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CNN Buying Mashable?

Showing mainstream media’s growing interest in digital dealings, CNN is reportedly in advanced talks to buy Mashable. “Mashable, which specializes in stories about technology and social media, could bolster CNN.com, which is one of the most popular news Web sites in the United States,” reports The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog. “An acquisition of Mashable would make a statement about CNN’s interest in startups and social media.” Without any knowledge of a purchase price, Media Decoder is confident that the would-be deal would represent CNN’s biggest acquisition to date. Last fall, CNN.com acquired Zite -- maker of an iPad app that helps users figure out what they want to read and watch -- for a reported $20 million to $25 million. “Mashable would cost CNN far more to acquire,” Media Decoder insists.

This weekend, Reuters blogger Felix Salmon reported that a CNN acquisition of Mashable could be announced as early as Tuesday. CNN representatives are not addressing the rumors, and declined to comment. “Nonetheless,” as Media Decoder writes, “news of the potential acquisition spread rapidly among attendees at South by Southwest, a technology conference here that celebrates the kind of old-and-new-media combination that CNN and Mashable would represent.”

Read the whole story at The New York Times’ Media Decoder »

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