Joe Mandese asked Gawker's Nick Denton if he saw any content farming in his future, but Denton doesn't seem likely to don overalls anytime soon. "The crowd is a great source of talent; I don't think the crowd is talent ... it's a great place to source talent, but I wouldn't trust our brands to a crowd that hasn't been quality control." Comments though, do direct Gawker's content (and some notable Gawker writer have been hired because of their commenting). "We are obsessed by comments," says Denton. "70% to 80% of our tech work is improving our comment …

Want to influence consumers just prior to shopping for products. Turns out the top medium isn't TV, online, or any new-fangled digital media option (sorry Twitter). The best option, according to the Nielsen-funded Council  For Research Excellence, may be radio. The just-released study finds that nearly two-thirds of consumers listen to radio in the minutes prior to shopping. The next most immediate medium, the study found, as TV, which was viewed by nearly half of consumers in the minutes just prior to their shopping excursions. The findings are based on new analysis of the Video Consumer Mapping study that …

Magazine World magazine just announced that it will feature a "Peel 'n Taste" strip in its next edition. The stunt is a collaboration between FIPP, the PrintCity Alliance, First Flavor and Sun Chemical. It features a delicious looking cake, but doesn't say what the strip actually tastes like. Consumers may want to beware.

In a publisher roundtable discussion, George Kliavkoff, now EVP at Hearst Entertainment and Syndication points out to moderator Wenda Harris Millard that by the time he left NBC, Jeff Zucker's had updgraded his oft-repeated quote about the problem of turning analog dollars into "digital pennies" to "digital dimes." Well, that's something. If you were working in digital at NBC at the time, "that was a tough quote," quips Kliavkoff.

That's what I took from the opening statement in the opening panel at OMMA Publish this morning. It came from Hearst Entertainment & Syndication Executive Vice President & Deputing Group Head George Kliavkoff, who after being asked what the big change in their business was by moderator Wenda Harris Millard, president of Medialink, cited – you guessed it – Twitter. Speaking for himself, Kliavkoff said, "Twitter has replaced the old habits of RSS or going from Web site to Web site." Millard jumped on that point, adding, "What's interesting about that is that Twitter hasn't yet figured …

Peter Kafka is a good journalist, but he's a lousy on-stage interviewer. He asks a question, and then before his interview subject can answer, he asks another. That's annoying for me as a spectator, and it's got to be annoying for James Pitaro, the head of media that he's interviewing at OMMA Publish this morning. Don't get me wrong, I understand why Kafka is doing that. It's what journalists are supposed to do – to prove they're good journalists, right? But I'd actually like to hear Pitaro's answers, because Kafka is asking him some good questions. One of …

Things are off and running at this mornings opening discussion at OMMA Publish. Peter Kafka, Senior Editor, All Things Digital is on stage talking with James Pitaro, VP and Head of Media at Yahoo. When the topic turned to Associated Content, the content farm Yahoo recently acquired, Kafka simply intoned in a low voice, "Ninety million dollars." Pitaro immediately cut him off, saying he can't comment on price. Kafka shrugged as if to say, Who said anything about price? I was just saying ninety million dollars. It's a nice round number. Rolls off the tongue. The bigger …

Former Omnicom Media Group Entertainment & Sports CEO Steve Grubbs has joined out-of-home TV developer Automated Media Services as an adviser. AMS describes itself as "a platform that extends television into the store aisle providing advertisers the ability to reach shoppers as they make purchase decisions." Grubbs joins AMS' existing advisory team, which includes former Madison Avenue colleague Larry Blasius. Grubbs served as CEO of Omnicom Group's sports and entertainment division until 2009. Prior to that, he had been North American CEO at PHD and earlier, was U.S. CEO at OMD. Previously, he led national broadcast buying at BBDO. …

That's the way OMMA Publish programming chair Steve Smith kicked things off in New York this morning, citing the multitude of online publishing related conferences that all seem consumed with "wringing their hands over the decline and fall of media." They all seem to be focused on a single theme, Smith said, "Whether people will pay or will not pay. Whether people will or will not pay. And just to freshen things up, whether people will or will not pay."

Dove Men+Care has enlisted Major League Baseball personalities for online videos and a sweepstakes to promote the men’s skincare line from Unilever. The video series, themed “Journey to Comfort,” can be viewed online at www.dovemencare.com. The first 90-second video is from St. Louis Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and premiered June 15. It will be followed on July 9 with an effort from New York Yankees’ Andy Pettitte. Coach Joe Girardi's video will launch July 15. Fans can view longer form versions of all three videos and special behind-the-scenes footage of …