’s reasonable.”

It’s not even Thanksgiving, but the nation’s retailers, including Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us, are jump-starting holiday sales with big discounts and door buster specials starting Friday in what’s expected to be a lukewarm Christmas season. The sales blitz — which comes three weeks earlier than the usual debut the day after Thanksgiving — is great news for consumers. But the new strategy shows the nervousness of merchants. Amid a deepening housing slump and higher food and energy costs, stores see the need to pull in shoppers as early as possible.

“This is clearly a win-win situation for consumers,” said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC, a research company in Swampscott, Mass. But he added, “This isn’t good news for stores’ profits … It’s just more evidence that this is going to be a highly competitive season. Why would you start to drive traffic this early unless the retailing environment is not expected to be particularly strong?”

With December 25, about eight weeks away, the retail industry is struggling with shoppers’ eroding confidence amid higher daily living expenses and problems in credit availability. And while Wednesday’s move by the Federal Reserve to cut a key interest rate by a quarter-point will make it cheaper to borrow money, economists say it may be too late to help the holiday season.

Wachovia Capital Markets LLC analyst John D. Morris said another big problem is that so far there aren’t any must-haves this holiday season. A year ago at this time, shoppers were in toy stores looking for the hard-to-find T.M.X. Elmo from Fisher-Price.

“There is nothing out there,” said Morris. “And so the marketing itself becomes the message.”

While many stores, including KB Toys Inc. and Circuit City Stores Inc., say the holiday sales events set for this weekend were planned months in advance, Perkins said the early discounts don’t bode well for the industry’s profit picture.

Third-quarter earnings growth is now expected to decline by 3.6 percent, down from a 7 percent gain in July, according to Perkins. Fourth-quarter profits, so far, are slated to be up 5.9 percent, down from 10.9 percent as of July.

Major retailers like Target Corp. start to report their third-quarter results next week. In recent years, merchants have been pushing the holiday season earlier and earlier, dangling free shipping and discounts. But this year, the discounts — coming only a few days after Halloween — resemble the post-Thanksgiving day blitz, with special door busters and 50 percent discounts as generous as those usually found on Black Friday. The day is so named because it was traditionally when stores became profitable.

Wal-Mart, which already announced price cuts early this month, announced Wednesday it will offer five major holiday specials, including a $348 laptop computer, starting on Friday at 8 a.m. The other four specials will be kept secret until Thursday when shoppers can see them online, though they can not purchase them.

The discounts are being timed to the weekend’s launch of Wal-Mart’s new Christmas Shops.

On Friday, Toys “R” Us will be launching a two-day sale that will feature 100 discounted items. Door busters, which are available Friday from 5 p.m until closing and Saturday, 8 a.m. until noon, will include 50 percent price cuts on games, scooters and other items.

Circuit City, the nation’s second largest consumer electronics chain, is launching a sweepstakes marketing initiative, along with special deals on hot electronics. Meanwhile, KB Toys will offer price cuts on this year’s popular new holiday toys as well as last year’s items. This year’s toys include Mattel Inc.’s Fisher-Price’s Smart Cycle, reduced to $89.99 from $109.99; and Play Along’s Hannah Montana Secret Backstage closet, reduced to $24.99 from $37.99.

“This is definitely a preview of Thanksgiving,” said Geoffrey Webb, director of advertising and sales promotion at KB. “We heard this is going to be a competitive holiday so we are going to be right in the rings fighting it out.”

Since taking home the Oscar for “Training Day,” some fans have been
waiting for Denzel Washington to take another walk on the dark side. The
time has arrived with the widely anticipated film “American Gangster,”
where Washington plays Frank Lucas, a Harlem drug boss who raked in up
to $1 million a day selling heroin. “I wasn’t hesitant at all,”
Washington tells JET about taking another sinister role. “A good story is a
good story.” (Page 59) denzel-11-5-07-final.pdf

Academy Awards heavyweights such as George Clooney and Cate Blanchett were no match for another of Tyler Perry’s populist tales.

The Lionsgate release “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, a marital yarn whose ensemble cast includes Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott and writer-director Perry, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $21.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Perry’s flick came in well ahead of Clooney’s legal drama “Michael Clayton,” Blanchett’s historical pageant “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” and Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg’s crime saga “We Own the Night,” which all pulled in modest crowds.

“The Game Plan,” which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, was neck-and-neck with “Michael Clayton” and “We Own the Night” for second-place. Exact rankings awaited final studio numbers Monday.

Disney reported an $11.5 million haul for “The Game Plan,” Warner Bros. reported $11.01 million for “Michael Clayton” and Sony reported $11 million for “We Own the Night.”

Universal’s “The Golden Age,” a followup to 1998’s “Elizabeth,” was No. 6 with $6.2 million.

Despite the rush of movies featuring top stars, overall business continued to slide. Revenues were down for the fourth-straight weekend, with the top-12 films taking in $85.5 million, off 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Grudge 2″ and “The Departed” led the box office.

Though “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls” had a so-so opening earlier this year, “Why Did I Get Married?” joined his previous hits “Madea’s Family Reunion” and “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,” which also opened at No. 1.

“Why Did I Get Married?” follows the domestic trials of couples re-evaluating their relationships during an annual reunion.
“Tyler Perry is a mogul,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. “There is a built-in audience base for Tyler Perry’s movies, no matter what time of year, no matter what the subject matter.”

“Michael Clayton,” which went into nationwide release after opening in a handful of theaters a week earlier, stars Clooney as an attorney in moral crisis over a class-action lawsuit.

“We Own the Night” features Phoenix and Wahlberg in the story of a black-sheep brother who makes amends with his family of cops to take on Russian drug dealers.

In “The Golden Age,” Blanchett reprises her role as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth I as she faces a holy war with Spain.

The studios are counting on Oscar buzz for Blanchett and Clooney to keep “The Golden Age” and “Michael Clayton.”

“We think we really have a solid Oscar contender here, and we’re in for the long run,” said Dan Fellman, Warner’s head of distribution.

Such films tend to have more staying power, since they appeal to older moviegoers who do not necessarily rush out to see films over opening weekend.

“This is a very specific kind of film that isn’t going to launch in the marketplace the same as some of the other broad-based movies do,” said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. “This is a very discerning audience. There are a lot of films vying for that same adult audience, so we were pleased to get it launched.”

In limited release, the oddball romance “Lars and the Real Girl,” starring Ryan Gosling, took in a healthy $85,000 in seven theaters; “Sleuth,” with Michael Caine and Jude Law in an update of Caine and Laurence Olivier’s 1972 battle of wits, opened with $50,090 in nine theaters; and “Control” — a drama about Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, who killed himself at age 23, debuted strongly with $26,500 in one theater.

Race relations are taking a starring role in several new culturally-tinged series this fall. Fox’s “K-Ville,” ABC’s “Cavemen,” CBS’ “Cane,” and the CW’s “Aliens in America” and “Life Is Wild” couldn’t be more different in incorporating cultural flavor. “Cane” examines the criminal dealings of a loving Cuban family, while “Aliens in America” is a satirical look at the prejudice that greets the arrival of a Pakistani student in a small town. “Life Is Wild” follows a white family that moves to Africa.

And “Cavemen,” which premieres tonight, has been labeled by network President Stephen McPherson and ABC’s marketing department as a funny commentary about race relations with a “new minority group.”

In one respect, the new shows are different from series already on the air, such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” that take place in a “colorblind” world, in that they will confront race, cultural pride and conflict directly.

But with all five shows, it’s not a person of color who will be steering that vision — as with much of network television, the series have white male show runners.

The lack of minority prominence in the creative process of these new shows illustrates prime-time network TV’s continuing uneasiness with embracing diversity, even though some of the most popular series (”Lost,” “Heroes”) feature diverse ensemble casts, and two of TV’s most acclaimed series are run by people of color (Shonda Rhimes of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Silvio Horta of “Ugly Betty”).

And whether it signals just a coincidence or a setback in network television’s avowed commitment to reflecting multiculturalism in front of and behind the camera is uncertain. The forces behind all of the shows other than Fox’s “K-Ville,” particularly ABC, CBS and their affiliated studios, declined to address race in the new shows and forbade producers from answering questions.

“There’s just no upside for us to participate in that discussion,” said one executive. Another suggested that issues of creative control, ego and racial sensitivities made the topic more delicate.

Jonathan Lisco, the creator of “K-Ville,” a police drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, said: “There’s a real sensitivity about doing the topic of race a disservice. People really go on the defensive.”

The potential touchiness of that dynamic was demonstrated last summer at the national gathering of television critics during a news conference for “Cane,” which was attended by executive producers Cynthia Cidre and Jonathan Prince and the large cast, which includes Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo.

Cidre,who is Cuban, created the series and wrote the pilot, and Prince has been attached to the series from the first pitch meeting. Despite their seemingly equal partnership, it was Prince who dominated the session, even directing which panelist should answer the inquiries. (”Why don’t you start, Cynthia? Then Hector.”)

At the same gathering, the all-white executive producing team of “Cavemen” and the cast received a withering reception from reporters and critics who challenged them on their qualifications in writing about discrimination, particularly in creating a fictional minority group that seemed to be based on African American stereotypes. (The comedy stars three white actors under a ton of makeup.)

The race issue may be just one of the problems facing “Cavemen,” which has been plagued by creative difficulties. The network did not send tonight’s episode to critics.

“Cavemen’s” difficulties aside, does the absence of minority show runners on the new programs dilute the cultural truth in characters and stories?

“Good writers can always transcend their backgrounds, but we always believe that there’s an authenticity that comes into play when writers who have diverse backgrounds are writing those characters of diverse backgrounds,” said Kim Myers, director of diversity for the Writers Guild of America, West.

Lisco, who is white, said he understood the dilemma. “I get this question all the time,” he said. “Most of the time I’m writing about the human experience, and the race issue is not seminal to the story. When it is, I approach it with great respect.” He added that there were black members of the writing staff — one a writer’s assistant — who provide valuable input on story lines dealing with race.

Myers added that there most likely is a dearth of qualified minority show runners because of a lack of opportunities. Writers of color may get placed on shows as a “diversity” hire but encounter hurdles as they attempt to move up the ranks. A Writers Guild study released earlier this year found that, despite some advances by women and minority writers, white male scribes disproportionately dominate film and TV jobs in Hollywood. Minority writers accounted for fewer than 10% of employed television writers from 1999 to 2005.

To be sure, whites have often led minority-themed projects. The producers and director of last year’s “Dreamgirls,” about a black female singing group, were white. And Taylor Hackford directed “Ray,” the hit film about Ray Charles.

But for more than a decade, network television has had substantially more difficulty in grappling with reflecting an accurate picture of multiculturalism. The four major networks in 1999 were charged with largely excluding minorities from the prime-time schedule. Even though those networks vowed to increase opportunities for minorities, and hired executives to head up efforts to increase multiculturalism in front of and behind the camera, the networks’ reluctance to discuss the race-related series on ABC, CBS and the CW illustrates a continuing awkwardness with diversity.

“Ugly Betty,” “The Unit,” “K-Ville” and “Cane” are the only prime-time series on the four major networks (excluding the CW) that feature a performer of color in a central starring role. While most of the shows have at least one regular minority cast member, the performers are mostly in support of the main white characters. Many shows with ensemble casts (ABC’s “Big Shots,” Fox’s “Back to You”) feature predominantly white casts.

Myers said she looks forward to the day when defensiveness does not surround the subject of race on television. “I just wish there could be more honest dialogue and less finger-pointing. I hope we can find a way to make the issue more open and raise consciousness.”

Syndication One announced today plans to expand its programming beginning with two weekday morning shows hosted by comedian Rickey Smiley and gospel vocalist Yolanda Adams. Syndication One, (jointly operated by Radio One, Inc. and REACH Media Inc.) said it’s making changes in an effort to include established talent that complement FM radio stations and music based programming.

Contrary to recent reports in some trade media outlets, Syndication One is not ceasing operations. Officials at the 10-month-old division said that while it is making modifications to its lineup, there was never any discussion about terminating its programming. “The Al Sharpton Show, Keeping It Real,” which was rumored to be on the block, will continue to be one of the network’s weekday offerings.

“The 2 Live Stews,” Doug and Ryan Stewart, will end their run with Syndication One in December. The pair has been signed by TV One to host the second season of the weekly show, “Black Men Revealed,” beginning the first quarter of next year. “The Warren Ballentine Show,” will end its run with Syndication One at the end of the year.

“We’re excited to be bringing additional creative and entertaining programming to the urban radio market place,” stated Alfred Liggins, President and CEO of Radio One. “Rickey Smiley and Yolanda Adams are proven talent that can be a morning show cornerstone for key stations.”

Popular comedian Rickey Smiley, who has already established rating success on Dallas’s KBFB 97.9 The Beat, a Radio One, Inc. station, has generated a number of inquiries that have prompted syndication opportunities. “The Rickey Smiley Morning Show” has already been added on WHHL-FM in St. Louis and WFXA-FM in Augusta.

Grammy award winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams has developed an inviting morning show with a mix of praise and inspiration launched on Houston’s KROI Praise 92.1 FM. “The Yolanda Adams Show” is syndicated to twelve markets, including Praise 97.5 WPZE-FM in Atlanta, 94.1 WXEZ-FM in Norfolk and Praise 103.9 WPPZ-FM in Philadelphia.

indy_gala_notice.pdf
The Indianapolis Offi ce of The United Negro College Fund
is pleased to announce
An Evening of Stars® Gala
Friday, November 30, 2007
6:00 p.m. - Silent Auction and Cocktail Reception
7:00 p.m. - Dinner and Entertainment
Featured Performance by
former lead Gap Band singer
Charlie Wilson
The Indianapolis Marriott Downtown
350 West Maryland Street

Date: Wednesday, Novermber, 6 2007
Time: 5:30pm - Until

Come greet, meet, party,
eat, and be served by the
Men of Alpha Phi Alpha at
the Cosmo Knights Club…
3338 North Illinois Street

Admission: Free
Food: Free
Live DJ & Karaoke
Door Prizes
ALL DONATED TIPS WILL GO TOWARD
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS TO LOCAL HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS ATTENDING COLLEGE
AFTER GRADUATION.