Jeff Berman

NFL Brings (Some of) the Super Bowl to Tablets

Lauren Goode in Media on February 1 at 8:37 am PT

If you’re one of those football fans who likes to watch — and rewatch — key plays after the game, this app’s for you.

Is There a Myspace Mafia, Too? Because Leaving Seems to Have Paid Off for Many Ex-Execs.

Kara Swisher in Social on June 13, 2011 at 11:28 am PT

When the selling of Myspace winds down in the next week or so, it’ll probably attract a spate of comments about what a failure the whole social networking enterprise turned out to be. That is, unless you think of the mob of former execs who have worked at the company over time, many of whom have moved on to some more golden opportunities after leaving Myspace.

Exclusive: MySpace Gets a New Sales Boss–MTV Vet Nada Stirratt (Plus, an Internal Memo, Of Course!)

Peter Kafka in Media on October 9, 2009 at 3:35 pm PT

Employees at News Corp.’s MySpace have been waiting to find out who their new ad sales boss will be. And, here she is: Nada Stirratt, who until today was running digital sales for Viacom’s MTV Networks. Stirratt has her work cut out for her. The struggling social networking site, HQed in Beverly Hills, has been trying to reboot its image, spur innovation in its product and, most of all, pull itself out of a too-long slump, even as longtime rival, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Facebook, has seen explosive growth.

MySpace Poised to Hire New Ad Sales Head as It Preps Music- and Entertainment-Centric Strategy and Redesign

Kara Swisher in News on October 7, 2009 at 1:57 am PT

In a week, the entire advertising sales staff of MySpace will gather at a swanky new seaside resort about 20 miles south of Los Angeles to get a first glimpse of the fresh direction the company is preparing to take under its new management. The beleaguered social networking site has been in the midst of an effort to reinvigorate its image, spur innovation in its product and–most of all–pull itself out of a too-long slump, even as longtime rival Facebook has seen explosive growth. On the possible agenda: A new strategy aimed at music and entertainment; a new look; and, perhaps, a new boss for the ad sales team.

Media Link's Michael Kassan (in NYC) and Wenda Millard (From a Boat Somewhere Near Slovenia) Speak About Their New MySpace Gig!

Kara Swisher in News on August 20, 2009 at 4:48 pm PT

Wenda Harris Millard–calling in to BoomTown HQ from a cruise either on the way to or the way from Slovenia, since she said she was not exactly sure, given that it was the middle of the night there–wanted to make one thing clear: She is still working for her other dozens of clients at Media Link as its president, but also has a big new gig helping MySpace get its advertising sales house in order, especially related to strategy and execution. “I guess it’s a matter of semantics, but I will be leading the engagement,” said Millard. “But we have a whole team here too, and I am also still working for all our great clients.” Okay, people?!? Which is, in Slovenian, in case anyone asks there, Wenda: Vidirati narod?

MySpace to Hire Media Link (and Millard) to Fix Ad Sales; Berman Out

Kara Swisher in News on August 20, 2009 at 11:26 am PT

In a move that will surely have Madison Avenue talking, well-known online advertising sales executive Wenda Harris Millard–who is now president of New York- and Los Angeles-based media consultancy Media Link–is poised to take over all advertising sales at MySpace, sources said. But, in an unusual twist, the former Yahoo and Martha Stewart exec will remain in her job at Media Link, which has also been hired by MySpace to advise on restructuring the social networking company’s salesforce. Current President of Sales and Marketing Jeff Berman will be leaving the company, MySpace has told employees via an internal memo.

MySpace: After the Layoffs, Here's What's What and What's Next

Kara Swisher in News on June 17, 2009 at 5:30 am PT

Now what? The party-all-night social-networking site that has been MySpace so far got a massive morning-after shock yesterday when 30 percent of its workforce was laid off. And today, MySpace, which is still 1,000-strong, has to face the cold, harsh light of day in the aftermath of the restructuring and get busy quickly figuring out a way to reinvigorate a brand that has suffered after a stunning rocket of a start many years ago. So, based on many sources I have spoken to over the last week, here’s a rundown of the next steps MySpace will likely be taking and who’ll be making them.

MySpace Musical Chairs: Jason Hirschhorn Also In as Chief Product Officer

Kara Swisher in News on April 27, 2009 at 9:09 am PT

MySpace has officially announced the appointment of entrepreneur and former AOL exec Mike Jones as COO, as BoomTown had reported earlier today. But the social-networking site also named former Sling Media top exec Jason Hirschhorn as chief product officer in what has become a series of senior management moves at MySpace. Both Hirschhorn and Jones will report to newly named CEO Owen Van Natta, the former COO of Facebook, who replaced MySpace CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe last week. Once the trio get their bearings, many sources indicate that News Corp., owner of MySpace, has given Van Natta and his key execs free reign to remake the unit from top to bottom.

MySpace Campaigns for Ad Dollars–Will It Have to Come Clean After the Election?

Peter Kafka in Media on November 3, 2008 at 3:00 am PT

MySpace pushes a pretend candidate to New York publishers and ad agencies. But the company’s real results come a day after election day: On Wednesday, parent company News Corp. will have to tell investors how the giant Web site’s ad sales are performing.