assassination

Project Alesia: News Corp.'s Roman Battle Cry–Does That Cast Googlers as the Gauls? (Plus Video!)

Kara Swisher in News on December 23, 2009 at 11:23 am PT

While Internet companies such as Google use baked goods as names for their key strategic initiatives–recent ones related to its Android mobile operating system were called Donut and Eclair, for example–aggressive media giant News Corp. is definitely not going for sweetness in its unusual selection of a code name for its high-profile digital content effort. That would be Project Alesia, a moniker that comes from a vicious siege in ancient times widely considered to be one of the more decisive battles in history. And that is apparently what top News Corp. execs think is the best way to describe their plans for stopping the decimation of premium content in the digital age and transforming their business to take advantage of new means of distribution.

Walter Cronkite: That's the Way It Was (And Always Should Be)

Kara Swisher in News on July 18, 2009 at 1:40 am PT

Of all the many journalists I admire, Walter Cronkite is perhaps right at the very top of the list. With an unerring sense of fairness, consistent equilibrium that is sorely missed, rigorous adherence to ethics and standards and a crackerjack reporter, the legendary television newsman and iconic anchor–who died yesterday at 92 years old–was also never afraid to show his humanity. In today’s very noisy media universe, he should serve as an example of how to be booming without being shrill, and commanding without being a blowhard.