by Joanne Zornow

Cord cutting — taking your TV without a cable or satellite connection — is a very real phenomenon. TV execs are twitching as they note a growing trend among subscribers to drop television but keep high-speed Internet access for watching TV programming. Although the current number of cord cutting households is low, it does appear to be a growing trend with about 1 in 10 households being Web connected by cable-free.

by Dave Zornow

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of Mediapost that Joe Mandese is no fan of Nielsen. Mandese, the Editor-in-Chief at MediaPost, has frequently skewered the ratings company for things they have done and much of the time, Nielsen critics applaud his efforts. But researchers say Mandese crossed a line with last week’s story, “Nielsen Discloses Major TV Ratings Glitch, Could Impact Millions In TV Ad Buys” because there was no major glitch — with the possible exception of how MediaPost reported the story.

The power of the unconscious mind, the effect of emotions on thinking and our need to be part of a larger social structure were some of the points made by the NYT’s David Brooks’ keynote speech at the 2011 ARF AMS Conference.