Best Buy admits UK launch lacked impact.  

Bridgelux raises $21M in funding.

CNN anchor says network is getting outFoxed in 2010 election prep. 

Coca-Cola recognized for packaging design while Pepsi unveils "skinny can."  

eBay prepares plan to help PayPal repel Google and Apple threats. 

Facebook gains foothold in China with Hong Kong office.Continue reading...

The centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth on February 6 will make this a memorable Super Bowl for fans of the Gipper.

What would have been his 100th birthday has sparked a media frenzy. It's being celebrated, of course, by the Ronald Reagan Library and Foundation; predictably by Fox News; civically by GE, which has a long history with Reagan and is funding scholarships with the Reagan Foundation; opportunistically by HBO and other networks; and broadly by the millions of Americans who remember him fondly as (depending on their politics) perhaps the greatest president of their generation. Even the Super Bowl telecast will make room for a Reagan tribute, above.

But leave it to TIME magazine to commemorate Reagan with a jaw-dropper.Continue reading...

With some 50,000 interviews (TV and radio) under his suspenders, CNN will bid adieu to Larry King on Thursday night during the final episode of Larry King Live.

While his replacement, the British journalist Piers Morgan, prepares for his January debut in the 9pm timeslot that the venerable TV interviewer filled for 25 years, King tells the New York Times “the saddest part” about stepping down.Continue reading...

It's likely CNN can't wait for 2010 to come to a close.

When Campbell Brown departed earlier this year, the cable network announced with much fanfare that the new Parker Spitzer, a kind of right vs. left on-air debate of current issues, would fill the vacant 8 PM slot. Journalist Kathleen Parker didn't cause a flurry, but eyebrows were raised over the hiring of Eliot Spitzer, the debauched former governor of New York, as co-host.

Now, only two months later, it seems Parker Spitzer has been something of a bust.Continue reading...

If Keith Olbermann were one of those National Football League players he used to cover for ESPN, and he had just been fined by the commissioner for a helmet-to-helmet hit, he’d probably be an unapologetic linebacker with a nickname like The Decapitator.

Olbermann survived the TV-news equivalent of a two-game suspension when MSNBC put him back on the air last night after a few days without pay for violating the network’s policy banning political contributions without a doctor’s note (er, prior permission of the honchos). Olbermann’s offense? $7,200 in pre-election political contributions, undisclosed to the brass – one of them coming immediately after airing an interview with the candidate.

But rather than apologize to the MSNBC chieftains after the brief if pointed unpaid leave, Olbermann resurfaced – surprise – with a big chip on his shoulder.Continue reading...

Does the current polarized political climate in the U.S. even extend to favored brands? A new survey of brand preferences by political affiliation suggests the answer is, well, yes and no.

Google is the favorite brand of Democrats,  an analysis of YouGov’s BrandIndex survey results found, while Fox News topped the brand list of Republicans. Maybe Democrats feel at home with Google’s inherent techie elitism masquerading as populism; and clearly Republicans appreciate a brand that treats their opposition like a foreign occupier.

Interesting questions abound. JetBlue is the third-ranked airline brand among Democrats, for example, but doesn’t show up in the Republican top 10. Could be JetBlue’s strong presence in liberal coastal cities mean that its cabins are filled with Democrats, flying blithely over heartland Republicans (who can’t see the JetBlue logo from their conservative small towns).

And why is Aflac ranked among Republicans’ top five insurers in the YouGov survey, while Democrats favor Progressive? Is it because Progressive’s strong online quoting and marketing platform make it naturally appealing to young-skewing Democrats, while Aflac – known a disability insurer for small businesses and the self-employed– caters to the entrepreneurial streak of Republicans?

There’s more. Target is the fourth-ranked retailer among Democrats – but is nowhere near the top five for Republicans, even after the chain incurred the ire of ultra-liberal political action committee MoveOn.org for contributing $150,000 to a group backing an anti-gay-marriage Republican candidate.Continue reading...

Amazon sees costs rising at faster pace than sales. 

Bell & Evans and Mary’s Chickens prepare to switch to more humane way of killing chickens. 

Calvin Klein faces censure in Australia over ads depicting violence. 

CBS picks up all five of its new fall TV shows. 

Dodge will get its first Fiat-based car in late 2011.

Ford lags in repairing cars recalled for fire-engine risk, regulators say. Continue reading...

The latest product recalls dinging brands: Graco (2 million strollers following infant strangulation deaths), Chrysler (26,000 vehicles, fluid leak check), Volvo (10,000 vehicles, air bags system check).

Apple unveiled two new MacBook Air ultralight laptops (that use flash memory for storage instead of hard drives) at a Back to Mac even, where it also promised updated software for its Macintosh computers that borrows FaceTime and other features from its iPhone and iPad. Also featured: improved iLife '11 personal productivity suite and a sneak peek at Mac OS X Lion.

AT&T will offer WellDoc’s FDA-approved mobile phone-based diabetes management solution to select employees.

BET goes pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.Continue reading...