Media

Michael Hastings, the journalist whose reporting led to the ouster of the commander of American forces in Afghanistan in 2010, was killed in a car crash, the news Web site BuzzFeed said.

In resisting calls to ban ads for nutritionally questionable food, Nickelodeon argued that its job was children’s entertainment, not nutrition.

Users trying to visit the social network on the Web are greeted by the message that the page doesn't exist, but smartphone users report being able to access the mobile version.

A dating Web site is teaming up with board game companies to sponsor game nights where singles can meet and get to know each other.

In the fourth of five Mr. Magazine™ Minutes mini-series with top magazine media executives, president of Condé Nast tells Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni why he is bullish about the future and power of print magazines and magazine media. On Thursday, in the last part of this mini-series, Skip Zimbalist, chairman and CEO of Active Interest Media answers Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni’s question about why he is bullish on print magazines and the power and future of the magazine media industry. And watch for a Friday release of Mr. Magazine™ Presents: Bullish on the Printed Magazines, a mini-documentary including all five interviews and an introduction by me, exclusively on the Mr. Magazine™ blog.

King, developer of the popular puzzle game, is in talks with several banks about going public, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The social network now encourages show-and-tell status updates on mobile.

CANNES – Since its launch 13 months ago, AOL has grown its “Makers” series to 40 million video views, with the number of views rising month over month, says Maureen Sullivan, Senior VP and General Manager Lifestyle Brands and Women’s Content at AOL during an interview with Beet.TV. Makers is a joint video project between AOL and PBS and tells the stories of pioneering women from Gloria Steinem to Hillary Clinton in a series of professionally produced, short, documentary style videos. The series has been exclusively sponsored by Unilever’s Simple Skin Care brand since its inception. Sullivan said many viewers will often start by watching one video and then stay and watch six or seven more. For more insight into the growth of Makers and how video viewers are engaging with the content, check out this video interview. AOL is the sponsor of Beet.TV’s coverage of Cannes Lions.

MOUGINS, France  – About half of IPG Mediabrands clients now pay the media agency on a pay-for-performance rather than commission basis, says Matt Seiler, Global CEO, IPG Mediabrands in an interview with Beet.TV. He contends that commission-based fees that incentivize agencies to spend as much of the client’s money as possible are out of step with the reality of the paid, owned and earned marketing world and that pay-for-performance is a better model for the future. “Whatever your KPIs are, those should be our KPIs,” he says in this video interview. A KPI-based payment also affords more flexibility. In the past, if an agency noticed something happening with product pricing that was out of synch with how it’s paid, the agency had little motivation to suggest changes. A pay-for-performance helps the agency look out for the client more. In addition, Mediabrands is shifting to use more real-time campaigns. “We have committed in North America to delivering 50% automation across our buys in three years.” We spoke with him on Monday at YuMe Video event hosted by IPG at the agency’s villa in the hills above Cannes.

CANNES — Microsoft believes its Xbox game console can take marketers’ messages to consumers beyond gaming’s traditional hardcore audience. “The fastest-growing demographic on Xbox today is females aged 18 to 39, who happen to be the chief decision-makers on purchases in most households around the world,” Microsoft’s advertising and online corporate VP Frank Holland said. Holland spoke with Beet.TV during Cannes Lions, where Microsoft is announcing its new Windows 8 Ad Pano format. Xbox’s upcoming Xbox One successor has drawn a degree of consumer scepticism following its recent reveal, but Holland said one of the biggest criticisms would be a benefit: ”The box is 100% of the time connected to the internet , so it will be able to take advantage of all the richness there.”