How did summer get to be such a make-or-break season for Hollywood?

Jul 21, 2017
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A poster advertising the anniversary collector's edition of the movie "Jaws" is posted on a lifeguard tower on Zuma Beach in Malibu, California, in 2000. 
Photo by Dan Callister/Newsmakers

Sorry Spotify, country music is still a radio industry

Jul 19, 2017
Over on the Billboard Country Charts, a song called “In Case You Didn’t Know” by Brett Young is sitting at the No. 2 spot. Young is relatively new to the country music scene, and just last year, he went out on a radio tour across the U.S., as many new country artists do. The radio […]

Can the Hollywood baseball movie make a comeback?

Jul 19, 2017
The strike and steroids " purged a lot of the sentimentality" from the game, says Jay Caspian Kang of the New York Times.
Kevin Costner and Ray Liotta in "Field of Dreams."
IMDB

Lassoing the super power of geek chic, Comic-Con sees revenue growth

Jul 19, 2017
The annual Comic-Con International kicks off this week in San Diego. Comic-Con makes money selling tickets, renting floor space to vendors and exhibitors, and getting sponsors. GuideStar, which tracks nonprofits, says the convention has seen steady year-over-year revenue growth for the last 17 years, as comic culture has become central to pop culture. The most […]

Auto racing goes electric

Jul 14, 2017
The Formula E circuit lets car makers test their electric vehicles and promote their products to buyers.
A race car for Formula E.
Courtesy of Formula E

Why do pro sports teams get tax breaks to build new stadiums?

Jul 11, 2017
It's become the norm for pro sports franchises to count on tax-free municipal bonds for building stadium projects.
 A general view of Marlins Park.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Summer movies are a bust at the domestic box office

Jul 7, 2017
It's not just you — films are really bad this season.

For public good, not for profit.

A retail story: How LA's Robertson Boulevard went from paparazzi heaven to vacant stores

Jul 6, 2017
Once a hip indie enclave, the street went upmarket when high-end chains moved in. Then they left.
Several empty storefronts along the once-happening Robertson Boulevard shopping district in Los Angeles.
Aaron Schrank/Marketplace

It’s not just TV anymore: QVC merges with rival HSN to create mega online presence

Jul 6, 2017
QVC is buying its longtime rival HSN — Home Shopping Network — in a $2.1 billion deal. It already owns about 40 percent of the company. The two have made a name for themselves with their channels, but they sell things online, too. And the thinking is that this merger will help them get even closer […]

Disney channel viewing figures are down as kids go elsewhere for entertainment

Jul 6, 2017
The number of children watching the Disney channel has dropped over the past three years. The reason? More and more of them are watching kids’ TV shows available online and bypassing cable altogether. How will the channel survive this era of cord cutting? Click the audio player above to hear the full story.