Names You Need to Know In 2011: Comcast’s Steve Burke (Forbes)

...He’s months away from redefining what can – or can’t – be done when you marry the pipes of the country’s largest cable system with the offerings of a content giant behind shows like 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser and The Real Housewives franchise. In his new position, Burke has the opportunity to (re)shape the entertainment landscape, making pivotal decisions on topics ranging from retransmission consent to video-on-demand to the business of online viewing.

Yes, it's yet another list from Forbes. This one is "Names You Need to Know in 2011." But this quick summary of Steve Burke's household-name-worthiness is right on target -- I'm with the author in thinking we'll be hearing his name constantly next year.

Read the full article here.

The Vanity Fair 100 | The New Establishment 2010 (Vanity Fair)

This year Vanity Fair anoints [Mark Zuckerberg} as our new Caesar. He rules from the imperial capital of Palo Alto, California, the Rome of our nascent millennium. In this, the 16th annual ranking of the 100 most influential people of the Information Age, V.F. has also heaped some new honors on that other prince of Palo Alto, Steve Jobs, now that his Apple is worth even more than those great conquerors Google and Microsoft.

I can't say I'm surprised to see Zuckerberg and Jobs at the top of the list, However, if I had my druthers, their order would be reversed - I love Apple and am just lukewarm on Facebook - but since this isn't my list, who am I to argue? To whet your whistle, here's where just a few of the many industry's folks landed on the list:

# 4 - Rupert Murdoch - News Corp.
#12 - Brad Bird, Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton - Pixar/Disney
#20 - Johnny Depp
#29 - Jon Stewart
#55 - Ryan Murphy
#75 - Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
#81 - Seth MacFarlane
#92 - Harvey & Bob Weinstein
#93 - Nikki Finke

See the full list here.

WGAW, Consumer Groups Warn of Comcast-NBCU 'Behemoth' (The Wrap)

Warning that the Comcast-NBCU combination creates a “behemoth,” [the WGA's letter] claimed, “The merged entity will exert a degree of market power unrivaled in our nation’s media history.” ...
The union pointed to Comcast’s previous citing as a benefit of the deal an ability “to ameliorate the negotiation friction” that has made it difficult to obtain content.

“The ‘negotiation friction’ between independent parties is what determines the fair market value of the content,” the union said. “Eliminating this friction will allow only one party to decide the value of content.” ...

Comments came in bulk on both sides of the issue. Indeed, while the WGAW expressed concern about the deal, the Directors Guild of America suggested the deal would produce jobs.

I might be wrong, but I think this is a disaster waiting to happen. AOL-Time Warner, anyone?

Read the full article here.