Mediagazer: Demand Media Clears SEC and Prices IPO (Kara Swisher/BoomTown)

4:30 PM ET, January 12, 2011

Top News:

Paul Colford / ap.org:

AP and Shepard Fairey announce agreement in Obama poster case — The Associated Press, Shepard Fairey and Mr. Fairey's companies Obey Giant Art, Inc., Obey Giant LLC, and Studio Number One, Inc., have agreed in principle to settle their pending copyright infringement lawsuit over rights in the Obama Hope poster and related merchandise.

Discussion: Associated Press, paidContent, MediaMemo, LA Observed, The Wrap, New York Observer, Techdirt, Nieman Journalism Lab, SAI, Threat Level, Runnin' Scared, On Media's Blog, TBD All News and Copyrights & Campaigns

Josh Halliday / Guardian:

WikiLeaks: Julian Assange has Rupert Murdoch ‘insurance files’ — Founder claims WikiLeaks has more than 500 US diplomatic cables on one broadcasting organisation — Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, claimed today he was in possession of “insurance” files on Rupert Murdoch and his global media company, News Corporation.

Discussion: CNET News, Media News International and News: News blog

Duncan Robinson / The Staggers:

Exclusive Interview: Julian Assange on Murdoch, Manning and the threat from China — The WikiLeaks founder talks to John Pilger. — In this week's New Statesman, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange talks to John Pilger about Bradley Manning, his “insurance” files on Rupert Murdoch and Newscorp …

Discussion: The Wire, Press Gazette, News: News blog, The Huffington Post and Guardian

Howard Kurtz / The Daily Beast:

Correction on My Darrell Issa Story — I'd like to set the record straight on one of my stories. — In late November, I asked Rep. Darrell Issa's spokesman, Kurt Bardella, for an interview with the congressman. He said he would see what he could do. — That afternoon my phone rang …

Discussion: On Media's Blog, The Wire, Poynter and The Huffington Post

Hamilton Nolan / Gawker:

Why Did Howard Kurtz Sit on an Embarrassing Correction for Six Weeks? — Howard Kurtz has quite a correction today! It seems that Howie mistakenly believed he was interviewing a Congressman directly, when in fact he was speaking to the Congressman's spokesperson. Weirder: Kurtz waited more than a month to correct the story.

Discussion: Chickaboomer, The Huffington Post and FishbowlDC

Ryan Singel / Threat Level:

Twitter's Response to WikiLeaks Subpoena Should Be the Industry Standard — ANALYSIS: Twitter introduced a new feature last month without telling anyone about it, and the rest of the tech world should take note and come up with its own version of it — Twitter beta-tested a spine.

Discussion: Fast Company, Crikey, Reuters, New York Magazine, broadstuff and The Nation

Vadim Lavrusik / Mashable!:

Social Media and Subpoenas: A Broken System That Puts Journalistic Sources at Risk — The Department of Justice issued Twitter a subpoena for access to the accounts of Julian Assange and several others in relation to its investigation of the whistle-blower organization, which released roughly 2,000 classified cables.

Discussion: Poynter and Gawker

Kara Swisher / BoomTown:

Demand Media Clears SEC and Prices IPO — Demand Media is set to go public, according to an amended filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, with shares priced from $14 to $16 each. — The online publisher could sell up to 8.625 million shares and, if it prices at the top of the range …

Discussion: paidContent, MediaPost, WebNewser, SAI, Beet.TV and DealBook, more at Techmeme »

Mallary Jean Tenore / Poynter:

6 ways journalists can use Quora as a tool for reporting, sharing ideas — Quora, the fast-growing question and answer site, has become increasingly popular among journalists. — In a phone interview, Quora co-founder Adam D'Angelo attributed the site's recent growth to an increase …

Discussion: American Journalism Review, Editors Weblog and TBD All News

Brian Steinberg / AdAge:

Piers Morgan Taking Over for Larry King, but His Ads Cost the Same — CNN Has High Hopes for Show; Buyers Take Wait-and-See Approach — One thing new CNN host Piers Morgan (left) has in common with his predecessor Larry King: ad prices. — NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — By taping interviews …

Discussion: Mediaite, B&C, TVNewser, AdScam/The Horror! and Chickaboomer

Jeff Bercovici / Mixed Media: How CNN's Piers Morgan Cut Bill O'Reilly Down to Size

Amir Efrati / Wall Street Journal:

The Price of Unwanted Ad Clicks — Some advertisers on Google Inc.'s search engine say a little-known feature of the company's AdWords ad system is causing them to overpay. — The advertisers, including high-end medical professionals, said their ads for services such as cosmetic dentistry …

Discussion: Search Engine Land and Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim

New York Post:

Meow! Fashion news catfight planned on Web — It's a return to battle for two veterans of the catty and combative fashion news wars. — Former Fairchild boss Michael Coady and ex-InStyle editor Charla Lawhon are joining forces — with a chance to twist the tails of their respective former employers …

Discussion: FishbowlNY

Bill Carter / Media Decoder:

Conan Talks About Ratings, Leno and NBC — Pasadena, Ca.— Conan O'Brien had a brief message Wednesday about his relocation from NBC to the cable channel TBS: “Everything has worked out great for me.” — To reinforce that point - and perhaps to attempt to pre-empt any analysis from competitors …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Mediaite, The Wire and Flavorwire

Richard Sandomir / New York Times:

Yahoo Sports Adds an Online Magazine — Yahoo Sports has built an audience of more than 50 million visitors on news, commentary and fantasy games. Now it is shifting gears with a product extension: an online magazine. — Starting Tuesday night, Yahoo's sports division and SportsFanLive.com …

Discussion: Poynter, Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim and eMedia Vitals

Todd Shields / Bloomberg:

Comcast Said to Face Online-Video, Web Conditions to Seal Purchase of NBC — Comcast Corp. may have to provide television programs to online competitors and wouldn't be allowed to interfere with subscribers' Web traffic to satisfy regulators vetting its planned purchase of NBC Universal, people familiar with the deal said.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Online Video News and Electronista

Stuart Elliott / Media Decoder:

Bond, Ad Agency Stalwart, Will Lead Social Media Agency — In another sign of the growing role that social media is playing on Madison Avenue, Jonathan Bond, long a leading executive in the realm of traditional agencies, is becoming the head of an agency specializing in social media.

Discussion: MediaPost, AdAge, New York Observer, AdFreak and AdScam/The Horror!

Staci D. Kramer / paidContent:

Comcast's Gilford Jumps To ABC As SVP, Digital Media — Digital entertainment vet Karin Gilford is switching from Comcast Interactive Media (NSDQ: CMCSA) to Disney/ABC (NYSE: DIS) Television Group. As SVP-digital media for ABC, Gilford will be responsible for the network's initiatives across platforms …

Discussion: GigaOM, Broadcasting & Cable and MediaPost

Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:

Paper.li Raises $2.1 Million For Social News Curation, Hits 2 Million Users — Exclusive - SmallRivers, the Switzerland-based company behind Paper.li, a service that taps social streams from users and turns them into personalized online newspapers, has just raised $2.1 million in funding …

Discussion: SAI, Journalism.co.uk, paper.li and paidContent

Kenneth P. Vogel / The Politico:

Jared Loughner's supremacists tie debunked — An Arizona law enforcement agency is backing away from a document it produced in the aftermath of Saturday's shootings in Tucson - and which was leaked to Fox News - that linked the man accused with carrying out the crimes to a white nationalist publication.

Discussion: The Plum Line and Hit & Run

Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:

Hold The Phone - Adknowledge Raises $200 Million, Plans Acquisitions — Did I say online advertising company Adknowledge raised $45 million in venture capital? I did, and they did, but Adknowledge actually secured more than four times as much in total consideration, in a combination of debt and equity financing.

Discussion: Market Wire and paidContent