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Very engaging interview with NYU Journalism Professor Jay Rosen by the Economist . He considers the buzz within the media industry regarding the iPad to be an example of "Magical Thinking" by media companies, where their business models are broken and they're looking for a new device, some new technology, ANYTHING that can save them. He notes that the two most valuable assets of big media companies such as the New York Times are their brand and their readers, and that in the coming iPad era, finding ways to leverage the value of those two key items will be most important to their survival, not sitting and hoping that a single device will save them. I concur, except that I see the iPad as a platform through which these media companies can find new ways to leverage those assets, if they're willing to engage in a little innovative thinking. It's clear to me that even if it can't save the most stubborn print media, the iPad will certainly be a significant ...

Reporting in the NY Times today , Miguel Helft captures the frank admission of Andy Rubin, whose title, paradoxically, is VP Engineering: “There is an opportunity to make some margin on the unit sales, but that’s not the objective here,” Andy Rubin, a vice president of engineering in charge of the Android technology, said during a press conference at Google’s headquarters here. “Our primary business is advertising.” [emphasis added] Interesting, I think, that the core notion of needing a big agency to handle your advertising continues to erode with advances in technology. The advantage is heading toward the smaller, more nimble agencies with great outside technological and graphic design resources that they can tap, but need not own. Overhead disappears. The focus shifts to creative strategy and administration. Clients certainly benefit, but it is admittedly a bewildering time to run an agency, with everything in the game changing seemingly at once.

Writing in the 'Bits' blog for the NY Times today , Claire Miller notes a significant acquisition by Apple: Apple  has acquired Quattro Wireless, a mobile advertising company, for about $300 million, according to a person briefed on the deal. The purchase marks Apple’s first move into the advertising business, and will put the company into direct competition in the mobile ad market with Microsoft ,  Yahoo  and  Google , which in November agreed to acquire AdMob, another mobile advertising network, for $750 million.  What's interesting about this acquisition is that it suggests Apple is going to try and compete with those players in an arena in which it really hasn't spent much time before, if you don't count the company's own advertising. Are they really going to run an outside agency, with AEs and Creatives and all the attendant challenges, or is there a different motive? And, are they thinking iPhone ads, or are they really making this acquisition with an...