Access Intelligence bought several trade publications covering the marketing industry from Penton Media for an undisclosed cost.  The pubs (which BtoBonline calls "media brands," which we assume means a digital as well as print presence) include Chief Marketer, Direct, Multichannel Merchant and PROMO.

So we hear that Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars next year. Um, who? Sorry, we're far from the young-man demo of his show "Family Guy." Kyle Buchanan asks and answers seven questions about this decision, from "Do people actually recognize Seth McFarlane?" ("As far as TV showrunners go, MacFarlane is among the best-known, especially after his recent stint hosting 'Saturday Night Live.'") to "How much singing will he do?" (potentially a lot, since he's actually put out an album of show tunes) and "Will MacFarlane matter that much?" (Probably not -- "the biggest ratings-driver is always the nominated movies," …

The New York Times launched an HTML5 web app for the iPad, following the lead of the Financial Times in "investing in an HTML5-driven experience that could readily cross platforms — and didn’t require giving Apple its 30 percent vig," writes Joshua Benton. Still, "it’s unclear how it can (or why it should) compete with the Times’ better, native iPad app." Benton goes on to further dissect how the Times has been adapting its content to various platforms and devices -- and how each iteration fits into the paywall: "The Times’ tiered structure is based on devices, which …

Like many other media entites, Al-Jazeera -- "the network that was supposed to be an Arab CNN, offering a counterweight to Western cable news" -- is cutting spending on its English language news-gathering, writes Bloomberg Businessweek reporters. Instead, it's "building up its presence in a more lucrative corner of the media world[,] European soccer," by launching the sports network BeIN Sport.

New Orleans' Pulitzer-Prize-winning newspaper, the Times-Picayune, published its last daily edition on Sunday, and this week will begin its Wednesday, Friday and Sunday rotation. Aiming to take up the slack, The Advocate of Baton Rouge started publishing a daily New Orleans edition. 

Telemundo Media and Comcast Spotlight are launching Telemundo Plus, an advertising platform that will let advertisers show ads in either Spanish or English "throughout the NBCUniversal, Comcast and Telemundo networks," writes Tanzine Vega. When using the product, such advertisers as T-Mobile and Toyota (which have already signed up to test it), "will be able to specify an audience by neighborhood, but the aim is to approach the same level of precision available to marketers who run digital campaigns," writes Vega.

"French billionaire Vincent Bollore,  who owns 37% of Havas, may be willing to sell after already agreeing to part with his holding in London-based advertiser Ageis (AGC)  Group Plc when it was sold to Dentsu," speculates Kristen Schweitzer. She gets a media analyst to agree with her hypothesis -- “If you look at consolidation in the space, then Havas is a key firm to be acquired, despite its European weighting" -- which is countered by a statement by the Havas CEO affirming Bollore's "commitment to the company."