Mediagazer: AOL Shifts Emphasis, Bit by Bit (Wall Street Journal)

11:40 AM 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, The Atlantic Online, Fast Company, mediabistro.com, broadstuff, Guardian, Webmetricsguru, Scobleizer, MediaNama, AOL Corp, USA Today and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »

TechCrunch:

Tim Armstrong: We Got TechCrunch! — I'm very pleased to announce that we have acquired TechCrunch. Details are in the press release below, and I'm sure founder Michael Arrington will have a few words to say as well. This is a great complement to our continued investment in world class content.

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

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

Discussion: ClickZ

Edmund Lee / AdAge:
Why AOL Bought TechCrunch

more at Techmeme »

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: TVNewser, 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, New York Observer, Washington Post and Associated Press

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

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!”

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:UK and eMedia Vitals

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

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: GigaOM Pro

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, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, AdExchanger.com, FM Blog, L.A. Times Tech Blog and ClickZ, more at Techmeme »

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: Gawker, The Wire, New York Post 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

Ryan Tate / Gawker:

Star Tech Writers Spurn AOL for Rupert Murdoch — It was looking like News Corp. might lose Wall Street Journal stars Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, who host a lucrative conference for the company. But the pair are staying and swimming in money. Credit a well-timed overture from AOL.

Discussion: Romenesko and MediaMemo

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.

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Knight Promises To Cover Journalism Online Costs For Some News Orgs — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has funded any number of experiments to create sustainable journalism, investing millions of dollars in startups, academics and more. The latest effort offers …

Discussion: WebNewser

Dan Duray / New York Observer:

Steele Magnolia: The Curbed Founder Takes His Shelter Network National — Curbed network founder and president Lockhart Steele insists that the new national version of his flagship site won't be competing with shelter magazines. — All the same, one of the fledgling site's …

Discussion: Observer

James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:

On the Media: Republicans on Fox gain valuable face time — Candidates hosting shows or being interviewed reach out directly to their base. — Silly, silly Tim Pawlenty. — The governor of Minnesota visits the flood disaster in the southern end of his state and calls a special session …

Discussion: Most Recent Home Page Posts …

Andrea Pitzer / Nieman Storyboard:

Michael Jones on heroes, villains and the science of narrative — We spoke last week with Michael D. Jones, who is applying statistics to narrative here at Harvard during his fellowship at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Jones, who received his Ph.D. earlier this year from the University …