Who says corporate Q1 2009 earnings calls can't make for a riveting show? In an earnings call regarding News Corporation's performance this past quarter, Rupert Murdoch went beyond the balance sheet, opening up to shareholders and reporters about the broken truce with MSNBC and the battle with the White House. (more...)

Earlier this week the NYT's David Carr wrote a glowing account of AOL's transformation from "gated community" to a growing content (and traffic) juggernaut. Emphasis on the "growing" — Mediaite just learned that AOL's Daily Finance blog has signed on former Portfolio.com staffer Sam Gustin, who will be joining the Daily Finance team as a contributor on Monday. This brings its writers to an impressive 20 — and its ex-Portfolio staffers to three. (more...)

VIDEO Stupid. The definition of stupidity. Idiotic. Beyond belief. A Disaster. These are the words that Steve Brill uses to describe the way media outlets are passing out their wares for free on the web in an interview with The Atlantic's Bob Cohn at the Aspen Ideas Festival. (more...)

Yesterday we picked up the news that Jim Spanfeller was stepping down as the CEO of Forbes.com. Many saw it as yet another by-product of a declining ad market which has hit the business journals particularly hard. (more...)