USA Today owner Gannett to buy KING parent Belo for $1.5B

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Big acquisition in the media world this morning: Belo Corp., the parent company of television stations including Seattle’s KING-TV, has agreed to be acquired by USA Today owner Gannett Co. for $1.5 billion in cash. The deal will add 20 television stations to Gannett’s portfolio, nearly doubling the Virginia-based company’s TV holdings. Belo, based in… Read More…

Letter: Seattle Times objects to News Council’s ‘quasi-judicial spectacle’ and online vote

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Update, June 4: The Seattle Times sent this note to the Washington News Council correcting a portion of its letter below. “We at The Seattle Times apologize for any misunderstanding we may have created about Dr. Wollert’s status with Washington State University, Vancouver.  While the university’s director of communications had told us that the title… Read More…

Citizen journalist sues after NBCNews.com’s Newsvine unit fails to pay $183 in ad revenue

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A Wisconsin woman has filed a lawsuit against NBCNews.com’s Newsvine unit, alleging that the company violated its terms-of-service agreement by failing to pay a percentage of ad revenue to users who posted content on the Web site. The woman, Kathleen Wilkes, of Dane County, Wisconsin alleges in the class action suit that Newsvine — a… Read More…

Here’s how Breaking News reported truth during the Boston Marathon bombings

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By now, you’ve probably read, watched or heard content about how several media entities reported false information on more than one occasion days after the Boston Marathon bombings. Seattle-based Breaking News, however, did what some failed to do: They reported only facts. Breaking News is part of the NBC News Digital Network and owned by NBC News, but… Read More…

Relaborate scores cash to help big brands figure out what to write about

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Relaborate has raised more than $500,000 in a first round of funding, money that the Seattle startup will use to continue to developing what it dubs a “smart content marketing engine” for companies. As part of the round, some of the company’s initial users have become angel investors. “We help solve problems businesses face by… Read More…

Barry Diller’s Internet video startup Aereo secures key appeals court victory in ongoing fight with big media

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Just two weeks after Seattle startup Ivi lost an important chance to propel its case forward, another startup with deeper pockets is moving ahead with its plans to transform the TV industry as we know it. Aereo, the Barry Diller-backed startup, just won an important decision in the federal court of appeals. In a 2… Read More…

Amazon continues content push, greenlights pilot for Zombieland

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Amazon.com continues its push into the video distribution arena, taking on the likes of Hulu and Netflix. And its latest attempt comes in the form of Zombieland. Amazon Studios will produce the comedy — based on the 2009 Columbia Pictures movie of the same name — as a free pilot available through Prime Instant Video and Lovefilm… Read More…

Report: Amazon.com in talks with music labels about new subscription service

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The music subscription business is a tough one, as evidenced by our report earlier today that industry pioneer Rhapsody continued to lose cash even as revenues hit a record of $143 million last year.  Despite the trials and tribulations of online music, Amazon.com appears poised to expand its efforts in the arena. The Verge reports that… Read More…

Redfin unveils Offer Insights: Real-time insider details for home buyers

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Redfin continues to push toward more transparency in the traditionally opaque real estate industry, launching a new micro-blogging service of sorts today called “Offer Insights.” Redfin has played around with this concept for years, getting slapped on the wrist back in 2007 by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for posting honest reviews of homes to… Read More…

Zillow Digs vs. Pinterest: Inside Zillow’s big bet to transform home improvement

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Spencer Rascoff stands in front of a cluttered whiteboard with marker in hand on the 31st floor of Seattle’s Russell Investments Center. The CEO is explaining the fundamental framework of Zillow, the eight-year-old online real estate company that now boasts a market value of $1.27 billion. At the center of the whiteboard drawing is what… Read More…

Hark inks deal with the AP, gains access to 100 years of audio clips

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Hark has sealed a new content partnership with the Associated Press, gaining access to more than 100 years of audio clips and photos from the news agency. As part of a licensing deal, Hark will post everything from World War II broadcasts to presidential debates to sporting milestones. “Some of our society’s most memorable moments are… Read More…

Digital multi-taskers rule: Majority of Americans access the Internet while watching TV

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How do you watch TV? Well, if you are like a growing contingent of Americans, you likely have a smartphone,  tablet or laptop by your side as you breeze through episodes of Parenthood or The Daily Show. (The only show I routinely watch without my laptop or smartphone by my side is The Good Wife). According… Read More…

Amazon gets its zombie on, reportedly set to develop new Zombieland TV series

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Amazon.com is making a big push into original content, and the Seattle online retailer reportedly is turning to zombies to attract audiences as it faces off against Netflix and others. Broadcast Now reports that Amazon has taken over development of Zombieland — a TV series based on the 2009 film that starred Woody Harrelson and Jesse… Read More…

Commentary: Report shines little new light on journalism woes

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In the winter of 2009, Seattle was the center of a global maelstrom that has yet to bottom out: the collapse of the advertiser-supported business model that funded mainstream journalism. The Seattle P-I published its last printed edition that March after a flurry of town halls and salons where journalists, academics and news junkies tried… Read More…

Horses and Bayonets: The top 10 sound bites from the Barack Obama-Mitt Romney debate

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Last night’s final presidential debate produced some of the best zingers of the campaign, with President Barack Obama sounding off about “horses and bayonets” and former Governor Mitt Romney proclaiming that he likes “American cars.” Tracking all of the action throughout the campaign has been Seattle startup Hark, one of the biggest repositories of audio… Read More…

Amazon.com vets launch news service Goldfinch, hoping to fill Summify void

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I was a huge fan of the news aggregation service Summify, and was bummed when the Vancouver, B.C. was shut down this past summer after being sold to Twitter. But now two former senior technologists who helped build the product recommendation engines at Amazon.com — Bob Cottrell and Andrej Gregov — are hoping to fill the… Read More…

Leaning left or right? This browser plugin looks to bring balance to political news

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It’s an election year, which means a lot of mud is being slung in various media outlets. Oftentimes, it’s hard to find the truth among all of the clutter. But a new online tool could help identify biases in news reporting, pointing consumers of news to other viewpoints, especially when they’ve been fed too many… Read More…

Get to know your neighborhood: Walk Score unveils new crowd-sourced pictorial guides

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Seattle’s Walk Score today rolled out a series of new community-oriented features for the Web site and iPhone app that allow individuals to get more information — primarily via photos — of the neighborhoods in which they live. “In a nutshell, we’re enabling our users to share and discover the places that make neighborhoods unique,”… Read More…

LOLwork: Cheezburger TV show coming to Bravo Nov. 7

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Bravo film crews have been hanging out at Cheezburger’s offices in lower Queen Anne, getting footage for the release of their new reality TV show. Cheezburger CEO Ben Huh has been keeping his lips sealed when it comes to anything having to do with the new show. But Bravo just released some previews, and announced… Read More…