If Tribune was still a public company, Sam “Crazy Sam” Zell’s little antics probably wouldn’t fly on Wall Street at all

By SDH Is new Tribune CEO Sam Zell trying too hard to be different? Is he trying too hard not to be the typical media suit? Since taking over Tribune Zell has told employees that the company’s internet policy is out the door and they are free to surf the web and look at anything they want, he also fooled fools when he ordered up an April fools joke sending out a fake press release stating that the company changed its name to Zelcomediaenterprises. Zell even had the company’s website changed to reflect the fake name as well. Now Sam Zell’s Tribune is back in the news again with the craziest press release ever. It’s as if they got a gossip blogger to pen the release. It was about the appointment of Marc Chase as President of Tribune Interactive. Never mind that Chase is a former radio exec. However, this may be exactly why the release was written in this manner to take away from the fact that Zell’s new Interactive Prexy probably doesn’t know what the hell his new roll means. With antics like these, is Sam Zell painting a funny face and putting a red nose on Tribune? Or will he inspire other media CEO to loosen their ties and take the stick out of their asses?

Sam Zell couldn't have bought into the newspaper business at a more shitty time

By SDH Poor Sam Zell. The real-estate mogul probably woke up one day and said "you know what I want to be in the media business". So Sam coughed up about $315 million of his own money and tapped some investment bankers for the rest. When Sam got his money right, then he made his move on Tribune, the company that publishes loads of Newspapers and owns loads of television stations. Now with billions of dollars in debt, Sam is looking at the possibility of selling off profitable newspapers like New York Newsday, and cutting bodies from his newsrooms. As it turns out, Sam Zell may have gotten into the newspaper business at a really shitty time. Ads are down, paper and ink costs are up, most of us reading them online and people are worried about losing their jobs at any moment due to the shitty economy. Tribune’s net income also hit the shit slopes with only $87 million in 2007 compared to $594 million back in 2006. So how is Sam planning to stay above the tide? Well cutting more jobs, selling off assets and keeping the troops pumped all at the same time. Sam is on the mission to squeeze out cash wherever he can so he can make a $650 million balloon payment from the takeover financing that is due in December, and one for $750 million due in mid-2009. And you’re worried about a $100 cable bill?

Rupert Murdoch is taking his campaign to win Long Island's Newsday public

By SDH For the first time since it was reported that he was interested in Tribune's Newsday newspaper, News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful man in media said publicly he thinks Newsday would be a good fit for his tabloidy New York Post. We're not sure how that would go over with Newsday staffers if Murdoch were to land the paper, but we're guessing there would be a lot of bickering on both sides. Exactly how, The New York Post would benefit isn't clear but a Newsday/New York Post link up would allow Murdoch to spread the dishy celeb and business headlines out on the Island. Wait, we just answered the question on how the Post would benefit. After his recent address at Georgetown University in Washington, Murdoch said adding Newsday "will make the New York Post viable and give it a much more secure future". So is Murdoch implying that currently the future of the New York Post isn’t too secure? Is he saying that if a deal like this doesn't happen, we could see the New York Post sold off or come to an end? Such statements can set off an avalanche of speculations. Wonder when Jared "Paperboy" Kushner is going to make his interest in Newsday public?

Bought out LA Times staffers say their goodbyes in emails, while taking shots at the Zell Administration at parent company Tribune

By SDH Whenever someone gets canned at any company, they always shoot out a goodbye email to their fellow staffers telling them how much they enjoyed working with them and they wish them the best, blah blah blah! When new Tribune owner Sam Zell ordered cuts at his newspapers, namely the LA Times, some staffers sent their goodbye emails but not before taking shots at Zell and his minions. Editor and Publisher published some of what they thought were the most vocal emails and we have to say, we would have been much nastier in our goodbye emails. Why the fuck not? The closest any of these emails published by Editor & Publisher came to slapping Sam Zell was from Joel Sappell, special projects editor. Our new "Innovation Officer" recently used the origins of rock 'n roll to explain his vision for The Times. No offense, Lee, but I'd like to think of us more as a symphony, with each part, each note, as important as the next. And, Mr. Zell, please don't confuse arrogance with a commitment to something grander than the real estate in which we're housed or to the dollars in our ESOP. You want people to "Talk to Sam" but not to "Talkback to Sam." Perhaps that's a closer definition of arrogance. Don't Play It Again, Sam: 'L.A. Times' Staffers Bid Farewell in E-mails -- Some Targeting Zell [E&P]

Newspapers Aggregated: Has young paperboy Jared Kushner joined the pack of vultures reportedly circling Long Island's Newsday?

By SDH The list of potential bidders for Tribune's Newsday is getting longer. Early out it was reported that Rupert Murdoch who seems to want to buy everything was interested in the paper, along with other prominent New York money bags like Cablevisions Chuck Dolan and New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman. Now comes word that New York Observer ruler Jared Kushner may have little tingle for the Newsday as well. Tribune is said to be looking for payout in the $500 million region for the paper but there is no word that the company has started to take bids. In other newspaper news, The Wall Street Journal recently swallowed by News Corp, will go on sale in London taking on other business papers like Pearson's Financial Times. The Journal, with an initial print run of around 3,500 copies, will cost 250 pence, well above the 150 pence Financial Times cover price, but not out of line with the price of other non-UK papers sold in Britain. Yeah, like we didn't see this one coming. How long until an Australian version is born?

April fools from ZelcoMediaEnterprises Tribune Co

By SDH New Tribune Co boss Sam Zell is probably the nuttiest and most potty mouthed old dog in the media business. Zell known for spitting out words that are usually withheld for outside of work during happy hour, apparently woke up in an April Fools mood today and decided to pull one on is Tribune Co staffers. Zell ordered his underlings to send out a fake press release announcing that Tribune Co was changing its name to "ZellCoMediaEnterprises Inc". Old man Zelly even went as far as having the web guys change the company name on the corporate website. The bogus release -- issued by Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman (or, as he styles himself in the piece, "VP/Propaganda and Disinformation") -- quotes Zell as saying since he personally invested $315 million, "the least I ought to get is my name on the company's stationery."

The other Les speaks

By SDH Dow Jones's new low key CEO Les Hinton, has been relatively silent since moving into Richard Zanino's old office. But with the dust starting to settle, the media industry's other Les speaks about, the effort to make Dow Jones and News Corp one big happy family under one big roof and why it was crazy of them to have spun the idea about taking down the paid wall at The Wall Street Journal's website WSJ.com. "The initial thought was if we were not having a pay barrier, we could grow very quickly and get the resulting advertising. That frankly was probably a little bit simplistic because ... it has over a million subscribers. Without going into detail, we get tens of millions in revenue from it." Hinton signals WSJ-News Corp tie-up [Media Guardian]

The new New Line + Disney's boys + NBC Uni to unload stations + Newspapers continue to fight for online love

The New New Line: After announcing that he will fold the legendary New Line into the even more Legendary Warner Bros Studios because he can, Jeff Bewkes has a new man in charge now at a more smaller and nimble New Line as other top execs wait around to be fired. Toby Emmerich has been named Prexy and Chief Operating Officer. Disney's Boys: Disney continues to corner the kiddie market with the announcement that they have entered a deal with teen sensations The Jonas Brothers to produce a new reality show based on their everyday life on tour and off. They sure know how to milk em don't they? NBC Universal To Unload Some Stations: In an attempt to leave smaller markets behind, NBC Universal says that it is selling two of it's many stations WTVJ in Miami and WVIT in Hartford, Connecticut. No word on how much the company will pocket after a sale but we're sure it won't be chump change. Newspapers continue their fight: In the never ending effort to remain relevant in these internet dominated times, a bunch of newspaper publishers are joining a new ad network called quadrantONE which helps newspaper publishers to capture money that advertisers are taking away from printed newspapers and moving online as they see more people spending their time on the Internet. These newspapers would sell their soul for ad dollars.

The New York Post continues to show the New York Daily News how its done but they aren't getting it

BY ZOE. S OK we understand if the New York Daily News is trying to uphold a certain image and all but, in order to move copies at newsstands you need to get a little crazy because at the end of the day no one likes boring unless you're a Wall Streeter and you read the Journal or Financial Times. The New York Post may be known for its fuck ups and tabloidy ways but we always have to hand it to them. They know how to sell newspapers. Why wouldn't you pick up this morning's New York Post? Sure when you get down to the actual story it's more of the same, but chances are, its the cover that got you there, not because its ground breaking or anything, but because its creative and sums up exactly whats going on in Texas.

And now some shitty newspaper news aggregated and remixed

BY SDH The Newspaper industry seems to be headed for shitsville, but people in the biz will tell you that, all the job cuts and write downs is due to the Bushed economy. This may be true but they also have to admit that the Internet is kicking their ass on some levels. Anyway, with all the shitty news coming out of that industry we raked some together for you here. OK! In totally newspaper related news, former newspaper king, Conrad Black is headed to prison on Monday for raping his company. We totally forgot about this scum bag. Harbinger Capital Partners and its affiliate Harbert Management are serious about taking the fight to the New York Times Co. They believe The New York Times Co needs fresh meet. But you better believe the Sulzberger family is preparing for it. They will lose that company at some point, but it will be at a time of their choosing. Newsday is axing bodies like a horror flick due to what they call an urgent need to focus on the things that drive audience and revenue growth, Translation: The Internet!!! McClatchy's value is half way down the shitter due to the value write down of its publications for the second time in four months. The company's market value has dropped 51% . WOW!!!! Another paper that's cutting jobs is The New York Times' Boston Globe but staffers of the paper's website Boston.com will be speared. Of course they will be because the money saved from the job cuts will probably be dumped into improving the website. Hopefully they spend some on the redesign of the logo. The current one looks like something someone did in Word Art. The San Jose Mercury News read and used to clean up coffee spills by the techies in Silicon Valley, is cutting back on news coverage because it's reporting staff is being chopped down to an anemic 200. So does this mean the paper will live with the possibility of missing out on some news?

Is The New York Times Company slowly on its way to being taken over? The Ochs-Sulzberger family could be in for the fight of their media lives

BY SDH I am sure many have thought about it, many have even put word out, but at the end of the day, none have made a serious run at it. What am I talking about? Well the tightly held New York Times Co of course. If the majority owners aren't even willing to think about a sale, then any attempt to make an offer may be useless, unless you can go deep down in your pockets and the pockets of friends and come back up with a sum, the controlling Ochs-Sulzberger family can't refuse. See the key to break kung fu grips like these, is to make an offer that will spark in-fighting and somewhat destabilize the formation. Rupert Murdoch did this and won Dow Jones. Microsoft is trying the same thing with Yahoo! I love families like the Ochs-Sulzberger family, the Bancrofts and the Mohns who control German media giant Bertelsmann. They put out this image that says, "we cannot be bought". Well we all know the Bancrofts can be bought, but what about these other controlling families who keep their hands in the day to day of their companies? Some shareholders have been fighting the Ochs-Sulzberger family to loosen their grip on the company but the family never budges. Now hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has upped its stake in the company from 12 percent to about 19 percent and is fighting to get four board seats. The investment firm says it isn’t pleased with what they basically call ass dragging on the digital front by New York Times brass. Is this the prelude to an even bolder move? With four board seats, Harbinger will have a loud voice next to the Ochs-Sulzberger’s. Maybe it is time for a new time at the New York Times but what will it take for this to happen? My guess on what the Sulzberger family's anwswer would be.... "A Cold Day In Hell"

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

Time Warner Spent $3.6 Million trying to get congress to lean their way We're sure big companies like Time Warner have budgets specifically set up for lobbying. In 2007 Time Warner spent $3.6 million lobbying on television, satellite and broadband-related legislation. Reed Elsevier running from ad recession? Reed Elsevier is unloading its Business Information unit in what some see as a bail out of dealing with an ad recession. The company is trading up publishing business information titles for ChoicePoint, a risk management information provider. Yawn! UK Newspapers enjoying spike in web traffic due to U.S. based stories The US presidential elections, the death of Heath Ledger and Britney Spears' ongoing problems produced record traffic for the UK's newspaper websites during January. Now imagine what would happen if Britney gets pregnant for one of her creepy male hanger-ons. BSkyB will not give in without a fight Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB announced that it will fight to the death against a ruling ordering it to sell the majority of its 17.9% stake in ITV.

Quick Note: Cuts at Tribune shouldn't be a surprise to anyone

BY SDH Tribune Co which finally got acquired by real-estate magnate Sam "Potty Mouth" Zell after a lengthy process announced that because of the economy and lack of print ads, they will eliminate hundreds of jobs in a cost saving campaign because Sam Zell can’t turn the sinking ship around without throwing some bodies overboard. Cuts are expected across brands like the LA Times and Hoy. No one, including Tribune employees should be surprised Sam Zell is ordering hits. However if you are surprised, then you're a dumb dumb who deserves to be canned because of your dumb dumbness.

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.

Guardian Media Group survey says Google and James Murdoch are the media sensations to watch in 2008. We would have went with Britney Spears

-SDH Guardian Media Group, owner of the MediaGuardian.co.uk website surveyed media executives and consultants on who/what they think will be the media industry's star in 2008 and the results came back with James "Jimmy" Murdoch and Google's Android at the top as the media sensations to watch in 2008. Now, the results would have been different if the kids at Guardian Media Group got creative with the choices. If Britney Spears was included in the survey she would've probably came out on top solo. Anyway, other names/companies thrown into the mix included Facebook, LinkedIn, TechCrunch among others. In some weird way, Rupert Murdoch wins again doesn't he!

Rupert Murdoch wants the Wall Street Journal a little closer to him

-SDH The Observer is reporting that Rupert Murdoch may be moving some Wall Street Journal staff out of the financial district and sticking them in midtown in the News Corp building. Of course the people moving to the News Corp building would be on the editorial side so that Rupe can keep a close eye and/or hand on things. If such a move does take place, isn't Rupert just adding fuel to allegations that he moonlights as the Editor in Chief of is newspapers? One senior newsroom source with knowledge of the situation said that the move was "very likely" and it's something that Mr. Murdoch has been "strongly considering" for some time. Another source confirmed it should happen by the end of the year. More....

The Sun's Wapping days in pictures

The Sun printed it's last issue on January 25th at Rupert Murdoch's printing plant,Wapping in east London. The plant, which aimed to take advantage of new printing technology, soon became known as 'Fortress Wapping' because of its forbidding appearance and tight security . Media Guardian takes us back to the early years via pictures

Washington Post getting down to The Root of brown people

-SDH Washington Post apparently felt like they didn't offer anything black people could relate to in their publication, so to correct this they launched a new online magazine called The Root and brought in a black dude from Harvard to serve as Editor. It's funny how newspapers and big media overall feel the need to create a whole new outlet to communicate to black audiences. Well note to you big media dumb dumbs: Save your money and broaden your coverage and minds. The Editor Henry Louis Gates Jr. invites you to come be a part of what he calls a "Ground Breaking New Enterprise, and enjoy the richness of the black experience and all it's fullness" Ground breaking enterprise? God we hate the cheesy-ness. What's ground breaking about a website geared towards black people? There are many out their, they are just known unknowns. According to Gates he sees The Root as a way of recreating the role of the black newspapers that once thrived in many major cities but have largely disappeared.

Rupert Murdoch wears many hats at News Corp, he is CEO and according to Andrew Neil, Editor in Chief of the Sun?

"If you want to know what Rupert Murdoch really thinks read the editorials in the Sun and the New York Post because he is editor-in-chief of these papers" -SDH Was Sun Editor Rebekah Wade talking all over her mouth when she said Rupert Murdoch doesn't interfere with the editorial direction of the paper? Or is former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil talking all over his mouth by saying that Murdoch Interfered so much that he is basically the Editor of the Sun? Either way who would be shocked? Andrew Neil is probably trying to get some media face time even though his claims may not hold water due to the fact that he hasn't worked for the paper for over a decade? Why is the Lords committee even hearing what Andrew Neil has to say. The guy can't remember anything, and besides he isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know. Rupert Murdoch’s biggest fuck up as Editor in Chief of the New York Post was this.

In his father's shoes

BY SDH Lachlan Murdoch is taking a page out of his daddy Rupert's book and is building his media empire, one newspaper paper at a time. According to published reports the former New York Post Publisher and deputy Chief Operating Officer of News Corp has teamed up with Australia's richest man James Packer to acquire publishing company Consolidated Media Holdings for a cool $2 billion. Is Lachlan finally pulling the curtains up on his grand comeback plan? Word is an official announcement will be made later on today.

Gannett latest newspaper publisher trying to show how serious they are about their digital strategy, names Chief Digital Officer and Prexy

BY SDH "DIGITAL" If you are a media company and this word isn't in the vocabulary of your most senior execs, then you're not on the bandwagon which could be a bad thing especially in the eyes of investors. Gannett attempting to show their dedication to becoming digitally literate has hired Chris Saridakis as their Chief Digital Officer. But that's not all, the Gannett has also named a Jack Williams, President of Gannett Digital Ventures. The company said it made these moves in an effort to transform itself into a company more dependent on the Internet. Just don't forget the older folks who love to lick their inky fingers to flip through pages.

News Corp Aggregated: Hillary Clinton's unflattering campaign's unflattering coverage | Monster.com, not Linked-In on Rupert Murdoch's mind?

-SDH It looks like all that speculation about News Corp being in talks with the folks at business social networking site Linked-In is just that, speculation at least for now. Well there is new speculation again, but this time it involves job search engine Monster.com. According to seekingalpha.com, Murdoch sent a letter to the Monster.com board offering them $4.8 billion for the company. Sounds familiar right? Yeah, he took similar route when he went after DowJones. But is this rumor, just a rumor or is this really happening? seekingalpha.com fails to spark any sense of "WOW! this may happen" They only mention that Sal Iannuzzi was hired as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Monster.com back in April 2007 to reportedly set the company up to be sold, apparently because he's a wiz at selling companies or something. He sold a company called Symbol Tech Whooohooo! Like every other rumor, this is a wait and see. After all, News Corp is still chewing on their recent $5 Billion take over of Dow Jones. [seekingalpha.com] Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton should join the line of people who holds a grudge against Rupert Murdoch. Apparently Hill is kinda ticked off at the coverage The New York Post gave her during the New Hampshire debates. Is that what she was really worried about? [Newsbusters]

With that skinny black guy and chubby white guy dominating Thursday's front pages, NY Post & Daily News finally get their Britney on

-SDH Did the editors of both the New York Post and Daily News feel like they were in a dilemma when news broke that Britney Spears went nuts, and the results of the Iowa Caucuses became final? Did they have to choose which story would take the cover or was it a no-brainer to run Caucus related cover stories? Well both papers finally ran their Britney related cover stories today but we have to say we're a bit disappointed especially in the New York Post who usually walks the line with their cover headlines, and for the fact that they split the front page 50-50 with caucus related news. Not to say Britney's melt down is more important than the future of the country, but we really wanted the NY Post to knock it out the park. Is the Post feeling sorry for Britney or something? The Daily News comes a little closer to that line but not dangerously close. Here are some headlines we think would have gone over well for the Post. Nuclear Britney Popstar Pops Her Top Gimme Gimme Help! Britney Scares Poppsycho

FCC's cap off could be another win for media king Rupert Murdoch

-RAY FCC Chairboy Kevin Martin sets limits for cable and news firms in an attempt to save the newspaper industry and of course not everyone is happy. However one person that is probably smiling this morning is non other than News Corp, now Dow Jones ruler Rupert Murdoch, who because of this ruling can win permanent waivers to control two television stations in New York, as well as The New York Post and The Wall Street Journal. In one 3-to-2 vote on Tuesday, Mr. Martin sided with the agency’s two other Republicans to relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rules in the nation’s 20 largest markets. Under the new rule, a company can own both a newspaper and either a television or radio station in those markets as long as there remain at least eight other independent sources of news. If it is a television station, the rule requires that it cannot be one of the top four. F.C.C. Reshapes Rules Limiting Media Industry [NYT]

Which one would you grab off the newsstand? For us, the New York Post hands down because bizarre sells

-YOSH The New York Post continues to show the New York Daily News how to stand out among competitors, with their MJ cover and headline. The New York Daily News continues to play it safe with the stories people care about but got enough of from the morning news programs.

Rupert Murdoch on his plans for the Journal, its competitors and what he would have done if he was the Financial Times

-SDH Moments after he officially took control of Dow Jones, Rupert Murdoch did what any other media mogul who owns a cable business network would have done, he stopped by his Fox Business News studios for a sit down with FBN lead anchor Neil Cavuto. In his strong Aussie twang, Rupert speaks of what’s to come for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. Rupe totally forgetful of the fact that with the Thomson-Reuters merger Dow Jones will have to work double time to become a prominent player in financial information says he wants it to be the preeminent source of financial news and information. Asked by Cavuto if he bought a dinosaur Rupert of course did not and does not believe that. We look forward to what’s coming.

Rupert Murdoch wants to celebrate but not everyone is in the mood for celebrating

-YOSH Rupert Murdoch and his News Corpians are so happy that they finally got the keys to Dow Jones, they plan to celebrate via a $2 million ad campaign set to go live tomorrow touting the company's accomplishments. The company bought up ad space in major newspapers but not all of them want to share in Murdoch's joy. The Financial Times and the China Daily - have so far declined to run the in your face ads,but that won't stop News Corp from sharing their joy. News Corp. official said it was the first time the company has done branded advertising. Spanning three pages and playing off Dow Jones' motto, the headline is "Free People, Free Markets, Free Thinking," and trumpets Murdoch's convention-challenging accomplishments over several decades. Those include the launches of the Sun tabloid and BSkyB satellite broadcasting in England, the creation of Fox television (and The Simpsons) in the United States, the Fox News Channel, and the purchase of MySpace two years ago. "It's the first time we've given the company a narrative that expresses how we've gone against convention in providing greater choice and diversity in entertainment and information to consumers around the world," said a company insider. What better way to rub your accomplishments in the face of your competitors but taking out ads in the very papers your fellow media CEOs probably read. WE LOVE IT! Murdoch ad squelched by FT, Chinese daily [Fortune]

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]

Robert Scoble: You Brits don’t have serious newspapers

-ZOE S. Blogger Robert Scoble may as well tattoo a bull’s-eye on his back and walk around shirtless because he is one of those that just keeps digging himself deeper into a shit pit and don't have the shoes for it. A target of Silicon Valley gossip blog Valleywag.com , Scoble now has to deal with disgruntled readers in the UK who wants to rip him a new one for saying there are no serious newspapers in the UK. "Now that I'm over in London I get to see the media that Valleywag is patterned after. Over here they don't have really serious newspapers. That's what the BBC is for, after all. But every store sells these gossip papers that scream at you with huge type. They go for the most salacious of topics. Just like Valleywag does. After all, if Scoble picks his nose, that's more interesting than what Oracle announced in a press release this morning, right? Heh." Britain doesn't have "serious" newspapers, says Scoble [PDA]