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CNET Networks will furnish tech news and features for Hearst-Argyle Television and Internet Broadcasting Systems. As part of the arrangement, CNET will provide regular feeds of breaking news stories to Hearst-Argyle’s 28 U.S. television stations. CNET reporters will host those feeds, which will also include question-and-answer sessions with the leaders of technology companies, among other highlights. In addition, CNET will provide tech news webcasts and content for the 40-plus web sites for the local television stations that Internet Broadcasting Systems operates. The partnerships represent a reincarnation of sorts. Two months ago, CNET scrapped its News.com TV program, which used to air on CNBC, and said that any future newscasts would be distributed primarily via the web. Like most internet and media companies, CNET is strapped for cash amid the recession and ad-sales downturn.
Nuke plans in Afghanistan may be net hoax
In this time of anxiety and apprehension since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, some documents found in a house in Kabul, Afghanistan, which included plans on how to build a nuclear weapon, raised real concerns. Good thing they're probably fake. The official-looking documents are apparently identical to a scientific journal spoof originally produced in 1979. Jason Scott, the proprietor of Rotten.com, discovered the joke instructions by typing words from the found documents, which were in English, until he noticed they all matched the gag pamphlet. The parody turned out to be entitled "How To Built An Atomic Bomb in 10 Easy Steps." Others in the series include: "Let's Make A Time Machine", "Let's Make An Anti-gravity Machine" and "How To Clone Your Neighbour's Wife using only common kitchen utensils." The joke trained wannabe terrorists in how to use Play-Dough in the mix, along with a warning to keep children from eating "left-over plutonium."
Mediapassage software finds owner
The key assets of defunct online newspaper ad placement company Media Passage have been sold. The new owner of Media Passage’s software is Valassis Communications, a newspaper ad insert company. Valassis intends to put its purchase to use as a new service that will be called Valassis Media Passage. The acquisition gives Valassis access to one of the largest newspaper databases around, in addition to the capacity to plan and place newspaper ad campaigns via the internet and in print form. Media Passage shut its doors back in September, a casualty of the brutal ad economy and recession and among the first of the online media placement services to go under.
Masses gather at Ellis Island site
The wired masses have been logging on in droves to the web site of Ellis Island, which was the point of entry for many Americans’ ancestors. According to officials at EllisIslandRecords.com, the site has received some 1.5 billion hits in its first six months of existence. The site offers a database of boat manifests and similar information about the 22 million people who came to the U.S. through the island. The web site has experienced problems resulting from its high volume of traffic. When it launched, for example, many site visitors could not log on because there were so many other visitors there, to the tune of 27,000 hits a second. The Ellis Island Foundation, which runs the site, has beefed up the site’s infrastructure to help cope with the millions of people who want to rediscover their roots.
Ay caramba: Trouble at StarMedia
StarMedia, which operates top portals for speakers of Spanish and Portuguese, is looking rather troubled these days. Two of its high-level executives have left, and the company is probing some fancy accounting at two of its units. Those two subsidiaries, AdNet and StarMedia Mexico, incorrectly accounted for some $10 million in revenue. Because of that, the company must restate its earnings for all last year and the first half of this year. In order to do so, StarMedia has established a special committee, aided by external counsel, which will investigate the situation. The company’s chief financial officer, Steven Heller, has left, along with general counsel Justin Macedonia. Meanwhile, the company’s stock is trading in the sub-50 cent range.
November 20, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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