the daily beast

For weeks, movie industry watchers have been commenting about the inadequacy of Disney's marketing campaign for John Carter, and ticket sales lived down to expectations. But the movie's not the Ishtar-level awfulness it's being made out to be.

Television viewers may have to start preparing for a Sunday night Fox lineup without The Simpsons. America's crassest cartoon family is fighting with the company over money and may end up moving out of the network's neighborhood if the tiff isn't settled.

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have finally agreed to merge. But with each business struggling, the new entity may be more like a marriage of two wounded media operations.

Howard Kurtz, arguably the most influential media reporter in the country, is leaving The Washington Post for Tina Brown's Daily Beast website in the latest high-profile defection from old media titan to new media upstart. Kurtz will cover the intersection of politics and media for the site.

As the talent drain at Newsweek continues, the nagging question remains: Who can turn this around? It won't be former New Yorker editor Tina Brown.