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UPDATE: This interview with Nelson by Sharon Waxman at The Wrap addresses a few of those pressing issues and establishes that Nelson is not a comics fan “by nature.”

So: a girl running a comic book operation? Isn’t this a young, male-centric market?
I prefer to be known as an executive rather than a girl. It’s not gone without comment in the blogosphere. But I have to tell you, I’ve been really encouraged by the commentary in comic book world.

But I’m the first one to admit, I’m not by my nature a comic fan. It’s not what I’m bringing to the party. We have so many experts who will remain the cornerstone of DC Entertainment. What I bring to the party is a skill at moving properties and brands through Time Warner as a company.

There’s a new pitcher in this ballgame and DC Kremlinologists must learn all new signs and sigils.

New DC Entertainment Prexy Diane Nelson — or Jenette 2.0 as a few wags are calling her — did the newssite rounds yesterday, in tandem with outgoing Paul Levitz. We know all Kremlinologists will be combing these stories for details…let’s take a look!

Jonah Weiland and Andy Khouri chat things up at Comic Book Resources and get the overall look at the assets — content!

Jonah Weiland: Diane, what do you see as DC Comics’ greatest strengths and assets today?

Nelson: It’s a reflection, I believe, or at least it’s consistent with what Warner Bros. has cared about and stood for, that we are a talent-friendly company and are a place that values creators. I think the depth and breadth of the DC library and all of its imprints give us a real advantage over any competitor, however you define them. This isn’t just about the biggest or most well-known properties — those will clearly be a part of our initiative — but it can equally be about much lesser known properties that we incubate and build throughout the company, and it can be and should be about the acquisitions of new properties and characters. We are a content company and we’ll be even more focused on that in the future and that’s on a Warner Bros. and Time Warner level. I think recognizing the value of what our creators have created in this library and treating them carefully for the long term is the single greatest thing we have to work with here.


This next quote recalls many of the Bob Iger reassurances of the past few days:

Initially, over the first six months, it’s going to be about learning and listening and looking carefully at the DC Comics organization, which, again, remains a foundation of what DC Entertainment will be. So, DC Comics as a publishing company will remain intact.


Further on, Nelson talks about digital and motion comics. The general impression is that her mandate is to exploit more and more IP over more and more platforms — in other words, the search for the D.W. Griffith of motion comics may well be on.

Vaneta Rogers at Newsarama covers much the same ground but adds a name check for Minx:

Nelson said that among the things that will be focused upon will be how DC’s characters can be utilized in feature films, acknowledging that among them will be Superman and Wonder Woman.

“Of course they’re priorities,” she said. “But we’ll equally be looking at other properties and stories that can be incubated. It may start in digital, it may start in television, it could end up being video games. There could be casual games that come out of properties that come from Minx.

“That’s going to be the fun of it is making sure we look at all facets of the prism, and making sure we don’t just look at it as a linear… ‘here’s theatrical, now what do we spin off of that’ thing,” she said. “That’s not our goal. That’s a piece of the puzzle.


Initial impressions: the emphasis on creators and their importance is heartening. Surely the person who negotiated the interests of J.K. Rowling understands the importance of the sole creator and inspiration, without which big corporations just turn out things like Loonatics. At the same time, the lack of mentions of the phrase “comic books” in most of the answers is troubling. Given Disney’s lack of interest in periodicals and Nelson’s seeming interest in things other than comic books, many comic shop owners must have tossed and turned quite a bit last night.

It’s important to remember that although the announcement of some decisions were hastened by the Disney/Marvel deal, a lot of this was underway for years. For instance, we’re told the creation of DC Entertainment wasn’t going to roll out until next year — surely that was moved up to compete directly with the Marvel news. Disney and Warners have always been fiercely competitive, and the WB has long been attempting to build the same kind of dynamically synergized branding that Disney can do in its sleep. Warners’ hodgepodge of fiefdoms has long been a structural deterrent to this kind of concerted effort. From what we’re hearing, there is still a lot of work to do on that front.

The big immediate question mark: who will take over as DC’s new publisher? And what will happen to DC’s existing West Coast office, headed by Gregory Noveck? Tune in tomorrow for more shocks and surprises!

BTW, for a fairly exhaustive list of movie blogger reactions to the news, check out Christopher Campbell at Spout.

1 COMMENT

  1. Isn’t it funny that in her entire section of answers she manages to NOT name a single of those “valued creators”? I guess she could start with Jerry Sie… oooops.

  2. Corporate speak, gotta love what’s not being said.

    Funny how DC/Warner hire women figureheads without the slightest experience in comics – Fierman, Pohja and now Nelson (google their press releases announcements) I would say it’s because they’re blonde but that wouldn’t apply to Fierman and the lovely Karen Berger counter that theory or shall I say paranoia.

  3. New publisher? Off the top of my head, maybe Bob Wayne? He’s been a loyal acolyte for years…knows the biz….maybe he’ll get the nod. Or, maybe Robinov will bring in another member of his entourage who knows little to nothing about comics.

    As for Nelson, the jury is still out….waayyyy out….on that move. Sure, her success with the Harry Potter property is impressive, but the Potter industry and the comics biz are *profoundly* different realms that require (corporate-speak alert) very specific “knowledge sets” to understand, much less manage or chart a future course for. Levitz “shadowing” Nelson for a period of time will certainly bring her up to speed to a certain extent…but when you replace the guy with comics in his DNA with an outsider (an incredibly accomlished outsider, but an outsider nonetheless), I don’t see the sunny future the PR campaign is painting.

    In the corporate settings I’ve worked in for a few decades now, I’ve noticed that the high level executive class believes itself to be so hyper-competent, they can be brought in from anywhere, plug in, and thrive. Just recently, my education publishing company brought in a hot shot marketing guy from a scissor company…once again demonstrating that “widget” mentality that if someone can sell one thing, he or she can certainly sell another thing….despite the profound differences in the markets, demographics, industry knowledge, etc. Well, predictably Hotshot Scissor Guy crashed and burned…and I’m sure he’ll be replaced by someone else who has little to no deep knowledge of the industry I work in.

    All of this to say, I see the same mentality at work with Nelson. The same false extrapolations seem to be at work (“Hey, if she could manage one fantasy character…Harry Potter…she can certainly manage hundreds of comic book superhero properties, right?”), as well as that same corporate hotshot belief that you can simply “bone up” or be a “quick study” on the new market you’re entering and succeed.

    Sure…she could turn out to be another Jenette Khan and use her outsider status to DC’s advantage, but when you’ve got a shark like Robinov pulling her strings, it’s not likely.

    Color me “wary”.

  4. Change is scary.

    Mark, it’s odd that you seem to think WB’s Harry Potter success is built on one character. The record profits brought in by the Potter franchise are a result of the ability to exploit it as a “universe” not a single character. That seems like precisely the kind of thing the DC universe needs.

  5. Both Fierman and Pohja both have experience in publishing, and each was hired to meet the needs of their positions. As did Jenette Kahn when she was hired.

    I am cautiously optimistic. The big question is not what Ms. Nelson will do as President of DCE, but who the new Publisher will be. There are at least two internal candidates with DC who would do well, which speaks well of Mr. Levitz’s tenure.

  6. A-Rod: I guess I wasn’t thinking *literally* a single character….but more a single franchise with its own very unique market, in this case the Harry Potter franchise.

    In that particular case, Nelson was dealing with and shepharding a single creator’s vision…a far cry from juggling hundreds of different characters, creators, and several unique (and sticky) ownership and legal issues (such as the ongoing Siegel and Shuster lawsuits). My point was that managing and marketing one fictional realm doesn’t necessarily mean that skill can readily and successfully translate to another (a depressingly common mentality within the ranks of high-level corporate types).

  7. “What I bring to the party is a skill at moving properties and brands through Time Warner as a company.”

    Right, but an integral part of effectively moving those brands and properties is a familiarity and understanding of them you don’t get from a new title on your business card.

    Of course, if you subscribe to the “corporate widget theory” that doesn’t put much weight on deep knowledge of the product, Nelson’s presence shouldn’t be on any concern. However, having seen my share of execs with laughably shallow knowledge of the products they’re marketing, I’ll continue flying the yellow caution flag over the Nelson/Robinov news.

  8. Diane seems okay, maybe after a while she’ll convert into a comic book fan. But it’s her BOSS that I’m worried about!!

  9. Diane Nelson could very well turn out to be just what DC Entertainment needs, if the prime objective is making the DC characters appealing to audiences beyond comic book readers. The demographics for the “Harry Potter” readership and moviegoers are similar to the (desired) demographics for DC Comics readers. Nelson will also naturally use modern approaches for popularizing the “DC” brand.

    Since Nelson’s specialty is brand management, here’s an example of an article on the subject.

    I expect the new publisher, whoever that eventually is, to determine Dan DiDio’s future at DC.

    SRS

  10. I think it’s likely hat Nelson is not planning to manage DC Comics or its comic-book publishing operations on a day-to-day basis. Most likely like Disney with Marvel, as long as it’s making money and supporting its own operations, DC will be allowed to continue publishing its comics, if for no other reason than to continue producing the content that will be used for other platforms.

    Nelson’s job will be to migrate those characters and their decades of content to other media and platforms.

    How much authority and independence DC’s publisher will have in all this will be interesting to track, because he/she will be the medium between Nelson and WB and the editorial/creative side of DC–and that authority will be defined by Nelson/WB.

  11. “But I’m the first one to admit, I’m not by my nature a comic fan.”

    And is that really a bad thing? Someone who’s not brainwashed into thinking that things work the way that do because they do. Many organisational transformations (or marketplaces – look at the smartphone sector) occur because new blood comes in and say *why do we do things this way?*, *why does this process work this way?*.

  12. @ Neep

    Shush, you! J.K. Rowling had nothing to do with the sheer brilliance that was the foundation of Harry Potter’s success, as can be evidenced by the fact that the by the time Warner Bros got involved, after the third book, Harry Potter was already a global bestseller…. oh, wait. Hm, that’s right. The series was already a bestseller. Damn! Guess it was Rowling after all. Potter’s success is often falsely touted as a brilliantly executed marketing strategy, as if it was created in a high-tech cauldron, surrounded by marketing people cackling, hee hee hee, let us put in some magic, hee hee hee, some English boarding school drama, hee hee, the kids will love it.

    Well, that is a myth. It was luck, a good story that connected with kids at the time, and it almost grew organically.

  13. Let us take a closer look at the resume as presented in the PR release…

    Prior to being named President, DC Entertainment, Nelson most recently served as President, Warner Premiere since its founding in 2006.

    Warner Premiere is the direct-to-video label of Warner Home Video, itself the home video unit of Warner Bros. The first release under the Warner Premiere banner was the prequel The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. Their second title release was a sequel to the 1999 smash hit horror film House on Haunted Hill, titled Return to House on Haunted Hill. The label released Get Smart’s Bruce And Lloyd Out Of Control, a spin-off of the 2008 film Get Smart, on DVD and Blu-ray July 1, 2008. The film follows the adventures of the two tech experts from the first film, played by Masi Oka and Nate Torrence, respectively. It was written by the two writers of the previous film. On July 29th, 2008, Warner Premiere released Lost Boys: The Tribe, a sequel to the 1987 horror film The Lost Boys, on DVD and Blu-ray. Corey Feldman reprised his role of vampire hunter Edgar Frog; Corey Haim appeared in a cameo. Two upcoming Warner Premiere’s projects are The Clique movie, based on the best selling preteen novels by Lisi Harrison. To find the two lead roles, they have put a contest on website Sugarloot, where young girls have been uploading audition videos. The other being Scooby-Doo: In the Beginning, (a co-production of Cartoon Network) which is a prequel to the live-action Scooby-Doo films starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard and Freddie Prinze Jr.

    I’m… really not impressed by that. Are you?

    Before that, Nelson served as Executive Vice President, Global Brand Management, Warner Bros. Entertainment, with the primary responsibility of working cross-divisionally and throughout Time Warner to maximize and optimize all the various windows and outlets available to the Studio’s signature franchises, brands and event properties on a global basis. In this post, Nelson’s primary focus was the management of the Harry Potter brand, which she has overseen since the brand’s launch at the Studio in 1999. These efforts have helped drive the success of the brand to become the most successful film franchise of all time, as well as a respected consumer property that has generated billions of dollars for the Studio.

    Ah, here he is. Harry Potter. Okay, so she was overseeing the more glorified licensing department from 1999 to 2006. Please note that it was only until 2006.

    At Global Brand Management, Nelson and her team of more than 15 employees worked in all media and platforms to support a number of other key franchise properties, including “The Matrix Reloaded,” “The Matrix Revolutions,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “Happy Feet,” “Polar Express” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” among others.

    “Happy Feet” was released at the end of 2006. At which time Miss Nelson was already at her new job at Warner Premiere. So, by the PR release’s own definition, she didn’t oversee “Global Brand Management” on that. “Dark Knight” came out in 2008. Again, she was already President of Warner Premiere. I am not sure what brand management was successful for “Polar Express” (as we can see by the millions of toys, tie-ins and other marketing glory that movie has produced), the same for “Charlie and the Chcocolate Factory”. We can make a case for Matrix 2 and 3, because I remember how much crap was coming out along those films.

    So, let us take a look at what she did and deduct Harry Potter. Take into account what she said and didn’t say in her first interviews. And it becomes clear that she is a hyped up corporate drone.

  14. I’m… really not impressed by that. Are you?

    I take it you didn’t read Wikipedia’s description of Warner Premiere, or you’d have seen this:

    In 2006, Warner Home Video announced they would enter the market of releasing original direct-to-video films, a market that has proven lucrative for studios over the past few years. They announced much of their output would be follow-ups to films that had done well at the box office theatrically, but wouldn’t be expected to do well if a sequel were to be made.

    You damned the unit for doing what it was created to do, whether or not you agree with the business plan.

    It might be more useful to highlight Warner Premiere’s promotional efforts, such as “One Eskimo”:

    Big media companies talk about “breaking the silos” all the time, but often, it remains just that-talk-while content gets incubated and marketed by separate digital and traditional creative teams. With a new project called The Adventures of One Eskimo, though, Warner Bros. has actually tried to walk the “no silos” talk.

    Described as a “visual album,” the project blends music, animation, digital distribution and social media-and teams from Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, and Warner Bros. Television collaborated on it from the start. Available on iTunes in September, the 10-episode animated series tells the story of a boy and his quest to win back his lost love, rock opera-style. [. . .]

    I went to the exclusive launch event last night, and Eva Semple Davis, Warner Premiere’s SVP of acquisitions and business development, told me it was imperative that the company “pooled all of [its] assets to create a total music experience” from the start.

    Hype aside, that’s an attempt to do something different. Writing off Nelson before she’s even put her people in place is unfair.

    One thing that no comics publisher has had in the last several decades is a comics product that actually reaches a mass market. If Nelson could recruit the right talent and/or market comics in ways that sold hundreds of thousands of copies, she’d be a major benefactor for the industry.

    SRS

  15. The reason why the press release brushes over the past three years of Miss nelson’s career is simply this, as President of Warner Premiere she did exactly what she is supposed to do now at DC Entertainment, namely tying together “franchises” for new product. In other words, she was the GG, and for those those who don’t know the term, that’s the “Greenlight Guy”. So, what product WAS made and how successful that product was reflects immediately on her taste, her skills and the way she made her decisions.

    Now, personally, I don’t care for her one way or another, but I find it irksome when everybody is having starry eyes the moment they hear “Harry Potter”, wow, she must be really great then, right? And no, this is not Kremlinology, it is called research, quite simple, really. You know, it’s what journalists are trained to do, or at least used to, before re-printing a press release became “journalism”. Looking at the numbers and putting them into context..

    Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 143,609

    Lost Boys: The Tribe – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 285,820

    Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 104,199

    In the DVD market, as abysmal as it has become, those numers are still… abysmal. And the fact that not a single one of those things made it onto the press release means they know that this is not something they can throw to the analysist (the public won’t care one way or another) and make it look good.

    The reason why this is important? Simple. In her entire career, the Warner Premiere gig was the first time Miss Nelson was fully responsible for the output, positioning and marketing of the product.

    Let’s say this again: Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter… she must be great, Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter.

  16. In the DVD market, as abysmal as it has become, those numers are still… abysmal.

    Nurf, there’s so little context for that assertion that it’s effectively meaningless. Doing research means providing supporting evidence for one’s statements.

    You’re coming across like a right-wing pol talking to his buddies about those dreadful Democrats who expects them all to say, “Yeah, you’re right. They’re Democrats! No one should vote for them.”

    SRS

  17. guess I haven’t actually learned my lesson…

    “I’m… really not impressed by that. Are you?”

    Yes, actually.

    “‘Dark Knight’ came out in 2008. Again, she was already President of Warner Premiere.”

    Yes, but that film was likely being prepped in 2006 if not 2005 and she was likely Nolan’s contact (or at least one of them) within Warner. From what I’ve read, she seems really keen on working with the PEOPLE behind the product. This is why the Harry Potter and Dark Knight info is important. She seems responsible for making sure Rowling and Nolan were happy and taken care of and that has resulted in heaping mounds of cash for Warner.

    “And it becomes clear that she is a hyped up corporate drone.”

    So she fits right in with all the other corporate drones. Congratulations, you just put out the welcome mat. Despite a frequent claim to wanting “outside the box” thinking, corporate employees never think outside the box because the box is the corporation and thinking outside the box could lead to a reduction in profit which will get you fired. Hence, they’re drones. Some drones are better than others. Nelson might be one of the better drones, and I see nothing about her that says otherwise.

    “I suspect DiDio will be the next publisher at DC. ”

    If you see another post I made, that’s pretty much what I was getting at without naming names. Publisher and EIC… unless there’s some rule that prevents a single person from holding both of those titles. Or it’ll be some VP who becomes VP of somethingerother and DC Comics Publisher.

    “Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 143,609

    Lost Boys: The Tribe – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 285,820

    Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 104,199

    In the DVD market, as abysmal as it has become, those numers are still… abysmal.”

    You think so, eh? I bet all of those DVDs made a profit. 104, 199 at half of retail is probably $1, 041, 990.00. Not too bad for a DVD prequel without Jessica Simpson’s attributes to sell it. Also, I find it hard to believe it only sold 104k to date…first week, I believe, but it’s possible that it’s “to date.” But let’s not forget that other Direct to DVD product from the studio fits right in with her new job–Batman: Gotham Knight, Superman: Doomsday, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, New Frontier…. Ever think that maybe her handling of THOSE properties (in addition to all her other accolades) is a major factor in getting her this new job?

    A lot of people seem to be speaking out of fear for their precious comic books. Her job seems to me to be making more money from the fact the Warner owns DC Comics which is overflowing with Intellectual Properties ready to be exploited in every which way. The monthly publication of comics will probably serve no purpose in her eyes except as an assembly line of potential stories for utilizing elsewhere. This could be a bad thing, but in and of itself, I don’t think it deserves some of these fearful reactions. Give her a chance.

    ….and THEN grab the torches. :)

  18. What’s with the “fearful” label…other than cloaking (and invalidating) genuine skepticism as something irrational? I don’t sense any fear whatsoever from Nerf’s posts…and actually find his effort to do some digging rather refreshing, especially in light of all perpetual moaning about the lack of “real comics journalism”. Hats off to Nerf for going beyond the press releases and getting a better picture of Nelson’s track record. Nerf’s right…the “Harry Potter” bit is being used like a crucifix to Dracula to ward off reasonable skepticism…which is certainly warranted when an experienced veteran like Levitz is vacating the position.

    And Synsidar…what the hell is with the political allegory? Anyone who does some digging or doesn’t agree with the group-think is somehow a grumpy Republican? Geez.

  19. And Synsidar…what the hell is with the political allegory?

    Reflexive cynicism — the “corporate drone” comment — isn’t an improvement over groupthink, but party loyalists, such as Limbaugh, routinely indulge in it. If a Democrat has an idea or is doing something, it’s bad or wrong.

    Nelson has to be given the opportunity to do her job before one concludes she can’t do it — and her critics can’t even say what that job is at this point.

    SRS

  20. Back in 2006, MIT hosted a conference titled “Futures of Entertainment.” The panelists included Diane Nelson, speaking about “Fan Cultures,” and Paul Levitz, speaking about “Transmedia Properties.” There are audio and video recordings of the panel sessions.

    Jesse Walker, on Nelson’s panel:

    On the same panel, Diane Nelson of Time Warner talked sensitively about her relationship with fan communities; I don’t know how many people at her firm share her views, but she clearly understands how much it relies on the fans’ goodwill. The Harry Potter books and films, for example, are aimed primarily at children but also have a substantial adult audience, some of whom write pornographic “slash” fiction about the characters. Rather than denouncing the slashers, Nelson said she wouldn’t try to stop such expressions; she just wanted to ensure that no one, especially no children, mistook them for official products of the Potter franchise.

  21. More from Nelson, on promoting the HARRY POTTER films:

    An exception is the “Harry Potter” franchise, which had only one promotional partner, Coca-Cola, for the first two movies, and none for the last two.

    That’s in part because “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling went on record stating that “fast-food kids meals would be her worst nightmare,” said Diane Nelson, executive vice president of global brand management for Warner Bros. “She made it clear she had an aversion to it. “We … decided internally it was not the right way to approach the brand.”

    Nelson said Warner Bros. planned to continue fast-food tie- ins to promote other films, and noted that the industry now offered more healthful alternatives to give people a choice.

    “We are certainly conscious and watching the situation with childhood obesity and how that is being tied in with our business…. It’s important to be responsible.”

    That said, Nelson added, “we’re not going to walk away from the category.”

  22. Some points and counterpoints on the handling of “Harry Potter”:

    We have to be very careful to not exploit, not over commercialize, not take it from the kids and turn it into something that it’s not,” says Nelson.

    There are critics, though, who say they already have. “What they’re doing to Harry Potter is making it another widget inside the larger corporation,” says Aurora Wallace, a professor at New York University’s Culture and Communications Department. “It’s not about magic, fantasy or wizardry even, it’s about selling more subscriptions.”

    “They know that if you want to get the inside track on Harry Potter that you’ve got to be an AOL subscriber, you’ve got to turn to Entertainment Weekly, you’ve got to turn to Time magazine, you’ve got to buy the soundtrack on Atlantic records,” she adds.

    Nelson doesn’t agree. “I think as long as we are true to the books, that’s something that can co-exist quite nicely,” she says. “The fans will see an expression of the books in the film and the video and the merchandise hopefully that they think is true and respectful of the initial book. But at the same time Warner Bros. will be building something that will help our business.”

  23. One more, on Nelson and “Harry Potter” fans:

    Warner Bros., which once tried to shut down many of the fan sites because of copyright concerns, has invited Spartz and others to the sets of Potter films and premieres, valuing their expertise and, of course, their access to so many fans.

    “When we have brought representatives from some of the key fan sites and showed them the details for the film sets, even if some of them were disappointed that we had left out certain elements from the books, they respected what we were trying to do,” says Diane Nelson, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president for global brand management.

    “We’re not naive enough to think we’re going to avoid criticism, but bringing the fan sites into the process is what we feel is really important.”

  24. Great stuff, Synsidar…thanks for the additional insight!

    An interesting tidbit:

    ““She (Rowling) made it clear she had an aversion to (Harry Potter fast food kids meals). “We … decided internally it was not the right way to approach the brand.”

    Very interesting. Apparently, Warners COULD have went ahead and did Harry Potter kid meals, but voluntarily deferred to Rowling’s “aversion” (stopping short of classifying it as Rowling forbidding it).

  25. @Nurf : What’s the deal with this one? You said:

    Looking at the numbers and putting them into context..

    Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd Out of Control – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 143,609

    Lost Boys: The Tribe – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 285,820

    Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning – DVD Sales
    DVD Units Sold: 104,199

    I see absolutely no context whatsoever. Furthermore you would need to know what the company’s IPAs for those projects were and what their profit and sales projections were before you could make a judgment on their relative success or failure.

    And what is with the constant crticism of extemely successful entertainment properties? The Polar Express (which you claim is a failure because YOU personally didn’t see any PE toys in your happy meal) is the 12th highest grossing G rated movie of all time and the highest grossing G rated movie WB has ever had. I’m not sure what you mean when you talk about real journalism, but personal annecdotal evidence is not considered real journalism either. Also we’re called analysts not analysists.

  26. “What’s with the “fearful” label”

    Judging someone before there’s even anything other than what’s on the surface to judge.

    There’s another word for that–prejudice. Prejudice is a result of fear. Hence, fearful.