Here’s the company’s official statement: “The individual in question violated the company’s standards of conduct by repeatedly copying and distributing a variety of materials without permission.”

Not that it needs much unpacking, but just to be clear: NBC is saying, without actually saying so, that its position is that it canned the leaker for behavior beyond posting that single clip.

And not to be too square and get-off-my-lawn about it, but there are lots and lots of companies–including, for instance, Google, which owns YouTube–that fire people for distributing things on the Internet that aren’t supposed to be distributed on the Internet.

As PaidContent’s Andrew Wallenstein argues, the fact that the clip is funny and interesting and had already been on TV 17 years ago–and on NBC’s own Web site today–doesn’t mean the NBC guy had the go-ahead to do it. (It also points out the complexity that YouTube has in policing authorized and unauthorized clips, but that’s a different story.)

But, as noted: The clip is funny and interesting! And reminds us of what Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric used to look like. Let’s watch it again!

Murdoch, who runs Europe and Asia for his father Rupert’s company (which also owns this Web site), offered up the quasi-launch date during an onstage interview at the DLD conference in Munich.

As far as I can tell from the coverage, Murdoch didn’t reveal any other details that haven’t been reported–he confirmed that the service will cost 99 cents a week, etc.–but Staci Kramer at paidContent seems to have a good summary. You can watch the chat yourself here.

Meanwhile, I can offer up one tiny morsel of news about the Daily. And granted, it really is tiny. But: Here’s something you won’t see when the app launches, but will eventually–3-D video.

People familiar with the Daily tell me plans for future editions of the app include a gee-whiz feature that will allow correspondents to offer readers a 360-degree view of whatever they’re talking about.

It’s easier to show than to tell, and I can’t embed a sample here, but you can see one on this YouTube page. Most of the applications we’ve seen for 3-D Web video so far involve music videos set in party scenes. But you can imagine how much more interesting this might be if it involved someone reporting from, say, Tunisia.

Cue disbelief from people who have indeed cut the cord. Or at least want to cut the cord.

Today’s episode comes courtesy of Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, during his company’s earnings call this morning. Guess what he said after an analyst asked if his recent Netflix deal would push cable subscribers to bail out and go Web-only?

Okay, no need to guess. PaidContent’s David Kaplan jotted down Dauman’s response:

Even through this powerful recession, TV viewership held up. There is much ado about nothing, when it comes to talk of cord-cutting. We have seen subscribers on more networks increase, because we’ve seen incremental distribution from the telcos. We don’t see cord-cutting happening. If anything, it’s the economy that holds down subscribers. As it returns, so do the subscribers.

Since we’re going to see/hear this movie many more times for quite some time, it may be worthwhile to start figuring out how both sides could be right.

Here’s a theory to start with: Cord cutters are real, but they’re a very vocal minority, and they’re dramatically overrepresented on sites like this one. And even if you’re not a cord cutter, I’d guess that if you’re reading this site you’re much more likely than the average American to have a media- and tech-savvy friend who has cut the cord.

The flip side of the argument is that pay TV numbers may still be increasing, but not by much. And if the cable guys are right, and the losses they’ve been seeing are because the economy is lousy, then that strikes me as much more important than they’re letting on: Who gives up TV, and how can the cable guys not figure out a way to sell them TV at a price they can afford?

So, again, I’m just spitballing. Take it from here, or let me know what you think.

Guardian Media has one for sale. The British publisher is peddling the “Inside.com” domain name, people familiar with the company tell me. Asking price, I’m told, is something north of $100,000.

If that name rings a bell, it’s probably because you used to dine on big, well-prepared plates of media-covering-media during the first boom, when Inside.com spent a lot of money trying to create an industry insider/outsider publishing business.

That didn’t work, and eventually paidContent’s Rafat Ali, an Inside.com veteran himself, bought up the domain in 2008.

The idea was to use the name as an umbrella for his collection of trade sites, and perhaps to help Ali open up a Hollywood outpost. But that never panned out, and if you head to Inside.com now it will direct you to paidContent.

Ali ended up selling that site and its parent company to Guardian Media in 2008, and left two years later. The British company once had aggressive plans to expand in the U.S., but it’s unclear what it intends to do now. Caroline Little, who was running American operations for the publisher, stepped down earlier this year.

I’ve asked Guardian for comment and will update if it has one.

If you’re in a hurry, though, you can get a good sense of Denton, at least in present tense, via this clip. It’s an abridged version of my onstage chat with the Gawker Media founder at an Interactive Advertising Bureau event last month, and the editors have done a nice job of distilling it down to seven minutes. Bonus for you guys: This thing is so well-edited that I don’t appear in a single frame.

And if you’re in a real hurry, here’s the money quote, which I extracted from Denton by asking him if he thinks what Gawker does is “journalism”:

In the U.S., traditional media has killed itself. And it’s provided a great opportunity for organizations like us, because they have cared too much about the journalism, about the Pulitzers, about the respect of their peers–and too little about the entertainment of their readers.”

If you’re looking for more detail from our talk, which included Denton lavishing praise on Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs but refusing to shed any light on the Gizmodo/iPhone 4 case, check out David Kaplan’s summary at PaidContent.

Yahoo will use its Associated Content content farm/factory/mill (pick your favorite phrase!), acquired earlier this year for $90 million, to build out the site. Alan Mutter, the plugged-in newspaper blogger, has the details:

In a breathless email blast to registered contributors at Associated Content, Yahoo said it is “looking for writers living in or near the San Francisco area (like you!) to write compelling, local content–ranging from highlights of your favorite neighborhood destinations to metro-wide, first-person reporting assignments covering the stories and topics not typically found in mainstream news media.”

A questionnaire soliciting personal interests and writing samples from potential contributors indicates that the site will cover crime, local news, politics, weather, traffic, transit, sports, business, local celebrities, personal-interest stories, events and things to do, nightlife, restaurants, social calendar, real estate and development, education.

Those responding to the questionnaire were promised “a $10 assignment to write on any topic about San Francisco!” In the future, Yahoo said “select contributors” will receive “weekly, paid assignments to write articles on SF and their own neighborhoods.”

I’ve asked Yahoo (YHOO) for comment on the venture, but I’ve heard nothing but chirping crickets in response. (UPDATE: See new Yahoo comment below.) Which is too bad, because I had some questions for Carol Bartz and company. For instance:

• Is this a one-off, or should we expect to see more AC-powered local sites?
• If we’re going to see more of these, what should the local newspapers that Yahoo does business with think?
• Or are we looking at this the wrong way? For instance, maybe this really isn’t a foray into local news, but a high-profile demonstration project for Associated Content? Is that plausible?
• Well, how did I get here?

Okay, okay. I know the answer to that last one. If I hear back from the Yahoos, I’ll update. Until, then, enjoy:

UPDATE: Just after I hit “publish,” this statement from Yahoo popped up in my in-box:

Associated Content is an important platform for generating content across Yahoo!’s content verticals, and local is one of many areas on Yahoo! that will benefit from our ability to generate high quality content on specific topics. We are moving quickly to integrate Associated Content into Yahoo!’s media properties and explore new ways to leverage the contributor community, including local.

Meanwhile, PaidContent’s Joe Tartakoff puts Yahoo’s Bay Area efforts in the context of its larger local ambitions. A good read.

Until this morning, I hadn’t either. For your edification, it’s an online market research business, and AOL (AOL) has owned it for more than a decade–as in, before the Time Warner (TWX) deal.

Make that used to own: Tim Armstrong’s company has sold DMS Insights off to uSamp, another online market researcher. PaidContent pegs the deal price at $3 million to $4 million. Which means it won’t quite be enough to cover former AOL CEO Randy Falco’s payout this year.

Because that’s what you get with the new iPad app from The Sun.

The U.K. tabloid, owned by News Corp. (NWS)–as is this Web site–is famous for its “Page 3 girls,” who show up topless and smiling every day in the paper’s print edition and on its Web site.

And they’re in the $7.99 iPad app, too, according to this numbingly in-depth review/slideshow from paidContent. Here’s the relevant screenshot, which paidContent has made safe for work but that would otherwise feature a half-nekkid lady’s boobies:

How’s that work? According to paidContent, The Sun gets away with it because Apple (AAPL) requires the app’s users to confirm they’re at least 17 years old.

But if that’s the case, wouldn’t every vaguely porny app be embracing this workaround? And if so, wouldn’t that make iTunes as steamy as Google’s (GOOG) Android offering?

I’m hoping that Apple’s PR staff can sort this out for us. But I’m not hopeful.

Kara began the week just as she said she would, with another Jobs blast from the past. The video features Jobs from way back at D3 (we’re approaching D8 now), offering all kinds of Jobsian wisdom. Kara moved on to the world of Yahoo (YHOO) and its arms race with AOL (AOL) and Demand Media. Yahoo bought up Associated Content for a reported $90 million. Cheap content isn’t cheap, apparently. Kara finished things with some breaking news Friday about the FTC approved Google-AdMob deal. Now that Apple (AAPL) has iAd, maybe there is just enough competition.

Digital Daily began with a piece of significant Apple ephemera. Apple watchers have spotted the “tethering” option in the most recent iPhone OS 4 beta. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get to do what anyone with a Blackberry has been doing for years. John wrote several pieces about the announcements from the Google I/O event. Among the notables was Google TV, where a set-top box connects the TV to the Web in an attempt to jump the content gap. John closed out the week with news that Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will likely release a tablet based on Palm’s webOS by year’s end. We sure hope they keep the click wheel.

MediaMemo began the week with a report on the progress of iPad-iPhone magazine apps unfolding in the App Store. GQ is doing okay with its offerings, though Peter isn’t convinced the iPad is giving the app a significant boost. In pseudomedia news, TweetDeck, the Twitter client to the stars (or, at least, Ashton uses it), raised another $3 million. If TweetDeck is any indication, maybe Twitter’s public remarks haven’t killed off the client economy yet. Peter closed things out with an exclusive from the content factory world. He reported that Rafat Ali, founder of paidContent, will leave the business in early July.

Personal Technology got ahold of the latest 4G phone, the EVO, from HTC and gave it a speed test in Baltimore, home of the 4G connection. Walt said the promised speed was delivered, but the battery lagged under that enormous data load. The phone’s other features, like the front-facing camera, didn’t disappoint, but Walt’s criticism is well taken. It doesn’t matter how many bells and whistles the thing has if there isn’t any juice left to run it. In Mossberg’s Mailbox this week, Walt answered a pair of questions about an American iPad in Paris and laptop warranties. Katie published a review of Togetherville.com, a social network designed for the six-to-10 crowd. The kidcentric network is designed to be a safe place for children to learn the lessons of social networking without the risks associated with more adult choices. It seems “walled gardens” can be okay if they are of the “kinder” variety. Katie hopes the site fleshes out its content offerings and becomes a real place of refuge for kids on the Web.

It turns out that Google gave two phones instead of one, that the twitter ecosystem hasn’t been killed yet, and that mo’ data means mo’ battery drain in the world of 4G. If you think this was a full week, stay tuned. We are in final countdown to D8, and with the speakers list reading like a who’s who of media and tech digerati, it will be one for the books, or at least the blogs.

PaidContent’s Rafat Ali, who turned a one-man Web site into a must-read hub for digital media news, is leaving the company he founded eight years ago.

Sources said Ali has told co-workers he will leave the company in early July, which will be two years after he sold ContentNext, PaidContent’s parent company, to the London-based Guardian Media group.

That deal was potentially worth up to $30 million, based on various earn-out goals. But Ali and his investors took home only a portion of that. My best guess is something closer to $12 million.

Ali didn’t tell staff what he intends to do next, sources said, but he recently moved from Los Angeles to New York.

It is not clear who will take over leadership at the sites; the main one had 137,000 unique monthly visitors in April, up from 63,000 in July of 2009, according to comScore (SCOR).

UPDATE: The Guardian confirmed the move, as did Ali in a paidContent post, both of which are below:

Guardian Statement on Rafat’s Departure

Dear Readers,

Our founder, a digital warrior and friend to many of you, Rafat Ali, is stepping down after eight years building and growing ContentNext. As many of you know, Guardian News & Media acquired ContentNext, and Rafat has decided this is a good time for him to take a break and think about the next chapter. This is the statement the Guardian released today.

Caroline Little
CEO, ContentNext
CEO, Guardian North America

—

Guardian News & Media and ContentNext today announced that ContentNext Founder and Editor Rafat Ali will be leaving the company at the beginning of July. Rafat Ali started paidContent as a blog in 2002, and later added three other sites, paidContent.uk, mocoNews and contentSutra, before the business was purchased by Guardian News & Media in 2008. ContentNext now has some 600,000 unique users and its websites, with their blend of news and analysis, are a must read for senior executives in the media, entertainment, publishing, advertising, mobile, marketing and technology sectors.

Tim Brooks, Managing Director of Guardian News & Media, said: “As anyone who follows the company and reads our sites knows, Rafat has done an amazing job of building ContentNext from the ground up and we wish him every success in the future.”

Ernie Sander, who has been the managing editor at ContentNext for the past 18 months, will assume a wider strategic role. Co-editor Staci Kramer, Rafat’s first hire at the company, will continue to be a thought leader on and off the site.

On to Life 2.0

In the end, all things do come to an end. The good and bad part is, it is never a definite marker, but all part of a process. And so it has been for me. After pouring exactly eight years of my life and a lifetime into this, I am leaving ContentNext and paidContent in early July. I will continue to advise the company for the rest of the year.

For most of you who know me, this isn’t coming as a huge surprise. I have been wrestling with this for months now, and the two-year mark under the Guardian and the eight-year mark since I launched the first site, seems appropriate enough as a closure point.

The last two years under Guardian have been illuminating, to say the least. Being part of a big company brings its own level of complexities; during a huge financial crisis, it makes for a roller-coaster ride. The high of the sale dissipated quickly, and pulling back and hunkering down isn’t fun, much less entrepreneurial. To Guardian’s credit, amidst the mothership’s own perfect storm, they stood by us, and we have survived, though much smaller.

I am leaving the company while the editorial is still at the peak of its reputation, even though we are half the team we used to be. It really is a miracle. And the edit leadership under our ME Ernie Sander and my longtime partner-in-crime and co-editor Staci D. Kramer gets the full credit for it, as do our scrappy group of talented journalists. The business side is a rebuild-in-process that I hope Guardian continues to support in kind and spirit.

paidContent and the company has given me a lot: it saved my life, literally (subject of a book someday); it gave me an existence, purpose and sustenance, in that order. It gave me way more chances in life than I probably deserved. I burned the candle on both ends, and then in the middle. And to think that I entered this country little over a decade ago, and in that time, got a degree, worked at two dotcoms, started one, sold it, lived in Bloomington, Ind., NYC, London, Los Angeles and back in NYC, and am now moving on to the next phase of my career. Next phase of my life.

As for my future, the honest answer is, I am in the middle of figuring it out. The good part is I have lots of choices; the bad part is that I have lots of choices. Very likely it will be another startup, in a larger media and marketing space. But in the immediate future, you will see my head pop up in places like Iceland, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Socotra Island (Google it!) and other parts of Central Asia. That’s the head-clearing trip of a lifetime, for the summer months after I finish here.

At the end, I really have to thank my family, friends, colleagues and readers, who cared enough to care. You all gave me and a bunch of us outliers a chance to do something magical for a long time. Please continue reading and supporting paidContent and ContentNext; I merely started the story.

Finally, here’s a video BoomTown’s Kara Swisher did with Ali in 2007 at ContentNext’s then-office in Santa Monica, Calif., and another in Manhattan right after the sale to Guardian Media:

So here’s Global IP Solutions, which specializes in Internet voice and video chat. Google plans to buy the publicly traded company, which began life in Sweden and now hails from San Francisco, for $68 million.

As PaidContent notes, it’s fairly easy to see why Google (GOOG) would be interested in the company: Last month, GIPS announced a product that makes it easy for developers to integrate voice and video chat with Android apps.

GIPS will be Google’s 15th publicly disclosed buy since last summer, assuming there’s no On2-like drama with the deal. Google’s offer represents a 26 percent premium over the current trading price for GIPS and a 140 percent premium since the company announced it was playing footsie with a potential buyer back in January.

That appears to be what the publisher has in mind with TheSmokingJacket.com, a “safe-for-work” site it has in the works (don’t bother trying out the URL–nothing to see there now).

PaidContent’s David Kaplan, who had to sit through Playboy’s (PLA) earnings call this morning, doesn’t have any other details, presumably because Playboy didn’t offer them up.

But it’s easy to imagine what a Playboy-run site you could view at work without getting fired might look like: Take a look at Maxim.com or FHM.com or AskMen.com or any of Break Media‘s sites or…you get the picture.

I’m told that Philips has a new job lined up and that he informed Murdoch of his plans in early January. But when I reached him this afternoon, he declined to comment. PaidContent first reported the move.

Philips is a behind-the-scenes guy (though very easy to find at New York media events) who weighed in on much of Murdoch’s digital mergers-and-acquisitions work, as well as big-picture strategy like pay walls, etc. I’d been told repeatedly that he had the ability to launch his own projects within News Corp., though if he did so, I was not aware of it. A recurring rumor mill item had him working on a fabled “LinkedIn-killer” for the company.

News Corp. folks want us to know that Philips was not forced out. But there’s definitely a changing of the guard at the company, occasioned by the ascension of Rupert’s son, James Murdoch.

News Corp. (NWS) owns Dow Jones, which owns this Web site.

Statement attributed to Murdoch:

Jeremy is a very talented executive and I value his strategic contributions to our digital initiatives over the past six years. I fully understand his desire to focus on new entrepreneurial ventures and I wish him all the best in this next step in what will continue to be an exceptional career.