Mediagazer: Kobo acquires French digital software company Aquafadas (Laura Hazard Owen/paidContent)

8:10 AM ET, October 10, 2012

Top News:

Variety bought by Deadline owner Penske Media, Third Point — The Hollywood trade paper Variety has been acquired by Penske Media Corp. and its financial backer, private equity firm Third Point, for about $25 million, in a power shift for the world of show business and a transformation of the industry's most famous news brand.

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 …

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” …

Discussion: Business Insider, VatorNews, SocialTimes, TechCrunch, The Next Web, WebProNews, Mashable!, Softpedia News and The Verge

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

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

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Jack Welch Quits Columnist Gigs Over Tweet Blowback. Too Bad He Wasn't Fired. — In the end, Fortune and Reuters didn't have to grapple with whether to fire Jack Welch for spreading conspiracy theories on Twitter. Welch did them a favor and fired himself.

Discussion: MinOnline, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Fortune, CJR, Poynter, AdAge, Media Decoder, The Wrap, FishbowlNY and Reuters

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

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.

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, Forbes, SocialTimes, CNET and Business Insider

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism:

Dean Nicholas Lemann to step down after 10-year term — Columbia University announced today that Dean Nicholas Lemann will step down at the end of June, 2013, at the conclusion of the school's centennial year, after a 10-year term. Following a one-year sabbatical, Lemann plans to return …

Discussion: Poynter, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Bloomberg, @carr2n, @evgenymorozov and Media Decoder

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.