Over the past two days, the New York Times has provided some interesting coverage (analysis?) of the demise of Talk Magazine including this general piece in Saturday’s paper and this one in Sunday’s about Tina Brown’s instant spin:

Quote:

“There is nobody more boring than the undefeated,” Ms. Brown said jauntily three hours after the staff meeting. “Any great, long career has at least one flameout in it. I’m very proud of having taken the risk.” (etc., etc., etc.)

Go, girl.

It appears BusinessWeek is devoting a forest of paper to Apple coverage this week. Thanks to Doc for pointing me to it. (Okay, it’s official: I’ve now made my rookie blogger required first point to Doc Searls. Yet I hope never to lose my virginity on the other apparent rookie requirement: a long, long treatise systematically comparing blogging to the nature of brain surgery or butterfly collecting or Tibetan sand painting or whatever. I’ll leave that tail chasing to others.)

I promise: this is my last comment on the 2001 NFL football season (although I’ll probably post some Superbowl advertising comments). It’s bad when the only thing you’re cheering for during the playoffs is for a team to lose. But since that’s all I’m left with, I must say I enjoyed today’s Pittsburg victory. Thank god we don’t have to endure Super Bowl build-up hype focusing on Shannon Sharpe, Ray Lewis, and the ever-humble Coach Billick. (And thanks also that the Titans don’t have to play the Steelers and Ravens twice each next year as they get realligned to the new AFC South division.)

From a marketing standpoint, this year’s winner in the player spokesmen category has to be Campbell’s Chunky Soup. The brand will display Nike-like savvy when their two sets of QBs & Moms line up against each other next weekend in the NFC Championship Game. The folks at Campbells and Y&R have to be saying “umm, umm good” tonight.