Women gain recognition

By: Allison McNeal

A new Web site is being launched that aims toward the success of women.

TheNextWomen.com is an online magazine mainly aimed towards highly successful women and their contributions to society.

Linde Wolters, editor in chief, said that the company highlights "women who are [future] founders, chief executives and VCs of internet companies. We write about who these women are, what they do and where they are going."

The site also brings in news from around the world, company start-ups, and lifestyle features.

The difference with this online magazine is that it brings interatnional business news about the internet industy.

There are sites like TechCrunch and Mashable, but they have predominantly male audiences.

Wolters also said that they have a strong focus on the women that are shaping the industry and are making the news, rather than the companies they work for or the technology that drives their business.

TheNextWomen.com uses Twitter as a way of networking, to keep in touch, and to let other women follow articles.

This site is proposed to expand to magazines in the next coming months.

With the question of the economy, the Web site is trying to keep their costs to a minimum and think of alternative ways to get revenue through the site.

According to Wolters, the main message that she wants consumers to know is that "we're trying to provide quality content that will eventually convince people that we really are unique in what we do."

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Blogging comes to Simpson

By Liz Tjaden

Students who have never taken a communication class at Simpson probably aren’t familiar with blogging and the benefits that it provides.

As the Simpsonian reported today, Simpson women’s basketball team player, Emily Smith, was thrown into this unknown cyber world last month by the NCAA.

The NCAA randomly chose schools and players to blog about what it is like to be a collegiate athlete within their division.

It is hard to understand the massive effects that blogging can produce. I think this is a great public relation’s idea by the NCAA to promote college athletics as well as shinning a light on women’s teams.
The blog will give fans an inside look at the experiences of a collegiate team by the athletes themselves, as well as promoting positive role models for young girls.

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Viacom troubles reach breaking point

By: Allison McNeal

Companies such as AT&T Inc., Credit Suisse Group AG, DuPont Co., and Viacom announced job cuts today as the U.S. recession threatens to become the longest in the postwar era.

Viacom Inc., owner of MTV networks and Paramount Pictures, recently stated that it plans on cutting more than 850 jobs, which is about seven percent of the workforce, because of lack of viewership and falling ad sales.

Chief executive Philippe Dauman said that the staff reduction “will better position Viacom to navigate the economic slowdown.”

Last month, Viacom reported a 37 percent drop in third-quarter profit as ad sales declined for the U.S. cable channels.

This quarter MTV’s viewership has declined 22 percent, which is the most of any Viacom network. Compared to a year ago, shows like “The Hills” and “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” attracted bigger audiences, Spencer Wang, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said.

While these shows are still being viewed, individuals are not watching them to the extent that they have when they were first broadcast.

In addition to the job cuts, the company is also suspending senior-level management salary increases for 2009.

With job cuts that are now becoming imminent, organizations are growing weary.

According to Dauman and Chief Financial Officer Tom Dooley, Viacom needs “an organization and a cost structure that are in step with the evolving economic environment."

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CBS radio and Yahoo! join forces

By: Allison McNeal

Along with newspapers that are constantly reorganizing and combining forces with other companies, radio stations and Internet sites are merging as well.

CBS radio recently announced that it will be joining with Yahoo! music’s Launchcast radio, which combines Launchcast’s 150 stations with the more than 150 stations operated by CBS.

According to crainsnewyork.com, a new CBS radio player will become part of the Yahoo! music site and will be incorporated into news and sports sites as well, giving new exposure to stations like WFAN-AM.

Along with Yahoo! music, CBS will sell advertisements to other stations, which could expand their company even more.

“This announcement… reinforces our company’s position as the No. 1 Internet radio company in the world,” said David Goodman, president of digital media and integrated marketing at CBS.

CBS also is looking to combine with AOL radio this coming spring.

Even though these companies are increasing their ad-sales sharing, growth of online radio is continuing to lose advertising dollars to the Web.

According to this article, the current ad recession has intensified the pain for radio and pressured operators to find new revenue streams.

At the same time as the ad recessions, stations like WCBS-FM and WWFS-FM are prospering from Yahoo! and CBS radio’s local ad sales expertise. Internet radio operators have been building large audiences for their online stations, but have not managed to make money from the new medium.

Observers say that Internet and terrestrial radio have reached a point where they need each other. “Both sides are reaching across to see if they can tap into the strengths of the other party," said Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer.

Even though advertising sales are in a slump, CBS and Yahoo! main objective is to be a exponential force in the radio industry.

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Cox Enterprises reorganizes media outlets

By: Allison McNeal

More and more companies are linking newspaper, Internet, and television functions to increase their industry power.

Cox Enterprises is joining these companies and placing its newspaper, radio, and television groups under one unit called Cox Media Group.

Effective Jan. 2009, this new group will have 17 daily and 26 nondaily newspaper publications, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

15 television stations and 86 radio stations and digital media services will also be implemented.

Even with the reorganization, Cox radio will remain a publicly traded company.

Though the company is adding three different mediums, the newspaper, radio, and television units will remain separate.

Placing them under one organization “creates efficiencies that allow us to strengthen Cox for the future,” Jimmy Hayes, president and chief operating officer of Cox Enterprises, said.

According to ajc.com, the move also allows the company to bring different techniques together.

“Our wide array of digital resources that ultimately will lead to enhanced online and mobile experiences for all our audiences,” Sandy Schwartz, the president of Cox Auto Trader, said.

With the joining of different medium outlets, will this company prosper?

Many companies are using this strategy of combining different forms of media to enhance their image and create a "powerhouse" company.

If Cox is wanting to gain this same power and recognition, the company will have to just wait and see how their consumers respond to their message.

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