Universal Said to Have Chosen U.S. Chief for EMI

By BEN SISARIO

The Universal Music Group has chosen its first major executive appointment since taking control of EMI, and it is a blow to Universal's biggest rival, Sony.

Steve Barnett, one of two chairmen of Columbia, which is owned by Sony, is in advanced negotiations with Universal to take over as chairman of EMI's labels in the United States, according to two people briefed on the talks who were not authorized to speak about them.

These talks are still in progress, these people said, although according to one of them, Mr. Barnett has already resigned from Sony. A Universal spokesman declined to comment, and a Columbia spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about Mr. Barnett.

At EMI, Mr. Barnett would most likely hold the title of chairman of the Capitol Records Group, with authority over EMI's American labels, including Capitol, Virgin and Blue Note.

Mr. Barnett, who start ed as an artist manager - among his clients were AC/DC - had been with Sony since he joined its Epic label in 1996. At Columbia, Mr. Barnett was head of operations, while Rob Stringer, the other chairman, was the label's top creative force.

Universal, the biggest of the major labels, paid $1.9 billion for EMI, whose many acts include the Beatles, Katy Perry and Norah Jones. But European regulators demanded that Universal sell about a third of EMI's holdings, including the majority of its assets in Europe and the worldwide rights to release music by some of the label's biggest acts, including Coldplay. That auction will be run by Goldman Sachs.

Mr. Barnett's move to EMI is the highest-level defection from Sony since Barry Weiss, who had been chairman of Sony's RCA/Jive group, joined Universal in early 2011 as its top-ranking executive on the East Coast. But Mr. Weiss was part of a trade, with Doug Morris, the former Universal executive, taking over Sony Music.

Underestimating Health Care Costs in Retirement

By BUCKS EDITORS

Paul Sullivan writes this week in his Wealth Matters column about an often-overlooked expense in retirement: the cost of health care. One study Paul mentions, by Nationwide Financial, found that people near retirement routinely overestimated the percent of health care costs covered by Medicare.

Financial experts told Paul that people nearing retirement should take a hard look at their retirement savings and consider whether those savings would be enough to pay for health services.

For those of you already retired, what has been your experience with health care costs? Have you found that Medicare and other insurance cover less of the expense than you expected? How have you dealt with that? And do you have advice for other Bucks readers?

Group Finds More Gay and Lesbian Characters on Television

By BRIAN STELTER

There are more gay and lesbian characters on network television this season than ever before, according to a study released Friday by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, a group that advocates for diversity in the media.

The study assessed the 97 scripted shows that are scheduled to premiere on the networks sometime during the season that started last month. It counted 31 regularly-appearing characters that identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, up from 19 last season and 23 two seasons ago.

ABC had more such characters (10) than any other network. CBS, which was criticized by GLAAD in the past, was praised this time for having four such characters.

Looking at all 701 regularly-appearing characters on the networks this season, GLAAD found that 55 percent are male and 78 percent are white. About 12 percent are African American, 4.7 percent are Asian and 4.1 percent are Latino. Only four of the characters, or 0.6 percent, have disabilities.

GLAAD also found an uptick in gay characters on major cable networks.

Herndon Graddick, the president of GLAAD, said in a statement: “This year's increase of LGBT characters on television reflects a cultural change in the way gay and lesbian people are seen in our society. More and more Americans have come to accept their LGBT family members, friends, coworkers, and peers, and as audiences tune into their favorite programs, they expect to see the same diversity of people they encounter in their daily lives.”

G.M.A.\'s Sam Champion to Wed Rubem Robierb

By BRIAN STELTER

Sam Champion, the weather anchor of ABC's “Good Morning America,” said Friday that he planned to marry his fiancé, Rubem Robierb, at the end of the year.

Mr. Champion first mentioned his plans in a New York Times story about another couple's wedding. It marked his first public statement about his sexuality.

Mr. Champion is the first co-host of a network morning television show to publicly identify as gay. He is expected to talk about his upcoming wedding on Monday's “G.M.A.”

In a statement on ABCNews.com, Mr. Champion said Friday, “We are thrilled and so excited and thank everyone for their good wishes.”

The acknowledgment of Mr. Champion's sexual orientation came a few months after Anderson Cooper, the CNN host, went public with his sexual orientation through an e-mail message to the blogger Andrew Sullivan. A number of other public figures have gone public w ith their relationships this year in seemingly casual ways, reflecting (and perhaps accelerating) public acceptance of gays and lesbians.

Mr. Champion's sexual orientation was no secret to the staff of “G.M.A.,” nor to his colleagues and competitors in the media industry. He exuberantly showed off his engagement ring to colleagues the day after becoming engaged and brought Mr. Robierb to parties with fellow co-hosts. But he didn't speak publicly about it.

That changed last weekend when Mr. Champion and Mr. Robierb attended the wedding of Thomas Roberts, an MSNBC anchor who is also gay. Jacob Bernstein wrote the following in a Sunday Styles section article about the wedding, published online on Friday afternoon:

Among the 170 or so guests at the reception was Sam Champion, the weather anchor at ABC's “Good Morning America.” He took a turn on the dance floor with his partner, the photographer Rubem Robierb.

“We're getting married N ew Year's Eve in Miami,” Mr. Champion said in the spirit of the moment.

Mr. Robierb corrected him: “We'll do it here officially, and then have a party in Miami.”

ABC followed up with a short story on its own Web site.

The Best Financial Move You Made for Your Special Needs Relative

By RON LIEBER

In this weekend's Your Money column, I turned to financial advisers and lawyers who were themselves parents to or siblings of people with special needs and asked them to offer basic advice for families who are getting started with their own financial planning in this area.

If you have a close family member with who is disabled, how does their advice square with your experience? And what is the best tip you'd offer to people who are starting the process?

New Zealand Prime Minister Makes Sales Pitch to Hollywood

October 5, 2012, 12:52 pm

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - There was John Key, the prime minister of New Zealand, looking resolute and serious in a dark suit and tie on Thursday afternoon, as he addressed a small group of similarly dark-suited members of the media in front of the Sheraton Universal hotel.

“Domestic stuff,” Lesley Hamilton, Mr. Key's press attaché, explained of what turned out to be a session with representatives of New Zealand's Fourth Estate.

Mr. Key is no stranger here. After all, his country has played host to some of Hollywood's biggest productions, including the New Zealand director Peter Jackson's upcoming “Hobbit” films from Warner Brothers and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Thursday found him about hal f-way through a 48-hour whirlwind tour that was aimed at luring more film and television productions to New Zealand.

With the tie off, and the television on-he was watching cable news recaps of the presidential debate in his room-Mr. Key, in a brief interview, said he didn't know yet which, if any, of Hollywood's studios might next produce a movie blockbuster in New Zealand. But the next round of New Zealand production might come from another medium, he suggested.

“We're under-served in television,” said Mr. Key.

The hunt for more Hollywood-based shows to go with his Hollywood-based movies might not endear Mr. Key to the California-based unions. Only in the last few days did organized labor groups in Hollywood breathe a sigh of relief, as California's governor, Jerry Brown, approved a two-year extension of the state's film tax-credit. The relatively modest credit is meant to keep film work from going to places like, say, New Zealand.

But those who govern the film business were paying attention to Mr. Key on Wednesday night. By his count, as many as 40 people met at the home of Jon Landau-whose business partner, James Cameron, has bought a massive homestead in New Zealand-to have dinner and talk about the prospects down under. Guests included top executives like Jeff Robinov of Warner, Jim Gianopulos of Fox and Alan Horn of Disney.

Mr. Cameron spoke of New Zealand's virtues, as did Mr. Key. Mr. Jackson appeared (as he often does) via video.
But will the soiree-and Mr. Key's state visits this week to the Warner, Disney and Sony lots-bear fruit?

“It's too early to say,” said Mr. Key.

Friday Reading: Letting Patients Read the Doctor\'s Notes

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.

Breakfast Meeting: A New Bin Laden Film in the Election Cycle, and Google Settles With Publishers

By BILL BRINK

Osama bin Laden has moved back into the election cycle. Brian Stelter reports in The Times that a film about the raid that killed bin Laden will be shown by the National Geographic Channel on Nov. 4, two days before the presidential election. Netflix will stream the film a day later. The development seems sure to revive the controversy over whether a dramatization of the 2011 raid so close to the voting could help President Obama's re-election chances. The raid is considered one of his signature achievements.

A competing bin Laden film, “Zero Dark Thirty,'' by Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, was originally scheduled for release before the election but producers decided last year to move it to Dec. 19 after much debate about whether it would help Mr. Obama. The new film, “Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden,” is being distributed by Harvey Weinstein; it is directed by John Stockwell, who previously directed “Into The Blue” and “Crazy/Beautiful.”

The fallout from Wednesday night's presidential debate reverberated around the news media Thursday. Jeremy W. Peters reports in The Times that the widespread perception that Mitt Romney prevailed over the president will breathe new life into coverage of the election. The political news cycle, he writes, “is being driven by a fixation on any sign of distress in either campaign. Until Wednesday night, that focus had been on the Romney campaign.''

In the meantime, the format of the debates came under renewed scrutiny amid widespread criticism of the moderator, Jim Lehrer, Brian Stelter writes. The new format called for six 15-minute conversations, each starting with a question and two-minute answers from each candidate, but both Mr. Romney and President Obama effectively trampled over the guidelines, leaving Mr. Lehrer to try to interject with phrases like “excuse me,'' “wait'' and “please.'' The debate, Mr. Stelter wr ites, drew more than 70 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Google and book publishers settled seven years of litigation, Claire Cain Miller reports, agreeing to a deal under which allow publishers can choose whether Google can digitize their books and journals. It was a small move forward as Google tries to compete with online e-book booksellers like Amazon. Google wants to digitize every book and make them all readable and searchable online. But the company still has a bigger roadblock ahead â€" it has yet to settle with a group of authors concerned that Google is infringing on copyright by digitizing books.