NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- One of the most basic requirements of effective problem solving is a clear definition what that problem is. This truism came strongly to mind as we watched a panel at this week's McGraw-Hill Media Summit moderated by Businessweek columnist Jon Fine. Panelists included top thinkers in their field, like Michael Oreskes, senior managing editor of the Associated Press, Dick Meyer, Director of Digital Media at NPR and Michael Wolff, columnist at Vanity Fair.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- An angry Jeff Zucker kicked off yesterday's on-stage interview at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit with a denouncement of Jon Stewart. NBC Universal's CEO was miffed at the host of Comedy Central's "Daily Show" for his tirade against the network's business news operations last week. In a scathing satire, Stewart alleged that NBC contributed to the current economic crisis with consistently faulty assessments and inaccurate reports about market conditions.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Although it was billed as "The Future of Newspapers," last week's panel discussion at Columbia University's Journalism School didn't exactly seem to fit that description. Attendee Marcie Young, a 2006 graduate of Columbia J school, grilled panelists about why she and so many other reporters were losing their jobs in newsroom downsizings. She was told to get used to the idea that young reporters like herself were not going to be able work in the profession that they trained for.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Kmart surprised many when it began loudly trumpeting its anachronistic-sounding layaway concept last fall. But the program has been a hit with credit- and cash-strapped consumers, according to Kmart CMO Mark Snyder. He appeared along with DraftFCB EVP Mathiew Lignel at the Advertising Club's recent "Marketing Through The Recession" panel. Both explained how the faded and gauche idea of layaways was repackaged as an alluring new consumer benefit for Kmart shoppers.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The lobbying wars over advertising issues are heating up in Washington and a phalanx of marketing trade associations have moved into the fray. The first big public clash came earlier this month as Congressional critics began a move to further curtail tobacco advertising. The American Advertising Federation led the charge on that one. In this program, new AAF president James Datri makes it clear that he sees the advertisement of any legal product as a Constitutional right that Congress shouldn't limit.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- How can Hulu and similiar online TV network video portals be improved? At the recent Association of National Advertisers' TV & Everything Video Forum, the question was put to eMarketer CEO Geoffrey Ramsey. He spends his days immersed in data reports about online consumer behavior and reactions. He gave the networks high marks for launching portals like Hulu but noted how those sites needed to improve their advertising structures and practices.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Newspaper readers have long paid less than it actually costs to deliver the product to their homes. And now, as newspaper companies struggle to survive, those readers should pay the real costs of that service. That was one of the suggestions made by Hearst Newspapers president Steven Swartz at this week's Future of Newspapers Panel. That event at Columbia University's Journalism School explored the dire straits in which print publishers like Swartz find themselves.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- "Mad Men," AMC's 1960s advertising agency drama, has struck a chord with the general public at the same time it's become a cult classic in the marketing services industry. AMC president and general manager Charlie Collier, a former advertising executive who switched to the content side of the business in 2006, talks about the hit show's continuing impact as it prepares for its third season.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The fortunes of music marketers continue to decline as consumers' music-related habits change for the worst. Although digital piracy gets all the publicity, it's only one of several trends that have converged into a choke hold on music industry revenue streams. In his presentation to the recent Digital Music Forum East, The NPD Group's senior analyst Russ Crupnick had nothing but grim news for marketers. These are some excerpts of his remarks about NPD's latest national study findings.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- You don't hear a lot of people talking about the current national economic disaster's "silver lining." But Euro RSCG's global chief strategy officer Andrew Bennett sees one for his industry. We were also fascinated to learn that he's working on a book entitled "Good for Business." We wondered if that title seemed as ironic to him as it did to us in this era of relentless corporate catastrophe.