NON-SHOCKER: Dow Jones board backs sale to News Corp

Shareholders Back Dow Jones Sale [NYT]

AOLer randy falco buys one more company to make him feel like AOL is competing strongly with google

AOL, the embattled Internet unit of TimeWarner is about to drop $340 million to buy yet another online ad firm to beef up it's competitive ability with Google. AOL CEO Randy Falco will land a company that makes money off of the Google ad model and gain 100 employees that he will eventually fire in the new year to cover the $340 million price tag. Falco is really serious about building AOL into an advertising mall or something like that. What will happen if and when advertising isn't the Internet cash whore it is today? The deal, which adds 100 employees, marks the last big acquisition AOL plans as part of a restructuring to transform itself into a one-stop online advertising shop, AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco told Reuters in an interview. "I expect it to begin to add to growth in 2008," he said, referring to AOL's online advertising growth, which is a big concern among investors. Ad growth slipped to 16 percent in the second quarter and 13 percent in the third quarter, from 40 percent levels earlier. Wonder if Falco will last the full run of the Bewkes Administration? -YOSH AOL to buy Quigo as last big advertising deal [Reuters]

David Zaslav spending big to insert Discovery into the digital race

Former NBC Universal underling turned Discovery Communications topper David Zaslav is joining the digital race. The company announced that it has purchased a website called Howstuffworks.com for $250 million. We only hope Zaslav makes this work as this is a huge grab for him since landing at Discovery. The site is a collection of information on how any and everything works...well at least almost any and everything. We think one of the first order of business is a site revamp. No one will take you serious with a site that is flat. Then again with a $250 million price tag, how flat can it be right? Perhaps a new video section of nerdy-esque individuals explaining and showing how certain things work and maybe even a show on one of the Discovery properties of the same name? Oh man Jeff Zucker should feel like a proud daddy right now. In a statement, Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav intimated that the acquisition was meant to boost the company’s online presence in the wake of an in-house build-out strategy that has shown mixed results at best. “One of my early challenges at Discovery was determining how best to build a robust digital media portfolio,” Zaslav said. “With HowStuffWorks, Discovery now has a solid platform for strengthening our digital businesses, leveraging our video assets to create new experiences for users, advertisers and our distribution partners, and taking those opportunities around the globe.” Cliche statements. We hate em! Discovery Acquires HowStuffWorks.com for $250 Mil. [Mediaweek]