Since last year, Viacom has seen its shares decline from a high of about $45 to below $33 this week. The solution, says Pali Research analyst Rich Greenfield, is to take the company private. He says the Redstone-backed group could pay $38.50 per share, saddle it up with $21 billion in debt and make a nice profit. Even at $49 per share, such a deal would be break-even. Another benefit: being private reduces the pressure on Viacom to do something just for the sake of doing something, such as CBS buying CNET. Viacom's assets are well positioned …

A study called "When Advertising Works" finds that ads in traditional media, including television, make a better impression on consumers than ads running in digital media. Conducted by Yankelovich, the study shows that 56% of respondents said traditional media ads made a positive impression compared to 31%, who said that about digital media ads. The key reason is that consumers using traditional media tend to be in a positive, relaxed mood, while people using digital media tend to be busy trying to solve problems, says J. Walker Smith, Yankelovich Monitor president. Also, digital consumers were more often …

In a prime example of one type of media reaching out to another, the first-of-its-kind alliance between network-owned television stations and local blogs and social media sites was unveiled in Philadelphia this week. Thirteen CBS-owned television station Web sites across the country are offering embeddable news widgets to a variety of local blogs and sites serving the Philadelphia area. The widgets are supplied with real-time news feeds of local headlines and images. Philadelphia station CBS 3 sells the ad space in the widgets and shares the revenues with the sites participating in the CBS 3 Philadelphia Network. …

Several newspaper networks surpassed Google News in netting unique online visitors in May, according to Nielsen Online. NYTimes.com stood out with 21.3 million unique visitors, almost twice Google News' 11.3 million monthly visitors. Tribune Newspapers and Gannett Newspapers, taken as groups, beat the online behemoth as well. But none of the newspapers could outdo Yahoo News, which attracted an audience of 35.8 million for the month. The Huffington Post's traffic increased the most out of the top 30 news sites, surging 255% in May compared to May 2007. Its 4.7 million uniques edged out The Associated Press, which …

Nickelodeon is looking to capitalize on the time that its TV audience of tykes to teens is spending online with the creation of two new gaming divisions. The company's Nickelodeon Kids and Family arm has a new Games Group that will oversee all paid and subscription-based gaming initiatives, as well as self-publishing and licensing businesses across all platforms. Dave Williams will head the San Francisco-based group and is expected to grow the company's educational gaming site MyNoggin.com and Shockwave's subscription services. He will also continue to manage Shockwave and AddictingGames. Williams was formerly general manager of Atom …

In a bid to attract digital readers who are willing to pay for content, U.S. News & World Report is making its articles available for users of Kindle, Amazon's wireless e-reader device. Kindle users can subscribe to the magazine and buy individual issues electronically through the device. They also get the digital content as soon as the print magazine is available. U.S. News & World Report is moving to a biweekly schedule next year and will redesign its pages as it struggles to hold on to ad dollars and Web-oriented readers.

Tu Ciudad, a high-end lifestyle magazine for Southern California Latinos and the first magazine launch by Emmis Communications, is folding on its third anniversary. Tu Ciudad(Your City, in Spanish), which publishes 10 times a year with a direct mail circ of 85,000, will cease publication with its June/July double issue. Founder Jaime Gamboa says the closure is due to "the current economic climate and our partners' corporate struggle with other aspects of their businesses." Emmis publishes regional and specialty magazines, including Atlanta, Texas Monthly and Los Angeles. Tu Ciudadis written in English for an acculturated Hispanic audience. …

BBDO's "Voyeur" project for HBO picked up its second Grand Prix award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival Tuesday in the outdoor category--winning two Grand Prix in as many days. The first award was in the promotions category. Part of an integrated-branding campaign expected to do well in the cyber and integrated categories, "Voyeur" involved projecting a massive video onto the side of a building in New York, giving viewers the impression the building was cut away. Dramatic action in the interior spaces prompted observers to visit a related site. "This piece of work competes with life …