And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

News Corp's Dow Jones says no thanks to The Associated Press [Reuters] Jeff Bewkes seems to be focusing on everything except Time Inc [Reuters] NBC Universal's other Jeff, Jeff Gaspin shares with us exactly what he does working under the big little Jeff [TVweek] Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang will bow to Microsoft's Steve Balmer. He is just playing hard to get [NYP]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

Time Warner Investors see nothing but dollar signs in an AOL Yahoo join up But will a deal fly, especially now that Microsoft is thinking about making their over $40 billion offer for the company an all cash offer? A Yahoo AOL merger would result in the same redundancies as an MSN Yahoo tie up [Bloomberg] Now that Lachlan Murdoch's deal to buy Consolidated Media Holdings has lost a backer, will he lean on daddy to help swing it? [Bloomberg] Poor Mel Karmazin may not see his dream of an XM Sirius merger [Barrons] Denver International Airport is the core of America's new sensitivity [Folio] Is Disney CEO Bob Iger protecting democrats? [Reuters]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia earns, but still misses analyst estimates due to a book deal [Reuters] Speaking of MSO, the company said it will acquire the media and licensed properties of TV chef Emeril Lagasse for around $50 million in cash and stock [Reuters] Things will get really ugly at Tribune Co's newspapers like the LA Times before they get somewhat pretty [NYT] We love Jon Fine and his"One Guy" theory piece, but there was just too many "One Guys" in it. [BW] Former Disney ruler Mike Eisner digs in his pockets and comes back up with $1.75 Million

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

News Corp sees a little jump in profits and the future looks bright [NYT] News Corp had their earnings call yesterday with News Corp number two Peter Chernin playing host where he told analysts and investors that the company isn't hurting from ad slumps, in fact Chernin said advertising sales are higher at News Corp's Fox News Channel and the Fox Broadcasting television network, which is offsetting a decline in its movie studio business. The company beat Wall Street revenue expectations of $8.3 billion by $300 million coming in at $8.6 billion. Oh yeah and Myspace is doing great too. Sun-Times Media Group looking at ways to make it's shareholders even richer. One option on the table? Slapping a big for sale sign on the company [NYT] Sun-Times Media Group is looking for an easy way out where all involved can cash out and go on about their business. The company is said to be weighing their options like entering a joint venture, strategic partnership or selling the whole company. Our money is on the latter. The question is who will drop the cash? Microsoft offers a shit load of cash for Yahoo! and what does Yahoo! do? They drop their music subscription business and will replace it with Realnetworks' Rhapsody [Reuters] We thought with the load of cash (over $40 billion) Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates are dangling in front of Yahoo! Founder and CEO Jerry Yang’s face he would be in the trenches with his sleeves rolled up trying to get Bill and Steve to go up to an even $50 Billion. Nope. Instead we get word that Yahoo! is dropping their subscription music service in favor of Rhapsody, a service from RealNetworks. The deal calls for Yahoo! to promote Rhapsody all over its website... DUH! The deal calls for both companies to come up with other music related digital ventures as well YAWN! Did we mention that if you're currently a Yahoo Music subscriber paying the $9 a month you will continue to pay that amount for the new Rhapsody service until Rhapsody dips in your pocket for $15 a month? Do you even care?

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

New York Times: With the New York Post's endorsment of Barack Obama, does this really splitsville for Rupert Murdoch and Hillary Clinton? Their newfound friendship seemingly came to a crashing end last Thursday. There was the headline on the front page of The Post, right next to “Cop Sex Ring,” for all to see: “Post Endorses Obama.” New York Post: Is anyone surprised that Google has injected itself into the whole Yahoo! Microsoft flirting? In a terse broadside of what could be a protracted war, Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, hammered on concerns about Microsoft's software monopoly and its history of clashing with regulators over antitrust issues. AP: News Corp not interested in Yahoo! and today is earnings report day Apparently people were speculating that News Corp which is still digesting it's acquisition of Dow Jones would be interested in Yahoo! We're sure Rupe and his team looked at the company from a far but we don't see Rupert Murdoch dropping that much cash on anything right now. And besides, Microsoft is offering $44 Billion, way more than Yahoo! is worth right now and word is they are balking at the offer price saying it is too low.

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

The New York Times Company reports a 4Q profit of $53 million. Woooooo! That place still needs new meat in the executive offices [NYT] $300 million is what Amazon.com will pay for Audible, a provider of digital audiobooks. This comes on the tail of Amazon's launch of their bulky digital book reader called Kindle late last year [NYT] Yahoo! founder/CEO Jerry Yang's paper net worth is slowly going down the toilet. When will he stop kidding himself and install a CEO that can turn Yahoo! upside down and shake the shit out of it? [NYP] Tribune's new owner and CEO Sam Zell is wasting no time trying to break even. The company has reportedly sold the original Warner Bros. studio for $125 million. We didn't even know they owned that property! [AP]

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

We totally forgot that Vivendi even existed. After dropping the Universal from the corporate name we pretty much forgot about them. Anyway they are trying to invade Bertelsmann's turf by trying to land a stake in Germany's largest pay-tv broadcaster Premiere. [Reuters] The bids are in for U.S. government owned airwaves. So far the FCC has received $2.78 billion in bids. Companies that are expected to be in on the bids include AT&T and Google. [Reuters] Don Imus in hot water again [AP] We knew Rupert Murdoch couldn't say no to money. Why kill something that has been generating revenue for years. Or is this Rupe's way of showing he won't have a hand in the WSJ [NYT] Interview Magazine, Interviewed and hired [NYT]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news...

New CNNmoney.com jam-packed with videos of over paid CEOs and the usual business news run down, too bad they lack embedding capabilities, at least we didn't see the option [PC] Disgraced New York Times newsroom king Howell Raines, will join Portfolio Magazine as a media columnist [NYT] Ticketmaster drops $265 million for ticketsnow, just in time for it's spin off as a stand alone operation [PC]

And now this morning's worthy media business news...

You know that family that holds the authority on where you should eat, sleep and more recently which airlines you should fly on? Yeah, the Zagat family is putting their Zagatness on sale. Who will buy the company? New York Times has Barry Diller, Bruce Wasserstein and even Rupert Murdoch down as possible buyers! [NYT] Disney with help from four Chinese investment firms will invest in an 11 percent stake in the National Basketball Association’s subsidiary in China. OK! [NYT] EMI, now in the hands of private investors will announce that it has to cut a chunk of their 6,000 strong work force. If anyone didn't see this coming then you need to be slapped with a Lenny Kravitz CD or something. [Reuters] Will Amazon and it's CEO Jeff Bezos be a key player in helping record labels dig out of the current black hole they're in? [NYP] New Westwood One CEO Tom Beusse isn't like other media CEOs who just landed in the top spot. He likes to talk before he settles into the new gig. We think its because he just loves to see his name and new title in print [Mediaweek]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH News Corp continues their lead as the most digitally focused media company in a new deal with Apple, where consumers will be able to rent movies from 20th Century Fox via the iTunes store. Why, rent why not a full out buy? [Reuters] The advertising industry shuffles CEOs like every other industry [Adweek] Yeah! But isn't the whole clipping coupons thing part of the enjoyment? a huge chunk of coupon clippers are stay at home moms/dads and old people who look forward to grabbing there scissors and clipping away. It gives them something to do you know! [NYT] Cable industry shark Fred Dressler passed on Dec 24th. Christmas time has officially been ruined for his family [Mediaweek] Who will take over at Def Jam now that Jay Z has decided to go grow his mega fortune doing things he loves? [MTV]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-SDH With all the changes Rupert Murdoch has already made at Dow Jones & Co, like setting up an office for himself there, firing and hiring new people to run the Wall Street Journal, it makes you wonder why in the world a vote if even needed tomorrow. Is it like a ceremonial vote to mark the official transfer of ownership or something? For all we know the Bancrofts are already fighting over their cut of the $5 Billion Rupert paid for the joint. [NYT] The porn guys at Penthouse Media Group are doing the same things the guys are doing at other media companies like News Corp are doing. They are dropping major green on social networking sites to drive business. [NYT] Something called The Competition Commission is pushing for BskyB to cut it's share in ITV from 17.9% to between 5 and 10%. Will James Murdoch, son of Rupert go for that? [MediaGuardian] While it's employees were outside screaming "WE WANT OUR BENEFITS BACK YOU BASTARDS", Viacom/MTV was busy sending out press releases like the once announcing formation of Digital Fusion, a new group that will focus on creating customized cross media campaigns for advertisers [Mediaweek]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

Crain's continues to spread the love this time overseas with the launch of Crain's Manchester Business [Greenslade] Pakistani Journalists are free to report again, just as long as they don't say bad things about the government [Greenslade] We did mention that former newspaper barron Conrad Black is off to prison right? [NYT] Things are kinda fucked up at NBC. So fucked up that they are paying back advertisers some money [NYP]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

Fox News aims to bring it to you live via satellite SUVs [NYT] Newspaper publishers will stop at nothing to be at the top of Google and Yahoo's search results page [NYT] It's prison time for fallen newspaper kingpin Conrad Black [NYP]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH It looks like The New York Post's Page Six has finally taken on it's natural form [Pagesix.com] Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is probably the most feared man in the music industry. Record label bosses better watch there artist [Fortune] Rupert Murdoch is planning to make WSJ.com a free website. But what exactly are his plans for that other barely mentioned Dow Jones news property, Marketwatch.com? [Fortune] What's the real word on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.com. Did that kid really get rich on a stolen Idea? [NYT] For Blog lord Nick Denton, losing three of his editors at his flagship blog gawker.com, is just the same old same old. [NYT] Lucky for Paramount's Brad Grey, David Geffen beefing with old man Sumner may have saved his ass from being replaced with perhaps Stacey Snider at the top of Paramount [NYP]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Remember Max Headroom? Well he is coming back to front a series of TV ads to raise awareness of the digital switchover [MG] The publicly traded Warner Music Group reports another profit miss as the music industry continues to suffer for lack of quality music and artist. How long until WMG is sold by it's owner's or taken private. A record company as a publicly traded company? Stupid! [Reuters] FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin is putting the kibosh on cable companies like Comcast. The FCCer may see his proposal to stunt the growth of already large cable companies become reality. Those cable guys are probably working overtime to find loop holes in the proposal. [NYT] Speaking of the FCC, they may finally clear the Tribune buyout. After all this time we still can't get past this Tribune thing huh? [NYP] Discovery Channel Prexy Jane Root has up-rooted herself and will head back to the UK to pursue media opportunities there... Yuk! [Media Guardian]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

NBC Universal's new interactive ad service... yup another one NBC Universal agreed to start offering interactive advertising services and subscribe to a ratings service from TiVo Inc, the companies said on Tuesday. The agreement covers GE's 14 networks -- including NBC, Telemundo and Bravo -- as well as its 10 NBC-owned TV stations. MediaNews taps Topix to play mediator U.S. newspaper publisher MediaNews Group Inc has enlisted Topix.com to run the online forums and comments sections that people use to discuss articles they read in its papers, Topix said on Tuesday. 2008 may bring harm to some media segments The U.S. media industry is on the brink of a second downturn in a decade, one that could accelerate the divisions between fast-growing targeted advertising and traditional formats aimed at mass audiences. The Middle East continues to slowly take over America As if Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal owning a huge chunk of Citi Group wasn't enough, now Dubai International Capital LLC, the $13 billion fund manager whose investors include the emirate's ruler, bought shares in Sony Corp. in its first investment in a Japanese company. What next?

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Rupert Murdoch, is setting expectations high for his Sky News saying he wants it to be more like Fox News. that's easy all they have to do is spread the Republican agenda and talk up Rudy Giuliani [MG] That kid who runs the FCC, yeah Kevin Martin, is having a hard time getting his fellow FCCers to support his effort to regulate cable television companies more tightly. Good luck Kevo [NYT] ABC and Facebook now working together to bring you closely to politics. As if you would want to be soclose to that dirty thing. [NYT] Seriously though, why does Rupert Murdoch want to kill the WSJ.com paid wall when it brings in so much money every year? Whoever is in charge of ad sales will have to work their ass off even more to match offset that immediate loss of revenue. [Mediaweek]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news even if its turkey day eve

-YOSH Newspaper publisher's and editors who know shit about the Internet should all be scared as hell now. Former news anchor Tom Brokaw has predicted that a major newspaper could go all digital in about 10 years. Doesn't he sound like he knows the name of the paper that will go all digital but he doesn't want to say? [B&M] Jeff Zucker and company locks in Oxygen Network and makes Oprah even richer. Puts Bravo Media's manly looking chief, Lauren Zalaznick in charge of network. [Variety] Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin is said to be thisclose to seeing his dream of a merger with XM come to life. Employees on both sides brace for massive blood bath no doubt. [WSJ]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH Sumner Redstone's Williamsburg Brooklyn Connection Viacom is doing all it can to make sure it keeps it's feet planted in digital media. Thet dumped some cash into a new online network and in return they got 3 guys working out of media lab somewhere in Williamsburg Brooklyn producing digital shorts. But where does Viacom's digital Czar Mika Salmi fit into all this? Did he even have anything to do with this deal? NBC Universal continues to expand it's online presence doggystyle KNOWING that you can never underestimate people’s love for their cats and dogs, NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have set up a Web portal that looks something like a Yahoo or AOL for pet owners, with a bit of Facebook and MySpace thrown in. The site, Petside.com, offers a full menu of information about dogs and cats, from the serious (how to diagnose your pet’s illnesses) to the silly (funny animal videos). There are links to shopping sites (like Petco.com) and articles about topics like what to do if visitors are allergic to your pet (hint: vacuum). Visitors are encouraged to set up social networking profiles in order to meet other pet owners. In London, Google Skype rumors running wild Is eBay tired of Skype, the online telephony firm already? According to the Guradian's 'The digital content blog" Google is in talks to take the company of eBay's hands for a nice chunk of cash no doubt.

and now this morning's worthy media business news mentions

-YOSH No one should be surprised if Robert Greenwald turns up missing without a trace The one man army who has been taking on the mighty Fox News is hat it again, this time with the launch of Foxnewsporn.com. None of the content is actually explicit, but it does include bikini-clad women and blurred nudity. Hell! that's good enough for us. 45 to die at USA today The Internet continues to run up the body count at newspapers and magazines. This time the victims will be at the country's biggest newspaper USA Today. The paper plans to cut 45 newsroom jobs, specifically those poor bastards who know nothing about the Internet. Apparently the Germans are big on celebrity trash news as well OK! Magazine is about to launch it's 14th international edition in just three years. Holy hell. This mag is like a gremlin that ate after midnight or something.

and now this morning's worthy media news mentions

-By YOSH Jeff Zucker to Las Vegas: The little big man at NBC Universal will yap it up at NATPE 2008. Overall, NATPE 2008 will focus on the convergence of programming, advertising and emerging media, with a theme of “Where Now Meets Next.” Why not throw in some dancing and singing postman while you're at it? The Royal Mail, the British postal service, which has been hit hard by the effects of the Internet, is trying to stimulate business by appealing to the senses. A new initiative, aimed at marketers who use the mail to reach potential consumers, encourages them to incorporate a scent, taste or sound in their snail mailings. You mean all those reports weren't their's? CNN Worldwide plans to increase its staff of correspondents by 10 percent as part of a major effort to increase its ability to produce its own reports. Fox News likes Giuliani for one reason and one reason only. He will go into Iran if he wins According to Regan's suit, "This smear campaign was necessary to advance News Corp.'s political agenda, which has long centered on protecting Rudy Giuliani's presidential ambitions." Does CBS have the smartest internet strategy? At the NewTeeVee conference, CBS Interactive president Quincy Smith demonstrated why he and CBS deserve to be viewed as having the smartest Internet strategy of the major TV networks.

and now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-BY YOSH Will David Karp by the next dotcom millionaire? David Karp, the 21-year-old brains behind Tumblr, a site that allows users to create Web logs in just 10 seconds, is a fresh face of the rising wave of New York dotcom entrepreneurs No deal for Rosie O at MSNBC Two days after NBC acknowledged that it was talking to Rosie O’Donnell about a possible show on MSNBC, those conversations have stalled, with no immediate prospect of being revived, an executive of the network said last night. News Corp earnings off by 13% Rupert Murdoch can't wait to get his hands on DowJones Mr. Murdoch said that he saw several opportunities for building up The Journal’s overseas presence, but that the top priority was to get the paper “as we like it,” adding that “we can improve it, absolutely.” He declined to elaborate, however, on what specific changes he had in mind. The New York post joins us all in telling Jeff Bewkes what his priorities are at Time Warner Time Warner's third-quarter results underscored why CEO-designate Jeff Bewkes is expected to take a long, hard look at AOL and Time Inc. - those units were the only two of the company's five divisions that didn't report revenue growth

and now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

TIME WARNER CABLE SUBSCRIBERS DROPPING LIKE IRAQI CIVILIANS The company lost a net 83,000 subscribers during the quarter, mainly due to difficulties in its Los Angeles and Dallas markets, which it acquired last year from bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. The losses brought its subscriber total to 13.3 million. NEWS CORP MAY THROW A BANCROFT A BONE Rupert Murdoch will make the Bancroft family feel important when the deal closes on his DowJones takeover. Natalie Bancroft, a member of the family that is selling Dow Jones & Co Inc for $5.6 billion, will join the News Corp board allegedly. VIACOM GETTING INDIAN MONEY FOR IT'S NEW INDIAN CHANNEL IN INDIA Indian media company Network18 said on Wednesday it would invest $90.5 million over three years in its joint venture with Viacom Inc, which will launch a Hindi-language general entertainment channel in India next year. RDA'S NEW FOODY AD NETWORK FOR FOODIES The Reader’s Digest Association is set to announce later today its Food Advertising Network@RDA, featuring a self-serve Web advertising service called AdWizard@RDA. The AdWizard allows marketers to create, track, and accordingly alter display ads in real-time across RDA’s Food and Entertaining Affinity, including Every Day with Rachael Ray, Taste of Home, Chef’s Catalog and Allrecipes.com. The project is geared mostly towards small to medium-sized companies. -YOSH

And now this morning's kinda worthy media news

Good news for new Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch, the paper now has 1 million online subscribers. Still thinking about going all free Rupe? [Reuters] Jeff Bewkes is already under pressure from the media and he hasn't even been named CEO yet. We hope expectations aren't set too high for the incoming CEO of TimeWarner [Marketwatch] Some how Citi Group CEO Chuck Prince's resignation officially makes 2007 a great year for CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo [NYT] CBS Mobile's unapologetic boss kills babies [NYT]

New York Times' Ron Stodghill says Dick Parsons is being forced to stand down and more in this morning's not so worthy media news

The head of Merrill Lynch got canned and Dick Parsons is about to hand over control of Time Warner to Jeff Bewkes. Does this spell doom for black chief execs in America? [NYT] Ted Turner knows when to back down from a fight he can't win. The mouth of the south made nice with the world's biggest media mogul, Rupert Murdoch over lunch signaling the end of many years of back and forth insults. Good for you Teddy. [DHD] NBC Universal shutters yet another online failure. First it was NBCi, then NBBC , now its Dotcomedy.com which was basically like Viacom's thedailyshow.com. Dotcomedy.com ran clips of SNL but never gained any real traction. Could it be because SNL lost traction about 5 years ago? [MW] While getting roasted by colleagues, former bosses and friends, former NBCer turned AOLer Randy Falco said that AOL is worth fighting for. Um.....OK [B&C]

Morning Wire: And now this morning's worthy media news

NBC, not wanting to send traffic anyone else's way, quietly killed it's year old Youtube channel as they do finally prepping for the launch of Hulu.com their online video venture with news Corp. [NYP] The New York times recognized a little jump in profits during their third quarter report.[NYT] So if no one really knows for sure how many hits their websites are getting, aren't advertisers being naive? [NYT] Rupert Murdoch has become quite the celebrity [News] Is Fox Business taking away some eyes from CNBC, or are business news fiends going through what we call "The New New Syndrome"? Jeff Zucker we're sure is hoping its the latter [MN]

Morning Wire: CMP Media tries to see into the future | Berner and Co.go digital

Our favorite girl in the magazine game, Mary Berner is whipping Reader's Digest into digital shape via underling Jackie Leo, editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest. The magazine will make available, never before seen and/or read content for Sony's new e-book store, Connect. Not ground breaking, but its a good move in the right direction we think. As far as Ms. Leo not expecting any kind of revenue from the arrangement, makes clear that the goal is to promote the brand, or is it because Ms. Leo knows that most people wont shell out $6.36 or $9.56. Hell we would rather spend that over at iTunes or something, but that's just us. [Folio] In other News, Long Island based CMP Media is already spending the money they saved after their recent mega layoff, and why not, that was the plan right? The company is taking a psychic route with their latest launch called Internet Evolution which the company says will help them “investigate the future of the Internet.” The site is made up of the usual smusual. [Folio]

Morning Wire: And now some of this morning's worthy media news

Starbucks and Apple team up to give away free music you may have already downloaded from iTunes to your iPod, iPod Touch... whatever! [NYP] Americans may hate this little bastard, but the media sure loves them some Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Results] Disney puts up with it because they have bigger things to worry about [NYT] You know what we don't understand, why in the world an ad company thinks we really give a shit about getting ads sent to our cellphones. Dudes, we ignore them, put your money somewhere else [NYT] Those Google guys just get richer and richer don't they? Maybe now either Larry or Sergey will go buy their own jet instead of sharing one, then again its not like they couldn't before. [Marketwatch]

Morning Wire: And now this morning's worthy media news...

With the exception of Dow Jones, it looks like every other major newspaper publisher had a sucky Q1, well at least the ones who reported so far [NYT] Hachette Filipacchi Media lands automotive ad firm jumpstart. [NYP] Google's rich just keep getting richer [NYP] Was NBC seeking ratings or giving the public what they want, or both? [Reuters]

Morning Wire: NBC's package | Clear Channel almost sold | You can’t eat WSJ’s new top Editor and more in this morning's worthy media news...

-NEIL YOSHIDA NBC News may act as if they're not happy they were the ones who got that package from the Virginia Tech Psycho, but we all know the truth don't we? [NYT] The Wall Street Journal finally names a new top man. Marcus W. Brauchli was named managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, succeeding Paul E. Steiger, who has held the top job in the newsroom since 1991. [NYT] Sumner Redstone, always in a giving mood, pledged $105 million to fund cancer and burn research at three major U.S. health care centers. We so understand why at least one of these causes are really important to Sumner [Reuters] Radio monster Clear Channel accepts new bid, may put this thing to bed once and for all [USA Today] Former Disney dictator Michael Eisner must have gotten to someone deep inside sports cards maker Topps because even though they got a higher bid from rival Upper Deck, they still went with Mike's offer [NYP]