Mediagazer: Being Glenn Beck — Glenn Beck was sprawled out on his office couch … (Mark Leibovich/New York Times)

2:45 PM ET, September 29, 2010

Top News:

Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:

Why We Sold TechCrunch To AOL, And Where We Go From Here — By now you must have heard the news that AOL has acquired us. Here are videos of the on stage signing of the agreement and an interview with AOL CEO Tim Armstrong immediately afterwards. — So how did all this happen?

Discussion: One Man & His Blog, Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard, PC Magazine, The Atlantic Online, broadstuff, Fast Company, Guardian, mediabistro.com, Webmetricsguru, MediaPost Raw, MediaNama, Bloomberg, AOL Corp, Scobleizer and USA Today, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

AOL Shifts Emphasis, Bit by Bit — AOL Inc. went on a shopping binge Tuesday, announcing three acquisitions, as it tries to redefine itself as a hub for Internet videos and articles on various trendy topics. — Back when it was called America Online, AOL was the first introduction to the Internet for many Americans.

Discussion: New York Times, Deal Journal, Venture Capital Dispatch and Digits

Keith J. Kelly / New York Post: AOL feels the Crunch

TechCrunch:
Tim Armstrong: We Got TechCrunch!

Edmund Lee / AdAge: Why AOL Bought TechCrunch

Mark Leibovich / New York Times:

Being Glenn Beck — Glenn Beck was sprawled out on his office couch a couple of weeks ago, taking — as self-helpers like to say — an inventory. “I think what the country is going through right now is, in a way, what I went through with my alcoholism,” he told me. “You can either live or die.

Discussion: BAGnewsNotes, The Wire, The Huffington Post, Strupp, New York Magazine, TVNewser, Vanity Fair, Mediaite, Ben Smith's Blog, Inside Cable News and Think Progress

Michelle Kessler / USA Today:

Ongo gets $12 million in financing — Silicon Valley start-up Ongo has announced an initial $12 million round of financing from USA TODAY parent Gannett, The New York Times Co. and The Washington Post Co. Ongo, founded by former eBay veteran Alex Kazim, plans to launch a consumer service …

Discussion: paidContent and Mashable!

Russell Adams / Digits:
New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company

Discussion: Romenesko, Washington Post, New York Observer and Associated Press

AT Internet Institute:

News websites: Facebook ahead of Twitter in terms of traffic source — Social networks are at the heart of breaking news, playing an increasingly essential role in this field. What level of traffic do social networks such as Facebook and Twitter generate for websites?

Discussion: paidContent, Shaping the Future … and eMedia Vitals

Jim Romenesko / Romenesko:

Boston.com's Beard named National Journal Group online editor — David Beard Joins National Journal Group as Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Online Editor — Washington, D.C. (September 29, 2010) — National Journal Group announced today that online news specialist David Beard is joining …

Discussion: The Wrap and Nieman Journalism Lab

The Official Google Blog:

What does the future of display advertising look like? — This afternoon, we gave a keynote address at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's MIXX Conference in New York, entitled “Display 2015: Smart and Sexy.” — As you know by now, we're investing significantly to make display advertising better …

Discussion: Digits, Real-Time Advertising Week, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, AdExchanger.com, FM Blog, L.A. Times Tech Blog and ClickZ, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

Fake pimp from ACORN videos tries to ‘punk’ CNN correspondent — Editor's note: CNN takes an unprecedented look inside the young conservative activist movement in the documentary “Right On The Edge,” which airs Oct. 2 and 3 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. EST. — Lusby, Maryland (CNN) …

Discussion: TVNewser, Romenesko, Mediaite, NPR Topics, The Huffington Post, Jezebel, New York Magazine, Politics Daily, TPMMuckraker, Weigel and Latest Open Salon Blog

Lymari Morales / Gallup:

Distrust in U.S. Media Edges Up to Record High — Perceptions of liberal bias still far outnumber perceptions of conservative bias — WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the fourth straight year, the majority of Americans say they have little or no trust in the mass media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Top of the Ticket and BrauBlog

Jack Shafer / Slate:

Advertisements for Themselves — The newspaper industry is likely to hit a 25-percent low in advertising sales this year. If so, it will end up billing about half of what it billed in its record year of 2005. — But the newspaper industry aims to win back those advertisers, of course.

Discussion: Romenesko and State of the Fourth Estate

Don Jeffrey / Bloomberg:

Disney, CBS, Fox Sue Online Subscription Service Ivi for Streaming Shows — Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, CBS Corp. and other broadcasters sued Ivi, an online subscription service, for streaming television programs over the Web without authorization. — The companies, also including News Corp.'s Fox …

Discussion: Online Video News, PC World, Fast Company, NewTeeVee, Mashable!, VentureBeat and MediaPost Raw, more at Techmeme »

Carol Marie Cropper / NetNewsCheck Latest:

Gilbert: Only 1 In 10 ‘Old Media’ Will Survive — DALLAS — Fewer than one in 10 traditional media outlets are likely to survive, Clark Gilbert, president and CEO of a Salt Lake City digital media company, suggested to those gathered at the Local Mobile Advertising Conference here Tuesday.

Discussion: WebNewser and GigaOM Pro

Kara Swisher / BoomTown:

First Ben Silverman Online Program-"Ready, Set, Dance!" -Debuts on Yahoo — Yahoo and Electus, the multiplatform content studio headed by former NBC entertainment head Ben Silverman, debuted its first original, branded entertainment programming tonight with “Ready, Set, Dance!”

Discussion: The Wrap, The Wire, paidContent and Tech Trader Daily

Mimi Turner / Hollywood Reporter:

Jeff Bewkes: Beware of Apple, Amazon deals — TW chief says low-cost digital giveaways devalue TV fare — LONDON — Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes told British media execs that television is entering a second golden age of creativity and reward but warned against the danger of low-cost digital giveaways.

Discussion: Electronista

David Kaplan / paidContent:

Pandora's Ad Network Jumps From PC, Phone To TV, BluRay Players — After launching its own ad platform for the iPad this past summer, streaming radio player Pandora is making its ad system more at home. Later this morning, the company will announce that it's expanding its audio ad network …

Discussion: media.fordvehicles.com

Nicholas Carlson / Silicon Alley Insider:

Ex-AOL Media Boss Bill Wilson Takes On $144.9 Billion Local Ad Market As Chief Digital Officer At Townsquare — Bill Wilson, the former AOL EVP who stared formulating that company's turnaround as a twenty-first century Time Inc. even before Tim Armstrong joined, has a new gig: He'll be EVP and chief digital officer at Townsquare Media.

Discussion: paidContent and WebNewser

John Koblin / New York Observer:

It's Autumn. Do You Know Where Your Magazine Editors Are? — Over the summer, two weeklies announced job searches for two editors. It's autumn now, and The New York Times Magazine and Newsweek are still on the hunt. So where do things stand with the two biggest media stories of the moment?

Discussion: New York Post, Gawker, The Wire, New York Magazine and Romenesko

Alex Alvarez / FishbowlNY:

Newsweek Names Rhona Murphy Global Publisher — Chalk up a hire for Newsweek: the weekly news magazine — which will move under new owner Sidney Harman's control this Friday — has tapped Rhona Murphy as its global publisher. — Murphy will be in charge of overseeing the publishing operations …

Discussion: Folio

Tom Lowry / Variety:

Comcast's Web worry — Critics want content to be shared — While Comcast's proposed joint venture with NBC Universal has generated a lot of noise from supporters and opponents as it makes its way through the Washington regulatory chain, other media congloms and small startup ventures …

Discussion: Company Town

Rob O'Regan / eMedia Vitals:

Consumer Reports, Sporting News tinker with paid content models — Reactions: — Publishers continue to experiment with paid content models - even paywall pioneer Consumer Reports, which has been charging for online content since 1997. — Consumer Reports, which has 3.3 million paid online subscribers …

Zachary Roth / CJR:

Media Critic In Chief — President Obama used his interview with Rolling Stone to open a new offensive in the White House's verbal war with Fox News. But he also seemed to be making a more subtle—and more interesting—point. — Said the president:

Discussion: Media Decoder, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic Wire, New York Observer, CNN, Politics Daily and The Huffington Post

Claire Atkinson / New York Post:

Diller Resigns as Live Nation Chairman — Tweet — Barry Diller is stepping down as chairman of Live Nation's board as the company struggles to carve out a strategy following a sluggish summer concert season. — In a statement, Diller, who is the chief of IAC/Interactive …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter

Bloomberg:

Yahoo, RealNetworks Music License Fees Voided by Court — Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) — A U.S. appeals court in New York reversed a series of lower-court decisions setting license fees for the Internet companies Yahoo! Inc. and RealNetworks Inc. to stream songs online.