Eighty-five employees at Interweave, a publisher of crafts/hobbies print and digital mags, have taken a training course in online marketing, search engine optimization and search engine marketing. That's half the staff -- "from a variety of publishing disciplines," according to Folio -- presumably including editors and writers who have learned how to get the most page views for their work. "This is something that probably no other content company in the world can say," is the quote from Interweave CEO Clay Hall. In fact, writes Matt Kinsman, "Digital training has been relatively informal throughout the publishing industry, with most employees …

Adweek reports that consumer packaged goods companies, including Kraft and Unilever, have slashed first-quarter budgets -- adversely affecting pubs like Time Inc.'s Real Simple and Meredith Corp.'s Family Circle. CPG companies have been a comfortable mainstay for consumer mags during the recession. However, since publishers were told "rising commodity prices" were the reason for the cuts, this could mean just "a temporary blip," not "a structural shift in strategy."

A coalition of rabbis from all major branches of the Jewish faith placed an ad in the Wall Street Journal today asking Rupert Murdoch to sanction Fox News chief Roger Ailes and conservative host Glenn Beck for inappropriate talk about the Holocaust. Ailes was criticized for calling NPR executives "Nazis" for firing commentator Juan Williams and for defending Beck's frequent use of the term "Nazis" to "describe his political opponents," according to the Washington Post. Beck's most recent gaffe was calling Jewish philanthropist Geoge Soros, who hid with a Christian family during World War II, a "Jewish boy …

You may have seen the ads promoting the "Jeopardy" challenge that pits a specially created IBM computer against show champions Ken Jennings and Brad. The pretaped episodes will air mid-February, but e-book readers can buy a digital version of "Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything" starting today. The contest ending is still a mystery, though; buyers will get the last chapter once Alex Trebek has finished congratulating the winner on TV.

Telemundo Networks ad sales veteran Craig Geller has jumped to rival programmer Sí TV, assuming the role of senior vice president, advertising sales. He reports to Sí TV CEO Michael Schwimmer. The move comes on the heels of a 15-year stint at Telemundo, where Geller most recently served as senior vice president, network and digital sales. In addition to steering all sales efforts at the flagship network and Mun2, he also spearheaded brand positioning and messaging. Geller says it is a good time to jump, given the wildfire growth of the Sí's target demographic. "The marketplace is poised for …

Rupert Murdoch turns 80 in March, and sources inside News Corp. say his main goal is to devise a way to return Elisabeth and Lachlan to the company and divide up the empire between them and their youngest brother, James, the only Murdoch child currently working at News Corp. (Murdoch's eldest daughter, Pru, is not involved in the business, though she will inherit part of the family's 37% voting control of News Corp. along with her three siblings. Grace, 10, and Chloe, 8, the two children with his current wife, will inherit a financial interest in News Corp. but no …

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) is expected to reintroduce a bill as early as today that would authorize incentive auctions to repay broadcasters who voluntarily give up spectrum for wireless broadband. The bill would make it clear that the reclamation needs to be truly voluntary. If reintroduced, it would come the same day that the FCC voted to create a technical framework for an interoperable public safety network. Rockefeller's bill would pay for that network out of proceeds from the spectrum auctions, as well as give spectrum to public safety for that purpose. There is disagreement in Congress and …

It's not just about selling individual shows to foreign broadcasters that keeps the Hollywood majors hopping around the globe to mint money. Their international channels are starting to bring in big bucks -- and rode out the recession better than many other sectors of the biz. Fox Intl Channels, NBC Universal and Sony are focusing on co-financing high-profile content with their foreign offshoots. Think "The Walking Dead," which Fox Intl Channels smartly parlayed around the world on Halloween, and "Haven," which NBC Uni beamed out on Syfy outlets around the world simultaneously. NBC Uni channels abroad also pooled …

A personalized news service funded by New York Times Co., Washington Post Co, and Gannett just launched in an attempt to get readers to pay for online news. Ongo, which received $12 million in funding ($4 million each) from the three newspaper publishers, delivers news from a variety of sources starting at $7 a month, reports Reuters.  The basic subscription plan includes articles from the Associated Press, The Washington Post, USA Today and select stories from The New York Times, Financial Times. Users can add titles, such as the Guardian and the Detroit Free Press, for 99 cents a …

Spanish-language network TeleFutura has launched TeleFutura On Demand with most U.S. distributors. The new VOD channel allows fans 24/7 access to their favorite programs, including primetime novelas available within 24 hours after linear air. New programming is being made available to viewers on a daily basis. Initial programs offered include India, Escandalo TV (Showbiz TV), Así es la Vida (That's Life), Delicioso and Cine de las Estrellas (All-Star Movies). In early 2009, Univision launched a VOD platform with an extensive library of Spanish-language content. It featured sports, news, movies and entertainment from Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión.