News Byte

Rafat Ali’s Skift Raises Another $1.1 Million

Skift, the travel news startup from paidContent founder Rafat Ali, has added $1.1 million to the $500,000 seed round it raised last year. Lerer Ventures led the round, along with new money from funds including Advancit Capital and individuals including Martin Nisenholtz and Shakil Khan. Ali said the money will help him double his staff, to 10, and to launch new services.

Rafat Ali 2.0: Meet Skift, the Travel Industry’s Version of PaidContent

What do you do after you build and sell a pioneering digital media start-up? Take two years off, and start building another media star-tup.

Two Questions for Rupert Murdoch

Is it for real? And is Lachlan coming back?

Spotify Dollars Boost Warner Music, but Not as Much as iTunes

Streaming music services are growing quickly. But, for big music, digital still means downloads.

GigaOM Buys paidContent (Like Peter Kafka Said)

Guess what? Wait, we knew that.

Is GigaOM Buying paidContent?

Om Malik won’t say. But we should find out soon.

Three Years Later, the Guardian Wants a Buyer for PaidContent

The British newspaper publisher says the pioneering Web site is “is a high-quality asset but our focus in the US is on building the Guardian.”

News Byte

New York Times Digital Boss to Retire

Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president of digital operations for the New York Times, is retiring at the end of this year. A 16-year veteran of the Times, Nisenholtz quarterbacked the company’s online efforts, beginning with NYTimes.com in 1996. Additional details at paidContent.

News Byte

FTC Spanks Apple App Maker for Childrens’ Privacy Violations

This one got lost in yesterday’s news deluge: A developer that made apps for Apple’s iOS devices has paid the U.S. government a $50,000 fine for breaking rules designed to protect children’s privacy on the Web. The Federal Trade Commission charged W3 Innovations, the parent company behind Broken Thumbs Apps, with violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act on Friday, and announced a settlement Monday. PaidContent and Ars Technica have good coverage.

Will Yahoo Be In Play Again? Here's a Few Scenarios (That Could Be More Than Just Scenarios)

One of the results of Yahoo’s weak earnings report earlier this week has been the renewal of chatter about possible changes in its leadership and even ownership. And continued investor discomfort with its troubled stock price and the level of renewed grumbling by major institutional shareholders is causing some key players to go back to their PowerPoints to reevaluate various options.

Today's Daily Cord-Cutting Denial: Viacom

For Sale: Inside.com, Barely Used