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MONTGOMERY, AL - Raycom Media has reached an agreement in principle with DirecTV. DirecTV viewers have been without Raycom Media stations since September 1, 2014. DirecTV subscribers should begin receiving their favorite Raycom Media stations in approximately 2 hours.

Raycom Media promised to work around the clock and we have a deal in principle to get NFL football, local news and weather plus network and local programming back on DirecTV. Raycom Media will be working over the next few days to finalize the full agreement. We promise to keep you informed every step of the way.

Raycom Media President and CEO, Paul McTear stated, We appreciate our viewers' patience. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank them for their loyalty to their local stations throughout this process. We are very pleased to be, once again, serving them on the DirecTV system and will keep them informed as we work to finalize this agreement.

In order to be delivered into the homes of viewers, agreements are needed with the cable and satellite companies that serve our markets. For several months, Raycom Media, has been working with DirecTV to resolve this issue, unfortunately the deadline passed before an agreement could be reached.

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Raycom Media reaches agreement in principle with DirecTV

Your customers are growing tired of all the marketing being thrown their way on social media, says analyst Kim Celestre

Less than half of the audience here at ThinkLA's Social Media breakfast raised their hands when they were asked if they find marketing useful in their personal lives.

That's not exactly a ringing endorsement from the hundreds of marketers, advertisers and other media professionals who filled this seaside banquet hall.

What many here know and fewer will readily admit is that most marketing is junk. That truth persists with little regard for differences in medium, format, audience or data.

As the old and oft-repeated saying goes: half of all the effort and money spent on advertising is wasted, they just don't know which half.

Social media doesn't change that scenario so much as it amplifies what out-of-control junk marketing looks like. Any marketing that fails to provide value to a consumer is junk and there's a lot of it making the rounds on social media.

"The reality is most of us don't listen because the message doesn't pertain to us," says Kim Celestre, senior analyst at Forrester. "The fact is, your audience is getting impatient with the marketing you're putting out there."

Affluent, always-connected consumers may be some of the most valuable targets for marketers, but they're also especially good at ignoring advertising, she adds.

Celestre encourages brands to embrace "utility marketing" marketing that their customers can use. "You need to demonstrate your brand promise and not just talk about it," she says.

[Related: 5 Ways to Improve Your Social Media Campaigns ]

Excerpt from:
How to Make Sure Your Social Marketing Isn't 'Junk'

Just because I cannot resist theelectromagnetic pulseof Apples media control machine, it does not mean I have to buy its products. And based on reports of a so-called iWatch, there arefour reasons I willnotbuy one.

To be sure, journalists are being briefed on the details of the iWatch on the condition that they do not name the briefers. A case in pointis the New York Times which wrote [the iWatch] is expected to come in two sizes and combine functions like health and fitness monitoring with mobile computing tasks like displaying maps. It will have a flexible screen and, like the new phones, will support technology that allows people to pay for things wirelessly.

The anonymous briefers told the Times that the iWatch will have a tougher-than-glass flexible display panel that is protected by synthetic sapphire; a postage stamp-sized circuit board; a wireless battery charger, HealthKit, for storing health data andHandoff for pushing contentamongconsumers Apple devices.

It is unclear to me why media outlets cannotname their sources for these reports are the briefers lives at risk if they are named?

Here are four reasons I will not buy an iWatch.

1. I do not understand the value of wearable health and fitness monitoring

I do not sharea passion for wrist bracelets that keep track ofhealth and fitness statistics. In my daily life, I do not see many individuals who wear such devices.

More broadly, I do not understand what personal pain these devices are designed to relieve. Perhaps people who were college athletes and got used to timing how fast they run and continue to crave the dopamine rush of those statistics are among the consumers who buy health and fitness monitoring devices.

I do not crave this information but I would certainly buy such a device if my doctor prescribed one. Since I do not anticipate that happening, I am confident that I will not buy any health and fitness monitoring device.

2. I do not see a compelling need for wireless payment

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4 Reasons I Will Never Buy An IWatch

Mozilla's efforts to keep mobile Firefox competitive include adding remote streaming-media support to a new build of the browser.

The star of Firefox for Android Beta 33 -- released Thursday night -- is the "send to device" video-streaming feature that enables you to stream videos on your mobile gadget to a TV or another second screen. When you load a site on your mobile device that includes embedded video, an icon will appear in the URL bar letting you know you can begin streaming.

Tapping the icon will open a list of connected devices you can stream to. Once streaming, a media control bar will open at the bottom of the screen that lets you pause, play, and close videos. The bar is persistent, so you can load other websites while streaming.

Using the feature with Roku requires one more step than using it with Chromecast. Roku requires you to first add the Firefox Channel to your Roku service.

Meanwhile, the also-just-released Firefox Beta 33 for desktops introduces a competitor to Microsoft's Skype and Google's Hangouts. Citing numerous services -- but not by name -- that require turning over personal information and account registration, the as-yet unnamed Mozilla service doesn't require anything except Firefox.

Powered by WebRTC (Real-Time Communication) -- the plugin-free browser protocol for streaming audio, video, and data -- Firefox's new service allows for free video calls between Firefox Beta users. To use it, you go to the Firefox Customize menu and add the speech bubble icon to your toolbar. Adventurous Firefox Beta users can test it out here.

Mozilla has been a long-time proponent of WebRTC, and Google was one of WebRTC's earliest adopters. Google has liberated Hangouts from requiring a plugin thanks to WebRTC, although using it requires a Google account while Mozilla's upstart system doesn't.

However, not everyone is a fan WebRTC. Microsoft would rather see its competing ORTC protocol, short for Object Real-Time Communications, adopted by browsers. Given that both are relatively new, it could be awhile before that standards battle gets resolved.

Full release notes for Firefox Beta 33 are available here.

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Firefox for Android beta ushers mobile streaming to Chromecast, Roku

BANGKOK

Since seizing power in May, Thailand's military government has kept a firm grip on local news media as part of efforts to clamp down on political dissent. Critics say the steps to control the media are getting more extensive and repressive as authorities continue a process aimed at eliminating political divisions and changing the political system.

The Thai military moved swiftly after the coup to summon editors and news industry executives to meetings, setting tough ground rules for news and reporting. Pichai Chuensuksawadi, editor in chief of the English language Bangkok Post, and a media veteran, who attended the meetings with the military, says the message is one of no-nonsense with close monitoring TV and radio news broadcasts. "Under previous governments the way they put on pressure [on the media] was different. But here it's clear," he said. "They use announcements. [But] they are willing to listen to a certain extent and make changes. The fact I think for television, for radio for satellite they are under the gun more than print media that's for sure. But it's a lot clearer - I'm not saying that's a good thing - the agenda is clearer." Some easing, but restrictions remain

In mid-July, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) tried to outlaw any criticism of military leaders and punish publications and Websites that published offending content. Media associations succeeded in resisting the measures, and the military backed down.

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But restrictions still remain, such as bans preventing local television talk shows from interviewing academics and former government officials and analysts. High-profile Thai political dissidents and critics of the military regime who have fled abroad are mainly only quoted by foreign media. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for the New York-based Human Rights Watch, says the bans on news reports highlight a clear message to the local media. "There's a deepening repression of critical media bringing out points of view that the military junta disagree with. What we're seeing is increased banning of reports, blocking of websites issues a warning to media both print and electronic media not to step across a line that only the military junta really knows where that line is," said Robertson. Thai media have become accustomed to "shadow boxing" with Thailand's powerful military. Since becoming a constitutional monarchy in 1932 Thailand has faced 12 coups and long periods of military governments. In the past, military leaders shut down all newspapers. After a 1991 coup and during a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in May 1992 many newspapers defied efforts at official censorship. In contrast, after the 2006 coup against the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who himself faced charges of media meddling and suppression, military appointed Prime minister Surayud Chulanont promised a free press.

Self-censoring

Thai commentators say today's restrictions are more straightforward and grounded in the ruling juntas formal announcements. They also say the NCPO's backtracking over bans has led news organizations to self-censor to prevent the military from taking firmer control.

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Supinya Klangnarong, a media rights activist and National Broadcasting Commission (NBTC) member, who in 2006 won a case brought by former Prime Minister Thaksin in a $10 million civil and criminal law suit, says the media are fearful over the future. "A climate of fear is spreading at the national level and also the organizational level because of the coup and the martial law and all the criminalization of acts, especially up to the official, even at the NBTC - public figures - especially the officials are more sensitive - they could not tolerate criticism," she said. The Paris-based Reporters without Borders ranks Thailand, once one of the freest societies in South East Asia, at 130 out of 180 countries on an index of media freedom in 2014. The militarys harder line is already directly felt by some journalists. Chutima Sidasathan, a reporter on a Phuket-based web news service, who with an Australian editor, [Alan Morison], faces criminal defamation charges brought by the Royal Thai Navy after republishing parts of a Reuters report of July 2013 claiming Navy personnel were tied to human trafficking of Muslim Rohingya from Myanmar. Chutima says since the coup she has faced increasing harassment by navy personnel in Phuket. "In this time when the army took [power] in Thailand it makes my life more difficult when working. I've been intimidated from the Navy officer. So very disturbing about this issue. And then I keep telling them - so we are journalists - we can't keep silent," she said. The Bangkok Post's Pichai, says the junta is willing to listen to media concerns to ensure the government has a favorable image to the world. But he adds the military will also have no qualms about taking action if it is dissatisfied with the media's message.

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Thai Media Pressured Under Military Rule