Mediagazer: New York Times to make ‘final offer’ to guild on Thursday (Jim Romenesko)

9:40 AM ET, October 10, 2012

Top News:

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Willie Geist Is Named Co-Host of 9 a.m. Hour of ‘Today’ — NBC's “Today” show on Wednesday welcomed Willie Geist, the MSNBC newsman and occasional comedian, as the new co-host of its 9 a.m. hour. The network confirmed that Mr. Geist would become a permanent presence on “Today,” …

Discussion: Broadcasting & Cable

Kira Goldenberg / CJR:

Columbia J-school dean stepping down — Nicholas Lemann, dean of Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, will be stepping down at the end of the current academic year, the school announced on Wednesday morning. (The news broke in the media world on Tuesday afternoon.)

Discussion: FishbowlNY, Poynter, Media Decoder, Columbia University …, JIMROMENESKO.COM, @chanders, @romenesko, @nytfridge, @sree, @carr2n and @evgenymorozov

Jim Romenesko:

New York Times to make ‘final offer’ to guild on Thursday — A message sent to New York Times guild members on Tuesday evening says management answered staffers' “demonstration of profound unhappiness” — a brief Monday afternoon walkout — “by throwing a tantrum and taking two provocative actions Tuesday.”

Discussion: Poynter, nyguild.org, LA Observed, New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Newspaper Guild and Capital New York

Ben Fritz / Los Angeles Times:

Jay Penske discusses plans for Variety — Jay Penske has emerged as one of the most powerful figures in the world of entertainment news for industry professionals. A virtual unknown in Hollywood just over three years ago, the 33-year-old son of auto magnate Roger Penske acquired editor …

Ben Fritz / Los Angeles Times:
Variety bought by Deadline owner Penske Media, Third Point

AllThingsD:

Twitter Buys Vine, a Video Clip Company That Never Launched — If Twitter ends up running its own video service, this should help: The messaging service has bought Vine, a video-sharing start-up. — We don't have terms for the deal, but this looks a lot like an “acqhire” …

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Kate Solomon / TechRadar.com:

Samsung adds Spotify streaming to Smart TVs — A new Spotify app is coming to Samsung Smart TVs so you can stream music through your television. As well as hitting Samsung's smart TV sets, the app will also be available on connected Blu-ray players and home theatre systems.

Discussion: @andysternberg

Dan Sabbagh / Guardian:

BBC preparing to launch Jimmy Savile inquiry — The BBC is preparing to launch its own inquiry into the Jimmy Savile affair, after criticism of its slow response to the unfolding scandal and claims that the Jim'll Fix It star was apparently able to get away with sexual abuse over several decades.

Melena Ryzik / New York Times:

Art.sy Is Mapping the World of Art on the Web — Any music fan knows that there are myriad ways to find new songs online: a scroll through digital playlists and streaming radio services like Pandora, which serve as musical recommendation engines. Likewise, Netflix subscribers are regularly showered …

Discussion: Fortune, TechCrunch, NYConvergence.com, Open Culture, The Verge and PandoDaily

Hunter Walker / The New York Observer:

Is The Daily Beast Becoming a Halfway House For Wayward Hacks? — Newsbeast editor in chief Tina Brown seems to have developed a redemptive streak, at least when it comes to the bad boys and girls of the media world. Her website has recently published several pieces by otherwise disgraced journalists.

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Berlin's Txtr introduces €9.90 e-reader subsidized by mobile carriers — In an effort to turn mobile phone users into ebook readers, Berlin-based Txtr announced a tiny, cheap e-reader, the Txtr Beagle, at the Frankfurt Book Fair Tuesday. While the Beagle is very light …

Discussion: Publishers Weekly

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Founder Tim Westergren Says Some Musicians Earn Up To $3 Million A Year From Pandora — Pandora founder Tim Westergren denied claims that musicians earn peanuts from streaming services and said today at SF MusicTech that lower royalty rates would bolster innovation.

Discussion: GigaOM, Pandora, NetNewsCheck Latest, SocialTimes, CNET, The Next Web, Forbes, Business Insider and Mashable!

Laura Hazard Owen / paidContent:

Kobo acquires French digital software company Aquafadas — Toronto-based e-reading company Kobo has acquired French digital software company Aquafadas, the companies announced at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday. The terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.

Discussion: TechCrunch