Let’s Make a Deal…

Here’s a tip for all you Dodger ownership bid watchers. If you have not already, set up a Google News alert for “Bill Shaikin.” The LA Times baseball beat reporter remains the go-to source for breaking developments about the Frank McCourt sweepstakes.

Shaikin’s latest scoop, posted online last night, reveals that 31-year-old New York real estate entrepreneur Jared Kushner is among nine groups in the current running to buy the Dodgers. Kushner is the son-in-law of Donald Trump, as well as the owner of a Manhattan newspaper re-invented by former mediabistro.com editorial employee Elizabeth Spiers:

Kushner, who became owner and publisher of the New York Observer in 2006, has played a key role in expanding the family business beyond real estate. At 31, he would be the youngest owner in Major League Baseball.

Read more

Create a social media strategy, launch your campaign, and track the results in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. The online event and workshop will feature speakers including The Onion‘s Baratunde Thurston (left), Facebook’s Morin Oluwole, and bitly’s Tim Devane. Register now.

It sure didn’t take long for Phil Bronstein to make some major additional impact on California Watch. Just weeks after leaving the San Francisco media world for the vanguard non-profit’s Berkeley boardroom, the Bay Citizen is reporting that its own two-year-old operations may soon be folded into CW.

It makes sense, mainly because the founder and benefactor of the Citizen, San Francisco investor and philanthropist Warren Hellman, passed away in December at age 77. Per the report:

In the weeks before Hellman’s death, sources say, he began discussions with Bronstein, then a vice president at Hearst Corporation, to take over as chief executive of The Bay Citizen when Liz Frazier stepped down. Her last day on the job is Monday. She declined to comment for this article…

Read more

In the wake of Corbis’ recent acquisition of LA celebrity photo agency Splash News, Der Spiegel reporter Philip Bethge has paid a visit to the former’s Seattle office and the latter’s Venice HQ. The result is a highly entertaining look at the business dynamics of “the thugs of the telephoto lens.”

In LA, the man who makes Splash tick is British native Kevin Smith. While today’s shifting media landscape has become a revenue challenge for many outlets, it has proven to be a gold mine for savvy picture peddlers like this former London journalist. Splash revenues in the past year have grown by more than 20%. Per Bethge’s report:

The company has supplied the photography for 500 magazine covers over the last five years, Smith says, adding that Splash News sells photos in close to 70 countries. “I was amazed when we hit the million dollar [mark] in revenues,” says Smith, who drives a Bentley. “Now I am laughing about it.”

Read more

Santa Monica-based public radio station KCRW just announced it will begin streaming its broadcasts on Clear Channel’s free digital radio service iHeartRadio.

“KCRW is always looking for exciting partnership opportunities knowing that even among hundreds of radio stations, what we offer is entirely unique,” says KCRW General Manager Jennifer Ferro in a release. “By combining our compelling content and iHeartRadio’s vast reach, we’re inviting a new audience to discover and engage with KCRW.”

The station already streams its shows online at KCRW.com. The new deal will not only, as Ferro says, expand the station’s reach, it will probably save them some bandwidth too.

KCRW shows will become available on iHeartRadio at the end of this month.

Here’s a warp-speed Internet content success tale, fed by the public’s endless fascination with so-called reality TV.

In 2009, Moni Delano started RealityTea.com. As her online bio states, she “has a business degree and always hated writing so it was only fair she became a ‘writer.’” Well, lo and hehold, these efforts have now triumphantly landed the La Vergne, Tennessee resident back in the business end of things.

Per an announcement today, her site, which has grown to encompass upwards of 550,000 unique visitors per month, has been acquired by SoCal firm Evolve Media. It will be folded into the company’s gargantuan momtastic.com community, along with another just-acquired property, webecoist.com.

Read more

Solid shared scoop late this afternoon from the gang at Broadcasting & Cable.

Per their report, Mark Cuban has decided to rebrand his HDNet channel as AXS TV (as in “Access” TV) in partnership with AEG, CAA and Ryan Seacrest Media.

The new channel is scheduled to kick off in June, with expanded DISH distribution already in place. From the B&C report:

As part of the agreement with DISH, the satellite operator will make AXS-branded concerts available on VOD starting March 15…

AXS will capitalize on AEG’s presence in live events and affiliation with more than 100 of the industry’s venues around the world to “connect audiences with the complete live experience,” from show creation to rehearsals, sound-check, performance and after-party, according to the companies involved.

Read more

It can be tough sometimes for reporters to liven up a dry bit of business news such as the acquisition of LA’s Norm Marshall & Associates by the Bill Gates-owned Corbis. But tipped ahead of Monday’s press release, New York Times writer Stuart Elliott managed to add some good color.

That’s because Marshall is a seasoned, fun interview. In addition to telling Elliott that his movie and TV product placement agency has previously turned down more than a half-dozen acquisition offers, he had this response when the reporter inquired about the Microsoft-minted price tag:

Mr. Marshall and [Corbis exec] Mr. Shenk said they could not discuss the financial terms of the deal. “Bill has a thing about not divulging financial stuff,” Mr. Marshall said, referring to Mr. Gates, adding that Mr. Shenk had told him, “‘Norm, if I do it, Bill will fire me.’”

Read more

Magic Johnson is turning into quite the media mogul. Nearly a year after purchasing Vibe Holdings and becoming its chairman, Johnson has teamed with Ron Burkle to acquire BlackBook Media. The move puts Johnson at the head of Vibe, Uptown and Blackbook magazines.

The lynchpin of the deal, however, was the inclusion of Blackbook’s “Access Network” content management and distribution technology platform. As the New York Post notes, Access Network technology is in use at over 100 media outlets–including Maxim Guides, MTV’s “Jersey Shore” Guides and Bravo!’s Top Chef Guide.

Says Magic, via release: “The technology we acquired as part of the Access Network will serve as a very important piece to enable us to reach consumers.”

Sports Illustrated senior writer Grant Wahl has a solid look today at the recent international media fuss over David Beckham. Although the 36-year-old MLS star and LA Galaxy have yet to re-sign on the dotted line, all indications are that the master of the feather-touch pass plans on remaining stateside rather than joining Paris St. Germain.

The last bullet point in Wahl’s blog item asks, ‘How did the French media get the story so wrong?’ He suggests that both Beckham’s reps and Galaxy owner Tim Leiweke probably had something to do with it:

Some really good French outlets got caught with their culottes down… One big reason is that it was in Beckham’s interest to encourage the speculation and receive as big an offer as possible from PSG so that he would get the best offer possible from the Galaxy. At the same time, Leiweke gave no access to the French media, which underestimated Leiweke’s ability to get things done. Big mistake…

Read more

As first tipped by New York Times columnist Richard Sandomir, there’s another group jumping into the Frank McCourt bankruptcy sweepstakes. And it’s a good one.

Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre has left his MLB executive position to join a bid led by The Grove and Americana on Brand developer Rick Caruso, in what would be a tremendous bit of local-karma competition for Magic Johnson‘s planned bid. There’s also another key person involved. Per Bill Shaikin‘s LA Times blog item this morning:

The investment banker working with Caruso and Torre is Byron Trott of BDT Capital in Chicago, described in this London Evening Standard article as the only banker Warren Buffett trusts.

Read more