Some intelligent people are discussing "the de-portalization of the Internet." The image below--care of Edgeio--is a graphic representation of the changes currently underway. Fred Wilson, a.k.a. "A VC" says: Back in the first Internet era, it was all about amassing as large an audience as you could on your website. But the first Internet era was at time when consumers weren't that comfortable with vastness of the …
Highly Localized Lifestyle TV
Wall Street Journal takes a look at Plum TV, a startup television network focused on local television in high-end resort markets. Plum TV broadcasts on six TV stations in some of the most exclusive resort areas in the U.S.: Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, the Hamptons in New York and the Colorado ski towns of Vail, Aspen and Telluride. Soon to come: stations in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Miami Beach, …
Football In Springtime. On ESPN. Isn’t Synergy Great?
WSJ reports on a media company's investment in the product it covers. ESPN acquired national TV rights to the Arena Football League on Tuesday and also will have a minority stake in the 19-team indoor league. The network will have a regular Monday night slot in which it will televise 14 games from March through June. The ArenaBowl title game in New Orleans will be July 29 on ABC, which also will show two regional …
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Major Newspaper Company Absorbs Community Journalism Sites
Poynter's E-Media Tidbits looks at McClatchy's purchase of local citizen media sites, Fresno Famous and Modesto Famous. Fresno Famous was founded in 2004 by now 26-year-old Jarah Euston. The site is a community portal, with blogs, podcasts, Flickr photo galleries, and forums. "Purchasing a strong franchise such as Fresno Famous gives The Bee another way in which to reach younger readers with information they seek," …
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Contrary Media Models United By Profitability
Reflecting on recent turmoil in the executive suites at AOL, Newscorp and CBS Interactive, John Battelle sees an industry grappling to find itself in the brave "New Media" world. Here's what he believes the big guys are thinking: 1. Interactive is now a very important, profitable, and growing business. 2. We can't afford to not view this as strategic to our future. 3. We need someone running theses sites who is not …
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Another Spin For CBS Records
According to Los Angeles Times, the legendary label that once featured A-list recording artists like Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, Miles Davis, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen is rising from the ashes. CBS Corp. plans to revive CBS Records — a vestige of the glory days of the now-troubled music industry — with an eye toward the Internet age. In contrast to the lavish excesses of the music business of the …
The Grey Lady Wants To Share
Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on the adoption of social bookmarking services by The New York Times. The New York Times unveiled a new service today that allows readers to quickly post stories that they find on the newspaper's Web site to Digg, Facebook and Newsvine. It marks the first time that the country's third-largest newspaper has added a news-sharing tool to its Web site, allowing readers to develop …
Boring Corporate Sites Attract More Eyeballs Than “Wife Swap”
Big, boring corporate websites, such as Unilever and P&G, attract a bigger audience than prime time TV shows, according to Ad Age: Such package-goods marketers as Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever don't sell many products directly online. Their low-cost, low-involvement brands tend not to generate much search. Yet the websites of P&G and Unilever now reach nearly 6 million and 3 million unique visitors, respectively, …
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