I Want Media
Do you have a question to ask Twitter creator Jack Dorsey? Or Craigslist founder Craig Newmark? Or any of the other media and tech figures scheduled for I Want Media’s panel discussion, “The Future of Media: 2009″? Email your questions before this Wednesday.
Twitter, Craigslist: Questions for Founders?
June 1st, 2009Advertisers Start Launching Social Networks
June 1st, 2009USA Today
Marketers are starting to roll out their own social networking sites. The branded sites won’t rival the likes of Facebook or Twitter, but aim to complement them. Sharpie’s new Sharpie Uncapped touts the use of the permanent markers for self-expression. full article
Google E-Book Program to Take On Amazon
June 1st, 2009New York Times
Google plans to launch a program enabling book publishers to sell digital versions of their titles to consumers direct through the Internet search giant. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com’s effort to control the e-book market with the Kindle reading device. full article
BBC, Google Eye Launch of Global iPlayer
June 1st, 2009Telegraph
The BBC is said to be in talks with Google about rolling out an international version of the British broadcaster’s iPlayer, supported by Google-owned YouTube. The move would mean BBC shows could be seen globally in their entirety on the iPlayer platform supported by YouTube. full article
YouTube Mulls ‘SafeTube’ Site for Families
June 1st, 2009Guardian
Google’s YouTube is exploring the introduction of a standalone, family-friendly “SafeTube” version of the site as part of its program of improving safety and content standards. YouTube has already introduced controls that allow users to mask expletives and delete comments. full article
Sony to Launch Smaller PlayStation Portable
June 1st, 2009Reuters
Sony is said to be planning to sell a smaller and lighter PlayStation Portable handheld game machine later this autumn. The new device, dubbed the PSP Go, is 43% lighter than the current model and comes with a 3.8-inch display, compared with the current 4.3 inch screen. full article
AOL Won’t Change Its Name After Spinoff
June 1st, 2009Bloomberg
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong says he is keeping all options open for a strategy to revive the company. He is expected to place AOL’s Bebo and Truveo into a separate ventures unit to attract outside investment. AOL will keep its name because of its global recognition, he adds. full article
Time Warner May Be Forced to Sell Itself
June 1st, 2009Wall Street Journal
Time Warner, after its retreat from AOL, continues to face long-term threats from the Internet and digitization. CEO Jeff Bewkes may be forced to run the company in a scaled-down form — without its publishing unit. Another option: Sell the company to the likes of Comcast or News Corp. full article
News Corp: DirecTV CEO to Replace Chernin
June 1st, 2009TheWrap
DirecTV CEO Chase Carey is being tapped to become the second in command at News Corp., replacing Peter Chernin when he steps down after the end of his contract in June. Carey would be vice-chairman rather than president, as Chernin was, and would be based in New York. full article
Disney to Dominate Mommy Demo on Web
June 1st, 2009Mediaweek
Disney Online is set to the completion of its acquisition of a group of parenting Web sites run by the financially distressed Canadian outfit Kaboose, purchased for $18.4 million in April. Disney can now claim to be the biggest player in the moms category on the Web. full article
NBC Will Still Be Here This Fall, Leno Says
June 1st, 2009Reuters
Jay Leno on Friday ended his 17-year run as host of “The Tonight Show.” His move to 10 p.m. this fall, which will save NBC millions by avoiding production of a costly TV drama, is a gamble, he admits. “I’m betting NBC will still be around in three months, but that’s not a given.” full article
MSNBC ‘Morning Joe’ Brewed by Starbucks
June 1st, 2009New York Times
Starbucks is becoming a sponsor of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” in the closest integration between an advertiser and a national news show in recent memory. Voice-overs will tell viewers that “Morning Joe” is “brewed by Starbucks.” The show may start airing from Starbucks outlets. full article
Playboy Expected to Offer CEO Job to Outsider
June 1st, 2009Wall Street Journal
Playboy Enterprises is expected to offer Scott Flanders, president and CEO of Freedom Communications, its vacant CEO post as early as this week. It isn’t clear whether the possible appointment means the company is more likely to seek a buyer, as is rumored. full article
Time Warner CEO Hints at Magazine Web Fees
June 1st, 2009Associated Press
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes says he doesn’t think it makes sense “to run a publishing business with no cost for the content.” However, he isn’t specifying whether any of Time Warner’s magazines will start to embrace online fees to increase their revenue. full article
Conde Nast: ‘Dream Factory’ Sees Hard Times
June 1st, 2009New York
Si Newhouse’s “good times empire” of Conde Nast is facing a hard-times world, says the cover story of New York magazine. Newhouse, who has closed six magazines in the last two years, is “depressed.” The Conde Nast boss is described as “slow” to respond to the Internet. full article
Hearst Mags’ Contrarian Strategy Pays Off
June 1st, 2009New York Times
Hearst Magazines, led by president Cathie Black, keeps many of its articles offline. Its Web sites try to tantalize readers with what they can see only in print — and drive them to buy subscriptions. Indications are that Hearst’s “willingness to defy conventional wisdom has been working.” full article
R.H. Donnelley Files for Bankruptcy to Cut Debt
June 1st, 2009Bloomberg
R.H. Donnelley, the publisher of 600 directories including telephone Yellow Pages, is seeking bankruptcy protection to reduce debt by about $6.4 billion amid mounting losses. The company blames the filing partly on “increased competition in the local business advertising industry.” full article
TV Guide Chief Ousted in Weekend Shakeup
June 1st, 2009New York Post
TV Guide magazine’s new owner, Open Gate Capital, is replacing Scott Crystal as president, and tapping Michael Clayton, the company’s executive VP, as interim chief. A successor will be named “in the near future.” TV Guide is believed to have lost about $20 million last year. full article
People Magazine: Celebrities Twitter Too Much
June 1st, 2009People / AP
Celebrities are tweeting too much information, according to People.com. “Twitter etiquette comes easier to some celebrities than others.” Also: Model Kimora Lee Simmons and actor Djimon Hounsou bypassed celebrity magazines to announce the birth of their baby via Twitter. full article
Esquire Conducts Blog Outreach for June Issue
June 1st, 2009PR Week
Hearst’s Esquire magazine is targeting celebrity, entertainment and gossip bloggers, leveraging the popularity of Megan Fox to promote its June issue. Esquire also sent 30 cease and desist notices to bloggers who posted its exclusive Web video of the actress. full article
MediaNews Starting Test of Home-Printed News
June 1st, 2009Editor & Publisher
MediaNews is preparing to put its “Individuated News” personalized newspaper to the test in real homes in Denver this week. Subscribers will get home delivery of a printed newspaper, through home printers or portable devices, with content personalized to their demands. full article
Barrons.com to Let Subscribers Post Comments
June 1st, 2009Barron’s
Barrons.com, the Web site of the Dow Jones financial weekly, is unveiling a redesign. A new feature, “Barron’s Take,” will offer editors’ views on a top story each day, available only to subscribers. Also, subscribers will soon be able to post comments on Barron’s stories. full article
Wikipedia Blocks Scientology from Site Edits
June 1st, 2009AFP
Wikipedia is blocking the Church of Scientology from editing entries at the user-generated online encyclopedia due to a battle over the group’s image. A “longstanding struggle” between admirers of Scientology and critics of the group prompted Wikipedia to bar edits. full article
On Facebook: Today’s Homeless Stay Wired
June 1st, 2009Wall Street Journal
Homeless shelter attendants say the number of laptop-toting overnight visitors is growing. New York City has put 42 computers in five of its nine shelters. One homeless man, 37, says: “You don’t need a TV. You don’t even need a newspaper. But you need the Internet.” full article
Twitter: 25 Media People You Should Follow
June 1st, 2009Advertising Age
Advertising Age is suggesting a batch of media and marketing people to follow on Twitter, along with some of their recent tweets. Example: David Carr, New York Times media columnist: “AOL leaves TW so TW can focus on content. And AOL’s play going forward? Umm, content.” full article
Why Won’t Traditional Media Outlets Innovate?
June 1st, 2009Forbes
Unless old media execs truly believe their business models have long-term viability, “they need to regain an appetite for risk,” writes Scott Donaton, former publisher of Entertainment Weekly. “They should experiment with iPhone apps, mobile video, touch-screen readers.” full article
U.S. Journalism Institute in Web News Venture
May 28th, 2009AFP
The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and four entrepreneurs are joining forces in a Silicon Valley-based venture called CircLabs, aimed at financing online news. The first service, code-named “Circulate,” aims to “create a bridge” between consumers and news publishers.
Mark Cuban: Insider Claims Should Be Dismissed
May 27th, 2009Bloomberg
Mark Cuban’s lawyer is asking a federal judge to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s insider-trading lawsuit against the billionaire chairman of HDNet. The complaint “fails” to show that Cuban was barred from selling shares of Mamma.com in 2004. full article
Tucker Carlson to Launch HuffPost Alternative
May 27th, 2009The Hill
Former CNN pundit Tucker Carlson plans to launch a right-leaning news site resembling the Huffington Post within weeks. Carlson’s TheDailyCaller.com will seek to “drive” the news, similar to the Drudge Report, the New York Times and other major news outlets, he says. full article
HuffPost Hires Elle Ad Exec for Style Channel
May 27th, 2009WWD
The Huffington Post sees its style section as a major growth area and is putting more editorial and sales efforts behind the channel. The site is hiring former Elle associate publisher Samantha Fennell as executive director, sales, to oversee fashion and luxury categories. full article
