The latest research shows 91% of consumers opt-out or unsubscribe to e-mails they previously elected to receive. Of those, 46% opt-out because the messages are simply not relevant.

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A recent Supreme Court ruling loosening the restrictions on corporate campaign spending could be just the thing to give local TV stations a much needed boost in revenue.  The ruling will essentially open the floodgates for attack ads funded by corporations and unions.  While many media tactics could benefit from that spending, most political advertising is spent on local television in key battleground states and cities.

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As the new day dawns tomorrow, January 27th, all eyes will be on San Fransisco as it hosts Apple’s first WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) of the year.  Perhaps the most anticipated of Apple’s action-packed conferences to date, tomorrow’s show could be a game changer on a few different levels.  In the past, gadgets such as the iPod and iPhone opened the door to a drastic change in the way many of us consume media and connect with the world in which we live.  It seems as though Apple products have been the catalysts for other competitive tools to emerge and make their way into the pockets of everyday folks.  We can argue which products are better and provide more utility for different tasks all day long (as a Mac/iPhone addict, I think you can guess what side I’ll be on).   What can’t be argued, however, is the shift of ideas and consumption we have seen more often than not as a result of Apple’s new product launches.

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Over the past 5 years, there has been a steady increase in seniors’ use of online media. So, it is no surprise that as of November 2009 there were about 17.5 million active persons 65+ using the Internet, which accounts for the 55% growth from November 2004.

A new report released by Nielsen suggests that not only are seniors Googling and engaging in their “normal” habits, but more revealing is that they are adapting to the mainstream social media networks. Facebook was ranked as the number three site visited by people 65+ on the Top 10 Online Destinations list. This is a big shock, considering that just a year ago Facebook came in at #45.

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Microsoft recently entered into talks with News Corporation over a plan that would remove links to their news content from Google, while also providing exclusive access to Bing. An even broader approach has been rumored, with Microsoft proposing similar deals to other online publishers. Such drastic measures are being viewed as a direct assault on Google’s position in the search market.

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To combat recent declines in advertising, national papers are looking for a new source of revenue in local markets.  Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have announced they will be launching local editions in major markets such as San Francisco and Chicago.

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Magazine advertisers have long suffered with less-than-desirable accountability metrics.  As an analogy, think of negotiating a radio schedule based on the number of people who own radios.  Thankfully, the industry has made significant improvements in the last few years and has recently leapfrogged some competing traditional tactics.

MRI started down this path a few years ago by providing issue specific audience estimates.  This allowed advertisers to calculate the delivery of a specific magazine schedule, and thereby more effectively plan and negotiate the medium.

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A subject line can make or break an e-blast but this is typically the last thing an advertiser will think about. You can improve open rates by thinking about your subject line differently. Here are some common problems and solutions:

1 – Subject line is too long
• Keeping your subject line short and sweet is key. By keeping it to 42 characters or less it will allow recipients to see the entire subject line in their inbox.

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During the past year, entertainment, food and women’s magazines readership was down.  Conversely, business magazines such as Forbes, Fortune and Wall Street Journal saw increases in readership from 9% – 12%. This was due to consumers’ recession-driven concerns about finances.

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