Location-based service provider Loopt has been acquired by the Green Dot Corporation for 43.4 million in cash, including $9.8 million set aside for retention of key Loopt employees. The acquisition by the financial services company highlights continuing consolidation in the LBS space, with Foursquare remaining as the major independent player in the category. Last year, former Loopt competitor Gowalla was snapped up by Facebook. Green Dot, which offers prepaid debit cards and other banking products, said the deal would help the company reach new consumers and expand into providing mobile wallets, rewards and payment solutions at retailers nationwide. It …

Location-based service provider Loopt has been acquired by the Green Dot Corporation for 43.4 million in cash, including $9.8 million set aside for retention of key Loopt employees. The acquisition by the financial services company highlights continuing consolidation in the LBS space, with Foursquare remaining as the major independent player in the category. Last year, former Loopt competitor Gowalla was snapped up by Facebook. Green Dot, which offers prepaid debit cards and other banking products, said the deal would help the company reach new consumers and expand into providing mobile wallets, rewards and payment solutions at retailers nationwide. It …

Long-time media sales exec Hal Trencher has joined Vevo as senior vice president-national sales.

Funny or Die may be best known for its hilarious video shorts but the comedy site is hitting the iPad with a magazine featuring celebrity interviews, political commentary, movie reviews and other content. Yes, the new bi-monthly publication dubbed “The Occasional” also includes some video. The launch issue features an exclusive episode of Funny or Die series, "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis."  Other contributors include Funny Or Die co-founder, Adam McKay, Tom Lennon, and Jon Daly. On board as the official sponsor of the premiere issue is Fiat. But it ain’t free—readers can buy a per-issue subscription for …

Sell-side platform PubMatic has acquired MobiPrimo Technologies to enhance its mobile offering. The move will allow the company’s mobile platform to integrate directly with the leading mobile ad networks, ad servers and demand-side platforms (DSPs). The acquisition also doubles the number of people working on PubMatic’s dedicated mobile development team. “PubMatic is looking for high-quality, strategic acquisitions that will enhance our platform.  The MobiPrimo acquisition further demonstrates our commitment to consolidating the way publishers realize their revenue potential,” said Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO of PubMatic, in a statement. PubMatic says its mobile platform will now provide all the …

Thinking the reality show genre of singing competition programs has already seen too much TV time? You're singing a different tune.  This summer ABC gets into the hunt with a new music competition show, "Duets", featuring four big names music performers: Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke. Clarkson, of course, was part of the initial wave of singing competition TV programs, being the first winner of "American Idol" back in the summer 2002.  Each big time talent will pick undiscovered singers and perform a duet on stage. The winner gets a recording content with Hollywood Records. …

Buddy Media has hired ex-Saleforce.com executive Susan St. Ledger as president, leading global revenue generation and overseeing the social media marketing firm’s sales and client teams. She will report directly to co-founder and CEO Michael Lazerow. St. Ledger was previously SVP, industry verticals at Salesforce.com, focusing on the largest clients within their separate industries including tech, financial services, insurance and media and telecommunications. Prior to joining Saleforce.com she was VP of global manageability services practice at Sun Microsystems. Buddy Media last month acquired London-based, social ad-buying company Brighter Option to broaden its suite of marketing and advertising tools for …

Yahoo’s push into short-form original video enters the realm of documentary-style programming with the debut of “Remake America” today. The new weekly reality series from Yahoo News tracks the lives of six American families as the 2012 election season unfolds. Created in partnership with Trium Entertainment, the show will look at the impact of unemployment, healthcare, veteran affairs, and the housing market on the families featured. Viewers will be able to offer their own comments, personal stories and anecdotes on the “Remake America” conversations page, and the can follow the families through social media platforms. Yahoo News and ABC …

LinkedIn Wednesday confirmed its acquisition of startup Rapportive, which makes a browser plugin for Gmail that provides contextual information about email contacts. “Rapportive does a great job at delivering relevant information in a platform that is universally used by professionals – email. It's very much in line with LinkedIn's mission to make professionals more productive and successful in their careers,” stated Hani Durzy, LinkedIn’s director of corporate communications, in a statement. The AllThingsD blog last month first reported on the deal being in the works, citing unnamed sources. Rapportive’s software overlays the social networking accounts of email correspondents on …

Media industry veteran Gerry Byrne has been elected the next chairman of the Board of Directors of the John A Reisenbach Foundation. The Foundation was established in 1991, a year after murder of John Reisenbach in Greenwich Village. Reisenbach, just 33 years old at the time of his death, was vice president of national advertising sales for what was then All American Television. To date, the foundation created in his honor has generated more than $6 million for programs designed to improve safety and the quality of life in New York City. In pursuit of its mission the foundation collaborates …