The Globe and Mail
After a relentless loss in smartphone market share in recent years, Research in Motion has finally changed leaders. Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are being replaced by COO Thorsten Heins. But Heins tells The Globe and Mail that RIM actually is on the right course and that he will focus on marketing. The company will seek a new CMO. Heins said that RIM "is a fantastic growth story and it's not coming to an end."
Poynter
Steve Myers marks the 16th anniversary of the New York Times website -- an important occasion for digital journalism -- with a look back at the site's beginnings, and a timeline of its history. Myers analyzes a post from 2001, where then-principals of New York Times Digital "recalled the struggles and expectations of publishing on the Web those first few years." Among the points addressed: why the Times didn't charge for content. And how about this fact from the timeline: when the website broke news of Heath Ledger's death on its City Room blog in 2006, "the post gets 1.78 million …
Advertising Age
Talk about planning ahead. CBS has "concluded business already for next year's [Super Bowl] with some advertisers," according to Tony Taranto, senior VP-NFL sales, who talked to Ad Age's Brian Steinberg. The network was able to get the jump on next year's sales partly because it's not handling this year's business, which is all NBC's. "When you're the next guy up, the conversations start as early as possible with those you know are interested in the game and those you want to be interested in the game," is another Taranto quote. And expect CBS to jack up prices as well, …
Arts Beat/New York Times
Was the mention of Subway sandwiches in Monday's episode of CBS' "Hawaii Five-o" the worst product placement ever? Certainly it "drew more notice than usual" around the Web, writes Mike Hale, who called the 50-second detour from the show's plotline "egregious — the most jarring, disruptive and insulting example I’ve seen." We agree with Hale's point that the Subway placements on NBC's Chuck "have been obvious, yes, but more deftly handled." And funnier -- we can figure a shameless plug if it's funny.
New York Observer
Newsday Media Group President Terry Jimenez is leaving the company at the end of the month, and will be replaced by Fred Groser, currently publisher of Newsday and the freebie amNewYork. Jimenez preceded Groser in those posts, where he "oversaw the implementation of a paywall and added mobile editions," writes Kat Stoeffel.
All Things D
Last week at CES Samsung showed off its new capability: allowing viewers to "upload media from any device — not just a Samsung PC or Samsung smartphone — and then wirelessly access it through [new smart Samsung] TVs," writes Lauren Goode. Start-up cloud service SugarSync is the company making this happen. Goode provides more perspective here.
Tab Times
Tablet ads are outperforming traditional print ads substantially in both reader recall and in "action scores," which measure when consumers "make a purchase, go to a link, or click to download an app," Tom Robinson, managing director of research firm Affinity, told Tab Times. Robinson attributed the difference to digital media's providing "opportunities to respond with the interactivity." Still, Robinson wondered if "this [is] a honeymoon effect or is this a trend over time. As tablets become mainstream, will those recall and action scores continue to skew higher?"
Fortune
Magazine and book publisher Rodale Inc. has faced an "unusual" number of "high-profile departures" in the past few years -- most recently, the "resignation of Michelle Meyercord, senior vice president of international operations, and James Kreckler, a vice president who ran the company's digital ad sales," writes Daniel Roberts. What's the reason behind the mass exodus? Poor leadership, according to anonymous "current and former Rodale employees." Get the dish here.
Poynter
Reuters is "seriously considering" putting out a print magazine after it produced a sort of test version, a 64-page pub for next week’s World Economic Forum annual meeting that's "a substantial collection of analysis, photojournalism and infographics," writes Steve Myers. While Reuters execs haven't decided on a publishing schedule or even "how they'd sell it," they do have an editorial focus for the new pub: “'We feel there is an opening for a magazine along these lines, a sophisticated, well-designed magazine that doesn’t dumb down” its financial, business and foreign policy coverage," Jim Impoco, executive editor of Thomson Reuters Digital, …
Women's Wear Daily
Condé Nast's food magazine Bon Appétit is debuting a line of "cookware, appliances and cutlery and prep tools" Jan. 31 on HSN, writes John Koblin. Former "Top Chef" contestant Ryan Scot will be the face for the brand, whose deal with HSN is "the most extensive relationship" Condé Nast has had with the shopping channel to date, writes Koblin.