Mediagazer: Warning to local TV: unbundled distribution is upon you (Terry Heaton/Terry Heaton's PoMo Blog)

10:15 AM ET, December 6, 2010

Top News:

Nadia Damouni / Reuters:

Exclusive: AOL mulls breakup, then merger with Yahoo — (Reuters) - AOL Inc, undergoing a radical transformation into the king of content on the Internet, is actively exploring a breakup involving a complicated series of transactions that may lead to a merger with Yahoo Inc, sources close to the plans told Reuters.

Discussion: Tech Trader Daily, SAI, Techland, Fast Company, Search Engine Land, VentureBeat, The Next Web, New York Magazine and AfterDawn.com, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Wallenstein / paidContent:

How Mark Zuckerberg Fooled ‘60 Minutes’ — Leave it to 60 Minutes to pass off Facebook's utterly meaningless redesign of the site's profile pages as some kind of “exclusive” worth leading a segment on the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg. It's not just that correspondent Lesley Stahl …

Discussion: Guardian, SelectStart, The Wire, VentureBeat, International Media and Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

No Longer Tiny, Netflix Gets Respect—and Creates Fear — As Rivals Look to Counter Its Online Movie-Streaming Service, Hollywood Cautiously Cuts Deals to Provide Some Content — After years as a bit player in entertainment, Netflix Inc. is being eyed for a new role by Hollywood: industry hulk.

Discussion: DSLreports, SAI and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

David Carr / New York Times:

To Beat ‘Today,’ Look to Tomorrow — When a sports team loses long enough, fans get restless and soon enough, the coach ends up getting the gate. After all, you can't fire the whole team, right? — Unless you work in television. Last week, every single member of the perennially last place “Early Show” on CBS was shown the door.

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

ESPN Says Study Shows Little Effort to Cut Cable — Seeking to understand the cutting of cable cords, ESPN has waded into the Nielsen Company's audience sample and concluded that the cancellations are currently a “very minor” phenomenon. — The sports network's study provides a new answer …

Discussion: The Next Web

Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:

Hulu Orders Up a New Bite-Sized Show. It's Going to Taste a Lot Like Talk Soup — Hulu is a great place to see shows that just ran on TV. Is it a good place to see Internet shows that talk about shows that just ran on TV? — Stay tuned! — Plans are underway for a Hulu-only mini-show slated …

Discussion: The Next Web

Lucia Moses / Brandweek:

Apps as Money Pit — Magazine publishers are pouring money into apps, seduced by the notion that tablet computers can open a new avenue to make money from their content. But will they ever make it back? Certainly not in the near term and, perhaps, never.

Jeremy W. Peters / Media Decoder:

Cosmo Sets Sights on Mongolia — Coming to a newsstand most likely not near you: Cosmo Mongolia. — Cosmopolitan, which has been helping women all over the world unlock the secrets to better sex, tighter tushes and the enigmatic male psyche for four decades, will begin to sell a Mongolia edition this week.

Discussion: New York Magazine

Eric Pfanner / New York Times:

French Publishers Fight Back With a Communal Digital Newsstand — PARIS — With sales of newspapers and magazines flagging at the ornate kiosks that adorn the boulevards of Paris, French publishers hope that a planned “digital kiosk” can help revive their fortunes.

Lewis DVorkin / The Copy Box:

At Forbes, we believe in the “continuum” of media and content — When you've been in the media business as long I have, it's fascinating to watch how all of a sudden “old” becomes “new” again and “dead” springs back to “life.” — Barry Diller, who left the old (broadcast TV) for the new …

Discussion: Talking Biz News

Amy Larocca / New York Magazine:

Planet Monocle — Tyler Brûlé ushered in a design revolution with Wallpaper magazine. His new global media strategy is equally rarefied, and only occasionally ridiculous. Listen to him for a while, and the world seems positively aglow with possibility.

Elizabeth Jensen / New York Times:

A Bleak Budget Outlook for Public Broadcasters — In less than four weeks, NJN, the public radio and television network owned by New Jersey, will run out of state money to operate. Without a last-minute intervention, its outlets will go off the air on Dec. 31, and NJN's 130 employees have already received layoff notices.

Lucia Moses / Mediaweek:

Salon's Swan Song? — Popular site seeks buyer amidst tough market — Who will buy Salon.com? The site's search for a buyer has drawn attention to its troubled business model as a standalone news site, but its content and audience could be valuable to a company willing to assume its losses.