Mediagazer: TidalTV Raises $30M For Online Video Ad Optimization Technology (Leena Rao/TechCrunch)

11:40 PM ET, March 31, 2011

Top News:

Volvo Unlocks MLB Paywall for April — Fans Get Free Access to Streaming Games on Apple Devices for a Month — Play ball. For Major League Baseball's Opening Day today, an advertiser is unlocking a paywall for rabid baseball fans: Volvo is presenting free streaming games on Apple devices for one month.

Discussion: paidContent, MediaPost, Mediaweek and MediaPost

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Note to Media: Don't Fight Zite, Learn From It — In an entirely too-predictable development, a group of media outlets has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the creators of Zite, a magazine-style aggregator for the iPad. The publishers allege that by pulling in their content and displaying …

Discussion: Poynter, Mixed Media, paidContent, Folio, On Media's Blog, ReadWriteWeb, Techdirt, App Advice and Mobile Entertainment, Thanks:mathewi

Ken Auletta / The New Yorker Blog:

James Murdoch's New Job — When I encountered James Murdoch for the first time, sixteen years ago, I expected that he would be an officer-in-training—a young man preparing to become his father. Yet the first thing I noticed when we met for an interview was that his sleeves were rolled up, revealing a tattoo.

Discussion: Company Town, Financial Times and Wall Street Journal

Katie Feola / Adweek:
What's the Real Reason for James Murdoch's Promotion?

Discussion: New York Observer, Editors Weblog, Guardian and FishbowlNY

Jim Romenesko / Poynter:

Study of iPad users identifies obstacles for Murdoch's The Daily — Romenesko Misc. — The obstacles identified by iPad users surveyed by media research firm knowDigital “include the perception among those with the greatest interest in news that The Daily's content is lacking …

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu and TeleRead

Rick Edmonds / Poynter:

Ranking of newspapers' market penetration indicates the market matters as well as the content — After our post last week on a new metric measuring the combined print-digital reach of newspapers in their home market, several readers suggested that a ranking by percentage of adults …

Peter Barron / BBC College of Journalism Blog:

Google not to blame for journalism's woes — Guest blog by the Google executive and former BBC journalist. — Some have singled out Google as being to blame for journalism's current woes. Unsurprisingly, I disagree. If Google didn't exist, the problems of the loss of classified ad revenue …

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Emma Hall / AdAge:

Nike, VW Debut New Ads As All India Stops to Watch Cricket Match — ESPN Takes Advantage of Huge Audience to Boost Spot Rates — The prime ministers of India and Pakistan were both in attendance, and India's Mohali airport had to turn away private jets after running out of space for the rich and famous to park their planes.

Thanks:rawmeet

Lynsey Addario / Lens:

'It's What I Do' — Lynsey Addario was freed from captivity in Libya on March 21, along with Tyler Hicks, Stephen Farrell and Anthony Shadid. Nine days later, in New York, she sat down with James Estrin, Kerri MacDonald and David Furst to share her thoughts on the experience.

Discussion: Poynter, The Huffington Post and jennydeluxe

Vision Critical:

CANADIAN CONSUMERS DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR NEWS — According to a collaborative survey conducted recently by the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC) and Vision Critical, 92 per cent of Canadians who get news online say they would find another free site if their favourite news sites started charging for content.

Tulsa World:

Tulsa World to unveil new digital subscriptions, website changes — Tulsa World subscribers will continue to receive full access to tulsaworld.com and other digital news products under a system that will begin Monday and charge frequent website users who do not pay for a print subscription to the newspaper.

Discussion: Poynter and paidContent

Ronald Kessler / NewsMax.com:

Katharine Weymouth Stands Up to Unions, Rescues the Washington Post — More ways to share... Mixx — Stumbled — LinkedIn — Vine — Buzzflash — Newstrust — Technocrati — Forward Article — The Washington Post exists today because of cost-cutting and quality improvements instituted by publisher .

Discussion: On Media's Blog

Dave Itzkoff / ArtsBeat:

CBS Declares Next Week Is ‘Tweet Week’ — If only they'd thought of this while Charlie Sheen was still on one of their shows: taking a page from rival networks like ABC, CNN and Comedy Central, which have used Twitter to draw in and keep viewers watching shows like “Piers Morgan Tonight” …

Discussion: GigaOM

Leena Rao / TechCrunch:

TidalTV Raises $30M For Online Video Ad Optimization Technology — Baltimore-based video ad technology company TidalTV has raised more than $30 million in financing led by New Enterprise Associates with participation from Comcast Interactive Capital and Valhalla Partners.

Discussion: PR Newswire, VentureBeat, paidContent, GigaOM and Multichannel

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of oblivion — So, how long do newspapers have? — Two years ago, that question was on the lips of many as newspapers cut back deeply — in staff, in number of pages, in the size of the page, and in selling their very headquarters and flagship buildings — in the depth of Deep Recession.