Mediagazer: Overture Films ends three-year run, hands off marketing and … (Claudia Eller/Company Town)

11:30 AM ET, July 24, 2010

Top News:

On the Media: Even when in error, Andrew Breitbart is on the attack — The conservative agitator didn't bother to vet the video that damaged Shirley Sherrod's character, yet he's unapologetic. — Short of announcing the discovery of a zero-calorie potato or juggling piglets at the state fair …

Discussion: New York Times, The Nation, Vanity Fair and Little Green Footballs

Jeremy W. Peters / Media Decoder:

No Longer Business As Usual, Condé's Townsend Says — The management shifts at Condé Nast today, the end result of a six-month study by corporate efficiency experts McKinsey & Co., signaled a fundamental restructuring of the advertising-based business model that has long sustained the company.

Discussion: Folio

Jeremy W. Peters / Media Decoder:
In Big Condé Nast Shift, Sauerberg Becomes President; Townsend Remains Chief

Discussion: AdAge, MediaPost, FishbowlNY, MinOnline, New York Observer, Business Wire, The Wire, Romenesko, Crain's New York Business, The Huffington Post, paidContent, The Wrap and WWD Media Headlines

Kalyani Chadha / American Association of Sunday …:

AASFE Announces Winners of 21st Annual Excellence In Feature Writing and Online Contest — AASFE is proud to announce the winners of its 21st annual Excellence in Feature Writing Contest which featured both print and online categories. The winners will honored on Friday, October 8 …

Discussion: Romenesko and Gannett Blog

Claudia Eller / Company Town:

Overture Films ends three-year run, hands off marketing and distribution to Relativity Media — Overture Films, the 3-year-old independent movie studio owned by John Malone's Liberty Media, is shutting down after it failed to fetch an adequate price from interested buyers.

Discussion: paidContent

David Kravets / Threat Level:

Newspaper Chain's New Business Plan: Copyright Suits — Steve Gibson has a plan to save the media world's financial crisis — and it's not the iPad. — Borrowing a page from patent trolls, the CEO of fledgling Las Vegas-based Righthaven has begun buying out the copyrights to newspaper content …

Discussion: Techdirt and Bookninja

Hipstomp / Core77:

Recycled newspapers for interior design lets you read between the walls — Newsworthy is the name Weitzner Limited's rather amazing wallcovering made from, you guessed it, recycled newspapers. … Maintenance-wise it can be vacuumed off for cleaning, but like real newspapers …

Jennifer Saba / Reuters:

Ad bounce gives relief to U.S. newspapers, for now — * New York Times, others, also show rebound in ad sales — * Publishers shares remain depressed; recovery doubts — * Worries center on easy 2009 comparisons — Advertising sales at newspapers finally rebounded in the second quarter …

Leon Neyfakh / New York Observer:

Tumblr Will Pay Their Intern — Tumblr outreach director Meaghan O'Connell just posted to the site's staff page advertising an internship with the company. The job sounds like a combination of PR and marketing. Weirdly, Ms. O'Connell jokes in the post that in order to qualify you must …

Discussion: Tumblr Staff

Yinka Adegoke / MediaFile:

Telcos are winning the cable TV battle but are they losing the broadband war? — The latest quarterly numbers from AT&T and Verizon Communications points to steady addition of TV customers which they are very likely winning from the cable companies as well as satellite players.

Discussion: Reuters

Nat Ives / AdAge:

Can Relentless LeBron James Coverage Sell a New National Sports Magazine? — Sports Lifestyle Title From Founders of The Source Will Include 20 Pages of Heat Coverage Every Issue — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — The Miami-based founders of The Source and Hip Hop Weekly are betting that LeBron James …

Discussion: Variety

Amy Gahran / Knight Digital Media Center:

Collaboration culture in news: No room for pettiness — In the news business, there's less and less reason to view other news venues primarily as competitors, even if they're in your backyard. These days, all news providers are potential collaborators in the practice and business of journalism …

Daisy Whitney / The Huffington Post:

Giant Convenience Store Chain Gone Viral: 7-Eleven Web Series Has 2 Million Views — LOS ANGELES — 7-Eleven, the world's largest store chain, is quickly making a name for itself as a marketer that's open to digital experimentation. — On the heels of its popular Farmville integration …