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East Coast Calls It a Night for a West Coast Game

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Top Editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer Is Dismissed

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Advertising: At Ad Conference, Ron Burgundy and ‘Infobesity\'

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Nielsen to Measure Twitter Chatter About TV Shows

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For Shoppers, Next Level of Instant Gratification

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To Lift Hong Kong Park, Disney Deploys Iron Man

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2 Companies in Web Video Are Expected to Merge

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‘NewsHour\' Ex-Anchors to Cede Ownership

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SFX Entertainment Prices Its I.P.O. at $13 a Share

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Megyn Kelly Draws a Large, Older Audience on Fox News Show

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All Is Fair in Love and Twitter

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Comcast Hopes to Promote TV Shows in Twitter Deal

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Financial Times to Consolidate Print Editions

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Megyn Kelly Draws a Bigger, Younger Audience on Night 2 in Prime Time

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Blitzer Causes Stir With Comments on Health Care

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Advertising: Snacks for Soccer Stars, and Their Fans

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In Another Early Cancellation, CBS Sheds ‘We Are Men\'

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A Novel Prompts a Conversation About How We Use Technology

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DealBook: Tepid Opening for Promoter of Electronic Dance Music

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Alice Munro Wins Nobel Prize in Literature

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Advertising: For Journalists Who Seek Out Hidden Things, a More Visible Brand

For Journalists Who Seek Out Hidden Things, a More Visible Brand

A leading nonprofit organization in the field of investigative journalism is getting a free branding and advertising campaign, courtesy of a leading creative agency.

An ad by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners promoting the Center for Investigative Reporting includes a logo that mimics a censored document.

How did the organization, the Center for Investigative Reporting, manage to woo the agency - Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, part of the Omnicom Group - into producing the campaign? It took only a bit of investigative reporting to learn that the principals of the center and the agency share a connection that dates back almost three decades.

Phil Bronstein, executive chairman of the center, which is based in Berkeley, Calif., knew Jeff Goodby and Rich Silverstein, the co-chairmen of Goodby, Silverstein, from the days when the agency handled the account of the newspaper for which Mr. Bronstein was a reporter, The San Francisco Examiner.

The cheeky, innovative campaign created in the 1980s by the agency - then known as Goodby, Berlin & Silverstein - was acclaimed for its casting of the publisher, William Randolph Hearst III, in a leading role that invoked his grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, and “Citizen Kane.”

Mr. Bronstein, in a phone interview this week, recalled ruefully an ad in the campaign that promoted his reporting from the Philippines on the fall of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, which included his “getting into the presidential palace soon after the Marcoses had left.”

“The ad said, ‘While other reporters were going to press conferences, Phil Bronstein was going through Imelda's drawers,' ” Mr. Bronstein said. At the time, he added, he believed the ad was “trivializing my work,” but he eventually came to consider the campaign to be “very effective.”

Fast forward to about a year ago, after the center had merged with The Bay Citizen, a nonprofit news organization covering the San Francisco Bay Area. The center's leaders began considering ways to raise the organization's profile.

“Within the world of journalism, it's pretty reasonable to say people know what we do,” Mr. Bronstein said. But “as investigative reporting becomes more of an endangered species, it struck us that people, audiences, we want to reach should know us.”

That was reinforced in May, when The Bay Citizen and California Watch, which the center started as a separate entity in 2009, were both placed under the center's umbrella.

“We had a number of identities,” Mr. Bronstein said, adding, “None of us were brand experts, but even as journalists we came to the conclusion it was confusing.”

The center needs a strong brand personality, Mr. Bronstein said, as it continues working with commercial media outlets like CNN.

“Anderson Cooper was mentioning ‘the C.I.R.' 18 times” during a recent report, he added, “and who knows what the C.I.R. is?”

That goal is also important as the center pursues ventures that include The I Files, a channel on YouTube, and a pilot for a series for public radio stations in partnership with Public Radio Exchange, known as PRX, Mr. Bronstein said, adding, “We're exploring every opportunity we get to expand what we do.”

The idea for the campaign was suggested by “Broken Shield,” a series by California Watch that investigated problems at centers for the developmentally disabled. When reporters received documents they had requested from state officials, “the documents were entirely redacted,” Mr. Bronstein said, “not just the words but the margins.”

“Rich took that redaction notion,” he added, “to deliver the message that we are the antidote to redaction.”

The center's new logo looks like a redacted document, with everything unreadable except for five words: “the,” “center for,” “investigative” and “reporting.” The logo will appear in numerous places like the center's Web site, video clips and movie-style posters that promote the center's reporting.

For instance, a poster for “Broken Shield,” showing a hospital X-ray, reads: “In the disabled ward, no one can hear you scream. Certainly not the police. A CIR special report.”

The logo is meant to symbolize that “you have to go beyond that blacked-out material to find the truth,” Mr. Silverstein said in a separate phone interview.

“Newspapers and investigative reporting just can't go away,” he added. “They do so much, keeping society in check. What would we do without sources of real information?”

The work for the center marks a “return to our roots,” Mr. Silverstein said of himself and Mr. Goodby, for another reason in addition to the connection to The Examiner.

“Jeff was a reporter at The Boston Herald and I was an art director at Rolling Stone,” Mr. Silverstein said. “I remember watching the Watergate hearings live while pasting up Rolling Stone.”

The agency's work on the campaign was “a labor of love,” he added. “You can say hundreds of hours.”

“It's so nice to give something back,” Mr. Silverstein said. Moments later, he added, in a characteristic Groucho Marx-like aside, “I still want to sell potato chips and cars, by the way.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: October 10, 2013

Because of incorrect information provided by the Center for Investigative Reporting, an earlier version of this column referred incorrectly to the center's partner on a pilot for a radio series. Although the series is for public radio stations, it is not an NPR production; for distribution and production on the project, the center is working with Public Radio Exchange, known as PRX.

A version of this article appears in print on October 10, 2013, on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: For Journalists Who Seek Out Hidden Things, a More Visible Brand.

Strong Start for ‘American Horror Story'

Cable television demonstrated again Wednesday night that it can produce powerhouse drama that can match or exceed anything on network television â€" the latest example being the new season of the FX drama “American Horror Story.”

The premiere attracted the biggest audience in that show's history Wednesday, pulling in 5.54 million viewers, up 44 percent over the show's previous high of 3.85 million. In the financially crucial department of viewers between the ages of 18 and 49, the show topped everything on broadcast television Wednesday night except “Modern Family” on ABC. "American Horror Story'' was watched by 3.87 million viewers in that age group, up from its previous best of 2.04 million.

Arts, Briefly: BBC and Discovery Cut Back on Collaborations

BBC and Discovery Cut Back on Collaborations

The BBC and the Discovery Channel are essentially dissolving a relationship that dates to the 1990s and delivered natural history programs like “Blue Planet,” “Planet Earth” and “Life” to American viewers. Some of the BBC's wildlife documentaries and films will be co-produced by its cable channel BBC America instead of Discovery in the future, the British broadcaster said Wednesday. Discovery will continue to work with the BBC on some programs, but will also strike deals with other producers for science and natural history programs. The two collaborators have become more like competitors over the years. Discovery is increasingly an international brand, and it wants to have worldwide rights to its programming; meanwhile, the BBC wants to bolster its own branded channel in America. The two companies said they had mutually agreed to go their separate ways.

A version of this brief appears in print on October 11, 2013, on page C2 of the New York edition with the headline: BBC and Discovery Cut Back on Collaborations.

Suit Filed Against Warner Bros. in Screenplay Theft

LOS ANGELES - Warner Brothers responded harshly on Thursday to a legal complaint over the authorship of its Clint Eastwood baseball movie, “Trouble With the Curve.” But its opponents did not back down.

Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood in the 2012 movie, “Trouble With the Curve.” The film's authorship has been challenged.

In an unusually sharp response to a lawsuit filed here last week, the studio publicly called the accusations of script theft “reckless and false.”

The studio and several of its business partners also said they had overwhelming evidence that the original script was created more than 15 years ago, without foul play, by its credited author, a virtually unknown screenwriter named Randy Brown. But Gerard P. Fox, a lawyer for a plaintiff, instantly dismissed the supposed evidence as “manufactured.”

Warner's response was in part an attempt - probably futile - to stem Hollywood table talk and media fascination with a suit that charged wrongdoing by both the studio and Mr. Eastwood's Malpaso Productions, though Mr. Eastwood was not personally included among more than a dozen named defendants.

The suit portrays a web of duplicity unusual even for the film business, with shenanigans only slightly less colorful than those in Elmore Leonard's movieland caper “Get Shorty.”

Among other charges, it contends that Mr. Brown knew very little about baseball but was set up as a bogus screenwriter, while a script actually written by a hidden third party wound its way through talent agencies and low-level producers until it found its home on the big screen with Mr. Eastwood.

In Hollywood, where everyone is eager to claim credit for a great idea, charges of script theft are as common as cocktail receptions, and usually as fleeting. Few lawsuits ultimately prevail, partly because claimants often overvalue an idea's originality.

But the aggrieved keep trying. Just last week, James Cameron was granted dismissal of a suit - one of several similar actions against him - that claimed he had misappropriated material in creating “Avatar.” Two days earlier, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in a copyright case connected to the 1980 film “Raging Bull.”

The complaint against Warner, filed in the United States District Court in Los Angeles, names Malpaso, the United Talent Agency and a series of lesser-known film figures. Those include Robert Lorenz, who has long been Mr. Eastwood's producing partner, and who directed “Trouble With the Curve.”

The suit was filed by Ryan A. Brooks, a former college baseball star who was scouted by the pros, but suffered an injury. Instead, he became a film producer successful enough to share credit for “Inocente,” a documentary short that won an Oscar earlier this year.

In his complaint, Mr. Brooks said that Mr. Lorenz and others were engaged in a conspiracy to credit Mr. Brown, a cover-band drummer who had little experience as a professional writer, with a sophisticated script about baseball scouts and a failing father-daughter relationship.

In Mr. Brooks's version of events, “Trouble With the Curve” was actually written by Don Handfield, a former character actor, whom Mr. Brooks hired to write a script called “Omaha,” based heavily on Mr. Brooks's knowledge of college baseball.

According to the complaint, Mr. Brooks and Mr. Handfield researched baseball on trips together. They created a crusty old widower who was much like the aged scout portrayed by Mr. Eastwood in “Trouble With the Curve.” And they peppered their work with details - a clog-dancing scene, players who had to work as peanut vendors, a long, painful confrontation with a mirror - that also appeared in “Trouble.”

“Omaha” particularly focused on a father-daughter story that, in Mr. Brooks's account, was based on his mother's experience with her own estranged father. In “Trouble,” Mr. Eastwood plays an aging father who reconciles with a daughter played by Amy Adams.

“Trouble” opened to mixed reviews and modest ticket sales on Sept. 21, 2012. By then, Mr. Brooks and Mr. Handfield had parted in a business dispute, and Mr. Handfield had directed his own pet project, a football fantasy called “Touchback.”

A version of this article appears in print on October 11, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Fit for a Film: Suit Filed Against Warner Bros. in Screenplay Theft.

Advertising: For CVS Regulars, Ads Tailored Just to Them

For CVS Regulars, Ads Tailored Just to Them

ONCE, the letters in the name of the CVS drugstore chain stood for Consumer Value Store. Now, they could also stand for Customized Virtual Shopping.

An ad campaign called “What's your deal?,” is aimed at members of the ExtraCare loyalty program at CVS.

CVS Pharmacy is taking a big step forward in the increasingly popular realm of personalizing and selecting products for shoppers. The effort will offer customers who belong to the chain's ExtraCare loyalty program tailored versions of the weekly print circulars distributed through newspapers and in stores to an estimated 45 million people.

The initiative, under the rubric of myWeekly Ad, will use the data gathered by CVS from ExtraCare members' purchases to do things like suggest sale items based on previous purchases and make available in one place all ExtraCare savings and rewards offers.

Users will also be able to build digital shopping lists that can be personalized based on the CVS store at which they shop most often - down to the aisle in which each product can be found.

The myWeekly Ad platform will be available on desktop and laptop computers, tablets and mobile devices. A campaign, with an estimated budget of $7 million, will carry the theme “What's your deal?” and encourage customers to sign up online at cvs.com/myweeklyad.

MyWeekly Ad is emblematic of a trend as brick-and-mortar retailers seek to fend off growing competition from online retailers. That was underlined on Thursday as Amazon introduced the Luxury Beauty Store, a section of its Web site devoted to premium-price products in categories like hair care and fragrance.

For decades, “CVS and other retailers have distributed billions of circulars,” said Rob Price, chief marketing officer for the CVS Pharmacy division of CVS Caremark in Woonsocket, R.I., because “that's the best thinking on what we believed would excite and motivate customers.”

Today, technology enables retailers to customize offers to meet “customers' passion for relevance,” he added, “making shopping easier.”

The myWeekly Ad platform is bigger than previous efforts by CVS to personalize communications, Mr. Price said. “We think the advantages are dramatic from top to bottom in the customer experience and are going to speak for themselves.”

Also, personalized aspects of the ExtraCare program like custom coupons sent by e-mail and printed on sales receipts have conditioned members “to highly relevant offers coming to them,” he added.

Mr. Price said he was aware of a recent Internet meme about how multiple coupons can extend the receipts received by some ExtraCare members to Brobdingnagian lengths of five or six feet. Introducing a program that capitalizes on customization can be unpredictable, he acknowledged, and if there is an online reaction, CVS will respond “on Internet time; every week we'll refine and improve it.”

Prashant Malaviya, associate professor of marketing at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown, said, “Making recommendations to consumers sometimes comes across as being intrusive, and it has to be done with careful thought.”

In reaction to the myWeekly Ad campaign, Mr. Malaviya said: “My initial reaction is this sounds like a great idea. Customizing deals and promotions to your needs and your past behavior is something consumers have wanted.”

Most coupons and offers “are designed to get consumers to switch from one brand to another; if you buy Coke, you get a coupon for Pepsi,” he said, adding: “For me to be able to get a coupon to buy more Coke is a lot more relevant. I value more getting coupons for products I like, not for products I don't care for, which is wasting my time.”

The “What's your deal?” campaign, created by the agency Standard Time in Los Angeles, includes ads on television, in print, online and in social media. A commercial features three celebrities - Nick Cannon, George Hamilton and Joan Rivers - shopping among everyday customers at a CVS store.

Ads in print and on Facebook present consumer archetypes like a mother of two mischievous children who needs items like cleaning wipes and Excedrin Migraine pain reliever, and a lovelorn guy who needs Altoids, hair gel and a box of candy.

A goal of the campaign is to reach “a younger demographic that spends a lot of time online looking for deals,” said Michael Sharp, creative director at Standard Time, which is reflected by Mr. Cannon's role in the commercial.

“We hope people will say ‘What's your deal?' a lot to each other,” he said. “You can have a lot of fun with it, and the word ‘deal' seemed to fit nicely.”

“We're trying to get people to change their behavior,” Mr. Sharp said, by “going online for a much more personalized experience” rather than checking weekly circulars.

“The print circular is going to be around for a while, but eventually it's going to go away,” he added. “We have to prepare for the future.”

Mr. Price said paper circulars “still have a very important role, for reach,” but they were continuing to decline. “It's happening before our eyes.”

Other agencies working on the campaign include Mindshare, part of the GroupM division of WPP, and its social media unit, M80, and Matter Communications. Internal teams at CVS that handle tasks like creative work, public relations, social media and marketing also collaborated.

A version of this article appears in print on October 11, 2013, on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: For CVS Regulars, Ads Tailored Just to Them.