• Th New York Times, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11 AM

Mediabistro was once the place for media professionals to find new jobs and the next industry party offering free booze. Ten years later, it still is, although the site has expanded to include services like news coverage, reports and industry-specific classes. Today, Mediabistro is being sold for $23 million to the New York-based holding company Jupitermedia Corp., whose Web properties are devoted to industry research and stock art and photography.

As founder Laurel Touby says: "This company is a true Internet success story." In 1993, Touby came up with the idea of arranging after-work cocktail parties for editors, writers, television producers and graphic designers, inviting both professionals and job seekers to network. In 1996, she started compiling job postings to a Web site called Mediabistro.com. Four years later, she received a round of investor financing.

The site made money from charging employers for postings and offering users premium content for subscription fees. Last year, the site had 600,000 unique visitors. Touby will remain with Jupitermedia as a senior vice president.

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