Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands is building up its hyperlocal unit Geomentum by adding former Forrester analyst Lisa Bradner has its first president. She’ll head up account management and consulting, as the company expects to expand into client categories such as restaurant, retail, and banking. In addition, she’ll be working with Mediabrands…

Despite the big push that Ask.com’s latest relaunch got this week, parent company IAC (NSDQ: IACI) doesn’t expect it to set the world on fire. During the company’s Q2 conference call, analysts had a lot of questions about the IAC search vehicle, which is now emphasizing direct questions and answers…

With display advertising making a comeback this year, local TV stations are trying to see if they can capitalize on the resurgence. On the heels of Yahoo’s recent display deals with Gannett’s and Media General’s local broadcast websites, NBCU is now covering its owned and operated stations with an in-house…

Since the Supreme Court struck down limits on corporate spending on political candidates ads, media companies have been salivating over the expected deluge related to this fall’s midterm elections. Online advertising should be an even bigger factor in the this time out than it was two years ago, and AOL…

Although Media General (NYSE: MEG) posted a net loss in Q2 due to higher interest rates on its debt and other expense-related items, the newspaper publisher and broadcast owner did have positive results that will likely bode well for the rest of the industry. In particular, online classifieds were up…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q209	Net Inc. vs Q209
Media General	Release		2%	116.%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

For the last panel of the day at paidContent Mobile, moderator Ernie Sander, managing editor for ContentNext Media, asked what the biggest problems facing mobile, from a content perspective, are. For Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley, and anyone in the room who wasn’t tethered to their computer, the problem is battery…

DirectoryM, an online directory publisher that had raised more than $20 million in funding but was later sold back to its employees at a big loss for its backers, is officially trying once again with a new name and revised business model. The company, now called nSphere, is generating local…

With advertiser interest in Gannett’s USA Today iPad app still running high, CEO Craig Dubow said that the app will remain free and ad supported at least through Q3. USAT has a set of free news and travel apps available across Apple’s portable devices, including the iPhone and iPod touch…

Gannett’s 81 community newspapers can hope to get a boost from a new local ad sales partnership with Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO). The deal also includes Gannett’s broadcasting stations, suggesting that it goes beyond membership in Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, which has over 800 papers.

Shopkick, which is behind a highly-anticipated mobile app that will send offers to shoppers when they are near a store, has raised $15 million in a second round led by Greylock Partners. Shopkick has already lined up several major retailers, including Best Buy and Macy’s, as partners for its app…

McClatchy (NYSE: MNI) Chairman and CEO Gary Pruitt has emphasized the newspaper publisher’s preference for ad support over paywalls, so affiliate sales revenue seems like a natural area for the company to pursue. The owner of The Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee is doing just that through a partnership…

Directory network Local.com has acquired Octane360, a domain-based local ad firm that aims its services at small businesses, domain portfolio owners, agencies and publishers. Under the terms of the deal, Irvine, CA.-based Local.com will pay Octane360 $5 million in cash and stock with an earnout of up to $5.9 million.…

Geodelic, which is behind the popular location-based smartphone app of the same name, has raised $7 million in a second round of funding. The company’s app—which is available for the iPhone and Android—automatically pulls information about a user’s surroundings; for instance, users can click on an icon for “coffee shop”…

WhitePages.com, which regularly ranks among the top 50 most popular websites in the country by traffic, is on the look out for new sources of growth. The directory site is making a new push into local business listings and is set to follow that up with the launch of a…

During Gannett’s last earnings call, CEO Craig Dubow said the company would introduce a subscription model for its USA Today iPad app just after July 4. Of course, Dubow made that statement about two weeks after the iPad’s release, before Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) said it had sold 2 million of…

The John S. and John L. Knight Foundation has once again awarded its grants for projects it hopes will “impact the future of news.” It’s the fourth year of the foundation’s five-year, $25 million Knight News Challenge, which in the past has funded several sites that have taken off, including…

ReachLocal, which went public just a month ago, is introducing a new site called Bizzy, which local businesses can use to communicate with their customers. On the site—which launched today in New York, San Francisco and Dallas—businesses create profiles, where they can post special offers and events. Visitors who create…

Gannett (NYSE: GCI) is continuing to build local community sites, but now, it’s concentrating on its broadcast side in addition to its newspapers. The McLean, VA.-based company is working with hyperlocal tech firm DataSphere to create social nets in 10 markets grounded by Gannett’s TV stations. It’s not clear why…

Twitter is zeroing in with its location plans. The company says in a blog post that users will now be able to tag their tweets as coming from a specific location—like a soccer stadium or restaurant—instead of just a general neighborhood or city. The feature will also tie-in to check-in…