It turns out Barack Obama didn't spend that much online, after all. According to Federal Election Commission filings cited by ClickZ, the Obama campaign spent just $7.97 million on online advertising before November, with most of the money going to search, ad networks and social networks. This really isn't very much money at all, especially when you consider that the campaign spent more than half that total -- $4 million -- on a single 30-minute TV commercial last month. Among the highlights: Obama spent $3.5 million on Google search and $673K on Yahoo in October alone. It spent $467K …

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Google co-founder Larry Page said better radio technology coupled with the FCC's recent decision to open the unused "white spaces" that exist between television channels would help improve Web access in the U.S. In a conversation with the Wireless Communications Association, Page pointed out that radios are undergoing tremendous technological development. "I think the thing that people don't realize is that radios are on a similar trajectory to computers", he said, adding that radio technology has better reach than WiFi, which can't pass through more than two walls. "Making access cheaper and more …

Rumor has it that the "very, very long search" for someone to run MySpace's new music site could soon be over. A source tells All Things Digital's Peter Kafka that MySpace Music is finalizing negotiations with MTV's current head of digital music, Courtney Holt. The deal, first reported by Cnet last week, has still not been confirmed, but according to Kafka, "at this point there doesn't seem to be anything left beyond 'i'-dotting and 't'-crossing." Kafka adds that Holt may even show up at the MySpace Music party in San Francisco tomorrow. News Corp. has been searching for someone …

News Corp. fell 22% in Wednesday trading after the media empire cut its 2009 forecast primarily due to shrinking ad sales at its broadcasting and publishing properties. The traditional media giant finished the day down $3.02 to $12.88, posting its biggest one-day drop since December 1990. News Corp.'s third quarter earnings certainly weren't boosted much by revenue growth from Fox Interactive Media, the online division which includes the social network MySpace. The division saw a revenue increase of 17%. In call with reporters, News Corp. executives conceded that MySpace display advertising was "softening." ''We are doing slightly better …