Finance Matters

Archive for February 19th, 2010

Google scheduled a privacy discussion for reporters and bloggers at its San Francisco offices a couple of weeks ago. The timing was unexpectedly ironic.

Continue reading at Search Engine Land »

Join the conversation about this story »

At the PaidContent conference today at the Times Center, New York Times senior vice president of digital operations Martin Nisenholtz got defensive about a piece published in The Guardian that criticized paywalls, especially since he was there to crow about the Times’ plan for a metered model in 2011.

“I don’t think the Guardian has come up with a business model that allows them to make money from the web,” he said the lunchtime panel discussion.

So a Guardian executive shot back.

After publisher Arthur Sulzberger and CEO Janet Robinson were sure to emphasize that all print subscribers would be able to access NYTimes.com for free, the Guardian executive asked if their metered paywall model for 2011 was just another way for the company to support its print business “for as long as possible.” 

There was an uncomfortable paused as executives blinked at the question. After a pause and some nervous laughter, Robinson chimed in with their canned response: the metered model is about supporting two revenue streams. But the idea that print and digital subscriptions would be bundled together “really does endear us,” she added.

Sulzberger said earlier during the discussion that the Times doesn’t expect their digital revenues to sustain the paper. “This is not just our saying we’re going to make sufficient money in year one,” he said. “We believe this is where our world is going and we want to lead it.”

“It’s not about mass reach, it’s about the quality of people you reach,” he added.

So what kind of people are “quality?” We can take a guess.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• New York Times Announces Metered Pay Model Coming in January 2011
• New York Times Blogs Are Set To Be Paywalled
• More Newspapers Put Up New York Times-Like Paywall

Apparently there was a secret screening of Wall Street 2 last night.

The (second hand) reviews coming out of it are really positive:

“It’s an entertaining movie with Shia a better match for Douglas than Sheen, who was a stiff. It’s a sardonic, slightly satirical film with Josh Brolin and particularly Frank Langella scoring well.”

“It also proves Shia can play with the big boys. A surprisingly satirical movie. It’s the first time I’ve heard a Stone movie described as ‘fun.’”

Read the full review (via slashfilm.)

Also check out the 10 best quotes from Wall Street 2.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Check Out The Awesome New Trailer For Wall Street 2
• The 10 Best Quotes From Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps
• Gordon Gekko’s 80s Cell Phone Has A Cameo In Wall Street 2 Trailer, But Is It Really The Original?

Conan O’Brien has a live tour in the works in which he will perform several shows in cities across the U.S., according to The Wrap,

According to his exit with NBC settlement, Conan is banned from hosting a new show until September. 

But it didn’t say anything about the comedian performing live.

It is not yet official, but O’Brien hitting the road is a great idea. 

The tour will surely be a hit with his army of die hard fans who were enraged over the Late Night fiasco and will give O’Brien a few extra months in the limelight before he returns to TV, perhaps on Fox.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Conan’s Lawyers Say The Contract Had What They Needed
• Conan O’Brien, Fox Plan a Show On FX First, Then Broadcast
• Conan O’Brien Gathers ‘Facebook Army’ For Huge TV Comeback

From Slate:

In the early 1700s, Europeans discovered in the Pacific Ocean a large, unpopulated island with a temperate climate, rich in all nature’s bounty except coal, oil, and natural gas. Reflecting its lack of civilization, they named this island “Basicland.”

The Europeans rapidly repopulated Basicland, creating a new nation. They installed a system of government like that of the early United States. There was much encouragement of trade, and no internal tariff or other impediment to such trade. Property rights were greatly respected and strongly enforced. The banking system was simple. It adapted to a national ethos that sought to provide a sound currency, efficient trade, and ample loans for credit-worthy businesses while strongly discouraging loans to the incompetent or for ordinary daily purchases.

Read the full parable at Slate –>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Buffett: Cash Strapped Consumers Will Make Recovery Slow And Uncertain
• CHART OF THE DAY: This Is The Chart Warren Buffett Keeps Under His Pillow
• Meet The 29-Year Old Hedge Fund Cutie Warren Buffet Just Asked Out To Lunch