Slate’s In-House Agency Creates Advertising Content »

Slate has an in-house agency, Slate Custom Group, that helps create content for brands.

When Slate began in 1996, Internet ads were getting 44 percent click-through rates on average. Then 10 years ago, click-through rates dropped to 10 percent. Today, well, we all know that scary .1 percent number.

In the middle of last year, Slate decided it needed to address a common ailment in the digital publishing arena: banner blindness. The result: an in-house agency, Slate Custom Group, to help advertisers create and distribute advertising content and programs.

Click through to read the rest.

BuzzFeed Statement On Michael Hastings »

BuzzFeed is saddened to report that Michael Hastings died in a car accident early this morning in Los Angeles. He was 33.

Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief, said in a statement:
We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone. Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague, a joy to work with and a lover of corgis — especially his Bobby Sneakers. Our thoughts are with Elise and and the rest of his family and we are going to miss him.

I didn’t know him; never met. But he was a reporter and writer I greatly admired. He was fierce and fearless. He spoke truth to power. 

How PBS Won at Digital »

PBS’s digital arm, Digital Studios, has seen significant growth since it started last year. But it still needs to find ways to generate revenue.

Millions of Americans can point to PBS as a third parent, as the network that helped raise them with programs like “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

But PBS is not immune to the transition from analog to digital and needs to continually reinvent itself. Recent data points to success, no matter that Mitt Romney wants to kill Big Bird.

PBS Digital Studios, PBS’s digital arm, started in 2012 and has had a heck of a first year. For the first five months of 2013, PBS.org was the No. 1 TV network site for unique visitors, according to Comscore. It recently racked up seven Webby awards, more than any other media company. PBS Kids has been the No. 1 site in kids video for the last 16 months.

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Spin Media’s Makeover »

Spin Media is trying to rebuild itself, and introducing a creative services team to help advertiser’s create content.

Spin Media’s Steve Hansen has had a hell of a first six months as the company’s CEO. But he’s looking over the horizon of the next two years, and while it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, Hansen sees some rays of sunlight peeking through.

Buzz Media, which bought Spin Media last July and rebranded itself as Spin Media this March, is coming off a year of tremendous turnover, both on the business side and editorial side. But out of the ashes, the company is focusing on three core tenets — audience engagement, better advertising opportunities for brands and a beefed-up technology platform — to build its digital business.

Click through to read the rest. Oh, and Spin Magazine, the print version, is coming back.

fuckyeahphish:

Today is the 19th anniversary of the OJ Groove. On this date in 1994, OJ Simpson led a cadre of cop cars across the 405. All three networks tuned in and 95 million people watched the former great running back cut across the highway.

But during this epic Mikes Groove, the boys have a little fun, particularly Fishman who starts with “Will he make it?” and continues with “Run, OJ, run” during the Mike’s jam. And it continues throughout Simple and Weekapaug. Also note, this is Simple’s second appearance. The band debuted the song about three weeks prior.

Enjoy.

“We’ve got O.J’s ‘cause we’ve got a band.” 

Call me Star Mountain

I’m currently researching vacation ideas. My job is to look into Prague and Budapest; my wife is looking into Croatia.

As I’ve been looking at hotels and attractions, I came across Sternberg Palace. Which led me to the Wikipedia entry about the castle, and interestingly, the etymology of my surname:

The name Šternberk derives from the German language and is the Czech spelling of the German composite word Sternberg (literally meaning “Starmountain”: Stern meaning “star” and Berg meaning “mountain”)

So there you have it. I am Joshua Starmountain.

How Top Publishers Handle ‘Sponsored Content’ »

Ever wanted to know how much sponsored content costs on your favorite sites?

Sponsored content – that is, advertising content distributed by publishers — is the new belle of the ball. For publishers, it holds out the hopes of escaping the downward pressure on CPMs.

There are many options for brands across publishers. Here are how some of the leading publishers leaning on sponsored content sell it — and what prices they typically demand.

Click through to read the rest.

“The highlight for me was “Top of the World.” On a particularly dark day, I had one of Shady’s shows on and this song completely transformed my mood. The leap into a more joyous state comes back to me whenever they play it so I was glad they fulfilled the request I shouted out. It’s a nice tour through each band members’ abilities but what always stands out to me are Josh’s vocals. He uses the same layed back style that comes out through his guitar in a bass scale that feels like comfy blanket.”

I was once in a band and someone once wrote this about me and a song I wrote about a girl I once dated. Naturally, this is one of my songs that my friends, 13 years later, continue to make fun of me for. That’s what friends are for, I guess. You can read the full review here.

Meshing Business and Edit »

For the past decade, Andrew Golis has helped a one-man blog, Talking Points Memo, become a staple in the political sphere, built a network of blogs at Yahoo and brought PBS’s documentary series “Frontline” into digital. Now he’s taking his talents to The Atlantic as its “entrepreneur in residence.”

Click through to read an edited conversation about his new role, as he straddles the line between the business and editorial sides of the house.