The Clock Ticks Toward the Fiscal Cliff

Variety's Jill Goldsmith and Rachel Abrams write that a number of media moguls are now urging Washington lawmakers to come to a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff," saying that "principled compromise is once again possible."

From their story: "'This paralysis must come to an end,' wrote the diverse group of influential business leaders from oil giants to drug companies to investment banks in a letter to House and Senate leaders, also signed by DirecTV chairman Michael White; Gannett chairman Gracia Martore; Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner; Harold McGraw III, CEO of McGraw-Hill Companies; Glenn Britt, chairman of Time Warner Cable; and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam." Also on the list: Comcast's Biran Roberts and Viacom's Philippe Dauman.

Already, media companies, like firms in otehr industries, have increased dividends in anticpation of new taxes in 2013.