AirTalk brings you a panel of experts on international diplomacy and North Korea after news that Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean President Kim Jong Un. We also dive into why smartphone sales have declined for the first time ever; review this week’s movie releases on FilmWeek; and more.
The Trump-Kim summit: What to expect? And what deal could be made?
Ho hum, just another day at the White House, with word coming last night that President Trump will meet with North Korean President Kim Jong Un.
Seems no one in DC’s getting hopes too high for a breakthrough, but the meeting itself will be historic. AirTalk looks at the upcoming summit from multiple perspectives.
Guests:
Abe Denmark, Asia Program Director at the Wilson Center in D.C.; former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for East Asia (2015-2017)
Sung Yoon Lee, an expert on the Koreas and a professor in Korean Studies at The Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts
Ronald Neumann, American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (2005–2007), Bahrain (2001–2004) and Algeria (1994–1997), president of the American Academy of Diplomacy, an organization of former senior diplomats that aim to strengthen American diplomacy
Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. Diplomat for over 40 years; he has served as ambassador to the the United Nations, Russia, India, Israel and Jordan; Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in second Clinton administration
General James ‘Spider’ Marks, expert in national security, military and intelligence; he is a retired Major General with over 30 years in the U.S. Army
John Haynes, historian whose areas of expertise include communism and the Cold War and coauthor of the book, “Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America” (Yale University Press, 2009); he worked as a specialist in 20th-century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress
Smartphone sales decline for the first time; Samsung stays on top
Smartphone sales fell for the first time ever in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to Gartner.
Handset makers sold nearly 408 million smartphones, down 5.6 percent from the same period a year ago, the research firm said. That marks the first annual decline since the firm started tracking the smartphone market in 2004.
People are waiting longer to upgrade their phones, according to Gartner analyst Anshul Gupta. Those who already own higher-end models are holding on to them longer.
Meanwhile, it's become harder for handset vendors to make huge changes in their devices and differentiate from one another. Samsung managed to hold on to the No. 1 position in the fourth quarter, even though its unit sales slid 3.6 percent to 74 million units; Apple came in second with sales down 5 percent to 73.2 million.
Guest:
Shara Tibken, senior reporter for CNET News who focuses on Samsung and Apple; she covered the story; she tweets
Fox proposes two minutes of ads per hour of television – how would that work?
Last week, in a private industry event in L.A., Fox Networks Group’s ad sales chief speculated on an unusual goal: two minutes of ad time per hour of television by 2020.
In the words of David Levy, executive vice president of non-linear revenue at Fox Networks Groups, “the price of attention has gone up.” And this proposed shift is likely meant to entice viewers from ad-less streaming sites like HBO GO or Netflix.
The current ad time average is 13 minutes per one hour of network T.V., so reducing that time to two minutes would necessitate a change in how ads are sold, how they’re produced and how much that air-time would cost. And after all that, would it really work against cable cutting?
How common is this move to shorter T.V. commercial time? How will it change the nature of ads? And how would it transform the ways in which ads are sold?
Guest:
Jeanine Poggi, she covers the TV industry for AdAge, a trade publication for the marketing and media industries; her recent article is “What Ads Would Cost If Fox Really Cut Them To 2 Minutes Per Hour”
FilmWeek: ‘A Wrinkle In Time,’ ‘Gringo,’ ‘The Death of Stalin’ and more
Larry Mantle and KPCC film critics Claudia Puig, Peter Rainer, and Charles Solomon review this weekend’s new movie releases.
"A Wrinkle in Time" in wide release
"Gringo" in wide release
"The Death of Stalin" at ArcLight Hollywood & The Landmark Theatre
"Thoroughbreds" in select theaters (check your local listings)
"Red Sparrow" in wide release (released 3/2)
"The Hurricane Heist" in wide release
"Strangers: Prey at Night" in wide release
"The Forgiven" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center
"Tehran Taboo" at Laemmle's Town Center
"Submission" at Laemmle's Monica Film Center
"Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy" at Nuart Theatre
"Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Musical - Le Mouvement Final" in select theaters (check your local listings)
"King of Hearts (1966 re-release in 4K restoration)" at Laemmle's Royal Theatre
Critics' Hits
Claudia & Peter: "Thoroughbreds" & "The Death of Stalin"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPcV_3D3V2A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eAshaPvYw
Mixed Feelings
Claudia: "A Wrinkle in Time" & "The Forgiven"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZ56rcWwRQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIsQMp4o5j0&t=18s
Peter: "Goldstone"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvZsP581GG0
Charles: "Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAx-HsXjLvA
Misses
Claudia & Peter: "Gringo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-bZLM3I-C0
Charles: "Tehran Taboo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP1xOvRjU0c
Guests:
Claudia Puig, film critic for KPCC and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; she tweets
Peter Rainer, film critic for KPCC and the Christian Science Monitor
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
After record-low ratings for the Oscars, how can the Academy make the broadcast appeal to a wider audience?
This year’s Oscars broadcast saw its worst viewership in the history of the show, sending many in the industry scrambling to pinpoint a cause for the drop.
But what if it’s not that simple?
With a nearly 20% decline from last year’s numbers, the Nielsen results for 2018 Oscar viewers capped out at 26.5 million. But ratings for many major television events – not just the Academy Awards – have been steadily declining for years, so this isn’t necessarily an isolated incident. Causes for the downward trend have been attributed to streaming, increased options for content and a resistance to live, commercial-riddled events.
Reasons aside, this year’s viewership sparked new concerns regarding what The Academy needs to do to keep a pulse going.
What do you think needs to be done in order to make the Oscars more appealing to a wider audience? Call 866.893.5722.
Guests:
Robert Thompson, professor of television, radio and film and founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Pop Culture at Syracuse University
Joe Concha, media reporter and columnist for The Hill; he tweets