MediaBizBuzz.com for January 28, 2008

Unwinding Their Positions?
Last week, if you weren't wearing SPF 100 sunscreen, YOU GOT BURNT. There was no hiding as financial markets were in a tailspin. Even Apple and Google (sign of the apocalypse?) nosedived. If you backpedaled last week, or Romney-ed, you were in good company with the MPAA, Nielsen, Rupert Murdoch, Vivendi, and IAC. But it wasn't all black: Qtrax launched as a sort of Vuze for music, Clear Channel passed FCC muster, Obama beat expectations, and the Red Carpet began to look like the New, new deadline for resolving the Writers Strike. This week? Pundits predict more Bernanke action to base points, NAPTE, earnings calls for Yahoo!, Google, and Amazon.  Resolved: If Google were a politician it wouldn't be Al Gore; it'd be Bill Clinton. The behemoth celebrates Data Protection Day today, even as the EU has privacy issues surrounding its proposed acquisition of DoubleClick.

Wireless Auction Begins: Less Traction than eBay?
Bids opened last Thursday for blocks along the 700 mHZ wireless highway. While the FCC isn't revealing names (but it is, numbers) -- you can watch the process here.  We're looking to two sources for coverage: The New York Times' BITS blog and the more hardcore RCR Wireless News. There's early speculation that the threat of a recession might depress the bidding.  Silicon Alley Insider offers a solid primer to the Auction. The fifth round begins today.

Lose Your Barings, Societe?
Soon after the world woke to the tumbling of Asia's Hang Seng, it introduced one Jerome Kerviel into its Gallery of Shame. The thirtysomething trader at Societe Generale was responsible for $7.2 billion in losses, that forced his bank to unload some $73.5 billion in securities. Did his actions trigger the week's stockmarket rollercoaster? Chicken or egg.

Meanwhile in DAVOS:
Good -- or mortifying - timing for the World Economic Forum to meet. Here's an artifact: Three years ago CNN exec Eason Jordan was pilloried in the Blogosophere for comments he made about journalists being targeted by troops in Iraq. The event was a closed shop back then. This year's event -- whose theme was "The Power of Collaborative Innovation"  -- has all its sessions are up on YouTube. While Bill Gates made some press over his comments on "Creative Capitalism," there was a great panel on the Future of Mobile Computing featuring the likes of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer, and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker. Re: Mobile, Schmidt's very bullish. (Bob Pittman? Not So Much.)

In/Out Box:
After a decade-long run at eBay, Meg Whitman confirmed her retirement and gave TechCrunch an exit interview. The LAT speculated that she'd be making a gubernatorial run for Ahnold's seat, but she quickly shot that down. As it stands Whitman's a Romney insider, perhaps a Cabinet position's in the offing for the billionaire? Speaking of eBay, Om Malik's none too happy with Whitman's successor John Donahue, since he reckons that Donahue's responsible for losses to its core auction business.
Silicon Alley Investor shouts down the NYT for its tepid forecast of "hundreds" of layoffs at Yahoo! It's putting the figure at 1,500-2,500.  Wired's Epicenter blog taps a handful of analysts to second-guess how the market will react to 4Q results by Yahoo!, Amazon, and Google due Wednesday through Friday, respectively. Nutshell: Yahoo!'s in for a long, hard slog before any turnaround; the markets want some guidance on Google's participation in both the Wireless Auction and its DoubleClick merger; Amazon: It's the economy, stupid.

Striking While It's Hot: With the DGA deal a week old, there's been some movement between the WGA and AMPTP. LA Weekly's Nikki Finke is cautiously optimistic, but her readers are less so. Amid talk that the Upfronts might be cancelled, it appears that there's momentum to clinch a deal in order to Save the Oscars.  That timing, end-February, coincides with cable's closing window to get back on track for any semblance of a summer season. Raise your hands if you want to see Mad Men!  With the TV season up in the air, Michael Eisner's deal to produce 50 ad-supported two-minute Webisodes for Robin Cook's August release of "Foreign Body" looks savvy. His Vuguru studio is hoping to repeat the success of Prom Queen with the twist: this book tie-in is a prequel to the novel, think print equivalent of Wes Anderson's Hotel Chevalier to his Darjeeling Limited.

Race Matters:
Between the days of the Democratic Iowa Caucus and South Carolina's primary, there's been much ado over Race. Beginning today Slate is launching a new publication which should have much to say on the matter, and then some.  New York Magazine's John Heilmann describes it as a black culture/politics magazine. The quality is expected to be stellar, as it's helmed by Harvard's eminence gris, Henry Louis Gates. And "Skip" doesn't do anything half-way.

Cornerback Sneak: A number of networks are counterprogramming the day of Superbowl XLII. Shrewd Oxygen's giving us a taste of their new reality show, Deion and Pilar: Primetime Love, during the halftime show, while Lifetime's rolling out original movies for its "Football-Free Movie Extravaganza." For those of us focused on The Game, er, the ads, TNS Media Intelligence has a twenty-year breakdown on Superbowl ad spend: $659 million. And get this: the top five advertisers have spent 36% of the total. Top five finishers: Anheuser Busch, Pepsico, General Motors, Time Warner, and Walt Disney.   Post-game? BusinessWeeknotes that niche social networks built around sports, like Bod Miller's Skispace.com, are growing like gangbusters.

Stephen Colbert's take on Immigracion got such a good response, we thought we'd double down. Here "John Fortune" explains the subprime crisis to you. Enjoy.