Rupert Murdoch, the 78-year-old News Corp. chairman and CEO seems to be getting more aggressive in his approach to aggregators like Google. "We'll be more outspoken on the issue of payment for copyright material and that goes to every aggregator, whether it be Yahoo or Google or anything," he says. He notes that there "are billions of dollars spent every year in the collection and creation of copyright by organizations. They cannot have that material which they own stolen from them or the business will be destroyed." Asked if reports are true that he wants to buy The …

DirecTV has reached out to Blake Krikorian as a possible successor to Chase Carey as CEO, or possibly to be a member of the DirecTV board. Blake and his brother Jason created the SlingBox, the most disruptive device to hit the TV industry since the DVR. They sold their company to EchoStar in 2007 in a deal valued at $380 million. It would be a big jump for Krikorian, who remained CEO of Sling while at EchoStar. He and his brother left EchoStar earlier this year. It's unclear whether there is a non-compete that would cause problems should Blake …

Corona marketer Crown Imports is seeking a media-only agency to handle buying and planning for its brand portfolio, which includes Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial and Pacifico beer. Spending is an estimated $80 million, and media chores had previously been handled by Cramer-Krasselt. The shift from single agencies handling creative and media in tandem to using separate shops for both functions is a bit counterintuitive at a time when most marketers are extolling the virtues of integration. However, Crown may feel that its struggles to get Corona Extra, its most important brand, growing again merit a new …

Sirius XM Satellite Radio gave CEO Mel Karmazin a pay increase, extended the term of his contract to 2012, and awarded him new options, indicating the board's approval of his work. Karmazin's new salary is $1.5 million a year. The CEO steered the company through the acquisition of rival XM and earlier this year, landed a $530 million loan from Liberty Media. In addition, the company, while still unprofitable, is increasing its cash flow and profitability on an operations basis. On the other hand, Sirius XM reported its first-ever loss of subscribers in the quarter ended March …

A quartet of old-media veterans may have solved the future of news with the Politico Web site and newspaper. Politico is famous for its real-time download of power data online to a specialized audience of 6 million - but its print version is what makes it profitable. Politico was launched by two former Washington Post reporters to cover the 2008 presidential campaign, and with 100 or so staffers it is continuing to prosper. Despite its high Web traffic, it can't support its staff on the Internet's low ad rates, although it manages to get a higher rate than …

Current Media has put its search for an ad agency on hold amid a change in marketing leadership. The Current review made news earlier this year when the client used Twitter to generate interest from prospective shops. Now, the Current executive involved in the Twitter solicitation, Jordan Kretchmer, has exited and been replaced by Michael Streefland, who has the new title of svp of marketing. Streefland says the review was paused because company executives need time to chart the brand's strategic course. Previously, Streefland worked as a consultant to media companies and was a marketing and sales …

MediaVest is seeking to add a secondary guarantee to its TV deals with select networks, based on new data from TiVo and TRA, a media and marketing research company. The secondary guarantee will be based on the percentage of desirable consumers delivered by a certain schedule of TV shows. The desirable consumers are heavy purchasers or "swing purchasers" who are likely to switch brands. CBS and Discovery Channel, are among the subscribers to TRA and TiVo's Media TRAnalytics system. The ability to track how commercial viewing affects actual product sales appeals to MediaVest's packaged-goods client base, including Procter & …

The cable television industry's move to bring its TV subscription model to the Internet is about to hit a wall of resistance from consumers who dislike the cable industry's bundled pricing. Time Warner and Comcast are rallying support for "TV Everywhere," an industrywide system on the Web through which cable subscribers could access shows that would not be available to non-subscribers. In addition to discouraging customers from dropping their cable TV service, it is also an effort to move bundled pricing onto the Web. Consumer advocates complain that bundling forces people to pay for many cable channels that …

In a bid to leverage its advertising sales infrastructure, Tribune Co., parent of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, has agreed to sell national print and online ads for the Dallas Morning News, the flagship media division of A.H. Belo Corp. "You add Dallas to Chicago and Los Angeles and you have three of the top five markets in the country," says Don Meek, president of Tribune365 National Solutions Group. The agreement will enable the Dallas Morning News to "be a stronger, more strategic partner with advertisers who are based outside of Dallas," says John McKeon, …