Business news for Mon, 31 Dec 2007 & with word media. 12 news.

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) estimates that U.S. studios lose more than $3 billion annual to piracy. Consider recent issues: "American Gangster" is pirated and available on DVD for $5 two weeks prior to its theatrical release. The Writers Guild of America and studios negotiate for important slices of the digital media pie.

As a 126-year tradition ends with the last issues of the Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post, its owner is looking to new media to fill part of the gap. (SSP) (GCI)

ABI Research has bulked up its interactive media division, adding new senior analysts to tackle multichannel video and digital media storage, protection and management research.

Paris-based Publicis Groupe led a tumble in European media stocks this morning, following a negative report on the sector from a big Wall Street securities firm. Shares of Publicis were off 1.2% to $37.89, following the release of the report from Citigroup's equity research team.

eMarketer is forecasting U.S. online ad spending to reach almost $28 billion in 2008--with the market buoyed by the presidential election and the Beijing Olympics, among other factors. That's up nearly 29% from this year.

Kenya was plunged into a media black out as the government banned all live broadcasts and the death toll climbed in violence sparked by president Mwai Kibaki's disputed election victory.

[Trends] The ANA predicts a continued emphasis on innovation and creativity in all aspects of advertising and media planning, including ad creative and delivery strategies. Such focus will only be strengthened by the ongoing fragmentation of audiences as new media possibilities proliferate--another key driver of change next year.

Head of the Tata Group Ratan Tata feels that after the successful launch of his dream project -- the Rs 1-lakh car-- will ideally be the nice time for him to retire from active business life, a media report said here.

Here's proof that nobody used performance-enhancing drugs in the 11th Annual USA TODAY Media Prognostication Contest: The victor, ...

The Phoenix wholesale beer distributorship inherited by Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential contender Sen. John McCain, is frequently mentioned in media accounts about the couple. Less known is Hensley & Co.'s growing role in Valley philanthropy

SAN FRANICISCO (MarketWatch) -- Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner Sunday of a national election marred by violence and allegations of vote fraud and sworn into office, according to media reports. Kibaki's margin of 231,728 votes over Raila Odinga was the closest in Kenyan history. At least 15 people were reported killed in the violence. According to media reports, the government has suspended live television coverage as riots rage through Kenyan slums where many of Odinga's supporters live. The election had been closely watched as a test of democracy in Kenya, one of Africa's most-developed countries.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Chinese government has said it will allow direct election of Hong Kong's governmental leader, called the chief executive, by 2017, according to a media report. The decision, while seen as a concession to growing pro-democracy forces, disappointed advocates who had hoped for a direct election in 2012, when current executive Donald Tsang's term ends, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition. The chief executive now is picked by an 800-member assembly that includes dignitaries and legislators appointed by the Beijing government, according to the report. Free election of the chief executive were promised when China took possession of the territory from the United Kingdom in 1997, the Journal said.