A news report gave the New York Times some powerful validation for its online paywall model. But a closer look at the numbers show that digital subscriber dollars can only be one part of the Times’ future. Read more at paidContent »
News Corp has finally announced details about how it will split off its publishing operations from its richer entertainment divisions. A look at the numbers show the reborn company will be fine, at least for awhile, in part thanks to keeping an Australian sports business. Read more at paidContent »
Tools like Pocket help you manage a flood of online content by zapping it into a personal box to view later on. The company showed the stories and videos that we’re storing the most — but the tech-heavy nature of its Top 10 lists suggest these tools still await widespread adoption. Read more at paidContent »
The IAB, which surveys a wide range of web sites and online services, reports that advertising revenue is growing rapidly as marketers tap into new forms of digital engagement. Read more at paidContent »
It’s official: you can now download all your old tweets. What does mean? In the short, a trip down memory lane but, in the long term, a rich cultural treasure. Read more »
A Fox news story about the Newtown tragedy came with an ad for a bloody t-shirt while Facebook showed an ad for a shooting game. In the past, editors could have screened these ads — this is less possible online where fewer humans are involved in the ad-buying process. Read more at paidContent »
In an acknowledgement of the growing importance of the “second screen” for TV watchers, Nielsen is unveiling a new set of ratings that will measure a given show’s popularity on Twitter. Read more »
The Washington Post is the latest to join NewsCred, a middle-man service that is licensing a growing stable of elite titles to brands and international publishers. For the Post, the deal represents both a revenue stream and a strategic opportunity. Read more at paidContent »
There’s a brewing conflict over consumers’ rights to use platforms like ReDigi to resell their books, music and other digital property. Now libraries and companies like eBay and Redbox are leading a campaign to pass “You bought it, you own it” laws. Read more at paidContent »
Aereo, which lets consumers in New York watch live TV on their phones and online, now has a cable channel. The deal shows viewers it can get more content — and also gives it a small PR boost in its legal fight with broadcasters. Read more »
Google and Belgian news publishers announced a deal that will put an end to their copyright dispute. Google says it is not paying the papers for content — so then why is money changing hands? Read more at paidContent »
In a surprise ruling, a Delaware jury has found that Apple’s iPhone infringed on three patents issued in the early 2000′s. The verdict is the latest incident of a global patent battle that appears to have gotten out of hand. Read more »
Retailers are trying to use blogs and other content to drive sales. Meanwhile, publishers are hoping their stories can lead to commerce opportunities. Handcraft site Etsy appears to have figured out both sides of the equation. Read more »
Native advertising — like a brand’s Tumblr blog or a sponsored tweet — is generating a lot of hype. A new survey says ad people are ready to take it on en masse, but some wonder if it can scale or if it’s just a buzzword. Read more at paidContent »
The Verge made a big splash in November 2011, when it arrived with a custom built publishing system and plans to take over tech reporting. One year later, it’s making some real headway. Read more at paidContent »
Brands like shoe stores and banks need quality content to feed their growing social media following. This has led to the rise of middlemen who pair non-media companies with publishers who can license their content. Read more at paidContent »
Viral site BuzzFeed is under criticism for publishing a malicious attack on a cartoonist that contained major factual errors. Editor-in-chief Ben Smith has responded but the site may need to do more in the future if it wants to play in the media big leagues. Read more »
New York mayor Mike Bloomberg is the leading candidate to buy the prestigious Financial Times, which is set to be shopped in 2013. It would be a prestigious pairing, but would the FT become a distraction to Bloomberg LP’s core business? Read more at paidContent »
The lead singer of the band Cracker is frustrated with people taking his music without permission. He thinks artists, industry and legitimate sellers should shame big brands into pulling their ads from pirate sites. Read more at paidContent »
A prized piece of Apple’s intellectual property empire is in jeopardy after the USPTO agreed the patent was invalid after a re-examination request. For now, the defeat is more symbolic than strategic. Read more »
The SEC says Netflix is in trouble for sharing news on Facebook rather than through a more traditional method like a press release. The incident shows how regulators can fail to recognize transformations in our communications infrastructure. Read more »
Huffington Post has a new CEO who will be tasked with building traffic and revenue and continuing the brand’s international expansion. The move comes at a time when parent company AOL appears to have figured out how to manage its media properties. Read more at paidContent »
A mysterious shell company is suing the New York Times and other major media outlets for patent infringement because they offer mobile apps and a website. The companies now face the unpleasant choice between paying the firm to go away or saddling up for a multi-million dollar legal fight. Read more at paidContent »
Aereo, a TV-on-the-go service that relies on small antennas, is getting a lot of legal attention. The bigger story should be how it is using economic breakthroughs in computing to offer a new form of TV. Read more »
Google comes down hard on publishers who abuse its AdSense program — so much so that innocent publishers who run afoul of the rules can feel like they’re in a Kafka novel. Now, the company is trying to improve the rules and appeals process. Read more at paidContent »
Companies are offering up social media and “web footprint” rankings on everything from celebrities to Supreme Court Justices. Some recent examples make one wonder if there’s a point to all this. Read more »
Display ads such as “lose your belly” and “professors hate him” are discrediting the familiar model of online advertising which is based on slapping banner ads on websites. Now, one company has a solution to keep the same ad format — but replace the crummy content. Read more at paidContent »
The growth of the mobile advertising industry has been hampered by a lack of marketing data about smartphone users. Adelphic, a company that says it uses 30 signals to collect customer information, announced a major new investment on Tuesday. Read more »
The business success of digital news sites has led more of them to apply their technical wizardry to long-form journalism. BuzzFeed is the latest example. Will its style of feature one days replace magazines like the New Yorker? Read more at paidContent »
It used to be an article of faith that a print subscription would give you access to a publication’s online offerings. That assumption is being tested by one magazine’s decision to “unbundle” its digital privileges. Read more at paidContent »
Who has the right to use platforms like Facebook and Twitter? On Thursday, a federal judge emphatically sided with Facebook against an adware company that wanted to use the site for its own ends. Read more »
Gabe Rivera has been at the vanguard of technology driven journalism through sites like Techmeme and Mediagazer. At a recent event, he discussed the limits of algorithms and the need for human curation. Read more »
Millions of people now consume content on mobile devices but the analytics tools used to measure websites has failed to account for them. Now, a system has come along that measures these mobile users — and shakes up some of the traditional rankings. Read more at paidContent »
A study of Black Friday cyber-shopping said that social media advertising was a big bust with few people buying things in response to an ad from Facebook. The story is very different if you use other metrics to define “responded.” Read more »
Jill Abramson, executive editor of the New York Times, gave a frank overview of the evolving role of the newsroom as she described how the Times’ is blending traditional separations between print and web operations. Read more at paidContent »
This just might be the stupidest patent lawsuit of the year. A shell company is suing Apple over a patent called “Wireless Mobile Phone Including a Headset” — this is just the latest evidence the patent system is badly broken. Read more »
CNN, struggling to find an identity and rebuild its audience, has turned to an old-time TV stalwart. Jeffrey Zucker, the former CEO of NBC, is expected to be formally named CNN President shortly. Read more at paidContent »
A copyright law that lets authors break contracts after 35 years will start taking effect in January. The law, which is meant to give authors like Stephen King and Judy Blume a “second bite at the apple,” could provide yet another disruption for traditional publishers. Read more at paidContent »
The Monday after Thanksgiving means online discounts for many people. To the federal government, it is a day to parade captured websites. Read more »
An old hoax has resurfaced that suggests Facebook users can tell the company what to do by posting a legal notice on their profile. Alas, it’s not true — your interactions with the company are governed by law and licenses, not your wishes. Read more »
