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Most — But Not All — Big Magazine Publishers Sign On for Amazon’s Tablet

Peter Kafka in Media on September 26, 2011 at 12:19 pm PT

Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday’s launch. Time Inc. isn’t, and may not get there for a while.

Uh-Oh: Groupon Loses New COO, Who’s Going Back to Google

Kara Swisher in News on September 23, 2011 at 1:54 pm PT

In a blog it just posted, Groupon said its recently hired COO, Margo Georgiadis, “has decided to return to Google (her former employer) in a new role as President, Americas.” She was hired in April, only months before the company filed to go public.

Flipboard and Condé Nast Partner in Brand Ads Deal on Social Reading App

Kara Swisher in Media on July 24, 2011 at 9:00 pm PT

Social reading app Flipboard has partnered with magazine giant Condé Nast to offer a slew of magazines with branded advertising from major marketers.

Exclusive: SnagFilms Snags $10 Million in Funding at $50 Million Valuation

Kara Swisher in News on January 16, 2011 at 4:15 pm PT

SnagFilms, the online video distribution site for professional documentaries, has nabbed $10 million in funding from Comcast’s investment arm and New Enterprise Associates, and will also now be distributing fictional independent releases. That and the new investment giving SnagFilms a valuation of $50 million should be big news at the 11th Sundance Film Festival, the famous independent film gathering opening in Park City, Utah, on Thursday.

[UPDATED] The Next Deal in Online Gaming? Sources Say Angry Birds Publisher Chillingo Could Be Next in the Hand.

Kara Swisher in News on October 20, 2010 at 2:46 am PT

The online and mobile gaming sector has been a hotbed of deal activity over the the last year, from Playdom to Playfish to, most recently, Ngmoco. So what’s the next to go? Several sources said that U.K.-based Chillingo, arguably the hottest downloadable game publisher–mostly via apps for the Apple iPhone and iPad–is close to a sale to a bigger company. The likely acquirer: EA.

Sharing E-Books and a Clean Sweep

Walt Mossberg in Mossberg’s Mailbox on March 17, 2010 at 12:54 pm PT

Walt answers readers’ questions on e-readers that share books and restoring a computer to its original “virgin” status.

Macmillan CEO Defends E-Book Price Hike, Again

Peter Kafka in Media on March 3, 2010 at 5:00 am PT

Cheers to Macmillan CEO John Sargent, who has taken to writing long open letters to his readers about changes in his company’s e-book pricing model. Alas, the newest installment, on the company’s blog, doesn’t add much more to the discussion.

Hachette Joins Apple’s Anti-Amazon Book Club

Peter Kafka in Media on February 4, 2010 at 7:17 pm PT

Here’s another publisher publicly throwing its weight behind Apple–and against Amazon–in the e-book pricing war. Hachette Book Group says it will pursue the “agency model” for pricing e-books: It sets retail prices and the retailer gets a 30 percent cut. In more practical terms, this means Hachette’s titles will be getting more expensive, and the rest of the industry will be following suit.

Fortune Tackles Its Web Site Again, With a High-Profile Hire

Peter Kafka in Media on January 21, 2010 at 4:12 am PT

Here’s what qualifies as a man-bites-dog story these days: A big mainstream business publication hiring an experienced business journalist. Weird, right? But true: Fortune magazine has hired veteran writer Dan Roth to run and revitalize the title’s Web site. He starts as managing editor next week.