The idea of auction marketplaces for media has grown in popularity over the years. The argument seems simple enough. If you have a large, openmarket where both buyers and sellers can communicate easily with one another, working with full disclosure, the absolute, true value of inventory can be determined.

Here's a pitch an agency like ours gets all the time from middlemen; we get them so often they not only sound the same, they are the same: "I am excited to announce that White Flower Entertainment will be working with Hyde Park Entertainment on their new feature film project, "Other End Of The Line."

Are print magazines still relevant with teens? This seems to be the question on everyone's mind these days. Do teens read books? Do they care about newspapers? Is everything going digital? I think, and certainly hope, not.

Underscoring the tough times for magazine publishing, business and technology publication Business 2.0 will shutter after the October issue. The move seems counterintuitive given its more than 600,000 subscribers and the current tech boom.

The funding continues to flow into online video ad startups. Video ad network VideoEgg received $15 million in September in venture financing led by Focus Ventures and including WPP Group and August Capital.

Former Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn and former AOL chief executive Jonathan Miller last month became the latest media heavyweights-turned-Web 2.0 investors.

Not everyone finds "hulu," the playful name NBC Universal and News Corp. gave to their media joint venture so amusing. Online self-publishing company Lulu Enterprises has filed a trademark suit against Hulu, alleging it's intentionally attempted to create confusion in the marketplace with the new name.

A strike last month by New York City taxi drivers protesting installation of digital video screens with a GPS component hasn't slowed the efforts of media companies supplying content and advertising for the screens.

Wireless operators may wind up on the sidelines when it comes to mobile TV, according to a new study. In-Stat says major carriers may get pushed aside by alternative technologies for delivering mobile video and TV services.

Last November, Yahoo and a group of 176 newspapers nationwide announced a major alliance intended to boost online advertising on both sides. In its barest form, the deal would let newspaper advertisers post classifieds on Yahoo's HotJobs while HotJobs would power the job sites on newspaper Web sites.