Guardian Media Group survey says Google and James Murdoch are the media sensations to watch in 2008. We would have went with Britney Spears

-SDH Guardian Media Group, owner of the MediaGuardian.co.uk website surveyed media executives and consultants on who/what they think will be the media industry's star in 2008 and the results came back with James "Jimmy" Murdoch and Google's Android at the top as the media sensations to watch in 2008. Now, the results would have been different if the kids at Guardian Media Group got creative with the choices. If Britney Spears was included in the survey she would've probably came out on top solo. Anyway, other names/companies thrown into the mix included Facebook, LinkedIn, TechCrunch among others. In some weird way, Rupert Murdoch wins again doesn't he!

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-SDH With all the changes Rupert Murdoch has already made at Dow Jones & Co, like setting up an office for himself there, firing and hiring new people to run the Wall Street Journal, it makes you wonder why in the world a vote if even needed tomorrow. Is it like a ceremonial vote to mark the official transfer of ownership or something? For all we know the Bancrofts are already fighting over their cut of the $5 Billion Rupert paid for the joint. [NYT] The porn guys at Penthouse Media Group are doing the same things the guys are doing at other media companies like News Corp are doing. They are dropping major green on social networking sites to drive business. [NYT] Something called The Competition Commission is pushing for BskyB to cut it's share in ITV from 17.9% to between 5 and 10%. Will James Murdoch, son of Rupert go for that? [MediaGuardian] While it's employees were outside screaming "WE WANT OUR BENEFITS BACK YOU BASTARDS", Viacom/MTV was busy sending out press releases like the once announcing formation of Digital Fusion, a new group that will focus on creating customized cross media campaigns for advertisers [Mediaweek]

News Corp’s Peter Chernin out in 2009

-YOSH It’s definitely looking like long time News Corp Prexy and Chief Operating Officer Peter Chernin will be out of a job in about 2 years or less. James Murdoch' the youngest son of Rupert, was upped last week to rule over his daddy's overseas operations and many see it as the set up for when Peter Chernin's contract expires in 2009. Based on this, Pete Chernin's days at News Corp are numbered. We wouldn't be surprised if he ended up leaving before then. No wait we take that back, that would be going against his contract and may cost him millions. So is James Murdoch ready to take over one of the world's premier media companies? There is a huge possibility that this won't happen for a few more years even after Chernin is out, because Rupe still has some juice in him and may hold on to the CEO title so he can groom James to be the biggest shark in the tank. If and when James does land in Peter Chernin's office, we expect to hear about some resignations immediately following his appointment by daddy. We just hope Peter Chernin wasn't naive enough to think that a man with two grown sons who both worked in the business would have chosen him to take over as CEO because he is the company's number two.

With James Murdoch now dubbed the heir to his daddy Rupert's empire, should Peter Chernin be weighing his options, if not now then soon?

-YOSH Rupert Murdoch opened up a can of moves across News Corp and his new baby Dow Jones yesterday. One of those moves included his son James being named to oversee everything across Europe and Asia which some say solidifies his position as heir to the News Corp throne. So what does all this mean for longtime News Corp number two Peter Chernin? Should such talk make it clear to him that, he kinda out of a job if and when James does take over? Unless he wants to be the longest serving President & Chief Operating Officer in media, and that's if James will even have him. But we won't jump the gun too soon on this because Rupert is known for making things work and it could end up being a power sharing thing between Chernin and the younger Murdoch. But even still, with his experience and long run at News Corp, Chernin may want to finally be the shot caller at a media firm where he has the final say. In the mean time, James Murdoch is being groomed right in front of our eyes. Oh yeah did we mention that their is still the possibility of Lachlan Murdoch getting back in the picture? Murdoch is making the switch from BSkyB's south-west London base in Osterley to News International's east London HQ, as he steps up from his job as the satellite broadcaster's chief executive to become the chairman and chief executive of his father Rupert's extensive media businesses across two continents. He is also stepping into his father's shoes as the non-executive chairman of Sky, in which News Corp is the largest shareholder. "It's going to make a lot of people feel very old," one News International journalist said of 34-year-old Murdoch Jr's imminent arrival. Murdoch Jr in at Wapping next week [MG]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Rupert Murdoch, is setting expectations high for his Sky News saying he wants it to be more like Fox News. that's easy all they have to do is spread the Republican agenda and talk up Rudy Giuliani [MG] That kid who runs the FCC, yeah Kevin Martin, is having a hard time getting his fellow FCCers to support his effort to regulate cable television companies more tightly. Good luck Kevo [NYT] ABC and Facebook now working together to bring you closely to politics. As if you would want to be soclose to that dirty thing. [NYT] Seriously though, why does Rupert Murdoch want to kill the WSJ.com paid wall when it brings in so much money every year? Whoever is in charge of ad sales will have to work their ass off even more to match offset that immediate loss of revenue. [Mediaweek]