New news versus old news A bright media analyst recently asked me, “Sometimes I think The New York Times’ strategy is to be the last one standing. All the other newspapers are cratering. Someone has to survive. Makes sense, no?” No.It may be the strategy the paper is hoping for, but it is no strategy because the very premise of the observation is wrong. It assumes that there is something called “online newspapers,” and that a “newspaper” must survive. It confuses presentation (a fixed thing with sections and subsections and articles) and distribution (a fixed thing delivered to your door), …

Lingerie makers ask women what they really want.

Amid the general downturn of everything, here's some good news: Hispanics rocketed ticket sales of the film "Fast and Furious" so high on its opening weekend that "Variety" noted the trend. Hispanics were 46 percent of the audience, "Variety" reported, for a domestic opening of $72.5 million, second only to "The Dark Knight." The editor of the Spanish-language daily "El Diario La Prensa" was swept up in incredulous media interviews because the paper's circulation actually grew during two of the past three years. And Univision says it's seeing double-digit sales growth for marketers who advertise to Hispanics.

Social media's not quite ready to run.

Evil Beet Gossip founder and head writer Sasha Pasulka represents a growing number of micropublishing moguls who are boldly reshaping media in their own image. A longtime overachiever, Pasulka is driven by a desire to have her voice heard (and one “heart-wrenching break-up.”) As a result, in less than three years, celebrity gossip site Evil Beet has carved out an audience of roughly 3 million devoted readers, and Pasulka now aims to repeat that success with Zelda Lily — a new blog venture focused on women’s and feminist issues. As a member of the new media establishment, we wanted to …

For most marketers, there is only one metric that counts: conversions. This usually means sales — how many sales did the banner ad or that email blast bring in? How many newsletter sign-ups or Web video pass-alongs were created in a MySpace campaign?Out of ignorance or laziness, that's usually about as far as most executives get when it comes to exploring better ways to improve their online operations.If you're using paid media, your site report and the reports generated by your third-party ad server may not be enough to …

It's Internet television in reverse. In one of those wild and woolly everything-comes-full-circle kind of moments, technology start-up Clearleap wants to bring Web shows back to the TV set. Sure, that's been the goal all along for some -- incubating a hit show online and moving it to the tube. But let's get this straight: Is the business of Web video -- bred on the meritocratic notion that creators who were roadblocked from TV for whatever reason finally had an outlet to reach audiences thanks to the Internet -- now headed back to the living room? Apparently so.

Given the disparate nature of online publishing, there's probably no simple way to compare the underlying advertising value derived by the industry's top publishers. The sheer reach of a portal like Yahoo or MSN vs. the targeted delivery of a NYTimes.com or Forbes.com. But that doesn't stop trade magazine editors from at least attempting to come up with a common denominator.

The biggest knock of television ratings has been that they are antiquated. So why then are the new media digerati trying to imitate that which they have scorned by creating a new online metric that imitates the standard TV one? Media agency Mindshare recently partnered with online video advertising network YuMe to create the "Internet Gross Rating Point," or iGRP, specifically so marketers can compare their online videos buys to their television buys. But isn't online video supposed to be the renegade child forging new and innovative ground in measurement?

Communities can be so … messy, so uncontrolled. And often, the bigger the brand, the tighter the lock it likes to keep on its brand messaging. Companies too skittish to let consumers air their laundry in public can test the waters with gated online communities. Just like their real-life counterparts, private online communities keep out undesirables, while screening activity from the hoi polloi.Brands including JCPenney, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz USA have launched private communities using Passenger’s platform and tools. These private groups let marketers and product folk float ideas and get feedback without all the snark; Passenger advises a minimum of …