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PROFNET WIRE: ENTERTAINMENT & LIVING: A la Carte Cable PricingDec. 5, 2005 _________ ROUND-UPS A la Carte Pricing for Cable, Satellite (5 experts) _____ LEADS 1. Behavior: Managing Family Stress During the Holidays 2. Entertainment: 25th Anniversary of John Lennon's Death 3. Entertainment: The 'King Kong' Myth 4. Family Issues: Family Business and the Holidays 5. Food: Perfect Coffee and Dessert Pairings 6. Food: Whole Grains and the Holidays 7. Leisure: Capturing Digital Memories During the Holidays 8. Leisure: Affluent Families are Turning to Destination Clubs 9. Living: Playing the Gracious Holiday Host 10. Living: Holiday Survival Skills 11. Parenting: Unmasking Santa -- When Do You Break the Myth? 12. Religion: How Interfaith Families Celebrate Two Holidays 13. Religion: The Beauty and History of Chanukah 14. Shopping: 'Bluffy' -- The New 'Bling' 15. Shopping: Chemistry, Science Can Inspire Great Holiday Gifts 16. Sports: Sleep Has Extreme Effect on Performance Following are experts who can discuss the FCC's endorsement of "a la carte" pricing for cable and satellite television. [This round-up originated with a focus on Sen. John McCain's proposal to allow cable and satellite subscribers to choose their own channels, as opposed to being forced to pick an existing package.] To view the full round-up: http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicI D=3483 **1. ADAM THIERER, former director of telecommunication studies at the CATO INSTITUTE: "Mandatory a la carte regulation would have potentially devastating implications for the cable industry and consumers alike. Consider the technology upgrades that would be necessary to make a la carte a reality. An 'addressable converter box' would need to be installed in each home to ensure that channel selections could be properly scrambled if they were not selected by the consumer. Everyone will need a set-top box under an a la carte system, and that means higher costs for many households, since most currently do not have such boxes." News Contact: Evans Pierre, [email protected] (12/2/05) **2. FRITZ J. MESSERE, professor and chair of political science at SUNY OSWEGO: "The latest FCC flip-flop is certain to stir up a hornet's nest in the halls of the National Cable Television Association. Just when Kyle McSlarrow thought he had senators convinced that a la carte pricing would ruin America's cable industry, a new FCC chairman says that the commission previously got it wrong -- a la carte pricing can work. This latest turn of events must be a real shock for an industry that had convinced Congress and the FCC that it should be free of regulation. The real issue may hinge on what consumers say when they find out what the true prices of ESPN and popular services would be if separated on their cable bills." News Contact: Tim Nekritz, [email protected] Phone: +1-315-312-2265 (12/2/05) **3. MIRIAM A. SMITH, associate professor of broadcast and electronic communication arts at SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY, is an expert on business, management and ethics in electronic media: "Smart marketers deliver what the customer wants. A wise cable operator will find a means of delivering a 'family-friendly' package before forced to do so by regulators. A study of the economics behind tiers and a la carte suggests that tiers are economic winners, so I would vote for tiers. But instead of fighting the feds, cable should review programming options and put together their own 'family' tier. It could turn out to be a very profitable tier." News Contact: Matt Itelson, [email protected] Phone: +1-415-338-1743 (12/2/05) **4. DICK GOETTLE, finance and economics lecturer at the NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY College of Business Administration: "The cable and TV industry already employ so-called mixed bundling pricing. In addition to offering several basic service options, consumers can subscribe to 'premium' channels individually or in packages of two or more. This is mixed bundling -- like McDonald's and Wendy's offering meal components and 'combos.' Mixed bundling is a way for firms to create and price products so as to increase profits when customers have heterogeneous and negatively correlated demands; firms cannot price-discriminate, and marginal production costs are different and significant. All these conditions are met in the cable-satellite TV industry." News Contact: Dennis O'Connor, [email protected] Phone: +1-508-650-0100 (12/2/05) **5. ENDA FLYNN, solution partner at BUSINESSEDGE SOLUTIONS INC.: "A la carte offerings will happen. IPTV enables personalized service, which consumers demand. Traditional channels will be around for a long time, as consumers are driven by shows; however, there is relativity between shows and networks. CBS is hot now and drives upfront market share on new shows, like NBC did not too long ago with 'must-see TV.' The advertising model is starting to crack; consumers are okay with advertising, provided the ads are relative to them (e.g., showing car ads to people in the market for cars.) The Holy Grail will be reached when providers understand customers, present the right show and the right ads, and charge the right premium." News Contact: Patrick Mullen, [email protected] Phone: +1-732-213-3937 (12/2/05) _____ LEADS **1. BEHAVIOR: MANAGING FAMILY STRESS DURING THE HOLIDAYS. BEVERLY HUBBLE TAUKE, family counselor and author of "Overcoming the Sins of the Family": "Some people experience depression or panic attacks during the holidays, dreading time to be spent with relatives who expect grown adults to fall into old family-generated roles. The good news is you can make constructive changes before the holidays to avoid stress at family reunions caused by the replaying of old roles. Making constructive shifts to your own perceived family role and not trying to force your needs on others is a good start. You can also reduce anxiety with the 'less is more' approach to reunions of two or three days instead of a week." News Contact: Gail Rubin, [email protected] Phone: +1-505-265-7215 (12/2/05) **2. ENTERTAINMENT: 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF JOHN LENNON'S DEATH IS DEC. 8. JOHN STEVENS, associate professor of songwriting at the BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC, has been teaching the class "The Music of John Lennon" for 25 years. The course studies Lennon's work with musical and lyric analysis, his poetry and art, his interest in surrealist and non-musical events, and the influences of Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono: "Lennon was a very brave person. He was being honest and real, and people really connected with that. It wasn't just a showbiz illusion. Lennon's lesson was carpe diem. If you have an idea and believe in it, do it. If you want to make your existence extraordinary, all you have to do is imagine." Stevens also authored the book "The Songs of John Lennon: The Beatles Years," which explores Lennon's songwriting genius through 25 Beatles-era hits. Stevens explains Lennon's intuitive talent from a technical point of view, and shows how he fashioned songs that were politically relevant in the 1960s, yet remain timeless. News Contact: Margot Edwards, [email protected] Phone: +1-617-747-2004 (12/2/05) **3. ENTERTAINMENT: THE 'KING KONG' MYTH. DAVID GREVEN, assistant professor of English at CONNECTICUT COLLEGE: "King Kong is a welter of cultural anxieties -- racial, gendered and sexual. What is most interesting about him as a myth is how intensely an audience sympathizes with him despite his status as a representation of the monstrous, the non-human. Ultimately, what he represents is the repressed animal nature that human beings have always desperately attempted to extinguish through culture, society and civilization. We root for him because he brings us back to ourselves, reminds us of our brute and elemental nature, helps us to connect to the wild energies we have spent our lives forgetting, ignoring and taming." News Contact: Eric Cardenas, [email protected] Phone: +1-860-439-2508 (12/2/05) **4. FAMILY ISSUES: FAMILY BUSINESS AND THE HOLIDAYS. THOMAS D. DAVIDOW, ED.D., founder of THOMAS D. DAVIDOW & ASSOCIATES, a psychologist and a clinically trained organizational dynamics expert, has counseled more than 250 family businesses over the past 20 years: "The biggest 'season' of family business problems is now, during the holidays, when families gather together. It can be combustible. When the whole family gets together, things get said that shouldn't be said, fingers get pointed, blame is everywhere -- the holidays can be very dangerous." Davidow can give tips on steps that can be taken to minimize problems and to maximize both family and business successes. News Contact: Kelly Kass, [email protected] Phone: +1-617-254- 9500 (12/2/05) **5. FOOD: PERFECT COFFEE AND DESSERT PAIRINGS. RICH BERTAGNA, master roaster at MILLSTONE COFFEE: "Just like Merlot is the traditional partner to a holiday turkey, desserts are best paired with specific types of coffee. As a rule, the heavier the dessert, the heavier the coffee roast should be. The level of roast dictates the intensity of each coffee and helps determine what foods it will pair with best. Light roasts, because of their delicate flavors, go well with light desserts, while rich sweets are best answered by dark coffees that can stand up to the flavor." News Contact: Sean Lashley, [email protected] Phone: +1-314-982-1746 (12/2/05) **6. FOOD: WHOLE GRAINS AND THE HOLIDAYS. K. DUN GIFFORD, president of OLDWAYS and lead founder of the WHOLE GRAINS COUNCIL: "Whole grains have been shown to reduce the risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Also, eating whole grains makes you feel full for longer, so you are less likely to overindulge on a third slice of grandmother's pumpkin pie." The Whole Grains Council can provide recipes that incorporate whole grains, like Stuffing with Spinach and Spelt, Apple Cranberry Pie or Whole Wheat Pancakes. News Contact: Courtney Davis, [email protected] Phone: +1-617- 896-4888 Web site: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/ (12/2/05) **7. LEISURE: CAPTURING DIGITAL MEMORIES DURING THE HOLIDAYS. ROBERT HANON, assistant academic director for interactive media design at THE ART INSTITUTE, has some simple steps even the occasional computer user can use to incorporate photos, text and creative graphics into a CD that will help your memories last a lifetime: "While Web sites provide a great storage solution for your photos, creating a CD is a fun and easy way to make the memories last. There are many easy tricks to instantly correct common photo problems and transform ordinary photos into personal masterpieces you'll treasure on CD." News Contact: Catherine Guyot, [email protected] Phone: +1-858-598-1473 (12/2/05) **8. LEISURE: MORE AFFLUENT FAMILIES ARE TURNING TO DESTINATION CLUBS. SCOTT ANDERSON, CEO of CLUB HOLDINGS, LLC (Dream Catcher Retreats): "Explosive growth in the resort industry is anticipated over the next 20 years as baby boomers reach their peak earning years and they enjoy more leisure time and disposable income. This confluence of demographic and economic trends will create a growing market for destination club development, where instead of purchasing a vacation home, the affluent will become 'members' of exclusive clubs that offer them the use of many vacation homes for less than the cost of purchasing one. The destination club concept is a rapidly emerging niche in the fractional interest industry, differing from most forms of vacation ownership." News Contact: Peter Shankman, [email protected] Phone: +1- 212-366-1707 (12/2/05) **9. LIVING: PLAYING THE GRACIOUS HOLIDAY HOST. JOEY ALTMAN, executive chef at BEAULIEU VINEYARDS (BV), can offer tips for Americans who are hosting holiday meals: "The holidays are officially upon us, and Americans are feeling the pressure to play the role of gracious host. A recent national survey conducted by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines confirms that the holidays will be a busy time for entertaining -- 79 percent of Americans say they will be hosting a holiday meal this season. Nine out of 10 holiday hosts know that serving enjoyable food and wines is important to the success of the meal, and more than half of Americans will indeed be serving wine at their holiday table this season." News Contact: Andrea Werbel Schultz, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-372-7630 (12/2/05) **10. LIVING: HOLIDAY SURVIVAL SKILLS. RICHARD H. AXELROD, principal at THE AXELROD GROUP, INC., is the author of "You Don't Have to Do It Alone," which offers many tips for transforming work skills into practical skills you can use anywhere so you can accomplish more than ever before. Axelrod and his colleagues (all involved parents, party planners and cooks) have applied their business smarts to the needs of working parents to show how daily work skills can be turned into holiday survival skills: "Involving others is paramount. It's never too late to ask for help or delegate work -- even in the crush of holiday demands." Mary Ellen Gross, [email protected] Phone: +1- 858-456-0707 (12/2/05) **11. PARENTING: UNMASKING SANTA -- WHEN DO YOU BREAK THE MYTH? DR. ROBERT R. BUTTERWORTH, psychologist at INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA ASSOCIATES: "Though parents may want to sustain the magic for as long as possible, children who still believe in Santa Claus after the age of eight may be made fun of by their peers. What's more, the longer parents leave it, the more likely children are to find out in a cruel fashion from friends. The best way to break the news is to help the child see that the premise of Santa Claus isn't logical, while underscoring his role as a symbol of the spirit of Christmas." Butterworth: [email protected] Phone: +1-213-487-7339 (12/2/05) **12. RELIGION: HOW INTERFAITH FAMILIES CELEBRATE BOTH CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH. EDMUND CASE, president and publisher of INTERFAITHFAMILY.COM, a nonprofit advocacy and membership association that works to encourage Jewish choices: "Christmas and Hanukkah fall on the same day this year, only the third time in 100 years. That coincidence, along with last year's focus on 'Chrismukkah,' raises concerns about the blending of religious traditions, known as 'syncretism.' For the more than 1 million U.S. interfaith households, celebrating two holidays may be complicated logistically, but most will keep observances separate, respecting the traditions of each parent's religion." Case can discuss how interfaith families celebrate the two holidays. News Contact: Norman Birnbach, [email protected] Phone: +1-781-639-6701 (12/2/05) **13. RELIGION: THE BEAUTY AND HISTORY OF CHANUKAH. RABBI EPHRAIM Z. BUCHWALD, director of the NATIONAL JEWISH OUTREACH PROGRAM: "Each year, parents challenge themselves to share the beauty and history of an important Jewish holiday -- Chanukah -- amidst the lights and mass-marketed Christmas everywhere a child looks. This year, especially with Chanukah beginning on Dec. 25, we wanted to help parents make Chanukah very special and meaningful for their children." The National Jewish Outreach Program is offering a Chanukah Gift Guide 2005. Buchwald can discuss the items on the list, as well as provide tips for Jewish families looking to make Chanukah extra special this year. News Contact: Ilya Welfeld, [email protected] Phone: +1-201-439- 1010 (12/2/05) **14. SHOPPING: 'BLUFFY' -- THE NEW 'BLING.' MURAD "MOODY" EISSA, purchasing manager at BIDZ.COM: "We've all seen big, glitzy jewelry being sported by the rich and famous over the last couple of years, and now the stars' influence is hitting the mainstream in the form of 'bluff' jewelry. There's been a big upsurge in the sales of 'bluff' jewelry this season -- jewelry that is large, flashy and has the appearance of high value, but it really isn't expensive. 'Bluffy' should not be confused with CZs or glass jewels -- everything is authentic. This has become a common term in the jewelry sector -- buyers and sellers know what 'bluff' means. This bluff trend has assisted in driving sales over 40 percent this season." News Contact: James McCusker, [email protected] Phone: +1-203-682-8200 (12/2/05) **15. SHOPPING: CHEMISTRY AND SCIENCE CAN INSPIRE GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS. WILLIAM F. CARROLL, president of the AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, can discuss how chemistry and science can make an excellent gift: "The holidays are a time for gift giving and toy shopping. It is also a great opportunity to spend time with your children, capture their interest in science and demonstrate how important chemistry is to daily life." Carroll can show kids how to make an air rocket, a bubble, slime or a bouncing ball. News Contact: Charmayne Marsh, [email protected] Phone: +1-202-872-4445 Web site: http://www.chemistry.org/kids (12/2/05) **16. SPORTS: SLEEP HAS EXTREME EFFECT ON PERFORMANCE. DR. MARK ROSEKIND, president of ALERTNESS SOLUTIONS, was the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his work with astronauts on combating fatigue: "Sleep is so important that it could make the difference between winning a gold medal or settling for silver at the Olympic Games. The proper amount of sleep can boost performance as much as 30 percent; two hours less sleep than needed is the same as having a blood alcohol level of .05 when it comes to the effect on performance." Rosekind is working with Hilton Hotels to modify the sleep environments of 160 athlete dorm rooms at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. News Contact: Erin Portman, [email protected] Phone: +1-512-448-0502 (12/2/05) PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To submit query by e-mail: [email protected] To consult the ProfNet Database: http://www.profnet.com/ To submit query by fax: 631-348-7906 To submit query by phone: +1-800-PROFNET To share a thought on the ProfNet Wire: [email protected] PRNewswire -- Dec. 05 ProfNet |