Washington, D.C., had a professional tennis tournament here last week. I went one night, and the crowd was slight. I believe other days were similar. Yes it was hot, but I believe the reason for the small crowds is that no one big incentive was communicated for people to attend. Federer and Djokovic weren't there. No major title was on the line. They weren't giving anything away. There was little gamification.

"I like people who know how to work. Done is better than perfect. So when people tell me [in interviews] about their weekend projects in their house, like the treehouse they built and they couldn't go to sleep until it was done, that's a cool thing." — Dottie Mattison, CEO of Gracious Home New York in a Q&A last week in The New York Times

Charlotte-based American City Business Journals is the nation's largest publisher of local business news and information, deploying more than 600 journalists across 43 major U.S. cities. Add a few sports publications and Bizwomen, and you have a very strong media brand.