Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer taking a Suge Knight approach to the whole Yahoo! Thing

By SDH And we thought this evaporated into thin air when Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang said fuck you to Microsoft’s $40 billion offer. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really wants Yahoo! and it looks like he is sick and tired of waiting around while Jerry Yang plays hard to get. Now Ballmer is offering ultimatums, telling Yahooers they had better come to the table or they will go over heads to get the deal done. Ballmer believes Yahoo! got the best offer out there and will try to convince the company’s shareholders that it is. "If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo board," wrote Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

No major media company made the Businessweek 50, is this a good thing or a bad thing, and do big media CEOs even care?

By SDH This week’s issue of Businessweek is all about the Businessweek 50 (BW 50). It’s a list of the 50 best performing companies in their respective industries. It is no surprise to see companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon on the list. It’s also no surprise that there are no major media companies on the list. Why? Well with the exception of maybe Disney, media companies haven’t really been performing well at all. Companies like News Corp dropping cash left and right for other companies doesn’t mean all is well. The BW 50 is dominated by companies in tech, energy, beverages and science. So should big media CEOs take this as a sign that they need to ramp up their businesses or do they take lists like the BW50 as just that, a list? We’re sure most of them wouldn’t have mind having their company listed as one of the best performing. Guess they just didn’t meet the requirements.

Former Jane Magazine editor Brandon Holley launches Shine on Yahoo!

The new launch comes as there is speculation that the Microsoft-Yahoo deal may finally be announced this week BySDH Former Jane Editor, Brandon Holley has resurfaced as the mind behind new women’s web portal Shine. Clearly Shine is going after the same demo as sites like iVillage? But is Shine being part of Yahoo! An unfair advantage? Shine will get the traffic, at least in the first couple of weeks, but will it be direct traffic or come across traffic meaning will Shine’s visitors be from people looking for Shine, or from people who happened to come across Shine? Though no new launch should be underestimated, we’re sure the folks at iVillage won’t be losing any sleep. On another note, Yahoo’s Shine isn’t the only shine on the web. The web portal of Black Entertainment Television also has a section called Shine where visitors can post their pictures for comments and ratings.

When fantasies border on stupidity

By SDH We’ve heard crazy ideas/fantasies before like when it was suggested that Time Warner buy Starbucks, that one, though clearly just someone talking out of their rear was just extreme and made absolutely no sense no matter how anyone wants to look at it. Now comes another crazy idea/fantasy though not as extreme as the Time Warner Starbucks suggestion, this one is also someone talking out of their rear. After browsing over at “All Things Digital” we came across a post from Kara Swisher who begs that we indulge her, in her no sense fantasy/idea that instead of Microsoft buying Yahoo! They should buy AOL and the giant media company attached to it, Time Warner. AOL by the way is attached to Time Warner, and why say Microsoft buying Time Warner would be a bargain compared to Yahoo! While in the same breath mentioning that the current price tag for Time Warner is $51.5 billion but it would balloon to about $87 billion due to debt? Double the price of what Microsoft is offering for Yahoo! We know it’s just a fantasy but we’re talking reality here. If Microsoft were to even mention that they are kicking the tires on the overweight Time Warner, their stock would go into a free fall. Microsoft knows nothing about traditional media which is what makes up the majority of Time Warner. And bottom line, it would be AOL Time Warner 2.0. The only thing that would fit with Microsoft is AOL, so why not just grab AOL if Jeff Bewkes decided to sell. No need to buy a bunch of assets you’re going to have to unload just to gain control of one. There is no value in Harry Potter, HBO or any other Time Warner brands, shows, networks for Microsoft. If Former Time Warner CEO Geri Levine didn’t get caught up in the hype that was AOL, Time Warner would probably be in good shape right now. But it is still suffering from the after effects of that merger. Kara Swisher asks why doesn’t Microsoft buy Time Warner. Well the answer to that is simple. They have no interest in dumping a load of cash on a debt laced company in a business they know nothing about, that is still trying to find their way after being knocked on their ass. Oh yeah and Steve Ballmer kinda likes his job and net worth. We think the same goes for Bill Gates, at least on the net worth part.

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to underlings: Chillax!

BY SDH Yahoo Founder turned CEO Jerry Yang joins the club of clueless CEOs who are totally out of touch with concerns of the little people that drive the engine of the ship they steer. Yahoo! employees are understandably worried about what will happen to them with major job cuts on the horizon. And if that wasn't enough, here comes Microsoft with a fat offer to take over the company. So are Jerry Yang and his number two Sue Decker Naive? They aren't worried about job cuts, because they are the ones doing the cutting, or at least ordered it. They aren't worried about what will happen to them if they do take Microsoft's money and run, because they will benefit from any sale financially. So what do we have to say to the poor bastards at Yahoo! awaiting their fate? Launch a “hire us” campaign aimed at Google. They are growing and hiring out the wazzooo! Oh yeah while you're at it, thank Terry Fucking Semel Yahoo! employees were already in a serious state of unrest awaiting word on the number and nature of layoffs leading up to last week's earnings call, where it was revealed that 700 people would be let go as part of the company's turnaround efforts. "Now they are in a complete state of turmoil, wondering if there are going to be a bunch more cuts since a lot of Yahoo!'s operations overlap with Microsoft's," said one source who has spoken with Yahoo! employees since the Microsoft offer emerged. YAHOO! WHINERS [NYP]

Former Yahoo! boss Terry Semel is probably praying his former company bows to Microsoft

-SDH Of all the shareholders out there praying that Yahoo! takes up Microsoft on their offer, former Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel is probably the loudest. See Semel holds a nice amount of Yahoo! Stock and with Microsoft's Murdochian style offer of $44 Billion to swallow the online giant, Semel may run out of places to put money. With Semel officially stepping down from Yahoo's board yesterday, there is no doubt that he is moving full speed ahead with his second act which may have him trying to buy a movie studio and installing himself as CEO. So is Terry Semel on his knees praying that Yahoo! says yes? You fucking bet ya!

Will Google end up disappointing Microsoft?

-SHOMARI HINES Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy online ad -server DoubleClick, stepping up it's efforts to cash in on the booming Internet ad market. However Microsoft may have some competition in that running from rival Google. John Battelle believes the guys at Google are up to something and could swoop in and do a Ross levinsohn on Microsoft. Could a battle between Google and Microsoft lead to DoubleClick upping their asking price or will one of them bow out quietly if they feel its not worth a fight? It's a strange fact of life that Web "frienemy" (yes, we love that word) Google, doesn't accept third-party ad tags. Given the news that competitor Microsoft is considering a bid for the ad-server DoubleClick, which serves graphical CPMs for a huge portion of the ad world, rumors have surfaced that Google is planning to build its own third-party ad server for graphical ads. GoogleClick [John Battelle's Searchblog]

You're Hired!

Yeah the title is sooo cliche but that's what the big dawgs at Microsoft told former Trump-ite Carolyn Kepcher. The sometimes butchy looking Kepcher will be a judge on the software giant's "Ultimate Challenge" reality show where she will be, helping to find the next big idea. We're kinda confused though. We thought her next gig would be running a casino or, a chain of hotels or something. Looks like Ms. Kepcher is dead serious about this Hollywood shit. What's next, replacing Paula Abdul on "American Idol"? Kepcher and fellow judges - maternity wear entrepreneur Liz Lange and Chris Caposella, a Microsoft vice president - began hearing ideas on Tuesday in a computer-equipped recreational vehicle parked in Midtown Manhattan. Microsoft to Carolyn: 'You're hired!' [CNNmoney]

So who will it be?

iWantmedia.com is looking for feedback on who should be 2006' media person of the year. However this year's pick may very well not be a person at all, and we at Mediawire Daily have our picks. Sumner Redstone: Because the man will do anything to get the word out that he is relevant, and he did just that by shit canning two Toms in the same year. Tom Freston: Because he got shit canned by an old man who wanted to get the word out that he was still relevant. CNN for their corner to corner coverage of the midterm elections. We can only imagine what they will do when 2008 rolls around. Microsoft's Zune: The dam thing just came out of no where posing a serious threat to Apple's iPod. Les Moonves: We love to hate Les but we have to hand it to the man. he outlasted Tom Freston and ended up being the star we never knew Sumner had. We are still wondering why Sumner doesn't put his companies back together and hand Les the keys. Who Should Be Named 2006 Media Person of the Year? [IWM]

Tech & Media: As usual, overzealous New Yorker's and the Post generate false hope

If Microsoft knows better, they wouldn't take the fact that their new Zune digital hand held media gadget flew off shelves within minutes of being stocked. Why you ask? Well that's because us New Yorkers can be overly overzealous especially when it comes to the latest must have. Sure we'll wait on line for hours and even camp out overnight in front of a store, but when the moment passes it passes and then its on to the next or something like that. Microsoft's Zune media player, which the tech titan hopes will dethrone Apple's market-leading iPod, was flying off shelves in New York on its first day in stores yesterday. "It's been crazy," said Eddie Feliciano, a sales manager at Best Buy at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue. "Our Zune area has been mobbed." "I just needed a new MP3 player to play my music and watch videos," said Murphy, who bought a Zune at a Manhattan Best Buy. "I'm not an Apple fan, not an iPod fan. So I wanted to try something different." IPOD SLAYER ZUNE HITS THE GROUND RUNNING [NYP]