No News Would Be Great News at the UBS Media Conference

The place to be in the media industry this week (if you're not on an unemployment line) is the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, the annual three-day confab, starting today in New York, where anyone who is anyone in the media business comes to pontificate. This year's cast includes Donald Graham, chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Co., Wenda Harris Millard, co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP Group and Greg Maffei, president/CEO of Liberty Media. Piddling mid-level executives need not apply.

But you don't actually have to show up to know what the news is: bad. In fact, this is one of those years when many who will be presenting would just as soon not be there, while the analysts and reporters covering it can't wait to show up.

Oh, wait, there is good news: many of those who are presenting have already announced big pieces of bad news; they'll have that behind them by the time they show up at the conference. NBC Universal's Jeff Zucker, who presented at lunchtime today, laid off 500 people last week, and Viacom President/CEO Philippe Dauman, who presented early this afternoon, got a 7 percent layoff of his staff out of the way last week too. As for what the two said, well, it can be neatly summed up as "Welcome to the New Conservatism." Zucker said that NBC Universal will have virtually no merger and acquisition activity next year, and Dauman said much the same thing. So, in conclusion, if you're looking for a deep-pocketed media company to buy up your struggling start-up, you might look elsewhere.

I'll post more on the UBS conference when more Webcasts are available. In the meantime, be happy you don't work at the Tribune Co. -- unless you do.