"We kicked out the ad networks about four years ago, which is the best thing we ever did," says Nick Denton of Gawker, while explaining the Gawker Artists program to MediaPost EIC Joe Mandese at OMMA Publish. Gawker Media runs works of art (some of which adorns the Gawker HQ in SoHo) in unsold ad spots, promoting the artists associated with Gawker. As Mandese said, "That's one way of showing the value of your ads; the only thing more valuable an ad spot is great art."

Sure there's a lot of inventory on online but saying that it means online ads have no value is along the lines of saying because there are so many trees in the world that magazines have no value, says Nick Denton, publisher of Gawker.

That's right, Digitas global media chief Carl Fremont actually thinks the recession was a good thing for Madison Avenue. "I actually think the recession did a lot of good for our industry, believe it or not," he said during OMMA Publish this morning. Fremont said the main good that came out of the recession is that it focused marketers' attention on the need for "accountability." "Marketers didn't care as much about television as a primary channel. That you had to reach a consumer in a specific channel," he said, adding that now, it's all about, "Where can …

After years of bad-mouthing the "procurement" process, it turns out that that's actually the business that Madison Avenue is in. Quite an epiphany, but that's what Interpublic's Brian Wieser explained to attendees at OMMA Publish this morning. Agencies may not think of their function that way, but Wieser said that procuring media, fundamentally, is what agencies are hired to do for their clients.

Interpublic global forecasting chief Brian Wieser kicked his presentation off at OMMA Publish this morning by acknowledging that some of the people in the digital media industry see him – and his forecasts – as a bit of a "wet blanket." He said that's because some of their more "fanciful" ideas are, in the view of Interpublic, "half baked." Wieser's presentation follows the release of his revised global ad forecast, which nearly double the rate of expansion for 2010 – and beyond – vs. his last forecast at the end of 2009. And surprisingly, most media are expanding, including …

Television will continue to grow and dominate, Brian Wieser, EVP, MAGNAGlobal said in a presentation at OMMA Publish this morning. And he underscored his point with a slide of Winston Churshill's famous quote about democracy, but with some key words crossed out and replaced to produce: "Television is the worst form of advertising, except all the others that have been tried."

Time Inc. Digital chief Kirk McDonald's quip: "Ad Networks have taught us a valuable thing, now maybe they should go away now that they have."

Sound scary? Nah, but it may be a necessity, according to Kirk McDonald, president-digital at Time Inc., speaking on the opening panel at OMMA Publish this morning. McDonald, the only executive to wear a tie on stage so far today, said that faced with the overly abundant supply of online advertising inventory, "I think we have to find ways of reintroducing scarcity." I'm not sure why, but the room at OMMA Publish did not break out into a standing ovation at McDonald's suggestion. Maybe it's because they were listening carefully to find out how he might suggest the …

Commenting on President of Digital at Time, Inc. Kirk McDonald's tie, Wenda Harris Millard, President & COO, Medialink, asked if it was just his tie or a symptom of the downturn. McDonald explained that he spends as much time with Time's brass, the CFO and CEO, as he does with anyone, so the tie is part of the uniform. Millard sees this as a good sign for the head of digital, "For so many years digital was really apart from and not a part of," she said. When Millard brought up NBC chief Jeff Zucker famous quip about …

In a conversation with Peter Kafka kicking off OMMA Publish, Jimmy Pitaro, Yahoo's VP of Media acknowledges the company's strategy over the last decade has alternated between a focus on creating original content and aggregating third-party material. The main difference in Yahoo's renewed focus on original content now compared to the Terry Semel/Lloyd Braun era, is that the "snackable" video programs the company is serving up today, like Primetime in No Time, are based on audience insights. Search patterns the day after shows like "American Idol" showed people were interested in a recap program--a vast focus group, in effect. …