Nielsen Co.just announced a new, multi-year deal with Gannett to use its local television ratings services, including overnights, custom applications and software, in all of Gannet's local markets.  Gannett operates 23 television stations in 19 markets and has a reach of 21 million households.  Under the agreement, Nielsen will also track usage of Gannett television station Web sites.

Alex Payne wants to build a better banking system. So he will leave Twitter to take a post as co-founder and chief product and technology officer at BankSimple. The new company aims to rebuild personal finance, starting with a "fee-free, customer-friendly, beautifully designed online bank." Payne, Twitter's lead engineer, helped build the developer platform, and later on the service’s core infrastructure.

Starbucks Rewards 'Mayors' With Discount Frappuccino Expanding on its partnership with Foursquare, Starbucks has begun offering its most loyal customers a $1 discount on a Frappuccino. Starting today, the "mayor," or person with the most check-ins any Starbucks location via Foursquare, can earn the new reward through June 28, according to Mashable. In March, Starbucks began rewarding frequent customers with a Barista badge after checking in to five separate locations. But the discounts offered to mayors of individual stores marks Starbuck's first step toward providing tangible benefits to customers on Foursquare. And it won't likely be …

The New York Times asked around, looking for Gourmet's ad rev and readership and found both had largely vaporized. Bon Apetit, which Gourmet readers received to complete their subscriptions, saw only modest readership gains. Robin Steinberg, senior vice president and director for print investment and activation at MediaVest Worldwide told the Times that Gourmet's ad dollars have not migrated to other pubs, and speculates "they are all competing with dollars being allocated to online epicurean Web sites and soon-to-be iPhone and iPad applications.” With those $10 million dollar campaigns, he may have a point. And even …

Facebook is expected to reach 500 million users in the coming weeks, with a celebration planned to mark the event in June, according to the blog All Facebook. An announcement could come as soon as within the next two weeks but is expected before June 25, when Facebook would exceed 500 million users based on current growth. "While historically the company doesn't host large celebrations, the company will most definitely toast to the occasion as it should roughly coincide with the three year anniversary of the Facebook Platform taking place in the next couple weeks," stated an All …

County music performer Reba McEntire will christen Norwegian Cruise Line's newest cruise ship, the Norwegian Epic, at a christening ceremony in New York on July 2. McEntire says she is also an avid cruiser and has taken several family cruise vacations, most recently on Norwegian Gem in the Mediterranean. In addition, the new ship will serve as the host venue for the 34th Annual Macy's 4th of July Fireworks event on July 4. The event includes a national, one-hour, live entertainment broadcast on NBC.--Tanya Irwin

General Motors said first quarter 2010 revenue was $31.5 billion and operating income was $1.2 billion, way up from a loss of $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter 2009. GM Europe had a loss before interest and taxes of $0.5 billion; an improvement of $0.3 billion from the fourth quarter. GM International Operations posted EBIT of $1.2 billion, up $0.5 billion from the fourth quarter. "We're pleased with our first quarter performance, in particular achieving profitability," said Chris Liddell, vice chairman and CFO. "In North America we are adding production to keep up with strong demand for new …

Sharpie is launching a new ad push that asks "What would the world be like without self-expression?" The Oakbrook, Il-based company, a division of Newell Rubbermaid's Office Products Group is positioning the brand as a tool for creative expression in the new effort, via Draftfcb Chicago. The campaign, comprising print, digital and broadcast ads show Sharpie markers adding color to things like protest signs, skateboards, electric guitars, jeans, motorcycle helmets, even hitch-hiking signs. Voiceover, with a British accent, asks "What would the world be like without self expression? There'd be no purpose, no passion, no putting it out there for …

Late last week, Fox News reported that Wikipedia cofounder and board member Jimmy Wales gave up his administrative privileges on the "crowdsourced" site following a community backlash against his removal of thousands of images deemed pornographic by Fox last month. Now, Wales is telling Venture Beat that the change to his editorial status was "a purely technical matter," and insists, "I am not stepping down or pulling back from anything." In April, Fox reported that Wikipedia cofounder Larry Sanger, who left the project in 2002, had sent a letter to the FBI specifying his concerns that at least two …

Google is no longer allowing dating sites for older women seeking younger men to advertiser their services using the term "cougar." The search has deemed the commonly-used term "nonfamily safe." For CougarLife.com, now banned from Google's content network, "that means its ads will no longer appear on more than 6,700 Web sites, including Ask.com, YouTube and MySpace, which accounted for 60 percent of its traffic," Thomas Koshy, vice president for marketing at the Toronto-based site tells The New York Times. Suggesting a double-standard, however, Google continues to allow similar advertising for the myriad sites that connect older men and …