Late Breaking News

BY JON LAFAYETTE Randi Schatz, a veteran TV industry magazine publisher, has joined the Media Central unit of Primedia Inc. as VP/sales of Kagan World Media and Simba and publisher of Cable World. In her new position, Schatz will oversee sales, marketing, circulation and business-side operations for Cable World. “I am delighted to be joining Primedia at a time when great investment has been made in its products,” said Schatz. “Cable World has made great editorial strides, and circulation investment has paid off during the past year. I look forward to expanding into new areas and to developing the synergies among Cable World, Kagan and the Simba group.” Prior to joining Primedia, Schatz spent 13 years at Reed Business Information in various capacities, most recently as group associate publisher of the Reed International Television Group, which publishes Multichannel News International, Television International, Television Europe and Television Latin America. Prior to taking that position, Schatz was director of special projects for Broadcasting & Cable. Said Darcy Miller, president of Media Central, “We’re delighted to bring Randi aboard as we continue to strengthen Cable World‘s position in the marketplace and develop marketing programs that help our customers improve their business. Randi is an innovator and brand builder — the right person at the right time for the right publication.” Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last Friday, FCC Chairman Michael Powell surprised backers of the cable/consumer electronics plug-and-play agreement with the commission’s vote to start the official comment period for the proposed rule changes and the potential impact on consumers. The move comes just three weeks after the proposal was presented to the FCC. Comments are due March 28, with replies due April 28. Powell, a proponent of plug-and-play who pushed the two industries to work together toward a solution, said the process still would take six to eight months.