Mediagazer: How Do You Measure the Value of a Branded Web Series? (Liz Shannon Miller/GigaOM)

8:55 AM ET, June 6, 2011

Top News:

Evelyn M. Rusli / DealBook:

A Force Behind Lady Gaga Inc. — Soon after Apple started its music-centric social network Ping last year, Steven P. Jobs reached out to Lady Gaga and her business manager, Troy Carter, for feedback. — At the company's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Lady Gaga peppered Mr. Jobs …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Betabeat and Softpedia News, more at Techmeme »

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Analyzing the metered model — The metered model deserves a closer look. One the dirtiest little secrets of the online media business is the actual number of truly loyal readers — as opposed to fly-bys. No one really wants to know (let alone let anyone else know).

Discussion: Guardian and Future of Journalism

Michael Learmonth / AdAge:

Penry Price to Leave Google for Startup Media6Degrees — Google's Best-Known Sales Exec and Onetime Deputy to Tim Armstrong Leaves After Seven Years — Penry Price, one of Google's best-known sales executives, is leaving the company after seven years to join startup Media6Degrees as president.

Discussion: AdExchanger.com and Future of Journalism

Bill Carter / New York Times:

For Couric, ABC's Pitch Proved Best — On Feb. 8, executives from NBC, including Steve Burke, the new chief executive, and Steve Capus, the president of news, made their way to the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, prepared to make a pitch to bring their one-time news star, Katie Couric, back into the network fold.

Adweek:

Huffington Post Takes ‘Top Talent’ from NYT and BBC — On Monday, the Huffington Post will formally announce two recent additions to its team from the New York Times and the BBC that, executives say, confirm Huffpo's ability to attract top talent. — Jason Fields, former head of User Experience …

Discussion: Jon Slattery

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Online Video Start-Ups Seek to Carve Out a Place Beside YouTube — CHICAGO — For many Internet users, YouTube is synonymous with online video. But Mike Michaud and several friends who live in suburban Chicago are trying to change that. — Mr. Michaud co-owns Channel Awesome …

Liz Shannon Miller / GigaOM:

How Do You Measure the Value of a Branded Web Series? — In the web series world, creators often rely on brands to get their content funded. The level of branding in a series varies wildly, from characters on The Guild occasionally using Sprint phones to Illeana Douglas working at an Ikea …

Newsweek:

Roger Ailes Plays Nice — The Fox News honcho responds to a media drubbing. — Roger Ailes, the combative conservative behind Fox News, is sounding strangely reasonable these days, going easy on top Democrats—even Hillary Clinton!—and subtly distancing himself from the inflammatory Glenn Beck.

Discussion: Guardian, The Huffington Post and @espiers

Anna Heim / The Next Web:

Can Comenta.TV bring TV's second screeners to a single platform? — Americans are using Internet and TV together more and more, according to a recent study. The same “second screen” phenomenon is happening in Latin America: TV viewers live-comment the shows they are watching.

Discussion: Future of Journalism

Ernesto / TorrentFreak:

Is YouTube Killing Music Piracy? — The music industry has witnessed some dramatic changes in recent years, even when piracy is left out of the picture. In just a decade the Internet and the MP3 revolution have redefined people's music consumption habits.

Emma Brockes / Guardian:

A life in writing: Janet Malcolm — 'I hammer it out sentence by sentence and it takes a long time. That's what the work is, right? To make the reader think it is not hard to do' — “In most interviews,” writes Janet Malcolm in The Silent Woman, her 1993 book about Sylvia Plath …

John Koblin / WWD Media Headlines:

Glamour Magazine Off to a Bumpy Start in 2011 — Cindi Leive's Glamour has gotten off to a bumpy start in 2011. Condé Nast's cash cow has dropped 17 percent off newsstand sales through the first four months of the year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations Rapid Report.

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

Is Twitter Like Speech or Like Writing? The Answer Is Yes — Is Twitter like a spoken conversation, the kind you would have with friends and/or strangers in a bar? Or is it more like a written discussion — like online forums or chat rooms used to be in the early days of the Internet?

Los Angeles Times:

Film directors are embracing TV — Let the major movie studios have their superheroes and pirates. Cable TV has become more innovative, and top moviemakers such as Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann and Gus Van Sant are taking advantage. — Director Curtis Hanson, standing, with Paul Giamatti …

Discussion: Future of Journalism