Will Bill Maher be Digitally Incorrect?

Our June 6 final exam study group digs in to the course material ... and eventually the pizza. This was the last SI group led by the awesomely talented Kate Haltrom, who is transferring.

Today's medianote is based upon a National Public Radio story about television comedian Bill Maher's deal to create a half-hour talk show that will play as digital video on Amazon.com. The show will feature interviews with musicians, authors, actors and others who have a product to pitch. So, the entire show will essentially be a commercial.

And just as Sirius has banked on Howard Stern to put satellite radio on the map for the masses, Amazon executives are clearly hoping that Bill Maher's fan base will follow him to the digital screen. Could we be witnessing the start of a new era where the advertisers control the programming AND own the network?

***SPEAKING OF DIGITAL MEDIA, last week's performance of A Prairie Home Companion attended by a large and devastingly good-looking delegation of MC101s, guests, and yours truly, is now online. I think the performance plays better over the computer than it did in person. I had trouble hearing every lyric and punchline from my Section V1 seat.