Can the Bulging Boomer Demographic Save Network TV From Itself?

Is this the new face of network TV?

Perhaps not yet. But some demographers and marketers insist that, as the baby boomers age out of media's traditional target demographics -- taking their formidable wealth with them -- more magazines, TV shows and advertising campaigns will be forced to follow the money.

That means finding newer roles for older characters than the cranky grandfather or avuncular sidekick. It also means younger folks who assume their skateboarding, Grand Theft Auto-lovin' lifestyle is about to take over pop culture, may have to think again.

I pulled together an interesting take on all this for the Times' redesigned monthly periodical for older readers (old name: Seniority; new name: Life Times) which you can read here.

It leads with quotes from my favorite boomer of all time, Linda Ellerbee, whose way-cool Lucky Duck Productions now cranks out clever documentaries and incisive Nick News reports advancing ideas the mainstream media would never approach (I was probably the only black kid in the state of Indiana hooked on her groundbreaking late-night newscast with Lloyd Dobbins called NBC News Overnight.)

"Here we are, still the largest group of population, and television says it doesn’t want us as an audience because advertisers don’t want us," she said during a recent phone conversation. "And advertisers don’t want us because we’re too fixed in our ways....(but) I am 62 years old, I probably buy a different brand of toothpaste every time I go to the store. I am also more able to buy a Mercedes than a 25-year-old...theoretically.

"I celebrated turning 60 by hiking 200 miles across England. I’m still wearing blue jeans and sneakers, I’m still reading fashion magazines, I still have my eyes. We are inheriting from our parents more money than the world has seen. I take this very personally, because it's about me.”

What do you think? Wanna pick a fight with Linda?

Martha's Apprentice Wants You to Vote

Amid the flood of local "celebrities" who recorded PSAs urging their fellow Pinellas County residents to vote, was Apprentice: Martha Stewart winner Dawna Stone (you remember -- she was on the Apprentice spin-off nobody watched).

See it here. Makes me want to run out and make a steam-cooked vegetable plate with apricot/walnut dressing on the side for my local poll workers. Or not.

Times/Tribune Name Game Settled -- Until 2011, Anyways

Tribune's lead sentence on the settlement: "TAMPA - The parent company of the St. Petersburg Times will not be able to use the phrase “Tampa Bay Times” without restrictions for the next five years, according to a settlement between the owners of The Tampa Tribune and the Times."

Times' lead paragraphs on the settlement: "The Tampa Bay area's two largest newspapers said Tuesday they have settled their often acrimonious dispute over the right to use the name "Tampa Bay Times."

The St. Petersburg Times and its corporate parent, Times Publishing Co., will get restricted use of the name for the next five years and unlimited use thereafter."

Is it a surprise the two papers can't even agree on what the settlement really means?

Kidnapped Officially Dead

Futon Critic reports that NBC is pulling the plug on its big-ticket hostage drama Kidnapped  after moving it to Saturdays, where it was the lowest-rated show of the night. Repeats of L&O: Criminal Intent will air there starting Saturday, surprising no one.

I know viewers seem to hate hostage dramas as much as they hate heist dramas and people are up to here with serializng stories that advance at a snail's pace. But I was one of those 3-million or so hardy souls who stuck with the show -- okay, I Tivo-ed it mostly -- because I kinda dug the actors, the characters and the intrigue.

What I do know is this: hits such as 24, Seinfeld, Cheers and All in the Family all started as low-rated failures in their first season, rescued by tenacious fans and producers who figured out how to make their winning formulas work over time. If TV execs don't figure out how to give intriguing series more time to grow, we're gonna be stuck with a primetime studded with reality TV, game shows and police procedurals.

(As always, click on any photo to enlarge it)

Comments

[joe hillman]

i too enjoyed kidnapped. great actors, good writing. and like 24, a good hook at the end of each episode. it kept me guessing.

hopefully nbc will have the remaining episodes on its website.

[dreaming]

in these days of dying newspapers, has the poynter institute ever approachd media general about buying the tampa trib? it would seem to make sense from a biz standpoint, though some would say readers would lose from a lack of competition. i wouldnt be one. as it is, neither paper is any great shakes, but maybe combined they could resuscitate the genre locally...just an idea...mg is more of a tv company anyway. sure some deadwood at both papers might lose their jobs. but who really cares except them? then all the local clutter like tbt and orange and all the dreadful mg weekly papers could be streamlined and maybe the market would approve...you and walt belcher would have to fight it out for a job, but hes probably ready to retire for a good poynter financed buy out....

[Eric Deggans]

Newspapers' audience may be shrinking, but most still make profits, including the two newspapers in the Tampa Bay. And while its difficult to know what pressures may come to bear on a public media company these days, I don't see either company selling to the other for a long time.

As far as neither Tampa Bay area paper being any great shakes, I would suggest you go read newspapers in Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Diego, Houston and St. Louis and then take another look at the St. Pete Times. You will be astonished at how much better your local paper really is.

Kidnapped started strong, but it got boring in a hurry. The first episode warmed us up for what looked like a battle of wits between a clever kid and his ruthless captors, then it deteriorated into way too many mind-numbing sub-plots.

I don't often agree with you, but I'll give the SPT props for its reporting. I think it's a very biased paper, and I wish bill maxwell would be eaten by an alligator - but you're right about the quality compared to many other large circulation papers.

[Ida Wells]

Any way we can force the news divisions at the networks to hire Ellerbee back? I miss her presence and would trade any number of today's high profile on air talent for one Ellerbee.

[Laura Young]

What a refreshing (and true!) commentary from Linda Ellerbee (and yes, I do think you were probably an unusual child, Eric). Many of my friends turned 50 this year and they are pretty rockin' people. Cool trips, funky clothes, excellent taste in music. You know that old saying, life begins at 40. Well, I'm about to turn 44, with the fabulously greying hair to prove it, and I can tell you without reservation I am having the time of my life. Creative, happy, no holds barred, full steam ahead good times in this decade.
About time we started showing some respect for all the power and potential we tap into as we age.